terramare publications EDiteb by RicharO Mtftinig i ^ r jf /r No. 1 ADOLF HITLER A SHORT SKETCH OF HIS LIFE BY PHILIPP BOUHLER PUBLISHED BY TERRAMARE OFFICE, BERLIN ADOLF HITLER A SHORT SKETCH OF HIS LIFE BY PHILIPP BOUHLER Head of the Fiihrcr's Personal Chancellery 1938 TERRAMARE OFFICE, BERLIN Ws Library University of Texas Austin, Texas \ DOLF HITLER was born on April 20, 1889, at Braunau in Upper Austria, close to the Bavarian frontier. Because it is situated on the frontier that divided two branches of the German people, Hitler has spoken of Braunau as repre¬ senting for him “The Symbol of a Great I ask’ , namely that of uniting all Germans in one State. His father, who was the son of poor peasants from the forest district, had worked himself upwards through his own study and perseverance until he became a civil servant. At the time that Adolf was born his father was Customs Officer at Braunau. Being proud of his own achievement and the status he had reached, his dearest desire was that his son should also enter the civil service; but the son was entirely opposed to this idea. He would be an artist. When he was thirteen years old Hitler lost his lather and four years later his mother died. So that he found himself alone in the world at the age of seventeen. He had attended the primary school and subsequently the grammar school at Linz; but poverty forced him to give up his studies and earn his bread. He went to Vienna, with the intention of studying to be an architect but he had to work for his livelihood as manual labourer at the building trade, where he mixed the mortar and served the carpenters and bricklayers. Later on he earned a daily pittance as an architectural draughtsman. Hav¬ ing to depend entirely on himself, he experienced in his own person from his earliest years what poverty and hunger and privation meant. And so he shared the daily fate of the workers, md 5 . "‘m ■ the “proletariat” in the building trade, and felt where the shot pinched. Thus it came about that he began to think in terms of social reform during his early years. He busied himself with the political questions of the day In this study he was influenced by the personality of Schoenerei, the leader of the Pan-German Austrians, and Lueger, who \va . the Vienna Burgomaster and founder of the Christian-Social Party. Hitler conceived a great admiration for these two men He made an exhaustive study of the teachings of Karl Marx and here came to the important conclusion that one had t<> know Judaism in order to have the key to an inner and real knowledge of what Social Democracy meant. At the building site where he worked he came into contai i with Social Democracy for the first time. He at once began to make a careful study of the literature dealing with it and thus acquired a detailed knowledge of the Marxist programm« and the ways and means which were proposed to put it in In practice. This led to controversies with his fellow workers, And he refused to join their organization. At that time he did not believe in the idea that the trade-unions were an appropriate means of protecting the interests of the working classes again .i the arbitrary importunities of the employers. He only saw that the political attitude of the trade-unions was Marxist and lx considered the trade-unionist idea as definitely identical with that of Marxism, while he looked on Marxism as something that would destroy all civilization. His fellow workers threatened to fling him down from ili< scaffolding. They succeeded in forcing him to give up his job In his next job he had to go through much the same experience But as he acquired a more thoroughunderstandingofthechar;icl< i and tendencies of his opponents his influence on the otln i workmen increased and he soon realized how they reacted i<» his different view of things. He then saw clearly that the ( lerm.m worker was by no means a bad fellow in himself, that lie w.i not anti-national and that he was only the victim of unscnipiilim agitators. 6 Though the years spent in Vien¬ na meant a hard and bitter struggle with life, the experience gained in this school was of inestimable value afterwards. Hitler was now yearn¬ ing to live as a German in Germany itself, free from the oppression under which the German element had to suffer in that potpourri of nations which made up the Habsburg Empire. So he left Vienna and came to live in Munich. That was on April 24, 1912. In those days Munich was the chief centre of artistic and cultural life in Germany. Still hoping to self as an architect, Adolf Elitler now devoted as much time and energy as possible to the study of architecture, while at the same time he had to earn his daily bread by designing and colouring placards. Recently he had been doing a good deal of reading for purposes of self-education. He continued this during his artistic studies and work in Munich, making history his speciality, which had been his favourite subject at school. But he went further than this, for he literally denied himself food in order to save the money for visits to the theatre and hearing Grand Opera, especially the music dramas of Richard Wagner, whom he revered as a German artist and reformer in the grand