Evening star., 1942-06-10
Germans Are Praying
For HiiIer's Defeat,
Lochner Declares
A. P. Writer Says Hitler
Is Not 'InfoIIibIe Genius
He Is Cracked Up to Be-
vy the Associated Press.

1y the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, June l0.-Along
with the rest of the world, the
German people themselves will be
happier for the defeat of Hitler,
according to Louis p. Lochner, vet
eran Associated Press correspond
! ent who headed the A. P.'s Berlin
Bureau for Is years.
In q radio talk last night, Mr..
Lochner, who returned to the
United States last week after five
months internment, declared the
German people are praying for de-
liverance from the most German
German that ever held sway over
them"
Hitler, he said, "is not the in
fallible genius he is cracked up
to be-"
Let that hesrten every American
soldier" said the 1888 winner of
the Pulitzer prize for distinguished
foreign correspondence. HE Is 60
ing to be up against tough propo-
sition when he runs into the Hitler
war machine, but Hitler can be
beaten, must be beaten, will be
beaten.
Landing Held Possible.
mot only the rest of the world
will be the happier for 1t, but first
and foremost the German people
themselves"
Describing trip to the Belgian
and French coast in autumn Of
1910, Mr.. Lochner said it opened
our eyes to the speed with which
the Hitler machine was trying to
condition this area against a later
revisit by United Nations troops, +"
and added:
Il will only say that. from what
I saw, feel sure that a landing
by the United Nations is quite pos
sible."
Recalling his trip into Poland in
September, 1889, Mr.. Lochner said
Il then became aware for the first
time-and everything that I ex-
perienced later confirmed that i'm
pression-that a modern army, to
be worth anything at all in modern
combat. must be supported by air.
craft, and more aircraft, and still
more aircraft"
! Mr.. Lochner described his visit
to the western front and his in
spection Of the so-called Siegfried
line That same autumn.
Warned Of Mani Strength.
THE articles I wrote then en-
bodying my layman's judgement of
what was going on in the west des-
pite the seeming lull in operations
was not the sort Of stuff that many
Americans wanted to read" said
Mr.. Lochner Many Of my COM
patriots put me down as pro-Nazi
when I warned them Of the efficacy
Of the German war machine.
My friends. it wasn't because
liked that uncanny and at first
seemingly invincible war machine
that wrote about it In detail" Mr.
Lochner explained But because I
wanted my fellow countrymen to be
prepared, and because I hoped that
my French colleagues in the United
States would pick up some Of my
observations and cable them back to
their Partisan papers"
Mr.. Lochner said that during his
various trips to the German western
front "the thing that I felt instinc-
lively during my first Polish trip be-
came fixed conviction: German air
superiority at that time was one Of
the vital factors in determining the
success of Nazi arms"
"It was the German air force which
directed the artillery fire and the
battle generally by wireless where
was the Allied air force? We kept
asking in our dispatches, thereby
again earning the undeserved title
| Of pro-NazD: it was the German
air force which spotted every ad-
vancing Dutch. Belgian and espe-
cially French column, miles and
miles before they were anywhere
near the points assigned to them; 1t
was the air force which with
its screaming, screeching Stukas
wrought havoc in the advancing
columns Of opposing troops"