Who were the 38,000,000 who voted for Hitler arid who were the 4.000,000 who had the courage to say "No"? 

Among those who placed their cross in the circle representing "Yes’s there were millions who sincerely believed that Hitler should be their leader, but who hated the methods which his dictatorship had introduced. 

They voted "Yes" because they saw no alternative to him except Communism and chaos.  They voted "Yes" because they longed for an end to civil strife and some stable régime however objectionable they might find many of its features.  They voted "Yes" above all because they felt that Hitler was a representative of that national unity towards which Germany had always striven. 

Other millions voted for Hitler, the Man.  They are the millions who crave for someone to lead them, who lack initiative and long for an order from above, who have in their blood the former serfdom of East Prussia or the traditions of those petty little States where, only a century-and-a-half ago, the princelings sold their subjects to foreign generals for gold.  

This type of man worships a strong hand.

Many vigorously, shouted "Ja" for Hitler because they believed that he had rescued them from Bolshevism and from massacre.  They looked upon him as the bulwark against Communism. 

Others-the Industrialists-voted for him because he had smashed the trade unions and put an end to strikes. 

Others voted out of fear that they should be discovered and lose their posts. 

That their manner of voting could be found out through the voting slips I do not believe, because I am convinced that the ballot was secret.  I visited a polling booth in the most Communistic area of Berlin.  There was no number or mark or my voting slip by which the voter could be identified. 

What of those who said "No"?  They comprise men of such scattered opinions that they could hardly organise to overthrow Hitler.  Among them were Communists and Socialists, more bitter than ever against the régime. Numbers of Catholics considered their "No" as a protest against National Socialism’s claim to the souls of the children and to the belief of young Nazis that "we have a new religion and that religion is Germany"!   

Protestants must have been among those who voted against Hitler, and they must have thought of the simple but  stirring protest of the philosopher and divine, Karl Barth, when he exclaimed "Ich sage Nein!" ("I say No!"). 

Intellectuals must have been amongst the dissidents.  They grieve at the garrotting of the German press and the ruining of the stage and of the films.  "No!" This must have been the reaction of some when they thought of the killings of June 30. 

It would be a mistake, however, to see in four million anti-Hitler votes the end of the Hitler régime.  There was a look of quiet confidence on Hitler’s face when I saw him on Sunday saluting the enthusiastic crowd outside the Chancellery.  That confidence will be shaken far more by the economic tasks of the winter than by the votes of four million men. 

What are votes, after all, to men of strong will who have energy, ruthlessness, the determination to stay in power - and machine-guns? 

What a stupendous task it is to make a nation out of this medley of different races, lands, traditions, and creeds!  Goethe’s Faust exclaims, "There dwell, alas! Two souls within this breast!"  But within the breast of Germany there dwell thousands of souls struggling for supremacy. 

No wonder, therefore, that last week the Hitler election poster which drew most attention was this: "We Germans, placed in the centre of Europe, must hold together more than other nations.  We must be united if we are not to perish - Bismarck. Hitler has fulfilled these prophetic words of Bismarck. Vote for him on August 19".

THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 23rd 1934

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Imagine a land where you would not be allowed to carve a word of your native language upon the tombstones of your dead relatives where you might be fined £25 for teaching your tongue to schoolchildren; where you would be persecuted by the police if you formed a choir. 

To British people this would be a kind of Never-Never-Land visited in imagination by an eighteenth century satirist.  But such a land does exist, and I have just visited it.  It is the South Tyrol, which was taken away from Austria after the Great War and placed under the rule of Italy. 

The peaks of this region which in the setting sun g1ow a with a fairy orange red, look down on a grayish-white torrent, the Adige, which clatters down past vineyards and pine forests and through steep gorges topped by ancient castles and modern military fortresses. 

These mountains have bred a sturdy Germanic people who have not forgotten the traditions of the Tyrolese patriot Andreas Hofer. 

It is these people that the Italian Government is trying to convert into thorough Italians by the method which has failed almost everywhere - the forceful uprooting of the national language and customs. 

In this area there are no German schools, German societies are forbidden, and the German theatre has been abolished.

Recently some children acted a German playlet, "Snow Witch," in a barn, and the governess who looked after them was summoned before a court of law for encouraging them to do so. 

The stones which the Tyrolese collected to build a war memorial to the fallen Austrian soldiers have been used as steps upon which folk tread up to the Italian war memorial. 

It is the crushing of the mother tongue which hurts the Tyrolese most.  As a man of religion told me: "It is only through the mother tongue that children can learn moral teachings, and only it he mother tongue can they truly understand the lessons of the Bible." Dollfuss insisted that Mussolini should treat the Tyrolese Austrians better; but the resulting Italian decree by which children are now allowed to learn German for four hours a week, has been worded in such a way that the Tyrolese have no faith in its efficiency.

There is no doubt that the Austrian Chancellor, Herr Schuschnigg, raised the problem on Tuesday in his talk with Mussolini; but in spite of the Duce’s zeal for friendship with Austria there seems little hope that the Italians will introduce a régime of freedom into the South Tyrol.

Why is this question important for Europe?

It plays a part because the South Tyrolese are growing violently Nazi and will be a source of internal weakness for Italy should Italian troops ever decide to cross the Brenner Pass into Austria. 

It has a profound influence on Mussolini’s relations with Austria.  Austrians state: "If Mussolini is sincere in his friendship for us, why is he acting as a tyrant towards our fellow-countrymen in the South Tyrol who are under his sway?" 

These Austrians are growing to hate Italy more bitterly than ever and to despise Schuschnigg, their Chancellor, for being the minion of Mussolini. 

The feeling that fellow-Austrians are being enslaved by the Italians will fan the flames of another Nazi rebellion in Austria. 

The South Tyrol is the dotted portion south of the Italian-Austrian frontier.

As I stepped out of Berlin’s main station some days ago I saw stretched high across the street a brilliantly blue banner with these words written large upon it.  It was a declaration of Germany’s greatest ambition of the moment - to lead the world in civil and military aviation. 

