The German Psychological Machine and the need to Combat it
54 I MENTAL HEALTH
- Author:
Major-General G. M. Lindsay, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
Deputy Regional Commissioner, South-Western Region Victory or defeat in this war depends in the last resort upon whether the ordinary citizens of this country can hold the ” Will to Victory ” in face of every misery, of every disappointment, of every loss, and of every discomfort.
The war effort can be likened to a triangle, the apex of which is the Fighting Forces, the base of which represents the ordinary population of the country. If the base of that triangle should dis- integrate the apex will fall to the ground. In other words, if the Germans could weaken our will to win, no strength of fighting forces, no supply of war material, could save us from defeat. The human element is therefore, in my opinion, more important than the material, and it is with the human element in particular that the Civil Defence Organization has to deal, for if it neglects that, then the rest of its work is of very little value.
Confidence consists mainly, as far as the civil population is concerned, in three things?confidence in ourselves, confidence in our leaders, and con- fidence in the efficiency of the organization of which we are a part.
In a large scale air attack there are a great many people who can have no job to do, and who perforce must become part of that permanently, or temporarily homeless crowd who are in air raid shelters or rest centres. If the attack continues for several nights in succession, they may also form part of that crowd who are seeking quarters in the surrounding country. With these people the only tangible thing that helps to keep their morale from serious deter- ioration is confidence in the organization which is charged with their care and welfare. As long as it is obvious that everything possible is being done to help them, and that the organization for doing so is working efficiently, people will stand up to almost anything.
The first and most important duty of the Civil Defence Organization is, as far as possible, to make perfect every arrangement for the care and welfare of the people during air raids, and more important still, in the post-raid period.
This is Total War
The German doctrine of Total War means that their whole method of conducting war embraces the military and the civil, the moral and the material, the mind as well as the body. The war on the civil front is prepared politically before hostilities commence when the fifth column is organized. Wh?. open hostilities begin the fifth column merges ‘ activities with those of the military front afl reinforced by airborne troops, gives active militaf) assistance.
Therefore, when we consider the German doctrj11, of the offensive we must consider total war carfle out on both the-military and civil fronts at the sa^, time. This is the essence of the Blitzkrieg. when the civil front does not respond, when ^ fifth column does not exist, and when the morale the attacked remains unshaken, the machine of { war loses some of its essential constituents and ^ Blitzkreig becomes a far less formidable enemy-. i The Blitzkreig is a thing of many parts, polity and economic, fifth column and rumour, uncertain ? and terror, air and tanks, and all the rest of ^ modern mechanized technique. Its fundament success lies in the breaking down of the will to >*’’ of the ordinary citizen. If we can prevent it d0$ that we have deprived it of one of its essential Paftt Now there are two things which are particular ? likely to lead to such a breakdown?ignorance c what is likely to happen, of what it is proposed to ^ to meet that happening, and lack of a definite J?( to do when it does happen. We must ensure tfl people are not ignorant, that the civilian and ^ soldier fully understand the part that each will pl?j and that all feel that they are one army, fighting 0lbattle, and fighting it for one purpose?the destr^ tion of the enemy wherever he may be. J With this object in view we are carrying ?exercises in which we aim at bringing the gene^ public fully into the picture, teaching them vvt^ they are likely to be confronted with, and what the’ duties will be in case of invasion. We wish to ens^ ‘ that as many people of all ages and sexes, who capable of doing a job, are detailed to some defio’i form of duty. Our motto for ” Stay Put ” is ” Get in a Funk Hole and stay there “, but ” Hav a Job to do and stay and do it “.
