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-Title:      Mein Kampf

-Author:     Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

-            Translated into English by James Murphy (died 1946).

-INTRODUCTION

-VOLUME I: A RETROSPECT

-CHAPTER I    IN THE HOME OF MY PARENTS

-CHAPTER II   YEARS OF STUDY AND SUFFERING IN VIENNA

-CHAPTER III  POLITICAL REFLECTIONS ARISING OUT OF MY SOJOURN IN VIENNA

-CHAPTER IV   MUNICH

-CHAPTER V    THE WORLD WAR

-CHAPTER VI   WAR PROPAGANDA

-CHAPTER VII  THE REVOLUTION

-CHAPTER VIII THE BEGINNING OF MY POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

-CHAPTER IX   THE GERMAN LABOUR PARTY

-CHAPTER X    WHY THE SECOND REICH COLLAPSED

-CHAPTER XI   RACE AND PEOPLE

-CHAPTER XII  THE FIRST STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GERMAN NATIONAL

-             SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY

-VOLUME II: THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST MOVEMENT

-CHAPTER I    WELTANSCHAUUNG AND PARTY

-CHAPTER II   THE STATE

-CHAPTER III  CITIZENS AND SUBJECTS OF THE STATE

-CHAPTER IV   PERSONALITY AND THE IDEAL OF THE PEOPLE'S STATE

-CHAPTER V    WELTANSCHAUUNG AND ORGANIZATION

-CHAPTER VI   THE FIRST PERIOD OF OUR STRUGGLE

-CHAPTER VII  THE CONFLICT WITH THE RED FORCES

-CHAPTER VIII THE STRONG IS STRONGEST WHEN ALONE

-CHAPTER IX   FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS REGARDING THE NATURE AND ORGANIZATION OF

-             THE STORM TROOPS

-CHAPTER X    THE MASK OF FEDERALISM

-CHAPTER XI   PROPAGANDA AND ORGANIZATION

-CHAPTER XII  THE PROBLEM OF THE TRADE UNIONS

-CHAPTER XIII THE GERMAN POST-WAR POLICY OF ALLIANCES

-CHAPTER XIV  GERMANY'S POLICY IN EASTERN EUROPE

-CHAPTER XV   THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE

-EPILOGUE

-INTRODUCTION

-AUTHOR'S PREFACE

-On April 1st, 1924, I began to serve my sentence of detention in the

-Fortress of Landsberg am Lech, following the verdict of the Munich

-People's Court of that time.

-After years of uninterrupted labour it was now possible for the first

-time to begin a work which many had asked for and which I myself felt

-would be profitable for the Movement. So I decided to devote two volumes

-to a description not only of the aims of our Movement but also of its

-development. There is more to be learned from this than from any purely

-doctrinaire treatise.

-This has also given me the opportunity of describing my own development

-in so far as such a description is necessary to the understanding of the

-first as well as the second volume and to destroy the legendary

-fabrications which the Jewish Press have circulated about me.

-In this work I turn not to strangers but to those followers of the

-Movement whose hearts belong to it and who wish to study it more

-profoundly. I know that fewer people are won over by the written word

-than by the spoken word and that every great movement on this earth owes

-its growth to great speakers and not to great writers.

-Nevertheless, in order to produce more equality and uniformity in the

-defence of any doctrine, its fundamental principles must be committed to

-writing. May these two volumes therefore serve as the building stones

-which I contribute to the joint work.

-The Fortress, Landsberg am Lech.

-At half-past twelve in the afternoon of November 9th, 1923, those whose

-names are given below fell in front of the FELDHERRNHALLE and in the

-forecourt of the former War Ministry in Munich for their loyal faith in

-the resurrection of their people:

-Alfarth, Felix, Merchant, born July 5th, 1901

-Bauriedl, Andreas, Hatmaker, born May 4th, 1879

-Casella, Theodor, Bank Official, born August 8th, 1900

-Ehrlich, Wilhelm, Bank Official, born August 19th, 1894

-Faust, Martin, Bank Official, born January 27th, 1901

-Hechenberger, Anton, Locksmith, born September 28th, 1902

-Koerner, Oskar, Merchant, born January 4th, 1875

-Kuhn, Karl, Head Waiter, born July 25th, 1897

-Laforce, Karl, Student of Engineering, born October 28th, 1904

-Neubauer, Kurt, Waiter, born March 27th, 1899

-Pape, Claus von, Merchant, born August 16th, 1904

-Pfordten, Theodor von der, Councillor to the Superior Provincial Court,

-born May 14th, 1873

-Rickmers, Johann, retired Cavalry Captain, born May 7th, 1881

-Scheubner-Richter, Max Erwin von, Dr. of Engineering, born January 9th,

-1884

-Stransky, Lorenz Ritter von, Engineer, born March 14th, 1899

-Wolf, Wilhelm, Merchant, born October 19th, 1898

-So-called national officials refused to allow the dead heroes a common

-burial. So I dedicate the first volume of this work to them as a common

-memorial, that the memory of those martyrs may be a permanent source of

-light for the followers of our Movement.

-The Fortress, Landsberg a/L.,

-October 16th, 1924

-TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION

-In placing before the reader this unabridged translation of Adolf

-Hitler's book, MEIN KAMPF, I feel it my duty to call attention to

-certain historical facts which must be borne in mind if the reader would

-form a fair judgment of what is written in this extraordinary work.

-The first volume of MEIN KAMPF was written while the author was

-imprisoned in a Bavarian fortress. How did he get there and why? The

-answer to that question is important, because the book deals with the

-events which brought the author into this plight and because he wrote

-under the emotional stress caused by the historical happenings of the

-time. It was the hour of Germany's deepest humiliation, somewhat

-parallel to that of a little over a century before, when Napoleon had

-dismembered the old German Empire and French soldiers occupied almost

-the whole of Germany.

-In the beginning of 1923 the French invaded Germany, occupied the Ruhr

-district and seized several German towns in the Rhineland. This was a

-flagrant breach of international law and was protested against by every

-section of British political opinion at that time. The Germans could not

-effectively defend themselves, as they had been already disarmed under

-the provisions of the Versailles Treaty. To make the situation more

-fraught with disaster for Germany, and therefore more appalling in its

-prospect, the French carried on an intensive propaganda for the

-separation of the Rhineland from the German Republic and the

-establishment of an independent Rhenania. Money was poured out lavishly

-to bribe agitators to carry on this work, and some of the most insidious

-elements of the German population became active in the pay of the

-invader. At the same time a vigorous movement was being carried on in

-Bavaria for the secession of that country and the establishment of an

-independent Catholic monarchy there, under vassalage to France, as

-Napoleon had done when he made Maximilian the first King of Bavaria in

-1805.

-The separatist movement in the Rhineland went so far that some leading

-German politicians came out in favour of it, suggesting that if the

-Rhineland were thus ceded it might be possible for the German Republic

-to strike a bargain with the French in regard to Reparations. But in

-Bavaria the movement went even farther. And it was more far-reaching in

-its implications; for, if an independent Catholic monarchy could be set

-up in Bavaria, the next move would have been a union with Catholic

-German-Austria. possibly under a Habsburg King. Thus a Catholic BLOC

-would have been created which would extend from the Rhineland through

-Bavaria and Austria into the Danube Valley and would have been at least

-under the moral and military, if not the full political, hegemony of

-France. The dream seems fantastic now, but it was considered quite a

-practical thing in those fantastic times. The effect of putting such a

-plan into action would have meant the complete dismemberment of Germany;

-and that is what French diplomacy aimed at. Of course such an aim no

-longer exists. And I should not recall what must now seem "old, unhappy,

-far-off things" to the modern generation, were it not that they were

-very near and actual at the time MEIN KAMPF was written and were more

-unhappy then than we can even imagine now.

-By the autumn of 1923 the separatist movement in Bavaria was on the

-point of becoming an accomplished fact. General von Lossow, the Bavarian

-chief of the REICHSWEHR no longer took orders from Berlin. The flag of

-the German Republic was rarely to be seen, Finally, the Bavarian Prime

-Minister decided to proclaim an independent Bavaria and its secession

-from the German Republic. This was to have taken place on the eve of the

-Fifth Anniversary of the establishment of the German Republic (November

-9th, 1918.)

-Hitler staged a counter-stroke. For several days he had been mobilizing

-his storm battalions in the neighbourhood of Munich, intending to make a

-national demonstration and hoping that the REICHSWEHR would stand by him

-to prevent secession. Ludendorff was with him. And he thought that the

-prestige of the great German Commander in the World War would be

-sufficient to win the allegiance of the professional army.

-A meeting had been announced to take place in the B�rgerbr�u Keller on

-the night of November 8th. The Bavarian patriotic societies were

-gathered there, and the Prime Minister, Dr. von Kahr, started to read

-his official PRONUNCIAMENTO, which practically amounted to a

-proclamation of Bavarian independence and secession from the Republic.

-While von Kahr was speaking Hitler entered the hall, followed by

-Ludendorff. And the meeting was broken up.

-Next day the Nazi battalions took the street for the purpose of making a

-mass demonstration in favour of national union. They marched in massed

-formation, led by Hitler and Ludendorff. As they reached one of the

-central squares of the city the army opened fire on them. Sixteen of the

-marchers were instantly killed, and two died of their wounds in the

-local barracks of the REICHSWEHR. Several others were wounded also.

-Hitler fell on the pavement and broke a collar-bone. Ludendorff marched

-straight up to the soldiers who were firing from the barricade, but not

-a man dared draw a trigger on his old Commander.

-Hitler was arrested with several of his comrades and imprisoned in the

-fortress of Landsberg on the River Lech. On February 26th, 1924, he was

-brought to trial before the VOLKSGERICHT, or People's Court in Munich.

-He was sentenced to detention in a fortress for five years. With several

-companions, who had been also sentenced to various periods of

-imprisonment, he returned to Landsberg am Lech and remained there until

-the 20th of the following December, when he was released. In all he

-spent about thirteen months in prison. It was during this period that he

-wrote the first volume of MEIN KAMPF.

-If we bear all this in mind we can account for the emotional stress

-under which MEIN KAMPF was written. Hitler was naturally incensed

-against the Bavarian government authorities, against the footling

-patriotic societies who were pawns in the French game, though often

-unconsciously so, and of course against the French. That he should write

-harshly of the French was only natural in the circumstances. At that

-time there was no exaggeration whatsoever in calling France the

-implacable and mortal enemy of Germany. Such language was being used by

-even the pacifists themselves, not only in Germany but abroad. And even

-though the second volume of MEIN KAMPF was written after Hitler's

-release from prison and was published after the French had left the

-Ruhr, the tramp of the invading armies still echoed in German ears, and

-the terrible ravages that had been wrought in the industrial and

-financial life of Germany, as a consequence of the French invasion, had

-plunged the country into a state of social and economic chaos. In France

-itself the franc fell to fifty per cent of its previous value. Indeed,

-the whole of Europe had been brought to the brink of ruin, following the

-French invasion of the Ruhr and Rhineland.

-But, as those things belong to the limbo of a dead past that nobody

-wishes to have remembered now, it is often asked: Why doesn't Hitler

-revise MEIN KAMPF? The answer, as I think, which would immediately come

-into the mind of an impartial critic is that MEIN KAMPF is an historical

-document which bears the imprint of its own time. To revise it would

-involve taking it out of its historical context. Moreover Hitler has

-declared that his acts and public statements constitute a partial

-revision of his book and are to be taken as such. This refers especially

-to the statements in MEIN KAMPF regarding France and those German

-kinsfolk that have not yet been incorporated in the REICH. On behalf of

-Germany he has definitely acknowledged the German portion of South Tyrol

-as permanently belonging to Italy and, in regard to France, he has again

-and again declared that no grounds now exist for a conflict of political

-interests between Germany and France and that Germany has no territorial

-claims against France. Finally, I may note here that Hitler has also

-declared that, as he was only a political leader and not yet a statesman

-in a position of official responsibility, when he wrote this book, what

-he stated in MEIN KAMPF does not implicate him as Chancellor of the

-REICH.

-I now come to some references in the text which are frequently recurring

-and which may not always be clear to every reader. For instance, Hitler

-speaks indiscriminately of the German REICH. Sometimes he means to refer

-to the first REICH, or Empire, and sometimes to the German Empire as

-founded under William I in 1871. Incidentally the regime which he

-inaugurated in 1933 is generally known as the THIRD REICH, though this

-expression is not used in MEIN KAMPF. Hitler also speaks of the Austrian

-REICH and the East Mark, without always explicitly distinguishing

-between the Habsburg Empire and Austria proper. If the reader will bear

-the following historical outline in mind, he will understand the

-references as they occur.

-The word REICH, which is a German form of the Latin word REGNUM, does

-not mean Kingdom or Empire or Republic. It is a sort of basic word that

-may apply to any form of Constitution. Perhaps our word, Realm, would be

-the best translation, though the word Empire can be used when the REICH

-was actually an Empire. The forerunner of the first German Empire was

-the Holy Roman Empire which Charlemagne founded in A.D. 800. Charlemagne

-was King of the Franks, a group of Germanic tribes that subsequently

-became Romanized. In the tenth century Charlemagne's Empire passed into

-German hands when Otto I (936-973) became Emperor. As the Holy Roman

-Empire of the German Nation, its formal appellation, it continued to

-exist under German Emperors until Napoleon overran and dismembered

-Germany during the first decade of the last century. On August 6th,

-1806, the last Emperor, Francis II, formally resigned the German crown.

-In the following October Napoleon entered Berlin in triumph, after the

-Battle of Jena.

-After the fall of Napoleon a movement set in for the reunion of the

-German states in one Empire. But the first decisive step towards that

-end was the foundation of the Second German Empire in 1871, after the

-Franco-Prussian War. This Empire, however, did not include the German

-lands which remained under the Habsburg Crown. These were known as

-German Austria. It was Bismarck's dream to unite German Austria with the

-German Empire; but it remained only a dream until Hitler turned it into

-a reality in 1938'. It is well to bear that point in mind, because this

-dream of reuniting all the German states in one REICH has been a

-dominant feature of German patriotism and statesmanship for over a

-century and has been one of Hitler's ideals since his childhood.

-In MEIN KAMPF Hitler often speaks of the East Mark. This East Mark--i.e.

-eastern frontier land--was founded by Charlemagne as the eastern bulwark

-of the Empire. It was inhabited principally by Germano-Celtic tribes

-called Bajuvari and stood for centuries as the firm bulwark of Western

-Christendom against invasion from the East, especially against the

-Turks. Geographically it was almost identical with German Austria.

-There are a few points more that I wish to mention in this introductory

-note. For instance, I have let the word WELTANSCHAUUNG stand in its

-original form very often. We have no one English word to convey the same

-meaning as the German word, and it would have burdened the text too much

-if I were to use a circumlocution each time the word occurs.

-WELTANSCHAUUNG literally means "Outlook-on-the World". But as generally

-used in German this outlook on the world means a whole system of ideas

-associated together in an organic unity--ideas of human life, human

-values, cultural and religious ideas, politics, economics, etc., in fact

-a totalitarian view of human existence. Thus Christianity could be

-called a WELTANSCHAUUNG, and Mohammedanism could be called a

-WELTANSCHAUUNG, and Socialism could be called a WELTANSCHAUUNG,

-especially as preached in Russia. National Socialism claims definitely

-to be a WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-Another word I have often left standing in the original is V�LKISCH. The

-basic word here is VOLK, which is sometimes translated as PEOPLE; but

-the German word, VOLK, means the whole body of the PEOPLE without any

-distinction of class or caste. It is a primary word also that suggests

-what might be called the basic national stock. Now, after the defeat in

-1918, the downfall of the Monarchy and the destruction of the

-aristocracy and the upper classes, the concept of DAS VOLK came into

-prominence as the unifying co-efficient which would embrace the whole

-German people. Hence the large number of V�LKISCH societies that arose

-after the war and hence also the National Socialist concept of

-unification which is expressed by the word VOLKSGEMEINSCHAFT, or folk

-community. This is used in contradistinction to the Socialist concept of

-the nation as being divided into classes. Hitler's ideal is the

-V�LKISCHER STAAT, which I have translated as the People's State.

-Finally, I would point out that the term Social Democracy may be

-misleading in English, as it has not a democratic connotation in our

-sense. It was the name given to the Socialist Party in Germany. And that

-Party was purely Marxist; but it adopted the name Social Democrat in

-order to appeal to the democratic sections of the German people.

-JAMES MURPHY.

-Abbots Langley, February, 1939

-VOLUME I: A RETROSPECT

-CHAPTER I

-IN THE HOME OF MY PARENTS

-It has turned out fortunate for me to-day that destiny appointed

-Braunau-on-the-Inn to be my birthplace. For that little town is situated

-just on the frontier between those two States the reunion of which

-seems, at least to us of the younger generation, a task to which we

-should devote our lives and in the pursuit of which every possible means

-should be employed.

-German-Austria must be restored to the great German Motherland. And not

-indeed on any grounds of economic calculation whatsoever. No, no. Even

-if the union were a matter of economic indifference, and even if it were

-to be disadvantageous from the economic standpoint, still it ought to

-take place. People of the same blood should be in the same REICH. The

-German people will have no right to engage in a colonial policy until

-they shall have brought all their children together in the one State.

-When the territory of the REICH embraces all the Germans and finds

-itself unable to assure them a livelihood, only then can the moral right

-arise, from the need of the people to acquire foreign territory. The

-plough is then the sword; and the tears of war will produce the daily

-bread for the generations to come.

-And so this little frontier town appeared to me as the symbol of a great

-task. But in another regard also it points to a lesson that is

-applicable to our day. Over a hundred years ago this sequestered spot

-was the scene of a tragic calamity which affected the whole German

-nation and will be remembered for ever, at least in the annals of German

-history. At the time of our Fatherland's deepest humiliation a

-bookseller, Johannes Palm, uncompromising nationalist and enemy of the

-French, was put to death here because he had the misfortune to have

-loved Germany well. He obstinately refused to disclose the names of his

-associates, or rather the principals who were chiefly responsible for

-the affair. Just as it happened with Leo Schlageter. The former, like

-the latter, was denounced to the French by a Government agent. It was a

-director of police from Augsburg who won an ignoble renown on that

-occasion and set the example which was to be copied at a later date by

-the neo-German officials of the REICH under Herr Severing's

-regime (Note 1).

-[Note 1. In order to understand the reference here, and similar

-references in later portions of MEIN KAMPF, the following must be borne

-in mind:

-From 1792 to 1814 the French Revolutionary Armies overran Germany. In

-1800 Bavaria shared in the Austrian defeat at Hohenlinden and the French

-occupied Munich. In 1805 the Bavarian Elector was made King of Bavaria by

-Napoleon and stipulated to back up Napoleon in all his wars with a force

-of 30,000 men. Thus Bavaria became the absolute vassal of the French.

-This was 'TheTime of Germany's Deepest Humiliation', Which is referred

-to again and again by Hitler.

-In 1806 a pamphlet entitled 'Germany's Deepest Humiliation' was

-published in South Germany. Amnng those who helped to circulate the

-pamphlet was the N�rnberg bookseller, Johannes Philipp Palm. He was

-denounced to the French by a Bavarian police agent. At his trial he

-refused to disclose thename of the author. By Napoleon's orders, he was

-shot at Braunau-on-the-Innon August 26th, 1806. A monument erected to

-him on the site of the executionwas one of the first public objects that

-made an impression on Hitler asa little boy.

-Leo Schlageter's case was in many respects parallel to that of Johannes

-Palm. Schlageter was a German theological student who volunteered for

-service in 1914. He became an artillery officer and won the Iron Cross of

-both classes. When the French occupied the Ruhr in 1923 Schlageter helped

-to organize the passive resistance on the German side. He and his

-companions blew up a railway bridge for the purpose of making the

-transport of coal to France more difficult.

-Those who took part in the affair were denounced to the French by a

-German informer. Schlageter took the whole responsibility on his own

-shoulders and was condemned to death, his companions being sentenced to

-various terms of imprisonment and penal servitude by the French Court.

-Schlageter refused to disclose the identity of those who issued the order

-to blow up the railway bridge and he would not plead for mercy before a

-French Court. He was shot by a French firing-squad on May 26th, 1923.

-Severing was at that time German Minister of the Interior. It is said

-that representations were made, to himon Schlageter's behalf and that he

-refused to interfere.

-Schlageter has become the chief martyr of the German resistancc to the

-French occupation of the Ruhr and also one of the great heroes of the

-National Socialist Movement. He had joined the Movement at a very early

-stage, his card of membership bearing the number 61.]

-In this little town on the Inn, haloed by the memory of a German martyr,

-a town that was Bavarian by blood but under the rule of the Austrian

-State, my parents were domiciled towards the end of the last century. My

-father was a civil servant who fulfilled his duties very

-conscientiously. My mother looked after the household and lovingly

-devoted herself to the care of her children. From that period I have not

-retained very much in my memory; because after a few years my father had

-to leave that frontier town which I had come to love so much and take up

-a new post farther down the Inn valley, at Passau, therefore actually in

-Germany itself.

-In those days it was the usual lot of an Austrian civil servant to be

-transferred periodically from one post to another. Not long after coming

-to Passau my father was transferred to Linz, and while there he retired

-finally to live on his pension. But this did not mean that the old

-gentleman would now rest from his labours.

-He was the son of a poor cottager, and while still a boy he grew

-restless and left home. When he was barely thirteen years old he buckled

-on his satchel and set forth from his native woodland parish. Despite

-the dissuasion of villagers who could speak from 'experience,' he went

-to Vienna to learn a trade there. This was in the fiftieth year of the

-last century. It was a sore trial, that of deciding to leave home and

-face the unknown, with three gulden in his pocket. By when the boy of

-thirteen was a lad of seventeen and had passed his apprenticeship

-examination as a craftsman he was not content. Quite the contrary. The

-persistent economic depression of that period and the constant want and

-misery strengthened his resolution to give up working at a trade and

-strive for 'something higher.' As a boy it had seemed to him that the

-position of the parish priest in his native village was the highest in

-the scale of human attainment; but now that the big city had enlarged

-his outlook the young man looked up to the dignity of a State official

-as the highest of all. With the tenacity of one whom misery and trouble

-had already made old when only half-way through his youth the young man

-of seventeen obstinately set out on his new project and stuck to it

-until he won through. He became a civil servant. He was about

-twenty-three years old, I think, when he succeeded in making himself

-what he had resolved to become. Thus he was able to fulfil the promise

-he had made as a poor boy not to return to his native village until he

-was 'somebody.'

-He had gained his end. But in the village there was nobody who had

-remembered him as a little boy, and the village itself had become

-strange to him.

-Now at last, when he was fifty-six years old, he gave up his active

-career; but he could not bear to be idle for a single day. On the

-outskirts of the small market town of Lambach in Upper Austria he bought

-a farm and tilled it himself. Thus, at the end of a long and

-hard-working career, he came back to the life which his father had led.

-It was at this period that I first began to have ideals of my own. I

-spent a good deal of time scampering about in the open, on the long road

-from school, and mixing up with some of the roughest of the boys, which

-caused my mother many anxious moments. All this tended to make me

-something quite the reverse of a stay-at-home. I gave scarcely any

-serious thought to the question of choosing a vocation in life; but I

-was certainly quite out of sympathy with the kind of career which my

-father had followed. I think that an inborn talent for speaking now

-began to develop and take shape during the more or less strenuous

-arguments which I used to have with my comrades. I had become a juvenile

-ringleader who learned well and easily at school but was rather

-difficult to manage. In my freetime I practised singing in the choir of

-the monastery church at Lambach, and thus it happened that I was placed

-in a very favourable position to be emotionally impressed again and

-again by the magnificent splendour of ecclesiastical ceremonial. What

-could be more natural for me than to look upon the Abbot as representing

-the highest human ideal worth striving for, just as the position of the

-humble village priest had appeared to my father in his own boyhood days?

-At least, that was my idea for a while. But the juvenile disputes I had

-with my father did not lead him to appreciate his son's oratorical gifts

-in such a way as to see in them a favourable promise for such a career,

-and so he naturally could not understand the boyish ideas I had in my

-head at that time. This contradiction in my character made him feel

-somewhat anxious.

-As a matter of fact, that transitory yearning after such a vocation soon

-gave way to hopes that were better suited to my temperament. Browsing

-through my father's books, I chanced to come across some publications

-that dealt with military subjects. One of these publications was a

-popular history of the Franco-German War of 1870-71. It consisted of two

-volumes of an illustrated periodical dating from those years. These

-became my favourite reading. In a little while that great and heroic

-conflict began to take first place in my mind. And from that time

-onwards I became more and more enthusiastic about everything that was in

-any way connected with war or military affairs.

-But this story of the Franco-German War had a special significance for

-me on other grounds also. For the first time, and as yet only in quite a

-vague way, the question began to present itself: Is there a

-difference--and if there be, what is it--between the Germans who fought

-that war and the other Germans? Why did not Austria also take part in

-it? Why did not my father and all the others fight in that struggle? Are

-we not the same as the other Germans? Do we not all belong together?

-That was the first time that this problem began to agitate my small

-brain. And from the replies that were given to the questions which I

-asked very tentatively, I was forced to accept the fact, though with a

-secret envy, that not all Germans had the good luck to belong to

-Bismarck's Empire. This was something that I could not understand.

-It was decided that I should study. Considering my character as a whole,

-and especially my temperament, my father decided that the classical

-subjects studied at the Lyceum were not suited to my natural talents. He

-thought that the REALSCHULE (Note 2) would suit me better. My obvious

-talent for drawing confirmed him in that view; for in his opinion drawing

-was a subject too much neglected in the Austrian GYMNASIUM. Probably also

-the memory of the hard road which he himself had travelled contributed to

-make him look upon classical studies as unpractical and accordingly to

-set little value on them. At the back of his mind he had the idea that

-his son also should become an official of the Government. Indeed he had

-decided on that career for me. The difficulties through which he had to

-struggle in making his own career led him to overestimate what he had

-achieved, because this was exclusively the result of his own

-indefatigable industry and energy. The characteristic pride of the

-self-made man urged him towards the idea that his son should follow the

-same calling and if possible rise to a higher position in it. Moreover,

-this idea was strengthened by the consideration that the results of his

-own life's industry had placed him in a position to facilitate his son's

-advancement in the same career.

-[Note 2. Non-classical secondary school. The Lyceum and GYMNASIUM were

-classical or semi-classical secondary schools.]

-He was simply incapable of imagining that I might reject what had meant

-everything in life to him. My father's decision was simple, definite,

-clear and, in his eyes, it was something to be taken for granted. A man

-of such a nature who had become an autocrat by reason of his own hard

-struggle for existence, could not think of allowing 'inexperienced' and

-irresponsible young fellows to choose their own careers. To act in such

-a way, where the future of his own son was concerned, would have been a

-grave and reprehensible weakness in the exercise of parental authority

-and responsibility, something utterly incompatible with his

-characteristic sense of duty.

-And yet it had to be otherwise.

-For the first time in my life--I was then eleven years old--I felt

-myself forced into open opposition. No matter how hard and determined my

-father might be about putting his own plans and opinions into action,

-his son was no less obstinate in refusing to accept ideas on which he

-set little or no value.

-I would not become a civil servant.

-No amount of persuasion and no amount of 'grave' warnings could break

-down that opposition. I would not become a State official, not on any

-account. All the attempts which my father made to arouse in me a love or

-liking for that profession, by picturing his own career for me, had only

-the opposite effect. It nauseated me to think that one day I might be

-fettered to an office stool, that I could not dispose of my own time but

-would be forced to spend the whole of my life filling out forms.

-One can imagine what kind of thoughts such a prospect awakened in the

-mind of a young fellow who was by no means what is called a 'good boy'

-in the current sense of that term. The ridiculously easy school tasks

-which we were given made it possible for me to spend far more time in

-the open air than at home. To-day, when my political opponents pry into

-my life with diligent scrutiny, as far back as the days of my boyhood,

-so as finally to be able to prove what disreputable tricks this Hitler

-was accustomed to in his young days, I thank heaven that I can look back

-to those happy days and find the memory of them helpful. The fields and

-the woods were then the terrain on which all disputes were fought out.

-Even attendance at the REALSCHULE could not alter my way of spending my

-time. But I had now another battle to fight.

-So long as the paternal plan to make a State functionary contradicted my

-own inclinations only in the abstract, the conflict was easy to bear. I

-could be discreet about expressing my personal views and thus avoid

-constantly recurrent disputes. My own resolution not to become a

-Government official was sufficient for the time being to put my mind

-completely at rest. I held on to that resolution inexorably. But the

-situation became more difficult once I had a positive plan of my own

-which I might present to my father as a counter-suggestion. This

-happened when I was twelve years old. How it came about I cannot exactly

-say now; but one day it became clear to me that I would be a painter--I

-mean an artist. That I had an aptitude for drawing was an admitted fact.

-It was even one of the reasons why my father had sent me to the

-REALSCHULE; but he had never thought of having that talent developed in

-such a way that I could take up painting as a professional career. Quite

-the contrary. When, as a result of my renewed refusal to adopt his

-favourite plan, my father asked me for the first time what I myself

-really wished to be, the resolution that I had already formed expressed

-itself almost automatically. For a while my father was speechless. "A

-painter? An artist-painter?" he exclaimed.

-He wondered whether I was in a sound state of mind. He thought that he

-might not have caught my words rightly, or that he had misunderstood

-what I meant. But when I had explained my ideas to him and he saw how

-seriously I took them, he opposed them with that full determination

-which was characteristic of him. His decision was exceedingly simple and

-could not be deflected from its course by any consideration of what my

-own natural qualifications really were.

-"Artist! Not as long as I live, never." As the son had inherited some of

-the father's obstinacy, besides having other qualities of his own, my

-reply was equally energetic. But it stated something quite the contrary.

-At that our struggle became stalemate. The father would not abandon his

-'Never', and I became all the more consolidated in my 'Nevertheless'.

-Naturally the resulting situation was not pleasant. The old gentleman

-was bitterly annoyed; and indeed so was I, although I really loved him.

-My father forbade me to entertain any hopes of taking up the art of

-painting as a profession. I went a step further and declared that I

-would not study anything else. With such declarations the situation

-became still more strained, so that the old gentleman irrevocably

-decided to assert his parental authority at all costs. That led me to

-adopt an attitude of circumspect silence, but I put my threat into

-execution. I thought that, once it became clear to my father that I was

-making no progress at the REALSCHULE, for weal or for woe, he would be

-forced to allow me to follow the happy career I had dreamed of.

-I do not know whether I calculated rightly or not. Certainly my failure

-to make progress became quite visible in the school. I studied just the

-subjects that appealed to me, especially those which I thought might be

-of advantage to me later on as a painter. What did not appear to have

-any importance from this point of view, or what did not otherwise appeal

-to me favourably, I completely sabotaged. My school reports of that time

-were always in the extremes of good or bad, according to the subject and

-the interest it had for me. In one column my qualification read 'very

-good' or 'excellent'. In another it read 'average' or even 'below

-average'. By far my best subjects were geography and, even more so,

-general history. These were my two favourite subjects, and I led the

-class in them.

-When I look back over so many years and try to judge the results of that

-experience I find two very significant facts standing out clearly before

-my mind.

-First, I became a nationalist.

-Second, I learned to understand and grasp the true meaning of history.

-The old Austria was a multi-national State. In those days at least the

-citizens of the German Empire, taken through and through, could not

-understand what that fact meant in the everyday life of the individuals

-within such a State. After the magnificent triumphant march of the

-victorious armies in the Franco-German War the Germans in the REICH

-became steadily more and more estranged from the Germans beyond their

-frontiers, partly because they did not deign to appreciate those other

-Germans at their true value or simply because they were incapable of

-doing so.

-The Germans of the REICH did not realize that if the Germans in Austria

-had not been of the best racial stock they could never have given the

-stamp of their own character to an Empire of 52 millions, so definitely

-that in Germany itself the idea arose--though quite an erroneous

-one--that Austria was a German State. That was an error which led to

-dire consequences; but all the same it was a magnificent testimony to

-the character of the ten million Germans in that East Mark. (Note 3)

-Only very few of the Germans in the REICH itself had an idea of the bitter

-struggle which those Eastern Germans had to carry on daily for the

-preservation of their German language, their German schools and their

-German character. Only to-day, when a tragic fate has torn several

-millions of our kinsfolk away from the REICH and has forced them to live

-under the rule of the stranger, dreaming of that common fatherland

-towards which all their yearnings are directed and struggling to uphold

-at least the sacred right of using their mother tongue--only now have

-the wider circles of the German population come to realize what it means

-to have to fight for the traditions of one's race. And so at last

-perhaps there are people here and there who can assess the greatness of

-that German spirit which animated the old East Mark and enabled those

-people, left entirely dependent on their own resources, to defend the

-Empire against the Orient for several centuries and subsequently to hold

-fast the frontiers of the German language through a guerilla warfare of

-attrition, at a time when the German Empire was sedulously cultivating

-an interest for colonies but not for its own flesh and blood before the

-threshold of its own door.

-[Note 3. See Translator's Introduction.]

-What has happened always and everywhere, in every kind of struggle,

-happened also in the language fight which was carried on in the old

-Austria. There were three groups--the fighters, the hedgers and the

-traitors. Even in the schools this sifting already began to take place.

-And it is worth noting that the struggle for the language was waged

-perhaps in its bitterest form around the school; because this was the

-nursery where the seeds had to be watered which were to spring up and

-form the future generation. The tactical objective of the fight was the

-winning over of the child, and it was to the child that the first

-rallying cry was addressed:

-"German youth, do not forget that you are a German," and "Remember,

-little girl, that one day you must be a German mother."

-Those who know something of the juvenile spirit can understand how youth

-will always lend a glad ear to such a rallying cry. Under many forms the

-young people led the struggle, fighting in their own way and with their

-own weapons. They refused to sing non-German songs. The greater the

-efforts made to win them away from their German allegiance, the more

-they exalted the glory of their German heroes. They stinted themselves

-in buying things to eat, so that they might spare their pennies to help

-the war chest of their elders. They were incredibly alert in the

-significance of what the non-German teachers said and they contradicted

-in unison. They wore the forbidden emblems of their own kinsfolk and

-were happy when penalised for doing so, or even physically punished. In

-miniature they were mirrors of loyalty from which the older people might

-learn a lesson.

-And thus it was that at a comparatively early age I took part in the

-struggle which the nationalities were waging against one another in the

-old Austria. When meetings were held for the South Mark German League

-and the School League we wore cornflowers and black-red-gold colours to

-express our loyalty. We greeted one another with HEIL! and instead of

-the Austrian anthem we sang our own DEUTSCHLAND �BER ALLES, despite

-warnings and penalties. Thus the youth were educated politically at a

-time when the citizens of a so-called national State for the most part

-knew little of their own nationality except the language. Of course, I

-did not belong to the hedgers. Within a little while I had become an

-ardent 'German National', which has a different meaning from the party

-significance attached to that phrase to-day.

-I developed very rapidly in the nationalist direction, and by the time I

-was 15 years old I had come to understand the distinction between

-dynastic patriotism and nationalism based on the concept of folk, or

-people, my inclination being entirely in favour of the latter.

-Such a preference may not perhaps be clearly intelligible to those who

-have never taken the trouble to study the internal conditions that

-prevailed under the Habsburg Monarchy.

-Among historical studies universal history was the subject almost

-exclusively taught in the Austrian schools, for of specific Austrian

-history there was only very little. The fate of this State was closely

-bound up with the existence and development of Germany as a whole; so a

-division of history into German history and Austrian history would be

-practically inconceivable. And indeed it was only when the German people

-came to be divided between two States that this division of German

-history began to take place.

-The insignia (Note 4) of a former imperial sovereignty which were still

-preserved in Vienna appeared to act as magical relics rather than as the

-visible guarantee of an everlasting bond of union.

-[Note 4. When Francis II had laid down his title as Emperor of the Holy

-Roman Empireof the German Nation, which he did at the command of Napoleon,

-the Crownand Mace, as the Imperial Insignia, were kept in Vienna. After

-the German Empire was refounded, in 1871, under William I, there were many

-demands tohave the Insignia transferred to Berlin. But these went

-unheeded. Hitler had them brought to Germany after the Austrian Anschluss

-and displayed at Nuremberg during the Party Congress in September 1938.]

-When the Habsburg State crumbled to pieces in 1918 the Austrian Germans

-instinctively raised an outcry for union with their German fatherland.

-That was the voice of a unanimous yearning in the hearts of the whole

-people for a return to the unforgotten home of their fathers. But such a

-general yearning could not be explained except by attributing the cause

-of it to the historical training through which the individual Austrian

-Germans had passed. Therein lay a spring that never dried up. Especially

-in times of distraction and forgetfulness its quiet voice was a reminder

-of the past, bidding the people to look out beyond the mere welfare of

-the moment to a new future.

-The teaching of universal history in what are called the middle schools

-is still very unsatisfactory. Few teachers realize that the purpose of

-teaching history is not the memorizing of some dates and facts, that the

-student is not interested in knowing the exact date of a battle or the

-birthday of some marshal or other, and not at all--or at least only very

-insignificantly--interested in knowing when the crown of his fathers was

-placed on the brow of some monarch. These are certainly not looked upon

-as important matters.

-To study history means to search for and discover the forces that are

-the causes of those results which appear before our eyes as historical

-events. The art of reading and studying consists in remembering the

-essentials and forgetting what is not essential.

-Probably my whole future life was determined by the fact that I had a

-professor of history who understood, as few others understand, how to

-make this viewpoint prevail in teaching and in examining. This teacher

-was Dr. Leopold Poetsch, of the REALSCHULE at Linz. He was the ideal

-personification of the qualities necessary to a teacher of history in

-the sense I have mentioned above. An elderly gentleman with a decisive

-manner but a kindly heart, he was a very attractive speaker and was able

-to inspire us with his own enthusiasm. Even to-day I cannot recall

-without emotion that venerable personality whose enthusiastic exposition

-of history so often made us entirely forget the present and allow

-ourselves to be transported as if by magic into the past. He penetrated

-through the dim mist of thousands of years and transformed the

-historical memory of the dead past into a living reality. When we

-listened to him we became afire with enthusiasm and we were sometimes

-moved even to tears.

-It was still more fortunate that this professor was able not only to

-illustrate the past by examples from the present but from the past he

-was also able to draw a lesson for the present. He understood better

-than any other the everyday problems that were then agitating our minds.

-The national fervour which we felt in our own small way was utilized by

-him as an instrument of our education, inasmuch as he often appealed to

-our national sense of honour; for in that way he maintained order and

-held our attention much more easily than he could have done by any other

-means. It was because I had such a professor that history became my

-favourite subject. As a natural consequence, but without the conscious

-connivance of my professor, I then and there became a young rebel. But

-who could have studied German history under such a teacher and not

-become an enemy of that State whose rulers exercised such a disastrous

-influence on the destinies of the German nation? Finally, how could one

-remain the faithful subject of the House of Habsburg, whose past history

-and present conduct proved it to be ready ever and always to betray the

-interests of the German people for the sake of paltry personal

-interests? Did not we as youngsters fully realize that the House of

-Habsburg did not, and could not, have any love for us Germans?

-What history taught us about the policy followed by the House of

-Habsburg was corroborated by our own everyday experiences. In the north

-and in the south the poison of foreign races was eating into the body of

-our people, and even Vienna was steadily becoming more and more a

-non-German city. The 'Imperial House' favoured the Czechs on every

-possible occasion. Indeed it was the hand of the goddess of eternal

-justice and inexorable retribution that caused the most deadly enemy of

-Germanism in Austria, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, to fall by the very

-bullets which he himself had helped to cast. Working from above

-downwards, he was the chief patron of the movement to make Austria a

-Slav State.

-The burdens laid on the shoulders of the German people were enormous and

-the sacrifices of money and blood which they had to make were incredibly

-heavy.

-Yet anybody who was not quite blind must have seen that it was all in

-vain. What affected us most bitterly was the consciousness of the fact

-that this whole system was morally shielded by the alliance with

-Germany, whereby the slow extirpation of Germanism in the old Austrian

-Monarchy seemed in some way to be more or less sanctioned by Germany

-herself. Habsburg hypocrisy, which endeavoured outwardly to make the

-people believe that Austria still remained a German State, increased the

-feeling of hatred against the Imperial House and at the same time

-aroused a spirit of rebellion and contempt.

-But in the German Empire itself those who were then its rulers saw

-nothing of what all this meant. As if struck blind, they stood beside a

-corpse and in the very symptoms of decomposition they believed that they

-recognized the signs of a renewed vitality. In that unhappy alliance

-between the young German Empire and the illusory Austrian State lay the

-germ of the World War and also of the final collapse.

-In the subsequent pages of this book I shall go to the root of the

-problem. Suffice it to say here that in the very early years of my youth

-I came to certain conclusions which I have never abandoned. Indeed I

-became more profoundly convinced of them as the years passed. They were:

-That the dissolution of the Austrian Empire is a preliminary condition

-for the defence of Germany; further, that national feeling is by no

-means identical with dynastic patriotism; finally, and above all, that

-the House of Habsburg was destined to bring misfortune to the German

-nation.

-As a logical consequence of these convictions, there arose in me a

-feeling of intense love for my German-Austrian home and a profound

-hatred for the Austrian State.

-That kind of historical thinking which was developed in me through my

-study of history at school never left me afterwards. World history

-became more and more an inexhaustible source for the understanding of

-contemporary historical events, which means politics. Therefore I will

-not "learn" politics but let politics teach me.

-A precocious revolutionary in politics I was no less a precocious

-revolutionary in art. At that time the provincial capital of Upper

-Austria had a theatre which, relatively speaking, was not bad. Almost

-everything was played there. When I was twelve years old I saw William

-Tell performed. That was my first experience of the theatre. Some months

-later I attended a performance of LOHENGRIN, the first opera I had ever

-heard. I was fascinated at once. My youthful enthusiasm for the Bayreuth

-Master knew no limits. Again and again I was drawn to hear his operas;

-and to-day I consider it a great piece of luck that these modest

-productions in the little provincial city prepared the way and made it

-possible for me to appreciate the better productions later on.

-But all this helped to intensify my profound aversion for the career

-that my father had chosen for me; and this dislike became especially

-strong as the rough corners of youthful boorishness became worn off, a

-process which in my case caused a good deal of pain. I became more and

-more convinced that I should never be happy as a State official. And now

-that the REALSCHULE had recognized and acknowledged my aptitude for

-drawing, my own resolution became all the stronger. Imprecations and

-threats had no longer any chance of changing it. I wanted to become a

-painter and no power in the world could force me to become a civil

-servant. The only peculiar feature of the situation now was that as I

-grew bigger I became more and more interested in architecture. I

-considered this fact as a natural development of my flair for painting

-and I rejoiced inwardly that the sphere of my artistic interests was

-thus enlarged. I had no notion that one day it would have to be

-otherwise.

-The question of my career was decided much sooner than I could have

-expected.

-When I was in my thirteenth year my father was suddenly taken from us.

-He was still in robust health when a stroke of apoplexy painlessly ended

-his earthly wanderings and left us all deeply bereaved. His most ardent

-longing was to be able to help his son to advance in a career and thus

-save me from the harsh ordeal that he himself had to go through. But it

-appeared to him then as if that longing were all in vain. And yet,

-though he himself was not conscious of it, he had sown the seeds of a

-future which neither of us foresaw at that time.

-At first nothing changed outwardly.

-My mother felt it her duty to continue my education in accordance with

-my father's wishes, which meant that she would have me study for the

-civil service. For my own part I was even more firmly determined than

-ever before that under no circumstances would I become an official of

-the State. The curriculum and teaching methods followed in the middle

-school were so far removed from my ideals that I became profoundly

-indifferent. Illness suddenly came to my assistance. Within a few weeks

-it decided my future and put an end to the long-standing family

-conflict. My lungs became so seriously affected that the doctor advised

-my mother very strongly not under any circumstances to allow me to take

-up a career which would necessitate working in an office. He ordered

-that I should give up attendance at the REALSCHULE for a year at least.

-What I had secretly desired for such a long time, and had persistently

-fought for, now became a reality almost at one stroke.

-Influenced by my illness, my mother agreed that I should leave the

-REALSCHULE and attend the Academy.

-Those were happy days, which appeared to me almost as a dream; but they

-were bound to remain only a dream. Two years later my mother's death put

-a brutal end to all my fine projects. She succumbed to a long and

-painful illness which from the very beginning permitted little hope of

-recovery. Though expected, her death came as a terrible blow to me. I

-respected my father, but I loved my mother.

-Poverty and stern reality forced me to decide promptly.

-The meagre resources of the family had been almost entirely used up

-through my mother's severe illness. The allowance which came to me as an

-orphan was not enough for the bare necessities of life. Somehow or other

-I would have to earn my own bread.

-With my clothes and linen packed in a valise and with an indomitable

-resolution in my heart, I left for Vienna. I hoped to forestall fate, as

-my father had done fifty years before. I was determined to become

-'something'--but certainly not a civil servant.

-CHAPTER II

-YEARS OF STUDY AND SUFFERING IN VIENNA

-When my mother died my fate had already been decided in one respect.

-During the last months of her illness I went to Vienna to take the

-entrance examination for the Academy of Fine Arts. Armed with a bulky

-packet of sketches, I felt convinced that I should pass the examination

-quite easily. At the REALSCHULE I was by far the best student in the

-drawing class, and since that time I had made more than ordinary

-progress in the practice of drawing. Therefore I was pleased with myself

-and was proud and happy at the prospect of what I considered an assured

-success.

-But there was one misgiving: It seemed to me that I was better qualified

-for drawing than for painting, especially in the various branches of

-architectural drawing. At the same time my interest in architecture was

-constantly increasing. And I advanced in this direction at a still more

-rapid pace after my first visit to Vienna, which lasted two weeks. I was

-not yet sixteen years old. I went to the Hof Museum to study the

-paintings in the art gallery there; but the building itself captured

-almost all my interest, from early morning until late at night I spent

-all my time visiting the various public buildings. And it was the

-buildings themselves that were always the principal attraction for me.

-For hours and hours I could stand in wonderment before the Opera and the

-Parliament. The whole Ring Strasse had a magic effect upon me, as if it

-were a scene from the Thousand-and-one-Nights.

-And now I was here for the second time in this beautiful city,

-impatiently waiting to hear the result of the entrance examination but

-proudly confident that I had got through. I was so convinced of my

-success that when the news that I had failed to pass was brought to me

-it struck me like a bolt from the skies. Yet the fact was that I had

-failed. I went to see the Rector and asked him to explain the reasons

-why they refused to accept me as a student in the general School of

-Painting, which was part of the Academy. He said that the sketches which

-I had brought with me unquestionably showed that painting was not what I

-was suited for but that the same sketches gave clear indications of my

-aptitude for architectural designing. Therefore the School of Painting

-did not come into question for me but rather the School of Architecture,

-which also formed part of the Academy. At first it was impossible to

-understand how this could be so, seeing that I had never been to a

-school for architecture and had never received any instruction in

-architectural designing.

-When I left the Hansen Palace, on the SCHILLER PLATZ, I was quite

-crestfallen. I felt out of sorts with myself for the first time in my

-young life. For what I had heard about my capabilities now appeared to

-me as a lightning flash which clearly revealed a dualism under which I

-had been suffering for a long time, but hitherto I could give no clear

-account whatsoever of the why and wherefore.

-Within a few days I myself also knew that I ought to become an

-architect. But of course the way was very difficult. I was now forced

-bitterly to rue my former conduct in neglecting and despising certain

-subjects at the REALSCHULE. Before taking up the courses at the School

-of Architecture in the Academy it was necessary to attend the Technical

-Building School; but a necessary qualification for entrance into this

-school was a Leaving Certificate from the Middle School. And this I

-simply did not have. According to the human measure of things my dream

-of following an artistic calling seemed beyond the limits of

-possibility.

-After the death of my mother I came to Vienna for the third time. This

-visit was destined to last several years. Since I had been there before

-I had recovered my old calm and resoluteness. The former self-assurance

-had come back, and I had my eyes steadily fixed on the goal. I would be

-an architect. Obstacles are placed across our path in life, not to be

-boggled at but to be surmounted. And I was fully determined to surmount

-these obstacles, having the picture of my father constantly before my

-mind, who had raised himself by his own efforts to the position of a

-civil servant though he was the poor son of a village shoemaker. I had a

-better start, and the possibilities of struggling through were better.

-At that time my lot in life seemed to me a harsh one; but to-day I see

-in it the wise workings of Providence. The Goddess of Fate clutched me

-in her hands and often threatened to smash me; but the will grew

-stronger as the obstacles increased, and finally the will triumphed.

-I am thankful for that period of my life, because it hardened me and

-enabled me to be as tough as I now am. And I am even more thankful

-because I appreciate the fact that I was thus saved from the emptiness

-of a life of ease and that a mother's darling was taken from tender arms

-and handed over to Adversity as to a new mother. Though I then rebelled

-against it as too hard a fate, I am grateful that I was thrown into a

-world of misery and poverty and thus came to know the people for whom I

-was afterwards to fight.

-It was during this period that my eyes were opened to two perils, the

-names of which I scarcely knew hitherto and had no notion whatsoever of

-their terrible significance for the existence of the German people.

-These two perils were Marxism and Judaism.

-For many people the name of Vienna signifies innocent jollity, a festive

-place for happy mortals. For me, alas, it is a living memory of the

-saddest period in my life. Even to-day the mention of that city arouses

-only gloomy thoughts in my mind. Five years of poverty in that Phaecian

-(Note 5) town. Five years in which, first as a casual labourer and then as

-a painter of little trifles, I had to earn my daily bread. And a meagre

-morsel indeed it was, not even sufficient to still the hunger which I

-constantly felt. That hunger was the faithful guardian which never left

-me but took part in everything I did. Every book that I bought meant

-renewed hunger, and every visit I paid to the opera meant the intrusion

-of that inalienabl companion during the following days. I was always

-struggling with my unsympathic friend. And yet during that time I

-learned more than I had ever learned before. Outside my architectural

-studies and rare visits to the opera, for which I had to deny myself

-food, I had no other pleasure in life except my books.

-[Note 5. The Phaecians were a legendary people, mentioned in Homer's

-Odyssey. They were supposed to live on some unknown island in the Eastern

-Mediterranean, sometimes suggested to be Corcyra, the modern Corfu. They

-loved good living more than work, and so the name Phaecian has come to be

-a synonym for parasite.]

-I read a great deal then, and I pondered deeply over what I read. All

-the free time after work was devoted exclusively to study. Thus within a

-few years I was able to acquire a stock of knowledge which I find useful

-even to-day.

-But more than that. During those years a view of life and a definite

-outlook on the world took shape in my mind. These became the granite

-basis of my conduct at that time. Since then I have extended that

-foundation only very little, and I have changed nothing in it.

-On the contrary: I am firmly convinced to-day that, generally speaking,

-it is in youth that men lay the essential groundwork of their creative

-thought, wherever that creative thought exists. I make a distinction

-between the wisdom of age--which can only arise from the greater

-profundity and foresight that are based on the experiences of a long

-life--and the creative genius of youth, which blossoms out in thought

-and ideas with inexhaustible fertility, without being able to put these

-into practice immediately, because of their very superabundance. These

-furnish the building materials and plans for the future; and it is from

-them that age takes the stones and builds the edifice, unless the

-so-called wisdom of the years may have smothered the creative genius of

-youth.

