NAZI REGIME
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LLOYD GEORGE's VISIT
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HITLER’S HOLD ON PEOPLE
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DESIRE FOR PEACE
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(From “The Post's” Representative.)
LONDON, September 23.
In an interview in London, the Rt.
Hon. David Lloyd George summed up
the impressions which he had derived
from his recent visit to Germany.
“Germany,” he said, “does not want
war, but she is afraid of an attack by
Russia, and is suspicious of the Franco-
Russian Pact. I have never seen a hap-
pier people than the Germans, and
Hitler is one of the greatest of the
many great men I have met.
I am fully convinced that the Ger-
man people today earnestly desire
peace. Undoubtedly, Germany fears
an attack by Russia, and in the same
way Russia fears an attack by Ger-
many, and I believe that the fear in
each case is quite genuine.”
Asked how he reconciled Germany’s
desire for peace with the recent at-
tacks on the Soviet, he replied:
“How do you reconcile Russia's pro-
fessed desire for peace with her years
of attack upon Germany? The fact is
that they have been abusing one an-
other like pickpockets for years. It
has been a sort of slanging match, but
I think that today people are rather
apt to overlook what is said over the
Soviet radio, and to pay attention only
to German attacks upon Russia.”
PEOPLE WORSHIP HITLER.
“Germany does not want war. Hitler
does not want war. He is a most re-
markable personality, one of the great-
est I have ever met in the whole of my
life, and I have met some very great
men.
“Affection is a quite inadequate word
to describe the attitude of the German
people towards Hitler. It amounts
almost to worship. I have never seen
anything like it. Some men I met who
are not Nazis told me that they did
not know what the country would have
done without him. They are inclined
to blame Hitler‘s supporters for some
of the things which they do not ap-
prove, but there is no whisper of criti-
cism of Hitler. It is just like our
motto, ‘The King can do no wrong.’”
Mr. Lloyd George was asked, “How
do you reconcile that attitude towards
Hitler with the suppression of the
trade unions and the free expression of
opinion?”
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“I cannot explain it,” he replied. “I
am merely stating the facts, but you
must remember that the Germans are
a highly disciplined people, and have
always been so. They are far more
accustomed to discipline than we are,
and I think that the restrictions in
existence in Germany at the present
time would have a far greater effect
upon people of this country than upon
Germany.
A GREAT MISFORTUNE.
“I have always thought, and still
think, that the persecution of Jews in
Germany has been a great misfortune.
But Germany is not the only country
that has persecuted Jews. We must not
forget the pogroms in Russia and in
other European countries.”
Giving his impression of the German
people of today, he said: “I have never
seen a happier people. The feeling of
depression and gloom which has
oppressed them in post-war years has
completely disappeared. They are to-
day a very gay people. That is not
merely my own opinion. Since I re-
turned from Germany I have had
letters from Englishmen who have
been in the habit of visiting Germany
on business or on holiday, and they all
confirm my own view.
“One of the foremost impressions
which I derived from my visit was
the universal desire to remain on terms
of closest friendship with Great Bri-
tain. I found that among everyone I
met, from Hitler down to the working
men with whom I spoke. Everywhere
Britain is held in deepest respect, and
there is a profound desire that the
tragic circumstances of 1914 should
never be repeated.”
ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
Mr. Lloyd George was profoundly
impressed by the economic recovery
of Germany. “We hear agreat deal,"
he said, “of the efforts that Germany
is making in the direction of re-arma-
ment, but little is said of, the colossal
schemes that are being pushed through
for the development of the internal re-
sources of the country, and the im-
provement of the conditions of the
working population.
“I saw a good deal of the latter, and
I was enormously impressed by the
boldness and beneficence of the Ger-
man plans. The Germans are reclaim-
ing over 4,000,000 acres of land which
was either completely waste or barely
cultivated at all. They are building
millions of houses for their working
population, and everywhere they are
constructing settlements for their town
workers outside the city boundaries,
with gardens attached to each house.
“The new roads which they are con-
structing are magnificent. By these and
similar means they have reduced unem-
ployment from 6,000,000 to 1,000,000 in
three and a half years. Whatever we
may think of Hitler and the present
regime in Germany, that in itself is a
very great achievement.”
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