WAITING FOR HOUR TO STRIKE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21558, 22 January 1940, Page 7

WAITING FOR HOUR TO STRIKE

BRITAIN MUST BE DESTROYED Goebbels Appeals To Germans United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, January 19. The Nazi Minister of Propaganda (Goebbels) in a speech, said: “Britain made war because Germany is no longer purely a nation of poets and thinkers. Britain, with her smaller population, knew she could do nothing against Germany once Germany learnt to organise and build up an army.

“The plutocracies in London and Paris will find out soon enough what the Fuhrer s plans are. It has been said that there is no enthusiasm for war among the Germans, but there is no need for such noisy enthusiasm. The English realise that we have a firm determination.

“Our people may split on this or that question, but regarding the English there is only one opinion—destroy them! Every other nation could attempt to win the German people for their ally, but not so the English. They are ferocious wolves wearing lambskins and trying to placate us with pious phrases about humanity and civilisation.

“If we sink a few of their fishing trawlers they lament about our inhuman methods. Simultaneously they would be only too glad to starve millions of our women, children and babies if they could. "It was possible to separate the Imperial German Government from the people, but things have changed,” continued Goebbles. “We have conquered our people in a bitter 12 years’ struggle and made their cause our own and vice versa.

“If the English consider it necessary to relieve our paper shortage by dropping heaps of silly pamphlets, that is their business, but they are mistaken in thinking that the pamphlets produce any impression upon Germans. “It seems that the English are gradually getting afraid. One would have expected that their much-vaunted bombers would have appeared over Berlin, also that they would have attempted to help their Polish allies in a break through the Siegfried Line in order to force us to divert some armies westward, but nothing of the kind has happened. They ask after five months why Hitler does not attack. We declared from the very beginning that we do not want to start an attack because we do not want this war.

“The British want to carve up Germany. They have already lined up the emperors and a king whom they want to restire. Half of Prussia is to go back to Poland. They do not want to accomplish this by war but by means of the blockade, because they say that it is more humane. “The British are so proficient in the art of lying that one is tempted to envy them for it. “If I were asked what Daladier thinks then I would answer that he does not think anything. He is unable to think at all He is ’nuts.’ "We are fully aware that we are facing a gigantic and immense conflict in which our very existence is at stake. Such a conflict demands many sacrifices. It is not pleasant to sit in a cold room or to be in the front lines and to think that business at home is deteriorating. We all know the difficulties, yet they are being shouldered by the whole nation. “There was never a time when Germany had such splendid prospects of achieving a dominating position. I warn you that we have entered a decisive year. The Fuhrer usually comes into the open with his plans,” Goebbels continued. “The whole German people are waiting with faithful patience for the decisive hour and they know well that this hour will strike.” Becoming Tedious According to a British Official Wireless message there is practically no comment in the morning newspapers on the speech in which Goebbels yesterday —standing on the very ground the invasion of which by German armies set Europe alight with the flames of war _quaintly described the Allies as reluctant in taking up arms in the defence of the liberties of small ana great nations alike in the following terms: "They went into this war with loud trumpet blasts and threw a declaration of war at our feet with the pride of a Spaniard.” The cool, calculated impudence with which Nazi speakers pervert fact and distort purposes did in the early days call for an unwilling tribute of amazement and amusement from observers here, but by repetition the technique has lose its power to evoke either surprise or argument. It is felt to have become merely tedious. The only parts of the Poznan speech which aroused a modicum of interest are the passages which betray that the chief Nazi propagandist is taking serious notice of the possibility of the German public being divided as a result of the realisation of where Nazi leadership has taken them and of fact that the Allies have declared that it is Hitlerism and not the German people which is the enemy. Goebbels obviously thinks it is necessary to counter that danger but it occurs to some commentators here that his method of doing so may not have been well chosen. The effect of a period of quiet reflection by the German people under wartime conditions in Germans’ on the progaganda Minister’s remark that “Germany today has political and military leadership of such excellence as she never possessed before” is thought to be less predictable than Goebbels tn the enthusiasm of his oratory may have realised. _________