GERMANY TODAY
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—Having just got back after a five months' stay in a German middle-class family in Magdeburg I was very inter- ested on reading Mr. H. Wilson Harris's " German Impres- sions."
May I add one or two of my own impressions dealing with the more personal side of the German life today ?
There seems to be considerable argument as to whether Germany is better off today than she was before. Hitler came ; or, that general everyday conditions are better. I don't see that there can be any doubt that things are much better, when it is taken into consideration that less than eighteen months ago one did not go to business in the morning without a revolver in one's pocket, and even a man would be very chary about going out alone at night. Such conditions were even prevalent in the outer parts of Berlin:
The tremendous enthusiasm with which the younger mem- bers of the community hastened to join either the S.S. or the S.A. is, I think, undoubtedly wearing off considerably. Having duty three nights a week, and having to meet at six or seven o'clock every Sunday morning is no longer a novelty, and it is not difficult to sec that these periods of duty are beginning to be regarded as a nuisance.
It is interesting to note how unpopular General Goring is with the general public. People will, of course, still flock to hear him speak, but one very rarely hears a good word for him in conversation, and one very often sees caricatures of him in his admiral's uniform. Hitler's simplicity in dress, and all-round daily life appeals very much to the masses ; whereas Goring's admiral's (and other) rather flashy uniforms help to make him unpopular.—I am, Sir, &e.,
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