Pocket Guide To Germany B/W

8/3/2019 Pocket Guide To Germany B/W

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This booklet isissued in the interest ofinforming you about the country youoccupy. Nothing contained herein shouldbe considered a relaxation of the Non-Fraternizatiort Policy.Keep faith with the American

soldiers who have died to eliminatethe German warmakers.

DO NOT FRATERNIZE

III


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CONTENTSPage

I. Your Job in Germany . ........ . 1II. On Guard! . . . .. ........ . 4

Keep Your Distance .. ... ... . . 4Keep Your Eyes Open . . . . . . . . . 5Keep Your Guard Up . . . . . ... 6What the Germans Think of the U. S. . . 10"Alibis" . . ... . . . . . . . .... 12Health .. . . . . . . . . . 16Marriage Facts . . . . . . . . . . . 17

III. Background ... . .. . . . . . . . 18Nazi Vacuum ... . ........ 18Glimpse of History . . . . . ...... 20The German Empire . . . . . . . . ... 26And Before the German Empire . .... .. 27Why You Are Fighting Germany . . ... . 27Landscape . . .. ........ . 30Climate ............. 31

IV. In Conclusion .... ... .. ..... . 32V. Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Currency, Weights, and Measures . ..... 33Language Guide . . ........... 36


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further will create great hardship and in the end willcause conditions that will make your own job a harderone.

It is always a strain on our supply lines to feed peo-ple of occupied countries. Don't strain it further.Don't belittle or be critical of fighting qualities offormer soldiers. By now you will have had a goodopportunity to judge just how good a fighting man theenemy is. The point is, we don't like to kick peoplewhen they are down.

There must be no fraternization. This is absolute!Unless otherwise permitted by higher authority youwill not visit in German homes or associate with Ger-mans on terms of friendly intimacy, either in public orin private.

They must never be taken into your confidence.This warning against fraternization doesn't mean

that you are to act like a sourpuss or military autom-aton. Your aspect should not be harsh or forbid-ding. At home you had minor transactions withmany people. You were courteous to them, but neverdiscussed intimate affairs, told them secrets, or gavethem the benefit of your confidence. Let that be-havior be your model now.

The Germans will be curious. They will be inter-ested. Their interest will be aroused by observation.They will notice your superb equipment. They will2


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notice your high pay (high compared to the standardsof their own and other European countries). Theywill observe your morale and the magnificent spirit ofcooperation and mutual respect that exists in theAmerican Army. And they will ask questions aboutAmerica and American life.

Within the limits of your instructions againstfraternization and intimacy, you can by your conductgive them a glimpse of life in a Democracy where noman is master of another, where the only limit of suc-cess is a man's own ability.

But don't argue. Don't try to convince them. Ifyou can plant the seed of your pride of your countryand its way of life, time and others will do the rest.

In the meantime your very presence on Germansoil will serve as a constant demonstration to the Ger-man people, that the master race theory that sentthem forth to bathe the world in blood, was just somuch tragic nonsense. According to its own values,they should be occupying your home town instead ofyour toccupying their soil. The "master race" didn'tmake their point.


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II. ON GUARDKEEP YOUR DISTANCE

You are in enemy country!These people are not our allies or our friends.They are bound by military terms.However friendly and repentant, however sick of the

Nazi party, the Germans have sinned against the lawsof humanity and cannot come back into the civilizedfold by merely sticking out their hands and saying--"I'm sorry."

It is up to the people to prove they deserve a placeonce more among respectable nations.

Don't forget that eleven years ago, a majority of theGerman people voted the Nazi Party into power.The German people had all read Hitler's "MeinKampf". They knew what Hitler meant to do to theminorities and the world. This book told them and amajority of them voted for the Nazis knowing thiswould give the Nazi Party absolute control, with Hitleras Chancellor.

With Hitler firmly entrenched in power the plan in"Mein Kampf" began to come true-the bullying ofraces, the destruction of peaceful nations, the march


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toward world conquest. And this gangster racket wasenthusiastically and energetically supported by theGerman people-as long as it seemed to succeed.Remember the record.

You are not in Germany, however, to carry a chipon your shoulder or to brutalize the inhabitants. Weare not like the Nazis.

But you are not there on a good will errand either.KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Even after a surrender, or the signing of an armis-tice, keep your eyes open on German soil. Be careful.

Don't take chances.You are in unfriendly territory. Your life may be

in more danger than it was during the battles. Onthe firing line you kept your eyes open and your witsabout you every second. That is why you are alivetoday. You cannot afford to relax caution now.

During the war, Germany kept 500,000 trainedkillers at home, the black-uniformed "S. S. Guards",a branch of Himmler's "Gestapo", the German SecretPolice.

With the defeat of Germany what are left of these500,000 will discard their uniforms and disappear intothe anonymity of civilian clothes. Many thousands


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of other Gestapo men and soldiers as well will do thesame.

This will not make them less dangerous. It willmake them more dangerous. It will enable them tostrike in the dark.

Many will go "underground", and many will insistthey were anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler all the time.

You must remain an alert soldier.Protect yourself at all times.

KEEP YOUR GUARD UP

You have already found out by the hard way thatwar is not a sport like football, or boxing, played underset rules and ending with the call of "Time!"

In prize-fighting, when the bell rings to end theround, only the careless fighter drops his hands. Eventhen, if his opponent reaches over, clips him one onthe jaw and knocks him out, the victim can get justiceand relief from the referee. When he wakes up, hewill find that his treacherous foe has been disqualified.

The difference in war and the occupation that fol-lows war is that the fellow who drops his guard andgets clipped, doesn't wake up.

