Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-08-15
Observers Fear Effect on Redsai0
Of Peace Offer if Hitler Falls
BY Constantine Brotcn,

Inc most important meeting between
the American and British military and
political leaders is scheduled to take
place in the very near future. We have
reached vital crossroads of the war
and political considerations again are
overshadowing military problems.
From developments of the last month
it is obvious that President Roosevelt,
Prime Minister Churchill and their tech
nical advisers will have to decide
whether the tentative plans agreed on
during the last meeting in May in Wash
ington can continue, or whether our en-
tire military and political strategy will
have to be revamped.
Developments in the Reich in the last
10 days have attracted more attention in
Washington and London political circles
than appears on the surface.
Of the Axis two European members,
one, Italy, can be considered as having
disappeared from the scene. Germany
is left entirely alone to defend herself
against powerful combination of
forces.
The Reichs political leaders have
failed altogether. Hitler's "hunch STRAIT
egg" has brought relative disaster to
the Webrmacht.
In short time we probably shall hear
reliably that the Fuehrer has disap-
peared and in his downfall he is bound
to drag all those closely associated with
him since the days of the Munich beer
hall putsch.
But Hitler is only an incident in Ger
many-much more so than Mussolini
was in Italy
Stooge for Military.
In the finally analysis Hitler was the
stooge of the military and the junkers
who 10 years ago did not have enough
behind them to create the new Reich.
His advent to power was due to many
circumstances. The help received from
the old Reichswehr was not the most
insignificant of these circumstances
Hitler was accepted by the army and
the junkers but he was never adopted by
that ultra-a ristocratic and militarist
caste which has ruled Prussia and later
Germany since the days of Frederick the
Great.
Even in the heyday of Hitlerism Amer
leans who used to be in close touch
with the army men noticed a sarcastic
smile every time Hitler was mentioned.
The war gave these men their chance.
Had Hitler succeeded he would have
continued to remain in power but he
might have had to summon the support
OF the military caste to organize his
world empire.
/ But from the day he failed the Army
stepped in and decided to take over the
responsibility of government
No revolution, no upheaval in the
Reich, not even the disastrous defeat of
the last war, managed to shake the hold
OF these professional soldiers on the peo-
pie of Germany 10. ~.
Communism failed Numerically soon
after the downfall OF the monarchy be-
cause the generals did not approve OF 1t.
The masses in Germany followed the
philosophy Of their military men rather
| than the philosophy of those who wanted
to make the Reich either a Communist
state on the Russian pattern or a real
NCahoSi dCy dS was pIOFlucu Dy L11S WeI-
mar Constitution.
Germany accepted Hitler He was a
silver-tongued demagogue. The army
saw in this starry Austrian the man
who could rouse the masses as the gen.
erals could not do and re-establish the
Reich as military power, which he did
Plans Amateurish.
His strategic plans were amateurish
The early victories of the German forces
in Poland, Norway, the Lowlands and
finally in France were due mostly to the
utter lack of preparedness of Germany's
antagonists.
In Russia things were different. The
Soviet had been preparing for war for a
much longer time than the Reich. The