Evening star., 1941-09-06
(Fitth Of a Series.J
By JOHN T. whitaker,

BY JOHN T. whitaker,
Foreign Correspondent of The star and
Chicago Daily News.
Faced by a long war, will German
or American morale break first? If
Americans are not ponderlng and
studying this vital question, the
Germans are. That is why such a
large proportion of their available
gold is being poured into this coun-
try and South America. That is why
their agents have flooded the United
States. That is why they have taken
such far-reaching measures within
Germany to tighten discipline.
A wave of defeatiSm swept Ger
many in May and June. Cabinet
ministers trembled before the con-
sequences of the lease-lend bill
and the threat of Americas i'm
mediate entry into war. Simple men
and women feared the increasing
punch of British bombers as they
comprehended that marching to
England was song and nothing
more for the moment. In prepara-
ton for the invasion of Russia, Hit
ler and his generals cracked down"
In a few weeks Hitler shot 1000
and imprisoned al equal number OF
NaZi party members. / have no hg-
ures for arrests among non-Nazis;
they go on all the time. These men
weren't big shots, but sergeant
majors in the party organization.
They were arrested for lack of dis
cipline, too obvious corruption or
defeatism.
Sent Here for Study.
The arrest of Dr. Carl Boomer is
typical One of DR.. Paul Joseph
Boebbels' right hand men. DR..
Boomer was sent to the United
States to study in one of our best
schools of journalism. He combined
the soul of a gangster, first-rate
brain and an encyclopedia knowledge
of the weaknesses of Americans. For
some years now he has been virtual
ly the "chaperon" of American cor
respondents In Berlin. To fools
Boemer used to explain patiently
how Hitler loved America and how
the two countries could live together
as joint masters of the world. To
realists he used to explain what Hit
Ter would do when he mad conquered
America.
Boomer got drunk at a reception
in the Bulgarian Legation in Ber-
lin. He talked. A Gestapo agent
among the agents overheard him.
In mid-May DR.. Boomer said that
Hitler was going to invade Russia
in June, that Alfred Rosenberg
would become gauleiter for the
Ukraine and that he, DR.. Boemer,
would 60 out as Rosenberg's secre-
tary.
DR.. Boomer said he and Rosen-
berg expected to be in Kiev, capi-
tai of the Ukraine, July IS, which
is interesting incidentally as reveal
ing how the Russians subsequently
upset the German timetable. DR..
Boomer was placed in a concentra-
ton camp for this indiscretion. Less
fortunate Nazis we're shot in this
period for scarcely more.
This minor purge was carried
through by Rudolph Hess in his role
as Deputy Fuehrer. Though the in
dividuals purged were small fry and
not important in themselves, each
of them belonged to the gang of
some important NaZi In arresting
or shooting these men Hess touched
loyal henchmen of Goering, Ribben-
trop, Hirnmler and other big shot"
Nazis. My information from Ger
many indicates that Hess feared for
his own life because of his part in
this purge.
Organization frightened.
My sources believe that Hess fed
only to save his own life and that
any peace plan he may have car
ried he took on his own in an ef-
fort to ingratiate himself in Eng
land, where he mistakenly thought
| there were still individuals who be-
lieved in appeasement. The Duke
of Hamilton, poor man, had never
had any conversations whatever
with Hess, and he is anything but
an appeaser.
simultaneously with this disci-
plinary purge the Nazis tightened
their organizations in every key
city. In Berlin, for instance, all
| the tenants were suddenly routed
out of large apartment houses scat
tered throughout the city. Gestapo
and S. S. agents moved in and be-
gan a careful twice-daily check on
every household within the area.
Similarly the Germans began to
build new and deep concrete AFRAID
shelters all over the country. The
Germans are not going to like it
when the British get their own back
in raids through the coming winter.
These measures indicate to stu
dents of Germany not that morale
is getting worse, but that the Ger
man government is preparing to
make 1t better. Few observers who
know Germany intimately expect
for one moment that German mo.
rale will collapse. There is no en-
thusiasm for the war. There never
| has been. Germans aren't like that