Evening star., 1941-10-05
Hitler Speaks

iiikiS' SR~eNS
After eight months of silence, Adolf
Hitler has made a public address.
That, in itself, is noteworthy, but the
significance of his words is height
ened by the circumstances under
which they we're uttered as we'll as
by their content.
The immediate occasion was the
start of the annual autumn drive for
funds for the Winterhelp, an elabo-
rate organization for the relief Of
civilian poverty and suffering during
the winter season. The NaziS always
make lot of this charity campaign,
which is one of their chief bids for
popular favor. The place chosen for
the address by the Supreme Fuehrer
Of the Third Reich was the Sports
Palace. huge auditorium that is the
Berlin equivalent of New York's
Madison Square Garden. The au-
dience was handpicked aSsemblage
of Nazis, some 10000 strong. 1t was
thus strictly party affair. The gen.
eral public was not invited. Indeed,
no advance notice was published in
the press as to where and when the
meeting was to be held-perhaps to
avoid an unpleasant interruption by
the Royal Air Force. Likewise, the
speech was not broadcast to the
world. 1t was. in fact, a glorified
pep talk" addressed to. and in
tended for, the party and the Ger
man public.
Much of the speech consisted of
those assertions about the desire for
peace, baked by malignant interna-
tional forces, with which Hitler GUS
tomarily garniSheS his public ad-
dresses There were familiar boasts
about German bravery, efficiency
and general invincibility, which
would insure eventual victory. How
ever, Hitler was less optimistic than
formerly as to when that victory
would arrive. He plainly intimated
that the war would probably be
long one, and that hard ordeals still
had to be endured
The real meat of the speech con-
cerned Russia. Hitler obviously had
to say something about that, since
all Germany has been increasingly
anxious to have a word from the
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Perhaps the most interesting point
was the admission that the German
high command had no adequate idea
of the extent of Russian military
preparations This is revealing con-
firmation of the extraordinary Sc
crecy with which Soviet Russia has
cloaked its gigantic program of
preparedness. Every general staff in
the world will testify how impossible
it has been to get much definite in
formation on the Russian Army and
Navy. This in large part accounts
for the way they were minimized
by foreign military experts when the
Russo German war broke out. How
ever, it was widely believed that the
German high command knew more
about the matter than other general
stats, because, before Hitler, Russo
German relations were close, and
much of the Soviet's early prepared
ness program had been with German
counsel and technical assistance.
Yet the high command seems to have
been about as much in the dark on
present conditions as anyone else.
Hitler stated confidently that gil
gantic military operations which are
now in progress would hasten. the
crushing of an enemy that he de-
clared already beaten, in the larger
sense. That has a familiar ring.
Those military cOmmuniqueS whose
truthfulneSS Hitler so hotly defended
have made similar grandiloouent
| predictions before. Yet Russia con-
| tinues to fight, and the Fuehrer ad-
mitted the presence on the eastern
front of between five and six million
soldiers. This is indeed f1rst-hand
| testimony that the Russian campaign
is absorbing the bulk of Germany S
War-making strength, in both men
and equipment. And the end is not
| yet, despite what the Fuehrer may
| claim.