style. It was especially during those years that Hitler laid the foundations of that allround knowledge which surprises everybody with whom he discusses general questions today. August 2, 1914, arrived. A spirit of fervid but solemn enthus¬ iasm ran through the whole nation. Wave after wave of German youth rushed enthusiastically to join the volunteer regiments and reserve battalions. Hitler, who had always felt that he was a German first and foremost, presented himself at the head¬ quarters of one of the Bavarian regiments and volunteered tor The Nameless Soldier make a name for him- the front. He regarded this act as a matter of course. Noi \vtn there any technical difficulties in the way; for in the Febm.i^ of that year he had been definitely exempted from the oblig.il inn of military service in Austria. On October 10, 1914, he lei I Int the front as a soldier in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Inf;mii\ Regiment. Destiny seemed to have preordained that Hitler should set \ .* in the old German Army, that organization which was a magnih cent example of the folk community and which lie had Ini .i long time envisaged as the kind of social formation throuidt which the German people would finally reach its destined goal Adolf Hitler threw himself body and soul into the work <»l his new calling as a soldier. He received his baptism of fire m Inlanders, where he faced death in the ranks of that regimen! which was made up of German youth who stormed the trenche and fought and fell while they sang Deutschland iiber alh s During the attack on the Bayernwald and in the subsequent engagements around Wytschaete Hitler showed remarkable bravery; so much so that already on December 2, 1914, lev. than two months after he had first entered the trenches, he wa awarded the Iron Cross of the Second Class. Having shown himself resourceful and courageous, without being foolhanl\, he was now given one of the most hazardous jobs in the i< giment, namely that of dispatch-runner, for which only picked soldiers are used. In carrying out this task he won a good deal of admiration, especially because on more than one occasion he voluntarily stepped in and took on himself a piece of dangei ous work which otherwise would have fallen to the lot of oldci men who had wives and families at home. On the whole it can be said without any fear of contradiction that Hitler’s conduci as a soldier won the unstinted admiration of his superiors; while his companions in the trenches, no matter how opposed their political views were to his, admired his courage and hr. genuine spirit of comradeship. On October 6,1916, he was wounded in the thigh by a shrapnel splinter and had to be sent to one of the home hospitals lot 8 treatment. Within a few months he was on his feet again. He left hospital in March 1917 and immediately volunteered once more for the front. During the great offensive of 1918, while carrying dispatches, he succeeded in ambushing a French officer and about fifteen men and brought them back prisoners. For this he was awarded the Iron Cross of the First Class. On the night of October 13/14, 1918, the British launched an attack with phosgene gas in the sector south of Ypres. I Hitler’s regiment suffered severely and the casualties were I extremely heavy. Hitler himself suddenly felt an excruciating pain in the eyes as he was returning with a dispatch to his own lines. Fie managed to struggle back however and deliver his I dispatch. After that he was sent to hospital, totally blind. While the German armies were still fighting desperately on all fronts for the very existence of their native land, defeatism was at work behind the lines and at home. Under the corroding I influence of the propagandist poison spread by anti-national I agencies at home, civilian morale was steadily crumbling. This process of disintegration gradually reached the soldiers at the front, where it took on a graver character day after day. The coming downfall cast its darkening shadow even across the fighting lines. I The revolt of the sailors at the naval base in Kiel was the I signal for the revolution. On November 9, 1918, the day of the general collapse had come. It was not merely the mon¬ archical constitution in Germany that was overthrown. No, but everything else with it — the Fatherland itself, faith in the Fatherland and in one’s fellow man, order and discipline. Hitler was in hospital at Pasewalk in Pomerania when he I first heard the news. The pain in the eyes had gradually become less severe. His sight began to return and he now had hopes of regaining his normal powers of vision. The impression which the news then made was described by him some years later in 9 1 the following words : — “So all had been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privul ions, in vain the hunger and thirst for endless months, in vain those hours that we stuck to our posts when the fear of ilealli gripped our souls, and in vain the deaths of two millions wlm fell in the fulfilment of their duty. Think of those hundred , <>l thousands who set out with hearts full of faith in their Fat In i land, and never returned ; ought not their graves to open, so that the spirits of those