Evening star., 1942-05-10

Although the Nazis loathe free press,
among the best sources OF information
about life inside Europe today are the
newspapers published under Nazi aegis
in the occupied countries. Some of
these papers have come into the hands
of British officials here. They are illu-
minating as to the nature of existence
under the new order and they also
make plain the distaste of the conquered
people for the conquerors and their
ideas.
In incomplete but meaningful Stories
the papers tell of Imprisonment for
the distribution of Bible leaflets, of Eu-
rope-wide Ghetto life for the Jews and
of severe economic oppression. Some of
the papers appear in German, and some
of them appear in the language of the
country where they are published
They demonstrate that even the most
unfree press cannot neglect all the actual
news. The best propaganda in the world
for the Nazis would be the news of supine
populations in the occupied countries
But they are not supine, and the papers
cannot so portray them. They reflect
an indomitable spirit of resistance.
"At Neervelp the farmers opposed the
confscation of cattle with knives and
forks, and the controllers were forced
to leave without the CATTLE" reports the
Nieuws Van Den Dag of Belgium. Later
gendarmes arrived and the farmers could
be prosecuted"
Nazis Sponsor Newspapers.
So the Flemish peasants are fitted un-
willingly into the new order, as reported
through German-controlled newspaper
published in Brussels
While it is National Socialist doctrine
to despise the free press, it is National
Socialist policy to sponsor newspapers
everywhere in Europe. Some of them
are written in the language of the coun-
try where they are published. Some of
them are written in German
Some Of these newspapers reach the
United States through diplomatic and
foreign official channels. They give us
the weird, nightmare picture of what 1t
is like today inside Europe" the darkest
continent in dark age. The items one
meets in these papers seldom relate a
whole story. What they serve to do is
light up dark Europe like a lightning
flash in way that enables us to get a
quick glimmer of understanding about
life under the Nazis.
The newspapers indicate that life in
Poland is subject to harsher controls
than in any other of the occupied coun-
tries. few items from the Polish press:
"A Polish woman called Maria Coral
czyk was executed on February 81. She
had been sentenced to death by a spe-
cial court at Posen on the day of her
crime. Goralczyk worked in a factory
and was summoned to the works office
to be given another Job. She quarreled
with a German woman official, whom
she seized by the hair and kicked"
Litmannstadter Zeitung, Poland, Feb
ruary %.
Other Cases Are Cited.
"A special court in Poznan sentenced
and condemned to death Pole, Mieczy-
slaw Przychodzki, for stealing a pair of
leather gloves and two pair of socks from
the articles collected for the army. The
accused was under detention for minor
odense and was temporarily employed in
sorting the articles collected. The same
court sentenced Nikolaj Janik, a Pole,
to 10 years penal servitude for stealing
Is cigarettes and 10 cigars from a fur
coat" Ostdeutsche Beobachter, Poland,
February IL.
"A special court in Wloclawek SEN
fenced to death Pole, Bronislaw Angus
tyniak from Kutno. The accused on hear
Ing that the Kutno Livestock Association
imported livestock at the end of 1941
to improve the stock in the Warthegau,
plotted with underground workers to
disable the animals, destroying the work
o, reconstruction in the German eastern
area" Litzmannstadter Zietung, Feb
ruary 6.
"A Pole, Josef Schmidt, from Sotrch-
nest, was sentenced to 10 years and 3
months strict penal servitude by spe-
cial court in Poznan He had requested
to be included in the German Volksliste,
but nevertheless carried on anti-G German
incitement propaganda. He invented