The Germans are air-mad; their passion for flying is being fostered by the leaders of the National Socialist Party.  Hitler, when he visits a town, swoops down upon it from the air.  The first glimpse I ever had of the Chancellor was as he approached his vast aeroplane, the Baron von Richthofen, standing the snow-covered Berlin aerodrome on a February day in 1933. 

The real force behind the German air plans is not Hitler, however, but Goering, who probably cares nought about the economic visions of the National Socialist Party as long as he has power to blacken the European sky with a host of German squadrons. 

Goering was the inspirer of the air display which I visited in Berlin, and which not only impressed but startled me.  Through the Berlin aerodrome ground marched thousands upon thousands of strapping young men clad in the new grey-blue uniform of the German aviators.  As I watched their keen, determined faces, their fine physique, and the perfection of their marching, I thought that Germany had in them the germ of a magnificent air force.

And there were young women, too, clad in that grey-blue uniform which is becoming as much the darling of the Prussian crowd as was the most resplendent of Guards’ uniforms in 1914.  Will it be as ominous for Europe? I wonder. 

It is not only ambition but fear which is leading to the training of these thousands of young men. 

"More than 10,000 aeroplanes are now standing on the German frontiers ready to start."  This is one of the slogans driven into the minds of the German people by pamphlet, cinema, and radio. 

"In one hour every German city can be attacked by foreign bombers."

Here is another statement which strikes millions of Germans in the eye as they look at the posters. 

Thus Goering is driving his lesson daily, hourly into the consciousness of the German people.  Goering has spoken, and as a result of his commands air defence is taught in every school, gas-mask demonstrations are carried out in the most remote parts of the country, and every house of size appoints a special "air guardian" in case of attack. 

It was more than a coincidence that when I sailed from Cuxhaven the last words I saw as the liner slowly heaved away from the quay were:  

Germany Must Become a Nation of Aviators! 

Hermann Röchling is the iron and steel king of the Saar.  He rules over a vast works employing over 4,000 workers, and is the outstanding figure in the campaign to secure the return of the Saar to Germany.  In this he has the support of the large majority of his fellow-Saarlanders. 

I went to see him in Völklingen, the Llanelly of the Saar territory, and talked to him in his plainly furnished office beneath the shadow of his blast furnaces. 

"What will be the economic consequences of the return of the Saar to Germany?"  I asked this ironmaster, who had once been sentenced to imprisonment by the French.  

He replied that if the French made difficulties and refused to send iron ore from Lorraine into the Saar Germany would be able to obtain ore from Donau-Eschlngen, where scientists were making investigations.  "They will not get me on my knees," he declared. 

He thought, however, it was most unlikely that an economic war would break out between France and Germany when the Saar returned to the homeland.  Lorraine had 1,250,000,000 tons of iron ore lying in the earth and they would certainly deliver the ore to the Saar. 

The Saar and Lorraine were economically bound together. Lorraine needed Saar coal and the Saar needed Lorraine ore.  The French would be practically obliged to import coal from the Saar, because that was the most suitable coal for their coke-ovens. 

The Saar would have many economic advantages when it returned to Germany.  Germany already bought over half the steel, half the glass, and half the pottery produced in the Saar.  A gas conduit was to be built to South Germany.  The increase of the electricity supply would be very great indeed.  The Saar would benefit from the improving business conditions so marked in the Germany of Hitler. 

I brought up the question of German payment for the mines now held by the French. 

Herr Röchling stated that Germany could give security for the mines.  The mines had declined enormously In value, he stated.  According to the report of M.Guillaume (Director of the Saar Mines) there had been a loss of 19,075,728 gold marks (£950,000 at par) in 1931 and of 21,813.043 marks (nearly £1,100,000) in 1932.  M. Guillmehad stated: 

 "If the financial results of the working of the mines do not show a marked improvement in the years 1933 and 1934, one can imagine how the conversations which may begin in 1935 on the question of the re-purchase of the Saar mines will be influenced to the detriment of the interests of the French State." 

In conclusion, Herr Röchling stated that Germany would have to spend £5,000,000 to repair and improve the mines after the French departure

September, 1932.

  Dear Mr. Jones, 

            I have just returned from a Storm Attachment meeting and am just in right mood to write to you on the political situation. 

            We are all exceeding angry that the "old man" has such blind confidence on the clique of monarchists who are now in power.   These people do not seem to know that since the war there have been great and fundamental changes.  They believe that they can drag the cart out of the rut with their old-fashioned pre-war views.  But to save Germany we must have quite different people!  We National Socialists are the young generation and our Hitler is certain to lead us soon into the "Third Reich", which will be the only solution of our present distress.  It is a disgrace that the clique which has absolutely no majority behind it has such control over Hindenburg that he allows our leader to go away empty-handed.  It was the duty of the President to recognise our overwhelming success in the Elections by placing the political power in Hitler’s hands.   It is quite correct that in numbers we have not a clear majority but figures are not so important here.  What is important is that out party contains all the constructive forces.  We have the elite of the German people in our ranks.  All classes groups of society and ages are represented, and the more they slander and fight us the stronger we are bound together by the feeling that we are destined to give all our energies for the building of a new German Fatherland which contain all those of German blood, and in which all non-Germans will be thrown out of positions of political and cultural work.  There must be no compromising.  There is nothing we hate more than compromising.  That is the reason why we are not satisfied with the way in which our five Upper Silesian comrades have been "pardoned".  We demand that the trial shall be opened anew in order to prove that our comrades could simply not have acted otherwise towards this Polish Insurgent and Communist.  Since when have we Germans put our own heroes up against the wall?  Thank God that we have amongst us enough people who are willing to lay down their lives if necessary to rid the German people of its diseases. 

We must recognise that the Papen Government has done all it could for the sovereignty and defense of the German people. In principle we agree with it.  But how clumsily they have done everything!  Do not your countrymen feel insulted by the démarche of the German Government at the Quai D’Orsai?  When one has such a plan to carry out surely one should first assure oneself of the agreement of friendly powers before negotiating with the traditional enemy. Our Adolf Hitler would have done things much better but he is not given the possibility to show what he can do.  But his day will come.  We are convinced of this, and we are prepared to take the future of the German people into our hands. 

With best greetings, 

TRANSLATION FROM STEEL HELMET.

Sept. 1932.

