NEW FREEDOM

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25001, 18 September 1944, Page 6

NEW FREEDOM

CONDITIONS IN FRANCE SCENES IN COUNTRYSIDE (Special Correspondent) (Reed. 5.3q p.m.) NORTH FRANCE, Sept. 16 The welcome of French people to Royal Air Force wings has grown warmer as the airfields havo advanced from the rich. farmland districts of Normandy to the industrial area. There is deeper hatred of the Germans in the more heavily populated areas, wh'cre general conditions under the German occupation have been worse. In all villages and towns there are men of the Maquis, many groups of which have done excellent work in preventing the Germans from wrecking airfields. Many of the Maquis are mere youths. Three I met, for instance, were aged 17, 19 and 20. They wear a brassard with F.F.I, on it and . carry a rifle. Germans in Hiding In many areas numbers of German soldiers are still hiding in the woods, which are scoured periodically by the Maquis. At night the Germans come out and hold up civilians, demanding information and food. ' Some of the French are still believed to be feeding Germans, many of whom were married during their stay in France. Driving northward, ono sees many traces of German strongpoints where pitched battles were held. One favourite dodge of the Germans was to cut down the trees lining the roads in order to delay the Allies. They also built stout barricades from tree trunks and fought behind them until they had to withdraw. From one bridge I saAV mines which the Germans planted on the bed of a stream, also discarded mortars in boxes marked with the date 1932 —preHitler material. Tractor from Russia Many French farmers have been unable to gather all their crops, due to 'the fighting. But some farmers gained by the German occupation, receiving high prices for their produce, while in one farmyard I saw a Russian tractor. The farmer told me it was brought from Russia by the Germans and handed to him for work on the farm. Judging by what can be seen from the air, however, most of the ploughing still seems to be done with two horses and a singlefurrow plough. Some towns and villages north of Normandy where the Germans sheltered during their retreat have been almost completely wiped out by Allied bombing, and in many villages one can see odd houses damaged by pinpoint attacks. Sympathetic French People French people show their appreciation of Allied effort? when casualties inevitably occur. Thus at the funeral service of a flight-lieutenant who was killed accidentally when a tyre of his Typhoon burst when he was taking off, the church was filled with villagers, who listened with sympathetic respect to addresses by the priest and the Mayor. They later smothered the grave with flowers. In villages and towns where airmen find they can buy stockings and perfumes, they are frequently invited into homes where people recount their trials during the occupation and bring out a carefully stored bottle of wine or cognac. DAMAGE BY HURRICANE 39 KILLED: 150 INJURED (Reed. 0.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 17 Damage estimated at nearly £12,000,000, with at least 39 people killed and 150 injured, was caused by the hurricane which struck the eastern seaboard States of America on Thursday. The Weather Bureau at New York savs the hurricane, which swept nearly 1000 miles of the Atlantic coast, was the worst on record. In New York City seven persons were electrocuted by exposed wires. Dozens of shop windows in one part of the city were blown put. This section has been roped off to prevent looting. The hurricane disturbance in the New York area subsided quickly.