Monday, Jul. 17, 1939

Shortened Title

Last May Nazi Party headquarters in Berlin decreed that all Nazis except Adolf Hitler were to be addressed at party meetings and in political gatherings simply as Parteigenosse ("Party Comrade"). Thus Herman Goering, who can be called Field Marshal, Air Marshal, Minister President of Prussia, Reichsminister for Air, and Special Commissioner for the Four Year Plan, will hereafter be addressed simply as Party Comrade Goering. Fuehrer Hitler, whose title was Der Fuehrer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor of the Reich) was to be called Mein Fuehrer. While some critics of the Nazis pointed out that the use of Party Comrade brought Germany that much nearer to the Soviet Union, where the usual address is "Comrade," others saw in it simply a continuation of the deification process of the Fuehrer.

Last week the Nazis took another step and not only shortened the Fuehrer's title but dropped his name. Hereafter Herr Hitler will be known simply as The Leader, will sign his name that way and all newspapers, documents and speakers must refer to him only by those two words. Official explanation for the change: "The title of Chancellor gave Hitler an air of being a functionary or politician, whereas he is the beloved leader of his people."

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