-The life which I had hitherto led at home with my parents differed in

-little or nothing from that of all the others. I looked forward without

-apprehension to the morrow, and there was no such thing as a social

-problem to be faced. Those among whom I passed my young days belonged to

-the small bourgeois class. Therefore it was a world that had very little

-contact with the world of genuine manual labourers. For, though at first

-this may appear astonishing, the ditch which separates that class, which

-is by no means economically well-off; from the manual labouring class is

-often deeper than people think. The reason for this division, which we

-may almost call enmity, lies in the fear that dominates a social group

-which has only just risen above the level of the manual labourer--a fear

-lest it may fall back into its old condition or at least be classed with

-the labourers. Moreover, there is something repulsive in remembering the

-cultural indigence of that lower class and their rough manners with one

-another; so that people who are only on the first rung of the social

-ladder find it unbearable to be forced to have any contact with the

-cultural level and standard of living out of which they have passed.

-And so it happens that very often those who belong to what can really be

-called the upper classes find it much easier than do the upstarts to

-descend to and intermingle with their fellow beings on the lowest social

-level. For by the word upstart I mean everyone who has raised himself

-through his own efforts to a social level higher than that to which he

-formerly belonged. In the case of such a person the hard struggle

-through which he passes often destroys his normal human sympathy. His

-own fight for existence kills his sensibility for the misery of those

-who have been left behind.

-From this point of view fate had been kind to me. Circumstances forced

-me to return to that world of poverty and economic insecurity above

-which my father had raised himself in his early days; and thus the

-blinkers of a narrow PETIT BOURGEOIS education were torn from my eyes.

-Now for the first time I learned to know men and I learned to

-distinguish between empty appearances or brutal manners and the real

-inner nature of the people who outwardly appeared thus.

-At the beginning of the century Vienna had already taken rank among

-those cities where social conditions are iniquitous. Dazzling riches and

-loathsome destitution were intermingled in violent contrast. In the

-centre and in the Inner City one felt the pulse-beat of an Empire which

-had a population of fifty-two millions, with all the perilous charm of a

-State made up of multiple nationalities. The dazzling splendour of the

-Court acted like a magnet on the wealth and intelligence of the whole

-Empire. And this attraction was further strengthened by the dynastic

-policy of the Habsburg Monarchy in centralizing everything in itself and

-for itself.

-This centralizing policy was necessary in order to hold together that

-hotchpotch of heterogeneous nationalities. But the result of it was an

-extraordinary concentration of higher officials in the city, which was

-at one and the same time the metropolis and imperial residence.

-But Vienna was not merely the political and intellectual centre of the

-Danubian Monarchy; it was also the commercial centre. Besides the horde

-of military officers of high rank, State officials, artists and

-scientists, there was the still vaster horde of workers. Abject poverty

-confronted the wealth of the aristocracy and the merchant class face to

-face. Thousands of unemployed loitered in front of the palaces on the

-Ring Strasse; and below that VIA TRIUMPHALIS of the old Austria the

-homeless huddled together in the murk and filth of the canals.

-There was hardly any other German city in which the social problem could

-be studied better than in Vienna. But here I must utter a warning

-against the illusion that this problem can be 'studied' from above

-downwards. The man who has never been in the clutches of that crushing

-viper can never know what its poison is. An attempt to study it in any

-other way will result only in superficial talk and sentimental

-delusions. Both are harmful. The first because it can never go to the

-root of the question, the second because it evades the question

-entirely. I do not know which is the more nefarious: to ignore social

-distress, as do the majority of those who have been favoured by fortune

-and those who have risen in the social scale through their own routine

-labour, or the equally supercilious and often tactless but always

-genteel condescension displayed by people who make a fad of being

-charitable and who plume themselves on 'sympathising with the people.'

-Of course such persons sin more than they can imagine from lack of

-instinctive understanding. And thus they are astonished to find that the

-'social conscience' on which they pride themselves never produces any

-results, but often causes their good intentions to be resented; and then

-they talk of the ingratitude of the people.

-Such persons are slow to learn that here there is no place for merely

-social activities and that there can be no expectation of gratitude; for

-in this connection there is no question at all of distributing favours

-but essentially a matter of retributive justice. I was protected against

-the temptation to study the social question in the way just mentioned,

-for the simple reason that I was forced to live in the midst of

-poverty-stricken people. Therefore it was not a question of studying the

-problem objectively, but rather one of testing its effects on myself.

-Though the rabbit came through the ordeal of the experiment, this must

-not be taken as evidence of its harmlessness.

-When I try to-day to recall the succession of impressions received

-during that time I find that I can do so only with approximate

-completeness. Here I shall describe only the more essential impressions

-and those which personally affected me and often staggered me. And I

-shall mention the few lessons I then learned from this experience.

-At that time it was for the most part not very difficult to find work,

-because I had to seek work not as a skilled tradesman but as a so-called

-extra-hand ready to take any job that turned up by chance, just for the

-sake of earning my daily bread.

-Thus I found myself in the same situation as all those emigrants who

-shake the dust of Europe from their feet, with the cast-iron

-determination to lay the foundations of a new existence in the New World

-and acquire for themselves a new home. Liberated from all the paralysing

-prejudices of class and calling, environment and tradition, they enter

-any service that opens its doors to them, accepting any work that comes

-their way, filled more and more with the idea that honest work never

-disgraced anybody, no matter what kind it may be. And so I was resolved

-to set both feet in what was for me a new world and push forward on my

-own road.

-I soon found out that there was some kind of work always to be got, but

-I also learned that it could just as quickly and easily be lost. The

-uncertainty of being able to earn a regular daily livelihood soon

-appeared to me as the gloomiest feature in this new life that I had

-entered.

-Although the skilled worker was not so frequently thrown idle on the

-streets as the unskilled worker, yet the former was by no means

-protected against the same fate; because though he may not have to face

-hunger as a result of unemployment due to the lack of demand in the

-labour market, the lock-out and the strike deprived the skilled worker

-of the chance to earn his bread. Here the element of uncertainty in

-steadily earning one's daily bread was the bitterest feature of the

-whole social-economic system itself.

-The country lad who migrates to the big city feels attracted by what has

-been described as easy work--which it may be in reality--and few working

-hours. He is especially entranced by the magic glimmer spread over the

-big cities. Accustomed in the country to earn a steady wage, he has been

-taught not to quit his former post until a new one is at least in sight.

-As there is a great scarcity of agricultural labour, the probability of

-long unemployment in the country has been very small. It is a mistake to

-presume that the lad who leaves the countryside for the town is not made

-of such sound material as those who remain at home to work on the land.

-On the contrary, experience shows that it is the more healthy and more

-vigorous that emigrate, and not the reverse. Among these emigrants I

-include not merely those who emigrate to America, but also the servant

-boy in the country who decides to leave his native village and migrate

-to the big city where he will be a stranger. He is ready to take the

-risk of an uncertain fate. In most cases he comes to town with a little

-money in his pocket and for the first few days he is not discouraged if

-he should not have the good fortune to find work. But if he finds a job

-and then loses it in a little while, the case is much worse. To find

-work anew, especially in winter, is often difficult and indeed sometimes

-impossible. For the first few weeks life is still bearable He receives

-his out-of-work money from his trade union and is thus enabled to carry

-on. But when the last of his own money is gone and his trade union

-ceases to pay out because of the prolonged unemployment, then comes the

-real distress. He now loiters about and is hungry. Often he pawns or

-sells the last of his belongings. His clothes begin to get shabby and

-with the increasing poverty of his outward appearance he descends to a

-lower social level and mixes up with a class of human beings through

-whom his mind is now poisoned, in addition to his physical misery. Then

-he has nowhere to sleep and if that happens in winter, which is very

-often the case, he is in dire distress. Finally he gets work. But the

-old story repeats itself. A second time the same thing happens. Then a

-third time; and now it is probably much worse. Little by little he

-becomes indifferent to this everlasting insecurity. Finally he grows

-used to the repetition. Thus even a man who is normally of industrious

-habits grows careless in his whole attitude towards life and gradually

-becomes an instrument in the hands of unscrupulous people who exploit

-him for the sake of their own ignoble aims. He has been so often thrown

-out of employment through no fault of his own that he is now more or

-less indifferent whether the strike in which he takes part be for the

-purpose of securing his economic rights or be aimed at the destruction

-of the State, the whole social order and even civilization itself.

-Though the idea of going on strike may not be to his natural liking, yet

-he joins in it out of sheer indifference.

-I saw this process exemplified before my eyes in thousands of cases. And

-the longer I observed it the greater became my dislike for that mammoth

-city which greedily attracts men to its bosom, in order to break them

-mercilessly in the end. When they came they still felt themselves in

-communion with their own people at home; if they remained that tie was

-broken.

-I was thrown about so much in the life of the metropolis that I

-experienced the workings of this fate in my own person and felt the

-effects of it in my own soul. One thing stood out clearly before my

-eyes: It was the sudden changes from work to idleness and vice versa; so

-that the constant fluctuations thus caused by earnings and expenditure

-finally destroyed the 'sense of thrift for many people and also the

-habit of regulating expenditure in an intelligent way. The body appeared

-to grow accustomed to the vicissitudes of food and hunger, eating

-heartily in good times and going hungry in bad. Indeed hunger shatters

-all plans for rationing expenditure on a regular scale in better times

-when employment is again found. The reason for this is that the

-deprivations which the unemployed worker has to endure must be

-compensated for psychologically by a persistent mental mirage in which

-he imagines himself eating heartily once again. And this dream develops

-into such a longing that it turns into a morbid impulse to cast off all

-self-restraint when work and wages turn up again. Therefore the moment

-work is found anew he forgets to regulate the expenditure of his

-earnings but spends them to the full without thinking of to-morrow. This

-leads to confusion in the little weekly housekeeping budget, because the

-expenditure is not rationally planned. When the phenomenon which I have

-mentioned first happens, the earnings will last perhaps for five days

-instead of seven; on subsequent occasions they will last only for three

-days; as the habit recurs, the earnings will last scarcely for a day;

-and finally they will disappear in one night of feasting.

-Often there are wife and children at home. And in many cases it happens

-that these become infected by such a way of living, especially if the

-husband is good to them and wants to do the best he can for them and

-loves them in his own way and according to his own lights. Then the

-week's earnings are spent in common at home within two or three days.

-The family eat and drink together as long as the money lasts and at the

-end of the week they hunger together. Then the wife wanders about

-furtively in the neighbourhood, borrows a little, and runs up small

-debts with the shopkeepers in an effort to pull through the lean days

-towards the end of the week. They sit down together to the midday meal

-with only meagre fare on the table, and often even nothing to eat. They

-wait for the coming payday, talking of it and making plans; and while

-they are thus hungry they dream of the plenty that is to come. And so

-the little children become acquainted with misery in their early years.

-But the evil culminates when the husband goes his own way from the

-beginning of the week and the wife protests, simply out of love for the

-children. Then there are quarrels and bad feeling and the husband takes

-to drink according as he becomes estranged from his wife. He now becomes

-drunk every Saturday. Fighting for her own existence and that of the

-children, the wife has to hound him along the road from the factory to

-the tavern in order to get a few shillings from him on payday. Then when

-he finally comes home, maybe on the Sunday or the Monday, having parted

-with his last shillings and pence, pitiable scenes follow, scenes that

-cry out for God's mercy.

-I have had actual experience of all this in hundreds of cases. At first

-I was disgusted and indignant; but later on I came to recognize the

-whole tragedy of their misfortune and to understand the profound causes

-of it. They were the unhappy victims of evil circumstances.

-Housing conditions were very bad at that time. The Vienna manual

-labourers lived in surroundings of appalling misery. I shudder even

-to-day when I think of the woeful dens in which people dwelt, the night

-shelters and the slums, and all the tenebrous spectacles of ordure,

-loathsome filth and wickedness.

-What will happen one day when hordes of emancipated slaves come forth

-from these dens of misery to swoop down on their unsuspecting fellow

-men? For this other world does not think about such a possibility. They

-have allowed these things to go on without caring and even without

-suspecting--in their total lack of instinctive understanding--that

-sooner or later destiny will take its vengeance unless it will have been

-appeased in time.

-To-day I fervidly thank Providence for having sent me to such a school.

-There I could not refuse to take an interest in matters that did not

-please me. This school soon taught me a profound lesson.

-In order not to despair completely of the people among whom I then lived

-I had to set on one side the outward appearances of their lives and on

-the other the reasons why they had developed in that way. Then I could

-hear everything without discouragement; for those who emerged from all

-this misfortune and misery, from this filth and outward degradation,

-were not human beings as such but rather lamentable results of

-lamentable laws. In my own life similar hardships prevented me from

-giving way to a pitying sentimentality at the sight of these degraded

-products which had finally resulted from the pressure of circumstances.

-No, the sentimental attitude would be the wrong one to adopt.

-Even in those days I already saw that there was a two-fold method by

-which alone it would be possible to bring about an amelioration of these

-conditions. This method is: first, to create better fundamental

-conditions of social development by establishing a profound feeling for

-social responsibilities among the public; second, to combine this

-feeling for social responsibilities with a ruthless determination to

-prune away all excrescences which are incapable of being improved.

-Just as Nature concentrates its greatest attention, not to the

-maintenance of what already exists but on the selective breeding of

-offspring in order to carry on the species, so in human life also it is

-less a matter of artificially improving the existing generation--which,

-owing to human characteristics, is impossible in ninety-nine cases out

-of a hundred--and more a matter of securing from the very start a better

-road for future development.

-During my struggle for existence in Vienna I perceived very clearly that

-the aim of all social activity must never be merely charitable relief,

-which is ridiculous and useless, but it must rather be a means to find a

-way of eliminating the fundamental deficiencies in our economic and

-cultural life--deficiencies which necessarily bring about the

-degradation of the individual or at least lead him towards such

-degradation. The difficulty of employing every means, even the most

-drastic, to eradicate the hostility prevailing among the working classes

-towards the State is largely due to an attitude of uncertainty in

-deciding upon the inner motives and causes of this contemporary

-phenomenon. The grounds of this uncertainty are to be found exclusively

-in the sense of guilt which each individual feels for having permitted

-this tragedy of degradation. For that feeling paralyses every effort at

-making a serious and firm decision to act. And thus because the people

-whom it concerns are vacillating they are timid and half-hearted in

-putting into effect even the measures which are indispensable for

-self-preservation. When the individual is no longer burdened with his

-own consciousness of blame in this regard, then and only then will he

-have that inner tranquillity and outer force to cut off drastically and

-ruthlessly all the parasite growth and root out the weeds.

-But because the Austrian State had almost no sense of social rights or

-social legislation its inability to abolish those evil excrescences was

-manifest.

-I do not know what it was that appalled me most at that time: the

-economic misery of those who were then my companions, their crude

-customs and morals, or the low level of their intellectual culture.

-How often our bourgeoisie rises up in moral indignation on hearing from

-the mouth of some pitiable tramp that it is all the same to him whether

-he be a German or not and that he will find himself at home wherever he

-can get enough to keep body and soul together. They protest sternly

-against such a lack of 'national pride' and strongly express their

-horror at such sentiments.

-But how many people really ask themselves why it is that their own

-sentiments are better? How many of them understand that their natural

-pride in being members of so favoured a nation arises from the

-innumerable succession of instances they have encountered which remind

-them of the greatness of the Fatherland and the Nation in all spheres of

-artistic and cultural life? How many of them realize that pride in the

-Fatherland is largely dependent on knowledge of its greatness in all

-those spheres? Do our bourgeois circles ever think what a ridiculously

-meagre share the people have in that knowledge which is a necessary

-prerequisite for the feeling of pride in one's fatherland?

-It cannot be objected here that in other countries similar conditions

-exist and that nevertheless the working classes in those countries have

-remained patriotic. Even if that were so, it would be no excuse for our

-negligent attitude. But it is not so. What we call chauvinistic

-education--in the case of the French people, for example--is only the

-excessive exaltation of the greatness of France in all spheres of

-culture or, as the French say, civilization. The French boy is not

-educated on purely objective principles. Wherever the importance of the

-political and cultural greatness of his country is concerned he is

-taught in the most subjective way that one can imagine.

-This education will always have to be confined to general ideas in a

-large perspective and these ought to be deeply engraven, by constant

-repetition if necessary, on the memories and feelings of the people.

-In our case, however, we are not merely guilty of negative sins of

-omission but also of positively perverting the little which some

-individuals had the luck to learn at school. The rats that poison our

-body-politic gnaw from the hearts and memories of the broad masses even

-that little which distress and misery have left.

-Let the reader try to picture the following:

-There is a lodging in a cellar and this lodging consists of two damp

-rooms. In these rooms a workman and his family live--seven people in

-all. Let us assume that one of the children is a boy of three years.

-That is the age at which children first become conscious of the

-impressions which they receive. In the case of highly gifted people

-traces of the impressions received in those early years last in the

-memory up to an advanced age. Now the narrowness and congestion of those

-living quarters do not conduce to pleasant inter-relations. Thus

-quarrels and fits of mutual anger arise. These people can hardly be said

-to live with one another, but rather down on top of one another. The

-small misunderstandings which disappear of themselves in a home where

-there is enough space for people to go apart from one another for a

-while, here become the source of chronic disputes. As far as the

-children are concerned the situation is tolerable from this point of

-view. In such conditions they are constantly quarrelling with one

-another, but the quarrels are quickly and entirely forgotten. But when

-the parents fall out with one another these daily bickerings often

-descend to rudeness such as cannot be adequately imagined. The results

-of such experiences must become apparent later on in the children. One

-must have practical experience of such a MILIEU so as to be able to

-picture the state of affairs that arises from these mutual

-recriminations when the father physically assaults the mother and

-maltreats her in a fit of drunken rage. At the age of six the child can

-no longer ignore those sordid details which even an adult would find

-revolting. Infected with moral poison, bodily undernourished, and the

-poor little head filled with vermin, the young 'citizen' goes to the

-primary school. With difficulty he barely learns to read and write.

-There is no possibility of learning any lessons at home. Quite the

-contrary. The father and mother themselves talk before the children in

-the most disparaging way about the teacher and the school and they are

-much more inclined to insult the teachers than to put their offspring

-across the knee and knock sound reason into him. What the little fellow

-hears at home does not tend to increase respect for his human

-surroundings. Here nothing good is said of human nature as a whole and

-every institution, from the school to the government, is reviled.

-Whether religion and morals are concerned or the State and the social

-order, it is all the same; they are all scoffed at. When the young lad

-leaves school, at the age of fourteen, it would be difficult to say what

-are the most striking features of his character, incredible ignorance in

-so far as real knowledge is concerned or cynical impudence combined with

-an attitude towards morality which is really startling at so young an

-age.

-What station in life can such a person fill, to whom nothing is sacred,

-who has never experienced anything noble but, on the contrary, has been

-intimately acquainted with the lowest kind of human existence? This

-child of three has got into the habit of reviling all authority by the

-time he is fifteen. He has been acquainted only with moral filth and

-vileness, everything being excluded that might stimulate his thought

-towards higher things. And now this young specimen of humanity enters

-the school of life.

-He leads the same kind of life which was exemplified for him by his

-father during his childhood. He loiters about and comes home at all

-hours. He now even black-guards that broken-hearted being who gave him

-birth. He curses God and the world and finally ends up in a House of

-Correction for young people. There he gets the final polish.

-And his bourgeois contemporaries are astonished at the lack of

-'patriotic enthusiasm' which this young 'citizen' manifests.

-Day after day the bourgeois world are witnesses to the phenomenon of

-spreading poison among the people through the instrumentality of the

-theatre and the cinema, gutter journalism and obscene books; and yet

-they are astonished at the deplorable 'moral standards' and 'national

-indifference' of the masses. As if the cinema bilge and the gutter press

-and suchlike could inculcate knowledge of the greatness of one's

-country, apart entirely from the earlier education of the individual.

-I then came to understand, quickly and thoroughly, what I had never been

-aware of before. It was the following:

-The question of 'nationalizing' a people is first and foremost one of

-establishing healthy social conditions which will furnish the grounds

-that are necessary for the education of the individual. For only when

-family upbringing and school education have inculcated in the individual

-a knowledge of the cultural and economic and, above all, the political

-greatness of his own country--then, and then only, will it be possible

-for him to feel proud of being a citizen of such a country. I can fight

-only for something that I love. I can love only what I respect. And in

-order to respect a thing I must at least have some knowledge of it.

-As soon as my interest in social questions was once awakened I began to

-study them in a fundamental way. A new and hitherto unknown world was

-thus revealed to me.

-In the years 1909-10 I had so far improved my, position that I no longer

-had to earn my daily bread as a manual labourer. I was now working

-independently as draughtsman, and painter in water colours. This M�TIER

-was a poor one indeed as far as earnings were concerned; for these were

-only sufficient to meet the bare exigencies of life. Yet it had an

-interest for me in view of the profession to which I aspired. Moreover,

-when I came home in the evenings I was now no longer dead-tired as

-formerly, when I used to be unable to look into a book without falling

-asleep almost immediately. My present occupation therefore was in line

-with the profession I aimed at for the future. Moreover, I was master of

-my own time and could distribute my working-hours now better than

-formerly. I painted in order to earn my bread, and I studied because I

-liked it.

-Thus I was able to acquire that theoretical knowledge of the social

-problem which was a necessary complement to what I was learning through

-actual experience. I studied all the books which I could find that dealt

-with this question and I thought deeply on what I read. I think that the

-MILIEU in which I then lived considered me an eccentric person.

-Besides my interest in the social question I naturally devoted myself

-with enthusiasm to the study of architecture. Side by side with music, I

-considered it queen of the arts. To study it was for me not work but

-pleasure. I could read or draw until the small hours of the morning

-without ever getting tired. And I became more and more confident that my

-dream of a brilliant future would become true, even though I should have

-to wait long years for its fulfilment. I was firmly convinced that one

-day I should make a name for myself as an architect.

-The fact that, side by side with my professional studies, I took the

-greatest interest in everything that had to do with politics did not

-seem to me to signify anything of great importance. On the contrary: I

-looked upon this practical interest in politics merely as part of an

-elementary obligation that devolves on every thinking man. Those who

-have no understanding of the political world around them have no right

-to criticize or complain. On political questions therefore I still

-continued to read and study a great deal. But reading had probably a

-different significance for me from that which it has for the average run

-of our so-called 'intellectuals'.

-I know people who read interminably, book after book, from page to page,

-and yet I should not call them 'well-read people'. Of course they 'know'

-an immense amount; but their brain seems incapable of assorting and

-classifying the material which they have gathered from books. They have

-not the faculty of distinguishing between what is useful and useless in

-a book; so that they may retain the former in their minds and if

-possible skip over the latter while reading it, if that be not possible,

-then--when once read--throw it overboard as useless ballast. Reading is

-not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Its chief purpose is to

-help towards filling in the framework which is made up of the talents

-and capabilities that each individual possesses. Thus each one procures

-for himself the implements and materials necessary for the fulfilment of

-his calling in life, no matter whether this be the elementary task of

-earning one's daily bread or a calling that responds to higher human

-aspirations. Such is the first purpose of reading. And the second

-purpose is to give a general knowledge of the world in which we live. In

-both cases, however, the material which one has acquired through reading

-must not be stored up in the memory on a plan that corresponds to the

-successive chapters of the book; but each little piece of knowledge thus

-gained must be treated as if it were a little stone to be inserted into

-a mosaic, so that it finds its proper place among all the other pieces

-and particles that help to form a general world-picture in the brain of

-the reader. Otherwise only a confused jumble of chaotic notions will

-result from all this reading. That jumble is not merely useless, but it

-also tends to make the unfortunate possessor of it conceited. For he

-seriously considers himself a well-educated person and thinks that he

-understands something of life. He believes that he has acquired

-knowledge, whereas the truth is that every increase in such 'knowledge'

-draws him more and more away from real life, until he finally ends up in

-some sanatorium or takes to politics and becomes a parliamentary deputy.

-Such a person never succeeds in turning his knowledge to practical

-account when the opportune moment arrives; for his mental equipment is

-not ordered with a view to meeting the demands of everyday life. His

-knowledge is stored in his brain as a literal transcript of the books he

-has read and the order of succession in which he has read them. And if

-Fate should one day call upon him to use some of his book-knowledge for

-certain practical ends in life that very call will have to name the book

-and give the number of the page; for the poor noodle himself would never

-be able to find the spot where he gathered the information now called

-for. But if the page is not mentioned at the critical moment the

-widely-read intellectual will find himself in a state of hopeless

-embarrassment. In a high state of agitation he searches for analogous

-cases and it is almost a dead certainty that he will finally deliver the

-wrong prescription.

-If that is not a correct description, then how can we explain the

-political achievements of our Parliamentary heroes who hold the highest

-positions in the government of the country? Otherwise we should have to

-attribute the doings of such political leaders, not to pathological

-conditions but simply to malice and chicanery.

-On the other hand, one who has cultivated the art of reading will

-instantly discern, in a book or journal or pamphlet, what ought to be

-remembered because it meets one's personal needs or is of value as

-general knowledge. What he thus learns is incorporated in his mental

-analogue of this or that problem or thing, further correcting the mental

-picture or enlarging it so that it becomes more exact and precise.

-Should some practical problem suddenly demand examination or solution,

-memory will immediately select the opportune information from the mass

-that has been acquired through years of reading and will place this

-information at the service of one's powers of judgment so as to get a

-new and clearer view of the problem in question or produce a definitive

-solution.

-Only thus can reading have any meaning or be worth while.

-The speaker, for example, who has not the sources of information ready

-to hand which are necessary to a proper treatment of his subject is

-unable to defend his opinions against an opponent, even though those

-opinions be perfectly sound and true. In every discussion his memory

-will leave him shamefully in the lurch. He cannot summon up arguments to

-support his statements or to refute his opponent. So long as the speaker

-has only to defend himself on his own personal account, the situation is

-not serious; but the evil comes when Chance places at the head of public

-affairs such a soi-disant know-it-all, who in reality knows nothing.

-From early youth I endeavoured to read books in the right way and I was

-fortunate in having a good memory and intelligence to assist me. From

-that point of view my sojourn in Vienna was particularly useful and

-profitable. My experiences of everyday life there were a constant

-stimulus to study the most diverse problems from new angles. Inasmuch as

-I was in a position to put theory to the test of reality and reality to

-the test of theory, I was safe from the danger of pedantic theorizing on

-the one hand and, on the other, from being too impressed by the

-superficial aspects of reality.

-The experience of everyday life at that time determined me to make a

-fundamental theoretical study of two most important questions outside of

-the social question.

-It is impossible to say when I might have started to make a thorough

-study of the doctrine and characteristics of Marxism were it not for the

-fact that I then literally ran head foremost into the problem.

-What I knew of Social Democracy in my youth was precious little and that

-little was for the most part wrong. The fact that it led the struggle

-for universal suffrage and the secret ballot gave me an inner

-satisfaction; for my reason then told me that this would weaken the

-Habsburg regime, which I so thoroughly detested. I was convinced that

-even if it should sacrifice the German element the Danubian State could

-not continue to exist. Even at the price of a long and slow Slaviz-ation

-of the Austrian Germans the State would secure no guarantee of a really

-durable Empire; because it was very questionable if and how far the

-Slavs possessed the necessary capacity for constructive politics.

-Therefore I welcomed every movement that might lead towards the final

-disruption of that impossible State which had decreed that it would

-stamp out the German character in ten millions of people. The more this

-babel of tongues wrought discord and disruption, even in the Parliament,

-the nearer the hour approached for the dissolution of this Babylonian

-Empire. That would mean the liberation of my German Austrian people, and

-only then would it become possible for them to be re-united to the

-Motherland.

-Accordingly I had no feelings of antipathy towards the actual policy of

-the Social Democrats. That its avowed purpose was to raise the level of

-the working classes--which in my ignorance I then foolishly

-believed--was a further reason why I should speak in favour of Social

-Democracy rather than against it. But the features that contributed most

-to estrange me from the Social Democratic movement was its hostile

-attitude towards the struggle for the conservation of Germanism in

-Austria, its lamentable cocotting with the Slav 'comrades', who received

-these approaches favourably as long as any practical advantages were

-forthcoming but otherwise maintained a haughty reserve, thus giving the

-importunate mendicants the sort of answer their behaviour deserved.

-And so at the age of seventeen the word 'Marxism' was very little known

-to me, while I looked on 'Social Democracy' and 'Socialism' as

-synonymous expressions. It was only as the result of a sudden blow from

-the rough hand of Fate that my eyes were opened to the nature of this

-unparalleled system for duping the public.

-Hitherto my acquaintance with the Social Democratic Party was only that

-of a mere spectator at some of their mass meetings. I had not the

-slightest idea of the social-democratic teaching or the mentality of its

-partisans. All of a sudden I was brought face to face with the products

-of their teaching and what they called their WELTANSCHAUUNG. In this

-way a few months sufficed for me to learn something which under other

-circumstances might have necessitated decades of study--namely, that

-under the cloak of social virtue and love of one's neighbour a veritable

-pestilence was spreading abroad and that if this pestilence be not

-stamped out of the world without delay it may eventually succeed in

-exterminating the human race.

-I first came into contact with the Social Democrats while working in the

-building trade.

-From the very time that I started work the situation was not very

-pleasant for me. My clothes were still rather decent. I was careful of

-my speech and I was reserved in manner. I was so occupied with thinking

-of my own present lot and future possibilities that I did not take much

-of an interest in my immediate surroundings. I had sought work so that I

-shouldn't starve and at the same time so as to be able to make further

-headway with my studies, though this headway might be slow. Possibly I

-should not have bothered to be interested in my companions were it not

-that on the third or fourth day an event occurred which forced me to

-take a definite stand. I was ordered to join the trade union.

-At that time I knew nothing about the trades unions. I had had no

-opportunity of forming an opinion on their utility or inutility, as the

-case might be. But when I was told that I must join the union I refused.

-The grounds which I gave for my refusal were simply that I knew nothing

-about the matter and that anyhow I would not allow myself to be forced

-into anything. Probably the former reason saved me from being thrown out

-right away. They probably thought that within a few days I might be

-converted' and become more docile. But if they thought that they were

-profoundly mistaken. After two weeks I found it utterly impossible for

-me to take such a step, even if I had been willing to take it at first.

-During those fourteen days I came to know my fellow workmen better, and

-no power in the world could have moved me to join an organization whose

-representatives had meanwhile shown themselves in a light which I found

-so unfavourable.

-During the first days my resentment was aroused.

-At midday some of my fellow workers used to adjourn to the nearest

-tavern, while the others remained on the building premises and there ate

-their midday meal, which in most cases was a very scanty one. These were

-married men. Their wives brought them the midday soup in dilapidated

-vessels. Towards the end of the week there was a gradual increase in the

-number of those who remained to eat their midday meal on the building

-premises. I understood the reason for this afterwards. They now talked

-politics.

-I drank my bottle of milk and ate my morsel of bread somewhere on the

-outskirts, while I circumspectly studied my environment or else fell to

-meditating on my own harsh lot. Yet I heard more than enough. And I

-often thought that some of what they said was meant for my ears, in the

-hope of bringing me to a decision. But all that I heard had the effect

-of arousing the strongest antagonism in me. Everything was

-disparaged--the nation, because it was held to be an invention of the

-'capitalist' class (how often I had to listen to that phrase!); the

-Fatherland, because it was held to be an instrument in the hands of the

-bourgeoisie for the exploitation of' the working masses; the authority

-of the law, because that was a means of holding down the proletariat;

-religion, as a means of doping the people, so as to exploit them

-afterwards; morality, as a badge of stupid and sheepish docility. There

-was nothing that they did not drag in the mud.

-At first I remained silent; but that could not last very long. Then I

-began to take part in the discussion and to reply to their statements. I

-had to recognize, however, that this was bound to be entirely fruitless,

-as long as I did not have at least a certain amount of definite

-information about the questions that were discussed. So I decided to

-consult the source from which my interlocutors claimed to have drawn

-their so-called wisdom. I devoured book after book, pamphlet after

-pamphlet.

-Meanwhile, we argued with one another on the building premises. From day

-to day I was becoming better informed than my companions in the subjects

-on which they claimed to be experts. Then a day came when the more

-redoubtable of my adversaries resorted to the most effective weapon they

-had to replace the force of reason. This was intimidation and physical

-force. Some of the leaders among my adversaries ordered me to leave the

-building or else get flung down from the scaffolding. As I was quite

-alone I could not put up any physical resistance; so I chose the first

-alternative and departed, richer however by an experience.

-I went away full of disgust; but at the same time so deeply moved that

-it was quite impossible for me to turn my back on the whole situation

-and think no more about it. When my anger began to calm down the spirit

-of obstinacy got the upper hand and I decided that at all costs I would

-get back to work again in the building trade. This decision became all

-the stronger a few weeks later, when my little savings had entirely run

-out and hunger clutched me once again in its merciless arms. No

-alternative was left to me. I got work again and had to leave it for the

-same reasons as before.

-Then I asked myself: Are these men worthy of belonging to a great

-people? The question was profoundly disturbing; for if the answer were

-'Yes', then the struggle to defend one's nationality is no longer worth

-all the trouble and sacrifice we demand of our best elements if it be in

-the interests of such a rabble. On the other hand, if the answer had to

-be 'No--these men are not worthy of the nation', then our nation is poor

-indeed in men. During those days of mental anguish and deep meditation I

-saw before my mind the ever-increasing and menacing army of people who

-could no longer be reckoned as belonging to their own nation.

-It was with quite a different feeling, some days later, that I gazed on

-the interminable ranks, four abreast, of Viennese workmen parading at a

-mass demonstration. I stood dumbfounded for almost two hours, watching

-that enormous human dragon which slowly uncoiled itself there before me.

-When I finally left the square and wandered in the direction of my

-lodgings I felt dismayed and depressed. On my way I noticed the

-ARBEITERZEITUNG (The Workman's Journal) in a tobacco shop. This was the

-chief press-organ of the old Austrian Social Democracy. In a cheap caf�,

-where the common people used to foregather and where I often went to

-read the papers, the ARBEITERZEITUNG was also displayed. But hitherto I

-could not bring myself to do more than glance at the wretched thing for

-a couple of minutes: for its whole tone was a sort of mental vitriol to

-me. Under the depressing influence of the demonstration I had witnessed,

-some interior voice urged me to buy the paper in that tobacco shop and

-read it through. So I brought it home with me and spent the whole

-evening reading it, despite the steadily mounting rage provoked by this

-ceaseless outpouring of falsehoods.

-I now found that in the social democratic daily papers I could study the

-inner character of this politico-philosophic system much better than in

-all their theoretical literature.

-For there was a striking discrepancy between the two. In the literary

-effusions which dealt with the theory of Social Democracy there was a

-display of high-sounding phraseology about liberty and human dignity and

-beauty, all promulgated with an air of profound wisdom and serene

-prophetic assurance; a meticulously-woven glitter of words to dazzle and

-mislead the reader. On the other hand, the daily Press inculcated this

-new doctrine of human redemption in the most brutal fashion. No means

-were too base, provided they could be exploited in the campaign of

-slander. These journalists were real virtuosos in the art of twisting

-facts and presenting them in a deceptive form. The theoretical

-literature was intended for the simpletons of the soi-disant

-intellectuals belonging to the middle and, naturally, the upper classes.

-The newspaper propaganda was intended for the masses.

-This probing into books and newspapers and studying the teachings of

-Social Democracy reawakened my love for my own people. And thus what at

-first seemed an impassable chasm became the occasion of a closer

-affection.

-Having once understood the working of the colossal system for poisoning

-the popular mind, only a fool could blame the victims of it. During the

-years that followed I became more independent and, as I did so, I became

-better able to understand the inner cause of the success achieved by

-this Social Democratic gospel. I now realized the meaning and purpose of

-those brutal orders which prohibited the reading of all books and

-newspapers that were not 'red' and at the same time demanded that only

-the 'red' meetings should be attended. In the clear light of brutal

-reality I was able to see what must have been the inevitable

-consequences of that intolerant teaching.

-The PSYCHE of the broad masses is accessible only to what is strong and

-uncompromising. Like a woman whose inner sensibilities are not so much

-under the sway of abstract reasoning but are always subject to the

-influence of a vague emotional longing for the strength that completes

-her being, and who would rather bow to the strong man than dominate the

-weakling--in like manner the masses of the people prefer the ruler to

-the suppliant and are filled with a stronger sense of mental security by

-a teaching that brooks no rival than by a teaching which offers them a

-liberal choice. They have very little idea of how to make such a choice

-and thus they are prone to feel that they have been abandoned. They feel

-very little shame at being terrorized intellectually and they are

-scarcely conscious of the fact that their freedom as human beings is

-impudently abused; and thus they have not the slightest suspicion of the

-intrinsic fallacy of the whole doctrine. They see only the ruthless

-force and brutality of its determined utterances, to which they always

-submit.

-IF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE OPPOSED BY A MORE TRUTHFUL TEACHING, THEN

-EVEN, THOUGH THE STRUGGLE BE OF THE BITTEREST KIND, THIS TRUTHFUL

-TEACHING WILL FINALLY PREVAIL PROVIDED IT BE ENFORCED WITH EQUAL

-RUTHLESSNESS.

-Within less than two years I had gained a clear understanding of Social

-Democracy, in its teaching and the technique of its operations.

-I recognized the infamy of that technique whereby the movement carried

-on a campaign of mental terrorism against the bourgeoisie, who are

-neither morally nor spiritually equipped to withstand such attacks. The

-tactics of Social Democracy consisted in opening, at a given signal, a

-veritable drum-fire of lies and calumnies against the man whom they

-believed to be the most redoubtable of their adversaries, until the

-nerves of the latter gave way and they sacrificed the man who was

-attacked, simply in the hope of being allowed to live in peace. But the

-hope proved always to be a foolish one, for they were never left in

-peace.

-The same tactics are repeated again and again, until fear of these mad

-dogs exercises, through suggestion, a paralysing effect on their

-Victims.

-Through its own experience Social Democracy learned the value of

-strength, and for that reason it attacks mostly those in whom it scents

-stuff of the more stalwart kind, which is indeed a very rare possession.

-On the other hand it praises every weakling among its adversaries, more

-or less cautiously, according to the measure of his mental qualities

-known or presumed. They have less fear of a man of genius who lacks

-will-power than of a vigorous character with mediocre intelligence and

-at the same time they highly commend those who are devoid of

-intelligence and will-power.

-The Social Democrats know how to create the impression that they alone

-are the protectors of peace. In this way, acting very circumspectly but

-never losing sight of their ultimate goal, they conquer one position

-after another, at one time by methods of quiet intimidation and at

-another time by sheer daylight robbery, employing these latter tactics

-at those moments when public attention is turned towards other matters

-from which it does not wish to be diverted, or when the public considers

-an incident too trivial to create a scandal about it and thus provoke

-the anger of a malignant opponent.

-These tactics are based on an accurate estimation of human frailties and

-must lead to success, with almost mathematical certainty, unless the

-other side also learns how to fight poison gas with poison gas. The

-weaker natures must be told that here it is a case of to be or not to

-be.

-I also came to understand that physical intimidation has its

-significance for the mass as well as for the individual. Here again the

-Socialists had calculated accurately on the psychological effect.

-Intimidation in workshops and in factories, in assembly halls and at

-mass demonstrations, will always meet with success as long as it does

-not have to encounter the same kind of terror in a stronger form.

-Then of course the Party will raise a horrified outcry, yelling blue

-murder and appealing to the authority of the State, which they have just

-repudiated. In doing this their aim generally is to add to the general

-confusion, so that they may have a better opportunity of reaching their

-own goal unobserved. Their idea is to find among the higher government

-officials some bovine creature who, in the stupid hope that he may win

-the good graces of these awe-inspiring opponents so that they may

-remember him in case of future eventualities, will help them now to

-break all those who may oppose this world pest.

-The impression which such successful tactics make on the minds of the

-broad masses, whether they be adherents or opponents, can be estimated

-only by one who knows the popular mind, not from books but from

-practical life. For the successes which are thus obtained are taken by

-the adherents of Social Democracy as a triumphant symbol of the

-righteousness of their own cause; on the other hand the beaten opponent

-very often loses faith in the effectiveness of any further resistance.

-The more I understood the methods of physical intimidation that were

-employed, the more sympathy I had for the multitude that had succumbed

-to it.

-I am thankful now for the ordeal which I had to go through at that time;

-for it was the means of bringing me to think kindly again of my own

-people, inasmuch as the experience enabled me to distinguish between the

-false leaders and the victims who have been led astray.

-We must look upon the latter simply as victims. I have just now tried to

-depict a few traits which express the mentality of those on the lowest

-rung of the social ladder; but my picture would be disproportionate if I

-do not add that amid the social depths I still found light; for I

-experienced a rare spirit of self-sacrifice and loyal comradeship among

-those men, who demanded little from life and were content amid their

-modest surroundings. This was true especially of the older generation of

-workmen. And although these qualities were disappearing more and more in

-the younger generation, owing to the all-pervading influence of the big

-city, yet among the younger generation also there were many who were

-sound at the core and who were able to maintain themselves

-uncontaminated amid the sordid surroundings of their everyday existence.

-If these men, who in many cases meant well and were upright in

-themselves, gave the support to the political activities carried on by

-the common enemies of our people, that was because those decent

-workpeople did not and could not grasp the downright infamy of the

-doctrine taught by the socialist agitators. Furthermore, it was because

-no other section of the community bothered itself about the lot of the

-working classes. Finally, the social conditions became such that men who

-otherwise would have acted differently were forced to submit to them,

-even though unwillingly at first. A day came when poverty gained the

-upper hand and drove those workmen into the Social Democratic ranks.

-On innumerable occasions the bourgeoisie took a definite stand against

-even the most legitimate human demands of the working classes. That

-conduct was ill-judged and indeed immoral and could bring no gain

-whatsoever to the bourgeois class. The result was that the honest

-workman abandoned the original concept of the trades union organization

-and was dragged into politics.

-There were millions and millions of workmen who began by being hostile

-to the Social Democratic Party; but their defences were repeatedly

-stormed and finally they had to surrender. Yet this defeat was due to

-the stupidity of the bourgeois parties, who had opposed every social

-demand put forward by the working class. The short-sighted refusal to

-make an effort towards improving labour conditions, the refusal to adopt

-measures which would insure the workman in case of accidents in the

-factories, the refusal to forbid child labour, the refusal to consider

-protective measures for female workers, especially expectant

-mothers--all this was of assistance to the Social Democratic leaders,

-who were thankful for every opportunity which they could exploit for

-forcing the masses into their net. Our bourgeois parties can never

-repair the damage that resulted from the mistake they then made. For

-they sowed the seeds of hatred when they opposed all efforts at social

-reform. And thus they gave, at least, apparent grounds to justify the

-claim put forward by the Social Democrats--namely, that they alone stand

-up for the interests of the working class.

-And this became the principal ground for the moral justification of the

-actual existence of the Trades Unions, so that the labour organization

-became from that time onwards the chief political recruiting ground to

-swell the ranks of the Social Democratic Party.

-While thus studying the social conditions around me I was forced,

-whether I liked it or not, to decide on the attitude I should take

-towards the Trades Unions. Because I looked upon them as inseparable

-from the Social Democratic Party, my decision was hasty--and mistaken. I

-repudiated them as a matter of course. But on this essential question

-also Fate intervened and gave me a lesson, with the result that I

-changed the opinion which I had first formed.

-When I was twenty years old I had learned to distinguish between the

-Trades Union as a means of defending the social rights of the employees

-and fighting for better living conditions for them and, on the other

-hand, the Trades Union as a political instrument used by the Party in

-the class struggle.

-The Social Democrats understood the enormous importance of the Trades

-Union movement. They appropriated it as an instrument and used it with

-success, while the bourgeois parties failed to understand it and thus

-lost their political prestige. They thought that their own arrogant VETO

-would arrest the logical development of the movement and force it into

-an illogical position. But it is absurd and also untrue to say that the

-Trades Union movement is in itself hostile to the nation. The opposite

-is the more correct view. If the activities of the Trades Union are

-directed towards improving the condition of a class, and succeed in

-doing so, such activities are not against the Fatherland or the State

-but are, in the truest sense of the word, national. In that way the

-trades union organization helps to create the social conditions which

-are indispensable in a general system of national education. It deserves

-high recognition when it destroys the psychological and physical germs

-of social disease and thus fosters the general welfare of the nation.

-It is superfluous to ask whether the Trades Union is indispensable.

-So long as there are employers who attack social understanding and have

-wrong ideas of justice and fair play it is not only the right but also

-the duty of their employees--who are, after all, an integral part of our

-people--to protect the general interests against the greed and unreason

-of the individual. For to safeguard the loyalty and confidence of the

-people is as much in the interests of the nation as to safeguard public

-health.

-Both are seriously menaced by dishonourable employers who are not

-conscious of their duty as members of the national community. Their

-personal avidity or irresponsibility sows the seeds of future trouble.

-To eliminate the causes of such a development is an action that surely

-deserves well of the country.

-It must not be answered here that the individual workman is free at any

-time to escape from the consequences of an injustice which he has

-actually suffered at the hands of an employer, or which he thinks he has

-suffered--in other words, he can leave. No. That argument is only a ruse

-to detract attention from the question at issue. Is it, or is it not, in

-the interests of the nation to remove the causes of social unrest? If it

-is, then the fight must be carried on with the only weapons that promise

-success. But the individual workman is never in a position to stand up

-against the might of the big employer; for the question here is not one

-that concerns the triumph of right. If in such a relation right had been

-recognized as the guiding principle, then the conflict could not have

-arisen at all. But here it is a question of who is the stronger. If the

-case were otherwise, the sentiment of justice alone would solve the

-dispute in an honourable way; or, to put the case more correctly,

-matters would not have come to such a dispute at all.

-No. If unsocial and dishonourable treatment of men provokes resistance,

-then the stronger party can impose its decision in the conflict until

-the constitutional legislative authorities do away with the evil through

-legislation. Therefore it is evident that if the individual workman is

-to have any chance at all of winning through in the struggle he must be

-grouped with his fellow workmen and present a united front before the

-individual employer, who incorporates in his own person the massed

-strength of the vested interests in the industrial or commercial

-undertaking which he conducts.

-Thus the trades unions can hope to inculcate and strengthen a sense of

-social responsibility in workaday life and open the road to practical

-results. In doing this they tend to remove those causes of friction

-which are a continual source of discontent and complaint.

-Blame for the fact that the trades unions do not fulfil this

-much-desired function must be laid at the doors of those who barred the

-road to legislative social reform, or rendered such a reform ineffective

-by sabotaging it through their political influence.

-The political bourgeoisie failed to understand--or, rather, they did not

-wish to understand--the importance of the trades union movement. The

-Social Democrats accordingly seized the advantage offered them by this

-mistaken policy and took the labour movement under their exclusive

-protection, without any protest from the other side. In this way they

-established for themselves a solid bulwark behind which they could

-safely retire whenever the struggle assumed a critical aspect. Thus the

-genuine purpose of the movement gradually fell into oblivion, and was

-replaced by new objectives. For the Social Democrats never troubled

-themselves to respect and uphold the original purpose for which the

-trade unionist movement was founded. They simply took over the Movement,

-lock, stock and barrel, to serve their own political ends.

-Within a few decades the Trades Union Movement was transformed, by the

-expert hand of Social Democracy, from an instrument which had been

-originally fashioned for the defence of human rights into an instrument

-for the destruction of the national economic structure. The interests of

-the working class were not allowed for a moment to cross the path of

-this purpose; for in politics the application of economic pressure is

-always possible if the one side be sufficiently unscrupulous and the

-other sufficiently inert and docile. In this case both conditions were

-fulfilled.

-By the beginning of the present century the Trades Unionist Movement had

-already ceased to recognize the purpose for which it had been founded.

-From year to year it fell more and more under the political control of

-the Social Democrats, until it finally came to be used as a

-battering-ram in the class struggle. The plan was to shatter, by means

-of constantly repeated blows, the economic edifice in the building of

-which so much time and care had been expended. Once this objective had

-been reached, the destruction of the State would become a matter of

-course, because the State would already have been deprived of its

-economic foundations. Attention to the real interests of the

-working-classes, on the part of the Social Democrats, steadily decreased

-until the cunning leaders saw that it would be in their immediate

-political interests if the social and cultural demands of the broad

-masses remained unheeded; for there was a danger that if these masses

-once felt content they could no longer be employed as mere passive

-material in the political struggle.

-The gloomy prospect which presented itself to the eyes of the

-CONDOTTIERI of the class warfare, if the discontent of the masses were

-no longer available as a war weapon, created so much anxiety among them

-that they suppressed and opposed even the most elementary measures of

-social reform. And conditions were such that those leaders did not have

-to trouble about attempting to justify such an illogical policy.

-As the masses were taught to increase and heighten their demands the

-possibility of satisfying them dwindled and whatever ameliorative

-measures were taken became less and less significant; so that it was at

-that time possible to persuade the masses that this ridiculous measure

-in which the most sacred claims of the working-classes were being

-granted represented a diabolical plan to weaken their fighting power in

-this easy way and, if possible, to paralyse it. One will not be

-astonished at the success of these allegations if one remembers what a

-small measure of thinking power the broad masses possess.

-In the bourgeois camp there was high indignation over the bad faith of

-the Social Democratic tactics; but nothing was done to draw a practical

-conclusion and organize a counter attack from the bourgeois side. The

-fear of the Social Democrats, to improve the miserable conditions of the

-working-classes ought to have induced the bourgeois parties to make the

-most energetic efforts in this direction and thus snatch from the hands

-of the class-warfare leaders their most important weapon; but nothing of

-this kind happened.

-Instead of attacking the position of their adversaries the bourgeoisie

-allowed itself to be pressed and harried. Finally it adopted means that

-were so tardy and so insignificant that they were ineffective and were

-repudiated. So the whole situation remained just as it had been before

-the bourgeois intervention; but the discontent had thereby become more

-serious.

-Like a threatening storm, the 'Free Trades Union' hovered above the

-political horizon and above the life of each individual. It was one of

-the most frightful instruments of terror that threatened the security

-and independence of the national economic structure, the foundations of

-the State and the liberty of the individual. Above all, it was the 'Free

-Trades Union' that turned democracy into a ridiculous and scorned

-phrase, insulted the ideal of liberty and stigmatized that of fraternity

-with the slogan 'If you will not become our comrade we shall crack your

-skull'.

-It was thus that I then came to know this friend of humanity. During the

-years that followed my knowledge of it became wider and deeper; but I

-have never changed anything in that regard.

-The more I became acquainted with the external forms of Social

-Democracy, the greater became my desire to understand the inner nature

-of its doctrines.

-For this purpose the official literature of the Party could not help

-very much. In discussing economic questions its statements were false

-and its proofs unsound. In treating of political aims its attitude was

-insincere. Furthermore, its modern methods of chicanery in the

-presentation of its arguments were profoundly repugnant to me. Its

-flamboyant sentences, its obscure and incomprehensible phrases,

-pretended to contain great thoughts, but they were devoid of thought,

-and meaningless. One would have to be a decadent Bohemian in one of our

-modern cities in order to feel at home in that labyrinth of mental

-aberration, so that he might discover 'intimate experiences' amid the

-stinking fumes of this literary Dadism. These writers were obviously

-counting on the proverbial humility of a certain section of our people,

-who believe that a person who is incomprehensible must be profoundly

-wise.

-In confronting the theoretical falsity and absurdity of that doctrine

-with the reality of its external manifestations, I gradually came to

-have a clear idea of the ends at which it aimed.

