The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-06-02
Once Master Psychologist
Dictator Loses Touch
Declaration of War Against
US. Shocked German People

literally cried when we made
our last, purchases or babe them
farewell. They all realized in
stinctivcly and from their recol-
lection of the war of l9l4-18
that Americas entry into the
war-forccd by Hitler himself
would spell the doom Of Ger
many.
Aboard the Drottningholm /
heard an elderly lady, a refugee
and obviously from Wurttem-
berg judging by her dialect, dis
cuss the war with an old man
whose speech indicated he came
from East Prussia.
THE war simply must end this
summer" the elderly woman
said. All the men from the front
who come home on furlough tell
us it is so terrible out East that
they won't have another winter
of it.
yes, that's the way we feel
up our way nodded the East
PruSSian.
SHOCKS MASSES
Adolf Hitlers declaration of
war upon the u mite d States
showed a similar miSgauging of
the psychology of the masses.
How explain Hitler's obvious
weakening in psychological I'M
derstanding?
There was a time when Hit
ler's senSibiliity in feeling out
his way with the crowds was
nothing short of unCanny. | have
seen him address soldiers, wom-
en-, agricultural workers, party
functionaires, little tradesmen. /
have seen him stand before high
brow academiCians and before
hundreds of thousands of COM
mon folk.
Invariably I was impressed
with Der Fuehrer'S ability to be
all things unto all men. Hitler
played with his audiences as an
orchestra conductor plays with
the members Of his musical en-
semble.
His meetings often reminded
one of the old revival meetings
Even the most hard-boiled SEEM
ed to get religion; i. e., the
Nazi religion Of blood and soil.
The whole stage management
for these meetings contributed
toward this mass psychology
the martial music played during
the hour or two before Der
arrival, the challeng-
ing slogans on huge banners
throughout the vast assembly
hall, the gradual arrival, on the
stagger principle: of the second
line Of Nazi leaders, then of the
top men like -GoebbelS,- Goering
Hess, Himmlcr, and finally the
n try, with search
lights playing upon his lone fig
ure. Of dolf Hitler himself.
After Hitler became chancel-
lor and later chief of state, he
could seldom extemporize but
had to read m port an { pro-
from prepare
copy.
Yet these speeches, too, during
the first six or seven years of his
showed a remark
able psychological understand
ing Of the German people.
During one Of my interviews
some years ago | said to the Ger
man dictator: we are all aware
that you owe a great part of
your success to your ability to
win over the masses of the peo-
pie by your personal appeal in
eXtemporancous speeches. Now
that you are the head of gov
you must write out
most Of your announcements.
Does that not Cramp your style. %
VISUALIZE PEOPLE
mot at all he replied
when l compose a speech, l
the people. l can see
them just as though they were
standing before me. l sense how
they will react
That was some years ago. To
day his speeches don't have the
same compelling power with his
hearers.
The explanation seems to lie
in the fact that Adolf Hitler now
lives in a cloud-world of his
own, high up on Mt. Olympus,
and that his contacts with the
real world are carefully filtered
b.. the Cotcric of Confidants
about him.
In short, Hitler no longer sees
his German people through his
own eyes but through the
strongly colorcd spcctacles of
his undCrlings.
These undCrlirEs permit Hit
Ter to hear only what they think
he should hear.
One German ambassador, re-
turning from his post to report,
told Hitler all he thought his
chief of state might be interest
ed i'm knowing abou. the Coun-
try TO which he was accredited
Before leaving HitlCr's study,
however, he presumed 10 put in
a good word for a friend who
had bpCn taken 10 \ CODCCutra-