PEOPLE AND THINGS
By HAROLD NICOLSON
HIS Majesty's Government during the last ten days have made important endeavours to counter the encirclement propaganda which has been let loose in Germany and to which the credulous German'eople have once again fallen victims. Herr Hitler had been much disconcerted by the extent of pacifist feeling which manifested itself throughout the Reich at the time of the September crisis, even as he had been enraged by the spontaneity with which his own sub- jects had recognised and acclaimed the contrast between the civilian dignity of Mr. Chamberlain and the barrack-room flamboyance of his own system. For one dreadful moment it had seemed as if •the pale sun of reason might pierce through the mists of hysteria in which he had shrouded the intelligence of his people. Supreme demagogue that he is, he has again triumphed in the role of cloud-gatherer and has managed to blot out the sun in a sullen and im- penetrable fog of hatred and of fear. Few popular leaders have possessed his genius for perceiving and exploiting the subconscious instincts of the herd. He achieved his position by releasing a sense of humiliation ; he confirmed it by stimulating a lust for power ; he is maintaining it by playing upon Germany's tragic and eternal claustrophobia.
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