True extent of the suppression of the German people, of their obsession with being downtrodden, remains invisible until they are given even the slightest jot of authority. Meekest lambs in submission become vindictive tomcats in office. Last week Hermann Göring took official and stern notice of this phenomenon, even more apparent since war work has added many a new name to the official rolls, in a proclamation on bureaucracy:
“A number of officials, both paid and voluntary, are conducting themselves in a manner entirely incompatible with their obligations, and those guilty of infractions will be subjected to ruthless punishment. Every official must realize that he is there for the people and not the people there for him, and during the present difficult period bureaucratic narrow-mindedness, smallness of vision, presumptuousness and autocratic manners must cease.
“On the other hand, countless complaints being made daily are mostly due to bad will and unpatriotic grumbling. In such cases, the grumbler will be treated as a slacker and dealt with accordingly.”
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