Jan, 3.
Jan. 3.
Now that it is possible to ft the various reports concerning the severe raid on London at the beginning of the week together it becomes clear' that this was not a case of in~ discriminate bombing of non-military objectives in the city but a carefully calculated stroke. Roughly speaking the enemy aeroplanes seem to have endeavoured 1o cut a wide swathe through the City of London, commencing at Aldgate, taking in Lombard Street, Cheapside and ending up somewhere in the West End. It docs not appear that the whole of the German scheme was carried out, for unlike previous attacks, it stopped short at the dropping of incendiary bombs. This was not followed by a rain of high ex-
Hitler has'issued a New Year proclamation. plosives as has formerly been the case, but Is the usual mixture to be expected from it is apparent that the enemy were following the Bombastes FUhrerioso of lies, boasting, in the ease of London exactly the same tactics and a certain amount of whining. It is, con~ fas those used against Coventry, Birmingham sequently, another of those documents which and Manchester, namely to strike at the heart indicate the uneasiness which he undoubtedly. of the city rather than the industrial areas. feels, even though it is designed to keep the It is obviously a resort to sheer terroristic courage of the German people as high as methods in an endeavour to strike dismay possible in the light of the blows which have into the hearts of the Londoners by the been and are being delivered against them. creation of a huge blazing area in their midst. Amongst the usual untruths to which he re-It will siceeed no more in London than it sorts is the statement that "The criminal has in the other cities, and can only serve element of capitalist Democracies wanted to stir up that resentment which tends, if war and desired a long war as the greatest anything at all, to strengthen moral—not that business deal." No one who has read "Mein that is necessary in Britain, Kampf," or the various speeches of Hitler There will be very great regret that so and his fellow gangsters will for one moment many historic landmarks in the city have be misled by such an assertion. The whole been destroyed. So many architectural German policy since the Nazis came into treasures, which have been venerated for power has been directed towards one end, centuries, have been consumed in the flames, and one alone, namely, to create a huge or otherwise destroyed. Buildings in which military machine with the intention of pro= are enshrined so much of what the average securing a war of revenge, in the course of Briton holds dear have been swept away. which the German leaders with the exception Churches created by the wonderful genius of of Hitler himself have carefully lined their Christopher Wren have been razed and pockets at the expense of their suffering thousands of houses in London have been people, It was not the plutocrats of the wiped out. With regard to these Latter it democracies who wanted war, but the fs, perhaps, just as well, save for the incon-wretched Nazi parvenus inflated with the lust venience their destruction causes, for when of power, and utterly bereft of all ideas of peace comes, and the reconstruction of the humanity' and decency. damaged areas is possible, an opportunity But what is of even more importance is the will be given to replace those congeries of fact that Hitler, in a New Year order issued slums in various parts of London, by some-to the German'Army, promises it victory in thing fter for heros to dwell in. For they 1041, claiming that Germany has defeated are heroes who can "take it on the chin so her enemies on land, on the sea and in the nobly. air, Yet, strangely enough those enemies Such enemy actions as these clearly prove continue to fight, to win victories over one how right the world has been in accepting of the Axis Powers and to lay the founda~ that description of the German which the extions for that final victory which they are Kaiser so aptly gave them when he addressed assured will be certainly theirs. It would the German section of the Boxer Expedition have been thought that, as Hitler's timetable prior to their departure for China. They are has been so grossly disrupted by the wicked Huns, and the more completely that is re-British, he would have refrained from giving alized by the world at forge the better it will another forecast as to when the war would be for It. Perhaps the kindest means of end, The reason why he has not done so is describing the Nazified Germans is to speak plain, He has to do his utmost to maintain of them as politically immature people; the the moral of Germans at as high a level os truest is to dub them barbarian and let it go possible, Tt is known that there is sub= at that. There cannot be the slightest doubt stantial discontent in Germany over the way that the demand in Great Britain for reprisals the war is going. The people were promised In kind will be very considerably streng-a quick, almost bloodless victory. They see thened, though the view still holds good that, the struggle dragging on with no prospect of at any rate for the time being, the RAF. tun early termination. should concentrate largely upon the military Hitler has to promise them victory in objectives to which they have been paying the course of the present year, Tt is a little such close attention. The time may arrive, vague, for he is unable to give definite date however, when Mr. Churchill may be called this time, Naturally it is to be thought that upon to make good his promise that the turn the victories which have been gained in the of the Germans would come, and if that air and particularly on the sea will contri-should prove to be the case, the Germans bute to the success he promises his people, themselves have provided Great Britain with but tt can be said that if his naval victories every Justifieation. The main factor holding are to be any criterion of the probabilities Great Britain back will still be disgust at of ultimate victory he has just about as good having to copy the Althy tactics of the Hun. fas lost the war already. With the German On the other hand it is gratifying to learn fleet seriously reduced in strength, and that steps are being taken to deal with the certainly in no. position to challenge the menace of the incendiary bomb, which will British Navy, with the Italian fleet skullecensure the closest possible watch on roof-tops ing behind the protection of land fortiftcs~ and quick action in stopping conflagrations. The technique of dealing with such missiles tions or fleeing from the British whenever they do venture out into the open sea, with is already well known, and its simplicity is fan air force so outclassed by the British that such that. with an effectively organized the disparity between respective losses is: system the danger of big fires can be reduced enormous, with his failure to keep his pro= to.a minimum. There will naturally be some mise that Germany should never suffer criticism that such a step had not been taken before, but the many new problems which enemy air-raids, Hitler's boasts of success during the past year read strangely. He is this war has presented has naturally involved 'a Tong way from victory, which is daily some solutions remaining in abeyance until the necessity for them became more pressing. receding from him, For the rest it needs to be emphasized that And Hitler whines, He claims thai "the great as the damage to Britain has been, Lord God has given His approval to one fight, greater us it is confidently expected to be, If we carry out our duty loyally and bravely it will not shake the implacability with which He will not desert us in the future." Hitler's the British will continue to struggle for the certainty of the attitude of the Almighty, defeat of the enemy. Bricks and mortar Whose very existence he denies, and whose count for Ijttle against the enormous spiritual Church he persecutes, is more than a little values which this war involves. amusing, {(is perhaps more charitable to take his reference to the Deity as something in the nature of an invocation, for Hitler apparently finds that he cannot' do without
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.