Hitler, 52 on Sunday, little changed by 20 months of war (4-16-41)

The Pittsburgh Press (April 16, 1941)

HITLER, WHO WILL BE 52 ON SUNDAY, LITTLE CHANGED BY 20 MONTHS OF WAR
….
Hair is slightly silvery at sides; wears glasses only in private; stays up until 2 and 3 a.m., and sleeps late; eats frugally
….
By Joseph W. Grigg Jr., United Press staff writer

1, Hitler's speech (Norman)

Berlin, April 15 –
His famous mustache shot through with gray, his face a little more lined, his hair slightly silvery on the sides, Adolf Hitler will be 52 years old Sunday.

Twenty months of war have wrought but little change in the looks of this ruler of the greatest European empire since the days of Napoleon.

The forelock is less in evidence. Only occasionally is it seen when it slips out of place from the well-trimmed and neatly-brushed hair in moments of fervid oratory. The normally somewhat pale face is no more or less so.

For private reading, Hitler wears horn-rimmed glasses. But never has he been seen in public with them. When he speaks, his texts or notes are typed in large print so he can read them without strain. In the Balkans and North Africa, Hitler’s armies are engaged in blitzkriegs whose main outlines were planned and directed by the Führer himself.

In Europe, countries with populations of about 120 million are either conquered or occupied by his military machine. From the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean and to the Black Sea, German troops are stationed everywhere save in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

That is Adolf Hitler’s domain on his 52nd birthday anniversary.

He planned blitzkriegs

Those who know say the man who planned the lightning military campaigns, who evolved completely new and unorthodox ideas of strategy who put the final stamp of approval on the newest types of bombers and tanks and guns with which the Germans overran most of Europe – is Adolf Hitler.

At all times – in blitzkrieg or relative lull – the greater part of Hitler’s wartime workday is taken up with an endless series of conferences.

Exactly a fortnight before his 52nd birthday anniversary, Hitler touched off the Balkan offensive. Before he did so, he was in almost unbroken conference with army and air force chiefs. He spent hours each day with military advisers poring over maps, spreading it on big tables and discussing and planning strategy.

Hitler has not yet joined his armies in the Balkan drive, as he did on the Polish and Western fronts. His exact whereabouts are a military secret, and one of the ironclad rules for foreign reporting from Berlin is that one must never mention where Hitler is at any specific time.

Late in bed, late to rise

The Führer seldom goes to bed before 2 or 3 a.m. He normally rises late, sometimes as late as noon.

The first man he sees each day is his valet, a tall, typical Nordic blonde, former member of the Führer’s elite bodyguard. The valet’s job consists mostly of handing Hitler his clothes, since he prefers to dress himself.

When he is in Berlin, a barber from a hotel near the Chancellery goes each morning to shave him as soon as he is dressed. The Führer is said to set a great store in asking the barber questions about the German public’s opinion of world events.

Hitler’s breakfast generally consists of a couple of zweiback or pieces of toast with butter, jam and a glass of milk or fruit juice. In Berlin, he has breakfast in a small living room adjoining his bedroom in the private apartment in the old Reichschancellery.

Doesn’t miss coffee

The Germans say he has the same ration card as they. He doesn’t miss coffee, because he never was much of a coffee drinker.

In the same living room he generally receives most of his aides. The big study in the new Reichschancellery with its heavy leather chairs, with Bismarck’s portrait hanging on the wall and with a great globe on which Hitler can trace his conquests is used only for official receptions.

After breakfast, Hitler receives his adjutants to hear reports and give daily orders. Then he plunges into a round of conferences with military and political advisers. When a big campaign is brewing or going on, the conferences sometimes go on until midnight.

Between breakfast and lunch, Hitler frequently has a small snack – an apple or perhaps stowed fruit. Lunch generally comes around 3 p.m. It is a simple meal. Only a few of Hitler’s closest aides, including military and personal adjutants and his press chief, generally attend.

Drinks ‘near beer’

Hirtler generally drinks fruit juice, mineral water or 1% “near beer” brewed especially for him in Munich. Equally simple is the late evening dinner. He is a vegetarian.

Since the war began, Hitler has worn the simple, double-breasted field gray tunic with golden eagle and swastika badge on the left sleeve with gold buttons and black trousers.

Actually that is his private uniform, since it is cut differently from the army tunic though they are about the same color. The only decoration is the Iron Cross which Hitler won in the World War.

The German general staff was said to have broached the idea of giving Hitler a special and unique version of the Iron Cross after the Polish campaign – one which no one else ever would receive, even after Hitler is dead. Hitler said no, but some military sources still suggest that such an honor might be accorded Hitler at the end of the war.

A steel helmet and a pistol hang in Hitler’s wardrobe, but they are never worn – not even when he reached the front lines or when he watched artillery duels from a short distance behind the front in the Western and Polish campaigns.

Adolf Hitler is 52 on April 20. Here are high spots of his life:

  1. April 20, 1889
    Adolf Hitler born at Braunau, Austria.

  2. 1902-12
    Paints houses, postcards, does odd jobs in Vienna.

  3. 1912-14
    Works as carpenter in Munich, sketches for newspapers.

  4. 1914-18
    As lance corporal in World War, wins Iron Cross.

  5. 1919-23
    Forms Nazi Party at Munich; Beer Hall Putsch fails.

  6. 1924
    Jailed at Landsberg Fortress; writes Mein Kampf.

  7. 1925-33
    Reorganizes Nazis into a powerful, violent party.

  8. 1933-38
    Named Chancellor by Hindenburg; then becomes dictator.

  9. 1938
    Grabs Austria; triumphs at Munich; slices Czechoslovakia.

  10. 1939-41
    Invades Poland; conquers most of European continent.

  11. 1941
    Invades Yugoslavia and Greece; meets British in vital battle.

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