heroes bespattered with mud and blond should come home and wreak their vengeance on those w In* had despicably betrayed the greatest sacrifice which a human being can make for his country. Was it for this that the sold in gave their lives in August and September 1914, for this that I In volunteer regiments followed the old comrades in the autumn of the same year ? Was it for this that those boys of seventeen years of age were mingled with the soil of Flanders? Was tin meant to be the fruits of the sacrifice which German motlu i made for their Fatherland when, with heavy hearts, they said goodbye to their sons, who never returned ? Was all this done in order to enable a gang of despicable criminals to lay hands on the Fatherland?” Hitler now developed a burning hatred against the perpctia tors of what he considered to be a most dastardly crime and .h the same time it became apparent to him that Fate had destined him for a certain task. On that day he decided to take up politii .il work. GENESIS OF THE MOVEMENT In the summer of 1919, at Munich, six men set about forming a new political party, which they called the German Worker.' Party. They had before their minds a vague idea of organizing a national party which would oppose the Marxist Worker.' Party. These six men certainly meant well but they had mi resources whatsoever and above all there was nobody among, them who could claim to have the necessary qualities for leadei ship. And so they were helpless in face of the task to which they 10 In the Beginning teas the Word Photograph of painting by Hermann Otto Hover had set themselves. History would have known nothing of this little circle of six men had not destiny presented it with its seventh member. This was Adolf Hitler. At the end of November 1918, he was back again in Munich and had rejoined the reserve battalion of his regiment; but this fell under the control of the Soldiers’ Council, which was hateful to Hitler. So he went to Traunstein and remained there until the camp was demobilized. Then he returned to Munich, in March 1919. Shortly afterwards a Communist regime on Soviet lines was established there. On April 27, he was to have been arrested by order of the Central Council of the Reds, on the charge of having participated in anti-revolutionary activities. But the three bravos who came to carry out the order for arrest turned tail and departed when Hitler presented a bold face and showed them his ride. Early in May the 2nd Infantry Regiment set up a Committee of Enquiry to investigate the events that led to the revolution. 11 Lance-Corporal Hitler received instructions to participate in the work of that Committee. This was the practical start of Hit In ' political career. Courses of instruction were established for tin purpose of teaching the duties of citizenship to the soldiers in tin army. It was during one of the debates which followed a lectim on this topic that Hitler was given the first opportunity <>l speaking in public. As a result of the impression which In speech made on that occasion he was appointed, a few days lain , as a so-called instruction officer to one of the regiments station . I in Munich at that time. One day he received orders to make enquiries about the “German Workers’ Party”, an organization hitherto unknown, tie attended a meeting of this party in (In former Sternecker Brau, at which about twenty persons wm assembled. Towards the end of the meeting a representative nl the Separatist Movement spoke and that brought Hitler to his feet. His speech in reply made a marked impression on tIn- audience. It was thus that he became acquainted with the aim . of this new workers’ party. Subsequently he was requested In become a member. After turning the problem over in his mind for several days, Hitler agreed to join, one of the reasons Ini doing so being that he had already thought of founding a parly of his own. Moreover, this little society, although it had no programme or fixed aims, had a sort of framework on which hr could build a working plan for the realization of his own ideas The chief difficulty which now presented itself was to get this little movement known. It was necessary to lift it out of obscurits and place it on a footing where it would attract and hold lli< attention of the general public. The process of doing so went forward very slowly. The first meeting was composed only of the original seven members, with one or two onlookers. So meagre were the propaganda resources that the number of people who attended subsequent meetings increased only to 11, 13, 17, 23 and 34 respectively. At the meeting after that 111 persons were present. Hitler now spoke regularly at meetings and in that way became conseiou of his oratorical gifts. He induced the committee to entrus! llw 12 0 Library University of Texas Austin, Texas 11 On January 2S y 1923 , the first National Socialist Party Congress teas held on the Marsfeld in Munich control of the propaganda department to him. On February 24, 1920, he was at last able to hold the first mass meeting, in the Hof brau Haus. It was on that occasion that he promulgated and expounded the Programme of the German National Socialist Workers’ Party. An attempt on