Dear Gareth,

You have probably read about the great Steel Helmet demonstration held under the protection of the Government, which was the most overwhelming manifestation of the "front line" spirit which we have ever had; and I am very proud of it.  I am very sorry that I could not be there, but my son attended and has described everything in so detailed a manner that I seem to see it before my eyes.

Germany  is now at a turning point, both in home and foreign affairs.

In home affairs  there are two phenomena.  The first is the economic crisis , which hits us Germans in a particular form.  Since the inflation Germany has been bled dry; our capital disappeared; there are no more reserves, which can be called upon in times of stress.  The crisis has made itself felt in the smallest of workers' homes so cruelly that it is just as if you cut into their living flesh.  I read that the weavers of Lancashire are striking because their wages are to be lowered

In Germany no worker think of striking.  He is glad if he is able to earn anything at all.  There have been three, four, or five reductions of salaries  in the middle classes ( officials etc.)  We all live from hand to mouth.  Taxes are terrible and the standard of living has sunk so low that it cannot go lower.  We have to pay income tax here on a wage of £60 upwards, so that the masses of workers who are spared in England have to pay taxes.  Business  is at a standstill.  Tariff walls throttle our exports; and in the home market there is no money  to buy.  It makes one despair.

" Do you think that a parliamentary regime can settle this situation?  And here I come to the second point the ending off the Parliamentary System.  Bruning introduced a veiled dictatorship, and von Papen is merely continuing this.  But now we are changing from the "wait and see" attitude to the "up and do" policy.  We are tired of everlasting waiting.  We  want to see what is going to happen.  And therefore we are for the von Papen Government, because he is against the Parliamentary system, and because they not only publish a fine program to overcome the crisis, but they have the courage to provide the mechanism and to set it going.  They are risking a lot, it is true, but fortune helps the brave!  ( Fortes fortuna adjuvat.)  We are now going to fight the depression, with the weapons in our hand and we are confident of victory.  The Stock Exchange is the best  barometer and that shows that hope is springing up in our breasts.  

"The Nazis  believe in the "Third Empire" and think that if they have all the power in their hands everything will be all right..  My personal conviction is that Hitler lost a great chance when he left the President's Palace blushing all over.  He himself would have, I believe, readily accepted the offer, but he is too much under the influence of his  Radical leaders.  The Nazis fear that they will lose a lot of their adherents if they make compromises and they do not want a new election campaign. Moreover, Hitler’s unwise actions in the matter of the "five heroes of Potempa" have lost him a lot of support.                         

"We must soon have a reform of the voting system and raise the age of franchise and also introduce the personal element into politics again.  We want to vote for men of flesh and blood, not for a list of names as we do now.

"In Foreign policy the question of re-arming is now the most important.  The German aide-memoire seems to have caused a great sensation.  In England they talk about "diplomatic clumsiness."  Warsaw and Paris are angry.  It is just as if one had put one's finger into a wasps' nest.  But surely after the fiasco of the Disarmament Conference the German démarche was the natural consequence and it is quite as natural that Germans of responsibility should speak out their minds frankly and freely.  Schleicher is speaking what every nationally minded German feels in his heart.  We Germans have had enough of the underhanded ways of international politics.  We  want to know where we stand.  The patience of our whole people is at an end.  For thirteen years we have been rigidly bound to the paragraphs of the Treaty of Versailles, which demand a thousand and one things from us.  But the Allies have conscientiously evaded the fulfilment of the  few obligations which they took upon themselves more for the sake of the "beau geste" than in real sincerity.

"The worst of it all is that the French still put the sole blame for the War upon Germany and cannot get rid of the conviction that the naughty boy must remain branded for ever and ever.  All the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles depend on this belief; and outside France it has been recognized that they must be revised.  Abolition of Reparations was only a step along this path of revision; then general disarmament or German re-arming; and then comes naturally the question of the Eastern frontiers.

"The French stated that no sooner would we be free of reparations than we would spend the money (where is it?) on armaments.  But it is not a question of money.  It is  a question or the national honour of a great people whose will to live cannot be suppressed for all times.  What is right for other nations, should be right for Germany.  That is not chauvinism; that is just commonsense.  We do not want to make War; we feel, however, that the surrounding of Germany by large armies is a threat of war.  Moreover, you have just to look at the map to see  that readiness for defense is a necessary tradition for the German people.  We are pacifists in the sense that we want friendly settlement of international problem; but we are not pacifists in the sense that we must give all our military power up and  thus encourage our neighbours to hit us about,) ( look what the Lithuanians did at Memel.) 

And now just a word about the revision of the Eastern frontiers, which I call the third step of our natural revision.  The Corridor must disappear.  There are only two alternatives; either Danzig and East Prussia will become German or they will become Polish; and we know what they ought to be. 

With heartiest greetings, 

yours.  

R.H. 

The questions which especially interested me during my few days stay in Cologne were the following: 

I interviewed the Lord Mayor, the Director of Town Planning, former Minister for the Interior (Reich) Sollman, the three Professors at the University specialising in economics, banking and industry, the British Consul General (with whom I stayed), the Director for Poor Relief, the Foreign Affairs, Economic and Political experts of the Kölnische Zeitung and of two other papers, a Nazi, steel industrialist, Baron von Humboldt, the head of the Banking House von Stein, and others.

Since my stay was too short to make a real study of the situation and to draw conclusions for Germany as a whole, what follows is mainly a series of notes of conversations with a few observations.  This visit ended a period of ten years during which I have paid one or more visits to Germany every year. 

The new Chancellor of Germany, General von Schleicher’s broadcast on December 15th his declaration of policy.  He said that his programme contained only one point, the provision of work.  Nothing else interested Germany, least of all constitutional changes which filled no stomachs.  He wished to colonise 1,300,000 acres in the Eastern Frontier District.  He was in favour of compulsory service in the framework of a Militia.  He stated that the voluntary labour corps, the Reich Board for the Physical Training of Youth, and subsidised sports clubs, which were throttling party political spirits would receive funds for the Government, especially for voluntary groups of young unemployed.  The Chancellor said that in economic matters he would do whatever seemed sensible at the moment without worrying his head about dogmas. 

