“THE MAGGOT’S IN THE APPLE”

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 19 May 1941, Page 5

“THE MAGGOT’S IN THE APPLE”

ARRIVAL OF HERR HESS 1 AS BAD AS THE WORST NAZIS London, May 15. (Translation of the editorial of "Die ' jZeitung," the German anti Nazi journal, ‘i published in London on 14th May by s Sebastian Haffner). s The Deputy of the Fuhrer has deb livered himself into British custody. When Mr Churchill gave this unpreceJ dented piece of news to the Ministry : of Information it startled even the cool- ‘ headed Sir Walter Monckton. "But s that's great news,” he cried. “Yes” said I Mr Churchill. “The maggot’s in the • apple.” 1 It is one of those Churchillian sayings I which are bound to become classical. - It gives the gist of the matter. What--3 ever details are behind Hess's fllm-like i | flight, one thing is certain: The prestige II of the Nazi Reich has suffered a blow ns I it has not done since 30th June. 1934. s | It is too early to say why Herr Hes* - fled to England. There are several posr sible explanations. He may have got on / one of Himmler’s blacklists. He may i have had serious political quarrels with 1 his “colleagues." He may, sooner than 2 the less initiated, have got inside in--1 formation about the real situation of d Germany and thereupon acted as many 1 of the lesser criminals will act when t the zero hour is approaching: Try to - get himself out of trouble and play the penitent sinner. Maybe finally—there is nothing the trashy phantasy of Hitler and his gang is not up to—it is that this “loyalest of the loyal” as he was styled ’ up to yesterday, has been designed only to simulate treason and really to make j a last deperate attempt at creating conf fusion among the one-time friends of the Nazis in England. If this should 1 be the case, one may rest assured it 1 will be foiled by the vigilance of the British Government. “AS BAD AS THE WORST” 1 But there is one thing we must earn- - estly warn against: That easy sentiment tality of some British people which in the gossip columns tends to convey the 2 impression that this Hess is “not so -i bad,” and pours out moving tales of his e shyness, his pleasant smile and his aff fection for his wife and child. Make no mistake about it: He is as bad as s the worst of them. He has—beside t Roehm—been Hitler's first and closest , associate, joint founder of Storm j Troopers, joint producer of their terror e war inside Germany, joint author of f that bible of destructive nihilism “Mein Kampf,” a cognizant of the Reichstag j fire, one of those mainly responsible for £ the slaughter of 30th June. His hands are stained with the blood of thousands , of innocent people. His fanaticism and ruthlessness match that of a Himmler * and a Streicher. If there is anything by which he distinguishes himself e among his fellow criminals, it is the im--1 pudence which always made him speci--1 ally suited to deny atrocities with an air of offended honesty. He did this all \ the way from the tortures in the cons centration camps to the war prepara- £ lions against Czechoslovakia. When this man to-day plays the inoffending husband and father, nobody should become t his dupe. His flight is a ground for grim satisfaction, not for soft-hearted ~ pardon. o CAUSE FOR SATISFACTION But for satisfaction there really is s ground; and even more for propagandistic exploitation. Germany has sufe fered a defeat on the moral and political battlefield which is devastating and y which may become decisive if the -l strategists of propaganda know how i > y make use of it. To get its true nu- .’ing a one has only to imagine what it would 1 mean for Britain if Lord Beaverbrook y or Mr Bevin were to-day to fly to e Bavaria in a Spitfire to put their fate in the hands of the Fuhrer. Would that s not place a mortal weapon in the hands t of Goebbels? That is exactly what has . happened to Germany—with the differ - . ence that Hess is not simply an influenr tial Minister of a democratic state, but the deputy and the designed successor r of the all-powerful Fuhrer. The blow t is terrific! All that has now to be done ; is to make it resound to the remotest * corner of the globe. For goodness’ sake r no discretion and no manners this time! This is the moment to make all the noise in the world and to turn every available searchlight on this self-reveal-j ed corruption and core-rottenness of the j Nazi state. It just so happens that r Hitler is in the midst of most delicate j negotiations with Ineunu, Stalin. Matsuoka. Franco and Darlin. The internal bankruptcy and swindle of the German ' regime which have now come to the light must be so driven home even to ’ the last Turk, the last Russian, Japan- ; ese, Spaniard and Frenchman, that it simply becomes impossible for statesJ men of those countries to do business • with that regime. NOT A “CARPET-BITER” They have at once arrested someone i for letting him escape in spite of the ■ explicit orders by the Fuhrer. Whai i charming picture! The third man of ; Germany, the deputy-successor of the [ Fuhrer, a notorious lunatic! His adjut- , ant is in reality his warden! If that is ; possible—what is impossible? Are we, , perhaps, to hear to-morrow that the Fuhrer himself for years has been ‘notorious’ for being mentally deranged? Would it not perhaps be even more likely with him than with Hess, who after all had not quite so many public fits of hysteria and is not known in his personal circles as a "carpet-biter?" It seems as if even the German people have this time stirred in that stupor in which they were being led to the abyss during the last few years. The nervous, fidgety efforts of the Propaganda Ministry and party imply that the event has caused somewhat stronger reactions in Germany than that self-controlled'* interest with which, according to the classical picture of the "Reich." the German people look at Hitler's victories. “The German people, however, remains firm in its determination to carry the war to its victorious conclusion”: So says the official proclamation of the jN.S.D.A.P. Qui s’excuse s’accuse. j The eyes of Germans have been cov- | cred with much success. Has it by chance been forgotten to cover up their noses as well, and have they begun to sniff the rotten smell from the maggoty apple 9 j 1