So inspiring is the spirit of Hitlerism now abroad in this country that it carried Bernard Ridder to poetic heights, the American publisher revealed in an interview in the Berliner Illustrierte Nachtausgabe. In fact, he modestly disclosed, he has written a poem while under its influence.
“How exhilarating I find this new spirit in Germany is shown by the fact—and here I’m divulging a personal note—that I’ve written a poem about it”, the publisher of the Staats Zeitung and the New Yorker Herold is quoted as saying. “I do not mention this out of vanity or as a unique thing but only to prove that you can judge the political picture in Germany only by personal contact.”
Mr. Ridder, in the course of the interview, proclaimed his complete allegiance to the Hitler Government and promised “to declare and reiterate when I return to America that no Jew need be uneasy about events in Germany”. He said he found substantiation for his beliefs that certain groups of Jews had “exaggerated and falsified” German reports. His statement, in translation, follows in part:
“I am for the present Hitler government 100 percent. It is the greatest thing that has ever come to Germany. Anyone who has walked through the German streets with his eyes open as I have, and spoken with the leading German political functionaries knows that it is utter nonsense to cite the existence of the Nazi Storm Troops and the Steel Helmet men as evidence of a militaristic spirit in the country. These troops are solely for protection against Communists, that and nothing more. And the world has many reasons to be grateful to Germany for this successful service.
“I came to Germany from America when the agitation against Germany was at its height. I found substantiation here for my belief that certain groups of Jews had exaggerated and falsified reports from Germany in order to stage their propaganda more effectively. There is only one way Germany can counteract these subversive activities and that is to send representative German politicians who know America from their own observation to that country so that they may there present the true German picture as the Germans see it. By word of mouth and written articles these men must negate the agitation against Germany.
“I agree with the National Socialist ideas 100 percent, with the single possible exception of the racial question. The American has no understanding of this problem because he is unaware of the German situation.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