Herr Sollman, former Minister of the Interior (Social Democrat) for the Reich, told me: The Social Democrats stand in definite opposition to Schleicher because he is carrying on the same policy as von Papen.  The difference is that Schleicher is much cleverer and more cunning than Papen.  I have known Schleicher for well for fourteen years.  He is clever enough to try to avoid a conflict with parliament, but he wants a defeat of the Social Democrats.  The people around Schleicher want a strong authoritarian Government based on the Reichswehr: The Bourgeoisie, the landowners and heavy industry. 

"Schleicher’s talks with the Trades Unions are a result of his cleverness.  Papen had a front attack on the Trade Unions and on the Social Democrats but Schleicher is trying to split the two.  The Trade Union leaders are advising him and he will listen to them.  A split between the Trade Unions and the S. D. party is what he is aiming at.  The T.U’s are in a difficult position.  If they go too much towards the right they will push millions of S.D.’s to Communism. 

"There may be a vote of no confidence in the Reichstag in January.  The S.D’s and the Communists will certainly vote against the Government, and the Trade Union leaders will also vote with the Party because our discipline is very strong.  What the Nazis will do is uncertain.  Hitler, of course attacks the Government but do not take his speech too seriously, he might enter a Government Coalition.  He is in a critical situation and does not know what to do.  The Nazis can only govern as a dictatorship crushing opposition; therefore, if Hitler goes into Coalition Government he will disappoint the voters.  Still he will want to avoid new elections because he has no money.  I have just come back from Berlin and there are 1500 men collecting for Hitler on the Berlin streets, but they only collect altogether 80 to 100 marks a day. It is a terrible situation for Hitler; still he might make a pact with Schleicher."           

Just as we were talking a messenger came in to say that in Cassel 600 storm troop men had left the Nazi Party.  Two minutes later another messenger brought the news of local elections which showed a very sharp decline in the Nazi vote. 

I then asked Herr Sollmam whether Schleicher would govern without the Reichstag.  He answered, "No, Schleicher will not ignore the Reichstag.  If there is a vote of no confidence he will be in favour of elections which would strengthen his position.  He would be able to have more combinations and there would be no more Nazi Communist majority.  I think Hitler might lose 40 or 50 seats. Schleicher will maintain the constitutional conflict as long as possible.            

A clever Government can do almost anything with Article 48.  Even the budget was carried by Article 48. 

"The Reichbanner is not for Schleicher.  They have definitely decided not to join in the Sports Board.  I am sorry personally for our Young people, pea soup, a piece of meat - to have a full stomach - is a. sensation".

The Political Editor of the Kölnische Zeitung told me; "The Centre supports Schleicher loyally.  To us he is a man with common sense.  No other man is possible.  We Catholics have an interest to support a Government with authority which is also Democratic.  The Catholic Church itself is a mixture of Democracy and Authority.  80 per cent of our clergy come from the people.           

"We do not think he wi1l support a Coup d’etat.  He is, of course, only for a transitional period." 

Dr. Adenauer, Lord Mayor of Cologne, said that the Centre Party were adopting a policy of "wait and see" towards Schleicher. 

The Berliner Tageblatt describes Schleicher thus:- It states that Schleicher is against constitutional experiment, that he had learned to be socially minded in his home, and was never allowed to be rude to a servant or a beggar.  The views of Schleicher are not stable but adapted to circumstances.  Behind his frank thoughts there is a scepticism which takes nothing too tragically, a kind of irony.  He has charming naturalness.  He is a General, and the son of an officer, but also a modern man, and has no similarity with the snobbish type of Prussian officer.  Still, there is in the General’s mentality a hatred of pacifists, and he might well play a Cromwellian part, but he is not the bogy and the militarist which the French imagine him to be.  He is an able army organiser, and wants a common understanding with France.  He wishes to unite the masses now split into organised political battalions into a coalition with a common front.  He is flexible and chameleon -like.  He has been moderate in canceling anti-social decrees and in giving an amnesty for the transport strikers. 

The comments of the Frankfurter Zeitung, December 17th are interesting.  This democratic paper congratulates the new Chancellor on not promising a heaven on earth, but in directing his aim at the Chancellor of the German people.  A man who is thus going to fight the bitter misery of unemployment has a right to be left to his work.  He is socially minded.  Papen aroused the mistrust of the nation, but Schleicher knows that the country’s confidence is necessary.  Nevertheless, the F.Z. is afraid that he has too many tactics, but lacks far-reaching strategy.  It regrets his lack of political principles. 

It is significant that Schleicher spoke to the nation over the wireless and not to the Reichstag.  He prepared his statement himself, consulted none of his Ministers, except to ask certain economic details and did not submit the text for their approval.

Pertinax commenting on the adjournment of the Reichstag to the second fortnight of January says that Papen’s plans are being taken up a man who is far more clever and can work with all camps.  At present, says Pertinax, his great idea is to put the different military societies into the so-called National Sports Bureau under ex-Generals.  What were formally forces for civil war must now be regular forces obeying the Government.  Soon the same uniform, probably that of the steel helmets, will be imposed on all.  Schleicher hopes that Hitler’s Storm Troops will also be melted into the mass.

Kaiser, the leader, said in a speech, that originally the Christian T.U’s had mistrusted the new Chancellor but now he was known as "THE SOCIALLY MINDED GENERAL".  The T. U’s had the impression that here was a man who understood the working class.  The Christian T.U.s had a good impression of Schleicher as did the other T.U’s, but their confidence would have to be gained by deeds.  Already, said the Christian T.U’s leader, there is a wave of conciliation throughout the people, and the attempt of reactionaries to seize power had failed.  The man who now governed bad turned successfully to the people and the wave of mistrust end revolt which had made Germany revolutionary was disappearing. 

        Herr Pastor, the Steel Industrialist disliked Schleicher.  "He is coquetting too much with the T.U’5.  He is an officer with rubber soles, not an officer with real military boots.  He is not an Iron Chancellor like Bismarck.  He is a victim of his own policy.  He did not want to become Chancellor.  He is intriguing and ambitious.  It is notorious that he threw over Seeckt, Gessler, T, Bruning, Gruener, and Papen, and now he is coming out of his role of "eminence grise" into the open.  He manoeuvres too much and is making arrangements with the left.  He is sphinx like, very clever, but I thought his broadcast was slovenly, arrogant, and vulgar.  He has got the Prussian officer’s tradition and no great culture.  Hitler should be given a chance. Schleicher is all things to all men; a weather cook, changing with the wind. 

