The Wilmington morning star., 1943-11-08
By JOHN H. COLBURN

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ward losing the war, is fightln
desperately On the military an
diplomatic and propaganda front
to win an arbitrated peace.
- Whether the war in Europe end
January / or is still raging a
this time in 1914, there is goln!
to be new Europe" after SOM
of the most dramatic polltlca
maneuvering in history.
When the cease firing oroes
comes. jubilation over the end . :,
killing will be tempered by starr
realization that tremendous econo
mic and political difficulties still
remain.
These are my impressions attel
watching seven turnlng-poln
months of the war from this neu-
trail observation post.
In Sweden. where the town OF
Malnoe is a s31, two-hour plane
flight from Berlin, I've talked to
people from Europe, people WIN
close contacts in Germany and &C.
cupied territory. The most dltfl-
cult lob is to sift fact from runor.
Accurate information seeps OUT
Of Germany slowly. German agents
constantly plant propaganda
sometimes contradictory.
Although it costs only o5 cents
IN TELEPHONE Berlin from Stock
holm there's no possibility OF
checking rumors with Propaganda
Minister Joseph Goebbels or Doc
tor Schmidt, mouthpiece of the
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. if tAey's be
inclined to talk. And Foreign Min
lister Joachim Won Ribbentrop isn't
accepting calls to discuss Ger
many's diplomatic moves to split
the Allies.
When the war will end is the
most important question. The
answer boi1s down to how long
German morale-military and civil
lian-can stand losing the war.
Goebbels continues to pepper his
home front with victory propagan-
da, although it's been dulled by
repeated setbacks.
He frightens the Germans with
horror stories about the fate await
ing them if the Allies win.
Morale and defeatism are acute
problems, or Gestapo Chie1taln
Heinrich Himmler wouldn't be
welding the iron fist with such
death-dealing force, Nevertheless
the nation which spent six years
sirding for war and then enjoy
ed three years of overwhelming
victory, isn't likely to fold up COM
pletely in one year.
The war could end by Christ
mas-if the Germans could obtain
an artbitrated peace.
The Nazis not only spread ru-
mors about an arbitrated peace
but keep the subject alive in talks
One gauleiter in Austria said re-
Gently 1.-The Fuehrer is following
the policy founded on concrete re-
alities, not prestige"
Concrete reality for Hitlerite
Germany today is to try to avoid
an unconditional surrender.
One German industrialist VINO
visited Sweden recently said:
IF the home front holds and
war production doesn't lag too
much, we presumably can con-
tinue the war beyond our Dor
ders for at least 10 months.
"If we can repel the first In
vasion. we should be able to OBJ
tain fair (arbitrated) peace fol
Germany, but not for the Tnlro
Reich Naziism).
How will Germany crack? Whlcf
will come first-tl1e army surrend
er or the home front collapse?
Either or both situations coule
occur tomorrow. They won't be
cause military discipline On The
whole is still first rate. The ar
my is still fighting outside ths
Reich and Nazi leaders are still
in absolute control of the wob
bly, home front.
But German workmen do whis
per to foreign workers in wal
plants, '"go slow! 60 slow!" Five
men do the work Of one. Germans
are executed for their defeats
attitude.
German soldiers try to organic
mutinies in the army, desert ra
Their than 60 to the eastern front
They tell French prisoners the.
can't hold out after March. Tw'
hundred members of submarine
crews, stationed in Norway, arr
imprisoned for refusing to taxi
their U-boats to sea. One repor
says an entire U-boat crew wa;
shot as an example to men VIII
disobey.
Poor food, lack of clothing
crowded quarters due to the bomb
ing irk nearly 100000 homeless
people.
Those are positive signs of ba,
morale. But there are just as posi-
tive signs that the Gestapo and s.
still are in control and that mil
lions of Germans are still SUP
porting the war.
Nevertheless, morale is Gel
many's vulnerable spot and it ma
burst all bounds if the bombin
and war pressure are extended t
many parts of Germany - fror
R..ca;a