“BURNING QUESTION"

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 November 1943, Page 4

“BURNING QUESTION "

GOEBBELS ON BOMBING OF BERLIN “DEBASED FORM OF WARFARE” MORE DETAILS OF DEVASTATION (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.15 a.m.) LONDON, November 28. All neutral reports of the Berlin raid on Friday night indicate that it was intense, but not so heavy as the previous raids. Berlin was still burning on Saturday, according to eyewitnesses who have arrived in Sweden. The “Afton Tidn ingen's” Berlin correspondent reptorts that Friday's attack was concentrated on the central and western districts of the city. The Sie-mens-Schuckert electrical works were badly damaged. Mr Eric Nyhovd, Swedish representative of Siemens, said the entire district around the Mittellstrasse was destroyed and the Stettiner Station wiped out. The Reich Chancellery was the only building remaining in the Wilhelmstrasse. Another traveller said he saw groups of people in the streets of Berlin praying and singing hymns. The “Allehanda’s” Berlin correspondent states that 500,000 Berlin people have been rendered homeless. The thoroughfares of the Tauenzienstrasse and Kurfuerstendamm have been completely ruined and the Westkreutz Station badly damaged. Huge fires broke out in the Charlottenburg area. The correspondent added: “Three or four more such bombings and no Berlin will be left."

Travellers arriving in Malmo from Berlin said Berliners were in a trance. A single thought possessed everyone—hew to get out of Berlin. One traveller said that from the important industrial districts of Spandau and Siemenstadt, 100,600 war workers so far had left the capital, ..despite ..an order prohibiting war workers leaving the city. “The most burning" problem of all is the enemy air terror,” Goebbels told a meeting of German youth. He added: “The enemy is building false hopes on the outcome of this debased form of warfare. He thinks this is the way to break German morale and gain an easy victory. Preparations for reprisals are being made day and night, with feverish activity, and when one day they crash down on Britain the British people will be able to thank those attacking our peaceful cities and raining fire, devastation, suffering and death on our women and children. This is the most painful, but also the greatest time in our history. Now, among blood and tears, a new Reich is in the pangs of birth and is being consolidated. It is now the German capital's turn. The enemy smothers it with high explosive and incendiary bombs, giving triumphant expression to the hope that the population will collapse under the strain. The enemy wants our unconditional capitulation, the result of which would be that our lives would be held forfeit and, our men turned into labour slaves. No situation is conceivable in which we could decide on such an act of desperation. We oppose against these destructive designs an unbreakable will to resist. The world has passed judgment on this method of warfare and the German people answer it with burning hatred.” BOMBS DROPPED AT ONE PLACE IN ENGLAND. NO DAMAGE OR CASUALTIES. (Received This Day,' 10.50 a.m.) LONDON, November 28. It is officially stated that: “There was slight enemy activity over south-east England today. Bombs were dropped harmlessly on one place.