The claim was recently made by a Geman. radio propagandist that the chief virtue of German propaganda was its truth. It is a strange assertion considering the importance that Herr Hitler himself attaches to the lie sufficiently large enough to be ultimately convincing, but there it is, Delayed papers from home giving accounts of the naval action off Montevideo lin which the Admiral Graf Spee was so roundly beaten by three British vessels interior in farinament, also carry the story of the German propaganda that was issued in connection with that engagement. The German radio, on December 14, claimed that it was a glorious victory itor the Admiral Graf Spee, including the eubsequently disproved "truthful" allegation that ithe German vessel had only put into port be-Jcause "British gas shells might have con-laminated the food supply." The phraseology is interesting, for apparently the German broad-easter had not enough courage to utter the downright lo that the British had used gas shells but merely might have done—a Uly-ivered prevaricator if ever there were one, Amongst some of the other outstanding. high: lights of the Nazi account of the ersatz victory were the following—
"Watchers ashore saw the British cruiser Exeter shelled to pices by the salvoes of the Grat Spee. and the cruiser "Ajaoe fee.
The Graf Spee hod not only put the Exeter out of action but also had inflated heavy hits on the Achilles. and Ajax is, a Montevideo photographer Jaliowed on board the Graf Spec, told the Daily. Mail" correspondent: "It beats me how the ship's holding together. She looks as if she's been hit by the vengeance of God. Her turret ig smashed Into a mass of twisted steel and there are two huge shell holes right through the heart of the ship, from one side to the lother.... Her thick armoured plates are buckled Jand twisted until they look like a jigsaw puzzle.
course Mr. Lewis may have been handling Ihis facts somewhat indelicately, but as it is the Graf Spee which rests on the bottom of the sea fand the three British vessels still on the water, it really does seem that truthful as the German propagandists claim themselves to be it is a very negative type of truth obviously told with the intention to' deceive.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.