The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-01-04
Last Train from Berlin
 By Howard K. Smith
Continued from Page D

1 newspapers and on headings calling for fresh volunteers for the elite German infantry regiment Gross- deutschland. More and more little independent shops were shut and on their doors was hung the informa- tion: Closed because personnel called up."
 HIGH COMMAND
 COMNUNIQUES INCREASE
 For purely propagandist purposes the number of special High Com man dcommuniques" was increased. A High Command communique has features of Holy Writ which mili- tary. communique in no other land has. On the radio broadcasting news from Germany, I was never allowed to say the High Command communique claimed" any victory; that was sacrilege. I tried to use asserted" in the place of claimed but the censors ruled that out too: they said they could not allow even 8 shadow of doubt to be cast on any utterance of so indubitably truthful and authoritative a source as the High Command. Oyer the radio, High Command comnuniques are repeated each afternoon, slowly, three words at 8 time, and school children are required to write down every word. Now a Special High Command communique is still more important. It is not simply read out over the German radio. The announcer interrupts programmes to announce special colnmunique is coming, and repeats this prologue every five minutes until it comes. The SOndermeldung is preceded by a moment of silence, during which all restaurants and cafes are re- quired by law to turn up the volume of their radio sets SO that people on the streets, too, can hear; walters are forbidden to serve dur ing the broadcast, and patrons for bidden to chat until it is over. It is not an announcement; it is a religious service. After the silence comes a long drawn out fanfare of trumpets, and the rolling of drums with the strain of Die Wacha am Rhein surging up through the chatter. This lis repeated three times, then another silence. Then, in the voice of an apostle, the radio announcer sonorously reads: Prom the Fuehrer's Headquarters. Septem- Der the x, l94l. The Supreme Com mand makes known" followed by some item of news that is world quakng in its significance. In the past only such historic moments as the cracking of the worlds greatest single fort at Eben Emael by para chute troops, the occupation of Paris, the capture of Athens and Crete, have been honoured by inclusion in Sondermeldungen. But in Septem- Der, suddenly the number was in- creased, and the contents weakened. Every other day there was a special communique; every event, the cap- ture of every single town, was made the occasion for holy Mass. From the point of view of information, the communiqueS were pointleSs, for they were generally issued only an hour before the regular communique was published and in the latter the same information was contained. The fact was, people had lost interest and something had to be done to arouse them again. The strategy, of course, failed after the dilution became ap- parent, and despite law, people in restaurants went right on chatting and walters continued serving while the radio blared a SOndermeIdung.
 GERMAN MORALE OF l0al
 LOWEST IN NINE YEARS
 The graph of German morale struck, in the last days of Septem. Der. i94l, the lowest point 1t had reached in almost nine year of Nag domination. It was true that the troops of Hitler in the East were still advancing. But that is moi the point, the German people ars not interested in military triumph They have grown callous to thG capture Of towns. the encircIemenl Of armies, advances of a hundred miles In q few days. The only thinf German people were and are inter. ested In Is . decisive victory which brings the war vlsibly nearer tG an end. The German propaganda ministry had virtually exhausted itl psychological stFatagems. It beeasnI obvious that decisive victory, anG not propaganda EFaats was the Onl, remedy, and it was urgently neees, snry. The situation on [ Inc h0lnl front had truly grown serious. Tn campaigns running two months eve schedule had caused Q serious dFalG on home supplies. People were dan, geTously out Of sorts. Antl.Nazl slo gans were being painted on fence and buildings. Frank, written com, paints against too many war e, quences in the newFeelg, which hal been by far the best of pr. OOeb bels' propaganda weapons, were be Ing addressed to the RFopagand