the part of the communists to wreck the meeting was frustrated by a handful of Hitler’s former war comrades, who had taken on themselves the responsibility for maintaining order. Hitler’s contention that the Marxist terror should not only be smashed by mental weapons, but also by physical force, was proved for the first time at this meeting. Henceforth almost week after week the Munich hoardings displayed large red placards calling on the public to attend the mass meetings of the German National Socialist Workers’ Party at which Party Comrade Adolf Hitler would speak. These posters, which had a footnote stating: “Jews will not be admitted”, were designed by Hitler himself. They also displayed statements dealing with the political questions of the day. In December, 1920, the Party took over the Volkischn Beobachter and thus had a press organ of its own. At first this paper appeared twice weekly. But early in 1923 it was brought oul as a daily newspaper. Towards the end of August in that year it first appeared in its present large size. Hitler was not yet chairman of the party, though in reality hr was its leader. Some members took part in an intrigue to get rid of him; but the consequence was that at a general meeting of all the members of the Party, held towards the end of July 1921. the whole direction was entrusted to Adolf Hitler and a new statute was enacted which invested him with special plenipotcn tiary powers. He was now able to go ahead with the work of reorganizing the party, whose meetings and decisions had hitherto been conducted on parliamentary principles. In reorganizing the move ment he proved that he was not only a convincing speaker and controversialist but that he was also an excellent organizer. Tin governing principle now adopted for the development of the movement was that it should first acquire for itself a position <>! power and influence in one centre before it started to spread out and form district branches. The party had to expand organi cally. for a long time, therefore, Hitler confined his activities exclusively to Munich, before taking in hand the task of forming local groups outside. At the same time the foundations were laid on which tin Storm Detachment was subsequently established. In the be ginning this detachment was simply a body of men acting as hall guards for the maintenance of order at meetings; but it has been known as the Storm Detachment (Sturm AbtcHum. hence S.A.) ever since November 4, 1921. On that day the Parly held a meeting in the banquet hall of the Munich Hofbrau I laus. The Reds turned up in force for the purpose of crushing out the new movement once and for all. But they met with a bittci disappointment. As the meeting progressed the opposition raised an outcry and a furious fight ensued. Though the Marxist H The fifteen years through which we struggled for power, amidst continual persecution and oppression on the part of our adversaries, served to increase not only the inner moral strength of the Party but, above all, its capacity for external resistance. Hitler, February 20, 1938. disturbers were much superior in numbers, the National Socialist guards stormed the Red front again and again, beci mugs were flung from one side to the other and free hand-to hand fights raged, until finally the Marxists were cleared from the hall and many of them sent home with bleeding skulls. Tin National Socialists remained masters of the hall. They had shown that they could fight and hold their ground. Towards the end of the summer of 1922 a mass demon stration was held on the Konigsplatz in Munich by all the patriotic societies. The National Socialists officially took part in the meeting. In the autumn of that year, October 14, a Congress was held at Coburg which was entitled “German Day”. r l In National Socialists took part in it. Coburg had hitherto been .1 Red stronghold. At the head of 800 Storm Troopers from Munich Hitler entered Coburg and marched through its street', with flags flying and bands playing. Several fights took place, but the National Socialists succeeded in suppressing the Red terror once and for all in that city. This was a practical demon stration of Hitler’s statement: “We have dealt with Marxism in a way which shows that henceforth the masters of the streel are the National Socialists, as they will one day be the mastci of the State.” On January 28, 1923, the first National Socialist Party Congi <-,•« was held on the Marsfeld in Munich and it was on this occasion that the first S. A. standards were dedicated, which had bern designed by Hitler himself. Soon afterwards, Flight Captain Hermann Goring became Chief of the S. A. It was he who expanded and perfected their organization. An attempt was made to force the National Socialist Party inn. a “United Front from Right to Left”, but Hitler’s determined opposition shattered the attempt. He saw clearly that an imdn standing with the “November Criminals” of 191 S would imi only be meaningless but also impossible. There were temporary working coalitions with other assoi u tions but they lasted only for a short time. In these cases I lillei iiifififlHHI Procession in Munich, in Commemoration of November 9, 1923 idea was clearly