-During such moments I had dark presentiments and feared something evil.

-I had before me a teaching inspired by egoism and hatred, mathematically

-calculated to win its victory, but the triumph of which would be a

-mortal blow to humanity.

-Meanwhile I had discovered the relations existing between this

-destructive teaching and the specific character of a people, who up to

-that time had been to me almost unknown.

-Knowledge of the Jews is the only key whereby one may understand the

-inner nature and therefore the real aims of Social Democracy.

-The man who has come to know this race has succeeded in removing from

-his eyes the veil through which he had seen the aims and meaning of his

-Party in a false light; and then, out of the murk and fog of social

-phrases rises the grimacing figure of Marxism.

-To-day it is hard and almost impossible for me to say when the word

-'Jew' first began to raise any particular thought in my mind. I do not

-remember even having heard the word at home during my father's lifetime.

-If this name were mentioned in a derogatory sense I think the old

-gentleman would just have considered those who used it in this way as

-being uneducated reactionaries. In the course of his career he had come

-to be more or less a cosmopolitan, with strong views on nationalism,

-which had its effect on me as well. In school, too, I found no reason to

-alter the picture of things I had formed at home.

-At the REALSCHULE I knew one Jewish boy. We were all on our guard in our

-relations with him, but only because his reticence and certain actions

-of his warned us to be discreet. Beyond that my companions and myself

-formed no particular opinions in regard to him.

-It was not until I was fourteen or fifteen years old that I frequently

-ran up against the word 'Jew', partly in connection with political

-controversies. These references aroused a slight aversion in me, and I

-could not avoid an uncomfortable feeling which always came over me when

-I had to listen to religious disputes. But at that time I had no other

-feelings about the Jewish question.

-There were very few Jews in Linz. In the course of centuries the Jews

-who lived there had become Europeanized in external appearance and were

-so much like other human beings that I even looked upon them as Germans.

-The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion

-was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing

-them from us was the practice of their strange religion. As I thought

-that they were persecuted on account of their Faith my aversion to

-hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorrence. I

-did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a

-systematic anti-Semitism.

-Then I came to Vienna.

-Confused by the mass of impressions I received from the architectural

-surroundings and depressed by my own troubles, I did not at first

-distinguish between the different social strata of which the population

-of that mammoth city was composed. Although Vienna then had about two

-hundred thousand Jews among its population of two millions, I did not

-notice them. During the first weeks of my sojourn my eyes and my mind

-were unable to cope with the onrush of new ideas and values. Not until I

-gradually settled down to my surroundings, and the confused picture

-began to grow clearer, did I acquire a more discriminating view of my

-new world. And with that I came up against the Jewish problem.

-I will not say that the manner in which I first became acquainted with

-it was particularly unpleasant for me. In the Jew I still saw only a man

-who was of a different religion, and therefore, on grounds of human

-tolerance, I was against the idea that he should be attacked because he

-had a different faith. And so I considered that the tone adopted by the

-anti-Semitic Press in Vienna was unworthy of the cultural traditions of

-a great people. The memory of certain events which happened in the

-middle ages came into my mind, and I felt that I should not like to see

-them repeated. Generally speaking, these anti-Semitic newspapers did not

-belong to the first rank--but I did not then understand the reason of

-this--and so I regarded them more as the products of jealousy and envy

-rather than the expression of a sincere, though wrong-headed, feeling.

-My own opinions were confirmed by what I considered to be the infinitely

-more dignified manner in which the really great Press replied to those

-attacks or simply ignored them, which latter seemed to me the most

-respectable way.

-I diligently read what was generally called the World Press--NEUE FREIE

-PRESSE, WIENER TAGEBLATT, etc.--and I was astonished by the abundance of

-information they gave their readers and the impartial way in which they

-presented particular problems. I appreciated their dignified tone; but

-sometimes the flamboyancy of the style was unconvincing, and I did not

-like it. But I attributed all this to the overpowering influence of the

-world metropolis.

-Since I considered Vienna at that time as such a world metropolis, I

-thought this constituted sufficient grounds to excuse these shortcomings

-of the Press. But I was frequently disgusted by the grovelling way in

-which the Vienna Press played lackey to the Court. Scarcely a move took

-place at the Hofburg which was not presented in glorified colours to the

-readers. It was a foolish practice, which, especially when it had to do

-with 'The Wisest Monarch of all Times', reminded one almost of the dance

-which the mountain cock performs at pairing time to woo his mate. It was

-all empty nonsense. And I thought that such a policy was a stain on the

-ideal of liberal democracy. I thought that this way of currying favour

-at the Court was unworthy of the people. And that was the first blot

-that fell on my appreciation of the great Vienna Press.

-While in Vienna I continued to follow with a vivid interest all the

-events that were taking place in Germany, whether connected with

-political or cultural question. I had a feeling of pride and admiration

-when I compared the rise of the young German Empire with the decline of

-the Austrian State. But, although the foreign policy of that Empire was

-a source of real pleasure on the whole, the internal political

-happenings were not always so satisfactory. I did not approve of the

-campaign which at that time was being carried on against William II. I

-looked upon him not only as the German Emperor but, above all, as the

-creator of the German Navy. The fact that the Emperor was prohibited

-from speaking in the Reichstag made me very angry, because the

-prohibition came from a side which in my eyes had no authority to make

-it. For at a single sitting those same parliamentary ganders did more

-cackling together than the whole dynasty of Emperors, comprising even

-the weakest, had done in the course of centuries.

-It annoyed me to have to acknowledge that in a nation where any

-half-witted fellow could claim for himself the right to criticize and

-might even be let loose on the people as a 'Legislator' in the

-Reichstag, the bearer of the Imperial Crown could be the subject of a

-'reprimand' on the part of the most miserable assembly of drivellers

-that had ever existed.

-I was even more disgusted at the way in which this same Vienna Press

-salaamed obsequiously before the meanest steed belonging to the Habsburg

-royal equipage and went off into wild ecstacies of delight if the nag

-wagged its tail in response. And at the same time these newspapers took

-up an attitude of anxiety in matters that concerned the German Emperor,

-trying to cloak their enmity by the serious air they gave themselves.

-But in my eyes that enmity appeared to be only poorly cloaked. Naturally

-they protested that they had no intention of mixing in Germany's

-internal affairs--God forbid! They pretended that by touching a delicate

-spot in such a friendly way they were fulfilling a duty that devolved

-upon them by reason of the mutual alliance between the two countries and

-at the same time discharging their obligations of journalistic

-truthfulness. Having thus excused themselves about tenderly touching a

-sore spot, they bored with the finger ruthlessly into the wound.

-That sort of thing made my blood boil. And now I began to be more and

-more on my guard when reading the great Vienna Press.

-I had to acknowledge, however, that on such subjects one of the

-anti-Semitic papers--the DEUTSCHE VOLKSBLATT--acted more decently.

-What got still more on my nerves was the repugnant manner in which the

-big newspapers cultivated admiration for France. One really had to feel

-ashamed of being a German when confronted by those mellifluous hymns of

-praise for 'the great culture-nation'. This wretched Gallomania more

-often than once made me throw away one of those 'world newspapers'. I

-now often turned to the VOLKSBLATT, which was much smaller in size but

-which treated such subjects more decently. I was not in accord with its

-sharp anti-Semitic tone; but again and again I found that its arguments

-gave me grounds for serious thought.

-Anyhow, it was as a result of such reading that I came to know the man

-and the movement which then determined the fate of Vienna. These were

-Dr. Karl Lueger and the Christian Socialist Movement. At the time I came

-to Vienna I felt opposed to both. I looked on the man and the movement

-as 'reactionary'.

-But even an elementary sense of justice enforced me to change my opinion

-when I had the opportunity of knowing the man and his work, and slowly

-that opinion grew into outspoken admiration when I had better grounds

-for forming a judgment. To-day, as well as then, I hold Dr. Karl Lueger

-as the most eminent type of German Burgermeister. How many prejudices

-were thrown over through such a change in my attitude towards the

-Christian-Socialist Movement!

-My ideas about anti-Semitism changed also in the course of time, but

-that was the change which I found most difficult. It cost me a greater

-internal conflict with myself, and it was only after a struggle between

-reason and sentiment that victory began to be decided in favour of the

-former. Two years later sentiment rallied to the side of reasons and

-became a faithful guardian and counsellor.

-At the time of this bitter struggle, between calm reason and the

-sentiments in which I had been brought up, the lessons that I learned on

-the streets of Vienna rendered me invaluable assistance. A time came

-when I no longer passed blindly along the street of the mighty city, as

-I had done in the early days, but now with my eyes open not only to

-study the buildings but also the human beings.

-Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encountered a

-phenomenon in a long caftan and wearing black side-locks. My first

-thought was: Is this a Jew? They certainly did not have this appearance

-in Linz. I watched the man stealthily and cautiously; but the longer I

-gazed at the strange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the

-more the question shaped itself in my brain: Is this a German?

-As was always my habit with such experiences, I turned to books for help

-in removing my doubts. For the first time in my life I bought myself

-some anti-Semitic pamphlets for a few pence. But unfortunately they all

-began with the assumption that in principle the reader had at least a

-certain degree of information on the Jewish question or was even

-familiar with it. Moreover, the tone of most of these pamphlets was such

-that I became doubtful again, because the statements made were partly

-superficial and the proofs extraordinarily unscientific. For weeks, and

-indeed for months, I returned to my old way of thinking. The subject

-appeared so enormous and the accusations were so far-reaching that I was

-afraid of dealing with it unjustly and so I became again anxious and

-uncertain.

-Naturally I could no longer doubt that here there was not a question of

-Germans who happened to be of a different religion but rather that there

-was question of an entirely different people. For as soon as I began to

-investigate the matter and observe the Jews, then Vienna appeared to me

-in a different light. Wherever I now went I saw Jews, and the more I saw

-of them the more strikingly and clearly they stood out as a different

-people from the other citizens. Especially the Inner City and the

-district northwards from the Danube Canal swarmed with a people who,

-even in outer appearance, bore no similarity to the Germans.

-But any indecision which I may still have felt about that point was

-finally removed by the activities of a certain section of the Jews

-themselves. A great movement, called Zionism, arose among them. Its aim

-was to assert the national character of Judaism, and the movement was

-strongly represented in Vienna.

-To outward appearances it seemed as if only one group of Jews championed

-this movement, while the great majority disapproved of it, or even

-repudiated it. But an investigation of the situation showed that those

-outward appearances were purposely misleading. These outward appearances

-emerged from a mist of theories which had been produced for reasons of

-expediency, if not for purposes of downright deception. For that part of

-Jewry which was styled Liberal did not disown the Zionists as if they

-were not members of their race but rather as brother Jews who publicly

-professed their faith in an unpractical way, so as to create a danger

-for Jewry itself.

-Thus there was no real rift in their internal solidarity.

-This fictitious conflict between the Zionists and the Liberal Jews soon

-disgusted me; for it was false through and through and in direct

-contradiction to the moral dignity and immaculate character on which

-that race had always prided itself.

-Cleanliness, whether moral or of another kind, had its own peculiar

-meaning for these people. That they were water-shy was obvious on

-looking at them and, unfortunately, very often also when not looking at

-them at all. The odour of those people in caftans often used to make me

-feel ill. Beyond that there were the unkempt clothes and the ignoble

-exterior.

-All these details were certainly not attractive; but the revolting

-feature was that beneath their unclean exterior one suddenly perceived

-the moral mildew of the chosen race.

-What soon gave me cause for very serious consideration were the

-activities of the Jews in certain branches of life, into the mystery of

-which I penetrated little by little. Was there any shady undertaking,

-any form of foulness, especially in cultural life, in which at least one

-Jew did not participate? On putting the probing knife carefully to that

-kind of abscess one immediately discovered, like a maggot in a

-putrescent body, a little Jew who was often blinded by the sudden light.

-In my eyes the charge against Judaism became a grave one the moment I

-discovered the Jewish activities in the Press, in art, in literature and

-the theatre. All unctuous protests were now more or less futile. One

-needed only to look at the posters announcing the hideous productions of

-the cinema and theatre, and study the names of the authors who were

-highly lauded there in order to become permanently adamant on Jewish

-questions. Here was a pestilence, a moral pestilence, with which the

-public was being infected. It was worse than the Black Plague of long

-ago. And in what mighty doses this poison was manufactured and

-distributed. Naturally, the lower the moral and intellectual level of

-such an author of artistic products the more inexhaustible his

-fecundity. Sometimes it went so far that one of these fellows, acting

-like a sewage pump, would shoot his filth directly in the face of other

-members of the human race. In this connection we must remember there is

-no limit to the number of such people. One ought to realize that for

-one, Goethe, Nature may bring into existence ten thousand such

-despoilers who act as the worst kind of germ-carriers in poisoning human

-souls. It was a terrible thought, and yet it could not be avoided, that

-the greater number of the Jews seemed specially destined by Nature to

-play this shameful part.

-And is it for this reason that they can be called the chosen people?

-I began then to investigate carefully the names of all the fabricators

-of these unclean products in public cultural life. The result of that

-inquiry was still more disfavourable to the attitude which I had

-hitherto held in regard to the Jews. Though my feelings might rebel a

-thousand time, reason now had to draw its own conclusions.

-The fact that nine-tenths of all the smutty literature, artistic tripe

-and theatrical banalities, had to be charged to the account of people

-who formed scarcely one per cent. of the nation--that fact could not be

-gainsaid. It was there, and had to be admitted. Then I began to examine

-my favourite 'World Press', with that fact before my mind.

-The deeper my soundings went the lesser grew my respect for that Press

-which I formerly admired. Its style became still more repellent and I

-was forced to reject its ideas as entirely shallow and superficial. To

-claim that in the presentation of facts and views its attitude was

-impartial seemed to me to contain more falsehood than truth. The writers

-were--Jews.

-Thousands of details that I had scarcely noticed before seemed to me now

-to deserve attention. I began to grasp and understand things which I had

-formerly looked at in a different light.

-I saw the Liberal policy of that Press in another light. Its dignified

-tone in replying to the attacks of its adversaries and its dead silence

-in other cases now became clear to me as part of a cunning and

-despicable way of deceiving the readers. Its brilliant theatrical

-criticisms always praised the Jewish authors and its adverse, criticism

-was reserved exclusively for the Germans.

-The light pin-pricks against William II showed the persistency of its

-policy, just as did its systematic commendation of French culture and

-civilization. The subject matter of the feuilletons was trivial and

-often pornographic. The language of this Press as a whole had the accent

-of a foreign people. The general tone was openly derogatory to the

-Germans and this must have been definitely intentional.

-What were the interests that urged the Vienna Press to adopt such a

-policy? Or did they do so merely by chance? In attempting to find an

-answer to those questions I gradually became more and more dubious.

-Then something happened which helped me to come to an early decision. I

-began to see through the meaning of a whole series of events that were

-taking place in other branches of Viennese life. All these were inspired

-by a general concept of manners and morals which was openly put into

-practice by a large section of the Jews and could be established as

-attributable to them. Here, again, the life which I observed on the

-streets taught me what evil really is.

-The part which the Jews played in the social phenomenon of prostitution,

-and more especially in the white slave traffic, could be studied here

-better than in any other West-European city, with the possible exception

-of certain ports in Southern France. Walking by night along the streets

-of the Leopoldstadt, almost at every turn whether one wished it or not,

-one witnessed certain happenings of whose existence the Germans knew

-nothing until the War made it possible and indeed inevitable for the

-soldiers to see such things on the Eastern front.

-A cold shiver ran down my spine when I first ascertained that it was the

-same kind of cold-blooded, thick-skinned and shameless Jew who showed

-his consummate skill in conducting that revolting exploitation of the

-dregs of the big city. Then I became fired with wrath.

-I had now no more hesitation about bringing the Jewish problem to light

-in all its details. No. Henceforth I was determined to do so. But as I

-learned to track down the Jew in all the different spheres of cultural

-and artistic life, and in the various manifestations of this life

-everywhere, I suddenly came upon him in a position where I had least

-expected to find him. I now realized that the Jews were the leaders of

-Social Democracy. In face of that revelation the scales fell from my

-eyes. My long inner struggle was at an end.

-In my relations with my fellow workmen I was often astonished to find

-how easily and often they changed their opinions on the same questions,

-sometimes within a few days and sometimes even within the course of a

-few hours. I found it difficult to understand how men who always had

-reasonable ideas when they spoke as individuals with one another

-suddenly lost this reasonableness the moment they acted in the mass.

-That phenomenon often tempted one almost to despair. I used to dispute

-with them for hours and when I succeeded in bringing them to what I

-considered a reasonable way of thinking I rejoiced at my success. But

-next day I would find that it had been all in vain. It was saddening to

-think I had to begin it all over again. Like a pendulum in its eternal

-sway, they would fall back into their absurd opinions.

-I was able to understand their position fully. They were dissatisfied

-with their lot and cursed the fate which had hit them so hard. They

-hated their employers, whom they looked upon as the heartless

-administrators of their cruel destiny. Often they used abusive language

-against the public officials, whom they accused of having no sympathy

-with the situation of the working people. They made public protests

-against the cost of living and paraded through the streets in defence of

-their claims. At least all this could be explained on reasonable

-grounds. But what was impossible to understand was the boundless hatred

-they expressed against their own fellow citizens, how they disparaged

-their own nation, mocked at its greatness, reviled its history and

-dragged the names of its most illustrious men in the gutter.

-This hostility towards their own kith and kin, their own native land and

-home was as irrational as it was incomprehensible. It was against

-Nature.

-One could cure that malady temporarily, but only for some days or at

-least some weeks. But on meeting those whom one believed to have been

-converted one found that they had become as they were before. That

-malady against Nature held them once again in its clutches.

-I gradually discovered that the Social Democratic Press was

-predominantly controlled by Jews. But I did not attach special

-importance to this circumstance, for the same state of affairs existed

-also in other newspapers. But there was one striking fact in this

-connection. It was that there was not a single newspaper with which Jews

-were connected that could be spoken of as National, in the meaning that

-my education and convictions attached to that word.

-Making an effort to overcome my natural reluctance, I tried to read

-articles of this nature published in the Marxist Press; but in doing so

-my aversion increased all the more. And then I set about learning

-something of the people who wrote and published this mischievous stuff.

-From the publisher downwards, all of them were Jews. I recalled to mind

-the names of the public leaders of Marxism, and then I realized that

-most of them belonged to the Chosen Race--the Social Democratic

-representatives in the Imperial Cabinet as well as the secretaries of

-the Trades Unions and the street agitators. Everywhere the same sinister

-picture presented itself. I shall never forget the row of

-names--Austerlitz, David, Adler, Ellenbogen, and others. One fact became

-quite evident to me. It was that this alien race held in its hands the

-leadership of that Social Democratic Party with whose minor

-representatives I had been disputing for months past. I was happy at

-last to know for certain that the Jew is not a German.

-Thus I finally discovered who were the evil spirits leading our people

-astray. The sojourn in Vienna for one year had proved long enough to

-convince me that no worker is so rooted in his preconceived notions that

-he will not surrender them in face of better and clearer arguments and

-explanations. Gradually I became an expert in the doctrine of the

-Marxists and used this knowledge as an instrument to drive home my own

-firm convictions. I was successful in nearly every case. The great

-masses can be rescued, but a lot of time and a large share of human

-patience must be devoted to such work.

-But a Jew can never be rescued from his fixed notions.

-It was then simple enough to attempt to show them the absurdity of their

-teaching. Within my small circle I talked to them until my throat ached

-and my voice grew hoarse. I believed that I could finally convince them

-of the danger inherent in the Marxist follies. But I only achieved the

-contrary result. It seemed to me that immediately the disastrous effects

-of the Marxist Theory and its application in practice became evident,

-the stronger became their obstinacy.

-The more I debated with them the more familiar I became with their

-argumentative tactics. At the outset they counted upon the stupidity of

-their opponents, but when they got so entangled that they could not find

-a way out they played the trick of acting as innocent simpletons. Should

-they fail, in spite of their tricks of logic, they acted as if they

-could not understand the counter arguments and bolted away to another

-field of discussion. They would lay down truisms and platitudes; and, if

-you accepted these, then they were applied to other problems and matters

-of an essentially different nature from the original theme. If you faced

-them with this point they would escape again, and you could not bring

-them to make any precise statement. Whenever one tried to get a firm

-grip on any of these apostles one's hand grasped only jelly and slime

-which slipped through the fingers and combined again into a solid mass a

-moment afterwards. If your adversary felt forced to give in to your

-argument, on account of the observers present, and if you then thought

-that at last you had gained ground, a surprise was in store for you on

-the following day. The Jew would be utterly oblivious to what had

-happened the day before, and he would start once again by repeating his

-former absurdities, as if nothing had happened. Should you become

-indignant and remind him of yesterday's defeat, he pretended

-astonishment and could not remember anything, except that on the

-previous day he had proved that his statements were correct. Sometimes I

-was dumbfounded. I do not know what amazed me the more--the abundance of

-their verbiage or the artful way in which they dressed up their

-falsehoods. I gradually came to hate them.

-Yet all this had its good side; because the more I came to know the

-individual leaders, or at least the propagandists, of Social Democracy,

-my love for my own people increased correspondingly. Considering the

-Satanic skill which these evil counsellors displayed, how could their

-unfortunate victims be blamed? Indeed, I found it extremely difficult

-myself to be a match for the dialectical perfidy of that race. How

-futile it was to try to win over such people with argument, seeing that

-their very mouths distorted the truth, disowning the very words they had

-just used and adopting them again a few moments afterwards to serve

-their own ends in the argument! No. The more I came to know the Jew, the

-easier it was to excuse the workers.

-In my opinion the most culpable were not to be found among the workers

-but rather among those who did not think it worth while to take the

-trouble to sympathize with their own kinsfolk and give to the

-hard-working son of the national family what was his by the iron logic

-of justice, while at the same time placing his seducer and corrupter

-against the wall.

-Urged by my own daily experiences, I now began to investigate more

-thoroughly the sources of the Marxist teaching itself. Its effects were

-well known to me in detail. As a result of careful observation, its

-daily progress had become obvious to me. And one needed only a little

-imagination in order to be able to forecast the consequences which must

-result from it. The only question now was: Did the founders foresee the

-effects of their work in the form which those effects have shown

-themselves to-day, or were the founders themselves the victims of an

-error? To my mind both alternatives were possible.

-If the second question must be answered in the affirmative, then it was

-the duty of every thinking person to oppose this sinister movement with

-a view to preventing it from producing its worst results. But if the

-first question must be answered in the affirmative, then it must be

-admitted that the original authors of this evil which has infected the

-nations were devils incarnate. For only in the brain of a monster, and

-not that of a man, could the plan of this organization take shape whose

-workings must finally bring about the collapse of human civilization and

-turn this world into a desert waste.

-Such being the case the only alternative left was to fight, and in that

-fight to employ all the weapons which the human spirit and intellect and

-will could furnish leaving it to Fate to decide in whose favour the

-balance should fall.

-And so I began to gather information about the authors of this teaching,

-with a view to studying the principles of the movement. The fact that I

-attained my object sooner than I could have anticipated was due to the

-deeper insight into the Jewish question which I then gained, my

-knowledge of this question being hitherto rather superficial. This newly

-acquired knowledge alone enabled me to make a practical comparison

-between the real content and the theoretical pretentiousness of the

-teaching laid down by the apostolic founders of Social Democracy;

-because I now understood the language of the Jew. I realized that the

-Jew uses language for the purpose of dissimulating his thought or at

-least veiling it, so that his real aim cannot be discovered by what he

-says but rather by reading between the lines. This knowledge was the

-occasion of the greatest inner revolution that I had yet experienced.

-From being a soft-hearted cosmopolitan I became an out-and-out

-anti-Semite.

-Only on one further occasion, and that for the last time, did I give way

-to oppressing thoughts which caused me some moments of profound anxiety.

-As I critically reviewed the activities of the Jewish people throughout

-long periods of history I became anxious and asked myself whether for

-some inscrutable reasons beyond the comprehension of poor mortals such

-as ourselves, Destiny may not have irrevocably decreed that the final

-victory must go to this small nation? May it not be that this people

-which has lived only for the earth has been promised the earth as a

-recompense? is our right to struggle for our own self-preservation based

-on reality, or is it a merely subjective thing? Fate answered the

-question for me inasmuch as it led me to make a detached and exhaustive

-inquiry into the Marxist teaching and the activities of the Jewish

-people in connection with it.

-The Jewish doctrine of Marxism repudiates the aristocratic principle of

-Nature and substitutes for it the eternal privilege of force and energy,

-numerical mass and its dead weight. Thus it denies the individual worth

-of the human personality, impugns the teaching that nationhood and race

-have a primary significance, and by doing this it takes away the very

-foundations of human existence and human civilization. If the Marxist

-teaching were to be accepted as the foundation of the life of the

-universe, it would lead to the disappearance of all order that is

-conceivable to the human mind. And thus the adoption of such a law would

-provoke chaos in the structure of the greatest organism that we know,

-with the result that the inhabitants of this earthly planet would

-finally disappear.

-Should the Jew, with the aid of his Marxist creed, triumph over the

-people of this world, his Crown will be the funeral wreath of mankind,

-and this planet will once again follow its orbit through ether, without

-any human life on its surface, as it did millions of years ago.

-And so I believe to-day that my conduct is in accordance with the will

-of the Almighty Creator. In standing guard against the Jew I am

-defending the handiwork of the Lord.

-CHAPTER III

-POLITICAL REFLECTIONS ARISING OUT OF MY SOJOURN IN VIENNA

-Generally speaking a man should not publicly take part in politics

-before he has reached the age of thirty, though, of course, exceptions

-must be made in the case of those who are naturally gifted with

-extraordinary political abilities. That at least is my opinion to-day.

-And the reason for it is that until he reaches his thirtieth year or

-thereabouts a man's mental development will mostly consist in acquiring

-and sifting such knowledge as is necessary for the groundwork of a

-general platform from which he can examine the different political

-problems that arise from day to day and be able to adopt a definite

-attitude towards each. A man must first acquire a fund of general ideas

-and fit them together so as to form an organic structure of personal

-thought or outlook on life--a WELTANSCHAUUNG. Then he will have that

-mental equipment without which he cannot form his own judgments on

-particular questions of the day, and he will have acquired those

-qualities that are necessary for consistency and steadfastness in the

-formation of political opinions. Such a man is now qualified, at least

-subjectively, to take his part in the political conduct of public

-affairs.

-If these pre-requisite conditions are not fulfilled, and if a man should

-enter political life without this equipment, he will run a twofold risk.

-In the first place, he may find during the course of events that the

-stand which he originally took in regard to some essential question was

-wrong. He will now have to abandon his former position or else stick to

-it against his better knowledge and riper wisdom and after his reason

-and convictions have already proved it untenable. If he adopt the former

-line of action he will find himself in a difficult personal situation;

-because in giving up a position hitherto maintained he will appear

-inconsistent and will have no right to expect his followers to remain as

-loyal to his leadership as they were before. And, as regards the

-followers themselves, they may easily look upon their leader's change of

-policy as showing a lack of judgment inherent in his character.

-Moreover, the change must cause in them a certain feeling of

-discomfiture VIS-�-VIS those whom the leader formerly opposed.

-If he adopts the second alternative--which so very frequently happens

-to-day--then public pronouncements of the leader have no longer his

-personal persuasion to support them. And the more that is the case the

-defence of his cause will be all the more hollow and superficial. He now

-descends to the adoption of vulgar means in his defence. While he

-himself no longer dreams seriously of standing by his political

-protestations to the last--for no man will die in defence of something

-in which he does not believe--he makes increasing demands on his

-followers. Indeed, the greater be the measure of his own insincerity,

-the more unfortunate and inconsiderate become his claims on his party

-adherents. Finally, he throws aside the last vestiges of true leadership

-and begins to play politics. This means that he becomes one of those

-whose only consistency is their inconsistency, associated with

-overbearing insolence and oftentimes an artful mendacity developed to a

-shamelessly high degree.

-Should such a person, to the misfortune of all decent people, succeed in

-becoming a parliamentary deputy it will be clear from the outset that

-for him the essence of political activity consists in a heroic struggle

-to keep permanent hold on this milk-bottle as a source of livelihood for

-himself and his family. The more his wife and children are dependent on

-him, the more stubbornly will he fight to maintain for himself the

-representation of his parliamentary constituency. For that reason any

-other person who gives evidence of political capacity is his personal

-enemy. In every new movement he will apprehend the possible beginning of

-his own downfall. And everyone who is a better man than himself will

-appear to him in the light of a menace.

-I shall subsequently deal more fully with the problem to which this kind

-of parliamentary vermin give rise.

-When a man has reached his thirtieth year he has still a great deal to

-learn. That is obvious. But henceforward what he learns will principally

-be an amplification of his basic ideas; it will be fitted in with them

-organically so as to fill up the framework of the fundamental

-WELTANSCHAUUNG which he already possesses. What he learns anew will not

-imply the abandonment of principles already held, but rather a deeper

-knowledge of those principles. And thus his colleagues will never have

-the discomforting feeling that they have been hitherto falsely led by

-him. On the contrary, their confidence is increased when they perceive

-that their leader's qualities are steadily developing along the lines of

-an organic growth which results from the constant assimilation of new

-ideas; so that the followers look upon this process as signifying an

-enrichment of the doctrines in which they themselves believe, in their

-eyes every such development is a new witness to the correctness of that

-whole body of opinion which has hitherto been held.

-A leader who has to abandon the platform founded on his general

-principles, because he recognizes the foundation as false, can act with

-honour only when he declares his readiness to accept the final

-consequences of his erroneous views. In such a case he ought to refrain

-from taking public part in any further political activity. Having once

-gone astray on essential things he may possibly go astray a second time.

-But, anyhow, he has no right whatsoever to expect or demand that his

-fellow citizens should continue to give him their support.

-How little such a line of conduct commends itself to our public leaders

-nowadays is proved by the general corruption prevalent among the cabal

-which at the present moment feels itself called to political leadership.

-In the whole cabal there is scarcely one who is properly equipped for

-this task.

-Although in those days I used to give more time than most others to the

-consideration of political question, yet I carefully refrained from

-taking an open part in politics. Only to a small circle did I speak of

-those things which agitated my mind or were the cause of constant

-preoccupation for me. The habit of discussing matters within such a

-restricted group had many advantages in itself. Rather than talk at

-them, I learned to feel my way into the modes of thought and views of

-those men around me. Oftentimes such ways of thinking and such views

-were quite primitive. Thus I took every possible occasion to increase my

-knowledge of men.

-Nowhere among the German people was the opportunity for making such a

-study so favourable as in Vienna.

-In the old Danubian Monarchy political thought was wider in its range

-and had a richer variety of interests than in the Germany of that

-epoch--excepting certain parts of Prussia, Hamburg and the districts

-bordering on the North Sea. When I speak of Austria here I mean that

-part of the great Habsburg Empire which, by reason of its German

-population, furnished not only the historic basis for the formation of

-this State but whose population was for several centuries also the

-exclusive source of cultural life in that political system whose

-structure was so artificial. As time went on the stability of the

-Austrian State and the guarantee of its continued existence depended

-more and more on the maintenance of this germ-cell of that Habsburg

-Empire.

-The hereditary imperial provinces constituted the heart of the Empire.

-And it was this heart that constantly sent the blood of life pulsating

-through the whole political and cultural system. Corresponding to the

-heart of the Empire, Vienna signified the brain and the will. At that

-time Vienna presented an appearance which made one think of her as an

-enthroned queen whose authoritative sway united the conglomeration of

-heterogenous nationalities that lived under the Habsburg sceptre. The

-radiant beauty of the capital city made one forget the sad symptoms of

-senile decay which the State manifested as a whole.

-Though the Empire was internally rickety because of the terrific

-conflict going on between the various nationalities, the outside

-world--and Germany in particular--saw only that lovely picture of the

-city. The illusion was all the greater because at that time Vienna

-seemed to have risen to its highest pitch of splendour. Under a Mayor,

-who had the true stamp of administrative genius, the venerable

-residential City of the Emperors of the old Empire seemed to have the

-glory of its youth renewed. The last great German who sprang from the

-ranks of the people that had colonized the East Mark was not a

-'statesman', in the official sense. This Dr. Luegar, however, in his

-r�le as Mayor of 'the Imperial Capital and Residential City', had

-achieved so much in almost all spheres of municipal activity, whether

-economic or cultural, that the heart of the whole Empire throbbed with

-renewed vigour. He thus proved himself a much greater statesman than the

-so-called 'diplomats' of that period.

-The fact that this political system of heterogeneous races called

-AUSTRIA, finally broke down is no evidence whatsoever of political

-incapacity on the part of the German element in the old East Mark. The

-collapse was the inevitable result of an impossible situation. Ten

-million people cannot permanently hold together a State of fifty

-millions, composed of different and convicting nationalities, unless

-certain definite pre-requisite conditions are at hand while there is

-still time to avail of them.

-The German-Austrian had very big ways of thinking. Accustomed to live in

-a great Empire, he had a keen sense of the obligations incumbent on him

-in such a situation. He was the only member of the Austrian State who

-looked beyond the borders of the narrow lands belonging to the Crown and

-took in all the frontiers of the Empire in the sweep of his mind. Indeed

-when destiny severed him from the common Fatherland he tried to master

-the tremendous task which was set before him as a consequence. This task

-was to maintain for the German-Austrians that patrimony which, through

-innumerable struggles, their ancestors had originally wrested from the

-East. It must be remembered that the German-Austrians could not put

-their undivided strength into this effort, because the hearts and minds

-of the best among them were constantly turning back towards their

-kinsfolk in the Motherland, so that only a fraction of their energy

-remained to be employed at home.

-The mental horizon of the German-Austrian was comparatively broad. His

-commercial interests comprised almost every section of the heterogeneous

-Empire. The conduct of almost all important undertakings was in his

-hands. He provided the State, for the most part, with its leading

-technical experts and civil servants. He was responsible for carrying on

-the foreign trade of the country, as far as that sphere of activity was

-not under Jewish control, The German-Austrian exclusively represented

-the political cement that held the State together. His military duties

-carried him far beyond the narrow frontiers of his homeland. Though the

-recruit might join a regiment made up of the German element, the

-regiment itself might be stationed in Herzegovina as well as in Vienna

-or Galicia. The officers in the Habsburg armies were still Germans and

-so was the predominating element in the higher branches of the civil

-service. Art and science were in German hands. Apart from the new

-artistic trash, which might easily have been produced by a negro tribe,

-all genuine artistic inspiration came from the German section of the

-population. In music, architecture, sculpture and painting, Vienna

-abundantly supplied the entire Dual Monarchy. And the source never

-seemed to show signs of a possible exhaustion. Finally, it was the

-German element that determined the conduct of foreign policy, though a

-small number of Hungarians were also active in that field.

-All efforts, however, to save the unity of the State were doomed to end

-in failure, because the essential pre-requisites were missing.

-There was only one possible way to control and hold in check the

-centrifugal forces of the different and differing nationalities. This

-way was: to govern the Austrian State and organize it internally on the

-principle of centralization. In no other way imaginable could the

-existence of that State be assured.

-Now and again there were lucid intervals in the higher ruling quarters

-when this truth was recognized. But it was soon forgotten again, or else

-deliberately ignored, because of the difficulties to be overcome in

-putting it into practice. Every project which aimed at giving the Empire

-a more federal shape was bound to be ineffective because there was no

-strong central authority which could exercise sufficient power within

-the State to hold the federal elements together. It must be remembered

-in this connection that conditions in Austria were quite different from

-those which characterized the German State as founded by Bismarck.

-Germany was faced with only one difficulty, which was that of

-transforming the purely political traditions, because throughout the

-whole of Bismarck's Germany there was a common cultural basis. The

-German Empire contained only members of one and the same racial or

-national stock, with the exception of a few minor foreign fragments.

-Demographic conditions in Austria were quite the reverse. With the

-exception of Hungary there was no political tradition, coming down from

-a great past, in any of the various affiliated countries. If there had

-been, time had either wiped out all traces of it, or at least, rendered

-them obscure. Moreover, this was the epoch when the principle of

-nationality began to be in ascendant; and that phenomenon awakened the

-national instincts in the various countries affiliated under the

-Habsburg sceptre. It was difficult to control the action of these newly

-awakened national forces; because, adjacent to the frontiers of the Dual

-Monarchy, new national States were springing up whose people were of the

-same or kindred racial stock as the respective nationalities that

-constituted the Habsburg Empire. These new States were able to exercise

-a greater influence than the German element.

-Even Vienna could not hold out for a lengthy period in this conflict.

-When Budapest had developed into a metropolis a rival had grown up whose

-mission was, not to help in holding together the various divergent parts

-of the Empire, but rather to strengthen one part. Within a short time

-Prague followed the example of Budapest; and later on came Lemberg,

-Laibach and others. By raising these places which had formerly been

-provincial towns to the rank of national cities, rallying centres were

-provided for an independent cultural life. Through this the local

-national instincts acquired a spiritual foundation and therewith gained

-a more profound hold on the people. The time was bound to come when the

-particularist interests of those various countries would become stronger

-than their common imperial interests. Once that stage had been reached,

-Austria's doom was sealed.

-The course of this development was clearly perceptible since the death

-of Joseph II. Its rapidity depended on a number of factors, some of

-which had their source in the Monarchy itself; while others resulted

-from the position which the Empire had taken in foreign politics.

-It was impossible to make anything like a successful effort for the

-permanent consolidation of the Austrian State unless a firm and

-persistent policy of centralization were put into force. Before

-everything else the principle should have been adopted that only one

-common language could be used as the official language of the State.

-Thus it would be possible to emphasize the formal unity of that imperial

-commonwealth. And thus the administration would have in its hands a

-technical instrument without which the State could not endure as a

-political unity. In the same way the school and other forms of education

-should have been used to inculcate a feeling of common citizenship. Such

-an objective could not be reached within ten or twenty years. The effort

-would have to be envisaged in terms of centuries; just as in all

-problems of colonization, steady perseverance is a far more important

-element than the output of energetic effort at the moment.

-It goes without saying that in such circumstances the country must be

-governed and administered by strictly adhering to the principle of

-uniformity.

-For me it was quite instructive to discover why this did not take place,

-or rather why it was not done. Those who were guilty of the omission

-must be held responsible for the break-up of the Habsburg Empire.

-More than any other State, the existence of the old Austria depended on

-a strong and capable Government. The Habsburg Empire lacked ethnical

-uniformity, which constitutes the fundamental basis of a national State

-and will preserve the existence of such a State even though the ruling

-power should be grossly inefficient. When a State is composed of a

-homogeneous population, the natural inertia of such a population will

-hold the Stage together and maintain its existence through astonishingly

-long periods of misgovernment and maladministration. It may often seem

-as if the principle of life had died out in such a body-politic; but a

-time comes when the apparent corpse rises up and displays before the

-world an astonishing manifestation of its indestructible vitality.

-But the situation is utterly different in a country where the population

-is not homogeneous, where there is no bond of common blood but only that

-of one ruling hand. Should the ruling hand show signs of weakness in

-such a State the result will not be to cause a kind of hibernation of

-the State but rather to awaken the individualist instincts which are

-slumbering in the ethnological groups. These instincts do not make

-themselves felt as long as these groups are dominated by a strong

-central will-to-govern. The danger which exists in these slumbering

-separatist instincts can be rendered more or less innocuous only through

-centuries of common education, common traditions and common interests.

-The younger such States are, the more their existence will depend on the

-ability and strength of the central government. If their foundation was

-due only to the work of a strong personality or a leader who is a man of

-genius, in many cases they will break up as soon as the founder

-disappears; because, though great, he stood alone. But even after

-centuries of a common education and experiences these separatist

-instincts I have spoken of are not always completely overcome. They may

-be only dormant and may suddenly awaken when the central government

-shows weakness and the force of a common education as well as the

-prestige of a common tradition prove unable to withstand the vital

-energies of separatist nationalities forging ahead towards the shaping

-of their own individual existence.

-The failure to see the truth of all this constituted what may be called

-the tragic crime of the Habsburg rulers.

-Only before the eyes of one Habsburg ruler, and that for the last time,

-did the hand of Destiny hold aloft the torch that threw light on the

-future of his country. But the torch was then extinguished for ever.

-Joseph II, Roman Emperor of the German nation, was filled with a growing

-anxiety when he realized the fact that his House was removed to an

-outlying frontier of his Empire and that the time would soon be at hand

-when it would be overturned and engulfed in the whirlpool caused by that

-Babylon of nationalities, unless something was done at the eleventh hour

-to overcome the dire consequences resulting from the negligence of his

-ancestors. With superhuman energy this 'Friend of Mankind' made every

-possible effort to counteract the effects of the carelessness and

-thoughtlessness of his predecessors. Within one decade he strove to

-repair the damage that had been done through centuries. If Destiny had

-only granted him forty years for his labours, and if only two

-generations had carried on the work which he had started, the miracle

-might have been performed. But when he died, broken in body and spirit

-after ten years of rulership, his work sank with him into the grave and

-rests with him there in the Capucin Crypt, sleeping its eternal sleep,

-having never again showed signs of awakening.

-His successors had neither the ability nor the will-power necessary for

-the task they had to face.

-When the first signs of a new revolutionary epoch appeared in Europe

-they gradually scattered the fire throughout Austria. And when the fire

-began to glow steadily it was fed and fanned not by the social or

-political conditions but by forces that had their origin in the

-nationalist yearnings of the various ethnic groups.

-The European revolutionary movement of 1848 primarily took the form of a

-class conflict in almost every other country, but in Austria it took the

-form of a new racial struggle. In so far as the German-Austrians there

-forgot the origins of the movement, or perhaps had failed to recognize

-them at the start and consequently took part in the revolutionary

-uprising, they sealed their own fate. For they thus helped to awaken the

-spirit of Western Democracy which, within a short while, shattered the

-foundations of their own existence.

-The setting up of a representative parliamentary body, without insisting

-on the preliminary that only one language should be used in all public

-intercourse under the State, was the first great blow to the

-predominance of the German element in the Dual Monarchy. From that

-moment the State was also doomed to collapse sooner or later. All that

-followed was nothing but the historical liquidation of an Empire.

-To watch that process of progressive disintegration was a tragic and at

-the same time an instructive experience. The execution of history's

-decree was carried out in thousands of details. The fact that great

-numbers of people went about blindfolded amid the manifest signs of

-dissolution only proves that the gods had decreed the destruction of

-Austria.

-I do not wish to dwell on details because that would lie outside the

-scope of this book. I want to treat in detail only those events which

-are typical among the causes that lead to the decline of nations and

-States and which are therefore of importance to our present age.

-Moreover, the study of these events helped to furnish the basis of my

-own political outlook.

-Among the institutions which most clearly manifested unmistakable signs

-of decay, even to the weak-sighted Philistine, was that which, of all

-the institutions of State, ought to have been the most firmly founded--I

-mean the Parliament, or the Reichsrat (Imperial Council) as it was

-called in Austria.

-The pattern for this corporate body was obviously that which existed in

-England, the land of classic democracy. The whole of that excellent

-organization was bodily transferred to Austria with as little alteration

-as possible.

-As the Austrian counterpart to the British two-chamber system a Chamber

-of Deputies and a House of Lords (HERRENHAUS) were established in

-Vienna. The Houses themselves, considered as buildings were somewhat

-different. When Barry built his palaces, or, as we say the Houses of

-Parliament, on the shore of the Thames, he could look to the history of

-the British Empire for the inspiration of his work. In that history he

-found sufficient material to fill and decorate the 1,200 niches,

-brackets, and pillars of his magnificent edifice. His statues and

-paintings made the House of Lords and the House of Commons temples

-dedicated to the glory of the nation.

-There it was that Vienna encountered the first difficulty. When Hansen,

-the Danish architect, had completed the last gable of the marble palace

-in which the new body of popular representatives was to be housed he had

-to turn to the ancient classical world for subjects to fill out his

-decorative plan. This theatrical shrine of 'Western Democracy' was

-adorned with the statues and portraits of Greek and Roman statesmen and

-philosophers. As if it were meant for a symbol of irony, the horses of

-the quadriga that surmounts the two Houses are pulling apart from one

-another towards all four quarters of the globe. There could be no better

-symbol for the kind of activity going on within the walls of that same

-building.

-The 'nationalities' were opposed to any kind of glorification of

-Austrian history in the decoration of this building, insisting that such

-would constitute an offence to them and a provocation. Much the same

-happened in Germany, where the Reich-stag, built by Wallot, was not

-dedicated to the German people until the cannons were thundering in the

-World War. And then it was dedicated by an inscription.

-I was not yet twenty years of age when I first entered the Palace on the

-Franzens-ring to watch and listen in the Chamber of Deputies. That first

-experience aroused in me a profound feeling of repugnance.

-I had always hated the Parliament, but not as an institution in itself.

-Quite the contrary. As one who cherished ideals of political freedom I

-could not even imagine any other form of government. In the light of my

-attitude towards the House of Habsburg I should then have considered it

-a crime against liberty and reason to think of any kind of dictatorship

-as a possible form of government.

-A certain admiration which I had for the British Parliament contributed

-towards the formation of this opinion. I became imbued with that feeling

-of admiration almost without my being conscious of the effect of it

-through so much reading of newspapers while I was yet quite young. I

-could not discard that admiration all in a moment. The dignified way in

-which the British House of Commons fulfilled its function impressed me

-greatly, thanks largely to the glowing terms in which the Austrian Press

-reported these events. I used to ask myself whether there could be any

-nobler form of government than self-government by the people.

-But these considerations furnished the very motives of my hostility to

-the Austrian Parliament. The form in which parliamentary government was

-here represented seemed unworthy of its great prototype. The following

-considerations also influenced my attitude:

-The fate of the German element in the Austrian State depended on its

-position in Parliament. Up to the time that universal suffrage by secret

-ballot was introduced the German representatives had a majority in the

-Parliament, though that majority was not a very substantial one. This

-situation gave cause for anxiety because the Social-Democratic fraction

-of the German element could not be relied upon when national questions

-were at stake. In matters that were of critical concern for the German

-element, the Social-Democrats always took up an anti-German stand

-because they were afraid of losing their followers among the other

-national groups. Already at that time--before the introduction of

-universal suffrage--the Social-Democratic Party could no longer be

-considered as a German Party. The introduction of universal suffrage put

-an end even to the purely numerical predominance of the German element.

-The way was now clear for the further 'de-Germanization' of the Austrian

-State.

-The national instinct of self-preservation made it impossible for me to

-welcome a representative system in which the German element was not

-really represented as such, but always betrayed by the Social-Democratic

-fraction. Yet all these, and many others, were defects which could not

-be attributed to the parliamentary system as such, but rather to the

-Austrian State in particular. I still believed that if the German

-majority could be restored in the representative body there would be no

-occasion to oppose such a system as long as the old Austrian State

-continued to exist.

-Such was my general attitude at the time when I first entered those

-sacred and contentious halls. For me they were sacred only because of

-the radiant beauty of that majestic edifice. A Greek wonder on German

-soil.

-But I soon became enraged by the hideous spectacle that met my eyes.

-Several hundred representatives were there to discuss a problem of great

-economical importance and each representative had the right to have his

-say.

-That experience of a day was enough to supply me with food for thought

-during several weeks afterwards.

-The intellectual level of the debate was quite low. Some times the

-debaters did not make themselves intelligible at all. Several of those

-present did not speak German but only their Slav vernaculars or

-dialects. Thus I had the opportunity of hearing with my own ears what I

-had been hitherto acquainted with only through reading the newspapers. A

-turbulent mass of people, all gesticulating and bawling against one

-another, with a pathetic old man shaking his bell and making frantic

-efforts to call the House to a sense of its dignity by friendly appeals,

-exhortations, and grave warnings.

-I could not refrain from laughing.

-Several weeks later I paid a second visit. This time the House presented

-an entirely different picture, so much so that one could hardly

-recognize it as the same place. The hall was practically empty. They

-were sleeping in the other rooms below. Only a few deputies were in

-their places, yawning in each other's faces. One was speechifying. A

-deputy speaker was in the chair. When he looked round it was quite plain

-that he felt bored.

-Then I began to reflect seriously on the whole thing. I went to the

-Parliament whenever I had any time to spare and watched the spectacle

-silently but attentively. I listened to the debates, as far as they

-could be understood, and I studied the more or less intelligent features

-of those 'elect' representatives of the various nationalities which

-composed that motley State. Gradually I formed my own ideas about what I

-saw.

-A year of such quiet observation was sufficient to transform or

-completely destroy my former convictions as to the character of this

-parliamentary institution. I no longer opposed merely the perverted form

-which the principle of parliamentary representation had assumed in

-Austria. No. It had become impossible for me to accept the system in

-itself. Up to that time I had believed that the disastrous deficiencies

-of the Austrian Parliament were due to the lack of a German majority,

-but now I recognized that the institution itself was wrong in its very

-essence and form.

-A number of problems presented themselves before my mind. I studied more

-closely the democratic principle of 'decision by the majority vote', and

-I scrutinized no less carefully the intellectual and moral worth of the

-gentlemen who, as the chosen representatives of the nation, were

-entrusted with the task of making this institution function.

-Thus it happened that at one and the same time I came to know the

-institution itself and those of whom it was composed. And it was thus

-that, within the course of a few years, I came to form a clear and vivid

-picture of the average type of that most lightly worshipped phenomenon

-of our time--the parliamentary deputy. The picture of him which I then

-formed became deeply engraved on my mind and I have never altered it

-since, at least as far as essentials go.

-Once again these object-lessons taken from real life saved me from

-getting firmly entangled by a theory which at first sight seems so

-alluring to many people, though that theory itself is a symptom of human

-decadence.

-Democracy, as practised in Western Europe to-day, is the fore-runner of

-Marxism. In fact, the latter would not be conceivable without the

-former. Democracy is the breeding-ground in which the bacilli of the

-Marxist world pest can grow and spread. By the introduction of

-parliamentarianism, democracy produced an abortion of filth and fire

-(Note 6), the creative fire of which, however, seems to have died out.

-[Note 6. SPOTTGEBURT VON DRECK UND FEUER. This is the epithet that Faust

-hurls at Mephistopheles as the latter intrudes on the conversation

-between Faust and Martha in the garden:

-Mephistopheles: Thou, full of sensual, super-sensual desire,

-                A girl by the nose is leading thee.

-Faust: Abortion, thou of filth and fire.]

-I am more than grateful to Fate that this problem came to my notice when

-I was still in Vienna; for if I had been in Germany at that time I might

-easily have found only a superficial solution. If I had been in Berlin

-when I first discovered what an illogical thing this institution is

-which we call Parliament, I might easily have gone to the other extreme

-and believed--as many people believed, and apparently not without good

-reason--that the salvation of the people and the Empire could be secured

-only by restrengthening the principle of imperial authority. Those who

-had this belief did not discern the tendencies of their time and were

-blind to the aspirations of the people.

-In Austria one could not be so easily misled. There it was impossible to

-fall from one error into another. If the Parliament were worthless, the

-Habsburgs were worse; or at least not in the slightest degree better.

-The problem was not solved by rejecting the parliamentary system.

-Immediately the question arose: What then? To repudiate and abolish the

-Vienna Parliament would have resulted in leaving all power in the hands

-of the Habsburgs. For me, especially, that idea was impossible.

-Since this problem was specially difficult in regard to Austria, I was

-forced while still quite young to go into the essentials of the whole

-question more thoroughly than I otherwise should have done.

