Among the Literati

Publishers, unlike the proverbial children, touch the same hot spot more than once. Since Hitler came into power at least one hundred anti-Nazi books have been published and with the exception of one or two the rest were published at a loss. Even at this late date, many books about Germany may be found on publishers’ Fall lists. There should be a reward for such persistence. Interestingly enough there has not been with the sole exception of Hitler’s own tome, a single outspoken pro-Nazi book. A few of them veered slightly towards National Socialism but did so in a very cautious manner.

The mazazines have likewise shown an almost unanimous fear of praising Germany. When Collier’s carried a laudatory article about Hitler, in the same issue there appeared a stinging anti-Hitler editorial. Perhaps the only non-sectarian magazine in the United States to condemn this practice of attacking the Nazi regime is “The American Spectator” whose chief editor, George Jean Nathan, is reputedly Jewish.

In the September issue of that paper on the front page there appears an article by George Weiss titled “The Newest Psychosis.” It is that writer’s contention that Germany and German things are distorted unfavorably by American journalists. This seems to bother Mr. Weiss considerably. He thinks it is due to a carryover of the War hysteria when we all became accustomed to thinking that savage-Hun and German were synonomous appellations. Mr. Weiss seems to have gotten his cause and effect mixed up. Certainly the journalists who are living in Germany today are not imbued with this hysteria and Weiss’s remarks that no German official ever could expect to receive from the press the reverent treatment accorded the illness of King George, is ridiculous. Von Hindenburg, certainly no angel, politically or humanly, was in death treated more than kindly by the American newspapers.

Mr. Weiss does not know what the true conditions are in Germany today, if he did, he would realize that American papers are being actually kind to Herr Hitler and his merry band of sadists and perverts.

GOSSIP RUMORS AND REMARKS

Bernard Smith of Knopf is writing a book of literary criticism…. Carolyne Marx of the World-Telegram, reported as being at work on a book, denies the implication with some heat…. Publishers say that the Revolution will have arrived when the Communist Party buys more books than the American News Company…. Louis Grudin, who once thought he would be a prize fighter and ended up as an advertising man, philosopher and poet, will have a book of verse published this Fall called “A Tearless Glass.” … Albert Lowenthal who, with Jack Goodman, writes articles for the Saturday Evening Post, calls himself Albert Rice…. Tough days are ahead for the book chiselers as the publishers are getting together a list of all the worthwhile book mediums in the country…. The circulation of the New York Evening Post since David Stern took it over has jumped nearly fifty per cent, much of this upturn can be laid to the strict anti-Nazi policy of the paper and the Johann Steel articles … Six months ago the advertising manager of an afternoon paper sneered at book advertising saying that it wasn’t worth the bother as at best it only amounted to 100,000 lines a year. At that time his paper didn’t need it but now he finds himself surpassed by a rival sheet …

—George Joel.