Don't forget that you're ordered into Germany nowpartly because your fathers forgot so soon what the


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war was about last time. They took it for grantedthat the friendly reception the Germans gave themafter the Armistice in 1918 proved that Germanymeant well after all. Our whole country let down itsguard too easily last time.

This time, you may not get such a friendly reception.German hatred against America has been concen-

trated by education, propaganda, and the accuracy ofthe Allied Air Forces bombardment. The Germanbelieves that had it not been for American interven-tion, this time his old dream of world conquest wouldhave been realized.

So, keep your left out. Trust no one but your ownkind.

Be on your guard particularly against young Ger-mans between the ages of 14 and 28.

Since 1933, when Hitler came to power, Germanyouth has been carefully and thoroughly educated forworld conquest, killing, and treachery.

One of the things in which we take pride in Americais the spirit of sportsmanship, decency, and fair playinstilled into our boys during their education.

Most young Americans hate a bully, despise a snitch,and have nothing but contempt for a double-crosser.In school you learned from your teachers and fromthe other kids that it wasn't smart to pick on a little

guy, or tell tales. When you played games you were


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taught to fight to the last whistle no matter how bigthe score against you: you learned not to cheat andthat if you couldn't win fairly, then you took yourlicking like a man and shook hands with the man whobeat you.

You learned that these rules were good ones to takeinto life with you when school was over, that youbelonged to a community of free men with all therights and privileges inherent in a Democracy, that theloyalty you gave to your government was loyalty to acountry governed by representatives of your ownchosing.

You know that to be born free and equal meantthat you were no better and no worse than anyoneelse but that you would have a decent chance to proveyour abilities in fair competition.

Since the year 1933, the German boy has beentaught deliberately the exact opposite.You have heard the quotation-"Just as the twigis bent, the tree's inclined." It means that everyman is the product of his early education, during hisimpressionable years.

The young German, through his most impression-able years, has been taught that the strong are en-titled to pick on and destroy the weak, that it is nobleto squeal on a pal, or even snitch on a member of one'sown family, that if you can win by cheating it's just


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as good as winning any other way, that a promise orword of honor given is to be kept only as long as itsuits its purpose and can be broken at any time.

He has been taught to torture and stand torture.He has been told over and over again that he is amember of a master race and that all other peoplesare his inferiors and designed to be his slaves.

He has learned to sacrifice everything, himself, hisfamily, even his wife, for Adolf Hitler and the Naziparty. He has only one fanatical loyalty and that is toAdolf Hitler. And it will make no difference whetherHitler is alive or dead. The fanaticism to the Hitlerideal of master race conquest and rule will remain.He will not change overnight when the Armistice

is signed and the shooting stops. He won't be con-verted immediately in the towns and villages youoccupy behind the lines as you advance into Germany.

The German youth is a nice looking chap, muchlike the average fellow you grew up with back home.You may ask yourself how a guy who looks prettymuch like one of us could believe and do all the thingswe know he believed and did. The difference is in-side him-in his character. For your own safety andthe safety of your comrades never for an instant forgetthat he is the victim of the greatest educational crimein the history of the world.

From childhood, in all his schools, he has heard9

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one teaching: that force, ruthlessness, and blind obedi-ence to the Fflhrer will carry him and the Germanpeople to a position of dominance over all other peo-ples of the world. By hearing this doctrine constantlyrepeated throughout his formative years, he has comefirmly to believe in it.

Action according to such teaching, silly as it sounds,is a habit with German youth today. You must beprepared to recognize it.

Other American and Allied representatives, whenthe peace is made, will concern themselves with thecure for the German disease-to destroy forever theGerman physical power and will to attempt worldconquest. Your own duty is to be aware of the factsand to protect yourself at all times.

WHAT THE GERMANS THINK OF THE U. S.

You are going to find out that many Germans grewup with the idea that America was mostly full of cow-boys and Indians and rich uncles. Germans who livedthrough World War I remember that Uncle Sam waspictured as a rich old skinflint who lent money to theAllies and made big profits out of their fighting anddying. After that war and before the Nazis came in,the Germans got a different idea about America-a


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country. of sky-scrapers and millions of automobiles,of mass-production and unlimited resources.

At that time there developed a great deal of ad-miration and respect for America, so much in fact thatmany Germans in the late 20's were talking about the"Americanization" of Germany. Most Germans hadrelatives in our country or had friends who had rela-tives there. It was also recalled that the AmericanArmy of Occupation in the Rhineland had treatedthe people with great consideration and that theUnited States had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles.

When the Nazis came into power, they wanted toprove that Nazi Germany was better than any countryin the world. They thought it was particularly im-portant to run down America and especially Americandemocracy. They therefore tried to obliterate all ofthe better impressions which Americans and Americanways had made during Republican days in Germany.Our country was pictured as a land of great wealthand terrible poverty, corrupted by politicians, terror-ized by gangsters, and filled with unemployed.

Since we have been at war with Germany the worstpropaganda of all has appeared. At first our armedforces were pictured as nice, simple-minded boys whomade poor soldiers, but after we landed in Africa,Sicily and Italy and our Flying Fortresses blasted Ger-many day after day, they changed their tune. They


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called our soldiers vicious and brutal, products ofgangsterism and corruption. Our airmen were repre-sented as bombing only churches and hospitals anddeliberately machine-gunning women and children."ALIBIS"

German propaganda against America indicatesthat the most powerful weapon wielded by the Nazistate, before and during the war, was the lie.This weapon will not be relinquished when the Ger-man soldier is defeated and shooting stops.The defeated German enemy may play for sympa-thy. He displayed this tendency after the last war in1918, and may be expected to do it again on a largerand grander scale.Having lost the war, you may be sure he will makeevery effort to win the peace.He may have a whole series of "alibis" at the tip ofhis tongue; they will not be good "alibis".Not to lead yourself into argument with the enemy,but to know the truth about your country's position inthe war, read a few typical German propaganda lines,and some American answers to them:German line: "Germany did not start this war."American answer: "Germany declared war on theUnited States in December, 1941, five days after Ger-


