POOR CHRISTMAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 December 1943, Page 4

POOR CHRISTMAS

IN STORE FOR GERMANY APPEAL FOR FIRM STAND MADE BY GOEBBELS (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, December 22. “The German people this year will gather round a poor Christmas tree,” says Dr Goebbels in an article in “Das Reich.” “Much which formerly adorned this most German of all festivals has been lost during the war—the joy of children and the peace of our towns and villages. The war has entered its most exciting phase, and new surprises are daily sprung upon us. There are no signs anywhere that, the German nation, in an unguarded moment, will become weak. Nobody in Germany ever thinks of ending the war by such a premature finale. “We do not close our eyes to the fact that there are still many - " dark shadows on the Eastern Front. We think of Nevel and Vitebsk, where fresh Russian offensives have started, but the German people may rest assured that the German soldier will stick, whatever is in store for him. What he needs is to feel that an understanding home front is backing him.” The Berlin radio announced that the soldiers of the German and satellite armies and also the foreign workers in Germany will receive special Christmas rations of lib of pastries, one packet of tea, ,|lb of sweets, Mb of apples, and a quarter of a litre of spirits.