“DIVINE ORDINANCE”

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20958, 10 November 1939, Page 5

“DIVINE ORDINANCE”

HITLER’S NARROW ESCAPE REGARDED AS A MIRACLE DETAILS OF THE DEAD (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright! (Received Nov. 10, 1 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 9 It is officially stated in Berlin that eight people were killed and 29 injured by the explosion.

The dead include two Storm Troopers who were members of the beer hall putsch, a woman cashier, : a waiter at the beerhall, two members of the broadcasting staff and two others, all party members. An official statement says that Hitler’s escape was a miracle. The time for his speech was advanced half-an-hour owing to the short time available, and he spoke for only fifty minutes, instead of the , customary ninety minutes. Then he did not follow his usual custom of chatting with old comrades, but dashed to the station. The statement concludes:— “It was Divine ordinance that Hitler missed the explosion by only eleven minutes. If the meeting: had followed the usual routine all the party leaders would have been victims. The ceiling fell on the spot where they had been sitting, and it is now piled with ruins ten feet high. Private individuals donated 100,000 marks, increasing the reward to 600,000 marks. Several arrests have been made. The cables arriving at the Chancellery congratulating Hitler on his escape include messages from Queen Wilhelmina, the King of Italy and Signor Mussolini.