proved to be right, namely that the strong is strongest when alone. THE COUP D’ETAT On September 2, 1923, the first great Congress of the German patriotic leagues was held in Niirnberg. On that day the National Socialist Party formed a coalition with the Oberland League and the Reichsflagge League, with the general title “The German Fighting League” and under the political leadership of Adolf Hitler. The first manifesto issued by this coalition stated: “Revolution and Versailles are inseparably bound together in the relation of cause and effect. We want to free our Fatherland from slavery and disgrace. But liberty can be achieved only by the people themselves, working together in a national union. The new German State which was founded in Weimar cannol be the standard-bearer of the movement for German liberty." On September 26, 1923, the Government of Bavaria registered its reaction to the establishment of the German Fighting League. On that date Herr von Kahr was appointed General State Commissar. The conflict between Bavaria and the Reich became acute. The central figure in this conflict was General von Lossow, Commander of the Bavarian Army. The signs of a separatisi movement in Bavaria became more and more pronounced. Currency inflation reached fantastic figures. Events of the day were heading for a catastrophic situation. Something had to be done. As the result of discussions that lasted for several weeks Hitlei gained the impression that those who then held power in Bavaria —Kahr, Lossow and von Seisser, who was Commander o! the Bavarian Police—were ready to collaborate in the coup d’etat. I On the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the 1918 revolution —November 8, 1923—a meeting was held in the Munich Burgerbrau Haus at which Kahr was to have announced before the assembled patriotic associations what his future policy w;i to be. At 8.45 p. m. Hitler appeared, at the head of his Storm Troops, and declared that the Government of the Reich wirt therewith deposed and substituted by a National Government At first the meeting accepted this proclamation with reserve, regarding it as something directed against Kahr; but under the influence of Hitler’s magnetic speech, the audience gave it enthusiastic consent. Kahr, Lossow and Seisser accepted the new Government and the portfolios allotted to them. Towards morning it was repeatedly rumoured that Kahr, Lossow and Seisser had withdrawn from the new Government As a matter of fact they were prisoners in the hands of the army generals who were deputizing for Lossow. Entirely on their own 18 THE LATE PRESIDENT VON HINDENBURG AND ADOLF HITLER IN 1934 responsibility these generals had sounded the alarm among iI m army and police forces. Hitler now decided to take an extreme step. There was im intention to oppose the machinery of power in the hands ol l Im G overnment and the idea would have been nonsensical, bm a final move had to be made which would impress the public .md change their whole attitude. On the morning of the ninth «•! November Hitler and his comrades formed a procession whirh started from the Biirgerbrau Keller and marched into the cenin of the town. Hitler himself marched at the head of it, with Lud< n dorff and other popular leaders. With flags flying, the procession wound its way through the Marienplatz and from there to the Odeonsplatz. The majority of the Munich inhabitants who wen of the nationalist way of thinking came out to greet and applaud the procession. Swastika flags were flying from the City Hall. In the Rcm denzstrasse the crowds were so great that the procession had literally to push its way through. At the Feldherrnhalle the poln < kept the street clear. The procession marched on. And then the incredible happened. The soldiers opened Im on this column of men that was marching in the cause of German liberty, led by Hitler and the famous Quartermaster-General <>l the World War. Sixteen of the marchers were killed and two who were wounded died subsequently in the barracks of the local Reichszvehr. A great number were wounded. Hitler himsell suffered damage to his arm after being thrown on the road. Tin coup d’etat had failed. Some friends ofHitler took him to their home outside Munich, where he was arrested a few days later and imprisoned in the fortress of Landsberg. Several of his comrades and fellow mem bers were arrested afterwards and imprisoned in the same fortress. All those who belonged to the Fighting League wen- ordered to surrender their arms. On the same date, November 9, 1923, the General State Commissar issued an order dissolving the German National 20 . ..w. IP J ] ...,v j' mm* Berlin, January 30, 1037 Socialist Workers’ Party and stipulating heavy penalties for anyone attempting to carry on the work of the party any further. ()n the following day police cars appeared in front of the business headquarters of the Party in the Corneliusstrasse and confiscated everything they could lay hands on. But they did not find the most valuable of all documents, which was the roll containing the names of members. Munich was like an armed camp. The people were furious. They joined in mass demonstrations which were scattered by mounted police using