Evening star., 1942-05-18
Out of Axis Europe

from American newspapermen in
termed with our diplomats since Ger
many and Italy declared war on the
United States last December. For
more than Ave months the American
public has had almost no reliable
information on conditions and senti-
ments In the Axis nations, which
have been Theoretically sealed from
the outer world. We have had to
content ourselves therefore with what
could be picked up from occasional
neutral travellers. eked out by sur
mise and deduction from the few
European listening posts which re-
main.
Now, however, we have the first
hand impressions and analyses Of
highly trained American observers,
most Of them long resident in Axis
lands. To be sure, they were prompt
ly sequestered in more or less polite
custody after the outbreak Of formal
hostilities, but they could read Ger
man and Italian papers, and they
had certain personal contacts from
which their skilled faculties could
learn a good deal. They thus have
much that is worth while to tell us.
And most Of 1t is not only revealing,
but also distinctly encouraging.
Both Germany and Italy are por-
trayed as under great and growing
war strain, with public opinion de-
pressed and anxious about the fu-
ture. AS might have been expected.
Italian popular psychology is much
the more disheartened. Mussolini
is depicted as having lost all his
former popularity, with the whole
Fascist regime hollow shell-inefn-
cient, corrupt, and kept functioning
chiefly by the Nazi grip that has
fastened upon the unhappy country.
In Germany, the Nazi regime is not
yet so generally discredited, but Hit
Ter is shown to have made several
bad mistakes in his handling of the
German people, and Propaganda
Minister Goebbels has likewise pulled
some bad boners. What keeps the
German people rallied to Hitler and
his henchmen is chiefly fear-fear of
the Gestapo and fear of what might
happen to a Germany defeated and
disarmed by vengeful enemies.
One of the most interesting phases
Of these inside stories Is the lack Of
genuine hostility toward America
felt by the average Italian or Ger
man, combined with respect for this
country's power and apprehension
at what it may eventually accom-
pliSh IN the war. The Italians are
described as ready to welcome an
American invasion, though they
dread the consequences of Russian
victory. Fear and hatred of Com
munism are shared by Italians and
Germans, and similar sentiments in
cline French conservatives toward
some measure of Axis collaboration.
All this is extremely heartening by
showing us that our troubles are
much less than those which our foes
are enduring 1t likewise reveals
possible breaking points in Germany
and Italy as the war strain becomes
more severe. Yet we should not
delude ourselves into imagining that
either Of the Axis peoples is likely to
revolt spontaneously and overthrow
the Nazi and Fascist regimes from
within. All the reports OF our lib
Grated correspondents stress the
ruthless power Of those tyrannies
and the helplessness of disarmed ci-
villains to do anything positive SO
long as the armed might of their
oppressors remains unbroken. The
enemy Is still strong, and the armies,
navies and air forces Of the United
Nations must first do their work. But
once severe defeats and attendant
hopelesSness have shaken the Axis
armies, the inner fronts" may crum-
BILE in surprising fashion. The dis
integration of Axis popular morale
obviously has begun.