LAST TRAIN FROM BERLIN

A revealing book, supplementing Shirer (though not as well done), but better than Fiannery. Smith lived through Berlin from Poland to Pearl Harbor, and shares not only his personal experiences, which were not unusual, but his understanding, which is unusual. He analyzes the growth and scope of the Hitler myth; he shows the vast and far-reaching social changes; he charts the ups and downs of civilian morale (permanently down, he feels unless Germany wins a decisive victory). He can tell -- what newly released fellow journalists are now telling -- of the economic pressure, the food shortages, as the Russian War went on. But his best chapters are those analyzing the component elements of Nazi Germany today -- labor, the middle classes, the Gestapo, the Jew, the Church, the Hitler Youth, and -- most important of all -- the elimination of the Storm Troopers, and the building of the S.S. to the detriment of the old army, with resultant growth of anti-Nazi feeling in a terror-stricken nation.