• TELLING GERMANY Snt,—Mr. Thomsoo's article, " What to tell
Germany," may give the impression that our propaganda is weak, neglected or ineffectual. This is emphatically not the case. The facts are, that the programmes now being put out by the B.B.C.'s outstanding team of German language broadcasters—LindleyFraser, Hugh Carleton-Greene, Richard Crossman, Major Thomson—to mention only a few, form a team whose brilliance is unsurpassed by any country, Allied or enemy. A full appreciation of what is being done requires a good knowledge of, the German language and of German psychology, otherwise, as your article complains, " it is virtually impossible to discover their substance, gist or tone." Equipped with these two essentials, a short period of listening to our broadcasts would convince the most sceptical of their outstanding ingenuity, as I have proved by personal study Every taste is catered for—for those wanting information on the war's progress there are clear, concise news-
summaries ; for the less serious listener there are first-class hurnoroti features, such as the dialogues of Kurt and Willy, and a very perso element introduced by cleverly phrased letters written by German soldier, to their wives telling them of conditions at the front, behind the line in billets, in harbours, &c. In all these instances the standard is co sistently high.
From long experience of listening to enemy and Allied propaganda have formed the opinion that no group of propagandists compares wi the London group, both in accuracy and up-to-date knowledge of German armed forces or of internal conditions in Germany. The co pilers of the programmes know their job and how to gauge and to play their audiences—when war news is gloomy, the empty promises of Fiihrer are placed alongside Churchill's solid achievements and so piophecies. Space forbids many examples, but mention may be ma of the effective handling of The contrast between Hitler's bragging aim the German forces at Stalingrad or the strength of the Atlantic Wall and what actually happened. Mr. Thomson can be quite confident t nothing in this sphere is overlooked—Goebbels will long ago have regretted his gibe that the English should take a leaf from his boo nothing disgorged from his Ministry can approach the virility of w now goes out hourly from London. I write, Sir, to pay tribute to o German propagandists, and we may all be assured that this new weapa is being handled with the utmost efficiency and effect, mercilessly exposing the deceptions of the German Propaganda Ministry and O.K.W. a presenting the realities to the German public at home and in the field.
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