Background: This page is part of a larger project to trace the history of World War II as reflected in the headlines of the Völkischer Beobachter, the Nazi Party’s daily newspaper. The images come from ANNO, that Austrian project to digitize the nation’s newspapers.
April 1942 was a mixed one for the Nazis. Submarine warfare was going well. The Allies had difficulties. But German cities were coming under increasing bombing and the Soviet Union showed no signs of collapse.
Völkischer Beobachter: April 1942
1 April 1942
Misery in the USA
Roosevelt Has to Pump Up War Morale
The War Is Going Differently than the Babbits Expected
2 April 1942
Bose’s Urgent Warning to His People
India to Become a British Battlefield
“Who voluntarily cooperates with England is a Traitor”
Bose was an Indian nationalist who worked with Germany and Japan during World War II.
3 April 1942
Enemy Shipping Keeps Melting Away
646,900 BRT Sunk in March
400,600 BRT in January, 535,400 in February
4 April 1942
Bloody Losses of Enemy Naval Forces
41 Warships Sunk in Two Months
31 Vessels, including 10 Cruisers, Damaged
5 April 1942
The German Soldier Has Surpassed Himself
Stalin’s Winter Assault a Bloody Failure!
104,000 Prisoners, 2720 Aircraft, 2167 Tanks, 2519 Artillery
7 April 1942
Soviets Thrown Out of 69 Localities on the Central Front
Air Attacks on Moscow and Rybinsk
8 April 1942
Cripps Delays his Declarations for the Third Time
India Will Be under Greater Pressure
Halifax Threatens the Indian Parties with Force
9 April 1942
Shrinking Shipping — Shrinking Living Space
Enemy SOS Calls from the Indian Ocean to New York
Another 104,000 BRT Sunk by German Submarines
10 April 1942
Japanese Successes in the Indian Ocean
Two Heavy British Cruisers and 140,000 BRT Sunk
23 Merchant ships of 120,000 BRT Heavily Damaged
11 April 1942
A Blow for Roosevelt — A Blow for Churchill
60,000 USA Troops Surrender
British Aircraft Carrier and Two Cruisers Sunk
New Japanese Successes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
12 April 1942
Since the First German U-Boat Attacks
214 Ships with 1.452 Million BRT Sunk in USA Waters
The Enemy Tanker Fleet Alone Lost 642,000 BRT
13 April 1942
After the Failure of Mission Cripps
Bitter Disappointment in London and Washington
India Declines the Role of Cannon Fodder
14 April 1942
Failure in India Sobers the Plutocrats
“The Good Old Days are Ending”
Churchill and Roosevelt Complain about Lost Cannon Fodder
15 April 1942
So Far in April 350,000 BRT of Enemy Shipping Destroyed
Built in Six Months — Sunk in Two Weeks
Major New Successes of German U-Boats and Luftwaffe in the Atlantic
16 April 1942
Growing Unrest in the USA about the Course of the War
Roosevelt speaks of a “War of Survival”
17 April 1942
Surrounded Soviet Forces on the Central Front Destroyed
Heavy Bombs Fall on Sunderland Docks
18 April 1942
“Fifth Column” as Pretext for the Egyptianization of South America
Roosevelt Orders a Wave of Arrests in Ecuador
19 April 1942
Six Months of German U-Boats in the Mediterranean
England’s Mediterranean Fleet Forced into the Defensive
1 Battleship, 1 Aircraft Carrier, and 19 Vessels Sunk
20 April 1942
The German People Pays Homage to the Führer
21 April 1942
In the Arctic Sea, Atlantic, and Mediterranean:
A Further 143,000 BRT of Enemy Shipping Destroyed
Sharp attacks by our U-Boats against Enemy Power Plants and Oil Depots
22 April 1942
“The Front’s Sacrifices Can Never Be Repaid by the Homeland”
The Führer Opens the Red Cross Winter Relief Campaign
23 April 1942
Plutocratic Brains Realize:
“This War is a Damned Serious Business”
Roosevelt’s Confident’s Impressions in London
24 April 1942
Roosevelt Also Emasculates England Militarily
London Declares: War Leadership Is in Washington
25 April 1942
Germany’s Armaments Lead No Longer Be Matched
Funk Announces a Reordering of the Commercial Economy
Summary of Leadership in the Gau Economic Chambers
26 April 1942
“The Fateful Hour of the British Empire Approaches”
England No Longer Trusts Its Own Strength
27 April 1942
Only One Thought: Victory!
The Führer’s Compelling Call to the German People
Adolf Hitler Pays Homage to the Loyalty and Sacrifices of Our Soldiers
28 April 1942
New Heroic Deeds by the Sick Man in the White House
Roosevelt Also Egyptianizes Venezuela
French Colonial Territory of New Caledonia Occupied by USA Troops
29 April 1942
London: “The Damage in Norwich Is Enormous”
England Gloated about Lübeck Too Soon
England had staged a major bombing raid on Lübeck.
30 April 1942