Evening star., 1943-05-09
Axis African Defeat
.Dooms Na1is1.Hopes.
For Swedish Support
American Propaganda
Brings New Regard for
United Nations Strength
BY BLAIR BoLLEs,
Star STAFF Correspondent.

slowly overwhelmed the Nazis' ener-
.getic and carefully planned effort
to convince the Swedes that Ger
many has right on her side and is
bound to win the war. The defeat
lof the Axis armies in Tunisia spelled
doom today for future Nazi propa-
ganda campaigns on this front.
American official propaganda is
spread through Sweden by a. staff
;of 43 men and women, IA of them
Americans. Their field headquar-
tiers" is beautiful red. brick house
on the edge of Stockholm, overlook
ang a quiet lake and green park.
fThe nature of the business going
,on in this retreat is revealed by a
radio tower surmounting it.
All occupied Europe's exultant
frame of mind at the prospect of
.release from the Nazi yoke is re-
tf1ected here today in neutral Swe-
den. For long time a population
here, uninformed about the strength
and determination of the United
Estates and her Allies, thought a
German triumph almost inevitable.
The only strength of the Axis In
Europe now lies in Germany itself,
and how long Germany alone, fac
ing serious revolts in occupied re-
gions and abandonment by its sat-
elites, can continue is the question
of the hour inside Europe.
i Nazi Swan Song Heard.
AS a swan song in Sweden, the
~; Iictc frin f0 fo1
Swedes that U-boat sinkings in the
Atlantic make Allied chances of vic
tory hopeless. A year ago this line
might have had some success in
SSweden. but those days are gone.
THE chief German agent here is
Minister Hans Thomson, the last
tprincipal Nazi diplomat to leave
Washington. He lives quietly. His
wife, who helped him in his Amer
dean intrigues, is not here.
The American story is told here In
close cooperation between the
Office of War Information and State
Department agents. The brick house
in the park is officially listed in
America as the Stockholm outpost
.of the Owl. The SWedes know it
las the press division of the Amer
lean Legation. Its chief is Karl
Jensen, Danish-born American from
wisconsin, who began his career as
an architectural pupil of Frank
Lloyd Wright.
American, British and Soviet rep
resentatives cooperate in publish
ing The United States Review -
prit ticl, y,
of news from Great Britain has the
largest circulation of any journal
in Sweden. 1t is distributed free,
but only to requesting subscribers
The weakest spot for the United Ma
tions in Sweden is the widespread
edistrust of Russia, which becomes
almost pathological.
sPress Visit to Us. Turned Tide.
Most OF Sweden, was fundament-
hlly ignorant offthe United States
when the propaganda outpost was
set up here in March, 1912, Ger
many was raining books, pamphlets,
magazines. newspapers and, news
stories .! into Sweden The ! tide
sturned with the. Uip to America Of
five Swedish newspapermen. ar
ranged by the United States Gov
,ernment. All last summer Swedish
newspapers carried long stories
about American power and spirit.
The Owl supplies Swedish news
papers with news and encourages
evide private collection of American
sneWs. -Four Swedish reporters are
snoW on the way to America for
permanent posts. The Owl has
arranged for the establishment of
radio photograph reception in
kStockholm. The. reception will be
managed by private concern here
The fortnightlv magazine Kontakt,
published by the Owl outpost, ap-
pears on the Stockholm newsstand
kiosks. 1t is sold, not given away
free. Efforts are being made now
to obtain American advertising for
Kontakt., Kontakt's circulation is
1000. The Owl met the U-boat
story with special pamphlet on
transport, saying that United States
production and shipbuilding are in
domitable. 1t emphasized the worth
of conveys and plane patrols over
the seas where U-boats lurk.
Stockholm Is European Window.
Mr.. Jensen manages what amounts
to a publishing house with a large
photo service mimeograph machines
and offset presses. The presses are
in the basement where the SWIM
Inning pool once was. The pool is
tcovered for the duration. The house
;was bought by the United States
for the American Minister'S home,
.but Herschel Johnson. the present
minister. will live in an apartment
,until the war ends.
The outpost uses Stockholm as a
window TO Europe. II collects in
formation that comes from the bel
.ligerent parts of the continent, This
information. sent to America after
wards. includes the latest German
shandbookS on war surgery. The ma
,-terial poured In by the Germans to
;swing the Swedes is useful for us.
A young architect sitting beside
,re at dinner last night said the Ger
.man propaganda was impressive in
tits early stages because the Swedes
,admired its technique. but gradually
they were. impressed by the United
Nations spirit as quality of far
,greater value and meaning than
technique. Movies like Mrs. Min
liver helped the Swedish under
standing of the Allied spirit.
The Swedes remain Fundamentally
neutral, however, in propaganda as
ELSEWHERE. The censor refused tc
..permit 3 showing of Orson Welles
s"Journey Into Fear because of the
implication that the Nazis are rats
sThe movie ''The Moon Is Down" is
being held up. It shows German
.brutality in Norway 1t ran here as
"a play but Norway was not men,
etioned specifically in the John Stein
abeck script.
:Bondsmon Harry james
.Aeke n:v@s>o AI:l> c..