"Some Industrialists are opposed to Schleicher because they are afraid he is for agricultural quotas but many say, at least he is not so bad as von Papen.  "Baron von Humbold was also afraid that Schleicher would give in too much to the Socialists. 

Professor Eckert: "There is confidence in Schleicher and the men around him are good, but I do not believe be will last long.  He will certainly rule without the Reichstag because he has the Reichswehr." 

Herr von Stein, of the Banking House von Stein, said: "Business people do not reckon on a long Schleicher reign.  He only gives himself a couple of months, watch out for January.  There will be difficulties with the Nazis." 

Professor Schöffler: "Schleicher rejects all doctrines.  He is like a Englishman in his rejection of theory." 

The Political Editor of the Rheinische Zeitung, which was founded by Karl Marx, said: "We are not so bitterly opposed to Schleicher as we were to Papen.  We hated Papen but our opposition to Schleicher is only a Parliamentary opposition, a democratic opposition.  Schleicher never attacks Marxism as Papen always did.  He is a tactician and a cynic. 

On all hands there was evidence of a serious split in the Nazi Party of rapidly declining influence end of a grave financial situation.  Hitler is still considered by some industrialists as a barrier against Communism, but they are not likely to subscribe very much more to his funds, as the steel industrialists Consul Pastor told me.  "The why industrialists supported Hitler was because he was against Communism.  Half of the people who voted for Hitler will vote for Communism.  Hitler is without means, and industry cannot help him very much.  

The Rheinische Zeitung reports that Hitler is forbidding Socialism.  Hitler's new economic advisor is to be Herr Funk, former editor of the Berliner Borsenzeitung, a nationalistic and capitalistic paper.  Hitler is moving away from Socialism in order that heavy industry may have confidence and enable the Nazis to pay their 12 million mark (£600,000) debt.

            The figure of £600,000 debt is confirmed from several sources.  Strasser's ‘a quarrel is also a sign that Hitler is moving away from Socialism. 

Many of the young people who joined the Nazis because they thought that they would obtain jobs as policemen in Hitler’s Dictatorship are leaving the Party. 

Last year and in 1930 I noticed that the bookshops were selling very large quantities of books on National Socialism.  They were the rage.  To-day I hardly saw any in the bookshops.  There were fewer books on politics end more on general subjects, such as travel, a sign which seems to indicate a wave of political apathy.  One favourite book, however, is 'Soldaten' which tells of the deeds of Prussian officers and soldiers since the wars of liberation to the present day. 

A large increase in the Communist Party is probable and it is thought by many experts that the Communist Party vote, will reach the same level as the Nazi vote did.  The Communist International has decided upon a more active policy in Germany Personally however, I think there is very little danger of a political revolt.  The Reichswehr is too strong, the Communists are badly armed, and German Communists are the sort of people who parade in the very beat clothes with clean collars, and ties. 

The question of Monarchy has become less actual.  A keen Monarchist said to me, "Every respectable German is a Monarchist, and must be a Monarchist, but to begin a Monarchy now would be a very great tactical mistake.  The intelligence of the Germans will not permit the return of the Kaiser, and we do not think that the Crown Prince is serious minded enough.  Ruprecht of Bavaria is a Catholic and thus out of the question.  A return of Monarchy is impossible for the next few years. " 

If Hindenburg dies the President of the Supreme Court of Justice takes over authority.  This is a very important step, which has been voted by the Reichstag recently.  It stops the schemes for bringing in the Crown Prince.  It stops the Chancellor taking over complete political power 

When Hindenburg dies, therefore, Dr. Bumke, President of the Supreme Court takes over his authority.  Dr. Bumke is irremovable from his present post, and is not old, somewhere in the fifties.  He is a Judge not a politician, and is trusted.  I consider that this step is a very wise and favourable one for German stability. 

The City Director for Poor Belief explained to me the situation in Cologne. She stated that in Cologne 210,000 out of a population of 730,000, namely 28.4 % of the population are being helped. 

The unemployment benefit (Reich Insurance) only lasts 36 days, and then the unemployed have to obtain relief from the towns.  The average amount received per head (including children) from Poor Relief is 21.9 marks per month (not per week).  The average married couple in Cologne receive 51 marks per month with 12 marks extra for each child, it they have no other resources.  Poor Relief costs the town of Cologne £3,000,000 per year.  

The City Director gave me the following example of a family budget of a father and mother with two children who had no other means.  They would  receive 75 marks per month, of which they would have to pay about 25 marks in rent.  This left 50 marks, of which 8 marks would have to be spent on coal, leaving 42 marks. This meant 10 marks per week for tour people, or 2/6 per week per person.  Therefore, this family would have to live on 1.50 marks per day, to be spent not only on food, but on light clothes, shoes, etc.  Bread is dear, 50 pfennigs (6d) for 3 1/2 lbs. 

This family would spend about 30 pfennigs of the 1.50 marks on wool, soap, clothes eto, leaving 1.20 marks per day for food.  This is usually divided thus. (The meals, of course, are for four persons.) 

Breakfast 30 pfennigs (3 1/2d.) Substitute coffee with a couple of slices of black bread.

Lunch   50 pfennigs (6d.)     Potatoes, with cabbage or thick soup.  Bread is too expensive for lunch.

Supper 40 pfennigs (4 1/2d) Potatoes. 

This family would have no milk. 

Health conditions are getting worse end worse.  Bedclothing is short.  Many children cannot go to school because they have no shoes.  Often a child being given a free meal will eat eight plates of soup.  There is a terrible lack of warm clothing.  These conditions are undermining the morale of the nation. 