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many's ally, Japan, had attacked us at Pearl Harbor.As for Britain and France, they went to war in Sep-tember 1939 in fulfillment of their pledge to Polandwhen the German armies ruthlessly invaded Poland.Previous to that, England and France, like practicallyeveryone else, had done their best to appease Hitler andMussolini and avoid war. (Remember what happenedat Munich in September 1938). As for Russia, shewent to war against Germany in June, 1941, becauseshe was invaded by the Germans in flagrant violationof the German-Soviet non-aggression pact."German line: "Even granted that the Nazis wanted

war, the German people as a whole wanted peace-andnow that the Nazis are out, everything will be lovely."

American answer: "Certainly the Germans wantedpeace, as long as they could get everything they wanted(world domination) without having to fight for it. Butit's a funny coincidence that twice in a generation theGerman people have supported Governments, theKaiser's and Hitler's, that were dedicated to a policyof war-making and aggression and brutality and hatredof democracy."

German line: "Why should Americans be un-friendly to Germans? Aren't there X million Ameri-cans of German descent, and aren't they good citizensand good people?"

American answer: "Sure. But the Germans who


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emigrated to America were the Germans who lovedfreedom and hated tyranny. The great wave of Ger-man migration to the U. S. followed the unsuccessfulrevolution of 1848 and it was composed of men andwomen who left their old homes and went out to taketheir chances in a new country rather than ,submitto a tyrannical government. No wonder the descend-ents of these brave people are ready to fight for theirfreedom against all comers."

German line: "The real villains in the world arethe Jews or the Catholics or the Freemasons or theCommunists or the International Bankers who ex-ploit the people and start wars."American answer: "Hitler said that if you tell a lie

that's big enough people will believe you. He madetoo many Germans believe his propaganda lies aboutvarious races or faiths or classes. But he failed to putthose lies over on the American people, or the Britishpeople, or the Russian people. And that's why helost the war. And the sooner the German people startlearning the truth, the sooner will Germany gain arespectable place in the family of nations."

German line: "After World War I, it was the cruel,inhuman terms of the Treaty of Versailles that madeWorld War II inevitable."American answer: "The idea that the Treaty ofVersailles was cruel is a German propaganda story14


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that has had pretty wide play, and some acceptance.Actually, the Treaty of Versailes was generous com-pared with the terms imposed by the Germans on theRussians by the Treaty of Brest Litovsk in 1917; theAllies' treatment of Germany after World War I wasgenerous compared with Germany's treatment of allthe countries she has conquered and occupied since1939."

German line: "Americans in this war were suckers.They fought not for the interests of their own countrybut for the interests of British imperialism and Russiancommunism."

American answer: "We've heard that one before.And we know that you're trying to tell the Britishtroops right now that they fought for American Im-perialism. We fought this war as Americans forAmerica. We fought against the Germans and theJaps because our own freedom was threatened andbecause the interests of our own country were tied upwith those of the British and the Russians and theChinese and the French and all other fighters forfreedom."

Just as you helped to defeat them with your weaponsand your courage so you must be prepared to defeatlies with knowledge of the truth and view self-pityingappeals for sympathy with clear-headed realization ofthe issues at stake.


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Otherwise you may have to take up arms again.And if not you, then certainly your children.

The German isn't sorry for the millions of dead,wounded, homeless and maimed in Europe, the resultof his lust for loot and conquest. He is sorry for him-self. He is sorry that the ravages of war which he setout to inflict on other peoples were, in spite of all hisefforts, visited upon him. He is sorry that again hehas suffered defeat.

He will try to make you sorry for him too. Don'tfall for it.He is very apt, if he can get to talk to you, to try toplant seeds of disunity, racial intolerance and discon-tent, in your mind. If he does, don't fall for it.

The German will justify his defeat by charging thatit took a world coalition of United Nations to do it,that Germany stood alone against the world. Don'tbite! On the contrary, the coalition was Germany,Italy and Japan. And besides, who started the party?

Don't forget: If the German plans to repeat his ownhistory, he will try at least to sow the discord to pre-pare for another attempt at conquering the world.

HEALTH

Health conditions in Germany prior to the war weregood. Even though the disease rates were slightly


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higher than in the United States, the average personcould travel throughout Germany without any greaterrisk than in this country. Water supplies and restau-rants in the cities were safe; those in the rural areasless reliable. There were no special diseases that wereto be found in special parts of the country.

Unquestionably conditions have deteriorated duringthe war. Water supplies are not as reliable and foodis not as safe. Typhus has occurred and the numberof lice has increased. A scarcity of soap has loweredstandards of cleanliness. Diseases have become moreprevalent. Among these are the venereal diseases. Ifyou become exposed to venereal infection, report forimmediate prophylactic treatment.

In general, if you follow usual army health proce-dures, with special care to avoid unsafe water andfood, and to keep yourself free of lice, you'll run nogreater disease risks than under similar conditions inany other country.

MARRIAGE FACTS

Now that you are on foreign soil, you should knowthat marriage to a foreign girl is a complicated pro-cedure. Before you get too romantic remember thatforeign girls do not automatically become citizens uponmarriage to an American. It takes three years of

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residence in the States before she can even take theexaminations. In any case, you cannot marry withoutthe authorization of your commanding officer. Evenwith this permission, you would have difficulty gettingyour wife back to the U. S., since there are no provi-sions for transporting dependents during wartime, norare there likely to be for a long time to come.