-The aspect of the situation that first made the most striking impression

-on me and gave me grounds for serious reflection was the manifest lack

-of any individual responsibility in the representative body.

-The parliament passes some acts or decree which may have the most

-devastating consequences, yet nobody bears the responsibility for it.

-Nobody can be called to account. For surely one cannot say that a

-Cabinet discharges its responsibility when it retires after having

-brought about a catastrophe. Or can we say that the responsibility is

-fully discharged when a new coalition is formed or parliament dissolved?

-Can the principle of responsibility mean anything else than the

-responsibility of a definite person?

-Is it at all possible actually to call to account the leaders of a

-parliamentary government for any kind of action which originated in the

-wishes of the whole multitude of deputies and was carried out under

-their orders or sanction? Instead of developing constructive ideas and

-plans, does the business of a statesman consist in the art of making a

-whole pack of blockheads understand his projects? Is it his business to

-entreat and coach them so that they will grant him their generous

-consent?

-Is it an indispensable quality in a statesman that he should possess a

-gift of persuasion commensurate with the statesman's ability to conceive

-great political measures and carry them through into practice?

-Does it really prove that a statesman is incompetent if he should fail

-to win over a majority of votes to support his policy in an assembly

-which has been called together as the chance result of an electoral

-system that is not always honestly administered.

-Has there ever been a case where such an assembly has worthily appraised

-a great political concept before that concept was put into practice and

-its greatness openly demonstrated through its success?

-In this world is not the creative act of the genius always a protest

-against the inertia of the mass?

-What shall the statesman do if he does not succeed in coaxing the

-parliamentary multitude to give its consent to his policy? Shall he

-purchase that consent for some sort of consideration?

-Or, when confronted with the obstinate stupidity of his fellow citizens,

-should he then refrain from pushing forward the measures which he deems

-to be of vital necessity to the life of the nation? Should he retire or

-remain in power?

-In such circumstances does not a man of character find himself face to

-face with an insoluble contradiction between his own political insight

-on the one hand and, on the other, his moral integrity, or, better

-still, his sense of honesty?

-Where can we draw the line between public duty and personal honour?

-Must not every genuine leader renounce the idea of degrading himself to

-the level of a political jobber?

-And, on the other hand, does not every jobber feel the itch to 'play

-politics', seeing that the final responsibility will never rest with him

-personally but with an anonymous mass which can never be called to

-account for their deeds?

-Must not our parliamentary principle of government by numerical majority

-necessarily lead to the destruction of the principle of leadership?

-Does anybody honestly believe that human progress originates in the

-composite brain of the majority and not in the brain of the individual

-personality?

-Or may it be presumed that for the future human civilization will be

-able to dispense with this as a condition of its existence?

-But may it not be that, to-day, more than ever before, the creative

-brain of the individual is indispensable?

-The parliamentary principle of vesting legislative power in the decision

-of the majority rejects the authority of the individual and puts a

-numerical quota of anonymous heads in its place. In doing so it

-contradicts the aristrocratic principle, which is a fundamental law of

-nature; but, of course, we must remember that in this decadent era of

-ours the aristrocratic principle need not be thought of as incorporated

-in the upper ten thousand.

-The devastating influence of this parliamentary institution might not

-easily be recognized by those who read the Jewish Press, unless the

-reader has learned how to think independently and examine the facts for

-himself. This institution is primarily responsible for the crowded

-inrush of mediocre people into the field of politics. Confronted with

-such a phenomenon, a man who is endowed with real qualities of

-leadership will be tempted to refrain from taking part in political

-life; because under these circumstances the situation does not call for

-a man who has a capacity for constructive statesmanship but rather for a

-man who is capable of bargaining for the favour of the majority. Thus

-the situation will appeal to small minds and will attract them

-accordingly.

-The narrower the mental outlook and the more meagre the amount of

-knowledge in a political jobber, the more accurate is his estimate of

-his own political stock, and thus he will be all the more inclined to

-appreciate a system which does not demand creative genius or even

-high-class talent; but rather that crafty kind of sagacity which makes

-an efficient town clerk. Indeed, he values this kind of small craftiness

-more than the political genius of a Pericles. Such a mediocrity does not

-even have to worry about responsibility for what he does. From the

-beginning he knows that whatever be the results of his 'statesmanship'

-his end is already prescribed by the stars; he will one day have to

-clear out and make room for another who is of similar mental calibre.

-For it is another sign of our decadent times that the number of eminent

-statesmen grows according as the calibre of individual personality

-dwindles. That calibre will become smaller and smaller the more the

-individual politician has to depend upon parliamentary majorities. A man

-of real political ability will refuse to be the beadle for a bevy of

-footling cacklers; and they in their turn, being the representatives of

-the majority--which means the dunder-headed multitude--hate nothing so

-much as a superior brain.

-For footling deputies it is always quite a consolation to be led by a

-person whose intellectual stature is on a level with their own. Thus

-each one may have the opportunity to shine in debate among such compeers

-and, above all, each one feels that he may one day rise to the top. If

-Peter be boss to-day, then why not Paul tomorrow?

-This new invention of democracy is very closely connected with a

-peculiar phenomenon which has recently spread to a pernicious extent,

-namely the cowardice of a large section of our so-called political

-leaders. Whenever important decisions have to be made they always find

-themselves fortunate in being able to hide behind the backs of what they

-call the majority.

-In observing one of these political manipulators one notices how he

-wheedles the majority in order to get their sanction for whatever action

-he takes. He has to have accomplices in order to be able to shift

-responsibility to other shoulders whenever it is opportune to do so.

-That is the main reason why this kind of political activity is abhorrent

-to men of character and courage, while at the same time it attracts

-inferior types; for a person who is not willing to accept responsibility

-for his own actions, but is always seeking to be covered by something,

-must be classed among the knaves and the rascals. If a national leader

-should come from that lower class of politicians the evil consequences

-will soon manifest themselves. Nobody will then have the courage to take

-a decisive step. They will submit to abuse and defamation rather than

-pluck up courage to take a definite stand. And thus nobody is left who

-is willing to risk his position and his career, if needs be, in support

-of a determined line of policy.

-One truth which must always be borne in mind is that the majority can

-never replace the man. The majority represents not only ignorance but

-also cowardice. And just as a hundred blockheads do not equal one man of

-wisdom, so a hundred poltroons are incapable of any political line of

-action that requires moral strength and fortitude.

-The lighter the burden of responsibility on each individual leader, the

-greater will be the number of those who, in spite of their sorry

-mediocrity, will feel the call to place their immortal energies at the

-disposal of the nation. They are so much on the tip-toe of expectation

-that they find it hard to wait their turn. They stand in a long queue,

-painfully and sadly counting the number of those ahead of them and

-calculating the hours until they may eventually come forward. They watch

-every change that takes place in the personnel of the office towards

-which their hopes are directed, and they are grateful for every scandal

-which removes one of the aspirants waiting ahead of them in the queue.

-If somebody sticks too long to his office stool they consider this as

-almost a breach of a sacred understanding based on their mutual

-solidarity. They grow furious and give no peace until that inconsiderate

-person is finally driven out and forced to hand over his cosy berth for

-public disposal. After that he will have little chance of getting

-another opportunity. Usually those placemen who have been forced to give

-up their posts push themselves again into the waiting queue unless they

-are hounded away by the protestations of the other aspirants.

-The result of all this is that, in such a State, the succession of

-sudden changes in public positions and public offices has a very

-disquieting effect in general, which may easily lead to disaster when an

-adverse crisis arises. It is not only the ignorant and the incompetent

-person who may fall victim to those parliamentary conditions, for the

-genuine leader may be affected just as much as the others, if not more

-so, whenever Fate has chanced to place a capable man in the position of

-leader. Let the superior quality of such a leader be once recognized and

-the result will be that a joint front will be organized against him,

-particularly if that leader, though not coming from their ranks, should

-fall into the habit of intermingling with these illustrious nincompoops

-on their own level. They want to have only their own company and will

-quickly take a hostile attitude towards any man who might show himself

-obviously above and beyond them when he mingles in their ranks. Their

-instinct, which is so blind in other directions, is very sharp in this

-particular.

-The inevitable result is that the intellectual level of the ruling class

-sinks steadily. One can easily forecast how much the nation and State

-are bound to suffer from such a condition of affairs, provided one does

-not belong to that same class of 'leaders'.

-The parliamentary r�gime in the old Austria was the very archetype of

-the institution as I have described it.

-Though the Austrian Prime Minister was appointed by the King-Emperor,

-this act of appointment merely gave practical effect to the will of the

-parliament. The huckstering and bargaining that went on in regard to

-every ministerial position showed all the typical marks of Western

-Democracy. The results that followed were in keeping with the principles

-applied. The intervals between the replacement of one person by another

-gradually became shorter, finally ending up in a wild relay chase. With

-each change the quality of the 'statesman' in question deteriorated,

-until finally only the petty type of political huckster remained. In

-such people the qualities of statesmanship were measured and valued

-according to the adroitness with which they pieced together one

-coalition after another; in other words, their craftiness in

-manipulating the pettiest political transactions, which is the only kind

-of practical activity suited to the aptitudes of these representatives.

-In this sphere Vienna was the school which offered the most impressive

-examples.

-Another feature that engaged my attention quite as much as the features

-I have already spoken of was the contrast between the talents and

-knowledge of these representatives of the people on the one hand and, on

-the other, the nature of the tasks they had to face. Willingly or

-unwillingly, one could not help thinking seriously of the narrow

-intellectual outlook of these chosen representatives of the various

-constituent nationalities, and one could not avoid pondering on the

-methods through which these noble figures in our public life were first

-discovered.

-It was worth while to make a thorough study and examination of the way

-in which the real talents of these gentlemen were devoted to the service

-of their country; in other words, to analyse thoroughly the technical

-procedure of their activities.

-The whole spectacle of parliamentary life became more and more desolate

-the more one penetrated into its intimate structure and studied the

-persons and principles of the system in a spirit of ruthless

-objectivity. Indeed, it is very necessary to be strictly objective in

-the study of the institution whose sponsors talk of 'objectivity' in

-every other sentence as the only fair basis of examination and judgment.

-If one studied these gentlemen and the laws of their strenuous existence

-the results were surprising.

-There is no other principle which turns out to be quite so ill-conceived

-as the parliamentary principle, if we examine it objectively.

-In our examination of it we may pass over the methods according to which

-the election of the representatives takes place, as well as the ways

-which bring them into office and bestow new titles on them. It is quite

-evident that only to a tiny degree are public wishes or public

-necessities satisfied by the manner in which an election takes place;

-for everybody who properly estimates the political intelligence of the

-masses can easily see that this is not sufficiently developed to enable

-them to form general political judgments on their own account, or to

-select the men who might be competent to carry out their ideas in

-practice.

-Whatever definition we may give of the term 'public opinion', only a

-very small part of it originates from personal experience or individual

-insight. The greater portion of it results from the manner in which

-public matters have been presented to the people through an

-overwhelmingly impressive and persistent system of 'information'.

-In the religious sphere the profession of a denominational belief is

-largely the result of education, while the religious yearning itself

-slumbers in the soul; so too the political opinions of the masses are

-the final result of influences systematically operating on human

-sentiment and intelligence in virtue of a method which is applied

-sometimes with almost-incredible thoroughness and perseverance.

-By far the most effective branch of political education, which in this

-connection is best expressed by the word 'propaganda', is carried on by

-the Press. The Press is the chief means employed in the process of

-political 'enlightenment'. It represents a kind of school for adults.

-This educational activity, however, is not in the hands of the State but

-in the clutches of powers which are partly of a very inferior character.

-While still a young man in Vienna I had excellent opportunities for

-coming to know the men who owned this machine for mass instruction, as

-well as those who supplied it with the ideas it distributed. At first I

-was quite surprised when I realized how little time was necessary for

-this dangerous Great Power within the State to produce a certain belief

-among the public; and in doing so the genuine will and convictions of

-the public were often completely misconstrued. It took the Press only a

-few days to transform some ridiculously trivial matter into an issue of

-national importance, while vital problems were completely ignored or

-filched and hidden away from public attention.

-The Press succeeded in the magical art of producing names from nowhere

-within the course of a few weeks. They made it appear that the great

-hopes of the masses were bound up with those names. And so they made

-those names more popular than any man of real ability could ever hope to

-be in a long lifetime. All this was done, despite the fact that such

-names were utterly unknown and indeed had never been heard of even up to

-a month before the Press publicly emblazoned them. At the same time old

-and tried figures in the political and other spheres of life quickly

-faded from the public memory and were forgotten as if they were dead,

-though still healthy and in the enjoyment of their full viguour. Or

-sometimes such men were so vilely abused that it looked as if their

-names would soon stand as permanent symbols of the worst kind of

-baseness. In order to estimate properly the really pernicious influence

-which the Press can exercise one had to study this infamous Jewish

-method whereby honourable and decent people were besmirched with mud and

-filth, in the form of low abuse and slander, from hundreds and hundreds

-of quarters simultaneously, as if commanded by some magic formula.

-These highway robbers would grab at anything which might serve their

-evil ends.

-They would poke their noses into the most intimate family affairs and

-would not rest until they had sniffed out some petty item which could be

-used to destroy the reputation of their victim. But if the result of all

-this sniffing should be that nothing derogatory was discovered in the

-private or public life of the victim, they continued to hurl abuse at

-him, in the belief that some of their animadversions would stick even

-though refuted a thousand times. In most cases it finally turned out

-impossible for the victim to continue his defence, because the accuser

-worked together with so many accomplices that his slanders were

-re-echoed interminably. But these slanderers would never own that they

-were acting from motives which influence the common run of humanity or

-are understood by them. Oh, no. The scoundrel who defamed his

-contemporaries in this villainous way would crown himself with a halo of

-heroic probity fashioned of unctuous phraseology and twaddle about his

-'duties as a journalist' and other mouldy nonsense of that kind. When

-these cuttle-fishes gathered together in large shoals at meetings and

-congresses they would give out a lot of slimy talk about a special kind

-of honour which they called the professional honour of the journalist.

-Then the assembled species would bow their respects to one another.

-These are the kind of beings that fabricate more than two-thirds of what

-is called public opinion, from the foam of which the parliamentary

-Aphrodite eventually arises.

-Several volumes would be needed if one were to give an adequate account

-of the whole procedure and fully describe all its hollow fallacies. But

-if we pass over the details and look at the product itself while it is

-in operation I think this alone will be sufficient to open the eyes of

-even the most innocent and credulous person, so that he may recognize

-the absurdity of this institution by looking at it objectively.

-In order to realize how this human aberration is as harmful as it is

-absurd, the test and easiest method is to compare democratic

-parliamentarianism with a genuine German democracy.

-The remarkable characteristic of the parliamentary form of democracy is

-the fact that a number of persons, let us say five hundred--including,

-in recent time, women also--are elected to parliament and invested with

-authority to give final judgment on anything and everything. In practice

-they alone are the governing body; for although they may appoint a

-Cabinet, which seems outwardly to direct the affairs of state, this

-Cabinet has not a real existence of its own. In reality the so-called

-Government cannot do anything against the will of the assembly. It can

-never be called to account for anything, since the right of decision is

-not vested in the Cabinet but in the parliamentary majority. The Cabinet

-always functions only as the executor of the will of the majority. Its

-political ability can be judged only according to how far it succeeds in

-adjusting itself to the will of the majority or in persuading the

-majority to agree to its proposals. But this means that it must descend

-from the level of a real governing power to that of a mendicant who has

-to beg the approval of a majority that may be got together for the time

-being. Indeed, the chief preoccupation of the Cabinet must be to secure

-for itself, in the case of' each individual measure, the favour of the

-majority then in power or, failing that, to form a new majority that

-will be more favourably disposed. If it should succeed in either of

-these efforts it may go on 'governing' for a little while. If it should

-fail to win or form a majority it must retire. The question whether its

-policy as such has been right or wrong does not matter at all.

-Thereby all responsibility is abolished in practice. To what

-consequences such a state of affairs can lead may easily be understood

-from the following simple considerations:

-Those five hundred deputies who have been elected by the people come

-from various dissimilar callings in life and show very varying degrees

-of political capacity, with the result that the whole combination is

-disjointed and sometimes presents quite a sorry picture. Surely nobody

-believes that these chosen representatives of the nation are the choice

-spirits or first-class intellects. Nobody, I hope, is foolish enough to

-pretend that hundreds of statesmen can emerge from papers placed in the

-ballot box by electors who are anything else but averagely intelligent.

-The absurd notion that men of genius are born out of universal suffrage

-cannot be too strongly repudiated. In the first place, those times may

-be really called blessed when one genuine statesman makes his appearance

-among a people. Such statesmen do not appear all at once in hundreds or

-more. Secondly, among the broad masses there is instinctively a definite

-antipathy towards every outstanding genius. There is a better chance of

-seeing a camel pass through the eye of a needle than of seeing a really

-great man 'discovered' through an election.

-Whatever has happened in history above the level of the average of the

-broad public has mostly been due to the driving force of an individual

-personality.

-But here five hundred persons of less than modest intellectual qualities

-pass judgment on the most important problems affecting the nation. They

-form governments which in turn learn to win the approval of the

-illustrious assembly for every legislative step that may be taken, which

-means that the policy to be carried out is actually the policy of the

-five hundred.

-And indeed, generally speaking, the policy bears the stamp of its

-origin.

-But let us pass over the intellectual qualities of these representatives

-and ask what is the nature of the task set before them. If we consider

-the fact that the problems which have to be discussed and solved belong

-to the most varied and diverse fields we can very well realize how

-inefficient a governing system must be which entrusts the right of

-decision to a mass assembly in which only very few possess the knowledge

-and experience such as would qualify them to deal with the matters that

-have to be settled. The most important economic measures are submitted

-to a tribunal in which not more than one-tenth of the members have

-studied the elements of economics. This means that final authority is

-vested in men who are utterly devoid of any preparatory training which

-might make them competent to decide on the questions at issue.

-The same holds true of every other problem. It is always a majority of

-ignorant and incompetent people who decide on each measure; for the

-composition of the institution does not vary, while the problems to be

-dealt with come from the most varied spheres of public life. An

-intelligent judgment would be possible only if different deputies had

-the authority to deal with different issues. It is out of the question

-to think that the same people are fitted to decide on transport

-questions as well as, let us say, on questions of foreign policy, unless

-each of them be a universal genius. But scarcely more than one genius

-appears in a century. Here we are scarcely ever dealing with real

-brains, but only with dilettanti who are as narrow-minded as they are

-conceited and arrogant, intellectual DEMI-MONDES of the worst kind. This

-is why these honourable gentlemen show such astonishing levity in

-discussing and deciding on matters that would demand the most

-painstaking consideration even from great minds. Measures of momentous

-importance for the future existence of the State are framed and

-discussed in an atmosphere more suited to the card-table. Indeed the

-latter suggests a much more fitting occupation for these gentlemen than

-that of deciding the destinies of a people.

-Of course it would be unfair to assume that each member in such a

-parliament was endowed by nature with such a small sense of

-responsibility. That is out of the question.

-But this system, by forcing the individual to pass judgment on questions

-for which he is not competent gradually debases his moral character.

-Nobody will have the courage to say: "Gentlemen, I am afraid we know

-nothing about what we are talking about. I for one have no competency in

-the matter at all." Anyhow if such a declaration were made it would not

-change matters very much; for such outspoken honesty would not be

-understood. The person who made the declaration would be deemed an

-honourable ass who ought not to be allowed to spoil the game. Those who

-have a knowledge of human nature know that nobody likes to be considered

-a fool among his associates; and in certain circles honesty is taken as

-an index of stupidity.

-Thus it happens that a naturally upright man, once he finds himself

-elected to parliament, may eventually be induced by the force of

-circumstances to acquiesce in a general line of conduct which is base in

-itself and amounts to a betrayal of the public trust. That feeling that

-if the individual refrained from taking part in a certain decision his

-attitude would not alter the situation in the least, destroys every real

-sense of honour which might occasionally arouse the conscience of one

-person or another. Finally, the otherwise upright deputy will succeed in

-persuading himself that he is by no means the worst of the lot and that

-by taking part in a certain line of action he may prevent something

-worse from happening.

-A counter argument may be put forward here. It may be said that of

-course the individual member may not have the knowledge which is

-requisite for the treatment of this or that question, yet his attitude

-towards it is taken on the advice of his Party as the guiding authority

-in each political matter; and it may further be said that the Party sets

-up special committees of experts who have even more than the requisite

-knowledge for dealing with the questions placed before them.

-At first sight, that argument seems sound. But then another question

-arises--namely, why are five hundred persons elected if only a few have

-the wisdom which is required to deal with the more important problems?

-It is not the aim of our modern democratic parliamentary system to bring

-together an assembly of intelligent and well-informed deputies. Not at

-all. The aim rather is to bring together a group of nonentities who are

-dependent on others for their views and who can be all the more easily

-led, the narrower the mental outlook of each individual is. That is the

-only way in which a party policy, according to the evil meaning it has

-to-day, can be put into effect. And by this method alone it is possible

-for the wirepuller, who exercises the real control, to remain in the

-dark, so that personally he can never be brought to account for his

-actions. For under such circumstances none of the decisions taken, no

-matter how disastrous they may turn out for the nation as a whole, can

-be laid at the door of the individual whom everybody knows to be the

-evil genius responsible for the whole affair. All responsibility is

-shifted to the shoulders of the Party as a whole.

-In practice no actual responsibility remains. For responsibility arises

-only from personal duty and not from the obligations that rest with a

-parliamentary assembly of empty talkers.

-The parliamentary institution attracts people of the badger type, who do

-not like the open light. No upright man, who is ready to accept personal

-responsibility for his acts, will be attracted to such an institution.

-That is the reason why this brand of democracy has become a tool in the

-hand of that race which, because of the inner purposes it wishes to

-attain, must shun the open light, as it has always done and always will

-do. Only a Jew can praise an institution which is as corrupt and false

-as himself.

-As a contrast to this kind of democracy we have the German democracy,

-which is a true democracy; for here the leader is freely chosen and is

-obliged to accept full responsibility for all his actions and omissions.

-The problems to be dealt with are not put to the vote of the majority;

-but they are decided upon by the individual, and as a guarantee of

-responsibility for those decisions he pledges all he has in the world

-and even his life.

-The objection may be raised here that under such conditions it would be

-very difficult to find a man who would be ready to devote himself to so

-fateful a task. The answer to that objection is as follows:

-We thank God that the inner spirit of our German democracy will of

-itself prevent the chance careerist, who may be intellectually worthless

-and a moral twister, from coming by devious ways to a position in which

-he may govern his fellow-citizens. The fear of undertaking such

-far-reaching responsibilities, under German democracy, will scare off

-the ignorant and the feckless.

-But should it happen that such a person might creep in surreptitiously

-it will be easy enough to identify him and apostrophize him ruthlessly.

-somewhat thus: "Be off, you scoundrel. Don't soil these steps with your

-feet; because these are the steps that lead to the portals of the

-Pantheon of History, and they are not meant for place-hunters but for

-men of noble character."

-Such were the views I formed after two years of attendance at the

-sessions of the Viennese Parliament. Then I went there no more.

-The parliamentary regime became one of the causes why the strength of

-the Habsburg State steadily declined during the last years of its

-existence. The more the predominance of the German element was whittled

-away through parliamentary procedure, the more prominent became the

-system of playing off one of the various constituent nationalities

-against the other. In the Imperial Parliament it was always the German

-element that suffered through the system, which meant that the results

-were detrimental to the Empire as a whole; for at the close of the

-century even the most simple-minded people could recognize that the

-cohesive forces within the Dual Monarchy no longer sufficed to

-counterbalance the separatist tendencies of the provincial

-nationalities. On the contrary!

-The measures which the State adopted for its own maintenance became more

-and more mean spirited and in a like degree the general disrespect for

-the State increased. Not only Hungary but also the various Slav

-provinces gradually ceased to identify themselves with the monarchy

-which embraced them all, and accordingly they did not feel its weakness

-as in any way detrimental to themselves. They rather welcomed those

-manifestations of senile decay. They looked forward to the final

-dissolution of the State, and not to its recovery.

-The complete collapse was still forestalled in Parliament by the

-humiliating concessions that were made to every kind of importunate

-demands, at the cost of the German element. Throughout the country the

-defence of the State rested on playing off the various nationalities

-against one another. But the general trend of this development was

-directed against the Germans. Especially since the right of succession

-to the throne conferred certain influence on the Archduke Franz

-Ferdinand, the policy of increasing the power of the Czechs was carried

-out systematically from the upper grades of the administration down to

-the lower. With all the means at his command the heir to the Dual

-Monarchy personally furthered the policy that aimed at eliminating the

-influence of the German element, or at least he acted as protector of

-that policy. By the use of State officials as tools, purely German

-districts were gradually but decisively brought within the danger zone

-of the mixed languages. Even in Lower Austria this process began to make

-headway with a constantly increasing tempo and Vienna was looked upon by

-the Czechs as their biggest city.

-In the family circle of this new Habsburger the Czech language was

-favoured. The wife of the Archduke had formerly been a Czech Countess

-and was wedded to the Prince by a morganatic marriage. She came from an

-environment where hostility to the Germans had been traditional. The

-leading idea in the mind of the Archduke was to establish a Slav State

-in Central Europe, which was to be constructed on a purely Catholic

-basis, so as to serve as a bulwark against Orthodox Russia.

-As had happened often in Habsburg history, religion was thus exploited

-to serve a purely political policy, and in this case a fatal policy, at

-least as far as German interests were concerned. The result was

-lamentable in many respects.

-Neither the House of Habsburg nor the Catholic Church received the

-reward which they expected. Habsburg lost the throne and the Church lost

-a great State. By employing religious motives in the service of

-politics, a spirit was aroused which the instigators of that policy had

-never thought possible.

-From the attempt to exterminate Germanism in the old monarchy by every

-available means arose the Pan-German Movement in Austria, as a response.

-In the 'eighties of the last century Manchester Liberalism, which was

-Jewish in its fundamental ideas, had reached the zenith of its influence

-in the Dual Monarchy, or had already passed that point. The reaction

-which set in did not arise from social but from nationalistic

-tendencies, as was always the case in the old Austria. The instinct of

-self-preservation drove the German element to defend itself

-energetically. Economic considerations only slowly began to gain an

-important influence; but they were of secondary concern. But of the

-general political chaos two party organizations emerged. The one was

-more of a national, and the other more of a social, character; but both

-were highly interesting and instructive for the future.

-After the war of 1866, which had resulted in the humiliation of Austria,

-the House of Habsburg contemplated a REVANCHE on the battlefield. Only

-the tragic end of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico prevented a still

-closer collaboration with France. The chief blame for Maximilian's

-disastrous expedition was attributed to Napoleon III and the fact that

-the Frenchman left him in the lurch aroused a general feeling of

-indignation. Yet the Habsburgs were still lying in wait for their

-opportunity. If the war of 1870-71 had not been such a singular triumph,

-the Viennese Court might have chanced the game of blood in order to get

-its revenge for Sadowa. But when the first reports arrived from the

-Franco-German battlefield, which, though true, seemed miraculous and

-almost incredible, the 'most wise' of all monarchs recognized that the

-moment was inopportune and tried to accept the unfavourable situation

-with as good a grace as possible.

-The heroic conflict of those two years (1870-71) produced a still

-greater miracle; for with the Habsburgs the change of attitude never

-came from an inner heartfelt urge but only from the pressure of

-circumstances. The German people of the East Mark, however, were

-entranced by the triumphant glory of the newly established German Empire

-and were profoundly moved when they saw the dream of their fathers

-resurgent in a magnificent reality.

-For--let us make no mistake about it--the true German-Austrian realized

-from this time onward, that K�niggr�tz was the tragic, though necessary,

-pre-condition for the re-establishment of an Empire which should no

-longer be burdened with the palsy of the old alliance and which indeed

-had no share in that morbid decay. Above all, the German-Austrian had

-come to feel in the very depths of his own being that the historical

-mission of the House of Habsburg had come to an end and that the new

-Empire could choose only an Emperor who was of heroic mould and was

-therefore worthy to wear the 'Crown of the Rhine'. It was right and just

-that Destiny should be praised for having chosen a scion of that House

-of which Frederick the Great had in past times given the nation an

-elevated and resplendent symbol for all time to come.

-After the great war of 1870-71 the House of Habsburg set to work with

-all its determination to exterminate the dangerous German element--about

-whose inner feelings and attitude there could be no doubt--slowly but

-deliberately. I use the word exterminate, because that alone expresses

-what must have been the final result of the Slavophile policy. Then it

-was that the fire of rebellion blazed up among the people whose

-extermination had been decreed. That fire was such as had never been

-witnessed in modern German history.

-For the first time nationalists and patriots were transformed into

-rebels.

-Not rebels against the nation or the State as such but rebels against

-that form of government which they were convinced, would inevitably

-bring about the ruin of their own people. For the first time in modern

-history the traditional dynastic patriotism and national love of

-fatherland and people were in open conflict.

-It was to the merit of the Pan-German movement in Austria during the

-closing decade of the last century that it pointed out clearly and

-unequivocally that a State is entitled to demand respect and protection

-for its authority only when such authority is administered in accordance

-with the interests of the nation, or at least not in a manner

-detrimental to those interests.

-The authority of the State can never be an end in itself; for, if that

-were so, any kind of tyranny would be inviolable and sacred.

-If a government uses the instruments of power in its hands for the

-purpose of leading a people to ruin, then rebellion is not only the

-right but also the duty of every individual citizen.

-The question of whether and when such a situation exists cannot be

-answered by theoretical dissertations but only by the exercise of force,

-and it is success that decides the issue.

-Every government, even though it may be the worst possible and even

-though it may have betrayed the nation's trust in thousands of ways,

-will claim that its duty is to uphold the authority of the State. Its

-adversaries, who are fighting for national self-preservation, must use

-the same weapons which the government uses if they are to prevail

-against such a rule and secure their own freedom and independence.

-Therefore the conflict will be fought out with 'legal' means as long as

-the power which is to be overthrown uses them; but the insurgents will

-not hesitate to apply illegal means if the oppressor himself employs

-them.

-Generally speaking, we must not forget that the highest aim of human

-existence is not the maintenance of a State of Government but rather the

-conservation of the race.

-If the race is in danger of being oppressed or even exterminated the

-question of legality is only of secondary importance. The established

-power may in such a case employ only those means which are recognized as

-'legal'. yet the instinct of self-preservation on the part of the

-oppressed will always justify, to the highest degree, the employment of

-all possible resources.

-Only on the recognition of this principle was it possible for those

-struggles to be carried through, of which history furnishes magnificent

-examples in abundance, against foreign bondage or oppression at home.

-Human rights are above the rights of the State. But if a people be

-defeated in the struggle for its human rights this means that its weight

-has proved too light in the scale of Destiny to have the luck of being

-able to endure in this terrestrial world.

-The world is not there to be possessed by the faint-hearted races.

-Austria affords a very clear and striking example of how easy it is for

-tyranny to hide its head under the cloak of what is called 'legality'.

-The legal exercise of power in the Habsburg State was then based on the

-anti-German attitude of the parliament, with its non-German majorities,

-and on the dynastic House, which was also hostile to the German element.

-The whole authority of the State was incorporated in these two factors.

-To attempt to alter the lot of the German element through these two

-factors would have been senseless. Those who advised the 'legal' way as

-the only possible way, and also obedience to the State authority, could

-offer no resistance; because a policy of resistance could not have been

-put into effect through legal measures. To follow the advice of the

-legalist counsellors would have meant the inevitable ruin of the German

-element within the Monarchy, and this disaster would not have taken long

-to come. The German element has actually been saved only because the

-State as such collapsed.

-The spectacled theorist would have given his life for his doctrine

-rather than for his people.

-Because man has made laws he subsequently comes to think that he exists

-for the sake of the laws.

-A great service rendered by the pan-German movement then was that it

-abolished all such nonsense, though the doctrinaire theorists and other

-fetish worshippers were shocked.

-When the Habsburgs attempted to come to close quarters with the German

-element, by the employment of all the means of attack which they had at

-their command, the Pan-German Party hit out ruthlessly against the

-'illustrious' dynasty. This Party was the first to probe into and expose

-the corrupt condition of the State; and in doing so they opened the eyes

-of hundreds of thousands. To have liberated the high ideal of love for

-one's country from the embrace of this deplorable dynasty was one of the

-great services rendered by the Pan-German movement.

-When that Party first made its appearance it secured a large

-following--indeed, the movement threatened to become almost an

-avalanche. But the first successes were not maintained. At the time I

-came to Vienna the pan-German Party had been eclipsed by the

-Christian-Socialist Party, which had come into power in the meantime.

-Indeed, the Pan-German Party had sunk to a level of almost complete

-insignificance.

-The rise and decline of the Pan-German movement on the one hand and the

-marvellous progress of the Christian-Socialist Party on the other,

-became a classic object of study for me, and as such they played an

-important part in the development of my own views.

-When I came to Vienna all my sympathies were exclusively with the

-Pan-German Movement.

-I was just as much impressed by the fact that they had the courage to

-shout HEIL HOHENZOLLERN as I rejoiced at their determination to consider

-themselves an integral part of the German Empire, from which they were

-separated only provisionally. They never missed an opportunity to

-explain their attitude in public, which raised my enthusiasm and

-confidence. To avow one's principles publicly on every problem that

-concerned Germanism, and never to make any compromises, seemed to me the

-only way of saving our people. What I could not understand was how this

-movement broke down so soon after such a magnificent start; and it was

-no less incomprehensible that the Christian-Socialists should gain such

-tremendous power within such a short time. They had just reached the

-pinnacle of their popularity.

-When I began to compare those two movements Fate placed before me the

-best means of understanding the causes of this puzzling problem. The

-action of Fate in this case was hastened by my own straitened

-circumstances.

-I shall begin my analysis with an account of the two men who must be

-regarded as the founders and leaders of the two movements. These were

-George von Sch�nerer and Dr. Karl Lueger.

-As far as personality goes, both were far above the level and stature of

-the so-called parliamentary figures. They lived lives of immaculate and

-irreproachable probity amidst the miasma of all-round political

-corruption. Personally I first liked the Pan-German representative,

-Sch�nerer, and it was only afterwards and gradually that I felt an equal

-liking for the Christian-Socialist leader.

-When I compared their respective abilities Sch�nerer seemed to me a

-better and more profound thinker on fundamental problems. He foresaw the

-inevitable downfall of the Austrian State more clearly and accurately

-than anyone else. If this warning in regard to the Habsburg Empire had

-been heeded in Germany the disastrous world war, which involved Germany

-against the whole of Europe, would never have taken place.

-But though Sch�nerer succeeded in penetrating to the essentials of a

-problem he was very often much mistaken in his judgment of men.

-And herein lay Dr. Lueger's special talent. He had a rare gift of

-insight into human nature and he was very careful not to take men as

-something better than they were in reality. He based his plans on the

-practical possibilities which human life offered him, whereas Sch�nerer

-had only little discrimination in that respect. All ideas that this

-Pan-German had were right in the abstract, but he did not have the

-forcefulness or understanding necessary to put his ideas across to the

-broad masses. He was not able to formulate them so that they could be

-easily grasped by the masses, whose powers of comprehension are limited

-and will always remain so. Therefore all Sch�nerer's knowledge was only

-the wisdom of a prophet and he never could succeed in having it put into

-practice.

-This lack of insight into human nature led him to form a wrong estimate

-of the forces behind certain movements and the inherent strength of old

-institutions.

-Sch�nerer indeed realized that the problems he had to deal with were in

-the nature of a WELTANSCHAUUNG; but he did not understand that only the

-broad masses of a nation can make such convictions prevail, which are

-almost of a religious nature.

-Unfortunately he understood only very imperfectly how feeble is the

-fighting spirit of the so-called bourgeoisie. That weakness is due to

-their business interests, which individuals are too much afraid of

-risking and which therefore deter them from taking action. And,

-generally speaking, a WELTANSCHAUUNG can have no prospect of success

-unless the broad masses declare themselves ready to act as its

-standard-bearers and to fight on its behalf wherever and to whatever

-extent that may be necessary.

-This failure to understand the importance of the lower strata of the

-population resulted in a very inadequate concept of the social problem.

-In all this Dr. Lueger was the opposite of Sch�nerer. His profound

-knowledge of human nature enabled him to form a correct estimate of the

-various social forces and it saved him from under-rating the power of

-existing institutions. And it was perhaps this very quality which

-enabled him to utilize those institutions as a means to serve the

-purposes of his policy.

-He saw only too clearly that, in our epoch, the political fighting power

-of the upper classes is quite insignificant and not at all capable of

-fighting for a great new movement until the triumph of that movement be

-secured. Thus he devoted the greatest part of his political activity to

-the task of winning over those sections of the population whose

-existence was in danger and fostering the militant spirit in them rather

-than attempting to paralyse it. He was also quick to adopt all available

-means for winning the support of long-established institutions, so as to

-be able to derive the greatest possible advantage for his movement from

-those old sources of power.

-Thus it was that, first of all, he chose as the social basis of his new

-Party that middle class which was threatened with extinction. In this

-way he secured a solid following which was willing to make great

-sacrifices and had good fighting stamina. His extremely wise attitude

-towards the Catholic Church rapidly won over the younger clergy in such

-large numbers that the old Clerical Party was forced to retire from the

-field of action or else, which was the wiser course, join the new Party,

-in the hope of gradually winning back one position after another.

-But it would be a serious injustice to the man if we were to regard this

-as his essential characteristic. For he possessed the qualities of an

-able tactician, and had the true genius of a great reformer; but all

-these were limited by his exact perception of the possibilities at hand

-and also of his own capabilities.

-The aims which this really eminent man decided to pursue were intensely

-practical. He wished to conquer Vienna, the heart of the Monarchy. It

-was from Vienna that the last pulses of life beat through the diseased

-and worn-out body of the decrepit Empire. If the heart could be made

-healthier the others parts of the body were bound to revive. That idea

-was correct in principle; but the time within which it could be applied

-in practice was strictly limited. And that was the man's weak point.

-His achievements as Burgomaster of the City of Vienna are immortal, in

-the best sense of the word. But all that could not save the Monarchy. It

-came too late.

-His rival, Sch�nerer, saw this more clearly. What Dr. Lueger undertook

-to put into practice turned out marvellously successful. But the results

-which he expected to follow these achievements did not come. Sch�nerer

-did not attain the ends he had proposed to himself; but his fears were

-realized, alas, in a terrible fashion. Thus both these men failed to

-attain their further objectives. Lueger could not save Austria and

-Sch�nerer could not prevent the downfall of the German people in

-Austria.

-To study the causes of failure in the case of these two parties is to

-learn a lesson that is highly instructive for our own epoch. This is

-specially useful for my friends, because in many points the

-circumstances of our own day are similar to those of that time.

-Therefore such a lesson may help us to guard against the mistakes which

-brought one of those movements to an end and rendered the other barren

-of results.

-In my opinion, the wreck of the Pan-German Movement in Austria must be

-attributed to three causes.

-The first of these consisted in the fact that the leaders did not have a

-clear concept of the importance of the social problem, particularly for

-a new movement which had an essentially revolutionary character.

-Sch�nerer and his followers directed their attention principally to the

-bourgeois classes. For that reason their movement was bound to turn out

-mediocre and tame. The German bourgeoisie, especially in its upper

-circles, is pacifist even to the point of complete

-self-abnegation--though the individual may not be aware of

-this--wherever the internal affairs of the nation or State are

-concerned. In good times, which in this case means times of good

-government, such a psychological attitude makes this social layer

-extraordinarily valuable to the State. But when there is a bad

-government, such a quality has a destructive effect. In order to assure

-the possibility of carrying through a really strenuous struggle, the

-Pan-German Movement should have devoted its efforts to winning over the

-masses. The failure to do this left the movement from the very beginning

-without the elementary impulse which such a wave needs if it is not to

-ebb within a short while.

-In failing to see the truth of this principle clearly at the very outset

-of the movement and in neglecting to put it into practice the new Party

-made an initial mistake which could not possibly be rectified

-afterwards. For the numerous moderate bourgeois elements admitted into

-the movements increasingly determined its internal orientation and thus

-forestalled all further prospects of gaining any appreciable support

-among the masses of the people. Under such conditions such a movement

-could not get beyond mere discussion and criticism. Quasi-religious

-faith and the spirit of sacrifice were not to be found in the movement

-any more. Their place was taken by the effort towards 'positive'

-collaboration, which in this case meant the acknowledgment of the

-existing state of affairs, gradually whittling away the rough corners of

-the questions in dispute, and ending up with the making of a

-dishonourable peace.

-Such was the fate of the Pan-German Movement, because at the start the

-leaders did not realize that the most important condition of success was

-that they should recruit their following from the broad masses of the

-people. The Movement thus became bourgeois and respectable and radical

-only in moderation.

-From this failure resulted the second cause of its rapid decline.

-The position of the Germans in Austria was already desperate when

-Pan-Germanism arose. Year after year Parliament was being used more and

-more as an instrument for the gradual extinction of the German-Austrian

-population. The only hope for any eleventh-hour effort to save it lay in

-the overthrow of the parliamentary system; but there was very little

-prospect of this happening.

-Therewith the Pan-German Movement was confronted with a question of

-primary importance.

-To overthrow the Parliament, should the Pan-Germanists have entered it

-'to undermine it from within', as the current phrase was? Or should they

-have assailed the institution as such from the outside?

-They entered the Parliament and came out defeated. But they had found

-themselves obliged to enter.

-For in order to wage an effective war against such a power from the

-outside, indomitable courage and a ready spirit of sacrifice were

-necessary weapons. In such cases the bull must be seized by the horns.

-Furious drives may bring the assailant to the ground again and again;

-but if he has a stout heart he will stand up, even though some bones may

-be broken, and only after a long and tough struggle will he achieve his

-triumph. New champions are attracted to a cause by the appeal of great

-sacrifices made for its sake, until that indomitable spirit is finally

-crowned with success.

-For such a result, however, the children of the people from the great

-masses are necessary. They alone have the requisite determination and

-tenacity to fight a sanguinary issue through to the end. But the

-Pan-German Movement did not have these broad masses as its champions,

-and so no other means of solution could be tried out except that of

-entering Parliamcnt.

-It would be a mistake to think that this decision resulted from a long

-series of internal hesitations of a moral kind, or that it was the

-outcome of careful calculation. No. They did not even think of another

-solution. Those who participated in this blunder were actuated by

-general considerations and vague notions as to what would be the

-significance and effect of taking part in such a special way in that

-institution which they had condemned on principle. In general they hoped

-that they would thus have the means of expounding their cause to the

-great masses of the people, because they would be able to speak before

-'the forum of the whole nation'. Also, it seemed reasonable to believe

-that by attacking the evil in the root they would be more effective than

-if the attack came from outside. They believed that, if protected by the

-immunity of Parliament, the position of the individual protagonists

-would be strengthened and that thus the force of their attacks would be

-enhanced.

-In reality everything turned out quite otherwise.

-The Forum before which the Pan-German representatives spoke had not

-grown greater, but had actually become smaller; for each spoke only to

-the circle that was ready to listen to him or could read the report of

-his speech in the newspapers.

-But the greater forum of immediate listeners is not the parliamentary

-auditorium: it is the large public meeting. For here alone will there be

-thousands of men who have come simply to hear what a speaker has to say,

-whereas in the parliamentary sittings only a few hundred are present;

-and for the most part these are there only to earn their daily allowance

-for attendance and not to be enlightened by the wisdom of one or other

-of the 'representatives of the people'.

-The most important consideration is that the same public is always

-present and that this public does not wish to learn anything new;

-because, setting aside the question of its intelligence, it lacks even

-that modest quantum of will-power which is necessary for the effort of

-learning.

-Not one of the representatives of the people will pay homage to a

-superior truth and devote himself to its service. No. Not one of these

-gentry will act thus, except he has grounds for hoping that by such a

-conversion he may be able to retain the representation of his

-constituency in the coming legislature. Therefore, only when it becomes

-quite clear that the old party is likely to have a bad time of it at the

-forthcoming elections--only then will those models of manly virtue set

-out in search of a new party or a new policy which may have better

-electoral prospects; but of course this change of position will be

-accompanied by a veritable deluge of high moral motives to justify it.

-And thus it always happens that when an existing Party has incurred such

-general disfavour among the public that it is threatened with the

-probability of a crushing defeat, then a great migration commences. The

-parliamentary rats leave the Party ship.

-All this happens not because the individuals in the case have become

-better informed on the questions at issue and have resolved to act

-accordingly. These changes of front are evidence only of that gift of

-clairvoyance which warns the parliamentary flea at the right moment and

-enables him to hop into another warm Party bed.

-To speak before such a forum signifies casting pearls before certain

-animals.

-Verily it does not repay the pains taken; for the result must always be

-negative.

-And that is actually what happened. The Pan-German representatives might

-have talked themselves hoarse, but to no effect whatsoever.

-The Press either ignored them totally or so mutilated their speeches

-that the logical consistency was destroyed or the meaning twisted round

-in such a way that the public got only a very wrong impression regarding

-the aims of the new movement. What the individual members said was not

-of importance. The important matter was what people read as coming from

-them. This consisted of mere extracts which had been torn out of the

-context of the speeches and gave an impression of incoherent nonsense,

-which indeed was purposely meant. Thus the only public before which they

-really spoke consisted merely of five hundred parliamentarians; and that

-says enough.

-The worst was the following:

-The Pan-German Movement could hope for success only if the leaders

-realized from the very first moment that here there was no question so

-much of a new Party as of a new WELTANSCHAUUNG. This alone could arouse

-the inner moral forces that were necessary for such a gigantic struggle.

-And for this struggle the leaders must be men of first-class brains and

-indomitable courage. If the struggle on behalf of a WELTANSCHAUUNG is

-not conducted by men of heroic spirit who are ready to sacrifice,

-everything, within a short while it will become impossible to find real

-fighting followers who are ready to lay down their lives for the cause.

-A man who fights only for his own existence has not much left over for

-the service of the community.

-In order to secure the conditions that are necessary for success,

-everybody concerned must be made to understand that the new movement

-looks to posterity for its honour and glory but that it has no

-recompense to offer to the present-day members. If a movement should

-offer a large number of positions and offices that are easily accessible

-the number of unworthy candidates admitted to membership will be

-constantly on the increase and eventually a day will come when there

-will be such a preponderance of political profiteers among the

-membership of a successful Party that the combatants who bore the brunt

-of the battle in the earlier stages of the movement can now scarcely

-recognize their own Party and may be ejected by the later arrivals as

-unwanted ballast. Therewith the movement will no longer have a mission

-to fulfil.

-Once the Pan-Germanists decided to collaborate with Parliament they were

-no longer leaders and combatants in a popular movement, but merely

-parliamentarians. Thus the Movement sank to the common political party

-level of the day and no longer had the strength to face a hostile fate

-and defy the risk of martyrdom. Instead of fighting, the Pan-German

-leaders fell into the habit of talking and negotiating. The new

-parliamentarians soon found that it was a more satisfactory, because

-less risky, way of fulfilling their task if they would defend the new

-WELTANSCHAUUNG with the spiritual weapon of parliamentary rhetoric

-rather than take up a fight in which they placed their lives in danger,

-the outcome of which also was uncertain and even at the best could offer

-no prospect of personal gain for themselves.

-When they had taken their seats in Parliament their adherents outside

-hoped and waited for miracles to happen. Naturally no such miracles

-happened or could happen. Whereupon the adherents of the movement soon

-grew impatient, because reports they read about their own deputies did

-not in the least come up to what had been expected when they voted for

-these deputies at the elections. The reason for this was not far to

-seek. It was due to the fact that an unfriendly Press refrained from

-giving a true account of what the Pan-German representatives of the

-people were actually doing.

-According as the new deputies got to like this mild form of

-'revolutionary' struggle in Parliament and in the provincial diets they

-gradually became reluctant to resume the more hazardous work of

-expounding the principles of the movement before the broad masses of the

-people.

-Mass meetings in public became more and more rare, though these are the

-only means of exercising a really effective influence on the people;

-because here the influence comes from direct personal contact and in

-this way the support of large sections of the people can be obtained.

-When the tables on which the speakers used to stand in the great

-beer-halls, addressing an assembly of thousands, were deserted for the

-parliamentary tribune and the speeches were no longer addressed to the

-people directly but to the so-called 'chosen' representatives, the

-Pan-German Movement lost its popular character and in a little while

-degenerated to the level of a more or less serious club where problems

-of the day are discussed academically.

-The wrong impression created by the Press was no longer corrected by

-personal contact with the people through public meetings, whereby the

-individual representatives might have given a true account of their

-activities. The final result of this neglect was that the word

-'Pan-German' came to have an unpleasant sound in the ears of the masses.

-The knights of the pen and the literary snobs of to-day should be made

-to realize that the great transformations which have taken place in this

-world were never conducted by a goosequill. No. The task of the pen must

-always be that of presenting the theoretical concepts which motivate

-such changes. The force which has ever and always set in motion great

-historical avalanches of religious and political movements is the magic

-power of the spoken word.

-The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of

-rhetoric than to any other force. All great movements are popular

-movements. They are the volcanic eruptions of human passions and

-emotions, stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or

-by the torch of the spoken word cast into the midst of the people. In no

-case have great movements been set afoot by the syrupy effusions of

-aesthetic litt�rateurs and drawing-room heroes.

-The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of glowing passion;

-but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in

-others. It is only through the capacity for passionate feeling that

-chosen leaders can wield the power of the word which, like hammer blows,

-will open the door to the hearts of the people.

-He who is not capable of passionate feeling and speech was never chosen

-by Providence to be the herald of its will. Therefore a writer should

-stick to his ink-bottle and busy himself with theoretical questions if

-he has the requisite ability and knowledge. He has not been born or

-chosen to be a leader.

-A movement which has great ends to achieve must carefully guard against

-the danger of losing contact with the masses of the people. Every

-problem encountered must be examined from this viewpoint first of all

-and the decision to be made must always be in harmony with this

-principle.

-The movement must avoid everything which might lessen or weaken its

-power of influencing the masses; not from demagogical motives but

-because of the simple fact that no great idea, no matter how sublime and

-exalted it may appear, can be realized in practice without the effective

-power which resides in the popular masses. Stern reality alone must mark

-the way to the goal. To be unwilling to walk the road of hardship means,

-only too often in this world, the total renunciation of our aims and

-purposes, whether that renunciation be consciously willed or not.

-The moment the Pan-German leaders, in virtue of their acceptance of the

-parliamentary principle, moved the centre of their activities away from

-the people and into Parliament, in that moment they sacrificed the

-future for the sake of a cheap momentary success. They chose the easier

-way in the struggle and in doing so rendered themselves unworthy of the

-final victory.

-While in Vienna I used to ponder seriously over these two questions, and

-I saw that the main reason for the collapse of the Pan-German Movement

-lay in the fact that these very questions were not rightly appreciated.

-To my mind at that time the Movement seemed chosen to take in its hands

-the leadership of the German element in Austria.

-These first two blunders which led to the downfall of the Pan-German

-Movement were very closely connected with one another. Faulty

-recognition of the inner driving forces that urge great movements

-forward led to an inadequate appreciation of the part which the broad

-masses play in bringing about such changes. The result was that too

-little attention was given to the social problem and that the attempts

-made by the movement to capture the minds of the lower classes were too

-few and too weak. Another result was the acceptance of the parliamentary

-policy, which had a similar effect in regard to the importance of the

-masses.

