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lation as a whole. It is true that London and many
other English towns had endured frightful bombing
attacks and suffered great losses. But by and large,
London was the same as before. German propaganda
in that respect had been greatly exaggerated, and
London was still in good spirits. Englishmen had
retained their composure admirably through all
these hardships. Above all, they had retained their
own special brand of humor, which helps to lighten
the atmosphere even in very serious situations, and
which undoubtedly helped sustain the moral of the
London population during the worst days of the
Blitz.
As an example of this humor, I would like to
relate a little episode which happened during a
luncheon at the Swedish Legation. The Swedish
Minister, Björn Prytz, had invited the Foreign
Minister, Anthony Eden, the Minister of Economic
Warfare, Selbourne, and the President of the Executive
Committee of the British Red Cross, Field Marshall,
Sir Philip Chetwode. Mr. Eden, whom I had met
casually some time before during his visit in
Stockholm, described in a lively and humorous way, how,
during an attack the night before, a bomb had fallen
on Whitehall and caused much damage in the rooms
of the Foreign Office. Eden had scarcely finished
before the British Red Cross chief exploded with
laughter: ”That was a jolly good shot, right in the
bull’s eye!” Laughter ensued. The German humor
— and there was a German humor even during the
war — was quite different.
After lunch I had the opportunity to discuss with
Mr. Eden the questions which I had come to investi-
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