Evening star., 1942-01-11
Unusual Step Taken
By Germans 10 Deny
Reports Of Unrest
Measures Coincide With
Admissions of Gravity
Of Situation in Russia
(Continued From First Page.)


Fuehrer, showed that the winter
campaign In Russia Is written of
by the German leaders as lost.
In every available quarter, mean
while, the German Army launched
a recruiting drive in the hope Of
building a fresh force for tthe
planned spring offensive. Highly
reliable advices said that because
of German losses and the need for
a far greater army in any new push,
this drive had spread into Bulgaria.
the occupied Baltic States and even
into Norway.
Attack by German Paper.
The recruiting campaign, per-
haps, prompted the German paper
in Norway, Deutsche Zeitung In
Norwegen. to attack Sweden for not
aiding Finland and for banning
expectation of clothing which Ger
mans in Sweden wanted to send to
the Russian 'front.'
AS far as the internal German
situation goes, it is known here
that the first great German failure
in the east inspired feelings Of con-
Germ and unrest at home. However,
the correspondents who were called
from their beds to hear telephoned
denials of reports of an imminent
state of revolution said it was quite
apparent that there was no evidence
of such a thing in Berlin, and the
best information obtainable else
where is that no organized effort
to revolt exists or Is likely to exist
soon.
Yet, the correspondents expressed
surprise that the drastic form Of
denial was deemed necessary in the
Wilhelmstrasse.
In making its denials, the Foreign
Office blamed the reports on British
and American sources. Today the
Berlin radio, quoting the Berlin cor
respondent for the Rumanian news
paper Timpul, said that "rumors Of
growing dissatisfaction in Germany
"''were launched in the hope of in
fluencing the forthcoming confer
ence (of American foreign minis
ters) at Rio de Janeiro." BY in
direction, the broadcast said the
rumors had it that machine guns
were mounted on the roofs of Berlin
hotels, adding that Rumanian jour-
nalists in Germany could them
selves see that this was not true.
Try to Convince People.
Germany's fountain-headso of pub
lie information appeared to be try
ing to convince Germans that they
were talking frankly about what IS
going on in Russia.
DR.. Otto Dietrich, Hitler's press
chief, told newspaper readers in a
universally-published article that
German military operations "have
entered an extremely serious and
indeed critical phase" He asked
the people to remember that the
Fuehrer had led them to victory
In the past land urged them to be-
lieve that he would do so again.
Der Fuehrer will know how to
overcome this crisis" DR.. Dietrich
said.
ct was DR.. Dietrich who, last
October 9, announced that Soviet
Russia was militarily finished as
the result of Hitlers last great
decisive" battle of 1941 at
Bryansk and Vyasma. line now
threatened by the Russian coun-
te-offensiveD
Echoing DR.. Dietrich, the i'm
portant Deutsche Allgemeine lei
tung said the toughness of the Rus
sian enemy and the cruel Russian
winter "necessitate the last grain Of
physical and moral courage from
our soldiers"
Increasing information from reli-
able sources tells the story behind
all this.
Brauchitsch's Plan.
It is that the Nazi Army troubles
began when Hitler impatiently over
ruled his then commander IN chief,
Field Marshal Walter Won Brau-
chitsch, who presented a plan for
withdrawal to the Berezina River,
nearly 400 miles west of Moscow,
before the real winter set in.
The Fuehrer insisted on pressing
ahead Won Brauchitsch resigned
and other officers declined to take
the responsibility for a winter
struggle on the icy Moscow ap-
proaches. Hitler himself took over
the army command
But by that time it was too late.
Winter set in in full fury before the
construction of barracks was begun
in mid-December. The continued
Russian offensive forced abandon
ment OF a number OF winter quar-
ters' which, Berlin dispatches have
admitted, were modelled after Rus
sian peasant huts.
Subsequently, the German bases
were moved much farther back than
had been planned. Riga dispatches
have told of the communicating of
all available houses, buildings and
rooms for the German military,
despite the presence of typhus In
that Latvian area.
Today, German agency dispatch
saw fit to deny that Germany IS
building defense line on the Oder
River-well within Germany, par
alleling the old Polish border.
Snag in Turkish Offensive.
Perhaps equal in importance to
the stalled German drive in Russia
were indications that Na1 plans
for political or even military pres