III. BACKGROUNDNAZI VACUUM

To an American, used to the freest press the worldhas ever known, it seems impossible for a nation tohave been almost completely shut off from all externalnews for four years or more, especially since the per-fection of radio, but that is what has happened inGermany.

Ever since the advent of Hitler, and especially sincethe war, the German people have been living in avacuum as far as the truth and real news is concerned.Into that vacuum the Nazis have pumped only suchnews as they wanted the people to have, and such liesor misstatements as they thought necessary for the


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survival of the Party. They tortured and killed asthey pleased in order to keep themselves in power andto carry out their plans of world conquest. They sup-pressed all political opposition. They herded hun-dreds of thousands of innocent people into concentra-tion camps. The people were forbidden to listen toany foreign or domestic radio broadcasts except thosecontrolled by the Nazis.

Thus the Germans have heard only what the Naziswanted them to hear or read. Among other fairytales, they believed implicitly that the Luftwaffebombed and partially destroyed New York City, thatthe Poles attacked the Germans, and that Britain andAmerica wanted this war in order to destroy Germany.

And if you are still puzzled how such things couldbe in this modern age, do not forget that it was Berlinand the Nazis who staged a great book burning inwhich the symbolic knowledge of centuries was con-signed to the flames.

In spite of such indecent repressions, a small per-centage of Germans have risked death by listening toforeign short wave broadcasts beamed at them fromEngland and the United States and some of this in-formation has been whispered along, but withoutmuch effect on the large majority of the Germanpeople. Certainly the common German soldier is


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completely in the dark as to what has been happeningin the world outside his borders.

Where this state of affairs concerns you is in the irri-tation that will naturally arise in you when in thenormal contact of occupation you try to tell the Ger-mans what the score is, and they reply with theirparrot-like repetition of-"All lies. All Democraticpropaganda."

Don't argue with them.Don't try to convince them.Don't get angry.Give them the-"Okay-chum-you'll-find-out-soon-

enough," treatment and walk away.By NOT trying to convince them, or to shout themdown, by the assumption of a quiet demeanor you canhelp to create a genuine longing and thirst for thetruth and real news in the German people, and breakdown their resistance to it.

GLIMPSE OF HISTORY

The Germany that you are entering is or was aTotalitarian State operating under a one-man dic-tatorship.

In this kind of government, the state is supreme.The people have no inherent rights and are the slavesand the servants of the state, as opposed to our way of


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life in which government and those who govern arethe servants of the people.

Previous to the Nazi period, and following WorldWar I, Germany was a Republic, under the Constitu-tion of Weimar issued August 11, 1919.

Under this Constitution, the Germans voted for andelected a president who was to serve for seven years.

They had one legislative body, the Reichstag. Seatsin the Reichstag were contested for in free election bypolitical parties. The Party or Parties holding a ma-jority of the seats had their leaders called into thecabinet of the president to serve as Chancellor, Min-ister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of War, etc., ratheras in our party system at home where the Party thatwins the Presidential election expects a cabinet to beformed from its responsible members.

The National Socialist Party whose leader wasAdolf Hitler, whose platform was world conquest,international treachery and brutal suppression of re-ligious and other minorities, whose Bible and hand-book was Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf", contested forseats in the Reichstag. To many millions of Germans,that platform seemed all right. They voted the Na-tional Socialists, or "Nazis", as they were called forshort, into power. President Hindenburg was forcedto appoint Adolf Hitler Chancellor. And that was theend of the German Republic.


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Hindenburg died shortly after. In effect, the Con-stitution was suspended. All parties except the Naziswere dissolved. All powers were centered in Hitler.Hitler led Germany and the world into World War II.

Regimentation under the Nazis was complete. Toinsure its rule, the Party put its henchmen into everykey position in the country, from the central govern-ment in Berlin down to every little village-State andParty became one. Most of the big Party bosses likeHess, Goering, Himmler, Goebbels, Ley and othersof whom you have heard, held top positions in theReich government in Berlin. Most of the small localbosses combined their Party position with a govern-ment office such as mayor, police chief, or head of thechamber of commerce. All basic policies were madeand approved by the Party. All legislation was bydecree from the top. Finally, the Party spread a vastnetwork of police and control organizations over theentire people so as to have its eyes and ears everywhereand keep everybody in line.

As to the pressure and terror exercised by these nu-merous organizations, you can hardly get a full pictureafter it is all over; but you must be prepared to finda great many traces of it in the behavior of the people.You should be familiar with a few names and activi-ties. The SS (Schutzstaffen or Elite Guards) havebecome infamous all over the world for representing


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what is worst and most dangerous in Nazism. Theywere in complete control of all the police in Germanyand occupied Europe, were the strong-arm men of theconcentration camps, had their own military units(called Waif en SS), and were responsible for the mostbrutal acts of terror committed by the Nazi regime. Inthis they were ably assisted by the SA (Sturmab-teilungen or Storm Troopers). The motorized Partypolice was known as the NSKK (National SocialistMotor Corps).

In addition to these military organizations, the entireGerman youth of both sexes up to the age of eighteenwas forced into the HJ (Hitler Jugend or HitlerYouth) where they were prepared for their futuremilitary careers and also learned to think the "right",that is, Nazi way. All workers had to join the DAF(Deutsche Arbeitsfront or German Labor Front), thesole state and Party labor union. It negotiated allcontracts, settled all wage disputes, determined theconditions and hours of work, and even regulatedleisure time by a special Party-sponsored recreationprogram called "Strength Through Joy" (Kraft DurchFreude). Farmers had to join the Nazi Peasants' Or-ganization which told them what to grow, what tosell, where to sell it and for how much.

