At Castle Fuschl

Hitler and Mussolini last week revived their old act --The Big Talk. This time it was staged on the Koenigssee near Salzburg, at Castle Fuschl, which belongs to German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop's papa. It was followed by the usual windy notices from their press-agents and the usual cyclone of rumors from their stooges. Mussolini even sent Hitler the tried & tested telegram: "The meeting will be an unforgettable memory."

The Big Talk might have touched on any number of important subjects: the coming offensives, war weariness in the Axis, U.S. war effort, food and labor shortages, materiel problems, sabotage and guerrilla resistance. But outside Castle Fuschl most people knew that Hitler, who runs Italy through the Gestapo, has little need to burden the sagging mind of Mussolini for very long with such weighty matters. Hence the world outside Castle Fuschl wondered whether there was any special reason for The Big Talk other than its theatrical value.

For several weeks the world press had carried rumors of another Axis peace offensive. The De Gaullist Independent French News Agency stated flatly that Germany had made peace overtures to Britain through Turkey, Switzerland and Sweden, and released a purported "Goering memorandum." This document offered: 1) recognition of the British Empire; 2) U.S. control of Latin America; 3) trade collaboration between the German, British and U.S. Empires in return for: 1) German control of Europe; 2) such Russian territory as was needed for Lebensraum; 3) the colonies of France, The Netherlands and Belgium. London denied receiving any offers at all. Washington thought they were small potatoes if anything. Presumably The Big Talk had little to do with Axis peace efforts.

Perhaps Hitler and Mussolini worried a bit about rumors that dissatisfied groups inside Italy were plotting a separate peace offer to the United Nations behind their backs. Soon after The Big Talk "a certain number" of additional Gestapo agents went to Italy for the ludicrous, announced purpose of "studying the organization of the Italian police." But Italy undoubtedly keeps the Gestapo busy, whether separate peace plotters are active or not.

Most striking feature of The Big Talk was the absence of Japan's Ambassador to Germany, Lieut. General Hiroshi Oshima. Perhaps Japan wanted to keep clear of Germany's war on Russia, at least until the first big 1942 returns were in. Or perhaps Hitler thought Japan had already gone far enough and pointedly left Japan's Ambassador out of The Big Talk. As to that, the world outside Castle Fuschl would have to wait and see.

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