Evening star., 1940-01-13
Britain Has Given
Germany War Aim,
GoebbeIs Declares
Explains Difference in
Propaganda Technique
Compared to 1914
By LOTHROP sTODDARD.


10000, 900 people when they should
have cup Of coffee!" The speaker
was DR.. Paul Joseph Goebbels.
Reichsminister of popular enlight-
enment and propaganda, who
granted this correspondent an ex-
elusive interview.
Sitting beside me in his palatial
office in the Wilhelmsplatz. DIR.
Goebbels warmed to his subject.
The reason for his Introductory re-
mark was the fact that an Arabian
prince had recently made present
of 100 sacks Of coffee to the Ger
man people. The gift had been i'm
mediately donated to the military
hospitals.
'Mr. Minister" I began, IT am
especially interested in meeting a
master psychologist like yourself
because I have felt that this was
primarily war of nerves in which
psychological factors may we'll be
the decisive ones. I have been in
Germany more than two months
and the thing that strikes me most
Is the great difference between the
popular mood now and in the last
war. There are no hurrahs, parades,
bands and flowers like in 1914"
Lacked Clear War Aim in IA.
"Thats right" he shot back quick
ly, land the reason is simple. In
1914 the German people did not
know what it was all about. They
had no clear war aim. Some French
iron mines! Get bit of Belgium!
Gott Strafe England; Slogans and
phrases! That's no way to wage a
war! And our rulers then could not
make them understand. They were
an aristocratic class out of touch
with the people"
And now?" I put in.
Now" he countered, 1--WE Ma
tionalist Socialists are men OF the
people. We know how our fellow
citizens think and how to make them
understand. But, really. the British
have done it for us. They have
given us our war aim by forcing the
war on us"
Meaning what?" asked.
Meaning this" he answered. 1--WE
made it clear to the British that
we did not want to disturb their
empire. We carefully kept our hands
of sore spots like India and Ireland.
Why. we even offered to give them
military guarantee Of their en-
plres integrity. But we made it
clear that in return they were to
keep hands off our sphere of in
presidential Europe. Well, they
would not have it that way. They
are trying to crush us. So this time
every German knows what it is ali
about"
Germans Dislike War.
"And is that why they are so quiet
about it?" asked.
Exactly" nodded DR.. Goebbels
with a quick smile. I'VE Germans
do not like this war. We think it is
needless and silly. The average
German feels like a man with a
chronic toothache-the sooner it is
out, the better. And he does not
need brass bands and flowers to get
1t over with. That's where our
aristocrats went wrong the last time.
They forgot old Bismarck's saying
that hurrah patriotism is not like
picked herring that you can put in
barrels and store away for years
Listen, if I wanted to get the Ger
man people emotionally steamed up,
could do it in "a hours. But they
don't need it-they don't want it. n
Then psychologically," I began
DR.. Goebbels cut in with sweeping
gesture.
'Psychologically," he answered
I'VE are away ahead. The last time
admit it was very different. Then
at crucial moment, both France
and England produced great men
Clemenceau and Lloyd George, both
men of the people. If we on our
side could have produced Bismarck
or a Hitler, we should have won
This time we have the right men
and the others have not. We Ma
tional Socialists understand pro-
foundly that it is the human being
who counts, not just material re-
sources. England is socially unsound
She is a Colossus with feet of clay
Furthermore, England has a mega
tive, defensive war aim. This time
1t is the British who talk in vague
phrases like aggression. What does
1t mean to the Tommy in the
trenches to tell him he is fighting
aggressors?
Have Little to Lose.
'The more you examine British
war aims, the more negative they
appear. The English admit they
have nothing tangible to get out o1
this war, but that they have a lot
to lose. We, on the other hand, have
very little to lose and a lot to win
Here we Germans are-80, ,000, 900 o1
us altogether. And right next to III
is our sphere of influence in Centra
Europe-everything under one roof
Sooner or later we massed Germans
are bound to get what we need. The
British, on the contrary, are spread
all over the map. They draw theil
resources from the four corners o,
the earth. Their empire is too dis.
persed, too artificial. They ART
bound to lose in the long run"
Then the British Empire"
began.
please understand" broke in Dr.
Goebbels. I'VE had no designs upor
it. We showed this clearly when w
made a naval treaty with England
limiting our fleet to one-third thei
size. In the face of that fact, an,
responsible German who might hav'
meditated an attack on the British
Empire would have been guilty O
criminal madness. It is only now
when England forces us to a life
and-death struggle, that we hit bacl
In every possible manner. All w
asked was that England regard us