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From "Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941" William L. Shirer
August 10, 1939:
"How completely isolated a world the German (American) people live in. A glance at the newspapers yesterday and today reminds you of it. Whereas all the rest of the world considers that the peace is about to be broken by Germany (the US), that it is Germany (the US) that is threatening to attack Poland (Iraq) over Danzig (nonexistent WMD), here in Germany (the US), in the world the local newspapers create, the very reverse is being maintained. (Not that it surprises me, but when you are away for a while, you forget.) What the Nazi (US) papers are proclaming is this: that it is Poland (Iraq) which is disturbing the peace of Europe; Poland (Iraq) which is threatening Germany (the US) with armed invasion, and so forth. ..."
"POLAND? LOOK OUT!" warns the B.Z. headline, adding "ANSWER TO POLAND, THE RUNNER-AMOK (AMOKLAUFER) AGAINST PEACE AND RIGHT IN EUROPE!"
Or the headline in Der Fuhrer, daily paper of Karlsruhe, which I bought on the train: "WARSAW THREATENS BOMBARDMENT OF DANZIG -- UNBELIEVABLE AGITATION OF THE POLISH ARCH-MADNESS (POLNISCHEN GROSSENWAHNS)!"
... But the German (American) people can't possibly believe these lies? Then you talk to them. So many do.
But so far the press limits itself to Danzig (WMD). ... Any fool knows they don't give a damn about Danzig (WMD). It's just a pretext.
Berlin, August 31, 1939 (morning) Everybody against the war. People talking openly. How can a country go into a major war with a population so dead against it? People also kicking about being kept in the dark. A German said to me last night: "We know nothing. Why don't they tell us what's up?" ...
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