Evening star., 1942-12-13
BY LOUIS p. LOCHNER.
BY the Associated Press,

BY LOUIS P. LOCHNER.
BY the Associated Press.
HIBBING, Mimi, Dec. l2.-Hitler
is having a bad case of nerves.
That is the outstanding impress
sion one gains from his sensational
shake-up of the German high COM
mand.
He can stand only yes men"
around him. Anybody who oares
cross his path jars his overstrung
nerves.
Gen. Franz Halder, the displaced
chief Of the army general staff, and
Marshal Walther Won Brauchitsch,
dismissed as the army commander
in chief a year ago, were unwelcome
to him because they dared warn
the great super -generalissimo.
SO he seems decided once and for
all to surround himself with men
who indorse his lunches and follow
him blindly.
Gen. Kurt Zeitzler hitherto has
given no proof that he can do better
than his predecessors. Gen. Ludwig
Beck, who resigned before the war
even started because he felt Ger
many was licked from the word
go" and Gen. Halder who dared
speak his mind and alone of the
top flight generals was not elevated
to the rank of field marshal.
Zeitzler's Loyalty Unquestioned.
1t is known. however. that ZeitZ-
ler's Affiliations with the Nazi party
are intimate. His personal loyalty
to Hitler seems unquestioned.
That Col. Gen. Hans Jeschonnek
is the announced chief of staff of
the German air force is no surprise
to persons who lived in Germany
He has been handling that job for
several years. Apparently he has
done we'll.
In fact, he is credited several
times with dissauding Reichsmar-
shall Hermann Goering from going
to the front at sporadic intervals
and ordering some spectacular air
attack without reference to its stra-
tegic value and then returning to
game shooting and other pleasures
of the Reich.
But Admiral Kurt Fricke is a sur
prise. I never heard his name be-
fore
1t is known. however. that Grand
Admiral Erich Raeder has been
aging rapidly under the strain of
war. Besides. there Is sufficient of
the old imperial officers tradition
in him to make it desirable to ap-
point AS his right-hand man some
one who may be presumed to be as
much as yes man as ZeitZler is
Determined to Play lunches.
The shake-up indicates that Hitler
is determined to follow his lunches
rather than sound advice of old
campaigners. How dangerous such
a procedure may prove to be is in
dicated by the disaster of following
his hunch when he abandoned the
idea of an invasion of England i'm
mediatelv after Dunkerque. or that
OJIlcI iuIlCIi VI attempting W tdhF
Stalingrad first and then proceeding
toward the Caucasus. instead of by
passing Stalingrad as Halder and
others urged.
The fact is Hitler has seer
Wrested from his hands the one
thing he was proudest of-the in
itiative In speech after speech. ir
communique after communique. he
boasted that ''gesetZ des handelns'
literally. law of action in
his hands.
In other words. he claimed hither-
to that the enemy throughout was
compelled to accept his challenge
Now the table is turned The United
Nations are doing the challenging
1t. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and
Gen Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
have wrested the law of action
from his hands.
Will Damage Morale.
That fact is of mcalcuable NOR.
al Importance. Hitler probably will
proye No moro able than Uas his