Evening star., 1943-02-14
BY LOUIS p. LOCHNER.


Is Adolf Hitler dead, as limited at
In various dispatches since January
80, the 10th anniversary of the
Fuehrer's accession to power?
The goings-on within the hier-
archy of the Nazi party have always
been difficult for the outsider to
figure out. Hence, fatty to deny
the possibility of the German chief
of states demise would be unwise.
Anything may happen in the Nazi
setup.
At the same time, the probabilities
do not point in that direction. Her.
mann Goering was publicly desig-
mated by Adolf Hitler as his sue
cessor in his speech before the
Reichstag on September l, 1899. in
forming the nation that the war
with Poland had started.
Goering Held Unsafe"
Now, Goering has many enemies
among the big-wigs of his own
party. BY many of them he is re-
garded as not quite safe" from an
theological point of view. The men
In Hitler's confidence who are Nazis
first and Germans second do not
believe that Goering is determined
to uphold Nazi philosophy at all
costs. Il determine who Is a Jew
and who Is not" was his way of
meeting the Nazi racial issue. And
Goering still insisted on a Christian
baptism for his only child, Edda.
1t follows that Goering would have
to seize power by blitz movement
before his enemies in the party
could execute a countermove. There
LIS no evidence that he has seized
power. Also, vain, expansive man
like Goering would hardly refrain
from telling the world that he is
now the top boss.
To me it does not seem to make
sense that the Fuehrer could be
dead all this time without Goering's
giving evidence of his new rank.
One wonders also whether Joseph
Goebbels as propaganda minister
would let an opportunity of Hitler's
death slip by without arranging
for the mos impressive obsequies
ever staged in Germany. The vir-
tual deification of the Fuehrer, his
formal induction in Valhalla and
the conservation of his burial place
as national shrine would be just
the sort of thing that Goebbels
would regard as Al propaganda
material for stirring up the Nation
to a last heroic effort to win the
war.
Fuehrer Might Be Sick.
There is, of course, something de-
cidedly queer about Hitler's failure
TO address the Nation personally on
the occasion of his 10th anniversary
AS chancellor The mildest inter
probation is that he suffered from
one of his periodic fits of depression
as well as he might after Stain
grad, which he would never let go
again" had proved such debacle.
1t also may be that he is a very
sick man, either physically or mem
tally. There has never been doubt
in my mind but that sooner or later
Hitler would crack up.
In such an event, Goebbels may
we'll have staged the unusual -four
days of mourning for Stalingrad"
as a sort of dress rehearsal for an
even more important act of mourn
ing that he expects to be in the off,
ing.
All this is speculation. however.
From the viewpoint of the war effort,
by far the best view to take is to
assume that Hitler has once again
relapsed into one of those creative
pauses" of his during which he
weighs lunches Of his own and
practical advice by his henchmen
against each other. Even that,
however, does not explain away his
strange absence at the decennial
exercises.
Assumptions Dangerous.
II we assume he is dead, mortally
or seriously i'll, or even in an alb
ject state of depression. there is the
danger of our relenting in our war
effort. of assuming that the situation
will now take care of itself in Ger
many.s
Nothing could be more dangerous.
For, Hitler or no Hitler, for while,