-If there had been a proper appreciation of the tremendous powers of

-endurance always shown by the masses in revolutionary movements a

-different attitude towards the social problem would have been taken, and

-also a different policy in the matter of propaganda. Then the centre of

-gravity of the movement would not have been transferred to the

-Parliament but would have remained in the workshops and in the streets.

-There was a third mistake, which also had its roots in the failure to

-understand the worth of the masses. The masses are first set in motion,

-along a definite direction, by men of superior talents; but then these

-masses once in motion are like a flywheel inasmuch as they sustain the

-momentum and steady balance of the offensive.

-The policy of the Pan-German leaders in deciding to carry through a

-difficult fight against the Catholic Church can be explained only by

-attributing it to an inadequate understanding of the spiritual character

-of the people.

-The reasons why the new Party engaged in a violent campaign against Rome

-were as follows:

-As soon as the House of Habsburg had definitely decided to transform

-Austria into a Slav State all sorts of means were adopted which seemed

-in any way serviceable for that purpose. The Habsburg rulers had no

-scruples of conscience about exploiting even religious institutions in

-the service of this new 'State Idea'. One of the many methods thus

-employed was the use of Czech parishes and their clergy as instruments

-for spreading Slav hegemony throughout Austria. This proceeding was

-carried out as follows:

-Parish priests of Czech nationality were appointed in purely German

-districts. Gradually but steadily pushing forward the interests of the

-Czech people before those of the Church, the parishes and their priests

-became generative cells in the process of de-Germanization.

-Unfortunately the German-Austrian clergy completely failed to counter

-this procedure. Not only were they incapable of taking a similar

-initiative on the German side, but they showed themselves unable to meet

-the Czech offensive with adequate resistance. The German element was

-accordingly pushed backwards, slowly but steadily, through the

-perversion of religious belief for political ends on the one side, and

-the Jack of proper resistance on the other side. Such were the tactics

-used in dealing with the smaller problems; but those used in dealing

-with the larger problems were not very different.

-The anti-German aims pursued by the Habsburgs, especially through the

-instrumentality of the higher clergy, did not meet with any vigorous

-resistance, while the clerical representatives of the German interests

-withdrew completely to the rear. The general impression created could

-not be other than that the Catholic clergy as such were grossly

-neglecting the rights of the German population.

-Therefore it looked as if the Catholic Church was not in sympathy with

-the German people but that it unjustly supported their adversaries. The

-root of the whole evil, especially according to Sch�nerer's opinion, lay

-in the fact that the leadership of the Catholic Church was not in

-Germany, and that this fact alone was sufficient reason for the hostile

-attitude of the Church towards the demands of our people.

-The so-called cultural problem receded almost completely into the

-background, as was generally the case everywhere throughout Austria at

-that time. In assuming a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church,

-the Pan-German leaders were influenced not so much by the Church's

-position in questions of science but principally by the fact that the

-Church did not defend German rights, as it should have done, but always

-supported those who encroached on these rights, especially then Slavs.

-George Sch�nerer was not a man who did things by halves. He went into

-battle against the Church because he was convinced that this was the

-only way in which the German people could be saved. The LOS-VON-ROM

-(Away from Rome) Movement seemed the most formidable, but at the same

-time most difficult, method of attacking and destroying the adversary's

-citadel. Sch�nerer believed that if this movement could be carried

-through successfully the unfortunate division between the two great

-religious denominations in Germany would be wiped out and that the inner

-forces of the German Empire and Nation would be enormously enhanced by

-such a victory.

-But the premises as well as the conclusions in this case were both

-erroneous.

-It was undoubtedly true that the national powers of resistance, in

-everything concerning Germanism as such, were much weaker among the

-German Catholic clergy than among their non-German confr�res, especially

-the Czechs. And only an ignorant person could be unaware of the fact

-that it scarcely ever entered the mind of the German clergy to take the

-offensive on behalf of German interests.

-But at the same time everybody who is not blind to facts must admit that

-all this should be attributed to a characteristic under which we Germans

-have all been doomed to suffer. This characteristic shows itself in our

-objective way of regarding our own nationality, as if it were something

-that lay outside of us.

-While the Czech priest adopted a subjective attitude towards his own

-people and only an objective attitude towards the Church, the German

-parish priest showed a subjective devotion to his Church and remained

-objective in regard to his nation. It is a phenomenon which,

-unfortunately for us, can be observed occurring in exactly the same way

-in thousands of other cases.

-It is by no means a peculiar inheritance from Catholicism; but it is

-something in us which does not take long to gnaw the vitals of almost

-every institution, especially institutions of State and those which have

-ideal aims. Take, for example, the attitude of our State officials in

-regard to the efforts made for bringing about a national resurgence and

-compare that attitude with the stand which the public officials of any

-other nation would have taken in such a case. Or is it to be believed

-that the military officers of any other country in the world would

-refuse to come forward on behalf of the national aspirations, but would

-rather hide behind the phrase 'Authority of the State', as has been the

-case in our country during the last five years and has even been deemed

-a meritorious attitude? Or let us take another example. In regard to the

-Jewish problem, do not the two Christian denominations take up a

-standpoint to-day which does not respond to the national exigencies or

-even the interests of religion? Consider the attitude of a Jewish Rabbi

-towards any question, even one of quite insignificant importance,

-concerning the Jews as a race, and compare his attitude with that of the

-majority of our clergy, whether Catholic or Protestant.

-We observe the same phenomenon wherever it is a matter of standing up

-for some abstract idea.

-'Authority of the State', 'Democracy', 'Pacifism', 'International

-Solidarity', etc., all such notions become rigid, dogmatic concepts with

-us; and the more vital the general necessities of the nation, the more

-will they be judged exclusively in the light of those concepts.

-This unfortunate habit of looking at all national demands from the

-viewpoint of a pre-conceived notion makes it impossible for us to see

-the subjective side of a thing which objectively contradicts one's own

-doctrine. It finally leads to a complete reversion in the relation of

-means to an end. Any attempt at a national revival will be opposed if

-the preliminary condition of such a revival be that a bad and pernicious

-regime must first of all be overthrown; because such an action will be

-considered as a violation of the 'Authority of the State'. In the eyes

-of those who take that standpoint, the 'Authority of the State' is not a

-means which is there to serve an end but rather, to the mind of the

-dogmatic believer in objectivity, it is an end in itself; and he looks

-upon that as sufficient apology for his own miserable existence. Such

-people would raise an outcry, if, for instance, anyone should attempt to

-set up a dictatorship, even though the man responsible for it were

-Frederick the Great and even though the politicians for the time being,

-who constituted the parliamentary majority, were small and incompetent

-men or maybe even on a lower grade of inferiority; because to such

-sticklers for abstract principles the law of democracy is more sacred

-than the welfare of the nation. In accordance with his principles, one

-of these gentry will defend the worst kind of tyranny, though it may be

-leading a people to ruin, because it is the fleeting embodiment of the

-'Authority of the State', and another will reject even a highly

-beneficent government if it should happen not to be in accord with his

-notion of 'democracy'.

-In the same way our German pacifist will remain silent while the nation

-is groaning under an oppression which is being exercised by a sanguinary

-military power, when this state of affairs gives rise to active

-resistance; because such resistance means the employment of physical

-force, which is against the spirit of the pacifist associations. The

-German International Socialist may be rooked and plundered by his

-comrades in all the other countries of the world in the name of

-'solidarity', but he responds with fraternal kindness and never thinks

-of trying to get his own back, or even of defending himself. And why?

-Because he is a--German.

-It may be unpleasant to dwell on such truths, but if something is to be

-changed we must start by diagnosing the disease.

-The phenomenon which I have just described also accounts for the feeble

-manner in which German interests are promoted and defended by a section

-of the clergy.

-Such conduct is not the manifestation of a malicious intent, nor is it

-the outcome of orders given from 'above', as we say; but such a lack of

-national grit and determination is due to defects in our educational

-system. For, instead of inculcating in the youth a lively sense of their

-German nationality, the aim of the educational system is to make the

-youth prostrate themselves in homage to the idea, as if the idea were an

-idol.

-The education which makes them the devotees of such abstract notions as

-'Democracy', 'International Socialism', 'Pacifism', etc., is so

-hard-and-fast and exclusive and, operating as it does from within

-outwards, is so purely subjective that in forming their general picture

-of outside life as a whole they are fundamentally influenced by these

-A PRIORI notions. But, on the other hand, the attitude towards their own

-German nationality has been very objective from youth upwards. The

-Pacifist--in so far as he is a German--who surrenders himself

-subjectively, body and soul, to the dictates of his dogmatic principles,

-will always first consider the objective right or wrong of a situation

-when danger threatens his own people, even though that danger be grave

-and unjustly wrought from outside. But he will never take his stand in

-the ranks of his own people and fight for and with them from the sheer

-instinct of self-preservation.

-Another example may further illustrate how far this applies to the

-different religious denominations. In so far as its origin and tradition

-are based on German ideals, Protestantism of itself defends those ideals

-better. But it fails the moment it is called upon to defend national

-interests which do not belong to the sphere of its ideals and

-traditional development, or which, for some reason or other, may be

-rejected by that sphere.

-Therefore Protestantism will always take its part in promoting German

-ideals as far as concerns moral integrity or national education, when

-the German spiritual being or language or spiritual freedom are to be

-defended: because these represent the principles on which Protestantism

-itself is grounded. But this same Protestantism violently opposes every

-attempt to rescue the nation from the clutches of its mortal enemy;

-because the Protestant attitude towards the Jews is more or less rigidly

-and dogmatically fixed. And yet this is the first problem which has to

-be solved, unless all attempts to bring about a German resurgence or to

-raise the level of the nation's standing are doomed to turn out

-nonsensical and impossible.

-During my sojourn in Vienna I had ample leisure and opportunity to study

-this problem without allowing any prejudices to intervene; and in my

-daily intercourse with people I was able to establish the correctness of

-the opinion I formed by the test of thousands of instances.

-In this focus where the greatest varieties of nationality had converged

-it was quite clear and open to everybody to see that the German pacifist

-was always and exclusively the one who tried to consider the interests

-of his own nation objectively; but you could never find a Jew who took a

-similar attitude towards his own race. Furthermore, I found that only

-the German Socialist is 'international' in the sense that he feels

-himself obliged not to demand justice for his own people in any other

-manner than by whining and wailing to his international comrades. Nobody

-could ever reproach Czechs or Poles or other nations with such conduct.

-In short, even at that time, already I recognized that this evil is only

-partly a result of the doctrines taught by Socialism, Pacifism, etc.,

-but mainly the result of our totally inadequate system of education, the

-defects of which are responsible for the lack of devotion to our own

-national ideals.

-Therefore the first theoretical argument advanced by the Pan-German

-leaders as the basis of their offensive against Catholicism was quite

-entenable.

-The only way to remedy the evil I have been speaking of is to train the

-Germans from youth upwards to an absolute recognition of the rights of

-their own people, instead of poisoning their minds, while they are still

-only children, with the virus of this curbed 'objectivity', even in

-matters concerning the very maintenance of our own existence. The result

-of this would be that the Catholic in Germany, just as in Ireland,

-Poland or France, will be a German first and foremost. But all this

-presupposes a radical change in the national government.

-The strongest proof in support of my contention is furnished by what

-took place at that historical juncture when our people were called for

-the last time before the tribunal of History to defend their own

-existence, in a life-or-death struggle.

-As long as there was no lack of leadership in the higher circles, the

-people fulfilled their duty and obligations to an overwhelming extent.

-Whether Protestant pastor or Catholic priest, each did his very utmost

-in helping our powers of resistance to hold out, not only in the

-trenches but also, and even more so, at home. During those years, and

-especially during the first outburst of enthusiasm, in both religious

-camps there was one undivided and sacred German Empire for whose

-preservation and future existence they all prayed to Heaven.

-The Pan-German Movement in Austria ought to have asked itself this one

-question: Is the maintenance of the German element in Austria possible

-or not, as long as that element remains within the fold of the Catholic

-Faith? If that question should have been answered in the affirmative,

-then the political Party should not have meddled in religious and

-denominational questions. But if the question had to be answered in the

-negative, then a religious reformation should have been started and not

-a political party movement.

-Anyone who believes that a religious reformation can be achieved through

-the agency of a political organization shows that he has no idea of the

-development of religious conceptions and doctrines of faith and how

-these are given practical effect by the Church.

-No man can serve two masters. And I hold that the foundation or

-overthrow of a religion has far greater consequences than the foundation

-or overthrow of a State, to say nothing of a Party.

-It is no argument to the contrary to say that the attacks were only

-defensive measures against attacks from the other side.

-Undoubtedly there have always been unscrupulous rogues who did not

-hesitate to degrade religion to the base uses of politics. Nearly always

-such a people had nothing else in their minds except to make a business

-of religions and politics. But on the other hand it would be wrong to

-hold religion itself, or a religious denomination, responsible for a

-number of rascals who exploit the Church for their own base interests

-just as they would exploit anything else in which they had a part.

-Nothing could be more to the taste of one of these parliamentary

-loungers and tricksters than to be able to find a scapegoat for his

-political sharp-practice--after the event, of course. The moment

-religion or a religious denomination is attacked and made responsible

-for his personal misdeeds this shrewd fellow will raise a row at once

-and call the world to witness how justified he was in acting as he did,

-proclaiming that he and his eloquence alone have saved religion and the

-Church. The public, which is mostly stupid and has a very short memory,

-is not capable of recognizing the real instigator of the quarrel in the

-midst of the turmoil that has been raised. Frequently it does not

-remember the beginning of the fight and so the rogue gets by with his

-stunt.

-A cunning fellow of that sort is quite well aware that his misdeeds have

-nothing to do with religion. And so he will laugh up his sleeve all the

-more heartily when his honest but artless adversary loses the game and,

-one day losing all faith in humanity, retires from the activities of

-public life.

-But from another viewpoint also it would be wrong to make religion, or

-the Church as such, responsible for the misdeeds of individuals. If one

-compares the magnitude of the organization, as it stands visible to

-every eye, with the average weakness of human nature we shall have to

-admit that the proportion of good to bad is more favourable here than

-anywhere else. Among the priests there may, of course, be some who use

-their sacred calling to further their political ambitions. There are

-clergy who unfortunately forget that in the political m�l�e they ought

-to be the paladins of the more sublime truths and not the abettors of

-falsehood and slander. But for each one of these unworthy specimens we

-can find a thousand or more who fulfil their mission nobly as the

-trustworthy guardians of souls and who tower above the level of our

-corrupt epoch, as little islands above the seaswamp.

-I cannot condemn the Church as such, and I should feel quite as little

-justified in doing so if some depraved person in the robe of a priest

-commits some offence against the moral law. Nor should I for a moment

-think of blaming the Church if one of its innumerable members betrays

-and besmirches his compatriots, especially not in epochs when such

-conduct is quite common. We must not forget, particularly in our day,

-that for one such Ephialtes (Note 7) there are a thousand whose hearts

-bleed in sympathy with their people during these years of misfortune and

-who, together with the best of our nation, yearn for the hour when fortune

-will smile on us again.

-[Note 7. Herodotus (Book VII, 213-218) tells the story of how a Greek

-traitor, Ephialtes, helped the Persian invaders at the Battle of

-Thermopylae (480 B.C.) When the Persian King, Xerxes, had begun to

-despair of being able tobreak through the Greek defence, Ephialtes came

-to him and, on being promiseda definite payment, told the King of a

-pathway over the shoulder of the mountainto the Greek end of the Pass.

-The bargain being clinched, Ephialtes led adetachment of the Persian

-troops under General Hydarnes over the mountainpathway. Thus taken in

-the rear, the Greek defenders, under Leonidas, King of Sparta, had to

-fight in two opposite directions within the narrow pass. Terrible

-slaughter ensued and Leonidas fell in the thick of the fighting.

-The bravery of Leonidas and the treason of Ephialtes impressed Hitler,

-asit does almost every schoolboy. The incident is referred to again in

-MEIN KAMPF (Chap. VIII, Vol. I), where Hitler compares the German troops

-thatfell in France and Flanders to the Greeks at Thermopylae, the

-treachery of Ephialtes being suggested as the prototype of the defeatist

-policy of the German politicians towards the end of the Great War.]

-If it be objected that here we are concerned not with the petty problems

-of everyday life but principally with fundamental truths and questions

-of dogma, the only way of answering that objection is to ask a question:

-Do you feel that Providence has called you to proclaim the Truth to the

-world? If so, then go and do it. But you ought to have the courage to do

-it directly and not use some political party as your mouthpiece; for in

-this way you shirk your vocation. In the place of something that now

-exists and is bad put something else that is better and will last into

-the future.

-If you lack the requisite courage or if you yourself do not know clearly

-what your better substitute ought to be, leave the whole thing alone.

-But, whatever happens, do not try to reach the goal by the roundabout

-way of a political party if you are not brave enough to fight with your

-visor lifted.

-Political parties have no right to meddle in religious questions except

-when these relate to something that is alien to the national well-being

-and thus calculated to undermine racial customs and morals.

-If some ecclesiastical dignitaries should misuse religious ceremonies or

-religious teaching to injure their own nation their opponents ought

-never to take the same road and fight them with the same weapons.

-To a political leader the religious teachings and practices of his

-people should be sacred and inviolable. Otherwise he should not be a

-statesman but a reformer, if he has the necessary qualities for such a

-mission.

-Any other line of conduct will lead to disaster, especially in Germany.

-In studying the Pan-German Movement and its conflict with Rome I was

-then firmly persuaded, and especially in the course of later years, that

-by their failure to understand the importance of the social problem the

-Pan-Germanists lost the support of the broad masses, who are the

-indispensable combatants in such a movement. By entering Parliament the

-Pan-German leaders deprived themselves of the great driving force which

-resides in the masses and at the same time they laid on their own

-shoulders all the defects of the parliamentary institution. Their

-struggle against the Church made their position impossible in numerous

-circles of the lower and middle class, while at the same time it robbed

-them of innumerable high-class elements--some of the best indeed that

-the nation possessed. The practical outcome of the Austrian Kulturkampf

-was negative.

-Although they succeeded in winning 100,000 members away from the Church,

-that did not do much harm to the latter. The Church did not really need

-to shed any tears over these lost sheep, for it lost only those who had

-for a long time ceased to belong to it in their inner hearts. The

-difference between this new reformation and the great Reformation was

-that in the historic epoch of the great Reformation some of the best

-members left the Church because of religious convictions, whereas in

-this new reformation only those left who had been indifferent before and

-who were now influenced by political considerations. From the political

-point of view alone the result was as ridiculous as it was deplorable.

-Once again a political movement which had promised so much for the

-German nation collapsed, because it was not conducted in a spirit of

-unflinching adherence to naked reality, but lost itself in fields where

-it was bound to get broken up.

-The Pan-German Movement would never have made this mistake if it had

-properly understood the PSYCHE of the broad masses. If the leaders had

-known that, for psychological reasons alone, it is not expedient to

-place two or more sets of adversaries before the masses--since that

-leads to a complete splitting up of their fighting strength--they would

-have concentrated the full and undivided force of their attack against a

-single adversary. Nothing in the policy of a political party is so

-fraught with danger as to allow its decisions to be directed by people

-who want to have their fingers in every pie though they do not know how

-to cook the simplest dish.

-But even though there is much that can really be said against the

-various religious denominations, political leaders must not forget that

-the experience of history teaches us that no purely political party in

-similar circumstances ever succeeded in bringing about a religious

-reformation. One does not study history for the purpose of forgetting or

-mistrusting its lessons afterwards, when the time comes to apply these

-lessons in practice. It would be a mistake to believe that in this

-particular case things were different, so that the eternal truths of

-history were no longer applicable. One learns history in order to be

-able to apply its lessons to the present time and whoever fails to do

-this cannot pretend to be a political leader. In reality he is quite a

-superficial person or, as is mostly the case, a conceited simpleton

-whose good intentions cannot make up for his incompetence in practical

-affairs.

-The art of leadership, as displayed by really great popular leaders in

-all ages, consists in consolidating the attention of the people against

-a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that

-attention into sections. The more the militant energies of the people

-are directed towards one objective the more will new recruits join the

-movement, attracted by the magnetism of its unified action, and thus the

-striking power will be all the more enhanced. The leader of genius must

-have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged

-to the one category; for weak and wavering natures among a leader's

-following may easily begin to be dubious about the justice of their own

-cause if they have to face different enemies.

-As soon as the vacillating masses find themselves facing an opposition

-that is made up of different groups of enemies their sense of

-objectivity will be aroused and they will ask how is it that all the

-others can be in the wrong and they themselves, and their movement,

-alone in the right.

-Such a feeling would be the first step towards a paralysis of their

-fighting vigour. Where there are various enemies who are split up into

-divergent groups it will be necessary to block them all together as

-forming one solid front, so that the mass of followers in a popular

-movement may see only one common enemy against whom they have to fight.

-Such uniformity intensifies their belief in the justice of their own

-cause and strengthens their feeling of hostility towards the opponent.

-The Pan-German Movement was unsuccessful because the leaders did not

-grasp the significance of that truth. They saw the goal clearly and

-their intentions were right; but they took the wrong road. Their action

-may be compared to that of an Alpine climber who never loses sight of

-the peak he wants to reach, who has set out with the greatest

-determination and energy, but pays no attention to the road beneath his

-feet. With his eye always fixed firmly on the goal he does not think

-over or notice the nature of the ascent and finally he fails.

-The manner in which the great rival of the Pan-German Party set out to

-attain its goal was quite different. The way it took was well and

-shrewdly chosen; but it did not have a clear vision of the goal. In

-almost all the questions where the Pan-German Movement failed, the

-policy of the Christian-Socialist Party was correct and systematic.

-They assessed the importance of the masses correctly, and thus they

-gained the support of large numbers of the popular masses by emphasizing

-the social character of the Movement from the very start. By directing

-their appeal especially to the lower middle class and the artisans, they

-gained adherents who were faithful, persevering and self-sacrificing.

-The Christian-Socialist leaders took care to avoid all controversy with

-the institutions of religion and thus they secured the support of that

-mighty organization, the Catholic Church. Those leaders recognized the

-value of propaganda on a large scale and they were veritable virtuosos

-in working up the spiritual instincts of the broad masses of their

-adherents.

-The failure of this Party to carry into effect the dream of saving

-Austria from dissolution must be attributed to two main defects in the

-means they employed and also the lack of a clear perception of the ends

-they wished to reach.

-The anti-Semitism of the Christian-Socialists was based on religious

-instead of racial principles. The reason for this mistake gave rise to

-the second error also.

-The founders of the Christian-Socialist Party were of the opinion that

-they could not base their position on the racial principle if they

-wished to save Austria, because they felt that a general disintegration

-of the State might quickly result from the adoption of such a policy. In

-the opinion of the Party chiefs the situation in Vienna demanded that

-all factors which tended to estrange the nationalities from one another

-should be carefully avoided and that all factors making for unity should

-be encouraged.

-At that time Vienna was so honeycombed with foreign elements, especially

-the Czechs, that the greatest amount of tolerance was necessary if these

-elements were to be enlisted in the ranks of any party that was not

-anti-German on principle. If Austria was to be saved those elements were

-indispensable. And so attempts were made to win the support of the small

-traders, a great number of whom were Czechs, by combating the liberalism

-of the Manchester School; and they believed that by adopting this

-attitude they had found a slogan against Jewry which, because of its

-religious implications, would unite all the different nationalities

-which made up the population of the old Austria.

-It was obvious, however, that this kind of anti-Semitism did not upset

-the Jews very much, simply because it had a purely religious foundation.

-If the worst came to the worst a few drops of baptismal water would

-settle the matter, hereupon the Jew could still carry on his business

-safely and at the same time retain his Jewish nationality.

-On such superficial grounds it was impossible to deal with the whole

-problem in an earnest and rational way. The consequence was that many

-people could not understand this kind of anti-Semitism and therefore

-refused to take part in it.

-The attractive force of the idea was thus restricted exclusively to

-narrow-minded circles, because the leaders failed to go beyond the mere

-emotional appeal and did not ground their position on a truly rational

-basis. The intellectuals were opposed to such a policy on principle. It

-looked more and more as if the whole movement was a new attempt to

-proselytize the Jews, or, on the other hand, as if it were merely

-organized from the wish to compete with other contemporary movements.

-Thus the struggle lost all traces of having been organized for a

-spiritual and sublime mission. Indeed, it seemed to some people--and

-these were by no means worthless elements--to be immoral and

-reprehensible. The movement failed to awaken a belief that here there

-was a problem of vital importance for the whole of humanity and on the

-solution of which the destiny of the whole Gentile world depended.

-Through this shilly-shally way of dealing with the problem the

-anti-Semitism of the Christian-Socialists turned out to be quite

-ineffective.

-It was anti-Semitic only in outward appearance. And this was worse than

-if it had made no pretences at all to anti-Semitism; for the pretence

-gave rise to a false sense of security among people who believed that

-the enemy had been taken by the ears; but, as a matter of fact, the

-people themselves were being led by the nose.

-The Jew readily adjusted himself to this form of anti-Semitism and found

-its continuance more profitable to him than its abolition would be.

-This whole movement led to great sacrifices being made for the sake of

-that State which was composed of many heterogeneous nationalities; but

-much greater sacrifices had to be made by the trustees of the German

-element.

-One did not dare to be 'nationalist', even in Vienna, lest the ground

-should fall away from under one's feet. It was hoped that the Habsburg

-State might be saved by a silent evasion of the nationalist question;

-but this policy led that State to ruin. The same policy also led to the

-collapse of Christian Socialism, for thus the Movement was deprived of

-the only source of energy from which a political party can draw the

-necessary driving force.

-During those years I carefully followed the two movements and observed

-how they developed, one because my heart was with it and the other

-because of my admiration for that remarkable man who then appeared to me

-as a bitter symbol of the whole German population in Austria.

-When the imposing funeral CORT�GE of the dead Burgomaster wound its way

-from the City Hall towards the Ring Strasse I stood among the hundreds

-of thousands who watched the solemn procession pass by. As I stood there

-I felt deeply moved, and my instinct clearly told me that the work of

-this man was all in vain, because a sinister Fate was inexorably leading

-this State to its downfall. If Dr. Karl Lueger had lived in Germany he

-would have been ranked among the great leaders of our people. It was a

-misfortune for his work and for himseif that he had to live in this

-impossible State.

-When he died the fire had already been enkindled in the Balkans and was

-spreading month by month. Fate had been merciful in sparing him the

-sight of what, even to the last, he had hoped to prevent.

-I endeavoured to analyse the cause which rendered one of those movements

-futile and wrecked the progress of the other. The result of this

-investigation was the profound conviction that, apart from the inherent

-impossibility of consolidating the position of the State in the old

-Austria, the two parties made the following fatal mistake:

-The Pan-German Party was perfectly right in its fundamental ideas

-regarding the aim of the Movement, which was to bring about a German

-restoration, but it was unfortunate in its choice of means. It was

-nationalist, but unfortunately it paid too little heed to the social

-problem, and thus it failed to gain the support of the masses. Its

-anti-Jewish policy, however, was grounded on a correct perception of the

-significance of the racial problem and not on religious principles. But

-it was mistaken in its assessment of facts and adopted the wrong tactics

-when it made war against one of the religious denominations.

-The Christian-Socialist Movement had only a vague concept of a German

-revival as part of its object, but it was intelligent and fortunate in

-the choice of means to carry out its policy as a Party. The

-Christian-Socialists grasped the significance of the social question;

-but they adopted the wrong principles in their struggle against Jewry,

-and they utterly failed to appreciate the value of the national idea as

-a source of political energy.

-If the Christian-Socialist Party, together with its shrewd judgment in

-regard to the worth of the popular masses, had only judged rightly also

-on the importance of the racial problem--which was properly grasped by

-the Pan-German Movement--and if this party had been really nationalist;

-or if the Pan-German leaders, on the other hand, in addition to their

-correct judgment of the Jewish problem and of the national idea, had

-adopted the practical wisdom of the Christian-Socialist Party, and

-particularly their attitude towards Socialism--then a movement would

-have developed which, in my opinion, might at that time have

-successfully altered the course of German destiny.

-If things did not turn out thus, the fault lay for the most part in the

-inherent nature of the Austrian State.

-I did not find my own convictions upheld by any party then in existence,

-and so I could not bring myself to enlist as a member in any of the

-existing organizations or even lend a hand in their struggle. Even at

-that time all those organizations seemed to me to be already jaded in

-their energies and were therefore incapable of bringing about a national

-revival of the German people in a really profound way, not merely

-outwardly.

-My inner aversion to the Habsburg State was increasing daily.

-The more I paid special attention to questions of foreign policy, the

-more the conviction grew upon me that this phantom State would surely

-bring misfortune on the Germans. I realized more and more that the

-destiny of the German nation could not be decisively influenced from

-here but only in the German Empire itself. And this was true not only in

-regard to general political questions but also--and in no less a

-degree--in regard to the whole sphere of cultural life.

-Here, also, in all matters affecting the national culture and art, the

-Austrian State showed all the signs of senile decrepitude, or at least

-it was ceasing to be of any consequence to the German nation, as far as

-these matters were concerned. This was especially true of its

-architecture. Modern architecture could not produce any great results in

-Austria because, since the building of the Ring Strasse--at least in

-Vienna--architectural activities had become insignificant when compared

-with the progressive plans which were being thought out in Germany.

-And so I came more and more to lead what may be called a twofold

-existence. Reason and reality forced me to continue my harsh

-apprenticeship in Austria, though I must now say that this

-apprenticeship turned out fortunate in the end. But my heart was

-elsewhere.

-A feeling of discontent grew upon me and made me depressed the more I

-came to realize the inside hollowness of this State and the

-impossibility of saving it from collapse. At the same time I felt

-perfectly certain that it would bring all kinds of misfortune to the

-German people.

-I was convinced that the Habsburg State would balk and hinder every

-German who might show signs of real greatness, while at the same time it

-would aid and abet every non-German activity.

-This conglomerate spectacle of heterogeneous races which the capital of

-the Dual Monarchy presented, this motley of Czechs, Poles, Hungarians,

-Ruthenians, Serbs and Croats, etc., and always that bacillus which is

-the solvent of human society, the Jew, here and there and

-everywhere--the whole spectacle was repugnant to me. The gigantic city

-seemed to be the incarnation of mongrel depravity.

-The German language, which I had spoken from the time of my boyhood, was

-the vernacular idiom of Lower Bavaria. I never forgot that particular

-style of speech, and I could never learn the Viennese dialect. The

-longer I lived in that city the stronger became my hatred for the

-promiscuous swarm of foreign peoples which had begun to batten on that

-old nursery ground of German culture. The idea that this State could

-maintain its further existence for any considerable time was quite

-absurd.

-Austria was then like a piece of ancient mosaic in which the cohesive

-cement had dried up and become old and friable. As long as such a work

-of art remains untouched it may hold together and continue to exist; but

-the moment some blow is struck on it then it breaks up into thousands of

-fragments. Therefore it was now only a question of when the blow would

-come.

-Because my heart was always with the German Empire and not with the

-Austrian Monarchy, the hour of Austria's dissolution as a State appeared

-to me only as the first step towards the emancipation of the German

-nation.

-All these considerations intensified my yearning to depart for that

-country for which my heart had been secretly longing since the days of

-my youth.

-I hoped that one day I might be able to make my mark as an architect and

-that I could devote my talents to the service of my country on a large

-or small scale, according to the will of Fate.

-A final reason was that I longed to be among those who lived and worked

-in that land from which the movement should be launched, the object of

-which would be the fulfilment of what my heart had always longed for,

-namely, the union of the country in which I was born with our common

-fatherland, the German Empire.

-There are many who may not understand how such a yearning can be so

-strong; but I appeal especially to two groups of people. The first

-includes all those who are still denied the happiness I have spoken of,

-and the second embraces those who once enjoyed that happiness but had it

-torn from them by a harsh fate. I turn to all those who have been torn

-from their motherland and who have to struggle for the preservation of

-their most sacred patrimony, their native language, persecuted and

-harried because of their loyalty and love for the homeland, yearning

-sadly for the hour when they will be allowed to return to the bosom of

-their father's household. To these I address my words, and I know that

-they will understand.

-Only he who has experienced in his own inner life what it means to be

-German and yet to be denied the right of belonging to his fatherland can

-appreciate the profound nostalgia which that enforced exile causes. It

-is a perpetual heartache, and there is no place for joy and contentment

-until the doors of paternal home are thrown open and all those through

-whose veins kindred blood is flowing will find peace and rest in their

-common REICH.

-Vienna was a hard school for me; but it taught me the most profound

-lessons of my life. I was scarcely more than a boy when I came to live

-there, and when I left it I had grown to be a man of a grave and pensive

-nature. In Vienna I acquired the foundations of a WELTANSCHAUUNG in

-general and developed a faculty for analysing political questions in

-particular. That WELTANSCHAUUNG and the political ideas then formed

-have never been abandoned, though they were expanded later on in some

-directions. It is only now that I can fully appreciate how valuable

-those years of apprenticeship were for me.

-That is why I have given a detailed account of this period. There, in

-Vienna, stark reality taught me the truths that now form the fundamental

-principles of the Party which within the course of five years has grown

-from modest beginnings to a great mass movement. I do not know what my

-attitude towards Jewry, Social-Democracy, or rather Marxism in general,

-to the social problem, etc., would be to-day if I had not acquired a

-stock of personal beliefs at such an early age, by dint of hard study

-and under the duress of Fate.

-For, although the misfortunes of the Fatherland may have stimulated

-thousands and thousands to ponder over the inner causes of the collapse,

-that could not lead to such a thorough knowledge and deep insight as a

-man may develop who has fought a hard struggle for many years so that he

-might be master of his own fate.

-CHAPTER IV

-MUNICH

-At last I came to Munich, in the spring of 1912.

-The city itself was as familiar to me as if I had lived for years within

-its walls.

-This was because my studies in architecture had been constantly turning

-my attention to the metropolis of German art. One must know Munich if

-one would know Germany, and it is impossible to acquire a knowledge of

-German art without seeing Munich.

-All things considered, this pre-war sojourn was by far the happiest and

-most contented time of my life. My earnings were very slender; but after

-all I did not live for the sake of painting. I painted in order to get

-the bare necessities of existence while I continued my studies. I was

-firmly convinced that I should finally succeed in reaching the goal I

-had marked out for myself. And this conviction alone was strong enough

-to enable me to bear the petty hardships of everyday life without

-worrying very much about them.

-Moreover, almost from the very first moment of my sojourn there I came

-to love that city more than any other place known to me. A German city!

-I said to myself. How different to Vienna. It was with a feeling of

-disgust that my imagination reverted to that Babylon of races. Another

-pleasant feature here was the way the people spoke German, which was

-much nearer my own way of speaking than the Viennese idiom. The Munich

-idiom recalled the days of my youth, especially when I spoke with those

-who had come to Munich from Lower Bavaria. There were a thousand or more

-things which I inwardly loved or which I came to love during the course

-of my stay. But what attracted me most was the marvellous wedlock of

-native folk-energy with the fine artistic spirit of the city, that

-unique harmony from the Hofbr�uhaus to the Odeon, from the October

-Festival to the PINAKOTHEK, etc. The reason why my heart's strings are

-entwined around this city as around no other spot in this world is

-probably because Munich is and will remain inseparably connected with

-the development of my own career; and the fact that from the beginning

-of my visit I felt inwardly happy and contented is to be attributed to

-the charm of the marvellous Wittelsbach Capital, which has attracted

-probably everybody who is blessed with a feeling for beauty instead of

-commercial instincts.

-Apart from my professional work, I was most interested in the study of

-current political events, particularly those which were connected with

-foreign relations. I approached these by way of the German policy of

-alliances which, ever since my Austrian days, I had considered to be an

-utterly mistaken one. But in Vienna I had not yet seen quite clearly how

-far the German Empire had gone in the process of' self-delusion. In

-Vienna I was inclined to assume, or probably I persuaded myself to do so

-in order to excuse the German mistake, that possibly the authorities in

-Berlin knew how weak and unreliable their ally would prove to be when

-brought face to face with realities, but that, for more or less

-mysterious reasons, they refrained from allowing their opinions on this

-point to be known in public. Their idea was that they should support the

-policy of alliances which Bismarck had initiated and the sudden

-discontinuance of which might be undesirable, if for no other reason

-than that it might arouse those foreign countries which were lying in

-wait for their chance or might alarm the Philistines at home.

-But my contact with the people soon taught me, to my horror, that my

-assumptions were wrong. I was amazed to find everywhere, even in circles

-otherwise well informed, that nobody had the slightest intimation of the

-real character of the Habsburg Monarchy. Among the common people in

-particular there was a prevalent illusion that the Austrian ally was a

-Power which would have to be seriously reckoned with and would rally its

-man-power in the hour of need. The mass of the people continued to look

-upon the Dual Monarchy as a 'German State' and believed that it could be

-relied upon. They assumed that its strength could be measured by the

-millions of its subjects, as was the case in Germany. First of all, they

-did not realize that Austria had ceased to be a German State and,

-secondly, that the conditions prevailing within the Austrian Empire were

-steadily pushing it headlong to the brink of disaster.

-At that time I knew the condition of affairs in the Austrian State

-better than the professional diplomats. Blindfolded, as nearly always,

-these diplomats stumbled along on their way to disaster. The opinions

-prevailing among the bulk of the people reflected only what had been

-drummed into them from official quarters above. And these higher

-authorities grovelled before the 'Ally', as the people of old bowed down

-before the Golden Calf. They probably thought that by being polite and

-amiable they might balance the lack of honesty on the other side. Thus

-they took every declaration at its full face value.

-Even while in Vienna I used to be annoyed again and again by the

-discrepancy between the speeches of the official statesmen and the

-contents of the Viennese Press. And yet Vienna was still a German city,

-at least as far as appearances went. But one encountered an utterly

-different state of things on leaving Vienna, or rather German-Austria,

-and coming into the Slav provinces. It needed only a glance at the

-Prague newspapers in order to see how the whole exalted hocus-pocus of

-the Triple Alliance was judged from there. In Prague there was nothing

-but gibes and sneers for that masterpiece of statesmanship. Even in the

-piping times of peace, when the two emperors kissed each other on the

-brow in token of friendship, those papers did not cloak their belief

-that the alliance would be liquidated the moment a first attempt was

-made to bring it down from the shimmering glory of a Nibelungen ideal to

-the plane of practical affairs.

-Great indignation was aroused a few years later, when the alliances were

-put to the first practical test. Italy not only withdrew from the Triple

-Alliance, leaving the other two members to march by themselves. but she

-even joined their enemies. That anybody should believe even for a moment

-in the possibility of such a miracle as that of Italy fighting on the

-same side as Austria would be simply incredible to anyone who did not

-suffer from the blindness of official diplomacy. And that was just how

-people felt in Austria also.

-In Austria only the Habsburgs and the German-Austrians supported the

-alliance. The Habsburgs did so from shrewd calculation of their own

-interests and from necessity. The Germans did it out of good faith and

-political ignorance. They acted in good faith inasmuch as they believed

-that by establishing the Triple Alliance they were doing a great service

-to the German Empire and were thus helping to strengthen it and

-consolidate its defence. They showed their political ignorance, however,

-in holding such ideas, because, instead of helping the German Empire

-they really chained it to a moribund State which might bring its

-associate into the grave with itself; and, above all, by championing

-this alliance they fell more and more a prey to the Habsburg policy of

-de-Germanization. For the alliance gave the Habsburgs good grounds for

-believing that the German Empire would not interfere in their domestic

-affairs and thus they were in a position to carry into effect, with more

-ease and less risk, their domestic policy of gradually eliminating the

-German element. Not only could the 'objectiveness' of the German

-Government be counted upon, and thus there need be no fear of protest

-from that quarter, but one could always remind the German-Austrians of

-the alliance and thus silence them in case they should ever object to

-the reprehensible means that were being employed to establish a Slav

-hegemony in the Dual Monarchy.

-What could the German-Austrians do, when the people of the German Empire

-itself had openly proclaimed their trust and confidence in the Habsburg

-r�gime?

-Should they resist, and thus be branded openly before their kinsfolk in

-the REICH as traitors to their own national interests? They, who for so

-many decades had sacrificed so much for the sake of their German

-tradition!

-Once the influence of the Germans in Austria had been wiped out, what

-then would be the value of the alliance? If the Triple Alliance were to

-be advantageous to Germany, was it not a necessary condition that the

-predominance of the German element in Austria should be maintained? Or

-did anyone really believe that Germany could continue to be the ally of

-a Habsburg Empire under the hegemony of the Slavs?

-The official attitude of German diplomacy, as well as that of the

-general public towards internal problems affecting the Austrian

-nationalities was not merely stupid, it was insane. On the alliance, as

-on a solid foundation, they grounded the security and future existence

-of a nation of seventy millions, while at the same time they allowed

-their partner to continue his policy of undermining the sole foundation

-of that alliance methodically and resolutely, from year to year. A day

-must come when nothing but a formal contract with Viennese diplomats

-would be left. The alliance itself, as an effective support, would be

-lost to Germany.

-As far as concerned Italy, such had been the case from the outset.

-If people in Germany had studied history and the psychology of nations a

-little more carefully not one of them could have believed for a single

-hour that the Quirinal and the Viennese Hofburg could ever stand

-shoulder to shoulder on a common battle front. Italy would have exploded

-like a volcano if any Italian government had dared to send a single

-Italian soldier to fight for the Habsburg State. So fanatically hated

-was this State that the Italians could stand in no other relation to it

-on a battle front except as enemies. More than once in Vienna I have

-witnessed explosions of the contempt and profound hatred which 'allied'

-the Italian to the Austrian State. The crimes which the House of

-Habsburg committed against Italian freedom and independence during

-several centuries were too grave to be forgiven, even with the best of

-goodwill. But this goodwill did not exist, either among the rank and

-file of the population or in the government. Therefore for Italy there

-were only two ways of co-existing with Austria--alliance or war. By

-choosing the first it was possible to prepare leisurely for the second.

-Especially since relations between Russia and Austria tended more and

-more towards the arbitrament of war, the German policy of alliances was

-as senseless as it was dangerous. Here was a classical instance which

-demonstrated the lack of any broad or logical lines of thought.

-But what was the reason for forming the alliance at all? It could not

-have been other than the wish to secure the future of the REICH better

-than if it were to depend exclusively on its own resources. But the

-future of the REICH could not have meant anything else than the problem

-of securing the means of existence for the German people.

-The only questions therefore were the following: What form shall the

-life of the nation assume in the near future--that is to say within such

-a period as we can forecast? And by what means can the necessary

-foundation and security be guaranteed for this development within the

-framework of the general distribution of power among the European

-nations? A clear analysis of the principles on which the foreign policy

-of German statecraft were to be based should have led to the following

-conclusions:

-The annual increase of population in Germany amounts to almost 900,000

-souls. The difficulties of providing for this army of new citizens must

-grow from year to year and must finally lead to a catastrophe, unless

-ways and means are found which will forestall the danger of misery and

-hunger. There were four ways of providing against this terrible

-calamity:

-(1) It was possible to adopt the French example and artificially

-restrict the number of births, thus avoiding an excess of population.

-Under certain circumstances, in periods of distress or under bad

-climatic condition, or if the soil yields too poor a return, Nature

-herself tends to check the increase of population in some countries and

-among some races, but by a method which is quite as ruthless as it is

-wise. It does not impede the procreative faculty as such; but it does

-impede the further existence of the offspring by submitting it to such

-tests and privations that everything which is less strong or less

-healthy is forced to retreat into the bosom of tile unknown. Whatever

-survives these hardships of existence has been tested and tried a

-thousandfold, hardened and renders fit to continue the process of

-procreation; so that the same thorough selection will begin all over

-again. By thus dealing brutally with the individual and recalling him

-the very moment he shows that he is not fitted for the trials of life,

-Nature preserves the strength of the race and the species and raises it

-to the highest degree of efficiency.

-The decrease in numbers therefore implies an increase of strength, as

-far as the individual is concerned, and this finally means the

-invigoration of the species.

-But the case is different when man himself starts the process of

-numerical restriction. Man is not carved from Nature's wood. He is made

-of 'human' material. He knows more than the ruthless Queen of Wisdom. He

-does not impede the preservation of the individual but prevents

-procreation itself. To the individual, who always sees only himself and

-not the race, this line of action seems more humane and just than the

-opposite way. But, unfortunately, the consequences are also the

-opposite.

-By leaving the process of procreation unchecked and by submitting the

-individual to the hardest preparatory tests in life, Nature selects the

-best from an abundance of single elements and stamps them as fit to live

-and carry on the conservation of the species. But man restricts the

-procreative faculty and strives obstinately to keep alive at any cost

-whatever has once been born. This correction of the Divine Will seems to

-him to be wise and humane, and he rejoices at having trumped Nature's

-card in one game at least and thus proved that she is not entirely

-reliable. The dear little ape of an all-mighty father is delighted to

-see and hear that he has succeeded in effecting a numerical restriction;

-but he would be very displeased if told that this, his system, brings

-about a degeneration in personal quality.

-For as soon as the procreative faculty is thwarted and the number of

-births diminished, the natural struggle for existence which allows only

-healthy and strong individuals to survive is replaced by a sheer craze

-to 'save' feeble and even diseased creatures at any cost. And thus the

-seeds are sown for a human progeny which will become more and more

-miserable from one generation to another, as long as Nature's will is

-scorned.

-But if that policy be carried out the final results must be that such a

-nation will eventually terminate its own existence on this earth; for

-though man may defy the eternal laws of procreation during a certain

-period, vengeance will follow sooner or later. A stronger race will oust

-that which has grown weak; for the vital urge, in its ultimate form,

-will burst asunder all the absurd chains of this so-called humane

-consideration for the individual and will replace it with the humanity

-of Nature, which wipes out what is weak in order to give place to the

-strong.

-Any policy which aims at securing the existence of a nation by

-restricting the birth-rate robs that nation of its future.

-(2) A second solution is that of internal colonization. This is a

-proposal which is frequently made in our own time and one hears it

-lauded a good deal. It is a suggestion that is well-meant but it is

-misunderstood by most people, so that it is the source of more mischief

-than can be imagined.

-It is certainly true that the productivity of the soil can be increased

-within certain limits; but only within defined limits and not

-indefinitely. By increasing the productive powers of the soil it will be

-possible to balance the effect of a surplus birth-rate in Germany for a

-certain period of time, without running any danger of hunger. But we

-have to face the fact that the general standard of living is rising more

-quickly than even the birth rate. The requirements of food and clothing

-are becoming greater from year to year and are out of proportion to

-those of our ancestors of, let us say, a hundred years ago. It would,

-therefore, be a mistaken view that every increase in the productive

-powers of the soil will supply the requisite conditions for an increase

-in the population. No. That is true up to a certain point only, for at

-least a portion of the increased produce of the soil will be consumed by

-the margin of increased demands caused by the steady rise in the

-standard of living. But even if these demands were to be curtailed to

-the narrowest limits possible and if at the same time we were to use all

-our available energies in the intenser cultivation, we should here reach

-a definite limit which is conditioned by the inherent nature of the soil

-itself. No matter how industriously we may labour we cannot increase

-agricultural production beyond this limit. Therefore, though we may

-postpone the evil hour of distress for a certain time, it will arrive at

-last. The first phenomenon will be the recurrence of famine periods from

-time to time, after bad harvests, etc. The intervals between these

-famines will become shorter and shorter the more the population

-increases; and, finally, the famine times will disappear only in those

-rare years of plenty when the granaries are full. And a time will

-ultimately come when even in those years of plenty there will not be

-enough to go round; so that hunger will dog the footsteps of the nation.

-Nature must now step in once more and select those who are to survive,

-or else man will help himself by artificially preventing his own

-increase, with all the fatal consequences for the race and the species

-which have been already mentioned.

-It may be objected here that, in one form or another, this future is in

-store for all mankind and that the individual nation or race cannot

-escape the general fate.

-At first glance, that objection seems logical enough; but we have to

-take the following into account:

-The day will certainly come when the whole of mankind will be forced to

-check the augmentation of the human species, because there will be no

-further possibility of adjusting the productivity of the soil to the

-perpetual increase in the population. Nature must then be allowed to use

-her own methods or man may possibly take the task of regulation into his

-own hands and establish the necessary equilibrium by the application of

-better means than we have at our disposal to-day. But then it will be a

-problem for mankind as a whole, whereas now only those races have to

-suffer from want which no longer have the strength and daring to acquire

-sufficient soil to fulfil their needs. For, as things stand to-day, vast

-spaces still lie uncultivated all over the surface of the globe. Those

-spaces are only waiting for the ploughshare. And it is quite certain

-that Nature did not set those territories apart as the exclusive

-pastures of any one nation or race to be held unutilized in reserve for

-the future. Such land awaits the people who have the strength to acquire

-it and the diligence to cultivate it.

-Nature knows no political frontiers. She begins by establishing life on

-this globe and then watches the free play of forces. Those who show the

-greatest courage and industry are the children nearest to her heart and

-they will be granted the sovereign right of existence.

-If a nation confines itself to 'internal colonization' while other races

-are perpetually increasing their territorial annexations all over the

-globe, that nation will be forced to restrict the numerical growth of

-its population at a time when the other nations are increasing theirs.

-This situation must eventually arrive. It will arrive soon if the

-territory which the nation has at its disposal be small. Now it is

-unfortunately true that only too often the best nations--or, to speak

-more exactly, the only really cultured nations, who at the same time are

-the chief bearers of human progress--have decided, in their blind

-pacifism, to refrain from the acquisition of new territory and to be

-content with 'internal colonization.' But at the same time nations of

-inferior quality succeed in getting hold of large spaces for

-colonization all over the globe. The state of affairs which must result

-from this contrast is the following:

-Races which are culturally superior but less ruthless would be forced to

-restrict their increase, because of insufficient territory to support

-the population, while less civilized races could increase indefinitely,

-owing to the vast territories at their disposal. In other words: should

-that state of affairs continue, then the world will one day be possessed

-by that portion of mankind which is culturally inferior but more active

-and energetic.

-A time will come, even though in the distant future, when there can be

-only two alternatives: Either the world will be ruled according to our

-modern concept of democracy, and then every decision will be in favour

-of the numerically stronger races; or the world will be governed by the

-law of natural distribution of power, and then those nations will be

-victorious who are of more brutal will and are not the nations who have

-practised self-denial.

-Nobody can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful

-struggles for existence on the part of mankind. In the end the instinct

-of self-preservation alone will triumph. Before its consuming fire this

-so-called humanitarianism, which connotes only a mixture of fatuous

-timidity and self-conceit, will melt away as under the March sunshine.

-Man has become great through perpetual struggle. In perpetual peace his

-greatness must decline.

-For us Germans, the slogan of 'internal colonization' is fatal, because

-it encourages the belief that we have discovered a means which is in

-accordance with our innate pacifism and which will enable us to work for

-our livelihood in a half slumbering existence. Such a teaching, once it

-were taken seriously by our people, would mean the end of all effort to

-acquire for ourselves that place in the world which we deserve. If. the

-average German were once convinced that by this measure he has the

-chance of ensuring his livelihood and guaranteeing his future, any

-attempt to take an active and profitable part in sustaining the vital

-demands of his country would be out of the question. Should the nation

-agree to such an attitude then any really useful foreign policy might be

-looked upon as dead and buried, together with all hope for the future of

-the German people.

