Since the War in Europe had been going on a little over a month, there was no letup in the amount of propaganda emanating from Germany in the days just following Chamberlain's declaration. But since the U.S. was not actively in the war, we still had reporters covering Berlin on a regular basis and the goings on of the Hitler regime.
Raymond Gram Swing was a News commentator for the Mutual Broadcasting System network and his astute and articulate daily assessments of the war were just part of that growing community of news gatherers taking to the networks ever since the Munich Crisis of 1938 legitimized broadcast journalism.
This commentary, given on October 5, 1939 talks about the attraction of Hitler to the German people and how people in general are mesmerized by his presence.
Raymond Gram Swing: “It’s well to bear in mind that Hitler never speaks at the microphone without the background of a frenzied audience. He never tries to talk quietly and persuasively to an individual listener. He talks to crowds who must give a crowds response. This is an essential of the totalitarian leadership."
Hmm. Frenzied crowds . . . Never talking quietly or persuasively. . . . .
Fascinating.