The German Psychological Machine The Germans set out to produce, scientifically a ” Crusader Spirit ” in their Youth. They teaf all the young that service to their country is the a^ of life, that the State is everything, that to die far { is the greatest honour. Dying for the State !, translated into dying for Hitler, who has been ma<* a demi-god. The Japanese are taught much ^ * Summary of an Address given at the Annual Meeting of the National Council for Mental Hygiene on Septetf^ 29th, 1942.
same: to die for the Divine Emperor. ^ beat must have a ” Crusader Spirit if we a fight these people. It is the primary job ot at ain an ?n the Civil Front to have and to unbeatable ” Will to Victory home and The Germans use propaganda be) results they abroad, to produce the psychologi ^ require. In addition they have “J? tions 0f the are specialists in the processes and choosing human mind and use them for assist g and leaders for their Army Youth Movements, etc^ ln devising means of assisting the p y attack on their enemies. . ^mral resources . Are we organizing all our psychoil g ^ a m the same way ? Have we a faith, an 10 cause, for which we will fight to the en ? natiCal The German system may Pr?dn believe that courage and an hysterical idealism, b cause, faith and confidence, in ourselves dynamic which alone can provide the nec history force, can only be produced in people of o ^ and traditions, and by a revival of . Qf some and practice?by a spiritual regewe not kind. How this can be impleme t^at the Pretend to know, but it does appear to m Church must play a prominent part m ? ^, ^es But we cannot sit back and just let the Unu of get on with it for they, like us,# are J fio^tjng one that Great Army which is all togeth o purp0se, battle, and all together fighting it fo which is the destruction of that intensely evil thi g ?nr enemy in this war..
Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of the Wa My work in Civil Defence, and ^P-f^y con- experience of a series of Civil and Regional kjences which I have conducted a forcibly Staff School, have brought home to rn pSycho- during the last few months how mu occupying logical and spiritual aspects of this wa the minds of a great many people. eeA that in Pne thing stands out, that all are; g cts of spite of the importance of the ma. ? nt issue, this war, the spiritual aspect is a-pre1do fylth, in namely that this is a war for religio Christian our case and that of Europe generally, a war faith, against paganism and barbari y. ^ force r decency and collaboration aga:1 ? We are and world domination by the Ger ? -s|an(i fighting for the preservation not only for its and the Empire, but of the Briitis ‘ s of the destruction is one of the foremost o J preser- Germans. But it is not only ?^f ?^0n is the ation that is at stake; that Pre| freedom- fundamental condition of victory for a loving peoples.
The danger e^ dan8er of are up a!”8er ?f not fully understanding what we ‘ sniritflniSt’ the terrific evil that we are fighting, that we ^1,confli?t that this war represents, is nught be induced under stress of clever propaganda, put forward at a time when our people were suffering from disappointment?weariness of what might seem a war without end, a feeling of frustration caused by lack of military success, heavy bombing of this country combined with an intensification of the battle of the Atlantic, and an imminent threat of invasion?to agree to a negotiated peace.
Such a peace would not only entail our certain doom in the near future since it would permit the Germans, freed from blockade, bombing and internal resistance, to turn Europe into one vast munitions factory and one vast war base, but it would do worse than that as it would cause us to lose our souls.
Remember that there are thousands of gallant men and women throughout Europe fighting the bestial barbarians who are occupying their countries, fighting them above and below ground, in open revolt and by secret means, in any way they can. These gallant people look to us British as their eventual saviours, how or when they do not know, but they believe that we will never desert them and that we will fight on for however long is necessary until we have freed them. To make a negotiated peace would be to desert them, to turn them into our enemies, to earn their and the world’s everlasting contempt.
Conclusion
It is obvious that we shall have to make the greatest possible material efforts and the greatest material sacrifices if we are to win the war. But we must never forget that transcending all is the psychological aspect, which is what will stop panic and give to all a feeling of aggressive determination to win at all costs. For this reason the more people and the more interests that are drawn in, the better. This will engender a war mentality, a confident and aggressive spirit and a general acceleration of the whole war effort.
It should also be remembered that while it is essential that we have a united front for the prosecu- tion of the war, we must also have a united front to face the chaos which will reign when the war terminates. Then, the only hope for Europe will be a stable Britain using her influence, organizing power and her resources to bring order out of that chaos.
If, through the combined work which we all put in now, we ensure that everyone is imbued with the spirit that I have indicated, then we need have no fear that we shall not overcome our present difficul- ties or that those that will certainly arise when the war is over, will not be satisfactorily settled. Thus and thus only can we, expert and non-expert, create that united front and engender that universal morale that can ensure a total victory in the war, and after the war that strong and united Britain which can use its strength, influence and resources in helping to create not only a better Britain but a better world.
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