The War Illustrated, Volume 1, No. 1, Page 22, September 16, 1939.

Grey Hairs for the Firing Line
"I watched columns of older reservists march to the trains that were to carry them to points near the Polish border. There was no flag waving, no military bands. The men shambled along dejectedly. Bald heads were seen all along the line, and no one in the ranks was without greying hair. One man in five seemed to have a snow-white head."
(Berlin Correspondent in News Chronicle, August 28.)

Death Penalty Threats
The German broadcasting stations announced as soon as war began that it was a punishable offense to listen-in to French broadcasting stations.
Anyone doing so, or passing on information picked up from French broadcasts, were liable to a death penalty, it was announced.

German Radio Sets Confiscated
All radios sets in Germany have been banned and will be confiscated, with the exception of the small "people’s sets", which can only get local stations.

Heil Frieden!
There were remarkable scenes at Liverpool Street Station on August 26 when four trains carrying nearly 800 people left for the Continent. Altogether, between 1,500 and 1,800 foreigners left during the day. Most of them were Germans who had been advised by their Embassy to leave.
The one topic of conversation as the trains stood waiting in the platforms was the common hope for peace. There were no cries of "Heil Hitler" as the train drew out. Instead, there were calls of "Heil Frieden" - hail peace.

Ration Cards in Germany
Rationing of many foodstuffs, as well as of textiles and boots and shoes, was introduced by decree on August 27, and cards have been distributed throughout Germany.
Food will be distributed in the following quantities per head each week: Meat, 25 oz; butter, margarine or oil, 15 oz; sugar, 10 oz; jam, 4 oz; coffee or coffee substitutes, 2 oz; tea substitute, ¾ oz; milk, 2 ½ pint; and soap, 1 oz.
Eggs, potatoes, and bread, which are on the cards, are not strictly controlled for the moment. Cocoa is also free.

Women Rush to Join Up
A one-way traffic system had to be put into operation in the corridors at the Women’s Voluntary Service headquarters in S.W. London because of the rush of the women to join up.

Woes of the Hausfrau
"The German woman wears clothes made of ‘spun-wood,’ that is to say, artificial wool made from wood pulp. A skirt looked nice enough until you had sat on it for an hour or two, but then there were creases like railway lines. And woe betide a ‘spun-wood’ suit that got caught in the rain! Sheets are a problem in Germany today; wash them gently and all is well, but boil them - and they become soup! The girls in the shops warn you not to iron these sheets and dresses with an over-hot iron, and on no account to boil them."
(An Englishwoman resident in Berlin - in Daily Mail, August 29, 1939)

Don’t Forget the Poor Majorities!
It has become a widespread habit in post-War Europe to give more attention to minorities than to the poor old majorities, which, after all, are also there. Of the 35,000,000 of Poland, 25,000,000 are the purely Polish majority. Of the remainder, most are Jews and Ukrainians, who hate the Nazi menace at least as much as the Poles themselves.
(A.T. Lutoslawski, in Daily Mail, Aug. 23.)

Pilsudski said-
To be vanquished and not surrender is victory.

He Wants to Understand Us!
"The Chancellor has courageously put aside the encirclement machinery and has once more revealed the wider background which culminates in the untiring endeavour for a lasting Anglo-German understanding."
(Hamburger Fremdenblatt)

Poland, Nation of Youth
Poland has now a population of 35,000,000, an increase of 8 ½ million (nearly half a year) since the Great War. Of European countries this is by far the highest birth-rate. As a consequence Poland has a very low average age.

India’s Loyalty
Leading Indian princes have offered to place at the disposal of the King-Emperor all the resources of their States.
The Maharaja of Bikaner stated:
"It can safely be predicted that the Princes of India will rally like one man around their beloved King-Emperor and stand solid behind the Empire should war unfortunately break out."
The Viceroy, the Marquess of Linlithgow, has received from the rulers of States in all parts of India assurances of loyalty in the event of war.
The first ruler to place his troops and resources unreservedly at the disposal of the King-Emperor was the wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad, whose State is as large as Italy. Others who followed included the Maharajas of Travancore, Kashmir, Bikaner, Kapurthala and Jind. The Nawab of Rampur, who recalls the example of his forefathers at the time of the Indian Mutiny and the Great War, proudly offers his personal services as a soldier.

