FALLING MORALE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 October 1941, Page 6

FALLING MORALE

REPORTED IN REICH DESPITE SWEEPING CLAIMS IN RUSSIA. GERMAN PEOPLE APPALLED AT LOSSES. (By Telegraph— Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.20 a.m.) NEW YORK, October 16. “German morale is falling, despite the claims to sweeping victories in Russia,” says the “New York Sun,” which quotes unimpeachable sources in Berlin as authority for the statement that a feeling of futility is sweeping the country as newspaper death notices reveal the terrific losses suffered in Russia. German domestic propaganda overshot the mark with lies and promises of early victory. Dissatisfaction with the Nazi leadership is growing. The German people are aware of the intense hatred of the conquered peoples of Europe. They fear wholesale slaughter if the German army is removed from the occupied territories. Nazi officers are said to have helped Polish prisoners to escape in return for signed letters of gratitude. They hope these letters may save them when the crash comes. An American radio commentator, Mr Harry Flannery, who has returned after a year in Berlin, says there is a growiong tendency among the German people to doubt a Nazi victory. Losses on the Russian battlefields are having their natural effect. There is serious rivalry between the Army and the Nazi Party. Several secret radio stations have been attacking the party and lauding the military, but despite the conflict of factions there is no sign of an early revolt. Hitler seems to remain secure.

ARMS PRODUCTION HITLER STARTING NEW RACE. WARNING TO GERMANS. (Received This Day, 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, October 16. “Germans must not under-estimate British and American war production capacity,” warns the “Frankfurter Zeitung.” Germany, it adds, “must win the race for armament, for which reason Hitler has decided to aim at new records in the production of arms of all kinds. Hitler’s speech on October 2 has been misinterpreted. Germany may relax when victory is in sight, but it is not in sight yet.”