GERMAN BIRTHS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 123, 27 May 1942, Page 5

GERMAN BIRTHS

A DECLINING RATE

MOTHERS COOL TO APPEALS

(By THOMAS R. HENRY)

WASHINGTON

Adolf Hitler's strenuous efforts to raise the German' birth rate are meeting with indifferent-success. During the first" nine months of 1941 the total number, of babies horn in cities of aver 100,000 population was about 8 per cent less than for the same period of 1940. The number of marriages in the same period, despite the number of men in the army, was less than 1 per cent less. This is revealed by somewhat sketchy data on conditions in the Axis countries obtained by British officials here from various sources. The failure of a larger crop of babies aroused a hysterical appeal early this winter from a Dr. Gross, of the "racial political office." who apparently is directly responsible to Der Fuehrer for bringing about a birth rate boom. Blandishments Fail "The number of children in Germany is still insufficient," he said in an intercepted radio appeal. "The claim for families with four children is still unfulfilled. Even people who have been married in the last, ten years have generally only two children. But we must keep up the demand for four children if the German nation is to remain at its present size and able to tackle all the questions which w.ill arise after a victorious war. "The German nation, which is giving Europe a new race, needs immense forces. Germans will go out as business men, technicians, diplomats or military experts, but they must not leave gaps in their native country. Germany needs children to-day and especially to-morrow." Italy, according to the British sources of information, apparently is having a worse time. The official population statistics for the first ten months of 1941 show that "the number of marriages in Italy totalled 208,928; living births, 794,411; and deaths, exclusive of those killed in the war, 509,702. Thus there was an excess of births over deaths of 283,704. These figures show a remarkable decline as compared with 1940 and the years before that." Dwindling Europe The birth rate in Hungary, according to the British information, is now the lowest among all European nations. German- investigations have revealed, according to the same report, that "Jewish doctors and midwives are encouraging birth control." It was recently announced by the Budapest Municipal Council that 61 midwives have been deprived of their licenses. France appears to be following the German and Italian lead. The "-State Secretariat for -according to j&he report, is conducting a contest ->n which French people are asked to name from a list of 15- items the three which they think have contributed most to the low French birth rate.

Says a French newspaper under German control: "Capitalism has lured women from the home. The greatest mistakes have been to open all careers to women, not'tWemancipate them but to ftrifig them into the labour market, Where they have become competitors with men. Thus they have lost a liking for home life and have avoided having children when married."—Auckland Star and N.A.N.A.