their trunchions freely. Kahr sat safely behind his barbed wire entrenchment in the Government buildings and “liquidated” the movement which had caused so much annoyance. I he authorities confiscated all the property belonging to the party, which was now outlawed. The attempt to change the disastrous fate under whichGermany had been suffering for the past five years ended in failure, at least 21 for the time being. The system which had been initiated in November 1918 still held the mastery, to the detriment of the whole nation. i\nd yet the efforts of Hitler and his friends were not in vain. “A manifest sign that the 8th of November was successful”, said Hitler in Court afterwards, “can be seen in the fact that in response to it the youth rose like a flood-tide in storm and massed its forces together. The most important result of November 8 was that it did not cause any depression in the public spirit but helped to raise it considerably.” CRITICAL DAYS On February 26, 1924, the trial of “Hitler and Companions” opened at Munich in the same building that was once the War Academy. The case was brought before what was called the Volksgericht or People’s Court. The result was that Hitler was sentenced to be imprisoned in a fortress for five years and he was given to understand that a term of probation would follow. Several of his companions were sentenced to longer or shortei terms of fortress imprisonment. But the leading counsel for the prosecution felt himself obliged to declare in his summing-up before the Court that “Hitler’s honest effort to reawaken faith in Germany among a downtrodden and disarmed people” musl certainly be regarded as an act of service. He called Hit lei “a highly gifted man who through his own efforts had risen from a modest status in life to a foremost position in public estimation, a man who had sacrificed himself for his ideas and who had fulfilled his duties as a soldier in the most admirable manner.” He also paid tribute to the sincerity of Hitler’s meaning and intention. Hitler took upon himself the full and sole responsibility foi everything that had happened. Speaking in his own defence In¬ stated in the course of a brilliant speech that the overthrow <>l Marxism was his aim but that this was considered essentially as a necessary pre-condition for the establishment of German 22 THE FUHRER AT THE WINDOW OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY, 1934 liberty. “It is not you, Gentlemen”, concluded Hitler, “who pass judgment on us. We shall be judged before the eternal bar oi history.” I hiough this trial Hitler s name became known far beyond the Bavarian frontier. He was rightly looked upon as the inspiring cause of the movement to abolish the system which had created so much damage through the mismanagement of public affairs m Germany during the past five years. His attitude in Couri enhanced his reputation and won sympathy for him in circles where he was hitherto more or less unknown. They began to realize that this man was not a mere demagogue and that his associates wcie something better than a pack of rowdies. On December 20, 1924, his sentence was suspended and he left the fortiess in high spirits and full of energy. One of his first \isits v as paid to the Bavarian Prime Minister, where his sole lequest was that his comrades might be released for the Christmas festivities. Hitler was convinced that there could be no question of ever using the existing patriotic organizations as a pillar of support for his future policy, and so he decided to re-establish his old German National Socialist Workers’ Party. He assembled his faithful comrades and on February 2 t , 1925, in the Biirgerbriiu Keller at Munich, that movement came to life again. In the meeting at which the movement was re-established Hitler announced that it would be conducted on constitutional lines but that the light against the existing order of government would be a severe one. I he Bavarian Government answered by forbidding the Movement the right of public speech, a step which was followed soon afterwards by most of the other federal governments. I his prohibition lasted for several vears. And now a difficult and trying period set in for the young movement. In the first place it had no business headquarters of its own and not even a typewriter, to say nothing of being, 24 Reich Party Congress Xiirnbcrg, 1936 penniless. Many became wavering in their faith in the Move¬ ment and in Hitler. Moreover it had to face government oppres¬ sion and dishonest treatment on the part of the officials. Then came unbridled terror from the Left, on the streets and in the factories, together wdth boycotting in business life. Work on behalf of the National Socialist idea demanded courage and strong conviction and unusual powers of exposition on the part of the individual members. But this was also a benefit; for in this way the party was winnowed and sieved. The chaff was separated from the wheat. Hitler’s political line of conduct w^as clear from the beginning, just as it had always been. In the sphere of foreign politics he fought uncompromisingly against the Francophile attempt at an understanding and against the insane fulfilment policy of the