Threatened Arrests For Espionage Used By Nazi Censors, Knauth Says

By holding over the heads of foreign correspondents the threat of arrest for espionage, the Germans had imposed an unofficial but very effective censorship before the American entry into the war, Percival R. Knauth, formerly Berlin correspondent for the New York Times, said here Sunday.

After speaking before 25 representatives of the University at the Greater Boston Foreign Students Conference, Knauth explained that as a reporter in Berlin for four years, he found that the German "freedom from censorship" limited him far more than the restrictions firmly imposed by the Allies.

"While England carefully went over a story before it was sent," he said, "the Germans allowed us to send anything we wished, and then accused us of military or political espionage if there was any serious objection."

Correspondent Held by Gestapo

At least one correspondent, he re-revealed, was held by the Gestapo for four months for sending information that was judged to be a state secret.

In addition to this censorship of out-going news, the Germans had perfected their control over the news released in Germany, he stated, emphasizing that one of the basic aims of Nazi propaganda is to discredit democracy and the sincerity of men like President Roosevelt.

Goebbels, he maintained, has been trying to force the German people to fear the consequences of an Allied victory, by reiterating that the Atlantic Charter will meet the same fate as Wilson's 14 Points.

"This practice has been fairly effective," he noted, "for while the spirits of the German people are at a low ebb, they still are so afraid of a German defeat that they are unlikely to revolt or seek an early peace."

U. S. Propaganda Just Beginning

To combat this influence, American propaganda is just beginning to function, Knauth declared. He admitted, furthermore, that it was unlikely that it will produce any concrete results, unless coupled to substantial German military reverses.

One of the most valuable members of the foreign staff of the New York Times, he emphasized is a linguist who has command of 14 languages and spends his time listening to the radio reports from all of Europe.

Although this type of coverage receives all of the news that is given to the German people, much of the information is rumor. This, he warned, must be treated with caution, for the Germans frequently plant it to sound out public opinion in the Allied countries.