Wish Fufillment?
A loose-leaf atlas is widely advertised in Germany. Purchasers are given coupons which entitle them to free new naps of greater Germany when the boundaries are altered. (Sunday Express)

Mind the Pitch!
One of the nicest of A.R.P. stories has cropped up. It illustrates this England, this British way of doing things.
In a certain suburb, an A.R.P. expert with wide experience of trench and bomb shelter systems noticed some young men digging a straight trench alongside some playing fields. It was to be a refuge in case of sudden air raids.
My friend pointed out that the blast of a bomb at either end of the trench would immediately kill all occupants. He told them that the best way to construct such a trench would be to use the traverse or gridiron system. One of the diggers thought for a moment, then replied: "But, old boy, that would spoil the football pitch!" (Star.)

Nazi Cold-bloodedness
"It is the crowded quarters which will suffer the most from bombing. Those quarters, however, are inhabited by those who have not succeeded in life - the refuse of the community in fact, which would be well rid of them. Besides, the explosions of the bombs will inevitably cause many cases of madness. The person whose nervous system is deficient will not be able to survive the shock. In this way, bombing will help us to discover the neurasthenics in our community and to remove them from social life."
Archiv der Geselleschaft fur Rassenbiologie, Berlin (Race-Biology laboratory)
(News Review, August 18, 1938.)

Japan is Shocked
Japan is not inclined to arraign or condemn Germany, who is dead to moral sense and who justifies any Machiavellian makeshift for safeguarding her national existence.
It would be the height of folly for Japan to attempt to blame such a country for a breach of faith.
(Chugai Shogyo Shimpo)

Man Goes Back to the Melting Pot
"By some power deeply seated in our nature and over which we seem to be powerless, we, after two centuries of enlightenment, have been thrust back, with all our load of knowledge and equipment upon us, into a dark age which will require deep thinking, resolute action, endurance and courage if the world is to find a fortunate exodus from the Egypt in which it now is."
(Sir Arthur Keith in Sunday Times, Aug. 27.)

Plenty of "Living Space" in Prussia!
Herr Koch, Nazi district leader in East Prussia, has declared that his province, whose present population is 2,500,000, needs an increase of 2,000,000 inhabitants. This in spite of the fact that, since 1933, several hundred thousand workers have been brought in to staff the 157 new factories established during the same period.

Germans Musn’t Get Dirty!
The new German rationing regulations issued on August 29 extend to many household commodities. For instance, one stick of shaving soap must last five months, while all toilet soap has to be reserved for infants under two and for those in unavoidably dirty occupations. The general public is warned to avoid getting dirty unnecessarily.

That Sinking Feeling
"The Germans have always known that they are expert in violence, but amateurs in psychology. This knowledge tempts them to bluff and bluster in hope of assuaging the pangs of self-distrust. Thus, even while they rejoice at Herr von Ribbentrop’s diplomatic victory, they will retain an uneasy feeling inside."
(Harold Nicolson, M.P., in The Times, August 30.)

Chamberlain Loquitur
I labour for peace, but when I speak unto them thereof, they make them ready for battle-(Psalm 120).

Britain’s Agriculture
As far as agriculture is concerned, Great Britain is in a vastly better position that she was in 1914. We have about a million more cattle, 1,250,000 more sheep, 1,300,000 more pigs, and many millions more poultry than we had then.
Moreover, by skillful breeding and feeding, the production per animal has been greatly increased, cows, for example, yielding at least 50 per cent more milk than in 1914. Our 4,000 acres of sugar beet in 1914 has grown to 345,000 acres. 18 sugar beet factories last season produced nearly 6 million cwt. of sugar.
The number of farm horses has decreased, but their place has been taken by about 50,000 land tractors and hundreds of thousands of lorries.

Spain Keeps Out
Italian hopes that Spain might serve her as a base, or even as an ally, have foundered. Germany’s cynical embrace of the Bolsheviks, who organized and largely reinforced the Spanish Revolution, has so shocked the new Nationalist Government of Spain that its sentiments towards both its recent allies have become "A plague on both your houses." - (Daily Mail.)