regime, which met with one defeat after another at the various international conferences that w r ere held in rapid succession. Against this Hitler championed a policy of alliances that would 25 be beneficial to Germany. He considered that England and Ital\ would be the most likely and useful allies. In domestic politics the first important matter was the struggl< for the destruction of Marxism and then the taking over ol political power, as a condition necessary to carry through tin fight for German freedom. More and more the National Socialist Party became tin “Prussia of the national movement in Germany”. The enforced silence consequent on prohibition of the right of public speech gave Hitler the opportunity of completing lm book, MeinKampj , for which his fortress imprisonment had afforded him the necessary time to prepare it and assemble the material. The first volume, which dealt principally with I lit In own development, was published at Christmas 1925; while the second volume was completed the next year and dealt with the foundation of the organization. THE MOVEMENT ADVANCES Meanwhile Hitler promulgated his ideas among the masses Always accompanied by his loyal private secretary and polities! adjutant,Rudolf Hess, who had also shared his company in tIn- fortress, he held meetings in Thuringia, Wiirttemberg, Mecklrn burg and Brunswick—the federative states in which he still enjoyed the right of public speech. Hand in hand with this woih of propaganda went the process of building up the organization In several districts of North Germany the foundation for iln establishment of sub-branches was first laid. A constantly growing staff of speakers went hither and thither throughout Germany, preaching Hitler’s doctrines and bringing them hom< to the minds and hearts of the people. But still the Movement continued to be strongest in Bavaria, though in Saxony also m showed a rapid development. At the end of 1926 I)r. Jo»« l Goebbels was appointed Gauleiter of Greater Berlin. With lh.il 26 “National Socialist Germany wants peace because of its fundamental convictions. And it wants peace also owing to the realisation of the simple primi¬ tive fact that no war would be likely essentially to alter the distress in Europe.” Hitler, May 21, 1935. the struggle in the Capital of the Reich showed an import an l stage in its advance. Resides the S. A., the S. S. (Schutz Staff el — Defence Squad ron) was now formed of men who had been specially selected. They wear black uniforms and are entrusted with the task <>! protecting the movement as well as with propaganda work and other special duties. Since 19*28 this body of men has been undu the control of its Reich Deader, Heinrich Himmler. I he Movement founded a Youth Organization known as the Hitler houth, which spread rapidly especially among tin- children of the working classes. Students soon began to crowd into the Movement and were grouped under “The National Socialist German Students’ League”, the leadership of which is today in the hands of Baldur von Schirach. In 1982 Schirach was also placed in charge of the Hitler Youth and the National Socialist School Children’s League. Despite the manifest progress that had been made it musi have seemed a daring step when Hitler summoned his followers to a Party Congress at Weimar in June, 1926. But this Congress turned out a complete success. Several thousand S. A. and S. S. men took part in the march-past and received a tumultuous reception from the general public. They wore the brown uniforms on this occasion, instead of: the waterproof jackets they had worn in 1923. 1 o a wider sphere of outsiders it was now proved once again that the Movement was not dead but very much alive and steadily growing. And the Party members who attended this Congress gained new strength and new faith for the coming struggle. 1 hey felt that the Movement had now passed through its most difficult period and that the danger of stagnation was over. At the end of 1925 the number of members had reached *27,117. By December 1926 it had increased to 49,523, by De¬ cember 1927 to 72,590, by December 1928 to 108,717. In De¬ cember 1929 the Party had a membership of 176,426. 28 "I started the National Socialist Revolution by bringing the movement into being, and since then I have directed the Revolution into the path of action. I know that none of us will live to see more than the very beginning of this great revo¬ lutionary development. What then could I wish more than peace and tranquillity ? ” Hitler, May 21, 10:»0. In 1927 the right of public speech was restored to Hitler in Bavaria. Prussia restored it in 1928. The federative government and the parties supporting them found it no longer possible to maintain a policy which denied the right of public speech. Moreovei they had to recognize the fact that this policy of throttling the Mow ment, assisted by acts of terror on the part of the Marxists, did not hinder the movement but rather hastened its development With the election of von Hindenburg on April 26, 1925, as President of the Reich, certain people thought that this would bring a change in the method of government and put an end to the stupid policy which favoured a Francophile