I was deeply impressed by the people who came for the free meal of soup which was being given to former middle class people.   Cultured elderly people who still maintain themselves clean and respectable, and young artists, teachers, professors, with intellectual faces, but absolutely down and out, came for this free meal.  Some of the people there were once very wealthy, now they have absolutely no means but they still maintain a German pride in a respectable appearance 

Professor Shöffler, head of the English Department, gave me a striking picture of the despair of the students.  He said it is absolutely impossible to get posts.  Of the students from our faculty who went down last summer NOT ONE has had a post.  In the faculty of Law it is just the same.  They will probably be unemployed for ten years getting no relief.  Take my student, Miss Bredenfeld.  She is pretty and clever, a Doctor of Philosophy, of good family, but she cannot get a job.  She is now a Communist.  Communism will certainly grow among the younger academic generation. 

"There is no outlet for the 100,000 who have left college in the last the few years.  There is no army, no navy, no colonies. 

"The Government is cutting down expenses in education and increasing the number of pupils in each class.  The students have next to nothing to live on." 

            (1)       Land Settlement.

            (2)       Voluntary Labour Service.

            (3)       Public Works. 

(1)  Land Settlement: There are about 200,000 young Germans in the Land Settlements and the number is to be increased.  The Reich government gives 2,000 marks (£100) towards each house in a settlement.  In the first years it is given free, but later they will be a small rate of interest to be paid. 

In Cologne individual groups of unemployed have been formed called Building Groups, consisting of a carpenter, bricklayer, locksmith roof builder, and unskilled workers.  These groups are chosen by the poor Relief Office.  They then help each other to build houses on a settlement where each has his pig,  goats and chickens. They receive Poor Relief pay plus extra food, and cheap tramfares.  These settlements are usually in the suburbs, and usually financed by the Reich. 

In East Prussia, as Schleicher pointed out in his wireless speech, l,300,000 acres are to be settled. 

(2)   Voluntary Labour Service: These are people who voluntarily devote themselves such works as building cycle paths, parks, etc.  They are of the age of 18 to 25, and are usually in groups of people of the same views.  The Christian T.U. group; Steel Helmet Group, etc.

This is usually work which could be given to private con tractors, who still attack it.  In the beginning there was great opposition from the Trade Unions, but finally they became reconciled 

(3)    Public Works: The Government is giving money to such works as iron-bridges, roads,etc.  The Government is to help towns which want electricity machines but cannot pay for them 

The Lord Mayor of Cologne pointed out how they were unable as a city to do much in the way of public works because they had no capital.  He demanded a strong initiative from the Reich.  He thought that there would be an expansion of credit in new ways.  But, the financing plans were not to be decided until about a fortnight.  He said that the Government was going to advance money for necessary repairs of houses.           

The economic expert of the Kölnieche Volkzeitung explained to me his ideas on public works as follows: It was not quite clear, he said, what measures the Government would take, but von Papen had issued certain "Taxation Notes" which were based upon the income if the state in future better times and were to be redeemed from 1934 to 1939.  He said that between £50,000,000 and £75,000,000 would be spent on public works.  A tremendous amount of land reclamation had been done and large stretches of moors had been drained.  Much had been done through voluntary work and he believed that next year voluntary workers would be given one standard uniform.  The result of voluntary work had been very good.  Part of it was paid from the surplus receipts of the unemployment insurance.  He was enthusiastic about the settlements to be carried out in the east, but he said, it must be none primitively and simply.  He thought that they would settle a million at the most within several years time. 

Some of the work was given to private firms by communes but there was a lot of work which was too deer to be done through the ordinary economic process and this was done by the state.  The programme, therefore, seems to be a mixture of private initiative and of state interference, which is very similar to the system I studied in Rome in the summer. 

Professor Eckert, economist, was keen on Schleicher’s determination to carryout a policy of public works, settling men and building roads.  He said, "Our unemployed do not starve to but they starve mentally." 

An industrialist was doubtful whether the plans would provide work for more than about 300,000 men, and could not see how they could be carried out wither creating emergency currency. 

A British official said it was a deep dark mystery to him as to how they got their funds.  The Banks had been giving great credits to the towns and there was a hidden inflation of credit. 

There are certain symptoms of improvement. The Deutsche Volkswirt writes "The symptoms of an economic improvement in Germany are numerous and unmistakable … Unemployment is not greatly higher than last year, although the spectre of seven to eight millions out of work was expected ... If political calm remains an upward trend may be expected in the spring." 

There is an increase in the production of iron and steel.  Electricity production in October reached the same figure as last year.  Shipping shows an improvement in the last few months, but is much worse than a year ago.

Shipping laid up.

Dec.     lst. 1931           765,000 tons     19 % of total tonnage.

Sept.    1st 1932         1,425,000    "     56 %     "        "

Nov.    1st, 1932          l,194,970     "    50.7%    "        "

Dec.     lst, 1932          1,170,000    "     30%       "         " 

Unemployment  here are now 5,358,000 out of work.  he seasonal increase in unemployment has not been so large as last year.

Stock Exchange.  here has been a recovery on the Stock Exchange in the last few months.  o take two representative shares, Fereinigte Stahlwerke, which dropped to 10 has now risen to 32, whilst Seimen and Halske (electricity) which dropped to 95 has recovered to 124. 

Herr von Stein, of the Banking House von Stein, said, "There are slow signs of improvement.  The shops are satisfied with the Christmas business, people are buying again, but only cheap materials are being bought. 

There is more confidence in Schleicher than in von Papen.  The Stock Exchange is a brighter sign.  Moreover, as long as Luther is at the head of the Reichsbank our currency is safe." 

Professors at the Cologne University thought that there was a slight recovery because stocks of goods bad declined so low, but as one of them said, "I do not promise much from this recovery." 

The steel industrialist, Consul Pastor, had little faith in the continuation of the recovery.  He said "There is a slight enlivening of industry and finance, due firstly to empty stocks, and secondly to speculation.  But is it a real recovery?  I do not think so.  A Chinese philosopher said twelve hundred years ago that if men could not bring their minds and morale into line with mechanical progress they would perish.  That is where we are to-day.  I see no hope, but I may be wrong." 

Some people thought that inflation was probable, others believed that as long as Luther was in the Reichsbank the currency would be safe.  Consul Pastor, Industrialist, said, "I cannot see how we can avoid inflation.  If we cannot bring six million unemployed into production I cannot see where we can get the means to keep them alive." 