The same was true all through German social, pro-fessional, and educational life. Welfare contributions


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and relief measures, especially during and after airraids, went through the Party treasury and were dis-pensed by the Nazi Welfare Organization (abbrevi-ated as NSV). Lawyers had to join the Party Law-yers' Guild, doctors the Party Doctors' Association,students the Party Students' Group. Every sport eventwas sponsored by the official state and Party League.Practically every German man, woman, or child hadfallen into the network of some Party organization orwas watched by some Party agent.

It was a cruel new version of an old story-the storyof how Germany, throughout history, organized herpeople time and again to become conquerors.

THE GERMAN EMPIRE

Before World War I, Germany was an Empireunder Kaiser Wilhelm II, of the royal House of Ho-henzollern, descendent of a line of Prussian Kings.

Your fathers left their homes in 1917, shoulderedguns and went off to fight "Kaiser Bill", to "make theworld safe for Democracy."

Germany had again embarked on one of its bloodyPan-Germanic expeditions of conquest and loot.Pan-Germanism is the name given to the Germandream of world conquest. It is expressed in the linesfrom the song young Germans sang shortly before


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World War II-"Today Germany is ours, Tomorrowthe whole world . ."

AND BEFORE THE GERMAN EMPIRE . . .

There was Bismarck, who unified the separateGerman States after conquering France in 1870 in hisdream of world conquest. Bismarck was a Prussian.He believed that German blood was superior to thatof any other race; he believed in iron discipline. Hewas known as Germany's "blood and iron" Chancellor.Bismarck's ideas were not new in Germany but he wasresponsible for putting them into action. If he failedto get results by "power politics" he called up hisPrussian Army. To Bismarck, might was right; hedespised parliamentary methods. He was an auto-crat, not a democrat. He set the example for Ger-man leaders who came after him; and the Germanpeople admired this type of leadership. They stilldo, as we all have seen, to our cost, in recent years.They follow Hitler as they followed the Kaiser in 1914,and as they obeyed the will of Bismarck in the 19thCentury.

W HY YOU ARE FIGHTING GERMANY

As an intelligent American, you know why you'vebeen fighting this war. But the lesson of history has


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yet another note to add to your inner conviction as tothe right and decency of your cause.

It is a matter of History that there is nothing newabout German aggression or desire for conquest.

For centuries, this pugnacious spirit was able to op-erate only against Germany's immediate neighbors.

It was only recently, owing to modern inventionsand the shrinking of the distances on the surface ofthe globe, that the German was able to contemplaterealizing his dream of enslaving the world. From thatmoment on, you and your country were brought withinrange.

The fascist peoples of Italy, Germany and Japanfirst destroyed their own liberties; and then began touse force to destroy the liberty of their neighboringcountries. We hoped it was just a series of neighbor-hood quarrels, that were none of our business. Butsuddenly we began to see that we were part of theworld neighborhood: aviation and radio brought thenations of the world into close touch. Suddenly wesaw things happen that were very rotten indeed.Japan attacked China in 1931. Fascist Italy attackedEthiopia in 1935, and in 1936, interfered in Spain'sCivil War.

Then Germany sent military forces into the Rhine-land in 1936, contrary to her own obligations. In 1938Germany seized Austria; in the same year she broke


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into Czechoslovakia and occupied the Sudetenland.Then began the bloody and crazy march of destruc-tion: the remainder of Czechoslovakia in 1939, theinvasion of Poland in the same year, the invasion ofDenmark and Norway, followed by the conquest ofFrance in 1940 and, in 1941, invasion of the Balkansand the attack on Russia. German aggression threat-ened the entire world.

No self-respecting man, or nation, could live in aneighborhood in which gangsters were havirng theirway without trying to stop them. It was not only amatter of principle; it was a matter of actual personaland national safety.

The fascists all over the world made their allianceagainst the believers in freedom, and burst out ofbounds whenever it looked favorable for a successfulseizure of a peaceful country.

The free world couldn't go on taking that forever.Without resistance, the Germans, for example, wouldnever quit moving in on other countries.Take a look at Germany's record.Five times since 1864-in the lifetime of plenty ofmen still living-Germany has burst out of her bordersin wars of aggression against other nations:

Denmark in 1864.Austria in 1866.


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France in 1870.Belgium and France in 1914.Czechoslovakia, Austria, Poland, Russia, Nor-

way, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Greece, Bel-gium, Holland, and others between 1938and 1941.

LANDSCAPE

Germany is not as large as Texas, but it has a variedlandscape and climate. The terrain is rugged, gener-ally speaking, with extensive wooded areas.

Central Germany has low mountains resembling theCatskills or the Blue Ridge. These mountains ex-tend into southern Germany where the Black Forestspreads into Baden and Wuerttemberg. At the south-ern border of Germany, the Alps rise to eight or ninethousand feet. The country is crossed by a few majorrivers: the west is drained by the Rhine; in the cen-tral and northern parts are the Weser and the Elbe;in the east flows the Oder; in the south the Danube.Low plains with wide pastures and fields of rye, wheat,oats and potatoes cover northern Germany, similar toour Midwest.

Many Germans and many foreigners like to thinkof Germany as a land covered with quaint old townsset in the midst of an agricultural country. This of30


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course is not so. Germany, during the last seventyyears, has become one of the leading industrial coun-tries in the world, producing iron and coal, machinery,textiles, optical instruments, and chemical products.

Some of these industries are scattered over thegreater part of Germany, but many are concentratedin thickly congested industrial districts; for example,the Ruhr area, reaching from the Rhine to Dortmund;mines, smokestacks and furnaces dominate this land-scape. In Central Germany there are many indus-trial centers scattered from Hanover southeast to Dres-den. In eastern Germany, in Upper Silesia, industrialareas are also located.