understanding But these people were bitterly disillusioned. While the govern ments sought by every means to prevent any movement <>l national revival from raising its head in Germany their own feckless attitude towards all decisions in foreign politics was encouraged and all those factors were lacking which might pul some backbone into the conduct of public affairs. Despite In constantly repeated failures Stresemann saw ‘‘the silver lining, on the political horizon”, while unemployment and economic distress steadily increased. The consequences of the Dawes Plan, of the year 1924, became apparent in all their bitter reality, although a little earlier that Plan was hailed as the salvation <»! the nation, a Plan that would reinvigorate the national economic system and therewith furnish the conditions necessary for i political resurgence. Against all this Hitler always maintained .i determined stand, claiming that no economic revival would hr possible until political power had been wonback. His innumerable addresses to industrial and economic leaders succeeded in sprea ding his ideas more and more widely among those circles. Then was a constantly growing number of people who believed thai Hitler’s movement was not only the well-spring from which tin national idea was being revived but that it was also the sole mean . of saving the nation from economic collapse. The Nation.il Socialist Party Congresses at Niirnberg in 1927 and 1929 gave striking proof of the development of the organization and tli* growing influence which Hitler was exercising among the people 30 of Germany. On the occasion of the Party Congress in 1929 well over 100,000 persons made a pilgrimage to the old imperial city. Twenty-four new standards were presented to the S. A. following a solemn commemoration service for the dead at the War Monument in the Luitpoldhain. The march-past of the S. A. at the close of the ceremony, when Hitler took the salute, lasted close on four hours and formed an imposing demon¬ stration. In the realm of higher politics Hitler was now no longer looked upon merely as a beater of the big drum, but an allround respect began to be shown for his statesmanlike qualities. His “Open Answer to Herve , in which he replied to the French politician and stated his own opinions on disarmament and on how rela¬ tions between France and Germany should best be established, brought Hitler before the eyes of the public also in foreign coun¬ tries. The fight against the \ oung Plan led to the plebiscite of 1929, though the 6/4 million votes registered on that occasion New Year Reception of Foreign Ambassadors 31 were not sufficient to prevent the Plan from being carried through. From that time onwards Hitler was accepted as the leading person who represented in the most energetic fashion the fight against the policy of German enslavement. from victory to victory On their first appearance as a Party at the General Flection ol May 20, 1928, the National Socialists secured 810,000 votes and sent 12’deputies to the Reichstag. On September 14, .1930, the number of votes which they received increased to 6,400,000. The Brown Shirt deputies now numbered 107, which made them the second strongest group in the Reichstag. Only the Social j Democrats were numerically stronger, having I o4 deputies. It was now out of the question for anybody not to take the National Socialists seriously. On the one hand this fact became evident by the rapid increase in membership and, on the othei hand, it was demonstrated by the extraordinary bitter opposition now put up by all sides against the Movement. 1 The number of registered members of the Party at the end of 1930 totalled 389,000. In December 1931 this had increased to 806,294. On May 31, 1932, it was 1,118,270 and on March I, 1933, 1,471,114. On the other hand the Marxist system of terrorization’ increased at such an enormous rate that one wai right in speaking of a civil war instigated by the Reds. Up to the time that National Socialism took over supreme political powci 206 members had been murdered and 25,000 wounded in attacks on them by their opponents. These martyrs furnished an incontestable proof of the faith and spirit of sacrifice given to tin- service of the National Socialist teaching and its Fuhrer. As the President’s regular period of office was nearing its end a step was taken which brought Hitler into the foreground in negotiations with certain persons in the Reich Government Chancellor Braining endeavoured to get Hitler to consent to 32 Hitler speaks with a Delegation of British Ex-Service Men the passing of a special measure in the Reichstag for the purpose of prolonging tea™. on- SXC, H,„or warden menrbor 01 the civil service, with the rank of counsellor (Regierungs, a<), i . in the federative state of Brunswick, by the Government of tha | state This act conferred on him, ipso facto, the rights of German citizenship; so that he now became eligible as candidate tor the Presidency of the Reich. rvrman Thus a sorry chapter was closed m t e s °ry ^ political party bureaucracy. Hitler had been born < > parents on the German frontier. He had fought through the \\ ar Tthe ranks of the German Army. His life had been on