HITLER CLOSE-UP

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 124, 28 May 1942, Page 6

HITLER CLOSE-UP

HIS MEGALOMANIA

A TALKING FANATIC One day Hitler read a newspaper article about a soldier-correspondent's visit to a general's headquarters in Poland. It had been censored three times and approved by the proper authorities and Propaganda Ministry officials. For several long minutes Hitler expressed his rage in the presence of his adjutants in unintelligible screams. When he managed to get himself somewhat calmer he shouted at his unfortunate companions:— "This miserable writer! What is this shunk thinking of when he attempts to glorify the generals? "Who won the campaign in Poland?" he shouted. "I did. "Who gave the orders? "1 did. "Who had all the strategic ideas which made victory possible? "I had. "Who ordered the attack? "Ich! Teh! Ich! Ich! "And this liar comes along and tries to assert that the generals had something to say about the campaign. He is instinctless and stupid."

Colossus of Roriily Laziness That picture is drawn and vouched for as accurate by William Russell, who was on the American Embassy staff in Berlin. It forms one scene of a remarkable close-up of Hitler in "Berlin Embassy." in which Mr. Russell makes fascinating revelations about the home front in (ierman.v. His study of the phenomenon Hitler is thorough. Here is his general summary. This man. who once lived roofless in Vienna, who never learned any profession correctly, has only one attitude toward himself: Uncompromising worship of Adolf Hitler. He is possessed by the god of language; physically he is also a curiosity. Adolf Hitler could possess the finest, horses and ride on the most beautiful courses. Several years ago he actually did take one riding lesson. It was a miserable failure. He has a princely estate in the beautiful Bavarian mountains. Nobody has ever seen him on skis. He does not play tennis, he does not swim, he does not fish, he plays no golf. There is not a bicycle on Hitler's entire private mountain. The things which give pleasure to other people do not interest Hitler. He is a colossus of inactivity and bodily laziness. There is only one part of his body that is constantly active: his mouth. Mr. Russell tells a Mussolini story of Hitler's talkativeness. After the Fuehrer's first visit to Italy in 1935 the Duce gave this comment to the Ambassador of a Western Power: "I showed that man Venice, where one finds the most beautiful architecture in the world, ordered him the finest foods in the most magnificent of rooms. "Around him sat the most beautiful women of a country blessed with beautiful women. The most expensive wines waited to be drunk. And he? "What did he do? He did nothing. He talked. "Curse, Here Comes Hitler!" In the early twenties Hitler went many, many nights to the Green Ship, a Munich bar and taproom. His appearance in the doorway was enough to freeze the good humour of all the guests to below zero. Hitler was a well known "horror guest" in the artists' bars; when he appeared all the others disappeared. They did everything possible to protect themselves from him, but not because they feared him. On the contrary, Hitler was lean, shabbily dressed, and practically penniless, but he had one passion which never left him—he talked.

He talked without interruption, mainly about art. No wonder that the flight from his table would begin when he came, and whispers of horror could be heard: "Curse, here comes Hitler!"

Most of the stories of Hitler's relations with women Mr. Russell dismisses as nonsensical. He tells one about Renate Mueller, the film star, who during a reception at the Reich Chancellery was invited by Hitler to leave the crowded drawing rooms and visit his private rooms. There Hitler talked endlessly about things in which she had no interest.

Suddenly he ran out of anything to say. There was an awkward pause. He jumped up from the couch, raised his right arm in a stiff Nazi salute and said: "What do you think? I can hold my arm like this for hours without getting tired. It is not true that I have an apparatus in my armsleeve to support my arm. That's all nonsense, my dear, I can stand this way for hours. And when I think about fat old Goering. He gets tired after a couple of minutes.

Miss Mueller looked at Hitler standing before her with his arm stretched out in stiff salute. "That is really wonderful, Mein Fuehrer," she said.

Hitler smiied like a man who has received too much applause. He lowered his arm, approached her once more, looked deeply into her eyes and said, "Come, my dear. Let us go back to the guests again." "It is well known that Hitler talks of Garbo as 'the woman.' He continues to have all her new films shown to him in spite of the fact that these films are not allowed to play before the German people because they have Jewish managers or producers. His other favourite actress is Marlene Dietrich."

His Exceptional Memory Since he has an exceptional memory he spends hours learning by heart the tonnage of the various ships in the British Navy. He knows exactly what kind of armament, the kind of armour plate, the weight, the speed and the number of crew of every warship in the British Navy. He knows the number of rotations of aeroplane motors in every model and type existent. He sits alone in his fabulous office for long hours—often the whole night through. An expensive magnifying glass lies on his desk; a complicated built-in electric lighting system spreads an even glow over the desk (Hitler has failing eyesight and must wear glasses in order to read). , On the Surface of his desk are laid enormously enlarged aerial photographs which German air force pilots have brought back from their reconnaissance flights over enemy territory. Hitler studies their every detail over and over. He knows from what height the pictures have been made. He knows exactly the difference between the camouflaged trenches and the easily recognisable military establishments.

He knows exactly how Scapa Flow looks. He knows the entrance by heart. Even when he has been studying maps and photographs for hours he never gets tired. Hitler can stand only light meals and is extremely frugal regarding his food. A raw apple, a pear, a banana, a glass of milk, or, as an exception from time to time, a piece of cake, are all he will eat. Sucn a diet makes him fresh again. He goes to bed as late as possible because he suffers from insomnia.