AMONG STORM TROOPS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 647, 27 September 1933, Page 7

AMONG STORM TROOPS

IMPRESSIONS OF TOUR

NEW ZEALAND'S DESCRIPTION OF CENTRAL EUROPE CONDITION S. \ : HITLER AND THE UNEMPLOYED "The Dutch' are a clean, picturesque but not handsome people; the Germans are full of national spirit -and keeii to make their nation a first- : rate power; the Belgians are slovenly, dirty, and extreniely nondescript; the Austrians are courteous, healthy and extremely interesting people, although they are filled -with the same national spirit as the Germaris." These are the chief impressions of a tour of Europe by 'Flying Officer L. E. Jarman, of the Royal Air Force. In letters to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Jarman, of Christchurch, he comments vividly; on the remarkiable enthusiasmi for Hitler and the Nazi movemept that he found in Germany. Flying -officer Jarman, with another officer of the Air Force, spent his leave travelling to many parts of Europe hy motor-car, visiting Holland, Belgium, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. "We found Germany very expensive, and Belgium and Holland almost as expensive, but Austria was comparatively cheap. . . . The whole trip cost me exactly one month pay, and cost much less than if I h'ad had to amuse myself in England for the same time," he writes. The travellers camped out a good deal on their trip. Holland is an extremely pretty country, and one is struck immediately -by the spotless streets and freshlooking paint and the tiles on the houses. The roads are of cobblestones, but quite smooth, and there were road signs everywhere. Everything looks- very prosperous — fat people, iat cows, good crops, and dozens of windmills. The food is excellent and the hotels very comfortable." "Practically all the Bavarian towns have walls around them, and the villages have a sort of totem pole, with figures and small houses built on them. We climbed to the top of a tower to see the country, but as it had been built in 900 we did not feel very safe." "Here we saw a great deal of the Nazi movement, and met crowds of the unemployed army working in the fields. Hitler has tackled his unemployment problem by marshalling them into armies, providing each man with a uniform, and paying each two marks a day. They have to work six hours a day under strict discipline. Everyone is scared of the Brown Shirts, and it seems they have a pretty tough type of man in their army. But you do not see any thing of the pre-war type of German officer." "We were lucky to amve (at Wurzhurg) in time for one of their festivals and also a Nazi demonstration. The festival was great and extended along the whole length of the river, everything being lit with rows of electric lights. One of the main features was a display of gynnastics given by gii'ls on aero wheels on a large platforrn in the middle of the river." "At Muni-ch we went to a kinema, and everything was Hitler and his Brown Shirt brigade. The main film was very good, but the h'ero was in the Storm Troops. It was very dull, as it poured with rain and the outdoor cafes were closed." "The Austrians are extremely friendly. The Customs officers gave us maps of roads and were extremely helpful and obliging. The Austrians are very worried about the Hitler movement in Germany, and everywhere you see crowds of Austrian soldiers, apparently ready for a movement to the frontier. At present there are army manoeuvres going on in the Bavarian Alps, so the Austrians are being fully prepared." "Yesterday we went to Krimmel and from there climbed to the top of the waterfall, about 2000 feet, and ■stood on th'e ridge with one foot in Italy and the other in Austria. We shouted cheerio to Mussolini before we started down." "The Hitlerites are still having great fun here. Yesterday they blew up a railroad just outside Salzburg. They are having a political demonstration here to-night and to-morrow, and hundreds of soldiers seem to have sprung out of the ground. Carl, the youn-g count, thinks that Austria will be fighting before the spring, but that seems unlikely to me, as they have no navy or air force."

"I like the Continental idea of dancing. You do not pay any entrance fee to the hall. They make the^r profit on -the drink you consume, and if you want a cheap eveni ig ycu only order a coffee, equivalent price in English money being about 9d. As it is all on the caharet style you have your own table."

- I "While I have been writing this news has come through that the Nazis -have burnt all the property and the hall -belonging to the Austrians who give the « famous passion play every summer. It seems -a bit tough."

"We made a dash to Vienna over the week-end. . . . Last night we went over th'e border to Lindow, where we went to a Storm Troop demonstration. The feeling runs very Kigh btween the Germans and the Austrians, and it is very noticeable here, which is only a few hundred yards from the border. MachinegUns are mounted on the roofs- of several buildings in Brebenz to combat -German aireraft which drop pamphlets in Austrian territory."

"Heidelberg is an extremely old city and noted for its wonderful architecture in buildings and bridges. . . . There seems to he a headquarters of the Storm Troops here, as hands of them are m-arching • through the streets from early in the morning to late in the evening. They .

seem very well disciplined and always sing when they march." "The west of Germany must be very poor, as all the villages were dirty and dilapidated. The people look altogether different from the southern German and everywhere there are signs of poverty. Coblenz, 011 the other hand, seemed very rich. The cafes were full and the people seemed contented. It is a stronghold of Hitlerism, and when we were there on a Sunday we saw thousands of the Brown Shirts." "The Boy Scout movement h'as been banned and a junior Storm Troop organisation instituted. They were having a big day at Boppard when we passed through and one is struck by the tremendous national feeling. On their return to Coblenz the Storm Troops marched behind bands playing the 'Hail Hitler' song, and civilians joined in the march until the column was several miles long." "Belgium g-ives -one a very unfavourable impression from the first. Th'e German Customs officers in smart uniforms were very courteous and efficient, but the Belgian ones were dirty and unshaven and wanted to he tipped. The people are a peculiar type — small, thin-faced men and hefty women." "The night at Antwerp was very interesting as we visited several cafes and listened to the various artists giving their cabaret shows. . . The only traces of the war that one can see in this part of the world are the ruined fortresses at Liege and th'e fortifications round Antwerp. Everything else looks as if no war took place."