EXPLOIT HESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23965, 15 May 1941, Page 9

EXPLOIT HESS

PRESS ADVICE UNPARALLELED CHANCE GOEBBELS' WORK UNDONE (Rord. 5.35 p.in.) LONDON, May 11 The arrival of Hess in Britain is one of the most fantastic episodes in history, says the Daily Mail. Big men such as he do not desert a cause which -is sound at heart. He must know within himself that Germany's prospects are not good, or he would not come to "beaten" England. "Nevertheless, we must not lose our sense of proportion," says the paper. "The fact that IToss has eomo over to England does not necessarily indicate that, a split in the German facade is imminent, or that Germany is going to crack up." Undreamed-of Propaganda Weapon Mr. G. Ward Price, writing in the Daily Mail, says: "In Hess we have gained a tremendous asset; lot us make the maximum use of it. Imagination and swift action are needed to exploit this undreamed-of situation, for Hess knows the closest secrets of the German war plans; Hitler's covert designs against M. Stalin, General Franco and Mussolini. How can Germany bo sure that all this vital information will not henceforth be in our hands. Therefore let us tell thorn we possess it; let us impress upon them daily that their strategic schemes and secret plots are now an open book to us. All the work Goebbels has done for the Nazi cause was cancelled when Hess' parachute floated down near Glasgow," concluded Mr. Ward Price. Possibly a Fantastic German Plan A Times leader expresses the opinion that, although Hess acted alone, there must bo many in Germany who envy his exploit, and who draw from it a confirmation of their own doubts about the ultimate issue of the campaign of brutal conquest and domination upon which Hitler's ambition has launched the German nation. The Times further points out that the British authorities will naturally bear in mind tho possibility that the wholo Hess affair may be a fantastic German plan, and that tho German leaders, for their own purposes, wish the world to believe that "the maggot is already in the apple." Goebbels has made use of such inverse propaganda before now. But, the Times continues, all the evidence obtained so far suggests that Hess deliberately planned to escape. It is believed that ho became more and more disgusted at tho trickery and shamelessness which characterise Hitler's entourage. Furthermore, he appears to have been horrified by the bloodshed around him, and tho prospect of still further bloodshed. Hess, more than any other German leader, the Times remarks, has always insisted that the true aim of the German Army should finally be to establish peace. Reports from nf.uiral observers state that the bewilderment of tho German people lias been increased by tho evorchanging stories put out. Berlin newspapers this morning make no comment on the flight.