NAZIS' DEMANDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24849, 22 March 1944, Page 5

NAZIS' DEMANDS

ARMY AND SUPPLIES CENSORSHIP CONTROL VERSION FROM ZURICH (Reed. 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, March 21 A message from Zurich reports an interview with a Hungarian diplomat, who says the Hungarian Regent, Admiral Horthy, and the Hungarian Chief of Staff, ColonelGeneral Szombathely, arrived at Hitler's headquarters and were immediately presented with a series of demands by Hitler, who had with him Ribbentrop, his Foreign Secretary, and Zeitzeer, his Chief of General Staff. These demands are said t<> have been: (1) The Hungarian army to be mobilised under German supervision and reorganised on the Rumanian pattern that is, all Hungarian divisions and regiments would eome under the command of German liaison officers. (2) Hungarian railways and Danube traffic to be placed under a mixed general staff. (3) Hungary must place her food reserves and food production in a general Axis pool. (4) The Hungarian Government must, introduce a censorship and press control on German lines, forbidding the printing or broadcasting of news not originating from Axis agencies.

Horthy and the other Hungarian representatives all rejected the demands. Two hours later all telephone and telegraphic links between Hungary and neutral countries were cut.

It is also reported from Zurich that a Hungarian diplomat who has been accredited to Berlin has described the occupation as a hostile act toward the local Hungarian Government, which has lost its freedom of action. This diplomat says a special stall of the Gorman Propaganda Ministry, Gestapo and S.S. has occupied all telephone and telegraph offices in Budapest, as well as the broadcasting station.

He added emphatically that the German official news agency story that Germany and Hungary had entered into closer military and political collaboration was issued without authority from Budapest and in direct contradiction to the facts.

BRITISH COASTAL AREAS PROHIBITION ON ENTRY LONDON, March '2O War Office orders, coming into force on April 1, define eight protected areas consisting of a coastal belt some ten miles in depth, extending from The Wash round the east and south coasts to Land's End and certain smaller areas on the Firth of Forth. The orders have been made for operational reasons. The general effect of each order is to prohibit person!; not resident in an area on April 1 from entering or being in that area after that date. This is the strictest ban yet placed on travel to the coastal areas. There is a penalty of £IOO or three months' imprisonment, or both, for breaches of the orders. CANADIAN COMMANDS GENERAL CRERAR'S POST (Reed. 8.15 p.m LONDON, March 'in Lieutenant-General H. D. G. Crerar, at present commanding the First Canadian Corps with the British Eighth Army in Italy, has been appointed commander of the First Canadian Army in Britain, in succession to LieutenantGeneral A. G. L. McNaughton. This was announced in the Canadian House of Commons. Lieutenant-General Stuart, Chief of the Canadian General^ Staff, has relinquished command of the first Canadian Army—a post he has hold since December, when General McNaughton was granted leave of absence. Major-General F. L. M. Burns, formerly a divisional commander in Italy, has been promoted acting-lieutenant-general in command of the Canadian Corps. TRAITOR DIES BRAVELY PUCHEU'S ORDER TO FIRE LONDON, March 20 Describing the final scene at the execution of Pierre Pucheu, the former Vichy Minister, who was sentenced to death for treason, Renter's Algiers correspondent says that Pucheu as a last wish asked permission to give the order to the firing equad to fire. This was granted. . He walked courageously to the firing ran 20 at Hussein Day. in the outskirts of Algiers, where the firing squad, consisting of 12 Mobile Guards, was drawn up. He had scarcely uttered the word "Fire" when he fell. His body was handed over to his relatives. The British United Press correspondent says that Pucheu died without a bandage over his eyes and faced the firing squad without support, his hands untied The Kxehange Telegraph Company s Algiers correspondent reports that an Arab charged before a military tribunal with cooking for the Germans was sentenced to death after a short hearing in the new series of trials of 17 alleged members of the African Falange, which was opened in the room in which Pucheu was sentenced to death. The defendants were charged with treason and collaborating with the enemy. CROSS-CHANNEL BATTLE > FIERCE BOMBARDMENT <Rpnl. S.lO p.m.) LONDON, March 21 Artillery on the south coast of England again came into action last night against enemy shipping in the Strait of Dover, firing approximately 140 rounds. German guns replied, and the bombardment was described as the fiercest for some time, with many guns on each side of the Channel .-ngaged. The duel lasted 80 minutes and in this time nearly 250 shells were fired. British guns started the action shortly before 10 p.m., and the German guns replied within five minutes. Frequently with eight-gun salvoes, the cannonade was almost continuous for the first 45 minutes, and the sound of exploding shells was heard over a wide area. This was the second night running on which the Channel gune have been in action, j