Before the war, American tourists flocked into Ger-many in the summertime to visit the Rhine, its ancientcastles, the Black Forest, the Bavarian Alps and medi-eval cities like Brandenburg near Berlin.

Now, Americans do not come as tourists to enjoythe scenery; but rather as soldiers to carry out a mili-tary mission.

CLIMATE

The climate of Germany resembles that of the east-ern seaboard of the United States in the region ofBaltimore and Washington.As at home, the four seasons are sharply defined.Except in some of the mountain regions, Germans do


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not experience the extreme of winter cold that we do inthe northern United States.

Winter is liable to have penetrating dampness ratherthan severe cold. Snow does not remain upon theground long, except in the mountains. In the Alpineregions, the winters are severe with heavy snowfall.

The mean temperatures in summertime do not rangeas high as do ours at home, but humidity may be highand in the northern part of Germany you may runinto hot, sticky, enervating days.

IV. IN CONCLUSIONThis booklet has hit the highspots of Germany's

recent behavior, in order to add knowledge to yourmilitary equipment for the job you are assigned to do.It has not been the aim of this booklet to sing a "Hymnof Hate" against the enemy, or to make you practiceas revenge his fanatical creed of intolerance, with itsuntold cruelties and brutalities.

One of the tragedies in German's recent history isher own betrayal of her past gifts to civilized life. Thecountry has produced great writers, philosophers,scientists, artists and musicians. Her people possessgreat energies which at times have been used to benefitrather than destroy mankind. In the peace to come it


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is hoped that those energies can be more consistentlyemployed to benefit the world, more than they havebeen in the past.

The war has been hard for you and millions ofothers. The Allies have a right to apply strict justiceto those responsible. You, as an individual Americansoldier, have the responsibility of living up to what theUnited Nations are out to win in this War . . . aworld at peace, on decent terms.

Let your attitude in Germany be:Firm-Fair-Aloof-

and above all,Aware of the things this booklet has tried to tell you,so that the honest mistakes of an older generation maynot be repeated, and so that, to apply Lincoln's wordsto the fallen men of our armed forces in this war,"These dead shall not have died in vain."

V. ANNEXTHE GERMAN MONETARY SYSTEM

The monetary unit of Germany is the Reichsmark.The Reichsmark is divided into 100 Pfennigs, just

as the American dollar is divided into 100 cents.


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However, the pre-war Reichsmark did not equal thedollar in value. Its value, arbitrarily set by the Ger-m an government and maintained by strict currencycontrol, was $.40 in American money. It is not worthanything like this today, however.

The following coins are current:Mark ----------------Marks----------------Marks----------------Marks----------------Pfennigs-------------_Pfennigs--------------Pfennigs----------_Pfennigs-------------_Pfennig--------------_

silversilversilversilveraluminum bronzealuminum bronzealuminum bronzebronze or copperbronze or copper

Paper money is issued by the Reichsbank in denom-inations of 10 Marks, 20 Marks, 50 Marks, 100 Marksand 1000 Marks.

Pieces of 10 Pfennigs are sometimes known by theslang name of "Ein Groschen".

Pieces of 5 Pfennigs also have a slang term-"EinSechser".

Copper coins of 1 and 2 Pfennigs are practicallyworthless.

War, conquest and occupation will probably alterthe value of the mark in terms of American exchange.34


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Ascertain the current and proper rate of exchangefrom your officers.

Do not take less.Do not demand more.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

The standard for all legal weights and measuresused in Germany is the international metric system.In the following tables you will find the most essentialunits of this standard, or those which are in daily use,reduced to their American equivalents.

Units of Length1 kilometer (1,000 meters) - 0.62 mile1 meter _______---------------- about 39 inches, or 3.28

feet1 centimeter (0.01 meter) _ about 11- inch1 millimeter (0.001 meter) about 0.04 inch

Units of Weight1 metric ton (1,000 kilo-

grams) __-------------- 2204.62 pounds1 kilogram (1,000 grams),

or Kilo--_____________ 2.2 pounds1 gram_________________--15.432 grains


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Capacity1 hectoliter (100 liters) __26.418 U. S. gallons, or

2.838 bushels1 liter ------------------ 1.0567 liquid quarts, or

61.025 cubic inches1 deciliter (0.1 liter) ------ 0.10567 liquid quart, or

6.1 cubic inchesArea

1 square kilometer-------- 0.3861 square mile1 hectare (10,000 square

meters) _-------------- 2.471 acres1 square meter___-________ 10.76 square feet

LANGUAGE GUIDEHINTS ON PRONUNCIATION

All the words and phrases in this Guide are writtenboth in German spelling and in a simplified spellingwhich you read like English. (Don't use the Germanspelling, the one given in parentheses, unless you havestudied German before.) Read the simplified spellingas though it were English. Each letter or combiniationof letters is used for th e sound it usually stands for inEnglish and it always stands for that sound. Thus,00 is always pronounced as it is in too, boot, tooth,roost, never as anything else. Say these words andthen pronounce the vowel sound by itself. That isth e sound you must use every time you see oo in the


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Pronunciation column. If you should use some othersound-for example, the sound of oo in blood-youmay be misunderstood.

Syllables that are accented, that is, pronouncedlouder than others, are written in capital letters.AY as in may, say, play, but don't drawl

it the way we do in English. Exam-ple: TAY meaning "tea".

O or OH as in go, so, oh, note, joke, but don'tdrawl it the way we do in English.Example: VO meaning "where."

Al as in aisle or ice. Example: AINSSmeaning "one".

EW stands for a sound we do not have inEnglish. To make it you roundyour lips as though to say the oo inboo and at the same time say theee in bee. Example: guh-MEW-zuh meaning "vegetables."

ER stands for a sound somewhat like theone in her except that you roundyour lips as you make the sound.Example: TSVERLF meaning"twelve."