Professor Eckert said that there were two alternatives before Germany.  The first was Inflation, which would be disastrous.  It would mean revolutions and riots.  He feared a great world inflation.  Secondly, if Inflation were avoided, however he saw another alternative.  Perhaps they had reached bottom.  He believed there might be a slow recovery interrupted by recessions.

Professor Eckert pointed out the dangers before Germany.  He said "The Budget" at the Reich is in disorder.  There is a large deficit and the financial situation of the states and of the towns is very bad. Cologne and Frankfurt cannot now meet certain bonds railing due.  The burden of debt towers more and more.  Modified inflation in Germany is almost impossible unless we tackle the burden of debts by drastic cutting down of capital and conversions; there is no other way out except inflation. 

Herr Sullmann, former Minister of the Interior, was also afraid of Inflation.  He said "I am afraid there will be moves in the direction of Inflation.  We have got ‘Taxation Notes’ which are now to be given to the communes to pay for public works.  This will necessitate twenty notes in exchange for these ‘Taxation Notes’; that means that the one and a half million marks which are to be issued as ‘Taxation Notes’ will become marks in circulation.  Hilterding and I fear an inflation.  In Germany every man is an expert in Inflation.  As soon as the danger is known there will be a run on the banks, and people will take their money out end buy goods.  A sign of it will also be a rise in common stocks (shares) on the Stock Exchange.  But I should never write this in my paper." 

On the other hand there are strong forces working for a stable currency.  Professor Walb, expert on banking, expressed this when he said, "We will right inflation with all the weapons in our power.  No, I do not think there will be inflation.  We will out down capital, out down debts, and have a cleansing of the debt burden." 

The irremovability of Luther is a strong factor against inflation 

There is very bitter feeling among industrialists against the agricultural quotas.  These, said Professor Walb, sabotaged Papen’s programme and had injured Germany exports, but certain concessions had been made by Germany. 

I heard little which led me to hope that there will be a reduction of tariffs, but Schleicher will probably not raise the tariff any higher.  Tariffs have made foodstuffs dear in Germany, and are one of the main causes of the dissension between agriculture and industry. 

The economic expert of the Kölnische Zeitung said, "It does not seem probable that the Government will go much further in the direction of state ownership of industry.  In the aluminium industry shares are owned by the Government. 

I was struck by the absence of panic.  The last time I was in Germany there were fears of a sudden catastrophe; now no one expressed these fears, in spite of the profound misery of the vast majority of the people. 

It is highly probable that Germany will demand the demilitarisation of the French frontiers. The Germans in Cologne believe that the principle of the Equality of Rights justifies them in claiming a zone of 50 kilometres within the French frontier where the French shall have no weapons, or soldiers.  The Badische Presser says that now Germany has Equality of Rights there shall be no more unilateral measures, and that Germany will insist that France shall not only destroy her eastern fortifications but also suppress her aviation camps munition depots, and garrisons in a zone equivalent to the German demilitiarised zone.  

I asked Herr Borowski whether be thought this would happen.  (He is the Foreign affairs editor of the Moderate National Volkishe Zeitung).  He replied, "Certainly.. If this is not given us we will claim the right to have troops in Cologne.  It is a violation of German sovereignty not to be able to have the Reichswehr in the Rhineland.  What if there should be riots?  Germany would then have to appeal to an outside body for permission to send troops into a part of her own territory." 

There is strong feeling among all classes that a large militia, or people’s army, should be introduced as soon as possible.  This feeling is shared by Socialists and Nationalists alike.  The Socialist, Herr Sollmann, for example said "I am in favour of a smaller Reichswehr and the creation of a large militia.  The Reichswehr is a danger.  This Pretorian Guard gives twelve years training and after that soldiers get precedence everywhere posts, in offices.  It is also dangerous from a point of view of political power. 

"We must have discipline after the young men leave school. 

"A large army is also a force for national unity.  Before the war 400 men would be receiving training in the Army.  Catholics would share the same hut as Jews; Socialists as Conservatives: and townsfolk with peasants.  They got to know each other.  Germany is divided.  A Nazi will not speak to a Socialist; a Red Front Fighter thinks of the Steel Helmet an enemy.  If only the young people could work together in the army. 

"Today for the German youth the army is a romantic ideal; if the young people were drilled and cursed at; if they had to sweat and have blisters, they would against militarism." 

If those are the views opinion of the Socialist the opinion of Nationalists can be imagined. Professor Schöffler said "The army is organised unemployment.  It will take 500,000 young people from the streets. Moreover, it the state does not play soldiers the parties will."       

            Germany’s attainment of Equality of Status is greeted as a success, but hopes for real disarmament are modified.  I did not get the impression that there was a tremendous  wave of militarism but, of course, I was in Catholic Rhineland demilitarized Cologne , a very bad place to judge. .

There is a feeling of opposition to rearmament among many tax payers but among steel, leather and uniform firms there is certain support.  There will be financial difficulties, nevertheless, the formation of a large People’s Army  seems inevitable. 

In Germany today we are witnessing the revolt of a great nation.  It is, in the eyes of Germany, a revolt against three betrayals - against the betrayal by German politicians, against the betrayal by Versailles and against the betrayal by capitalism. 

A great class has been annihilated, the German middle class.  Their savings swept away by the inflation, educated Germans have been reduced to proletarian conditions.

That is the situation which we must bear in mind in considering the Germany of today and the Germany of tomorrow.  That is the situation which led to the shock of the world when on September 14, 1930, the startling news was flashed around the globe that the National Socialist party of Hitler had gained a triumph of unforeseen magnitude. 

That day set the events moving which led to the present crisis, for the alarm caused capital to flow from Germany and spread mistrust of Germany’s future to London, New York and Paris.  You all will remember the events that followed: terror in France at the Austro-German customs scheme; failure of the Credit Anstalt, threatened collapse of Germany’s finances, just saved by Hoover’s moratorium; delay caused by the French; and that black day, July 13, when there was a run upon German banks; calamitous withdrawal of short-term credits from Germany; spreading of the disease to England and the crash of the pound. 

What is at the root of the present trouble?  How far is Germany responsible? 

The roots of the trouble are foremost, the Reparations payments and, secondly, over-borrowing by Germany, without which these Reparation payments could never have been made. 

