The New York Times (January 1, 1944)
Editorial: The Nibelung New Year
Adolf Hitler showed a good judgment of news values yesterday when he made “the Bolshevist danger” the main theme of his New Year’s diatribe. The Russian advance, now resumed at a great pace west and southwest of Kiev and in the Dnieper bend, is the outstanding military event of the year, just as the surrender of Italy was the outstanding political event.
A year ago, the army of Marshal Paulus was still holding a precarious position in front of Stalingrad. That army no longer exists. Between Stalingrad and the peak of yesterday’s Russian march lie more than 700 miles. In their retreat, the Germans have equaled Napoleon’s mileage and their losses have been more than Napoleonic. The Ukraine is strewn with the human and mechanical wreckage of their strength. It is the grave of Nazi hopes – and Hitler’s words prove that he is well aware of the fact.
The grave was dug by the Russian Army and people, with as much help as Britain and the United States could furnish. We have sent, for example, down to Oct. 31, 7,000 planes, 3,500 tanks, 130,000 submachine guns, 150,000 trucks, 25,000 jeeps, besides metals, chemicals, machine tools, food and seeds. The air offensive over Western Europe, the land attacks in North Africa, Sicily and Italy and the growing threat of a new front across the Channel have diverted German strength from the Russian lines, but the Russians, under superb generalship, with civilian workers producing beyond all pre-war expectations, have bought back their soil with Russian sweat and blood. The land of masses and of mass armies has also revealed an extraordinary individual performance.
From the very beginning, Hitler’s one chance of realizing his dream of world domination lay in dividing the Western nations from Russia and in crushing them separately. He attempted to achieve this objective first by propaganda, and when that failed, by war. He had some victories in each field, but he lost the propaganda campaign entirely and now he is losing the military campaign. Yesterday he was repeating familiar and futile words. They must have rung unconvincingly, even in German ears.
For the truth is that the historic choice, fully recorded at Tehran, was made long ago. The Western nations have welcomed Russia as a partner in the war and post-war world. Russia has abandoned her policy of isolationism. It is too late for Hitler to break up this union. Its forces are closing in on him. He cannot withstand the Russians as they thrust toward Poland and Romania. What does he think he can do when Gen. Eisenhower pulls his great bow to its utmost tension and lets the new arrow fly?
The little half-gods, the Nazi Nibelungs, must hear behind the voices of Hitler, Göring, Goebbels and the rest the song of coming doom.