KH stands for a sound something like theone you make when you clear yourthroat to spit. Example: NAHKHmeaning "toward."


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GREETINGS AND GENERAL PHRASESEnglishGood morningGood dayGood eveningHow are you?SirMissMadam

Pronunciation and German SpellingGOO-ten MAWR-gen (Gauten

Morgen)GOO-ten TAHK (Guten Tag)GOO-ten AH-bent (G u t e n

Abend)vee GAYT ess ee-nen? (Wie geht

es Ihnen?)main HAYR (mein Herr)FROY-lain (Fraulein)FROW (Frau)

When you address a person by name you say :Mr. SchmidtMrs. SchmidtMiss SchmidtPleaseExcuse meThank you

When someoneword for ''please."PleaseYesNo

HAYR SHMIT (Herr Schmidt)FROW SHMIT (Frau Schmidt)FROY-lain SHMIT (Fraulein

Schmidt)BIT-tuh (Bitte)fayr-TSAI-oong (Verzeihung)DAN-kuh (danke)

thanks you, you answer with the

BIT-tuh (Bitte)YA (Ja)NAIN (Nein)


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Where is a toilet?

To the rightTo the leftPlease show me

V O ist ai-nuh two-LET-tuh? (Woist eine Toilette?)

DIRECTIONS

nahkh RE SHT S (nach rechts)Nahkh LINKS (nach links)BIT-tuh TSAI - gen zee meer

(Bitte zeigen Sie mir)If you are driving and ask the distance to another

town, it will be given you in kilometers, not miles.Kilometer ,kee-loMAY-ter (Kilometer)

One kilometer equals 5/8 of a mile.NUMBERS

AINSST S V A ID R A IFEERF E W N FZ E K SZEE-benA H K H TN O Y NTSAYNELFT SVE RL F

EinsZweiDreiVierFunfSechsSiebenAchtNeunZehnElfZwolf

O neTw oThreeFourFiveSixSevenEightNineTenElevenTwelve


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ThirteenFourteenFifteenSixteenSeventeenEighteenNineteenTwentyTwenty-one

Twenty-two

ThirtyFortyFiftySixtySeventyEightyNinetyHundredThousand

DRAJ-tsaynFEER-tsaynFEWNF-tsaynZESH-tsaynZEEP-tsaynAHKH-tsaynNOYN-tsaynTSVAHN-tsikAIN-oont-tsvahn-

tsikTSVAJ-oont-

tsvahn-tsikDRAI-sikFEER-tsikFEWNF-tsikZESH-tsikZEEP-tsikAHKH-ts ikNOYN-tsikHOON-der tTOW-zent

DreizehnVierzehnFunfzehnSechzehnSiebzehnAchtzehnNeunzehnZwanzigEinundzwanzig

Zweiundzvanzig

DreissigVierzigFunfzigSechzigSiebzigAchtzigNeunzigHunder tTausend

WHAT'S THIS?

When you want to know the name of something youcan say "What 's this?" or "W hat's that?" and point tothe thing you mean.

41592037-44--6


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EnglishWhat is

this?What's this?

What's that?

Pronunciat ion and German SpellingVAHSS IST (Was ist)DEESS (dies)VAHSS ist DEESS? (Was ist

dies?)VAHSS ist DAHSS? (Was ist

das?)ASKING FOR THINGS

When you want something, use the phrase "want"and then add the name of the thing wanted. Alwaysuse "Please"-BIT-tuh.I wantcigarettesI want

cigarettesto eat

I want to eatdrinking waterbreadbuttereggscheesemeatpork

ish MERSI-H-tuh (Ich mochte)tsee-ga-RET-ten (Zigaretten)ish MERSH-tuh tsee-ga-RET-ten

(Ich mochte Zigaretten)ESS-sen (essen)ish MERSH-tuh ESS-sen (Ichmochte essen)TRINK-vahss-ser (Trinkwasser)B R O H T (Brot)BOOT-ter (Butter)Al-er (Eier)KAY-zuh (Kase)FLAISH (Fleisch)S H V A I - nuh - flaish (Schweine-

fleisch)


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muttonvealbeefchickenfishsoupvegetablespotatoesbeetsbeanscabbagesaladfruitmilksaltpeppersugarchocolateteacoffeea cup of

coffeewinebeera glass of beer

HAHM-mel-flaish (H a m m e 1-fleisch)

KAHLP-flaish (Kalbfleisch)RINT-flaish (Rindfleisch)HOON (Huhn)FISH (Fisch)ZOOP-puh (Suppe)guh-MEW-zuh (Gemuse)kar-TAWF-feln (Kartoffeln)RO-tuh REW-ben (rote Ruben)BO-nen (Bohnen)KOHL (Kohl)za-LAHT (Salat)OHPST (Obst)MILSH (Milch)ZAHLTS (Salz)PFEF-fer (Pfeffer)TSOOK-ker (Zucker)sho-ko-LA-duh (Schokolade)TAY (Tee)KAHF-fay (Kaffee)ai-nuh TAHSS-suh KAHF-fay

(eine Tasse Kaffee)VAIN (Wein)BEER (Bier)ain GLAHSS BEER (ein Glas

Bier)


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tobacco TA-bahk (Tabak)matches SHTRAISH - herl - tser (Streich-

holzer)MONEY

To find out how much things cost, you say:How much

coststhat

H ow much doesthat cost? vee-feel

vee-FEELKAWSS-tetDAHSSKAWSS-tet

DAHSS?

WievielKostetdas(Wievielkostet das?)

The answer will be given you in marks and pfennigs.mark M A R K (Mark)pfennig PFEN-nik (Pfennig)

TIME

When you want to know what time it is, you sayreally "How late is it?"What time is it?