-Once we know what the consequences of this 'internal colonization'

-theory would be we can no longer consider as a mere accident the fact

-that among those who inculcate this quite pernicious mentality among our

-people the Jew is always in the first line. He knows his softies only

-too well not to know that they are ready to be the grateful victims of

-every swindle which promises them a gold-block in the shape of a

-discovery that will enable them to outwit Nature and thus render

-superfluous the hard and inexorable struggle for existence; so that

-finally they may become lords of the planet partly by sheer DOLCE FAR

-NIENTE and partly by working when a pleasing opportunity arises.

-It cannot be too strongly emphasised that any German 'internal

-colonization' must first of all be considered as suited only for the

-relief of social grievances. To carry out a system of internal

-colonization, the most important preliminary measure would be to free

-the soil from the grip of the speculator and assure that freedom. But

-such a system could never suffice to assure the future of the nation

-without the acquisition of new territory.

-If we adopt a different plan we shall soon reach a point beyond which

-the resources of our soil can no longer be exploited, and at the same

-time we shall reach a point beyond which our man-power cannot develop.

-In conclusion, the following must be said:

-The fact that only up to a limited extent can internal colonization be

-practised in a national territory which is of definitely small area and

-the restriction of the procreative faculty which follows as a result of

-such conditions--these two factors have a very unfavourable effect on

-the military and political standing of a nation.

-The extent of the national territory is a determining factor in the

-external security of the nation. The larger the territory which a people

-has at its disposal the stronger are the national defences of that

-people. Military decisions are more quickly, more easily, more

-completely and more effectively gained against a people occupying a

-national territory which is restricted in area, than against States

-which have extensive territories. Moreover, the magnitude of a national

-territory is in itself a certain assurance that an outside Power will

-not hastily risk the adventure of an invasion; for in that case the

-struggle would have to be long and exhausting before victory could be

-hoped for. The risk being so great. there would have to be extraordinary

-reasons for such an aggressive adventure. Hence it is that the

-territorial magnitude of a State furnishes a basis whereon national

-liberty and independence can be maintained with relative ease; while, on

-the contrary, a State whose territory is small offers a natural

-temptation to the invader.

-As a matter of fact, so-called national circles in the German REICH

-rejected those first two possibilities of establishing a balance between

-the constant numerical increase in the population and a national

-territory which could not expand proportionately. But the reasons given

-for that rejection were different from those which I have just

-expounded. It was mainly on the basis of certain moral sentiments that

-restriction of the birth-rate was objected to. Proposals for internal

-colonization were rejected indignantly because it was suspected that

-such a policy might mean an attack on the big landowners, and that this

-attack might be the forerunner of a general assault against the

-principle of private property as a whole. The form in which the latter

-solution--internal colonization--was recommended justified the

-misgivings of the big landowners.

-But the form in which the colonization proposal was rejected was not

-very clever, as regards the impression which such rejection might be

-calculated to make on the mass of the people, and anyhow it did not go

-to the root of the problem at all.

-Only two further ways were left open in which work and bread could be

-secured for the increasing population.

-(3) It was possible to think of acquiring new territory on which a

-certain portion of' the increasing population could be settled each

-year; or else

-(4) Our industry and commerce had to be organized in such a manner as to

-secure an increase in the exports and thus be able to support our people

-by the increased purchasing power accruing from the profits made on

-foreign markets.

-Therefore the problem was: A policy of territorial expansion or a

-colonial and commercial policy. Both policies were taken into

-consideration, examined, recommended and rejected, from various

-standpoints, with the result that the second alternative was finally

-adopted. The sounder alternative, however, was undoubtedly the first.

-The principle of acquiring new territory, on which the surplus

-population could be settled, has many advantages to recommend it,

-especially if we take the future as well as the present into account.

-In the first place, too much importance cannot be placed on the

-necessity for adopting a policy which will make it possible to maintain

-a healthy peasant class as the basis of the national community. Many of

-our present evils have their origin exclusively in the disproportion

-between the urban and rural portions of the population. A solid stock of

-small and medium farmers has at all times been the best protection which

-a nation could have against the social diseases that are prevalent

-to-day. Moreover, that is the only solution which guarantees the daily

-bread of a nation within the framework of its domestic national economy.

-With this condition once guaranteed, industry and commerce would retire

-from the unhealthy position of foremost importance which they hold

-to-day and would take their due place within the general scheme of

-national economy, adjusting the balance between demand and supply. Thus

-industry and commerce would no longer constitute the basis of the

-national subsistence, but would be auxiliary institutions. By fulfilling

-their proper function, which is to adjust the balance between national

-production and national consumption, they render the national

-subsistence more or less independent of foreign countries and thus

-assure the freedom and independence of the nation, especially at

-critical junctures in its history.

-Such a territorial policy, however, cannot find its fulfilment in the

-Cameroons but almost exclusively here in Europe. One must calmly and

-squarely face the truth that it certainly cannot be part of the

-dispensation of Divine Providence to give a fifty times larger share of

-the soil of this world to one nation than to another. In considering

-this state of affairs to-day, one must not allow existing political

-frontiers to distract attention from what ought to exist on principles

-of strict justice. If this earth has sufficient room for all, then we

-ought to have that share of the soil which is absolutely necessary for

-our existence.

-Of course people will not voluntarily make that accommodation. At this

-point the right of self-preservation comes into effect. And when

-attempts to settle the difficulty in an amicable way are rejected the

-clenched hand must take by force that which was refused to the open hand

-of friendship. If in the past our ancestors had based their political

-decisions on similar pacifist nonsense as our present generation does,

-we should not possess more than one-third of the national territory that

-we possess to-day and probably there would be no German nation to worry

-about its future in Europe. No. We owe the two Eastern Marks (Note 8) of

-the Empire to the natural determination of our forefathers in their

-struggle for existence, and thus it is to the same determined policy that

-we owe the inner strength which is based on the extent of our political

-and racial territories and which alone has made it possible for us to

-exist up to now.

-[Note 8. German Austria was the East Mark on the South and East Prussia

-was the East Mark on the North.]

-And there is still another reason why that solution would have been the

-correct one:

-Many contemporary European States are like pyramids standing on their

-apexes. The European territory which these States possess is

-ridiculously small when compared with the enormous overhead weight of

-their colonies, foreign trade, etc. It may be said that they have the

-apex in Europe and the base of the pyramid all over the world; quite

-different from the United States of America, which has its base on the

-American Continent and is in contact with the rest of the world only

-through its apex. Out of that situation arises the incomparable inner

-strength of the U.S.A. and the contrary situation is responsible for the

-weakness of most of the colonial European Powers.

-England cannot be suggested as an argument against this assertion,

-though in glancing casually over the map of the British Empire one is

-inclined easily to overlook the existence of a whole Anglo-Saxon world.

-England's position cannot be compared with that of any other State in

-Europe, since it forms a vast community of language and culture together

-with the U.S.A.

-Therefore the only possibility which Germany had of carrying a sound

-territorial policy into effect was that of acquiring new territory in

-Europe itself. Colonies cannot serve this purpose as long as they are

-not suited for settlement by Europeans on a large scale. In the

-nineteenth century it was no longer possible to acquire such colonies by

-peaceful means. Therefore any attempt at such a colonial expansion would

-have meant an enormous military struggle. Consequently it would have

-been more practical to undertake that military struggle for new

-territory in Europe rather than to wage war for the acquisition of

-possessions abroad.

-Such a decision naturally demanded that the nation's undivided energies

-should be devoted to it. A policy of that kind which requires for its

-fulfilment every ounce of available energy on the part of everybody

-concerned, cannot be carried into effect by half-measures or in a

-hesitating manner. The political leadership of the German Empire should

-then have been directed exclusively to this goal. No political step

-should have been taken in response to other considerations than this

-task and the means of accomplishing it. Germany should have been alive

-to the fact that such a goal could have been reached only by war, and

-the prospect of war should have been faced with calm and collected

-determination.

-The whole system of alliances should have been envisaged and valued from

-that standpoint. If new territory were to be acquired in Europe it must

-have been mainly at Russia's cost, and once again the new German Empire

-should have set out on its march along the same road as was formerly

-trodden by the Teutonic Knights, this time to acquire soil for the

-German plough by means of the German sword and thus provide the nation

-with its daily bread.

-For such a policy, however, there was only one possible ally in Europe.

-That was England.

-Only by alliance with England was it possible to safeguard the rear of

-the new German crusade. The justification for undertaking such an

-expedition was stronger than the justification which our forefathers had

-for setting out on theirs. Not one of our pacifists refuses to eat the

-bread made from the grain grown in the East; and yet the first plough

-here was that called the 'Sword'.

-No sacrifice should have been considered too great if it was a necessary

-means of gaining England's friendship. Colonial and naval ambitions

-should have been abandoned and attempts should not have been made to

-compete against British industries.

-Only a clear and definite policy could lead to such an achievement. Such

-a policy would have demanded a renunciation of the endeavour to conquer

-the world's markets, also a renunciation of colonial intentions and

-naval power. All the means of power at the disposal of the State should

-have been concentrated in the military forces on land. This policy would

-have involved a period of temporary self-denial, for the sake of a great

-and powerful future.

-There was a time when England might have entered into negotiations with

-us, on the grounds of that proposal. For England would have well

-understood that the problems arising from the steady increase in

-population were forcing Germany to look for a solution either in Europe

-with the help of England or, without England, in some other part of the

-world.

-This outlook was probably the chief reason why London tried to draw

-nearer to Germany about the turn of the century. For the first time in

-Germany an attitude was then manifested which afterwards displayed

-itself in a most tragic way. People then gave expression to an

-unpleasant feeling that we might thus find ourselves obliged to pull

-England's chestnuts out of the fire. As if an alliance could be based on

-anything else than mutual give-and-take! And England would have become a

-party to such a mutual bargain. British diplomats were still wise enough

-to know that an equivalent must be forthcoming as a consideration for

-any services rendered.

-Let us suppose that in 1904 our German foreign policy was managed

-astutely enough to enable us to take the part which Japan played. It is

-not easy to measure the greatness of the results that might have accrued

-to Germany from such a policy.

-There would have been no world war. The blood which would have been shed

-in 1904 would not have been a tenth of that shed from 1914 to 1918. And

-what a position Germany would hold in the world to-day?

-In any case the alliance with Austria was then an absurdity.

-For this mummy of a State did not attach itself to Germany for the

-purpose of carrying through a war, but rather to maintain a perpetual

-state of peace which was meant to be exploited for the purpose of slowly

-but persistently exterminating the German element in the Dual Monarchy.

-Another reason for the impossible character of this alliance was that

-nobody could expect such a State to take an active part in defending

-German national interests, seeing that it did not have sufficient

-strength and determination to put an end to the policy of

-de-Germanization within its own frontiers. If Germany herself was not

-moved by a sufficiently powerful national sentiment and was not

-sufficiently ruthless to take away from that absurd Habsburg State the

-right to decide the destinies of ten million inhabitants who were of the

-same nationality as the Germans themselves, surely it was out of the

-question to expect the Habsburg State to be a collaborating party in any

-great and courageous German undertaking. The attitude of the old REICH

-towards the Austrian question might have been taken as a test of its

-stamina for the struggle where the destinies of the whole nation were at

-stake.

-In any case, the policy of oppression against the German population in

-Austria should not have been allowed to be carried on and to grow

-stronger from year to year; for the value of Austria as an ally could be

-assured only by upholding the German element there. But that course was

-not followed.

-Nothing was dreaded so much as the possibility of an armed conflict; but

-finally, and at a most unfavourable moment, the conflict had to be faced

-and accepted. They thought to cut loose from the cords of destiny, but

-destiny held them fast.

-They dreamt of maintaining a world peace and woke up to find themselves

-in a world war.

-And that dream of peace was a most significant reason why the

-above-mentioned third alternative for the future development of Germany

-was not even taken into consideration. The fact was recognized that new

-territory could be gained only in the East; but this meant that there

-would be fighting ahead, whereas they wanted peace at any cost. The

-slogan of German foreign policy at one time used to be: The use of all

-possible means for the maintenance of the German nation. Now it was

-changed to: Maintenance of world peace by all possible means. We know

-what the result was. I shall resume the discussion of this point in

-detail later on.

-There remained still another alternative, which we may call the fourth.

-This was: Industry and world trade, naval power and colonies.

-Such a development might certainly have been attained more easily and

-more rapidly. To colonize a territory is a slow process, often extending

-over centuries. Yet this fact is the source of its inner strength, for

-it is not through a sudden burst of enthusiasm that it can be put into

-effect, but rather through a gradual and enduring process of growth

-quite different from industrial progress, which can be urged on by

-advertisement within a few years. The result thus achieved, however, is

-not of lasting quality but something frail, like a soap-bubble. It is

-much easier to build quickly than to carry through the tough task of

-settling a territory with farmers and establishing farmsteads. But the

-former is more quickly destroyed than the latter.

-In adopting such a course Germany must have known that to follow it out

-would necessarily mean war sooner or later. Only children could believe

-that sweet and unctuous expressions of goodness and persistent avowals

-of peaceful intentions could get them their bananas through this

-'friendly competition between the nations', with the prospect of never

-having to fight for them.

-No. Once we had taken this road, England was bound to be our enemy at

-some time or other to come. Of course it fitted in nicely with our

-innocent assumptions, but still it was absurd to grow indignant at the

-fact that a day came when the English took the liberty of opposing our

-peaceful penetration with the brutality of violent egoists.

-Naturally, we on our side would never have done such a thing.

-If a European territorial policy against Russia could have been put into

-practice only in case we had England as our ally, on the other hand a

-colonial and world-trade policy could have been carried into effect only

-against English interests and with the support of Russia. But then this

-policy should have been adopted in full consciousness of all the

-consequences it involved and, above all things, Austria should have been

-discarded as quickly as possible.

-At the turn of the century the alliance with Austria had become a

-veritable absurdity from all points of view.

-But nobody thought of forming an alliance with Russia against England,

-just as nobody thought of making England an ally against Russia; for in

-either case the final result would inevitably have meant war. And to

-avoid war was the very reason why a commercial and industrial policy was

-decided upon. It was believed that the peaceful conquest of the world by

-commercial means provided a method which would permanently supplant the

-policy of force. Occasionally, however, there were doubts about the

-efficiency of this principle, especially when some quite

-incomprehensible warnings came from England now and again. That was the

-reason why the fleet was built. It was not for the purpose of attacking

-or annihilating England but merely to defend the concept of world-peace,

-mentioned above, and also to protect the principle of conquering the

-world by 'peaceful' means. Therefore this fleet was kept within modest

-limits, not only as regards the number and tonnage of the vessels but

-also in regard to their armament, the idea being to furnish new proofs

-of peaceful intentions.

-The chatter about the peaceful conquest of the world by commercial means

-was probably the most completely nonsensical stuff ever raised to the

-dignity of a guiding principle in the policy of a State, This nonsense

-became even more foolish when England was pointed out as a typical

-example to prove how the thing could be put into practice. Our doctrinal

-way of regarding history and our professorial ideas in that domain have

-done irreparable harm and offer a striking 'proof' of how people 'learn'

-history without understanding anything of it. As a matter of fact,

-England ought to have been looked upon as a convincing argument against

-the theory of the pacific conquest of the world by commercial means. No

-nation prepared the way for its commercial conquests more brutally than

-England did by means of the sword, and no other nation has defended such

-conquests more ruthlessly. Is it not a characteristic quality of British

-statecraft that it knows how to use political power in order to gain

-economic advantages and, inversely, to turn economic conquests into

-political power? What an astounding error it was to believe that England

-would not have the courage to give its own blood for the purposes of its

-own economic expansion! The fact that England did not possess a national

-army proved nothing; for it is not the actual military structure of the

-moment that matters but rather the will and determination to use

-whatever military strength is available. England has always had the

-armament which she needed. She always fought with those weapons which

-were necessary for success. She sent mercenary troops, to fight as long

-as mercenaries sufficed; but she never hesitated to draw heavily and

-deeply from the best blood of the whole nation when victory could be

-obtained only by such a sacrifice. And in every case the fighting

-spirit, dogged determination, and use of brutal means in conducting

-military operations have always remained the same.

-But in Germany, through the medium of the schools, the Press and the

-comic papers, an idea of the Englishman was gradually formed which was

-bound eventually to lead to the worst kind of self-deception. This

-absurdity slowly but persistently spread into every quarter of German

-life. The result was an undervaluation for which we have had to pay a

-heavy penalty. The delusion was so profound that the Englishman was

-looked upon as a shrewd business man, but personally a coward even to an

-incredible degree. Unfortunately our lofty teachers of professorial

-history did not bring home to the minds of their pupils the truth that

-it is not possible to build up such a mighty organization as the British

-Empire by mere swindle and fraud. The few who called attention to that

-truth were either ignored or silenced. I can vividly recall to mind the

-astonished looks of my comrades when they found themselves personally

-face to face for the first time with the Tommies in Flanders. After a

-few days of fighting the consciousness slowly dawned on our soldiers

-that those Scotsmen were not like the ones we had seen described and

-caricatured in the comic papers and mentioned in the communiqu�s.

-It was then that I formed my first ideas of the efficiency of various

-forms of propaganda.

-Such a falsification, however, served the purpose of those who had

-fabricated it. This caricature of the Englishman, though false, could be

-used to prove the possibility of conquering the world peacefully by

-commercial means. Where the Englishman succeeded we should also succeed.

-Our far greater honesty and our freedom from that specifically English

-'perfidy' would be assets on our side. Thereby it was hoped that the

-sympathy of the smaller nations and the confidence of the greater

-nations could be gained more easily.

-We did not realize that our honesty was an object of profound aversion

-for other people because we ourselves believed in it. The rest of the

-world looked on our behaviour as the manifestation of a shrewd

-deceitfulness; but when the revolution came, then they were amazed at

-the deeper insight it gave them into our mentality, sincere even beyond

-the limits of stupidity.

-Once we understand the part played by that absurd notion of conquering

-the world by peaceful commercial means we can clearly understand how

-that other absurdity, the Triple Alliance, came to exist. With what

-State then could an alliance have been made? In alliance with Austria we

-could not acquire new territory by military means, even in Europe. And

-this very fact was the real reason for the inner weakness of the Triple

-Alliance. A Bismarck could permit himself such a makeshift for the

-necessities of the moment, but certainly not any of his bungling

-successors, and least of all when the foundations no longer existed on

-which Bismarck had formed the Triple Alliance. In Bismarck's time

-Austria could still be looked upon as a German State; but the gradual

-introduction of universal suffrage turned the country into a

-parliamentary Babel, in which the German voice was scarcely audible.

-From the viewpoint of racial policy, this alliance with Austria was

-simply disastrous. A new Slavic Great Power was allowed to grow up close

-to the frontiers of the German Empire. Later on this Power was bound to

-adopt towards Germany an attitude different from that of Russia, for

-example. The Alliance was thus bound to become more empty and more

-feeble, because the only supporters of it were losing their influence

-and were being systematically pushed out of the more important public

-offices.

-About the year 1900 the Alliance with Austria had already entered the

-same phase as the Alliance between Austria and Italy.

-Here also only one alternative was possible: Either to take the side of

-the Habsburg Monarchy or to raise a protest against the oppression of

-the German element in Austria. But, generally speaking, when one takes

-such a course it is bound eventually to lead to open conflict.

-From the psychological point of view also, the Triple decreases

-according as such an alliance limits its object to the defence of the

-STATUS QUO. But, on the other hand, an alliance will increase its

-cohesive strength the more the parties concerned in it may hope to use

-it as a means of reaching some practical goal of expansion. Here, as

-everywhere else, strength does not lie in defence but in attack.

-This truth was recognized in various quarters but, unfortunately, not by

-the so-called elected representatives of the people. As early as 1912

-Ludendorff, who was then Colonel and an Officer of the General Staff,

-pointed out these weak features of the Alliance in a memorandum which he

-then drew up. But of course the 'statesmen' did not attach any

-importance or value to that document. In general it would seem as if

-reason were a faculty that is active only in the case of ordinary

-mortals but that it is entirely absent when we come to deal with that

-branch of the species known as 'diplomats'.

-It was lucky for Germany that the war of 1914 broke out with Austria as

-its direct cause, for thus the Habsburgs were compelled to participate.

-Had the origin of the War been otherwise, Germany would have been left

-to her own resources. The Habsburg State would never have been ready or

-willing to take part in a war for the origin of which Germany was

-responsible. What was the object of so much obloquy later in the case of

-Italy's decision would have taken place, only earlier, in the case of

-Austria. In other words, if Germany had been forced to go to war for

-some reason of its own, Austria would have remained 'neutral' in order

-to safeguard the State against a revolution which might begin

-immediately after the war had started. The Slav element would have

-preferred to smash up the Dual Monarchy in 1914 rather than permit it to

-come to the assistance of Germany. But at that time there were only a

-few who understood all the dangers and aggravations which resulted from

-the alliance with the Danubian Monarchy.

-In the first place, Austria had too many enemies who were eagerly

-looking forward to obtain the heritage of that decrepit State, so that

-these people gradually developed a certain animosity against Germany,

-because Germany was an obstacle to their desires inasmuch as it kept the

-Dual Monarchy from falling to pieces, a consummation that was hoped for

-and yearned for on all sides. The conviction developed that Vienna could

-be reached only by passing through Berlin.

-In the second place, by adopting this policy Germany lost its best and

-most promising chances of other alliances. In place of these

-possibilities one now observed a growing tension in the relations with

-Russia and even with Italy. And this in spite of the fact that the

-general attitude in Rome was just as favourable to Germany as it was

-hostile to Austria, a hostility which lay dormant in the individual

-Italian and broke out violently on occasion.

-Since a commercial and industrial policy had been adopted, no motive was

-left for waging war against Russia. Only the enemies of the two

-countries, Germany and Russia, could have an active interest in such a

-war under these circumstances. As a matter of fact, it was only the Jews

-and the Marxists who tried to stir up bad blood between the two States.

-In the third place, the Alliance constituted a permanent danger to

-German security; for any great Power that was hostile to Bismarck's

-Empire could mobilize a whole lot of other States in a war against

-Germany by promising them tempting spoils at the expense of the Austrian

-ally.

-It was possible to arouse the whole of Eastern Europe against Austria,

-especially Russia, and Italy also. The world coalition which had

-developed under the leadership of King Edward could never have become a

-reality if Germany's ally, Austria, had not offered such an alluring

-prospect of booty. It was this fact alone which made it possible to

-combine so many heterogeneous States with divergent interests into one

-common phalanx of attack. Every member could hope to enrich himself at

-the expense of Austria if he joined in the general attack against

-Germany. The fact that Turkey was also a tacit party to the unfortunate

-alliance with Austria augmented Germany's peril to an extraordinary

-degree.

-Jewish international finance needed this bait of the Austrian heritage

-in order to carry out its plans of ruining Germany; for Germany had not

-yet surrendered to the general control which the international captains

-of finance and trade exercised over the other States. Thus it was

-possible to consolidate that coalition and make it strong enough and

-brave enough, through the sheer weight of numbers, to join in bodily

-conflict with the 'horned' Siegfried. (Note 9)

-[Note 9. Carlyle explains the epithet thus: "First then, let no one from

-the title GEHOERNTE (Horned, Behorned), fancy that our brave Siegfried,

-who was the loveliest as well as the bravest of men, was actually

-cornuted, and had hornson his brow, though like Michael Angelo's Moses; or

-even that his skin, to which the epithet BEHORNED refers, was hard like a

-crocodile's, and not softer than the softest shamey, for the truth is,

-his Hornedness means only an Invulnerability, like that of Achilles..."]

-The alliance with the Habsburg Monarchy, which I loathed while still in

-Austria, was the subject of grave concern on my part and caused me to

-meditate on it so persistently that finally I came to the conclusions

-which I have mentioned above.

-In the small circles which I frequented at that time I did not conceal

-my conviction that this sinister agreement with a State doomed to

-collapse would also bring catastrophe to Germany if she did not free

-herself from it in time. I never for a moment wavered in that firm

-conviction, even when the tempest of the World War seemed to have made

-shipwreck of the reasoning faculty itself and had put blind enthusiasm

-in its place, even among those circles where the coolest and hardest

-objective thinking ought to have held sway. In the trenches I voiced and

-upheld my own opinion whenever these problems came under discussion. I

-held that to abandon the Habsburg Monarchy would involve no sacrifice if

-Germany could thereby reduce the number of her own enemies; for the

-millions of Germans who had donned the steel helmet had done so not to

-fight for the maintenance of a corrupt dynasty but rather for the

-salvation of the German people.

-Before the War there were occasions on which it seemed that at least one

-section of the German public had some slight misgivings about the

-political wisdom of the alliance with Austria. From time to time German

-conservative circles issued warnings against being over-confident about

-the worth of that alliance; but, like every other reasonable suggestion

-made at that time, it was thrown to the winds. The general conviction

-was that the right measures had been adopted to 'conquer' the world,

-that the success of these measures would be enormous and the sacrifices

-negligible.

-Once again the 'uninitiated' layman could do nothing but observe how the

-'elect' were marching straight ahead towards disaster and enticing their

-beloved people to follow them, as the rats followed the Pied Piper of

-Hamelin.

-If we would look for the deeper grounds which made it possible to foist

-on the people this absurd notion of peacefully conquering the world

-through commercial penetration, and how it was possible to put forward

-the maintenance of world-peace as a national aim, we shall find that

-these grounds lay in a general morbid condition that had pervaded the

-whole body of German political thought.

-The triumphant progress of technical science in Germany and the

-marvellous development of German industries and commerce led us to

-forget that a powerful State had been the necessary pre-requisite of

-that success. On the contrary, certain circles went even so far as to

-give vent to the theory that the State owed its very existence to these

-phenomena; that it was, above all, an economic institution and should be

-constituted in accordance with economic interests. Therefore, it was

-held, the State was dependent on the economic structure. This condition

-of things was looked upon and glorified as the soundest and most normal

-arrangement.

-Now, the truth is that the State in itself has nothing whatsoever to do

-with any definite economic concept or a definite economic development.

-It does not arise from a compact made between contracting parties,

-within a certain delimited territory, for the purpose of serving

-economic ends. The State is a community of living beings who have

-kindred physical and spiritual natures, organized for the purpose of

-assuring the conservation of their own kind and to help towards

-fulfilling those ends which Providence has assigned to that particular

-race or racial branch. Therein, and therein alone, lie the purpose and

-meaning of a State. Economic activity is one of the many auxiliary means

-which are necessary for the attainment of those aims. But economic

-activity is never the origin or purpose of a State, except where a State

-has been originally founded on a false and unnatural basis. And this

-alone explains why a State as such does not necessarily need a certain

-delimited territory as a condition of its establishment. This condition

-becomes a necessary pre-requisite only among those people who would

-provide and assure subsistence for their kinsfolk through their own

-industry, which means that they are ready to carry on the struggle for

-existence by means of their own work. People who can sneak their way,

-like parasites, into the human body politic and make others work for

-them under various pretences can form a State without possessing any

-definite delimited territory. This is chiefly applicable to that

-parasitic nation which, particularly at the present time preys upon the

-honest portion of mankind; I mean the Jews.

-The Jewish State has never been delimited in space. It has been spread

-all over the world, without any frontiers whatsoever, and has always

-been constituted from the membership of one race exclusively. That is

-why the Jews have always formed a State within the State. One of the

-most ingenious tricks ever devised has been that of sailing the Jewish

-ship-of-state under the flag of Religion and thus securing that

-tolerance which Aryans are always ready to grant to different religious

-faiths. But the Mosaic Law is really nothing else than the doctrine of

-the preservation of the Jewish race. Therefore this Law takes in all

-spheres of sociological, political and economic science which have a

-bearing on the main end in view.

-The instinct for the preservation of one's own species is the primary

-cause that leads to the formation of human communities. Hence the State

-is a racial organism, and not an economic organization. The difference

-between the two is so great as to be incomprehensible to our

-contemporary so-called 'statesmen'. That is why they like to believe

-that the State may be constituted as an economic structure, whereas the

-truth is that it has always resulted from the exercise of those

-qualities which are part of the will to preserve the species and the

-race. But these qualities always exist and operate through the heroic

-virtues and have nothing to do with commercial egoism; for the

-conservation of the species always presupposes that the individual is

-ready to sacrifice himself. Such is the meaning of the poet's lines:

-UND SETZET IHR NICHT DAS LEBEN EIN,

-NIE WIRD EUCH DAS LEBEN GEWONNEN SEIN.

-(AND IF YOU DO NOT STAKE YOUR LIFE,

-YOU WILL NEVER WIN LIFE FOR YOURSELF.)

-[Note 10. Lines quoted from the Song of the Curassiers in Schiller's

-WALLENSTEIN.]

-The sacrifice of the individual existence is necessary in order to

-assure the conservation of the race. Hence it is that the most essential

-condition for the establishment and maintenance of a State is a certain

-feeling of solidarity, wounded in an identity of character and race and

-in a resolute readiness to defend these at all costs. With people who

-live on their own territory this will result in a development of the

-heroic virtues; with a parasitic people it will develop the arts of

-subterfuge and gross perfidy unless we admit that these characteristics

-are innate and that the varying political forms through which the

-parasitic race expresses itself are only the outward manifestations of

-innate characteristics. At least in the beginning, the formation of a

-State can result only from a manifestation of the heroic qualities I

-have spoken of. And the people who fail in the struggle for existence,

-that is to say those, who become vassals and are thereby condemned to

-disappear entirely sooner or later, are those who do not display the

-heroic virtues in the struggle, or those who fall victims to the perfidy

-of the parasites. And even in this latter case the failure is not so

-much due to lack of intellectual powers, but rather to a lack of courage

-and determination. An attempt is made to conceal the real nature of this

-failing by saying that it is the humane feeling.

-The qualities which are employed for the foundation and preservation of

-a State have accordingly little or nothing to do with the economic

-situation. And this is conspicuously demonstrated by the fact that the

-inner strength of a State only very rarely coincides with what is called

-its economic expansion. On the contrary, there are numerous examples to

-show that a period of economic prosperity indicates the approaching

-decline of a State. If it were correct to attribute the foundation of

-human communities to economic forces, then the power of the State as

-such would be at its highest pitch during periods of economic

-prosperity, and not vice versa.

-It is specially difficult to understand how the belief that the State is

-brought into being and preserved by economic forces could gain currency

-in a country which has given proof of the opposite in every phase of its

-history. The history of Prussia shows in a manner particularly clear and

-distinct, that it is out of the moral virtues of the people and not from

-their economic circumstances that a State is formed. It is only under

-the protection of those virtues that economic activities can be

-developed and the latter will continue to flourish until a time comes

-when the creative political capacity declines. Therewith the economic

-structure will also break down, a phenomenon which is now happening in

-an alarming manner before our eyes. The material interest of mankind can

-prosper only in the shade of the heroic virtues. The moment they become

-the primary considerations of life they wreck the basis of their own

-existence.

-Whenever the political power of Germany was specially strong the

-economic situation also improved. But whenever economic interests alone

-occupied the foremost place in the life of the people, and thrust

-transcendent ideals into the back.-ground, the State collapsed and

-economic ruin followed readily.

-If we consider the question of what those forces actually are which are

-necessary to the creation and preservation of a State, we shall find

-that they are: The capacity and readiness to sacrifice the individual to

-the common welfare. That these qualities have nothing at all to do with

-economics can be proved by referring to the simple fact that man does

-not sacrifice himself for material interests. In other words, he will

-die for an ideal but not for a business. The marvellous gift for public

-psychology which the English have was never shown better than the way in

-which they presented their case in the World War. We were fighting for

-our bread; but the English declared that they were fighting for

-'freedom', and not at all for their own freedom. Oh, no, but for the

-freedom of the small nations. German people laughed at that effrontery

-and were angered by it; but in doing so they showed how political

-thought had declined among our so-called diplomats in Germany even

-before the War. These diplomatists did not have the slightest notion of

-what that force was which brought men to face death of their own free

-will and determination.

-As long as the German people, in the War of 1914, continued to believe

-that they were fighting for ideals they stood firm. As soon as they were

-told that they were fighting only for their daily bread they began to

-give up the struggle.

-Our clever 'statesmen' were greatly amazed at this change of feeling.

-They never understood that as soon as man is called upon to struggle for

-purely material causes he will avoid death as best he can; for death and

-the enjoyment of the material fruits of a victory are quite incompatible

-concepts. The frailest woman will become a heroine when the life of her

-own child is at stake. And only the will to save the race and native

-land or the State, which offers protection to the race, has in all ages

-been the urge which has forced men to face the weapons of their enemies.

-The following may be proclaimed as a truth that always holds good:

-A State has never arisen from commercial causes for the purpose of

-peacefully serving commercial ends; but States have always arisen from

-the instinct to maintain the racial group, whether this instinct

-manifest itself in the heroic sphere or in the sphere of cunning and

-chicanery. In the first case we have the Aryan States, based on the

-principles of work and cultural development. In the second case we have

-the Jewish parasitic colonies. But as soon as economic interests begin

-to predominate over the racial and cultural instincts in a people or a

-State, these economic interests unloose the causes that lead to

-subjugation and oppression.

-The belief, which prevailed in Germany before the War, that the world

-could be opened up and even conquered for Germany through a system of

-peaceful commercial penetration and a colonial policy was a typical

-symptom which indicated the decline of those real qualities whereby

-States are created and preserved, and indicated also the decline of that

-insight, will-power and practical determination which belong to those

-qualities. The World War with its consequences, was the natural

-liquidation of that decline.

-To anyone who had not thought over the matter deeply, this attitude of

-the German people--which was quite general--must have seemed an

-insoluble enigma. After all, Germany herself was a magnificent example

-of an empire that had been built up purely by a policy of power.

-Prussia, which was the generative cell of the German Empire, had been

-created by brilliant heroic deeds and not by a financial or commercial

-compact. And the Empire itself was but the magnificent recompense for a

-leadership that had been conducted on a policy of power and military

-valour.

-How then did it happen that the political instincts of this very same

-German people became so degenerate? For it was not merely one isolated

-phenomenon which pointed to this decadence, but morbid symptoms which

-appeared in alarming numbers, now all over the body politic, or eating

-into the body of the nation like a gangrenous ulcer. It seemed as if

-some all-pervading poisonous fluid had been injected by some mysterious

-hand into the bloodstream of this once heroic body, bringing about a

-creeping paralysis that affected the reason and the elementary instinct

-of self-preservation.

-During the years 1912-1914 I used to ponder perpetually on those

-problems which related to the policy of the Triple Alliance and the

-economic policy then being pursued by the German Empire. Once again I

-came to the conclusion that the only explanation of this enigma lay in

-the operation of that force which I had already become acquainted with

-in Vienna, though from a different angle of vision. The force to which I

-refer was the Marxist teaching and WELTANSCHAUUNG and its organized

-action throughout the nation.

-For the second time in my life I plunged deep into the study of that

-destructive teaching. This time, however, I was not urged by the study

-of the question by the impressions and influences of my daily

-environment, but directed rather by the observation of general phenomena

-in the political life of Germany. In delving again into the theoretical

-literature of this new world and endeavouring to get a clear view of the

-possible consequences of its teaching, I compared the theoretical

-principles of Marxism with the phenomena and happenings brought about by

-its activities in the political, cultural, and economic spheres.

-For the first time in my life I now turned my attention to the efforts

-that were being made to subdue this universal pest.

-I studied Bismarck's exceptional legislation in its original concept,

-its operation and its results. Gradually I formed a basis for my own

-opinions, which has proved as solid as a rock, so that never since have

-I had to change my attitude towards the general problem. I also made a

-further and more thorough analysis of the relations between Marxism and

-Jewry.

-During my sojourn in Vienna I used to look upon Germany as an

-imperturbable colossus; but even then serious doubts and misgivings

-would often disturb me. In my own mind and in my conversation with my

-small circle of acquaintances I used to criticize Germany's foreign

-policy and the incredibly superficial way, according to my thinking, in

-which Marxism was dealt with, though it was then the most important

-problem in Germany. I could not understand how they could stumble

-blindfolded into the midst of this peril, the effects of which would be

-momentous if the openly declared aims of Marxism could be put into

-practice. Even as early as that time I warned people around me, just as

-I am warning a wider audience now, against that soothing slogan of all

-indolent and feckless nature: NOTHING CAN HAPPEN TO US. A similar mental

-contagion had already destroyed a mighty empire. Can Germany escape the

-operation of those laws to which all other human communities are

-subject?

-In the years 1913 and 1914 I expressed my opinion for the first time in

-various circles, some of which are now members of the National Socialist

-Movement, that the problem of how the future of the German nation can be

-secured is the problem of how Marxism can be exterminated.

-I considered the disastrous policy of the Triple Alliance as one of the

-consequences resulting from the disintegrating effects of the Marxist

-teaching; for the alarming feature was that this teaching was invisibly

-corrupting the foundations of a healthy political and economic outlook.

-Those who had been themselves contaminated frequently did not realise

-that their aims and actions sprang from this WELTANSCHAUUNG, which they

-otherwise openly repudiated.

-Long before then the spiritual and moral decline of the German people

-had set in, though those who were affected by the morbid decadence were

-frequently unaware--as often happens--of the forces which were breaking

-up their very existence. Sometimes they tried to cure the disease by

-doctoring the symptoms, which were taken as the cause. But since nobody

-recognized, or wanted to recognize, the real cause of the disease this

-way of combating Marxism was no more effective than the application of

-some quack's ointment.

-CHAPTER V

-THE WORLD WAR

-During the boisterous years of my youth nothing used to damp my wild

-spirits so much as to think that I was born at a time when the world had

-manifestly decided not to erect any more temples of fame except in

-honour of business people and State officials. The tempest of historical

-achievements seemed to have permanently subsided, so much so that the

-future appeared to be irrevocably delivered over to what was called

-peaceful competition between the nations. This simply meant a system of

-mutual exploitation by fraudulent means, the principle of resorting to

-the use of force in self-defence being formally excluded. Individual

-countries increasingly assumed the appearance of commercial

-undertakings, grabbing territory and clients and concessions from each

-other under any and every kind of pretext. And it was all staged to an

-accompaniment of loud but innocuous shouting. This trend of affairs

-seemed destined to develop steadily and permanently. Having the support

-of public approbation, it seemed bound eventually to transform the world

-into a mammoth department store. In the vestibule of this emporium there

-would be rows of monumental busts which would confer immortality on

-those profiteers who had proved themselves the shrewdest at their trade

-and those administrative officials who had shown themselves the most

-innocuous. The salesmen could be represented by the English and the

-administrative functionaries by the Germans; whereas the Jews would be

-sacrificed to the unprofitable calling of proprietorship, for they are

-constantly avowing that they make no profits and are always being called

-upon to 'pay out'. Moreover they have the advantage of being versed in

-the foreign languages.

-Why could I not have been born a hundred years ago? I used to ask

-myself. Somewhere about the time of the Wars of Liberation, when a man

-was still of some value even though he had no 'business'.

-Thus I used to think it an ill-deserved stroke of bad luck that I had

-arrived too late on this terrestrial globe, and I felt chagrined at the

-idea that my life would have to run its course along peaceful and

-orderly lines. As a boy I was anything but a pacifist and all attempts

-to make me so turned out futile.

-Then the Boer War came, like a glow of lightning on the far horizon. Day

-after day I used to gaze intently at the newspapers and I almost

-'devoured' the telegrams and COMMUNIQUES, overjoyed to think that I

-could witness that heroic struggle, even though from so great a

-distance.

-When the Russo-Japanese War came I was older and better able to judge

-for myself. For national reasons I then took the side of the Japanese in

-our discussions. I looked upon the defeat of the Russians as a blow to

-Austrian Slavism.

-Many years had passed between that time and my arrival in Munich. I now

-realized that what I formerly believed to be a morbid decadence was only

-the lull before the storm. During my Vienna days the Balkans were

-already in the grip of that sultry pause which presages the violent

-storm. Here and there a flash of lightning could be occasionally seen;

-but it rapidly disappeared in sinister gloom. Then the Balkan War broke

-out; and therewith the first gusts of the forthcoming tornado swept

-across a highly-strung Europe. In the supervening calm men felt the

-atmosphere oppressive and foreboding, so much so that the sense of an

-impending catastrophe became transformed into a feeling of impatient

-expectance. They wished that Heaven would give free rein to the fate

-which could now no longer be curbed. Then the first great bolt of

-lightning struck the earth. The storm broke and the thunder of the

-heavens intermingled with the roar of the cannons in the World War.

-When the news came to Munich that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been

-murdered, I had been at home all day and did not get the particulars of

-how it happened. At first I feared that the shots may have been fired by

-some German-Austrian students who had been aroused to a state of furious

-indignation by the persistent pro-Slav activities of the Heir to the

-Habsburg Throne and therefore wished to liberate the German population

-from this internal enemy. It was quite easy to imagine what the result

-of such a mistake would have been. It would have brought on a new wave

-of persecution, the motives of which would have been 'justified' before

-the whole world. But soon afterwards I heard the names of the presumed

-assassins and also that they were known to be Serbs. I felt somewhat

-dumbfounded in face of the inexorable vengeance which Destiny had

-wrought. The greatest friend of the Slavs had fallen a victim to the

-bullets of Slav patriots.

-It is unjust to the Vienna government of that time to blame it now for

-the form and tenor of the ultimatum which was then presented. In a

-similar position and under similar circumstances, no other Power in the

-world would have acted otherwise. On her southern frontiers Austria had

-a relentless mortal foe who indulged in acts of provocation against the

-Dual Monarchy at intervals which were becoming more and more frequent.

-This persistent line of conduct would not have been relaxed until the

-arrival of the opportune moment for the destruction of the Empire. In

-Austria there was good reason to fear that, at the latest, this moment

-would come with the death of the old Emperor. Once that had taken place,

-it was quite possible that the Monarchy would not be able to offer any

-serious resistance. For some years past the State had been so completely

-identified with the personality of Francis Joseph that, in the eyes of

-the great mass of the people, the death of this venerable

-personification of the Empire would be tantamount to the death of the

-Empire itself. Indeed it was one of the clever artifices of Slav policy

-to foster the impression that the Austrian State owed its very existence

-exclusively to the prodigies and rare talents of that monarch. This kind

-of flattery was particularly welcomed at the Hofburg, all the more

-because it had no relation whatsoever to the services actually rendered

-by the Emperor. No effort whatsoever was made to locate the carefully

-prepared sting which lay hidden in this glorifying praise. One fact

-which was entirely overlooked, perhaps intentionally, was that the more

-the Empire remained dependent on the so-called administrative talents of

-'the wisest Monarch of all times', the more catastrophic would be the

-situation when Fate came to knock at the door and demand its tribute.

-Was it possible even to imagine the Austrian Empire without its

-venerable ruler? Would not the tragedy which befell Maria Theresa be

-repeated at once?

-It is really unjust to the Vienna governmental circles to reproach them

-with having instigated a war which might have been prevented. The war

-was bound to come. Perhaps it might have been postponed for a year or

-two at the most. But it had always been the misfortune of German, as

-well as Austrian, diplomats that they endeavoured to put off the

-inevitable day of reckoning, with the result that they were finally

-compelled to deliver their blow at a most inopportune moment.

-No. Those who did not wish this war ought to have had the courage to

-take the consequences of the refusal upon themselves. Those consequences

-must necessarily have meant the sacrifice of Austria. And even then war

-would have come, not as a war in which all the nations would have been

-banded against us but in the form of a dismemberment of the Habsburg

-Monarchy. In that case we should have had to decide whether we should

-come to the assistance of the Habsburg or stand aside as spectators,

-with our arms folded, and thus allow Fate to run its course.

-Just those who are loudest in their imprecations to-day and make a great

-parade of wisdom in judging the causes of the war are the very same

-people whose collaboration was the most fatal factor in steering towards

-the war.

-For several decades previously the German Social-Democrats had been

-agitating in an underhand and knavish way for war against Russia;

-whereas the German Centre Party, with religious ends in view, had worked

-to make the Austrian State the chief centre and turning-point of German

-policy. The consequences of this folly had now to be borne. What came

-was bound to come and under no circumstances could it have been avoided.

-The fault of the German Government lay in the fact that, merely for the

-sake of preserving peace at all costs, it continued to miss the

-occasions that were favourable for action, got entangled in an alliance

-for the purpose of preserving the peace of the world, and thus finally

-became the victim of a world coalition which opposed the German effort

-for the maintenance of peace and was determined to bring about the world

-war.

-Had the Vienna Government of that time formulated its ultimatum in less

-drastic terms, that would not have altered the situation at all: but

-such a course might have aroused public indignation. For, in the eyes of

-the great masses, the ultimatum was too moderate and certainly not

-excessive or brutal. Those who would deny this to-day are either

-simpletons with feeble memories or else deliberate falsehood-mongers.

-The War of 1914 was certainly not forced on the masses; it was even

-desired by the whole people.

-There was a desire to bring the general feeling of uncertainty to an end

-once and for all. And it is only in the light of this fact that we can

-understand how more than two million German men and youths voluntarily

-joined the colours, ready to shed the last drop of their blood for the

-cause.

-For me these hours came as a deliverance from the distress that had

-weighed upon me during the days of my youth. I am not ashamed to

-acknowledge to-day that I was carried away by the enthusiasm of the

-moment and that I sank down upon my knees and thanked Heaven out of the

-fullness of my heart for the favour of having been permitted to live in

-such a time.

-The fight for freedom had broken out on an unparalleled scale in the

-history of the world. From the moment that Fate took the helm in hand

-the conviction grew among the mass of the people that now it was not a

-question of deciding the destinies of Austria or Serbia but that the

-very existence of the German nation itself was at stake.

-At last, after many years of blindness, the people saw clearly into the

-future. Therefore, almost immediately after the gigantic struggle had

-begun, an excessive enthusiasm was replaced by a more earnest and more

-fitting undertone, because the exaltation of the popular spirit was not

-a mere passing frenzy. It was only too necessary that the gravity of the

-situation should be recognized. At that time there was, generally

-speaking, not the slightest presentiment or conception of how long the

-war might last. People dreamed of the soldiers being home by Christmas

-and that then they would resume their daily work in peace.

-Whatever mankind desires, that it will hope for and believe in. The

-overwhelming majority of the people had long since grown weary of the

-perpetual insecurity in the general condition of public affairs. Hence

-it was only natural that no one believed that the Austro-Serbian

-conflict could be shelved. Therefore they looked forward to a radical

-settlement of accounts. I also belonged to the millions that desired

-this.

-The moment the news of the Sarajevo outrage reached Munich two ideas

-came into my mind: First, that war was absolutely inevitable and,

-second, that the Habsburg State would now be forced to honour its

-signature to the alliance. For what I had feared most was that one day

-Germany herself, perhaps as a result of the Alliance, would become

-involved in a conflict the first direct cause of which did not affect

-Austria. In such a contingency, I feared that the Austrian State, for

-domestic political reasons, would find itself unable to decide in favour

-of its ally. But now this danger was removed. The old State was

-compelled to fight, whether it wished to do so or not.

-My own attitude towards the conflict was equally simple and clear. I

-believed that it was not a case of Austria fighting to get satisfaction

-from Serbia but rather a case of Germany fighting for her own

-existence--the German nation for its own to-be-or-not-to-be, for its

-freedom and for its future. The work of Bismarck must now be carried on.

-Young Germany must show itself worthy of the blood shed by our fathers

-on so many heroic fields of battle, from Weissenburg to Sedan and Paris.

-And if this struggle should bring us victory our people will again rank

-foremost among the great nations. Only then could the German Empire

-assert itself as the mighty champion of peace, without the necessity of

-restricting the daily bread of its children for the sake of maintaining

-the peace.

-As a boy and as a young man, I often longed for the occasion to prove

-that my national enthusiasm was not mere vapouring. Hurrahing sometimes

-seemed to me to be a kind of sinful indulgence, though I could not give

-any justification for that feeling; for, after all, who has the right to

-shout that triumphant word if he has not won the right to it there where

-there is no play-acting and where the hand of the Goddess of Destiny

-puts the truth and sincerity of nations and men through her inexorable

-test? Just as millions of others, I felt a proud joy in being permitted

-to go through this test. I had so often sung DEUTSCHLAND �BER ALLES and

-so often roared 'HEIL' that I now thought it was as a kind of

-retro-active grace that I was granted the right of appearing before the

-Court of Eternal Justice to testify to the truth of those sentiments.

-One thing was clear to me from the very beginning, namely, that in the

-event of war, which now seemed inevitable, my books would have to be

-thrown aside forthwith. I also realized that my place would have to be

-there where the inner voice of conscience called me.

-I had left Austria principally for political reasons. What therefore

-could be more rational than that I should put into practice the logical

-consequences of my political opinions, now that the war had begun. I had

-no desire to fight for the Habsburg cause, but I was prepared to die at

-any time for my own kinsfolk and the Empire to which they really

-belonged.

-On August 3rd, 1914, I presented an urgent petition to His Majesty, King

-Ludwig III, requesting to be allowed to serve in a Bavarian regiment. In

-those days the Chancellery had its hands quite full and therefore I was

-all the more pleased when I received the answer a day later, that my

-request had been granted. I opened the document with trembling hands;

-and no words of mine could now describe the satisfaction I felt on

-reading that I was instructed to report to a Bavarian regiment. Within a

-few days I was wearing that uniform which I was not to put oft again for

-nearly six years.

-For me, as for every German, the most memorable period of my life now

-began. Face to face with that mighty struggle, all the past fell away

-into oblivion. With a wistful pride I look back on those days,

-especially because we are now approaching the tenth anniversary of that

-memorable happening. I recall those early weeks of war when kind fortune

-permitted me to take my place in that heroic struggle among the nations.

-As the scene unfolds itself before my mind, it seems only like

-yesterday. I see myself among my young comrades on our first parade

-drill, and so on until at last the day came on which we were to leave

-for the front.

-In common with the others, I had one worry during those days. This was a

-fear that we might arrive too late for the fighting at the front. Time

-and again that thought disturbed me and every announcement of a

-victorious engagement left a bitter taste, which increased as the news

-of further victories arrived.

-At long last the day came when we left Munich on war service. For the

-first time in my life I saw the Rhine, as we journeyed westwards to

-stand guard before that historic German river against its traditional

-and grasping enemy. As the first soft rays of the morning sun broke

-through the light mist and disclosed to us the Niederwald Statue, with

-one accord the whole troop train broke into the strains of DIE WACHT AM

-RHEIN. I then felt as if my heart could not contain its spirit.

-And then followed a damp, cold night in Flanders. We marched in silence

-throughout the night and as the morning sun came through the mist an

-iron greeting suddenly burst above our heads. Shrapnel exploded in our

-midst and spluttered in the damp ground. But before the smoke of the

-explosion disappeared a wild 'Hurrah' was shouted from two hundred

-throats, in response to this first greeting of Death. Then began the

-whistling of bullets and the booming of cannons, the shouting and

-singing of the combatants. With eyes straining feverishly, we pressed

-forward, quicker and quicker, until we finally came to close-quarter

-fighting, there beyond the beet-fields and the meadows. Soon the strains

-of a song reached us from afar. Nearer and nearer, from company to

-company, it came. And while Death began to make havoc in our ranks we

-passed the song on to those beside us: DEUTSCHLAND, DEUTSCHLAND �BER

-ALLES, �BER ALLES IN DER WELT.

-After four days in the trenches we came back. Even our step was no

-longer what it had been. Boys of seventeen looked now like grown men.

