English Translation

Prague, 3.3.1942 134 Betr.: draft for Lammer report (November 1942) The anti-German sentiment of the Czechs, which was already prevailing in the month of October under the influence of a lively whispering propaganda and rumor formation, experienced an increase in November due to the recent war events. Finally, under the influence of foreign broadcasting and the still very strong whisper propaganda, the Czechs generally saw in these actions the proof that the Allies had now taken the initiative and that the Axis powers were about to collapse. The war had now reached the turning point that had been hoped for for a long time, especially since the landing of the allies in North Africa had put the establishment of the second front into action. It is generally believed that Germany will collapse in the early years of next year at the latest as its forces continue to dissipate. This high mood of the Czechs was often reflected in a German in a challenging and self-assured manner, which was shown to German customers in Czech shops, in an increasing lack of interest in German language courses, or in the current situation. In spite of this atmospheric development, there has been no major anti-German riots in the past month. While the Czech intelligentsia appeared earlier than the main bearer of whisper propaganda, it has recently been observed that these very circles are appreciable restraint and sometimes even show a certain openness to the propaganda of Minister Moravec. In contrast, further strata of the Czech working class are still not addressed by this propaganda. The murder committed in Pilsen on 16 November by two members of the German order police has initially caused widespread fear among the Czech population, mainly in intellig- gence circles, of German reprisals to be expected. However, as they did not, apart from local measures, the discussions on this case were muted rapidly.