Two o'clockTen past tw o

Quarter past five

vee SHPAYT is t ess? (Wie spiitis t es?)

T S V A I O O R (zwei Uhr)TSAYN nahkh T SVAI (zehn

nacht Zwei)FEER-tel nahkh FEWNF (viertelnach Funf)


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"Half past six"' is "six o'clock thirty" or "halfseven."Half past six

"A quarter ofQuarter of eight

ZEKS oor DRAI-sik (sechs Uhrdreissig) or HAHLP ZEE-ben(half Sieben)

eight" is "three quarters eight."DRAI - feer - te l AHKHT (drei-viertel Acht)

"Five minutes to nine" is "five minutes before nine."Five minutes to FEWNF mee - NOO - ten fornine NOYN (funf Minuten vor

Neun)For the hours after 12 noon it is customary to say

"thirteen o'clock", DRAI-tsayn OOR, and so on, justas we do in the Army.EnglishWhenbeginsthe movieWhen does the

movie start?leavesthe trainWhen does the

train leave?

Pronounciation and German SpellingVAHN (Wann)Buh-GINT (beginnt)Dahas KEE-no (das Kino)VAHN buh-GINT dahss KEE-

no? (Wann beginnt das Kino?)GAYT (geht)dayr TSOOK (der Zug)vahn GAYT dayr TSOOK?

(Wann geht der Zug?)


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YesterdayTodayTomorrowSundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

GESS-tern (gestern)HOY-tuh (heute)MAWR-gen (Morgen)ZAWN-tahk (Sonntag)MOHN-tahk (Montag)DEENSS-tahk (Dienstag)MIT-vawkh (Mittwoch)DAWN-nerss-tank (Donnerstag)FRAI-tahk (Freitag)ZAMSS-tahk (Samstag) orZAWN-ah-bent (Sonnabend)

OTHER USEFUL PHRASES

What is yourname?

M y name is -H ow do you say

table (or any-thing else) inGerman?

I am an American

Please help me

Where is the near-est town?

V EE HAl-sen zee? (Wie heissenSie?)

ish HAI-suh - (Ich heisse -)vahss ZA-gen zee fewr table owf

D O Y T S H ? (Was sagen Siefiir "Table" auf Deutsch?)

ish bin ah-may-ree-KA-ner (Ichbin Amerikaner)

BIT-tuh HEL-fen zee meer(Bitte helfen Sie mir)

V O is dee NAYSH-stuh A W R T -shaft? (W o is t die naichsteOrtschaft?)


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Good-by

I am hungry

I am thirsty

Halt! or Stop!Come here!

QuicklyCome quickly!

Go quickly!

Help !Bring help!

I am lostI will pay you

Where are theAmerican Sol-diers?Where is the town?

owf VEE-der-zayn (Auf Wieder-sehen)

ish HA-buh HOONG-e r (Ichhabe Hunger)

ish HA-buh D O O R S T (Ichhabe Durst)

H A H L T ! (Halt)K A WM -m e n zee H A Y R ! (Kom-

men Sie her!)SHNEL (schnell)KAWN-men zee SHNEL! (Kom-

men Sie schnell!)GAY-en zee S H N E L ! (Gehen

Sie schnell!)HIL-fuh! (Hilfe!)HO-len zee HIL-fuh! (Holen

Sie Hilfe!)ish HA-huh mish fayr-LOW-fen(Ich habe mich verlaufen)ish VAYR-duh EE-nen GELT

GAY-ben (Jich werde IhnenGeld geben)

V O ZINT dee a-may-ree-KA-nee-shen zawl DA-ten? (W o sinddie amerikanischen Soldaten?)V O IST dee S H T A H T ? (W o istdie Stadt?)


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Where is it?How far is it?

Which way isnorth?Which is the road

to -?Draw me a m ap

Take me thereTake m e to a

doctor

Take me to ahospital

Danger!Watch out!Gas !Take cover!Wait a moment!

V O IST ess? (W o is t es?)vee VAIT ist ess? (Wie weit ist

es?)V O ist NAWR-den? (W o ist

Norden?)V O is t dayr V A Y K nahkh ?

(W o is t der W eg nach -?)TSAISH-nen zee meer ai-nuh

LANT-KAR-tuh (Zeichnen Siem ir eine Landkarte)

BRIN-gen zee mish dawrt H IN(Bringen Sie mich dort hin)BRIN-gen zee mish tsoo AI-nem

A R T S T (Bringen Sie mich zueinem Arzt)

BRIN-gen zee mish tsoo AI-nemla-tsa-RET (Bringen Sie michzu einem Lazarett)

guh-FAR! (Gefahr!)OWF-pahss-sen! (Aufpassen!)GAHSS! (Gas!)DEK-koong! (Deckung!)VAR-ten zee ai-nen OW-gen-

blik! (W arten Sie einen Au-genblick!)


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F or use of M ilitary Personnel only. Not to berepublished in whole or in part , without the

consent of the W ar Department

PreparedbyARMY INFORMATION BRANCH, ARMY SERVICE FORCES

UNITED STATES ARMY


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IMPORTANT SIGNS

GermanHalt-!Langsam!Gefahr!EinbahnstrasseEinbahnverkehrKeine DurchfahrtRechts fahrenStrasse im BauKurveKreuzungBahnubergangParken verbotenKein ZutrittFrauen or DamenManner or HerrenRauchen verbotenEingangAusgang

EnglishStop!Go slow!Danger!One Way StreetOne Way TrafficNo ThoroughfareKeep to The RightRoad Under ConstructionDangerous CurveDangerous CrossingGrade CrossingNo ParkingNo AdmittanceWomenMenNo SmokingEntranceExit

Pocket Guide To Germany B/W

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