-The rank and file of the List Regiment (Note 11) had not been properly

-trained in the art of warfare, but they knew how to die like old soldiers.

-[Note 11. The Second Infantry Bavarian Regiment, in which Hitler served

-as a volunteer.]

-That was the beginning. And thus we carried on from year to year. A

-feeling of horror replaced the romantic fighting spirit. Enthusiasm

-cooled down gradually and exuberant spirits were quelled by the fear of

-the ever-present Death. A time came when there arose within each one of

-us a conflict between the urge to self-preservation and the call of

-duty. And I had to go through that conflict too. As Death sought its

-prey everywhere and unrelentingly a nameless Something rebelled within

-the weak body and tried to introduce itself under the name of Common

-Sense; but in reality it was Fear, which had taken on this cloak in

-order to impose itself on the individual. But the more the voice which

-advised prudence increased its efforts and the more clear and persuasive

-became its appeal, resistance became all the stronger; until finally the

-internal strife was over and the call of duty was triumphant. Already in

-the winter of 1915-16 I had come through that inner struggle. The will

-had asserted its incontestable mastery. Whereas in the early days I went

-into the fight with a cheer and a laugh, I was now habitually calm and

-resolute. And that frame of mind endured. Fate might now put me through

-the final test without my nerves or reason giving way. The young

-volunteer had become an old soldier.

-This same transformation took place throughout the whole army. Constant

-fighting had aged and toughened it and hardened it, so that it stood

-firm and dauntless against every assault.

-Only now was it possible to judge that army. After two and three years

-of continuous fighting, having been thrown into one battle after

-another, standing up stoutly against superior numbers and superior

-armament, suffering hunger and privation, the time had come when one

-could assess the value of that singular fighting force.

-For a thousand years to come nobody will dare to speak of heroism

-without recalling the German Army of the World War. And then from the

-dim past will emerge the immortal vision of those solid ranks of steel

-helmets that never flinched and never faltered. And as long as Germans

-live they will be proud to remember that these men were the sons of

-their forefathers.

-I was then a soldier and did not wish to meddle in politics, all the

-more so because the time was inopportune. I still believe that the most

-modest stable-boy of those days served his country better than the best

-of, let us say, the 'parliamentary deputies'. My hatred for those

-footlers was never greater than in those days when all decent men who

-had anything to say said it point-blank in the enemy's face; or, failing

-this, kept their mouths shut and did their duty elsewhere. I despised

-those political fellows and if I had had my way I would have formed them

-into a Labour Battalion and given them the opportunity of babbling

-amongst themselves to their hearts' content, without offence or harm to

-decent people.

-In those days I cared nothing for politics; but I could not help forming

-an opinion on certain manifestations which affected not only the whole

-nation but also us soldiers in particular. There were two things which

-caused me the greatest anxiety at that time and which I had come to

-regard as detrimental to our interests.

-Shortly after our first series of victories a certain section of the

-Press already began to throw cold water, drip by drip, on the enthusiasm

-of the public. At first this was not obvious to many people. It was done

-under the mask of good intentions and a spirit of anxious care. The

-public was told that big celebrations of victories were somewhat out of

-place and were not worthy expressions of the spirit of a great nation.

-The fortitude and valour of German soldiers were accepted facts which

-did not necessarily call for outbursts of celebration. Furthermore, it

-was asked, what would foreign opinion have to say about these

-manifestations? Would not foreign opinion react more favourably to a

-quiet and sober form of celebration rather than to all this wild

-jubilation? Surely the time had come--so the Press declared--for us

-Germans to remember that this war was not our work and that hence there

-need be no feeling of shame in declaring our willingness to do our share

-towards effecting an understanding among the nations. For this reason it

-would not be wise to sully the radiant deeds of our army with unbecoming

-jubilation; for the rest of the world would never understand this.

-Furthermore, nothing is more appreciated than the modesty with which a

-true hero quietly and unassumingly carries on and forgets. Such was the

-gist of their warning.

-Instead of catching these fellows by their long ears and dragging them

-to some ditch and looping a cord around their necks, so that the

-victorious enthusiasm of the nation should no longer offend the

-aesthetic sensibilities of these knights of the pen, a general Press

-campaign was now allowed to go on against what was called 'unbecoming'

-and 'undignified' forms of victorious celebration.

-No one seemed to have the faintest idea that when public enthusiasm is

-once damped, nothing can enkindle it again, when the necessity arises.

-This enthusiasm is an intoxication and must be kept up in that form.

-Without the support of this enthusiastic spirit how would it be possible

-to endure in a struggle which, according to human standards, made such

-immense demands on the spiritual stamina of the nation?

-I was only too well acquainted with the psychology of the broad masses

-not to know that in such cases a magnaminous 'aestheticism' cannot fan

-the fire which is needed to keep the iron hot. In my eyes it was even a

-mistake not to have tried to raise the pitch of public enthusiasm still

-higher. Therefore I could not at all understand why the contrary policy

-was adopted, that is to say, the policy of damping the public spirit.

-Another thing which irritated me was the manner in which Marxism was

-regarded and accepted. I thought that all this proved how little they

-knew about the Marxist plague. It was believed in all seriousness that

-the abolition of party distinctions during the War had made Marxism a

-mild and moderate thing.

-But here there was no question of party. There was question of a

-doctrine which was being expounded for the express purpose of leading

-humanity to its destruction. The purport of this doctrine was not

-understood because nothing was said about that side of the question in

-our Jew-ridden universities and because our supercilious bureaucratic

-officials did not think it worth while to read up a subject which had

-not been prescribed in their university course. This mighty

-revolutionary trend was going on beside them; but those 'intellectuals'

-would not deign to give it their attention. That is why State enterprise

-nearly always lags behind private enterprise. Of these gentry once can

-truly say that their maxim is: What we don't know won't bother us. In

-the August of 1914 the German worker was looked upon as an adherent of

-Marxist socialism. That was a gross error. When those fateful hours

-dawned the German worker shook off the poisonous clutches of that

-plague; otherwise he would not have been so willing and ready to fight.

-And people were stupid enough to imagine that Marxism had now become

-'national', another apt illustration of the fact that those in authority

-had never taken the trouble to study the real tenor of the Marxist

-teaching. If they had done so, such foolish errors would not have been

-committed.

-Marxism, whose final objective was and is and will continue to be the

-destruction of all non-Jewish national States, had to witness in those

-days of July 1914 how the German working classes, which it had been

-inveigling, were aroused by the national spirit and rapidly ranged

-themselves on the side of the Fatherland. Within a few days the

-deceptive smoke-screen of that infamous national betrayal had vanished

-into thin air and the Jewish bosses suddenly found themselves alone and

-deserted. It was as if not a vestige had been left of that folly and

-madness with which the masses of the German people had been inoculated

-for sixty years. That was indeed an evil day for the betrayers of German

-Labour. The moment, however, that the leaders realized the danger which

-threatened them they pulled the magic cap of deceit over their ears and,

-without being identified, played the part of mimes in the national

-reawakening.

-The time seemed to have arrived for proceeding against the whole Jewish

-gang of public pests. Then it was that action should have been taken

-regardless of any consequent whining or protestation. At one stroke, in

-the August of 1914, all the empty nonsense about international

-solidarity was knocked out of the heads of the German working classes. A

-few weeks later, instead of this stupid talk sounding in their ears,

-they heard the noise of American-manufactured shrapnel bursting above

-the heads of the marching columns, as a symbol of international

-comradeship. Now that the German worker had rediscovered the road to

-nationhood, it ought to have been the duty of any Government which had

-the care of the people in its keeping, to take this opportunity of

-mercilessly rooting out everything that was opposed to the national

-spirit.

-While the flower of the nation's manhood was dying at the front, there

-was time enough at home at least to exterminate this vermin. But,

-instead of doing so, His Majesty the Kaiser held out his hand to these

-hoary criminals, thus assuring them his protection and allowing them to

-regain their mental composure.

-And so the viper could begin his work again. This time, however, more

-carefully than before, but still more destructively. While honest people

-dreamt of reconciliation these perjured criminals were making

-preparations for a revolution.

-Naturally I was distressed at the half-measures which were adopted at

-that time; but I never thought it possible that the final consequences

-could have been so disastrous?

-But what should have been done then? Throw the ringleaders into gaol,

-prosecute them and rid the nation of them? Uncompromising military

-measures should have been adopted to root out the evil. Parties should

-have been abolished and the Reichstag brought to its senses at the point

-of the bayonet, if necessary. It would have been still better if the

-Reichstag had been dissolved immediately. Just as the Republic to-day

-dissolves the parties when it wants to, so in those days there was even

-more justification for applying that measure, seeing that the very

-existence of the nation was at stake. Of course this suggestion would

-give rise to the question: Is it possible to eradicate ideas by force of

-arms? Could a WELTANSCHAUUNG be attacked by means of physical force?

-At that time I turned these questions over and over again in my mind. By

-studying analogous cases, exemplified in history, particularly those

-which had arisen from religious circumstances, I came to the following

-fundamental conclusion:

-Ideas and philosophical systems as well as movements grounded on a

-definite spiritual foundation, whether true or not, can never be broken

-by the use of force after a certain stage, except on one condition:

-namely, that this use of force is in the service of a new idea or

-WELTANSCHAUUNG which burns with a new flame.

-The application of force alone, without moral support based on a

-spiritual concept, can never bring about the destruction of an idea or

-arrest the propagation of it, unless one is ready and able ruthlessly to

-exterminate the last upholders of that idea even to a man, and also wipe

-out any tradition which it may tend to leave behind. Now in the majority

-of cases the result of such a course has been to exclude such a State,

-either temporarily or for ever, from the comity of States that are of

-political significance; but experience has also shown that such a

-sanguinary method of extirpation arouses the better section of the

-population under the persecuting power. As a matter of fact, every

-persecution which has no spiritual motives to support it is morally

-unjust and raises opposition among the best elements of the population;

-so much so that these are driven more and more to champion the ideas

-that are unjustly persecuted. With many individuals this arises from the

-sheer spirit of opposition to every attempt at suppressing spiritual

-things by brute force.

-In this way the number of convinced adherents of the persecuted doctrine

-increases as the persecution progresses. Hence the total destruction of

-a new doctrine can be accomplished only by a vast plan of extermination;

-but this, in the final analysis, means the loss of some of the best

-blood in a nation or State. And that blood is then avenged, because such

-an internal and total clean-up brings about the collapse of the nation's

-strength. And such a procedure is always condemned to futility from the

-very start if the attacked doctrine should happen to have spread beyond

-a small circle.

-That is why in this case, as with all other growths, the doctrine can be

-exterminated in its earliest stages. As time goes on its powers of

-resistance increase, until at the approach of age it gives way to

-younger elements, but under another form and from other motives.

-The fact remains that nearly all attempts to exterminate a doctrine,

-without having some spiritual basis of attack against it, and also to

-wipe out all the organizations it has created, have led in many cases to

-the very opposite being achieved; and that for the following reasons:

-When sheer force is used to combat the spread of a doctrine, then that

-force must be employed systematically and persistently. This means that

-the chances of success in the suppression of a doctrine lie only in the

-persistent and uniform application of the methods chosen. The moment

-hesitation is shown, and periods of tolerance alternate with the

-application of force, the doctrine against which these measures are

-directed will not only recover strength but every successive persecution

-will bring to its support new adherents who have been shocked by the

-oppressive methods employed. The old adherents will become more

-embittered and their allegiance will thereby be strengthened. Therefore

-when force is employed success is dependent on the consistent manner in

-which it is used. This persistence, however, is nothing less than the

-product of definite spiritual convictions. Every form of force that is

-not supported by a spiritual backing will be always indecisive and

-uncertain. Such a force lacks the stability that can be found only in a

-WELTANSCHAUUNG which has devoted champions. Such a force is the

-expression of the individual energies; therefore it is from time to time

-dependent on the change of persons in whose hands it is employed and

-also on their characters and capacities.

-But there is something else to be said: Every WELTANSCHAUUNG, whether

-religious or political--and it is sometimes difficult to say where the

-one ends and the other begins--fights not so much for the negative

-destruction of the opposing world of ideas as for the positive

-realization of its own ideas. Thus its struggle lies in attack rather

-than in defence. It has the advantage of knowing where its objective

-lies, as this objective represents the realization of its own ideas.

-Inversely, it is difficult to say when the negative aim for the

-destruction of a hostile doctrine is reached and secured. For this

-reason alone a WELTANSCHAUUNG which is of an aggressive character is

-more definite in plan and more powerful and decisive in action than a

-WELTANSCHAUUNG which takes up a merely defensive attitude. If force be

-used to combat a spiritual power, that force remains a defensive measure

-only so long as the wielders of it are not the standard-bearers and

-apostles of a new spiritual doctrine.

-To sum up, the following must be borne in mind: That every attempt to

-combat a WELTANSCHAUUNG by means of force will turn out futile in the

-end if the struggle fails to take the form of an offensive for the

-establishment of an entirely new spiritual order of' things. It is only

-in the struggle between two Weltan-schauungen that physical force,

-consistently and ruthlessly applied, will eventually turn the scales in

-its own favour. It was here that the fight against Marxism had hitherto

-failed.

-This was also the reason why Bismarck's anti-socialist legislation

-failed and was bound to fail in the long run, despite everything. It

-lacked the basis of a new WELTANSCHAUUNG for whose development and

-extension the struggle might have been taken up. To say that the serving

-up of drivel about a so-called 'State-Authority' or 'Law-and-Order' was

-an adequate foundation for the spiritual driving force in a

-life-or-death struggle is only what one would expect to hear from the

-wiseacres in high official positions.

-It was because there were no adequate spiritual motives back of this

-offensive that Bismarck was compelled to hand over the administration of

-his socialist legislative measures to the judgment and approval of those

-circles which were themselves the product of the Marxist teaching. Thus

-a very ludicrous state of affairs prevailed when the Iron Chancellor

-surrendered the fate of his struggle against Marxism to the goodwill of

-the bourgeois democracy. He left the goat to take care of the garden.

-But this was only the necessary result of the failure to find a

-fundamentally new WELTANSCHAUUNG which would attract devoted champions

-to its cause and could be established on the ground from which Marxism

-had been driven out. And thus the result of the Bismarckian campaign was

-deplorable.

-During the World War, or at the beginning of it, were the conditions any

-different? Unfortunately, they were not.

-The more I then pondered over the necessity for a change in the attitude

-of the executive government towards Social-Democracy, as the

-incorporation of contemporary Marxism, the more I realized the want of a

-practical substitute for this doctrine. Supposing Social-Democracy were

-overthrown, what had one to offer the masses in its stead? Not a single

-movement existed which promised any success in attracting vast numbers

-of workers who would be now more or less without leaders, and holding

-these workers in its train. It is nonsensical to imagine that the

-international fanatic who has just severed his connection with a class

-party would forthwith join a bourgeois party, or, in other words,

-another class organization. For however unsatisfactory these various

-organizations may appear to be, it cannot be denied that bourgeois

-politicians look on the distinction between classes as a very important

-factor in social life, provided it does not turn out politically

-disadvantageous to them. If they deny this fact they show themselves not

-only impudent but also mendacious.

-Generally speaking, one should guard against considering the broad

-masses more stupid than they really are. In political matters it

-frequently happens that feeling judges more correctly than intellect.

-But the opinion that this feeling on the part of the masses is

-sufficient proof of their stupid international attitude can be

-immediately and definitely refuted by the simple fact that pacifist

-democracy is no less fatuous, though it draws its supporters almost

-exclusively from bourgeois circles. As long as millions of citizens

-daily gulp down what the social-democratic Press tells them, it ill

-becomes the 'Masters' to joke at the expense of the 'Comrades'; for in

-the long run they all swallow the same hash, even though it be dished up

-with different spices. In both cases the cook is one and the same--the

-Jew.

-One should be careful about contradicting established facts. It is an

-undeniable fact that the class question has nothing to do with questions

-concerning ideals, though that dope is administered at election time.

-Class arrogance among a large section of our people, as well as a

-prevailing tendency to look down on the manual labourer, are obvious

-facts and not the fancies of some day-dreamer. Nevertheless it only

-illustrates the mentality of our so-called intellectual circles, that

-they have not yet grasped the fact that circumstances which are

-incapable of preventing the growth of such a plague as Marxism are

-certainly not capable of restoring what has been lost.

-The bourgeois' parties--a name coined by themselves--will never again be

-able to win over and hold the proletarian masses in their train. That is

-because two worlds stand opposed to one another here, in part naturally

-and in part artificially divided. These two camps have one leading

-thought, and that is that they must fight one another. But in such a

-fight the younger will come off victorious; and that is Marxism.

-In 1914 a fight against Social-Democracy was indeed quite conceivable.

-But the lack of any practical substitute made it doubtful how long the

-fight could be kept up. In this respect there was a gaping void.

-Long before the War I was of the same opinion and that was the reason

-why I could not decide to join any of the parties then existing. During

-the course of the World War my conviction was still further confirmed by

-the manifest impossibility of fighting Social-Democracy in anything like

-a thorough way: because for that purpose there should have been a

-movement that was something more than a mere 'parliamentary' party, and

-there was none such.

-I frequently discussed that want with my intimate comrades. And it was

-then that I first conceived the idea of taking up political work later

-on. As I have often assured my friends, it was just this that induced me

-to become active on the public hustings after the War, in addition to my

-professional work. And I am sure that this decision was arrived at after

-much earnest thought.

-CHAPTER VI

-WAR PROPAGANDA

-In watching the course of political events I was always struck by the

-active part which propaganda played in them. I saw that it was an

-instrument, which the Marxist Socialists knew how to handle in a

-masterly way and how to put it to practical uses. Thus I soon came to

-realize that the right use of propaganda was an art in itself and that

-this art was practically unknown to our bourgeois parties. The

-Christian-Socialist Party alone, especially in Lueger's time, showed a

-certain efficiency in the employment of this instrument and owed much of

-their success to it.

-It was during the War, however, that we had the best chance of

-estimating the tremendous results which could be obtained by a

-propagandist system properly carried out. Here again, unfortunately,

-everything was left to the other side, the work done on our side being

-worse than insignificant. It was the total failure of the whole German

-system of information--a failure which was perfectly obvious to every

-soldier--that urged me to consider the problem of propaganda in a

-comprehensive way. I had ample opportunity to learn a practical lesson

-in this matter; for unfortunately it was only too well taught us by the

-enemy. The lack on our side was exploited by the enemy in such an

-efficient manner that one could say it showed itself as a real work of

-genius. In that propaganda carried on by the enemy I found admirable

-sources of instruction. The lesson to be learned from this had

-unfortunately no attraction for the geniuses on our own side. They were

-simply above all such things, too clever to accept any teaching. Anyhow

-they did not honestly wish to learn anything.

-Had we any propaganda at all? Alas, I can reply only in the negative.

-All that was undertaken in this direction was so utterly inadequate and

-misconceived from the very beginning that not only did it prove useless

-but at times harmful. In substance it was insufficient. Psychologically

-it was all wrong. Anybody who had carefully investigated the German

-propaganda must have formed that judgment of it. Our people did not seem

-to be clear even about the primary question itself: Whether propaganda

-is a means or an end?

-Propaganda is a means and must, therefore, be judged in relation to the

-end it is intended to serve. It must be organized in such a way as to be

-capable of attaining its objective. And, as it is quite clear that the

-importance of the objective may vary from the standpoint of general

-necessity, the essential internal character of the propaganda must vary

-accordingly. The cause for which we fought during the War was the

-noblest and highest that man could strive for. We were fighting for the

-freedom and independence of our country, for the security of our future

-welfare and the honour of the nation. Despite all views to the contrary,

-this honour does actually exist, or rather it will have to exist; for a

-nation without honour will sooner or later lose its freedom and

-independence. This is in accordance with the ruling of a higher justice,

-for a generation of poltroons is not entitled to freedom. He who would

-be a slave cannot have honour; for such honour would soon become an

-object of general scorn.

-Germany was waging war for its very existence. The purpose of its war

-propaganda should have been to strengthen the fighting spirit in that

-struggle and help it to victory.

-But when nations are fighting for their existence on this earth, when

-the question of 'to be or not to be' has to be answered, then all humane

-and aesthetic considerations must be set aside; for these ideals do not

-exist of themselves somewhere in the air but are the product of man's

-creative imagination and disappear when he disappears. Nature knows

-nothing of them. Moreover, they are characteristic of only a small

-number of nations, or rather of races, and their value depends on the

-measure in which they spring from the racial feeling of the latter.

-Humane and aesthetic ideals will disappear from the inhabited earth when

-those races disappear which are the creators and standard-bearers of

-them.

-All such ideals are only of secondary importance when a nation is

-struggling for its existence. They must be prevented from entering into

-the struggle the moment they threaten to weaken the stamina of the

-nation that is waging war. That is always the only visible effect

-whereby their place in the struggle is to be judged.

-In regard to the part played by humane feeling, Moltke stated that in

-time of war the essential thing is to get a decision as quickly as

-possible and that the most ruthless methods of fighting are at the same

-time the most humane. When people attempt to answer this reasoning by

-highfalutin talk about aesthetics, etc., only one answer can be given. It

-is that the vital questions involved in the struggle of a nation for its

-existence must not be subordinated to any aesthetic considerations. The

-yoke of slavery is and always will remain the most unpleasant experience

-that mankind can endure. Do the Schwabing (Note 12) decadents look upon

-Germany's lot to-day as 'aesthetic'? Of course, one doesn't discuss such

-a question with the Jews, because they are the modern inventors of this

-cultural perfume. Their very existence is an incarnate denial of the

-beauty of God's image in His creation.

-[Note 12. Schwabing is the artistic quarter in Munich where artists have

-their studios and litterateurs, especially of the Bohemian class,

-foregather.]

-Since these ideas of what is beautiful and humane have no place in

-warfare, they are not to be used as standards of war propaganda.

-During the War, propaganda was a means to an end. And this end was the

-struggle for existence of the German nation. Propaganda, therefore,

-should have been regarded from the standpoint of its utility for that

-purpose. The most cruel weapons were then the most humane, provided they

-helped towards a speedier decision; and only those methods were good and

-beautiful which helped towards securing the dignity and freedom of the

-nation. Such was the only possible attitude to adopt towards war

-propaganda in the life-or-death struggle.

-If those in what are called positions of authority had realized this

-there would have been no uncertainty about the form and employment of

-war propaganda as a weapon; for it is nothing but a weapon, and indeed a

-most terrifying weapon in the hands of those who know how to use it.

-The second question of decisive importance is this: To whom should

-propaganda be made to appeal? To the educated intellectual classes? Or

-to the less intellectual?

-Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people.

-For the intellectual classes, or what are called the intellectual

-classes to-day, propaganda is not suited, but only scientific

-exposition. Propaganda has as little to do with science as an

-advertisement poster has to do with art, as far as concerns the form in

-which it presents its message. The art of the advertisement poster

-consists in the ability of the designer to attract the attention of the

-crowd through the form and colours he chooses. The advertisement poster

-announcing an exhibition of art has no other aim than to convince the

-public of the importance of the exhibition. The better it does that, the

-better is the art of the poster as such. Being meant accordingly to

-impress upon the public the meaning of the exposition, the poster can

-never take the place of the artistic objects displayed in the exposition

-hall. They are something entirely different. Therefore. those who wish

-to study the artistic display must study something that is quite

-different from the poster; indeed for that purpose a mere wandering

-through the exhibition galleries is of no use. The student of art must

-carefully and thoroughly study each exhibit in order slowly to form a

-judicious opinion about it.

-The situation is the same in regard to what we understand by the word,

-propaganda. The purpose of propaganda is not the personal instruction of

-the individual, but rather to attract public attention to certain

-things, the importance of which can be brought home to the masses only

-by this means.

-Here the art of propaganda consists in putting a matter so clearly and

-forcibly before the minds of the people as to create a general

-conviction regarding the reality of a certain fact, the necessity of

-certain things and the just character of something that is essential.

-But as this art is not an end in itself and because its purpose must be

-exactly that of the advertisement poster, to attract the attention of

-the masses and not by any means to dispense individual instructions to

-those who already have an educated opinion on things or who wish to form

-such an opinion on grounds of objective study--because that is not the

-purpose of propaganda, it must appeal to the feelings of the public

-rather than to their reasoning powers.

-All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its

-intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least

-intellectual of those to whom it is directed. Thus its purely

-intellectual level will have to be that of the lowest mental common

-denominator among the public it is desired to reach. When there is

-question of bringing a whole nation within the circle of its influence,

-as happens in the case of war propaganda, then too much attention cannot

-be paid to the necessity of avoiding a high level, which presupposes a

-relatively high degree of intelligence among the public.

-The more modest the scientific tenor of this propaganda and the more it

-is addressed exclusively to public sentiment, the more decisive will be

-its success. This is the best test of the value of a propaganda, and not

-the approbation of a small group of intellectuals or artistic people.

-The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the

-imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in

-finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the

-attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. That this is

-not understood by those among us whose wits are supposed to have been

-sharpened to the highest pitch is only another proof of their vanity or

-mental inertia.

-Once we have understood how necessary it is to concentrate the

-persuasive forces of propaganda on the broad masses of the people, the

-following lessons result therefrom:

-That it is a mistake to organize the direct propaganda as if it were a

-manifold system of scientific instruction.

-The receptive powers of the masses are very restricted, and their

-understanding is feeble. On the other hand, they quickly forget. Such

-being the case, all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare

-essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped

-formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very

-last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward. If

-this principle be forgotten and if an attempt be made to be abstract and

-general, the propaganda will turn out ineffective; for the public will

-not be able to digest or retain what is offered to them in this way.

-Therefore, the greater the scope of the message that has to be

-presented, the more necessary it is for the propaganda to discover that

-plan of action which is psychologically the most efficient.

-It was, for example, a fundamental mistake to ridicule the worth of the

-enemy as the Austrian and German comic papers made a chief point of

-doing in their propaganda. The very principle here is a mistaken one;

-for, when they came face to face with the enemy, our soldiers had quite

-a different impression. Therefore, the mistake had disastrous results.

-Once the German soldier realised what a tough enemy he had to fight he

-felt that he had been deceived by the manufacturers of the information

-which had been given him. Therefore, instead of strengthening and

-stimulating his fighting spirit, this information had quite the contrary

-effect. Finally he lost heart.

-On the other hand, British and American war propaganda was

-psychologically efficient. By picturing the Germans to their own people

-as Barbarians and Huns, they were preparing their soldiers for the

-horrors of war and safeguarding them against illusions. The most

-terrific weapons which those soldiers encountered in the field merely

-confirmed the information that they had already received and their

-belief in the truth of the assertions made by their respective

-governments was accordingly reinforced. Thus their rage and hatred

-against the infamous foe was increased. The terrible havoc caused by the

-German weapons of war was only another illustration of the Hunnish

-brutality of those barbarians; whereas on the side of the Entente no

-time was left the soldiers to meditate on the similar havoc which their

-own weapons were capable of. Thus the British soldier was never allowed

-to feel that the information which he received at home was untrue.

-Unfortunately the opposite was the case with the Germans, who finally

-wound up by rejecting everything from home as pure swindle and humbug.

-This result was made possible because at home they thought that the work

-of propaganda could be entrusted to the first ass that came along,

-braying of his own special talents, and they had no conception of the

-fact that propaganda demands the most skilled brains that can be found.

-Thus the German war propaganda afforded us an incomparable example of

-how the work of 'enlightenment' should not be done and how such an

-example was the result of an entire failure to take any psychological

-considerations whatsoever into account.

-From the enemy, however, a fund of valuable knowledge could be gained by

-those who kept their eyes open, whose powers of perception had not yet

-become sclerotic, and who during four-and-a-half years had to experience

-the perpetual flood of enemy propaganda.

-The worst of all was that our people did not understand the very first

-condition which has to be fulfilled in every kind of propaganda; namely,

-a systematically one-sided attitude towards every problem that has to be

-dealt with. In this regard so many errors were committed, even from the

-very beginning of the war, that it was justifiable to doubt whether so

-much folly could be attributed solely to the stupidity of people in

-higher quarters.

-What, for example, should we say of a poster which purported to

-advertise some new brand of soap by insisting on the excellent qualities

-of the competitive brands? We should naturally shake our heads. And it

-ought to be just the same in a similar kind of political advertisement.

-The aim of propaganda is not to try to pass judgment on conflicting

-rights, giving each its due, but exclusively to emphasize the right

-which we are asserting. Propaganda must not investigate the truth

-objectively and, in so far as it is favourable to the other side,

-present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; yet it must

-present only that aspect of the truth which is favourable to its own

-side.

-It was a fundamental mistake to discuss the question of who was

-responsible for the outbreak of the war and declare that the sole

-responsibility could not be attributed to Germany. The sole

-responsibility should have been laid on the shoulders of the enemy,

-without any discussion whatsoever.

-And what was the consequence of these half-measures? The broad masses of

-the people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public

-jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned

-judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who

-are constantly wavering between one idea and another. As soon as our own

-propaganda made the slightest suggestion that the enemy had a certain

-amount of justice on his side, then we laid down the basis on which the

-justice of our own cause could be questioned. The masses are not in a

-position to discern where the enemy's fault ends and where our own

-begins. In such a case they become hesitant and distrustful, especially

-when the enemy does not make the same mistake but heaps all the blame on

-his adversary. Could there be any clearer proof of this than the fact

-that finally our own people believed what was said by the enemy's

-propaganda, which was uniform and consistent in its assertions, rather

-than what our own propaganda said? And that, of course, was increased by

-the mania for objectivity which addicts our people. Everybody began to

-be careful about doing an injustice to the enemy, even at the cost of

-seriously injuring, and even ruining his own people and State.

-Naturally the masses were not conscious of the fact that those in

-authority had failed to study the subject from this angle.

-The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and

-outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than

-by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple

-and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the

-negative and positive notions of love and hatred, right and wrong, truth

-and falsehood. Its notions are never partly this and partly that.

-English propaganda especially understood this in a marvellous way and

-put what they understood into practice. They allowed no half-measures

-which might have given rise to some doubt.

-Proof of how brilliantly they understood that the feeling of the masses

-is something primitive was shown in their policy of publishing tales of

-horror and outrages which fitted in with the real horrors of the time,

-thereby cleverly and ruthlessly preparing the ground for moral

-solidarity at the front, even in times of great defeats. Further, the

-way in which they pilloried the German enemy as solely responsible for

-the war--which was a brutal and absolute falsehood--and the way in which

-they proclaimed his guilt was excellently calculated to reach the

-masses, realizing that these are always extremist in their feelings. And

-thus it was that this atrocious lie was positively believed.

-The effectiveness of this kind of propaganda is well illustrated by the

-fact that after four-and-a-half years, not only was the enemy still

-carrying on his propagandist work, but it was already undermining the

-stamina of our people at home.

-That our propaganda did not achieve similar results is not to be

-wondered at, because it had the germs of inefficiency lodged in its very

-being by reason of its ambiguity. And because of the very nature of its

-content one could not expect it to make the necessary impression on the

-masses. Only our feckless 'statesmen' could have imagined that on

-pacifists slops of such a kind the enthusiasm could be nourished which

-is necessary to enkindle that spirit which leads men to die for their

-country.

-And so this product of ours was not only worthless but detrimental.

-No matter what an amount of talent employed in the organization of

-propaganda, it will have no result if due account is not taken of these

-fundamental principles. Propaganda must be limited to a few simple

-themes and these must be represented again and again. Here, as in

-innumerable other cases, perseverance is the first and most important

-condition of success.

-Particularly in the field of propaganda, placid aesthetes and blase

-intellectuals should never be allowed to take the lead. The former would

-readily transform the impressive character of real propaganda into

-something suitable only for literary tea parties. As to the second class

-of people, one must always beware of this pest; for, in consequence of

-their insensibility to normal impressions, they are constantly seeking

-new excitements.

-Such people grow sick and tired of everything. They always long for

-change and will always be incapable of putting themselves in the

-position of picturing the wants of their less callous fellow-creatures

-in their immediate neighbourhood, let alone trying to understand them.

-The blase intellectuals are always the first to criticize propaganda, or

-rather its message, because this appears to them to be outmoded and

-trivial. They are always looking for something new, always yearning for

-change; and thus they become the mortal enemies of every effort that may

-be made to influence the masses in an effective way. The moment the

-organization and message of a propagandist movement begins to be

-orientated according to their tastes it becomes incoherent and

-scattered.

-It is not the purpose of propaganda to create a series of alterations in

-sentiment with a view to pleasing these blase gentry. Its chief function

-is to convince the masses, whose slowness of understanding needs to be

-given time in order that they may absorb information; and only constant

-repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on the memory of

-the crowd.

-Every change that is made in the subject of a propagandist message must

-always emphasize the same conclusion. The leading slogan must of course

-be illustrated in many ways and from several angles, but in the end one

-must always return to the assertion of the same formula. In this way

-alone can propaganda be consistent and dynamic in its effects.

-Only by following these general lines and sticking to them steadfastly,

-with uniform and concise emphasis, can final success be reached. Then

-one will be rewarded by the surprising and almost incredible results

-that such a persistent policy secures.

-The success of any advertisement, whether of a business or political

-nature, depends on the consistency and perseverance with which it is

-employed.

-In this respect also the propaganda organized by our enemies set us an

-excellent example. It confined itself to a few themes, which were meant

-exclusively for mass consumption, and it repeated these themes with

-untiring perseverance. Once these fundamental themes and the manner of

-placing them before the world were recognized as effective, they adhered

-to them without the slightest alteration for the whole duration of the

-War. At first all of it appeared to be idiotic in its impudent

-assertiveness. Later on it was looked upon as disturbing, but finally it

-was believed.

-But in England they came to understand something further: namely, that

-the possibility of success in the use of this spiritual weapon consists

-in the mass employment of it, and that when employed in this way it

-brings full returns for the large expenses incurred.

-In England propaganda was regarded as a weapon of the first order,

-whereas with us it represented the last hope of a livelihood for our

-unemployed politicians and a snug job for shirkers of the modest hero

-type.

-Taken all in all, its results were negative.

-CHAPTER VII

-THE REVOLUTION

-In 1915 the enemy started his propaganda among our soldiers. From 1916

-onwards it steadily became more intensive, and at the beginning of 1918

-it had swollen into a storm flood. One could now judge the effects of

-this proselytizing movement step by step. Gradually our soldiers began

-to think just in the way the enemy wished them to think. On the German

-side there was no counter-propaganda.

-At that time the army authorities, under our able and resolute

-Commander, were willing and ready to take up the fight in the propaganda

-domain also, but unfortunately they did not have the necessary means to

-carry that intention into effect. Moreover, the army authorities would

-have made a psychological mistake had they undertaken this task of

-mental training. To be efficacious it had come from the home front. For

-only thus could it be successful among men who for nearly four years now

-had been performing immortal deeds of heroism and undergoing all sorts

-of privations for the sake of that home. But what were the people at

-home doing? Was their failure to act merely due to unintelligence or bad

-faith?

-In the midsummer of 1918, after the evacuation of the southern bank of

-the hearne, the German Press adopted a policy which was so woefully

-inopportune, and even criminally stupid, that I used to ask myself a

-question which made me more and more furious day after day: Is it really

-true that we have nobody who will dare to put an end to this process of

-spiritual sabotage which is being carried on among our heroic troops?

-What happened in France during those days of 1914, when our armies

-invaded that country and were marching in triumph from one victory to

-another? What happened in Italy when their armies collapsed on the

-Isonzo front? What happened in France again during the spring of 1918,

-when German divisions took the main French positions by storm and heavy

-long-distance artillery bombarded Paris?

-How they whipped up the flagging courage of those troops who were

-retreating and fanned the fires of national enthusiasm among them! How

-their propaganda and their marvellous aptitude in the exercise of

-mass-influence reawakened the fighting spirit in that broken front and

-hammered into the heads of the soldiers a, firm belief in final victory!

-Meanwhile, what were our people doing in this sphere? Nothing, or even

-worse than nothing. Again and again I used to become enraged and

-indignant as I read the latest papers and realized the nature of the

-mass-murder they were committing: through their influence on the minds

-of the people and the soldiers. More than once I was tormented by the

-thought that if Providence had put the conduct of German propaganda into

-my hands, instead of into the hands of those incompetent and even

-criminal ignoramuses and weaklings, the outcome of the struggle might

-have been different.

-During those months I felt for the first time that Fate was dealing

-adversely with me in keeping me on the fighting front and in a position

-where any chance bullet from some nigger or other might finish me,

-whereas I could have done the Fatherland a real service in another

-sphere. For I was then presumptuous enough to believe that I would have

-been successful in managing the propaganda business.

-But I was a being without a name, one among eight millions. Hence it was

-better for me to keep my mouth shut and do my duty as well as I could in

-the position to which I had been assigned.

-In the summer of 1915 the first enemy leaflets were dropped on our

-trenches. They all told more or less the same story, with some

-variations in the form of it. The story was that distress was steadily

-on the increase in Germany; that the War would last indefinitely; that

-the prospect of victory for us was becoming fainter day after day; that

-the people at home were yearning for peace, but that 'Militarism' and

-the 'Kaiser' would not permit it; that the world--which knew this very

-well--was not waging war against the German people but only against the

-man who was exclusively responsible, the Kaiser; that until this enemy

-of world-peace was removed there could be no end to the conflict; but

-that when the War was over the liberal and democratic nations would

-receive the Germans as colleagues in the League for World Peace. This

-would be done the moment 'Prussian Militarism' had been finally

-destroyed.

-To illustrate and substantiate all these statements, the leaflets very

-often contained 'Letters from Home', the contents of which appeared to

-confirm the enemy's propagandist message.

-Generally speaking, we only laughed at all these efforts. The leaflets

-were read, sent to base headquarters, then forgotten until a favourable

-wind once again blew a fresh contingent into the trenches. These were

-mostly dropped from aeroplanes which were used specially for that

-purpose.

-One feature of this propaganda was very striking. It was that in

-sections where Bavarian troops were stationed every effort was made by

-the enemy propagandists to stir up feeling against the Prussians,

-assuring the soldiers that Prussia and Prussia alone was the guilty

-party who was responsible for bringing on and continuing the War, and

-that there was no hostility whatsoever towards the Bavarians; but that

-there could be no possibility of coming to their assistance so long as

-they continued to serve Prussian interests and helped to pull the

-Prussian chestnuts out of the fire.

-This persistent propaganda began to have a real influence on our

-soldiers in 1915. The feeling against Prussia grew quite noticeable

-among the Bavarian troops, but those in authority did nothing to

-counteract it. This was something more than a mere crime of omission;

-for sooner or later not only the Prussians were bound to have to atone

-severely for it but the whole German nation and consequently the

-Bavarians themselves also.

-In this direction the enemy propaganda began to achieve undoubted

-success from 1916 onwards.

-In a similar way letters coming directly from home had long since been

-exercising their effect. There was now no further necessity for the

-enemy to broadcast such letters in leaflet form. And also against this

-influence from home nothing was done except a few supremely stupid

-'warnings' uttered by the executive government. The whole front was

-drenched in this poison which thoughtless women at home sent out,

-without suspecting for a moment that the enemy's chances of final

-victory were thus strengthened or that the sufferings of their own men

-at the front were thus being prolonged and rendered more severe. These

-stupid letters written by German women eventually cost the lives of

-hundreds of thousands of our men.

-Thus in 1916 several distressing phenomena were already manifest. The

-whole front was complaining and grousing, discontented over many things

-and often justifiably so. While they were hungry and yet patient, and

-their relatives at home were in distress, in other quarters there was

-feasting and revelry. Yes; even on the front itself everything was not

-as it ought to have been in this regard.

-Even in the early stages of the war the soldiers were sometimes prone to

-complain; but such criticism was confined to 'internal affairs'. The man

-who at one moment groused and grumbled ceased his murmur after a few

-moments and went about his duty silently, as if everything were in

-order. The company which had given signs of discontent a moment earlier

-hung on now to its bit of trench, defending it tooth and nail, as if

-Germany's fate depended on these few hundred yards of mud and

-shell-holes. The glorious old army was still at its post. A sudden

-change in my own fortunes soon placed me in a position where I had

-first-hand experience of the contrast between this old army and the home

-front. At the end of September 1916 my division was sent into the Battle

-of the Somme. For us this was the first of a series of heavy

-engagements, and the impression created was that of a veritable inferno,

-rather than war. Through weeks of incessant artillery bombardment we

-stood firm, at times ceding a little ground but then taking it back

-again, and never giving way. On October 7th, 1916, I was wounded but had

-the luck of being able to get back to our lines and was then ordered to

-be sent by ambulance train to Germany.

-Two years had passed since I had left home, an almost endless period in

-such circumstances. I could hardly imagine what Germans looked like

-without uniforms. In the clearing hospital at Hermies I was startled

-when I suddenly heard the voice of a German woman who was acting as

-nursing sister and talking with one of the wounded men lying near me.

-Two years! And then this voice for the first time!

-The nearer our ambulance train approached the German frontier the more

-restless each one of us became. En route we recognised all these places

-through which we passed two years before as young volunteers--Brussels,

-Louvain, Li�ge--and finally we thought we recognized the first German

-homestead, with its familiar high gables and picturesque

-window-shutters. Home!

-What a change! From the mud of the Somme battlefields to the spotless

-white beds in this wonderful building. One hesitated at first before

-entering them. It was only by slow stages that one could grow accustomed

-to this new world again. But unfortunately there were certain other

-aspects also in which this new world was different.

-The spirit of the army at the front appeared to be out of place here.

-For the first time I encountered something which up to then was unknown

-at the front: namely, boasting of one's own cowardice. For, though we

-certainly heard complaining and grousing at the front, this was never in

-the spirit of any agitation to insubordination and certainly not an

-attempt to glorify one's fear. No; there at the front a coward was a

-coward and nothing else, And the contempt which his weakness aroused in

-the others was quite general, just as the real hero was admired all

-round. But here in hospital the spirit was quite different in some

-respects. Loudmouthed agitators were busy here in heaping ridicule on

-the good soldier and painting the weak-kneed poltroon in glorious

-colours. A couple of miserable human specimens were the ringleaders in

-this process of defamation. One of them boasted of having intentionally

-injured his hand in barbed-wire entanglements in order to get sent to

-hospital. Although his wound was only a slight one, it appeared that he

-had been here for a very long time and would be here interminably. Some

-arrangement for him seemed to be worked by some sort of swindle, just as

-he got sent here in the ambulance train through a swindle. This

-pestilential specimen actually had the audacity to parade his knavery as

-the manifestation of a courage which was superior to that of the brave

-soldier who dies a hero's death. There were many who heard this talk in

-silence; but there were others who expressed their assent to what the

-fellow said.

-Personally I was disgusted at the thought that a seditious agitator of

-this kind should be allowed to remain in such an institution. What could

-be done? The hospital authorities here must have known who and what he

-was; and actually they did know. But still they did nothing about it.

-As soon as I was able to walk once again I obtained leave to visit

-Berlin.

-Bitter want was in evidence everywhere. The metropolis, with its teeming

-millions, was suffering from hunger. The talk that was current in the

-various places of refreshment and hospices visited by the soldiers was

-much the same as that in our hospital. The impression given was that

-these agitators purposely singled out such places in order to spread

-their views.

-But in Munich conditions were far worse. After my discharge from

-hospital, I was sent to a reserve battalion there. I felt as in some

-strange town. Anger, discontent, complaints met one's ears wherever one

-went. To a certain extent this was due to the infinitely maladroit

-manner in which the soldiers who had returned from the front were

-treated by the non-commissioned officers who had never seen a day's

-active service and who on that account were partly incapable of adopting

-the proper attitude towards the old soldiers. Naturally those old

-soldiers displayed certain characteristics which had been developed from

-the experiences in the trenches. The officers of the reserve units could

-not understand these peculiarities, whereas the officer home from active

-service was at least in a position to understand them for himself. As a

-result he received more respect from the men than officers at the home

-headquarters. But, apart from all this, the general spirit was

-deplorable. The art of shirking was looked upon as almost a proof of

-higher intelligence, and devotion to duty was considered a sign of

-weakness or bigotry. Government offices were staffed by Jews. Almost

-every clerk was a Jew and every Jew was a clerk. I was amazed at this

-multitude of combatants who belonged to the chosen people and could not

-help comparing it with their slender numbers in the fighting lines.

-In the business world the situation was even worse. Here the Jews had

-actually become 'indispensable'. Like leeches, they were slowly sucking

-the blood from the pores of the national body. By means of newly floated

-War Companies an instrument had been discovered whereby all national

-trade was throttled so that no business could be carried on freely

-Special emphasis was laid on the necessity for unhampered

-centralization. Hence as early as 1916-17 practically all production was

-under the control of Jewish finance.

-But against whom was the anger of the people directed? It was then that

-I already saw the fateful day approaching which must finally bring the

-DEBACLE, unless timely preventive measures were taken.

-While Jewry was busy despoiling the nation and tightening the screws of

-its despotism, the work of inciting the people against the Prussians

-increased. And just as nothing was done at the front to put a stop to

-the venomous propaganda, so here at home no official steps were taken

-against it. Nobody seemed capable of understanding that the collapse of

-Prussia could never bring about the rise of Bavaria. On the contrary,

-the collapse of the one must necessarily drag the other down with it.

-This kind of behaviour affected me very deeply. In it I could see only a

-clever Jewish trick for diverting public attention from themselves to

-others. While Prussians and Bavarians were squabbling, the Jews were

-taking away the sustenance of both from under their very noses. While

-Prussians were being abused in Bavaria the Jews organized the revolution

-and with one stroke smashed both Prussia and Bavaria.

-I could not tolerate this execrable squabbling among people of the same

-German stock and preferred to be at the front once again. Therefore,

-just after my arrival in Munich I reported myself for service again. At

-the beginning of March 1917 I rejoined my old regiment at the front.

-Towards the end of 1917 it seemed as if we had got over the worst phases

-of moral depression at the front. After the Russian collapse the whole

-army recovered its courage and hope, and all were gradually becoming

-more and more convinced that the struggle would end in our favour. We

-could sing once again. The ravens were ceasing to croak. Faith in the

-future of the Fatherland was once more in the ascendant.

-The Italian collapse in the autumn of 1917 had a wonderful effect; for

-this victory proved that it was possible to break through another front

-besides the Russian. This inspiring thought now became dominant in the

-minds of millions at the front and encouraged them to look forward with

-confidence to the spring of 1918. It was quite obvious that the enemy

-was in a state of depression. During this winter the front was somewhat

-quieter than usual. But that was the calm before the storm.

-Just when preparations were being made to launch a final offensive which

-would bring this seemingly eternal struggle to an end, while endless

-columns of transports were bringing men and munitions to the front, and

-while the men were being trained for that final onslaught, then it was

-that the greatest act of treachery during the whole War was accomplished

-in Germany.

-Germany must not win the War. At that moment when victory seemed ready

-to alight on the German standards, a conspiracy was arranged for the

-purpose of striking at the heart of the German spring offensive with one

-blow from the rear and thus making victory impossible. A general strike

-in the munition factories was organized.

-If this conspiracy could achieve its purpose the German front would have

-collapsed and the wishes of the VORW�RTS (the organ of the

-Social-Democratic Party) that this time victory should not take the side

-of the German banners, would have been fulfilled. For want of munitions

-the front would be broken through within a few weeks, the offensive

-would be effectively stopped and the Entente saved. Then International

-Finance would assume control over Germany and the internal objective of

-the Marxist national betrayal would be achieved. That objective was the

-destruction of the national economic system and the establishment of

-international capitalistic domination in its stead. And this goal has

-really been reached, thanks to the stupid credulity of the one side and

-the unspeakable treachery of the other.

-The munition strike, however, did not bring the final success that had

-been hoped for: namely, to starve the front of ammunition. It lasted too

-short a time for the lack of ammunitions as such to bring disaster to

-the army, as was originally planned. But the moral damage was much more

-terrible.

-In the first place. what was the army fighting for if the people at home

-did not wish it to be victorious? For whom then were these enormous

-sacrifices and privations being made and endured? Must the soldiers

-fight for victory while the home front goes on strike against it?

-In the second place, what effect did this move have on the enemy?

-In the winter of 1917-18 dark clouds hovered in the firmament of the

-Entente. For nearly four years onslaught after onslaught has been made

-against the German giant, but they failed to bring him to the ground. He

-had to keep them at bay with one arm that held the defensive shield

-because his other arm had to be free to wield the sword against his

-enemies, now in the East and now in the South. But at last these enemies

-were overcome and his rear was now free for the conflict in the West.

-Rivers of blood had been shed for the accomplishment of that task; but

-now the sword was free to combine in battle with the shield on the

-Western Front. And since the enemy had hitherto failed to break the

-German defence here, the Germans themselves had now to launch the

-attack. The enemy feared and trembled before the prospect of this German

-victory.

-At Paris and London conferences followed one another in unending series.

-Even the enemy propaganda encountered difficulties. It was no longer so

-easy to demonstrate that the prospect of a German victory was hopeless.

-A prudent silence reigned at the front, even among the troops of the

-Entente. The insolence of their masters had suddenly subsided. A

-disturbing truth began to dawn on them. Their opinion of the German

-soldier had changed. Hitherto they were able to picture him as a kind of

-fool whose end would be destruction; but now they found themselves face

-to face with the soldier who had overcome their Russian ally. The policy

-of restricting the offensive to the East, which had been imposed on the

-German military authorities by the necessities of the situation, now

-seemed to the Entente as a tactical stroke of genius. For three years

-these Germans had been battering away at the Russian front without any

-apparent success at first. Those fruitless efforts were almost sneered

-at; for it was thought that in the long run the Russian giant would

-triumph through sheer force of numbers. Germany would be worn out

-through shedding so much blood. And facts appeared to confirm this hope.

-Since the September days of 1914, when for the first time interminable

-columns of Russian war prisoners poured into Germany after the Battle of

-Tannenberg, it seemed as if the stream would never end but that as soon

-as one army was defeated and routed another would take its place. The

-supply of soldiers which the gigantic Empire placed at the disposal of

-the Czar seemed inexhaustible; new victims were always at hand for the

-holocaust of war. How long could Germany hold out in this competition?

-Would not the day finally have to come when, after the last victory

-which the Germans would achieve, there would still remain reserve armies

-in Russia to be mustered for the final battle? And what then? According

-to human standards a Russian victory over Germany might be delayed but

-it would have to come in the long run.

-All the hopes that had been based on Russia were now lost. The Ally who

-had sacrificed the most blood on the altar of their mutual interests had

-come to the end of his resources and lay prostrate before his

-unrelenting foe. A feeling of terror and dismay came over the Entente

-soldiers who had hitherto been buoyed up by blind faith. They feared the

-coming spring. For, seeing that hitherto they had failed to break the

-Germans when the latter could concentrate only part of the fighting

-strength on the Western Front, how could they count on victory now that

-the undivided forces of that amazing land of heroes appeared to be

-gathered for a massed attack in the West?

-The shadow of the events which had taken place in South Tyrol, the

-spectre of General Cadorna's defeated armies, were reflected in the

-gloomy faces of the Entente troops in Flanders. Faith in victory gave

-way to fear of defeat to come.

-Then, on those cold nights, when one almost heard the tread of the

-German armies advancing to the great assault, and the decision was being

-awaited in fear and trembling, suddenly a lurid light was set aglow in

-Germany and sent its rays into the last shell-hole on the enemy's front.

