Evening star., 1941-05-05

the Reichstag session, was q picture
Of Nazi enthusiasm, but rain re-
duced the crowds IN the street and
q solemn note pervaded. Reichs-
marshal Hermann Wilhelm Goering
opened the proceedings with trib-
ute to members who died since the
last meeting and, Hitler stood with
bowed head.
War Made Personal Issue.
The Fuehrer, looking ft but
coughing little as he spoke, rallied
at Mr.. Churchill. making of the
war personal issue as never before.
He called the British Prime Minis
ter "the most ploodthirsty amateur
strategist history has ever known"
"a madman," and n hopeless dab
bier in strategy"
IF another man had experienced
as many defeats as a politician, as
many catastrophes as a soldier. he
would not have remained in once
six months" the Fuehrer asserted,
unless he also possessed the sole gift
which Mr.. Churchill possesses,
namely the gift of lying with a pious
expression on his face, and of dis
torting the truth until finally glori-
GUS victories are made out Of the
most terrible defeats"
He accused Mr.. Churchill of spurn.
ing German peace offers and of in
vo1vipo ipnoropt ~ afinpe ~ u,ar snA
asserted that British Intervention in
Greece constituted not only "ths
greatest strategical error of this
war" but "a betrayal of the Greek
people"
Reviewing the Balkan campaign,
Hitler made special point of de-
clarinG that "Mussolini never asked
me for single division"
He said 20 German divisions and
two divisions participated in
the fighting in Yugoslavia and
Greece and listed Nazi Army and
air force losses, "the smallest We
have had so far" as follows:
Killed-67 officers and 1904 men.
Wounded-1sl offlcers and 3,57l
men.
Missing-43 officers and ats men.
Against these figures, he placed
the number of captives taken by the
Germans at 5000 British, Australian
and New Zealand troops: 5000 Greek
oficerr and 100000 soldiers; 6,29S
Serb oficers and 337, 1854 soldiers. Ths
Greeks, he said, were released i'm.
mediately.
Worse Raids Predicted.
History's tribute TO the German
soldier, he said would be the simple
sentence: ITO the German soldier
nothing is impossible"
The everlasting truth" Of the
Balkan situation, he said, was that
Britain had promised too much and
done too little and although he made
no direct appeal to the British peo-
ple-his words were carried round
the world by radio-auditors here
gained the impression, that his
thoughts were an the vote Of conf
dence for which Mr.. Churchill has
asked this week.
Hitler predicted increasingly pow
erful raids on England and com.
mented that democratic leaders on
both sides of the Atlantic, support
ed by international Jewry, preferred
war to any program which might
restore peace"
The year 194l," he cried, will be
inscribed in history as the greatest
year OF the rise OF our nation" He
closed with declaration that Ger
many would not only survive this
war, but also the next millennium.
In the delicate field Of inter-
national relations, the Chicago Daily
News correspondent IN Berlin re-
ported two other interesting state
ments.
One referred In friendly fashion
to the realistic conduct" Of Turkeys
leaders. which. Hitler said. had pre-
served for that country its in
dependence Of decision. 1t did not
indicate whether Germany has re-
ceived permission for the passage of
troops should the Reich seek to 60
to Iraq's support.
The other was the linking Of
French commander in chief. Gen.
Maxine Weygand, whose African
and Near Eastern forces are still
one OF the unknown factors, with
those other leaders whom Hitler
blamed for the first attempt at
Balkan intervention last year.