FROM GERMANY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 27 October 1939, Page 6

FROM GERMANY

EARLY DAYS OF WAR CONTRADICTIONS IN HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS NO SIGN OF REBELLION LONDON 7 . 6th October. The following letter written by a German from a town in Southern Germany in the second week of the war gives an indication of the state of opin"The outbreak of war has not had the sensational effect which might have been expected. No one doubted that Hitler would invade Poland in the end, but it was doubted that the British and French would take action. The fact that Great Britain and France have entered the war is sinking but slowly into people’s minds. . . . Many still believe that neither Great Britain nor France is in earnest. There is still a widespread belief that the Western Powers will withdraw when Poland has been defeated. “Although it is true that people are worried and anxious, they are less so than they were ten days ago, because the bombs they expected have not yet fallen. They haven’t the guts to start,' is what many people say of the Western Powers. “Reports of Polish atrocities which fill the papers and are ‘documented’ by photographs feed the hatred felt for the Poles. Nor is anti-British propaganda unsuccessful. Many people are honestly convinced that Great Britain has no other aim than to drive others into war with Germany while keeping out of trouble herself ‘All this does not prevent people from listening eagerly to foreign radio stations whenever they have the chance. Much of the information in foreign broadcasts is undoubtedly believed. . . . the severe penalties for lisenteing in to foreign broadcasts do not prevent it. The only effect it has is to make people talk less freely about the foreign news. And yet everybody knows of all the others that they are listening-in. The contradictions between German and foreign news produce a distinct feeling of uncertainty. TREMENDOUS POWER OF THE REGIME “Of rebellion or open resistance there is no sign. . . . People feel that the regime still has tremendous power. One has to put up with it and keep quiet. But there is a good deal of grumbling ... amongst housewives, who are trying to hoard whatever they can lay hands on. Ration cards have been introduced for almost everything. Even shaving soap can only be obtained with ration cards. The ration of flour is half a pound per head per week. “Even the farmers can obtain meat and flour only with ration cards The harvest was not finished in the beginning of September. For example, potatoes and turnips have not yet been brought in The second hay harvest (so vitally important for cattle feeding) has not been brought in either. Women and girls who have been recruited to help with the harvest cannot cope with the job. . . . Even the men who served in the last war have been called up. Most of them were full of bitterness and resentment when they left for their barracks. , . .

RECRUITING FOR LABOUR SERVICE “During the last few days they have been recruiting ii. the villages even those youngsters who have not yet done labour service. Artisans up to fifty vears of age have been called up with their assistants. Many of the smaller workshops are left without a single hand. The peasants had to hand all their horses over to the Army, with harness and carriages. Every tractor, every car has been confiscated. . . . “There is great confusion in the administrative machine. The officials do not know how to work the bread-ration-ing scheme yet. . . . Retail dealers cannot get goods from wholesale dealers. . . . There is no sign of enthusiasm amongst the soldiers who are crowding the innumerable trains. Most of them, even the young ones, are full of fears. “The Nazis preach systematically, ‘lt will not be so bad; we shall soon have finished with those skunks of Poles. There were many dramatic scenes when the conscripts said goodbye. Of many who were called up three weeks ago there is as yet no news. ...” RECEIPT OF LEAFLETS A private letter written during the second week of the war by a German living in a town in Western Germany reveals some interesting sidelights on the conditions prevailing. He says:— “Pood was extremely bad and scarce during the first few days of the war. Now it has slightly improved. People are very depressed. They still listen eagerly to foreign broadcasts. So far, wireless sets have not been confiscated’ “We listened in to the Austrian refugees’ vow of vengeance. Foreign stations should improve their propaganda against Hitler, They should reply immediately to the mendacious German news. The broadcasts of records of Hitler’s speeches from France were vep impressive. They ought to go on. “Someone gave me a leaflet that feli from the air. These leaflets have an effect. Mine found its way to me from a town about forty miles off. They are so clearly printed that it is not even necessary to pick them up. You can read them as they lie on the ground. “Butter, fat and oil are practically unobtainable. It is no longer possible to buy fresh fish or even smoked fish Boys of the Hitler Youth’ aged fourteen or fifteen go about giving adults orders about blacking-out their homes. . . . The fact that almost all the higher officials of the party have still got their jobs and have not been called up does not improve the attitude of the general public towards the Nazis. WOMEN DESPERATE “Many women were quite desperate when the final mobilisation began On Saturday, 26th August, there were scenes of open protest in the stress. Women refused to let their men go until military officials of high rank appeared and they had to. Quite a number of men failed to report for service with the colours They were at once arrested and sent away. Their families do not know where they are. In a small town nearby a woman went mad when the police came to take her husband away In a rural district not far from here a pregnant woman drowned herseif after her husband had been taken off. There is the case of a man who was at the front for four years in the last war. He refused to report for service this time He was shot, and his wife was informed that her husband had been sentenced to death and that the sentence was carried out on such and such a date . . . . “No casualty lists are published and it is forbidden to wear mourning. During the last few days all the civilians who were left here received evacuation orders. I hope and pray that we shall soon hear irore from France and England. What is the trouble there?”