Hitler's Justice

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1942, Page 2

Hitler's Justice

Coming at the present time the appointment of a Nazi Party chief as Minister of Justice in the German Reich is an interesting development. In the words of Hitler, the new Minister is empowered to "build up in accordance with my directions a National Socialist system of administration and justice, and adopt all measures appertaining thereto." In doing so, the Minister may "deviate from the existing laws." This development follows four months after Hitler obtainea authority for such a move from a gathering of heiling yes-men in the Reichstag. The time-lag is significant of certain factors that were made apparent by Hitler's request to the Reichstag. The outstanding revelation of that speech was that Hitler was disturbed that judges in the Reich were acting with some independence. It was amazing, furthermore, that daily papers like the Berliner Borsen-Zeitung were at that time criticising the arbitrary methods of Nazi ' justice, observing that those methods undermined the confidence of the public. * * *

There was thus evidence that the Nazi Party was not having everything its own way with the judicial system of the Reich and it may be a measure of the opposition encountered in this quarter that four months have elapsed between the obtaining of Reichstag authority and putting the edict into practice. Be that as it may, the tightening-up of authority exercised by Hitler is suggestive ,of some thing very important and it certainly does not point to a happy state of affairs. That the present cruel laws and the Nazi regime of terror are fouiid to be not enough in Germany to-day is an intriguing circumstance and will give to the world outside the Reich food for much thought. , U.ndoubtedly, the development is a sign of severe internal strain and Hitler's action is an expression of his determination not to allow this to get out of hand. It would be wrong to interpret the move as a sign that German morale is likely to crack, but it is surely not wrong to infer that since Hitler deems further dragooning and repression to be necessary, the -war-lord himself hak his own opinion upon the strength of the morale of the German people. * * *

In this respect it is interesting that the past few weeks have seen a new trend in Nazi home propaganda, with Dr. Goebbels in the difficult position of eating much that he has previously said about the Russian campaign and forecasting another winter for the German army in freezing Soviet territory. It may well be, therefore, that the complete control the Nazis have taken over the law processes of the Reich are not unconnected with this unpleasant probability looming ahead. Hitler himself has always pressed the suggestion that the German armies were not defeated in the last war but were "stabbed in the back"

I by the collapse of the home front and he would naturally be chary of the strength of German morale if the full iovce of the fact struck home that the battles on the eastern front had not been decisive. If the dread spectre of 1918 has begun to swim before Hitler's vision, it is one good and sufficient re;»3on to explain the new methods of control he is imposing upon the German people. * # * Yet in the eyes of the Nazis the ordinary German citizen is small fry and might well be managed, it would Ise imagined, under the existing judicial system. It is possible, therefore, that Hitler aims at bigger fish. German industrial efficiency is high but it should not be overrated. There have been faults in organisation and procedure. There have been differences between industry and the Government over prices and the drastic cutting of profits ordered by the Government. Despite the employment of millions of war prisoners and foreigners there is a shortage of manpower in the Reich and the lack of foodstuffs, clothes and consumer goods was forcibly illus-

trated recently by the President of the Reichsbank, who complained that even if workpeople were offered more money they seemed to work less. All these symptoms of economic ill-health may require new measures to deal with persons of standing and important organisations adversely affected. To all the United Nations the evidence that all is not well inside Germany must give satisfaction, but it would be folly to assume that the enemy is not still immensely formidable. Instead, it would be wise to see the new plenary powers as an expression of determination by Hitler to wield his power to the limit and to the end. At the same time, thej;e is comfort to be drawn from the knowledge that Hitler's terrorism is confined to the Reich and territories under German control. It cannot affect the mounting war production of Britain and the United States which will one day relieve all these countries from the Nazi yoke.