Reading the paper on February 15, 1943.
With the crumbling of the German line in the Soviet Union, reports say Hitler has relinquished his role as the supreme commander of the German army.
The job of planning Nazi military strategy in the east will be returned to field commanders, who have conditioned their acceptance on Hitler agreeing to the shortening of the German front and acknowledging responsibility for the ongoing German retreat.
Hitler had assumed command in December 1941, telling the Reichstag he did so based on his ‘intuition.’
Meanwhile, the German civilian population is being mobilized to counter the unrelenting advance of the Soviet army, which seems able to draw upon an unlimited supply of reserve troops.
This effort includes the curtailing of all professional and amateur sports competitions throughout Germany except for those which are solely local in character.
CBS reporter Howard K. Smith reports German citizen unrest over local police failures to stem increasing numbers of home invasions and thefts by forced laborers conscripted from occupied countries and Russian prisoners-of-war.
Meanwhile, all French men born between 1912 and 1921 have been ordered to register with Nazi occupation authorities for German labor service.
Overnight, British bombers conducted two raids on the the German U-Boat pen in Lorient, France, while British and American bombers conducted raids in Italy and along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa.
German troops in Africa facing severe manpower shortages have begun efforts to raise an Arab division from the local Tunisian population.
Reports have surfaced that Magda Goebbels, wife of the German propaganda minister, is hosting the wives of the Nazi puppet leaders of Norway and the Netherlands in her heavily-fortified Bavarian home.
The purpose of her so-called ‘hospitality’ was not explained, but it is believed it may serve as an ‘insurance policy’ to force their husbands’ compliance with Hitler’s demands.
Members of Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force operating its balloon anti-aircraft defenses, which impede the flight paths of incoming Luftwaffe aircraft, have been reassigned after authorities determined the physical demands of the job were more than women could handle.
In the Pacific, the recent Allied victory on Guadalcanal has enabled Allied fliers to begin operations out of the island’s Henderson Field in missions against Japanese strongholds elsewhere in the Solomon Island chain.
Syndicated columnist and radio commentator Walter Winchell has apologized for his recent criticism of voters who support isolationist congressmen.
Winchell, an outspoken advocate of FDR’s domestic and war policies whose weekly radio broadcasts reach fifty million people, once called isolationist leader Charles Lindbergh “The Lone Ostrich.”
The director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau reports that male opposition to women workers in defense industries is dwindling, due to the women’s dependable service.
‘Women are performing men’s jobs in steel manufacturing, aircraft production and shipyards well,’ she says, crediting labor unions for progress made in ensuring women receive equal pay for doing traditional male jobs.
President Roosevelt has sent a letter of congratulations to Metropolitan Opera star Marjorie Lawrence, age 34, who recently contracted polio, urging the singer to “carry on” in her struggle to regain her health.
Friends and fellow opera stars honored Lawrence last evening in a New York testimonial dinner in which she serenaded guests from a wheelchair.
And finally…
Kiddie Boots’ Son defeated 115 dogs drawn from across the country to be judged Best-In-Breed at last night’s specialty show at the Boston Terrier Club of New York.
Experts say the dog, who has captured the “Best” award in recent shows across the East Coast, has one of the best Boston Terrier heads they have ever seen, along with superior markings.
And his precocious spirit in the ring is said to make him ‘a natural showman.’
Especially in wartime, the show must go on.
I’ll see you on Monday.
— Brenda
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