It is true that Germany borrowed too much - foreign investments exceeded four billion dollars in seven years; but that was a mistake made throughout the world.  Bank credit expanded in the United States so rapidly that it was made easy for everybody in the world to get into debt.  It is false to accuse Germany of financial bad faith, because the German Reichsbank and the German Treasury uttered solemn warnings that too much money was going to German states and municipalities. 

Whoever may bear the responsibility, the fact remains that Germany is faced with two sets of creditors, on the one hand those who claim receipt of reparations amounting to $473,000,000 each year, and on the other, those who hold four billion dollars in private debts:  And the curtain is soon to go up to show this great fight, private debts versus reparations. 

There is only time to mention two things, firstly, that no government can exist in the Germany of the future which is willing to pay reparations. 

The moral is, "First Against Reparations and for the priority of private, debts!"  Secondly, if tariffs throughout the world shut out German goods, she will never be able to pay a part of the private debts. The moral is, "Scrap Tariffs." 

Whatever happens, however, there is a danger that all is too late.  A Nazi dictatorship in the Spring seems inevitable.  Will this lead to civil war?  Will this lead in the long run to Bolshevism in Germany?  Those are problems we may soon have to face. 

In January the League Council considered a petition from the German Volksbund and notes from the German Government on the incidents in Polish Upper Silesia. It was a test of the sincerity and justice of the League of Nations in its handling of minority problems. If the League had failed, all Germany would have been justified in calling it, as it is often called in Germany, a "joint-stock company for the preservation of the booty won in the War." The League Council was pre-eminently successful in dealing with the case. It concluded that there had been in numerous cases an infringement of Articles 75 and 83 of the Geneva Convention. It asked the Polish Government to furnish before May a detailed statement of the results of the inquiries into these different cases. It expressed the hope that the Polish Government would abolish all special links existing between the authorities and such associations as the " Insurgents." The decision of the Council was a definite rebuke to the Polish Government, but satisfaction was expressed in Warsaw that no international commission of inquiry was to be set up, that there was no demand for the resignation of any person and that no special guarantees for the future were to be introduced. Many of the inquiries recommended by the League Council had already been undertaken by the Polish authorities. There is every sign that the Warsaw Government is carrying out the recommendations in a generous way. If it does so, it will be able to count upon the sympathetic support of many states such as Great Britain, which believe that the liberal treatment of minorities is essential for the establishment of peace in Europe.

It is a pleasure to turn from the gloom of Poland’s relations with Russia and Germany to the far brighter prospects of her relations with the agricultural states of Eastern Europe. The depression among the agrarian countries has speeded up co-operation between them. As a result largely of Polish initiative a series of conferences was held last year of which the most important were those of Bucharest and Warsaw. Delegates from Rumania and Yugoslavia rubbed shoulders with their former enemies, Hungary and Bulgaria; Latvia and Esthonia were also present. The recommendations of the Warsaw Conference included concerted-selling organisations and export institutions in each country. The questions which caused the greatest difficulty to this agrarian bloc were agricultural credits and the disposal of surplus grain stocks. Agricultural credits have been discussed this year by the League of Nations Financial Committee of grain experts, and surplus grain stocks have been the subject of conferences held under the auspices of the European Commission. It is significant that agricultural countries stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea should have come together and this has been to no small degree facilitated by the wise and far-sighted efforts of the Polish Government.

Mussolini has spoken.  One word from him and Cabinet Ministers fall like ninepins.  This week he has dismissed five of the most outstanding men in the Italian Cabinet, and the unexpectedness of the decision can be judged from the fact that, although I was in Rome within the last fortnight, not a single foreign observer even suspected that such a great change was to take place.

This action typical of the Italy of today, which is subjected to discipline and obedience by the Duce.  In each branch of Italian life Mussolini has acted with vigour and ruthlessness.

Take railways.  In the beginning of this month I crossed the French-Italian frontier near the Mont Cenis Pass and travelled through Turin to Genoa and Rome.  Every inch of the railway track on this journey was electrified, for Mussolini is now carrying out a great programme of railway building.

Through this electrification of the railways Mussolini has adversely affected the livelihood of many South Wales miners, tippers, and sailors, for the Italian State Railways become less dependent on imported coal.

Looking out of the train between the frontier and Rome, one could see that every patch of land was cultivated and that up to the vary fringe of the mountains the peasants had planted wheat or vegetables.  Mussolini is fighting fox the full use of Italian soil, against the crowding of the masses in the great cities.  A typical expression of his desire to foster agriculture is the following Fascist quotation: "The dark and mysterious earth yields other gifts than harvests: it gives birth to renunciation, sell-sacrifice, and industry, the loftiest and noblest expressions of the human spirit; Fascism seeks and finds in the fields the purest and freshest spiritual reserves of the nation, and gathers and diffuses these forces to revive new energy and poetry in the soul of the people."

Mussolini is building roads, bridges, canals, and viaducts in many parts of Italy.  He aims at a re-building of his native country, and it is remarkable that his programme follows the lines laid down by the Liberal party in Great Britain.  What irony that the enemy of Democracy should be carrying out the policy advocated by British Liberals!

This programme is being carried out by Mussolini in the same spirit in which he has dismissed his Ministers, and it reveals his impetuous, energetic nature.  He will brook no rivals.  Grandi, the Foreign Minister, who had aroused the admiration of diplomats in all continents, must now go.  Mosconi, the Minister of Finance, is dismissed, and his place is taken by Signor Guido Jung, an energetic, much traveled man, who received me in Rome a fortnight ago.  Little did I think that this keen, grey-haired man who faced me would within fourteen days be Finance Minister of Italy.

Mussolini has through his Dictatorial methods aroused great opposition.  One evening a German foreign correspondent and I, having dined together near the Italian Foreign Office, walked out of the restaurant, looked up, and saw searchlights flashing across the sky. "Do you know what that is?" asked the journalist.

"Those searchlights are to prevent anti-Fascist aeroplanes, coming from France and manned by Italian exiles, from dropping a bomb on the Palazzo Venezia, or from dropping pamphlets against Mussolini on the streets of Rome." Communism also is growing in the North of Italy.