There was widespread cynicism about German news bulletins. In western areas people were toying with the idea of an American occupation, saying it would not be so bad, ‘perhaps even better than at present’. All hope of a victorious conclusion to the war had gone – so it appears from these SD reports – and those inclined to be hostile to the Party or cynical about the leaders were secretly looking forward to a turn in Germany like that in Italy when the Party would find itself isolated. Hitler, Goebbels, Bormann and other leaders had begun to find these SD reports disconcertingly frank and
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