GERMANY: Insane Ward

From Germany last week came a steady flow of reports and rumors which might or might not be true, might or might not be propaganda plants. Strung together they read like the symptoms of advancing schizophrenia:

Extra cots were reported ready in the German Embassy in Madrid, to accommodate fleeing Nazi leaders. In Germany the 60-hour week was standard and heavy fines were waiting for all who shirked. Sixty express trains had been withdrawn. Mailboxes, could no longer be emptied; people had to post their letters at a post office. Mass arrests of unreliable people were a daily occurrence. The Reichsmark was worthless. A poll of 250 Germans showed that 80% thought the war was lost, only 5% still believed in victory. The rest were hoping for a compromise.

Millions of women and older men were being taught the rudiments of guerrilla warfare: handling rifles, planting mines, hurling grenades, taking cover. The German press coined a new slogan: “We will fight before the Rhine, on the Rhine and, if we must, behind the Rhine.” German businessmen, visiting Switzerland, said revolt at home was out of the question: Himmler had too firm a grip. Hitler could still command a substantial majority in a free election because the Germans saw no alternative. Home-front morale was higher than the Wehrmacht’s. Only frightful chaos and Bolshevism could result if the Allies insisted on fighting the war to its bitter end.

Hope seemed chiefly propped up by secret weapons still to be revealed. There was a report of a fiery cloud, a secret gas to be released from planes. As it sank to the ground, other planes would pour incendiary bullets into the mass, turning it into a vast flaming blanket. Said the Vienna edition of the Volkischer Beobach-ter: “Our intention is to surprise the enemy with something absolutely new. Weeks or months may pass before the moment comes. These will be the hardest period of the war for us.” Said 55 Writer Joachim Fernau: “Within six months all Germans will know something which for the time being must be kept secret. You will awake from the dark, oppressive night. Tomorrow will be very calm and clear. Everything that threatened and terrified you will have vanished.”

Clearly, Germany was getting more & more like an insane ward.