-At the very moment when the German divisions were receiving their final

-orders for the great offensive a general strike broke out in Germany.

-At first the world was dumbfounded. Then the enemy propaganda began

-activities once again and pounced on this theme at the eleventh hour.

-All of a sudden a means had come which could be utilized to revive the

-sinking confidence of the Entente soldiers. The probabilities of victory

-could now be presented as certain, and the anxious foreboding in regard

-to coming events could now be transformed into a feeling of resolute

-assurance. The regiments that had to bear the brunt of the Greatest

-German onslaught in history could now be inspired with the conviction

-that the final decision in this war would not be won by the audacity of

-the German assault but rather by the powers of endurance on the side of

-the defence. Let the Germans now have whatever victories they liked, the

-revolution and not the victorious army was welcomed in the Fatherland.

-British, French and American newspapers began to spread this belief

-among their readers while a very ably managed propaganda encouraged the

-morale of their troops at the front.

-'Germany Facing Revolution! An Allied Victory Inevitable!' That was the

-best medicine to set the staggering Poilu and Tommy on their feet once

-again. Our rifles and machine-guns could now open fire once again; but

-instead of effecting a panic-stricken retreat they were now met with a

-determined resistance that was full of confidence.

-That was the result of the strike in the munitions factories. Throughout

-the enemy countries faith in victory was thus revived and strengthened,

-and that paralysing feeling of despair which had hitherto made itself

-felt on the Entente front was banished. Consequently the strike cost the

-lives of thousands of German soldiers. But the despicable instigators of

-that dastardly strike were candidates for the highest public positions

-in the Germany of the Revolution.

-At first it was apparently possible to overcome the repercussion of

-these events on the German soldiers, but on the enemy's side they had a

-lasting effect. Here the resistance had lost all the character of an

-army fighting for a lost cause. In its place there was now a grim

-determination to struggle through to victory. For, according to all

-human rules of judgment, victory would now be assured if the Western

-front could hold out against the German offensive even for only a few

-months. The Allied parliaments recognized the possibilities of a better

-future and voted huge sums of money for the continuation of the

-propaganda which was employed for the purpose of breaking up the

-internal cohesion of Germany.

-It was my luck that I was able to take part in the first two offensives

-and in the final offensive. These have left on me the most stupendous

-impressions of my life--stupendous, because now for the last time the

-struggle lost its defensive character and assumed the character of an

-offensive, just as it was in 1914. A sigh of relief went up from the

-German trenches and dug-outs when finally, after three years of

-endurance in that inferno, the day for the settling of accounts had

-come. Once again the lusty cheering of victorious battalions was heard,

-as they hung the last crowns of the immortal laurel on the standards

-which they consecrated to Victory. Once again the strains of patriotic

-songs soared upwards to the heavens above the endless columns of

-marching troops, and for the last time the Lord smiled on his ungrateful

-children.

-In the midsummer of 1918 a feeling of sultry oppression hung over the

-front. At home they were quarrelling. About what? We heard a great deal

-among various units at the front. The War was now a hopeless affair, and

-only the foolhardy could think of victory. It was not the people but the

-capitalists and the Monarchy who were interested in carrying on. Such

-were the ideas that came from home and were discussed at the front.

-At first this gave rise to only very slight reaction. What did universal

-suffrage matter to us? Is this what we had been fighting for during four

-years? It was a dastardly piece of robbery thus to filch from the graves

-of our heroes the ideals for which they had fallen. It was not to the

-slogan, 'Long Live Universal Suffrage,' that our troops in Flanders once

-faced certain death but with the cry, 'DEUTSCHLAND �BER ALLES IN DER

-WELT'. A small but by no means an unimportant difference. And the

-majority of those who were shouting for this suffrage were absent when

-it came to fighting for it. All this political rabble were strangers to

-us at the front. During those days only a fraction of these

-parliamentarian gentry were to be seen where honest Germans

-foregathered.

-The old soldiers who had fought at the front had little liking for those

-new war aims of Messrs. Ebert, Scheidemann, Barth, Liebknecht and

-others. We could not understand why, all of a sudden, the shirkers

-should abrogate all executive powers to themselves, without having any

-regard to the army.

-From the very beginning I had my own definite personal views. I

-intensely loathed the whole gang of miserable party politicians who had

-betrayed the people. I had long ago realized that the interests of the

-nation played only a very small part with this disreputable crew and

-that what counted with them was the possibility of filling their own

-empty pockets. My opinion was that those people thoroughly deserved to

-be hanged, because they were ready to sacrifice the peace and if

-necessary allow Germany to be defeated just to serve their own ends. To

-consider their wishes would mean to sacrifice the interests of the

-working classes for the benefit of a gang of thieves. To meet their

-wishes meant that one should agree to sacrifice Germany.

-Such, too, was the opinion still held by the majority of the army. But

-the reinforcements which came from home were fast becoming worse and

-worse; so much so that their arrival was a source of weakness rather

-than of strength to our fighting forces. The young recruits in

-particular were for the most part useless. Sometimes it was hard to

-believe that they were sons of the same nation that sent its youth into

-the battles that were fought round Ypres.

-In August and September the symptoms of moral disintegration increased

-more and more rapidly, although the enemy's offensive was not at all

-comparable to the frightfulness of our own former defensive battles. In

-comparison with this offensive the battles fought on the Somme and in

-Flanders remained in our memories as the most terrible of all horrors.

-At the end of September my division occupied, for the third time, those

-positions which we had once taken by storm as young volunteers. What a

-memory!

-Here we had received our baptism of fire, in October and November 1914.

-With a burning love of the homeland in their hearts and a song on their

-lips, our young regiment went into action as if going to a dance. The

-dearest blood was given freely here in the belief that it was shed to

-protect the freedom and independence of the Fatherland.

-In July 1917 we set foot for the second time on what we regarded as

-sacred soil. Were not our best comrades at rest here, some of them

-little more than boys--the soldiers who had rushed into death for their

-country's sake, their eyes glowing with enthusiastic love.

-The older ones among us, who had been with the regiment from the

-beginning, were deeply moved as we stood on this sacred spot where we

-had sworn 'Loyalty and Duty unto Death'. Three years ago the regiment

-had taken this position by storm; now it was called upon to defend it in

-a gruelling struggle.

-With an artillery bombardment that lasted three weeks the English

-prepared for their great offensive in Flanders. There the spirits of the

-dead seemed to live again. The regiment dug itself into the mud, clung

-to its shell-holes and craters, neither flinching nor wavering, but

-growing smaller in numbers day after day. Finally the British launched

-their attack on July 31st, 1917.

-We were relieved in the beginning of August. The regiment had dwindled

-down to a few companies, who staggered back, mud-crusted, more like

-phantoms than human beings. Besides a few hundred yards of shell-holes,

-death was the only reward which the English gained.

-Now in the autumn of 1918 we stood for the third time on the ground we

-had stormed in 1914. The village of Comines, which formerly had served

-us as a base, was now within the fighting zone. Although little had

-changed in the surrounding district itself, yet the men had become

-different, somehow or other. They now talked politics. Like everywhere

-else, the poison from home was having its effect here also. The young

-drafts succumbed to it completely. They had come directly from home.

-During the night of October 13th-14th, the British opened an attack with

-gas on the front south of Ypres. They used the yellow gas whose effect

-was unknown to us, at least from personal experience. I was destined to

-experience it that very night. On a hill south of Werwick, in the

-evening of October 13th, we were subjected for several hours to a heavy

-bombardment with gas bombs, which continued throughout the night with

-more or less intensity. About midnight a number of us were put out of

-action, some for ever. Towards morning I also began to feel pain. It

-increased with every quarter of an hour; and about seven o'clock my eyes

-were scorching as I staggered back and delivered the last dispatch I was

-destined to carry in this war. A few hours later my eyes were like

-glowing coals and all was darkness around me.

-I was sent into hospital at Pasewalk in Pomerania, and there it was that

-I had to hear of the Revolution.

-For a long time there had been something in the air which was

-indefinable and repulsive. People were saying that something was bound

-to happen within the next few weeks, although I could not imagine what

-this meant. In the first instance I thought of a strike similar to the

-one which had taken place in spring. Unfavourable rumours were

-constantly coming from the Navy, which was said to be in a state of

-ferment. But this seemed to be a fanciful creation of a few isolated

-young people. It is true that at the hospital they were all talking abut

-the end of the war and hoping that this was not far off, but nobody

-thought that the decision would come immediately. I was not able to read

-the newspapers.

-In November the general tension increased. Then one day disaster broke

-in upon us suddenly and without warning. Sailors came in motor-lorries

-and called on us to rise in revolt. A few Jew-boys were the leaders in

-that combat for the 'Liberty, Beauty, and Dignity' of our National

-Being. Not one of them had seen active service at the front. Through the

-medium of a hospital for venereal diseases these three Orientals had

-been sent back home. Now their red rags were being hoisted here.

-During the last few days I had begun to feel somewhat better. The

-burning pain in the eye-sockets had become less severe. Gradually I was

-able to distinguish the general outlines of my immediate surroundings.

-And it was permissible to hope that at least I would recover my sight

-sufficiently to be able to take up some profession later on. That I

-would ever be able to draw or design once again was naturally out of the

-question. Thus I was on the way to recovery when the frightful hour

-came.

-My first thought was that this outbreak of high treason was only a local

-affair. I tried to enforce this belief among my comrades. My Bavarian

-hospital mates, in particular, were readily responsive. Their

-inclinations were anything but revolutionary. I could not imagine this

-madness breaking out in Munich; for it seemed to me that loyalty to the

-House of Wittelsbach was, after all, stronger than the will of a few

-Jews. And so I could not help believing that this was merely a revolt in

-the Navy and that it would be suppressed within the next few days.

-With the next few days came the most astounding information of my life.

-The rumours grew more and more persistent. I was told that what I had

-considered to be a local affair was in reality a general revolution. In

-addition to this, from the front came the shameful news that they wished

-to capitulate! What! Was such a thing possible?

-On November 10th the local pastor visited the hospital for the purpose

-of delivering a short address. And that was how we came to know the

-whole story.

-I was in a fever of excitement as I listened to the address. The

-reverend old gentleman seemed to be trembling when he informed us that

-the House of Hohen-zollern should no longer wear the Imperial Crown,

-that the Fatherland had become a 'Republic', that we should pray to the

-Almighty not to withhold His blessing from the new order of things and

-not to abandon our people in the days to come. In delivering this

-message he could not do more than briefly express appreciation of the

-Royal House, its services to Pomerania, to Prussia, indeed, to the whole

-of the German Fatherland, and--here he began to weep. A feeling of

-profound dismay fell on the people in that assembly, and I do not think

-there was a single eye that withheld its tears. As for myself, I broke

-down completely when the old gentleman tried to resume his story by

-informing us that we must now end this long war, because the war was

-lost, he said, and we were at the mercy of the victor. The Fatherland

-would have to bear heavy burdens in the future. We were to accept the

-terms of the Armistice and trust to the magnanimity of our former

-enemies. It was impossible for me to stay and listen any longer.

-Darkness surrounded me as I staggered and stumbled back to my ward and

-buried my aching head between the blankets and pillow.

-I had not cried since the day that I stood beside my mother's grave.

-Whenever Fate dealt cruelly with me in my young days the spirit of

-determination within me grew stronger and stronger. During all those

-long years of war, when Death claimed many a true friend and comrade

-from our ranks, to me it would have appeared sinful to have uttered a

-word of complaint. Did they not die for Germany? And, finally, almost in

-the last few days of that titanic struggle, when the waves of poison gas

-enveloped me and began to penetrate my eyes, the thought of becoming

-permanently blind unnerved me; but the voice of conscience cried out

-immediately: Poor miserable fellow, will you start howling when there

-are thousands of others whose lot is a hundred times worse than yours?

-And so I accepted my misfortune in silence, realizing that this was the

-only thing to be done and that personal suffering was nothing when

-compared with the misfortune of one's country.

-So all had been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privations, in

-vain the hunger and thirst for endless months, in vain those hours that

-we stuck to our posts though the fear of death gripped our souls, and in

-vain the deaths of two millions who fell in discharging this duty. Think

-of those hundreds of thousands who set out with hearts full of faith in

-their fatherland, and never returned; ought not their graves to open, so

-that the spirits of those heroes bespattered with mud and blood should

-come home and take vengeance on those who had so despicably betrayed the

-greatest sacrifice which a human being can make for his country? Was it

-for this that the soldiers died in August and September 1914, for this

-that the 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 earth of Flanders? Was this meant to be the fruits

-of the sacrifice which German mothers made for their Fatherland when,

-with heavy hearts, they said good-bye to their sons who never returned?

-Has all this been done in order to enable a gang of despicable criminals

-to lay hands on the Fatherland?

-Was this then what the German soldier struggled for through sweltering

-heat and blinding snowstorm, enduring hunger and thirst and cold,

-fatigued from sleepless nights and endless marches? Was it for this that

-he lived through an inferno of artillery bombardments, lay gasping and

-choking during gas attacks, neither flinching nor faltering, but

-remaining staunch to the thought of defending the Fatherland against the

-enemy? Certainly these heroes also deserved the epitaph:

-   Traveller, when you come to Germany, tell the Homeland that we lie

-   here, true to the Fatherland and faithful to our duty. (Note 13)

-[Note 13. Here again we have the defenders of Thermopylae recalled as the

-prototype of German valour in the Great War. Hitler's quotation is a

-German variant of the couplet inscribed on the monument erected at

-Thermopylae to the memory of Leonidas and his Spartan soldiers who fell

-defending the Pass. As given by Herodotus, who claims that he saw the

-inscription himself, the original text may be literally translated thus:

-   Go, tell the Spartans, thou who passeth by,

-   That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.]

-And at Home? But--was this the only sacrifice that we had to consider?

-Was the Germany of the past a country of little worth? Did she not owe a

-certain duty to her own history? Were we still worthy to partake in the

-glory of the past? How could we justify this act to future generations?

-What a gang of despicable and depraved criminals!

-The more I tried then to glean some definite information of the terrible

-events that had happened the more my head became afire with rage and

-shame. What was all the pain I suffered in my eyes compared with this

-tragedy?

-The following days were terrible to bear, and the nights still worse. To

-depend on the mercy of the enemy was a precept which only fools or

-criminal liars could recommend. During those nights my hatred

-increased--hatred for the orignators of this dastardly crime.

-During the following days my own fate became clear to me. I was forced

-now to scoff at the thought of my personal future, which hitherto had

-been the cause of so much worry to me. Was it not ludicrous to think of

-building up anything on such a foundation? Finally, it also became clear

-to me that it was the inevitable that had happened, something which I

-had feared for a long time, though I really did not have the heart to

-believe it.

-Emperor William II was the first German Emperor to offer the hand of

-friendship to the Marxist leaders, not suspecting that they were

-scoundrels without any sense of honour. While they held the imperial

-hand in theirs, the other hand was already feeling for the dagger.

-There is no such thing as coming to an understanding with the Jews. It

-must be the hard-and-fast 'Either-Or.'

-For my part I then decided that I would take up political work.

-CHAPTER VIII

-THE BEGINNING OF MY POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

-Towards the end of November I returned to Munich. I went to the depot of

-my regiment, which was now in the hands of the 'Soldiers' Councils'. As

-the whole administration was quite repulsive to me, I decided to leave

-it as soon as I possibly could. With my faithful war-comrade,

-Ernst-Schmidt, I came to Traunstein and remained there until the camp

-was broken up. In March 1919 we were back again in Munich.

-The situation there could not last as it was. It tended irresistibly to

-a further extension of the Revolution. Eisner's death served only to

-hasten this development and finally led to the dictatorship of the

-Councils--or, to put it more correctly, to a Jewish hegemony, which

-turned out to be transitory but which was the original aim of those who

-had contrived the Revolution.

-At that juncture innumerable plans took shape in my mind. I spent whole

-days pondering on the problem of what could be done, but unfortunately

-every project had to give way before the hard fact that I was quite

-unknown and therefore did not have even the first pre-requisite

-necessary for effective action. Later on I shall explain the reasons why

-I could not decide to join any of the parties then in existence.

-As the new Soviet Revolution began to run its course in Munich my first

-activities drew upon me the ill-will of the Central Council. In the

-early morning of April 27th, 1919, I was to have been arrested; but the

-three fellows who came to arrest me did not have the courage to face my

-rifle and withdrew just as they had arrived.

-A few days after the liberation of Munich I was ordered to appear before

-the Inquiry Commission which had been set up in the 2nd Infantry

-Regiment for the purpose of watching revolutionary activities. That was

-my first incursion into the more or less political field.

-After another few weeks I received orders to attend a course of lectures

-which were being given to members of the army. This course was meant to

-inculcate certain fundamental principles on which the soldier could base

-his political ideas. For me the advantage of this organization was that

-it gave me a chance of meeting fellow soldiers who were of the same way

-of thinking and with whom I could discuss the actual situation. We were

-all more or less firmly convinced that Germany could not be saved from

-imminent disaster by those who had participated in the November

-treachery--that is to say, the Centre and the Social-Democrats; and also

-that the so-called Bourgeois-National group could not make good the

-damage that had been done, even if they had the best intentions. They

-lacked a number of requisites without which such a task could never be

-successfully undertaken. The years that followed have justified the

-opinions which we held at that time.

-In our small circle we discussed the project of forming a new party. The

-leading ideas which we then proposed were the same as those which were

-carried into effect afterwards, when the German Labour Party was

-founded. The name of the new movement which was to be founded should be

-such that of itself, it would appeal to the mass of the people; for all

-our efforts would turn out vain and useless if this condition were

-lacking. And that was the reason why we chose the name

-'Social-Revolutionary Party', particularly because the social principles

-of our new organization were indeed revolutionary.

-But there was also a more fundamental reason. The attention which I had

-given to economic problems during my earlier years was more or less

-confined to considerations arising directly out of the social problem.

-Subsequently this outlook broadened as I came to study the German policy

-of the Triple Alliance. This policy was very largely the result of an

-erroneous valuation of the economic situation, together with a confused

-notion as to the basis on which the future subsistence of the German

-people could be guaranteed. All these ideas were based on the principle

-that capital is exclusively the product of labour and that, just like

-labour, it was subject to all the factors which can hinder or promote

-human activity. Hence, from the national standpoint, the significance of

-capital depended on the greatness and freedom and power of the State,

-that is to say, of the nation, and that it is this dependence alone

-which leads capital to promote the interests of the State and the

-nation, from the instinct of self-preservation and for the sake of its

-own development.

-On such principles the attitude of the State towards capital would be

-comparatively simple and clear. Its only object would be to make sure

-that capital remained subservient to the State and did not allocate to

-itself the right to dominate national interests. Thus it could confine

-its activities within the two following limits: on the one side, to

-assure a vital and independent system of national economy and, on the

-other, to safeguard the social rights of the workers.

-Previously I did not recognize with adequate clearness the difference

-between capital which is purely the product of creative labour and the

-existence and nature of capital which is exclusively the result of

-financial speculation. Here I needed an impulse to set my mind thinking

-in this direction; but that impulse had hitherto been lacking.

-The requisite impulse now came from one of the men who delivered

-lectures in the course I have already mentioned. This was Gottfried

-Feder.

-For the first time in my life I heard a discussion which dealt with the

-principles of stock-exchange capital and capital which was used for loan

-activities. After hearing the first lecture delivered by Feder, the idea

-immediately came into my head that I had now found a way to one of the

-most essential pre-requisites for the founding of a new party.

-To my mind, Feder's merit consisted in the ruthless and trenchant way in

-which he described the double character of the capital engaged in

-stock-exchange and loan transaction, laying bare the fact that this

-capital is ever and always dependent on the payment of interest. In

-fundamental questions his statements were so full of common sense that

-those who criticized him did not deny that AU FOND his ideas were sound

-but they doubted whether it be possible to put these ideas into

-practice. To me this seemed the strongest point in Feder's teaching,

-though others considered it a weak point.

-It is not the business of him who lays down a theoretical programme to

-explain the various ways in which something can be put into practice.

-His task is to deal with the problem as such; and, therefore, he has to

-look to the end rather than the means. The important question is whether

-an idea is fundamentally right or not. The question of whether or not it

-may be difficult to carry it out in practice is quite another matter.

-When a man whose task it is to lay down the principles of a programme or

-policy begins to busy himself with the question as to whether it is

-expedient and practical, instead of confining himself to the statement

-of the absolute truth, his work will cease to be a guiding star to those

-who are looking about for light and leading and will become merely a

-recipe for every-day iife. The man who lays down the programme of a

-movement must consider only the goal. It is for the political leader to

-point out the way in which that goal may be reached. The thought of the

-former will, therefore, be determined by those truths that are

-everlasting, whereas the activity of the latter must always be guided by

-taking practical account of the circumstances under which those truths

-have to be carried into effect.

-The greatness of the one will depend on the absolute truth of his idea,

-considered in the abstract; whereas that of the other will depend on

-whether or not he correctly judges the given realities and how they may

-be utilized under the guidance of the truths established by the former.

-The test of greatness as applied to a political leader is the success of

-his plans and his enterprises, which means his ability to reach the goal

-for which he sets out; whereas the final goal set up by the political

-philosopher can never be reached; for human thought may grasp truths and

-picture ends which it sees like clear crystal, though such ends can

-never be completely fulfilled because human nature is weak and

-imperfect. The more an idea is correct in the abstract, and, therefore,

-all the more powerful, the smaller is the possibility of putting it into

-practice, at least as far as this latter depends on human beings. The

-significance of a political philosopher does not depend on the practical

-success of the plans he lays down but rather on their absolute truth and

-the influence they exert on the progress of mankind. If it were

-otherwise, the founders of religions could not be considered as the

-greatest men who have ever lived, because their moral aims will never be

-completely or even approximately carried out in practice. Even that

-religion which is called the Religion of Love is really no more than a

-faint reflex of the will of its sublime Founder. But its significance

-lies in the orientation which it endeavoured to give to human

-civilization, and human virtue and morals.

-This very wide difference between the functions of a political

-philosopher and a practical political leader is the reason why the

-qualifications necessary for both functions are scarcely ever found

-associated in the same person. This applies especially to the so-called

-successful politician of the smaller kind, whose activity is indeed

-hardly more than practising the art of doing the possible, as Bismarck

-modestly defined the art of politics in general. If such a politician

-resolutely avoids great ideas his success will be all the easier to

-attain; it will be attained more expeditely and frequently will be more

-tangible. By reason of this very fact, however, such success is doomed

-to futility and sometimes does not even survive the death of its author.

-Generally speaking, the work of politicians is without significance for

-the following generation, because their temporary success was based on

-the expediency of avoiding all really great decisive problems and ideas

-which would be valid also for future generations.

-To pursue ideals which will still be of value and significance for the

-future is generally not a very profitable undertaking and he who follows

-such a course is only very rarely understood by the mass of the people,

-who find beer and milk a more persuasive index of political values than

-far-sighted plans for the future, the realization of which can only take

-place later on and the advantages of which can be reaped only by

-posterity.

-Because of a certain vanity, which is always one of the blood-relations

-of unintelligence, the general run of politicians will always eschew

-those schemes for the future which are really difficult to put into

-practice; and they will practise this avoidance so that they may not

-lose the immediate favour of the mob. The importance and the success of

-such politicians belong exclusively to the present and will be of no

-consequence for the future. But that does not worry small-minded people;

-they are quite content with momentary results.

-The position of the constructive political philosopher is quite

-different. The importance of his work must always be judged from the

-standpoint of the future; and he is frequently described by the word

-WELTFREMD, or dreamer. While the ability of the politician consists in

-mastering the art of the possible, the founder of a political system

-belongs to those who are said to please the gods only because they wish

-for and demand the impossible. They will always have to renounce

-contemporary fame; but if their ideas be immortal, posterity will grant

-them its acknowledgment.

-Within long spans of human progress it may occasionally happen that the

-practical politician and political philosopher are one. The more

-intimate this union is, the greater will be the obstacles which the

-activity of the politician will have to encounter. Such a man does not

-labour for the purpose of satisfying demands that are obvious to every

-philistine, but he reaches out towards ends which can be understood only

-by the few. His life is torn asunder by hatred and love. The protest of

-his contemporaries, who do not understand the man, is in conflict with

-the recognition of posterity, for whom he also works.

-For the greater the work which a man does for the future, the less will

-he be appreciated by his contemporaries. His struggle will accordingly

-be all the more severe, and his success all the rarer. When, in the

-course of centuries, such a man appears who is blessed with success

-then, towards the end of his days, he may have a faint prevision of his

-future fame. But such great men are only the Marathon runners of

-history. The laurels of contemporary fame are only for the brow of the

-dying hero.

-The great protagonists are those who fight for their ideas and ideals

-despite the fact that they receive no recognition at the hands of their

-contemporaries. They are the men whose memories will be enshrined in the

-hearts of the future generations. It seems then as if each individual

-felt it his duty to make retroactive atonement for the wrong which great

-men have suffered at the hands of their contemporaries. Their lives and

-their work are then studied with touching and grateful admiration.

-Especially in dark days of distress, such men have the power of healing

-broken hearts and elevating the despairing spirit of a people.

-To this group belong not only the genuinely great statesmen but all the

-great reformers as well. Beside Frederick the Great we have such men as

-Martin Luther and Richard Wagner.

-When I heard Gottfried Feder's first lecture on 'The Abolition of the

-Interest-Servitude', I understood immediately that here was a truth of

-transcendental importance for the future of the German people. The

-absolute separation of stock-exchange capital from the economic life of

-the nation would make it possible to oppose the process of

-internationalization in German business without at the same time

-attacking capital as such, for to do this would jeopardize the

-foundations of our national independence. I clearly saw what was

-developing in Germany and I realized then that the stiffest fight we

-would have to wage would not be against the enemy nations but against

-international capital. In Feder's speech I found an effective

-rallying-cry for our coming struggle.

-Here, again, later events proved how correct was the impression we then

-had. The fools among our bourgeois politicians do not mock at us on this

-point any more; for even those politicians now see--if they would speak

-the truth--that international stock-exchange capital was not only the

-chief instigating factor in bringing on the War but that now when the

-War is over it turns the peace into a hell.

-The struggle against international finance capital and loan-capital has

-become one of the most important points in the programme on which the

-German nation has based its fight for economic freedom and independence.

-Regarding the objections raised by so-called practical people, the

-following answer must suffice: All apprehensions concerning the fearful

-economic consequences that would follow the abolition of the servitude

-that results from interest-capital are ill-timed; for, in the first

-place, the economic principles hitherto followed have proved quite fatal

-to the interests of the German people. The attitude adopted when the

-question of maintaining our national existence arose vividly recalls

-similar advice once given by experts--the Bavarian Medical College, for

-example--on the question of introducing railroads. The fears expressed

-by that august body of experts were not realized. Those who travelled in

-the coaches of the new 'Steam-horse' did not suffer from vertigo. Those

-who looked on did not become ill and the hoardings which had been

-erected to conceal the new invention were eventually taken down. Only

-those blinds which obscure the vision of the would-be 'experts', have

-remained. And that will be always so.

-In the second place, the following must be borne in mind: Any idea may

-be a source of danger if it be looked upon as an end in itself, when

-really it is only the means to an end. For me and for all genuine

-National-Socialists there is only one doctrine. PEOPLE AND FATHERLAND.

-What we have to fight for is the necessary security for the existence

-and increase of our race and people, the subsistence of its children and

-the maintenance of our racial stock unmixed, the freedom and

-independence of the Fatherland; so that our people may be enabled to

-fulfil the mission assigned to it by the Creator.

-All ideas and ideals, all teaching and all knowledge, must serve these

-ends. It is from this standpoint that everything must be examined and

-turned to practical uses or else discarded. Thus a theory can never

-become a mere dead dogma since everything will have to serve the

-practical ends of everyday life.

-Thus the judgment arrived at by Gottfried Feder determined me to make a

-fundamental study of a question with which I had hitherto not been very

-familiar.

-I began to study again and thus it was that I first came to understand

-perfectly what was the substance and purpose of the life-work of the

-Jew, Karl Marx. His CAPITAL became intelligible to me now for the first

-time. And in the light of it I now exactly understood the fight of the

-Social-Democrats against national economics, a fight which was to

-prepare the ground for the hegemony of a real international and

-stock-exchange capital.

-In another direction also this course of lectures had important

-consequences for me.

-One day I put my name down as wishing to take part in the discussion.

-Another of the participants thought that he would break a lance for the

-Jews and entered into a lengthy defence of them. This aroused my

-opposition. An overwhelming number of those who attended the lecture

-course supported my views. The consequence of it all was that, a few

-days later, I was assigned to a regiment then stationed at Munich and

-given a position there as 'instruction officer'.

-At that time the spirit of discipline was rather weak among those

-troops. It was still suffering from the after-effects of the period when

-the Soldiers' Councils were in control. Only gradually and carefully

-could a new spirit of military discipline and obedience be introduced in

-place of 'voluntary obedience', a term which had been used to express

-the ideal of military discipline under Kurt Eisner's higgledy-piggledy

-regime. The soldiers had to be taught to think and feel in a national

-and patriotic way. In these two directions lay my future line of action.

-I took up my work with the greatest delight and devotion. Here I was

-presented with an opportunity of speaking before quite a large audience.

-I was now able to confirm what I had hitherto merely felt, namely, that

-I had a talent for public speaking. My voice had become so much better

-that I could be well understood, at least in all parts of the small hall

-where the soldiers assembled.

-No task could have been more pleasing to me than this one; for now,

-before being demobilized, I was in a position to render useful service

-to an institution which had been infinitely dear to my heart: namely,

-the army.

-I am able to state that my talks were successful. During the course of

-my lectures I have led back hundreds and even thousands of my fellow

-countrymen to their people and their fatherland. I 'nationalized' these

-troops and by so doing I helped to restore general discipline.

-Here again I made the acquaintance of several comrades whose thought ran

-along the same lines as my own and who later became members of the first

-group out of which the new movement developed.

-CHAPTER IX

-THE GERMAN LABOUR PARTY

-One day I received an order from my superiors to investigate the nature

-of an association which was apparently political. It called itself 'The

-German Labour Party' and was soon to hold a meeting at which Gottfried

-Feder would speak. I was ordered to attend this meeting and report on

-the situation.

-The spirit of curiosity in which the army authorities then regarded

-political parties can be very well understood. The Revolution had

-granted the soldiers the right to take an active part in politics and it

-was particularly those with the smallest experience who had availed

-themselves of this right. But not until the Centre and the

-Social-Democratic parties were reluctantly forced to recognize that the

-sympathies of the soldiers had turned away from the revolutionary

-parties towards the national movement and the national reawakening, did

-they feel obliged to withdraw from the army the right to vote and to

-forbid it all political activity.

-The fact that the Centre and Marxism had adopted this policy was

-instructive, because if they had not thus curtailed the 'rights of the

-citizen'--as they described the political rights of the soldiers after

-the Revolution--the government which had been established in November

-1918 would have been overthrown within a few years and the dishonour and

-disgrace of the nation would not have been further prolonged. At that

-time the soldiers were on the point of taking the best way to rid the

-nation of the vampires and valets who served the cause of the Entente in

-the interior of the country. But the fact that the so-called 'national'

-parties voted enthusiastically for the doctrinaire policy of the

-criminals who organized the Revolution in November (1918) helped also to

-render the army ineffective as an instrument of national restoration and

-thus showed once again where men might be led by the purely abstract

-notions accepted by these most gullible people.

-The minds of the bourgeois middle classes had become so fossilized that

-they sincerely believed the army could once again become what it had

-previously been, namely, a rampart of German valour; while the Centre

-Party and the Marxists intended only to extract the poisonous tooth of

-nationalism, without which an army must always remain just a police

-force but can never be in the position of a military organization

-capable of fighting against the outside enemy. This truth was

-sufficiently proved by subsequent events.

-Or did our 'national' politicians believe, after all, that the

-development of our army could be other than national? This belief might

-be possible and could be explained by the fact that during the War they

-were not soldiers but merely talkers. In other words, they were

-parliamentarians, and, as such, they did not have the slightest idea of

-what was passing in the hearts of those men who remembered the greatness

-of their own past and also remembered that they had once been the first

-soldiers in the world.

-I decided to attend the meeting of this Party, which had hitherto been

-entirely unknown to me. When I arrived that evening in the guest room of

-the former Sternecker Brewery--which has now become a place of

-historical significance for us--I found approximately 20-25 persons

-present, most of them belonging to the lower classes.

-The theme of Feder's lecture was already familiar to me; for I had heard

-it in the lecture course I have spoken of. Therefore, I could

-concentrate my attention on studying the society itself.

-The impression it made upon me was neither good nor bad. I felt that

-here was just another one of these many new societies which were being

-formed at that time. In those days everybody felt called upon to found a

-new Party whenever he felt displeased with the course of events and had

-lost confidence in all the parties already existing. Thus it was that

-new associations sprouted up all round, to disappear just as quickly,

-without exercising any effect or making any noise whatsoever. Generally

-speaking, the founders of such associations did not have the slightest

-idea of what it means to bring together a number of people for the

-foundations of a party or a movement. Therefore these associations

-disappeared because of their woeful lack of anything like an adequate

-grasp of the necessities of the situation.

-My opinion of the 'German Labour Party' was not very different after I

-had listened to their proceedings for about two hours. I was glad when

-Feder finally came to a close. I had observed enough and was just about

-to leave when it was announced that anybody who wished was free to open

-a discussion. Thereupon, I decided to remain. But the discussion seemed

-to proceed without anything of vital importance being mentioned, when

-suddenly a 'professor' commenced to speak. He opened by throwing doubt

-on the accuracy of what Feder had said, and then. after Feder had

-replied very effectively, the professor suddenly took up his position on

-what he called 'the basis of facts,' but before this he recommended the

-young party most urgently to introduce the secession of Bavaria from

-Prussia as one of the leading proposals in its programme. In the most

-self-assured way, this man kept on insisting that German-Austria would

-join Bavaria and that the peace would then function much better. He made

-other similarly extravagant statements. At this juncture I felt bound to

-ask for permission to speak and to tell the learned gentleman what I

-thought. The result was that the honourable gentleman who had last

-spoken slipped out of his place, like a whipped cur, without uttering a

-sound. While I was speaking the audience listened with an expression of

-surprise on their faces. When I was just about to say good-night to the

-assembly and to leave, a man came after me quickly and introduced

-himself. I did not grasp the name correctly; but he placed a little book

-in my hand, which was obviously a political pamphlet, and asked me very

-earnestly to read it.

-I was quite pleased; because in this way, I could come to know about

-this association without having to attend its tiresome meetings.

-Moreover, this man, who had the appearance of a workman, made a good

-impression on me. Thereupon, I left the hall.

-At that time I was living in one of the barracks of the 2nd Infantry

-Regiment. I had a little room which still bore the unmistakable traces

-of the Revolution. During the day I was mostly out, at the quarters of

-Light Infantry No. 41 or else attending meetings or lectures, held at

-some other branch of the army. I spent only the night at the quarters

-where I lodged. Since I usually woke up about five o'clock every morning

-I got into the habit of amusing myself with watching little mice which

-played around in my small room. I used to place a few pieces of hard

-bread or crust on the floor and watch the funny little beasts playing

-around and enjoying themselves with these delicacies. I had suffered so

-many privations in my own life that I well knew what hunger was and

-could only too well picture to myself the pleasure these little

-creatures were experiencing.

-So on the morning after the meeting I have mentioned, it happened that

-about five o'clock I lay fully awake in bed, watching the mice playing

-and vying with each other. As I was not able to go to sleep again, I

-suddenly remembered the pamphlet that one of the workers had given me at

-the meeting. It was a small pamphlet of which this worker was the

-author. In his little book he described how his mind had thrown off the

-shackles of the Marxist and trades-union phraseology, and that he had

-come back to the nationalist ideals. That was the reason why he had

-entitled his little book: "My Political Awakening". The pamphlet secured

-my attention the moment I began to read, and I read it with interest to

-the end. The process here described was similar to that which I had

-experienced in my own case ten years previously. Unconsciously my own

-experiences began to stir again in my mind. During that day my thoughts

-returned several times to what I had read; but I finally decided to give

-the matter no further attention. A week or so later, however, I received

-a postcard which informed me, to my astonishment, that I had been

-admitted into the German Labour Party. I was asked to answer this

-communication and to attend a meeting of the Party Committee on

-Wednesday next.

-This manner of getting members rather amazed me, and I did not know

-whether to be angry or laugh at it. Hitherto I had not any idea of

-entering a party already in existence but wanted to found one of my own.

-Such an invitation as I now had received I looked upon as entirely out

-of the question for me.

-I was about to send a written reply when my curiosity got the better of

-me, and I decided to attend the gathering at the date assigned, so that

-I might expound my principles to these gentlemen in person.

-Wednesday came. The tavern in which the meeting was to take place was

-the 'Alte Rosenbad' in the Herrnstrasse, into which apparently only an

-occasional guest wandered. This was not very surprising in the year

-1919, when the bills of fare even at the larger restaurants were only

-very modest and scanty in their pretensions and thus not very attractive

-to clients. But I had never before heard of this restaurant.

-I went through the badly-lighted guest-room, where not a single guest

-was to be seen, and searched for the door which led to the side room;

-and there I was face-to-face with the 'Congress'. Under the dim light

-shed by a grimy gas-lamp I could see four young people sitting around a

-table, one of them the author of the pamphlet. He greeted me cordially

-and welcomed me as a new member of the German Labour Party.

-I was taken somewhat aback on being informed that actually the National

-President of the Party had not yet come; so I decided that I would keep

-back my own exposition for the time being. Finally the President

-appeared. He was the man who had been chairman of the meeting held in

-the Sternecker Brewery, when Feder spoke.

-My curiosity was stimulated anew and I sat waiting for what was going to

-happen. Now I got at least as far as learning the names of the gentlemen

-who had been parties to the whole affair. The REICH National President

-of the Association was a certain Herr Harrer and the President for the

-Munich district was Anton Drexler.

-The minutes of the previous meeting were read out and a vote of

-confidence in the secretary was passed. Then came the treasurer's

-report. The Society possessed a total fund of seven marks and fifty

-pfennigs (a sum corresponding to 7s. 6d. in English money at par),

-whereupon the treasurer was assured that he had the confidence of the

-members. This was now inserted in the minutes. Then letters of reply

-which had been written by the Chairman were read; first, to a letter

-received from Kiel, then to one from D�sseldorf and finally to one from

-Berlin. All three replies received the approval of all present. Then the

-incoming letters were read--one from Berlin, one from D�sseldorf and one

-from Kiel. The reception of these letters seemed to cause great

-satisfaction. This increasing bulk of correspondence was taken as the

-best and most obvious sign of the growing importance of the German

-Labour Party. And then? Well, there followed a long discussion of the

-replies which would be given to these newly-received letters.

-It was all very awful. This was the worst kind of parish-pump clubbism.

-And was I supposed to become a member of such a club?

-The question of new members was next discussed--that is to say, the

-question of catching myself in the trap.

-I now began to ask questions. But I found that, apart from a few general

-principles, there was nothing--no programme, no pamphlet, nothing at all

-in print, no card of membership, not even a party stamp, nothing but

-obvious good faith and good intentions.

-I no longer felt inclined to laugh; for what else was all this but a

-typical sign of the most complete perplexity and deepest despair in

-regard to all political parties, their programmes and views and

-activities? The feeling which had induced those few young people to join

-in what seemed such a ridiculous enterprise was nothing but the call of

-the inner voice which told them--though more intuitively than

-consciously--that the whole party system as it had hitherto existed was

-not the kind of force that could restore the German nation or repair the

-damages that had been done to the German people by those who hitherto

-controlled the internal affairs of the nation. I quickly read through

-the list of principles that formed the platform of the party. These

-principles were stated on typewritten sheets. Here again I found

-evidence of the spirit of longing and searching, but no sign whatever of

-a knowledge of the conflict that had to be fought. I myself had

-experienced the feelings which inspired those people. It was the longing

-for a movement which should be more than a party, in the hitherto

-accepted meaning of that word.

-When I returned to my room in the barracks that evening I had formed a

-definite opinion on this association and I was facing the most difficult

-problem of my life. Should I join this party or refuse?

-From the side of the intellect alone, every consideration urged me to

-refuse; but my feelings troubled me. The more I tried to prove to myself

-how senseless this club was, on the whole, the more did my feelings

-incline me to favour it. During the following days I was restless.

-I began to consider all the pros and cons. I had long ago decided to

-take an active part in politics. The fact that I could do so only

-through a new movement was quite clear to me; but I had hitherto lacked

-the impulse to take concrete action. I am not one of those people who

-will begin something to-day and just give it up the next day for the

-sake of something new. That was the main reason which made it so

-difficult for me to decide in joining something newly founded; for this

-must become the real fulfilment of everything I dreamt, or else it had

-better not be started at all. I knew that such a decision should bind me

-for ever and that there could be no turning back. For me there could be

-no idle dallying but only a cause to be championed ardently. I had

-already an instinctive feeling against people who took up everything,

-but never carried anything through to the end. I loathed these

-Jacks-of-all-Trades, and considered the activities of such people to be

-worse than if they were to remain entirely quiescent.

-Fate herself now seemed to supply the finger-post that pointed out the

-way. I should never have entered one of the big parties already in

-existence and shall explain my reasons for this later on. This ludicrous

-little formation, with its handful of members, seemed to have the unique

-advantage of not yet being fossilized into an 'organization' and still

-offered a chance for real personal activity on the part of the

-individual. Here it might still be possible to do some effective work;

-and, as the movement was still small, one could all the easier give it

-the required shape. Here it was still possible to determine the

-character of the movement, the aims to be achieved and the road to be

-taken, which would have been impossible in the case of the big parties

-already existing.

-The longer I reflected on the problem, the more my opinion developed

-that just such a small movement would best serve as an instrument to

-prepare the way for the national resurgence, but that this could never

-be done by the political parliamentary parties which were too firmly

-attached to obsolete ideas or had an interest in supporting the new

-regime. What had to be proclaimed here was a new WELTANSCHAUUNG and not

-a new election cry.

-It was, however, infinitely difficult to decide on putting the intention

-into practice. What were the qualifications which I could bring to the

-accomplishment of such a task?

-The fact that I was poor and without resources could, in my opinion, be

-the easiest to bear. But the fact that I was utterly unknown raised a

-more difficult problem. I was only one of the millions which Chance

-allows to exist or cease to exist, whom even their next-door neighbours

-will not consent to know. Another difficulty arose from the fact that I

-had not gone through the regular school curriculum.

-The so-called 'intellectuals' still look down with infinite

-superciliousness on anyone who has not been through the prescribed

-schools and allowed them to pump the necessary knowledge into him. The

-question of what a man can do is never asked but rather, what has he

-learned? 'Educated' people look upon any imbecile who is plastered with

-a number of academic certificates as superior to the ablest young fellow

-who lacks these precious documents. I could therefore easily imagine how

-this 'educated' world would receive me and I was wrong only in so far as

-I then believed men to be for the most part better than they proved to

-be in the cold light of reality. Because of their being as they are, the

-few exceptions stand out all the more conspicuously. I learned more and

-more to distinguish between those who will always be at school and those

-who will one day come to know something in reality.

-After two days of careful brooding and reflection I became convinced

-that I must take the contemplated step.

-It was the most fateful decision of my life. No retreat was possible.

-Thus I declared myself ready to accept the membership tendered me by the

-German Labour Party and received a provisional certificate of

-membership. I was numbered SEVEN.

-CHAPTER X

-WHY THE SECOND REICH COLLAPSED

-The depth of a fall is always measured by the difference between the

-level of the original position from which a body has fallen and that in

-which it is now found. The same holds good for Nations and States. The

-matter of greatest importance here is the height of the original level,

-or rather the greatest height that had been attained before the descent

-began.

-For only the profound decline or collapse of that which was capable of

-reaching extraordinary heights can make a striking impression on the eye

-of the beholder. The collapse of the Second REICH was all the more

-bewildering for those who could ponder over it and feel the effect of it

-in their hearts, because the REICH had fallen from a height which can

-hardly be imagined in these days of misery and humiliation.

-The Second REICH was founded in circumstances of such dazzling splendour

-that the whole nation had become entranced and exalted by it. Following

-an unparalleled series of victories, that Empire was handed over as the

-guerdon of immortal heroism to the children and grandchildren of the

-heroes. Whether they were fully conscious of it or not does not matter;

-anyhow, the Germans felt that this Empire had not been brought into

-existence by a series of able political negotiations through

-parliamentary channels, but that it was different from political

-institutions founded elsewhere by reason of the nobler circumstances

-that had accompanied its establishment. When its foundations were laid

-the accompanying music was not the chatter of parliamentary debates but

-the thunder and boom of war along the battle front that encircled Paris.

-It was thus that an act of statesmanship was accomplished whereby the

-Germans, princes as well as people, established the future REICH and

-restored the symbol of the Imperial Crown. Bismarck's State was not

-founded on treason and assassination by deserters and shirkers but by

-the regiments that had fought at the front. This unique birth and

-baptism of fire sufficed of themselves to surround the Second Empire

-with an aureole of historical splendour such as few of the older States

-could lay claim to.

-And what an ascension then began! A position of independence in regard

-to the outside world guaranteed the means of livelihood at home. The

-nation increased in numbers and in worldly wealth. The honour of the

-State and therewith the honour of the people as a whole were secured and

-protected by an army which was the most striking witness of the

-difference between this new REICH and the old German Confederation.

-But the downfall of the Second Empire and the German people has been so

-profound that they all seem to have been struck dumbfounded and rendered

-incapable of feeling the significance of this downfall or reflecting on

-it. It seems as if people were utterly unable to picture in their minds

-the heights to which the Empire formerly attained, so visionary and

-unreal appears the greatness and splendour of those days in contrast to

-the misery of the present. Bearing this in mind we can understand why

-and how people become so dazed when they try to look back to the sublime

-past that they forget to look for the symptoms of the great collapse

-which must certainly have been present in some form or other. Naturally

-this applies only to those for whom Germany was more than merely a place

-of abode and a source of livelihood. These are the only people who have

-been able to feel the present conditions as really catastrophic, whereas

-others have considered these conditions as the fulfilment of what they

-had looked forward to and hitherto silently wished.

-The symptoms of future collapse were definitely to be perceived in those

-earlier days, although very few made any attempt to draw a practical

-lesson from their significance. But this is now a greater necessity than

-it ever was before. For just as bodily ailments can be cured only when

-their origin has been diagnosed, so also political disease can be

-treated only when it has been diagnosed. It is obvious of course that

-the external symptoms of any disease can be more readily detected than

-its internal causes, for these symptoms strike the eye more easily. This

-is also the reason why so many people recognize only external effects

-and mistake them for causes. Indeed they will sometimes try to deny the

-existence of such causes. And that is why the majority of people among

-us recognize the German collapse only in the prevailing economic

-distress and the results that have followed therefrom. Almost everyone

-has to carry his share of this burden, and that is why each one looks on

-the economic catastrophe as the cause of the present deplorable state of

-affairs. The broad masses of the people see little of the cultural,

-political, and moral background of this collapse. Many of them

-completely lack both the necessary feeling and powers of understanding

-for it.

-That the masses of the people should thus estimate the causes of

-Germany's downfall is quite understandable. But the fact that

-intelligent sections of the community regard the German collapse

-primarily as an economic catastrophe, and consequently think that a cure

-for it may be found in an economic solution, seems to me to be the

-reason why hitherto no improvement has been brought about. No

-improvement can be brought about until it be understood that economics

-play only a second or third role, while the main part is played by

-political, moral and racial factors. Only when this is understood will

-it be possible to understand the causes of the present evil and

-consequently to find the ways and means of remedying them.

-Therefore the question of why Germany really collapsed is one of the

-most urgent significance, especially for a political movement which aims

-at overcoming this disaster.

-In scrutinizing the past with a view to discovering the causes of the

-German break-up, it is necessary to be careful lest we may be unduly

-impressed by external results that readily strike the eye and thus

-ignore the less manifest causes of these results.

-The most facile, and therefore the most generally accepted, way of

-accounting for the present misfortune is to say that it is the result of

-a lost war, and that this is the real cause of the present misfortune.

-Probably there are many who honestly believe in this absurd explanation

-but there are many more in whose mouths it is a deliberate and conscious

-falsehood. This applies to all those who are now feeding at the

-Government troughs. For the prophets of the Revolution again and again

-declared to the people that it would be immaterial to the great masses

-what the result of the War might be. On the contrary, they solemnly

-assured the public that it was High Finance which was principally

-interested in a victorious outcome of this gigantic struggle among the

-nations but that the German people and the German workers had no

-interest whatsoever in such an outcome. Indeed the apostles of world

-conciliation habitually asserted that, far from any German downfall, the

-opposite was bound to take place--namely, the resurgence of the German

-people--once 'militarism' had been crushed. Did not these self-same

-circles sing the praises of the Entente and did they not also lay the

-whole blame for the sanguinary struggle on the shoulders of Germany?

-Without this explanation, would they have been able to put forward the

-theory that a military defeat would have no political consequences for

-the German people? Was not the whole Revolution dressed up in gala

-colours as blocking the victorious advance of the German banners and

-that thus the German people would be assured its liberty both at home

-and abroad?

-Is not that so, you miserable, lying rascals?

-That kind of impudence which is typical of the Jews was necessary in

-order to proclaim the defeat of the army as the cause of the German

-collapse. Indeed the Berlin VORW�RTS, that organ and mouthpiece of

-sedition then wrote on this occasion that the German nation should not

-be permitted to bring home its banners triumphantly.

-And yet they attribute our collapse to the military defeat.

-Of course it would be out of the question to enter into an argument with

-these liars who deny at one moment what they said the moment before. I

-should waste no further words on them were it not for the fact that

-there are many thoughtless people who repeat all this in parrot fashion,

-without being necessarily inspired by any evil motives. But the

-observations I am making here are also meant for our fighting followers,

-seeing that nowadays one's spoken words are often forgotten and twisted

-in their meaning.

-The assertion that the loss of the War was the cause of the German

-collapse can best be answered as follows:

-It is admittedly a fact that the loss of the War was of tragic

-importance for the future of our country. But that loss was not in

-itself a cause. It was rather the consequence of other causes. That a

-disastrous ending to this life-or-death conflict must have involved

-catastrophes in its train was clearly seen by everyone of insight who

-could think in a straightforward manner. But unfortunately there were

-also people whose powers of understanding seemed to fail them at that

-critical moment. And there were other people who had first questioned

-that truth and then altogether denied it. And there were people who,

-after their secret desire had been fulfilled, were suddenly faced with

-the subsequent facts that resulted from their own collaboration. Such

-people are responsible for the collapse, and not the lost war, though

-they now want to attribute everything to this. As a matter of fact the

-loss of the War was a result of their activities and not the result of

-bad leadership as they now would like to maintain. Our enemies were not

-cowards. They also know how to die. From the very first day of the War

-they outnumbered the German Army, and the arsenals and armament

-factories of the whole world were at their disposal for the

-replenishment of military equipment. Indeed it is universally admitted

-that the German victories, which had been steadily won during four years

-of warfare against the whole world, were due to superior leadership,

-apart of course from the heroism of the troops. And the organization was

-solely due to the German military leadership. That organization and

-leadership of the German Army was the most mighty thing that the world

-has ever seen. Any shortcomings which became evident were humanly

-unavoidable. The collapse of that army was not the cause of our present

-distress. It was itself the consequence of other faults. But this

-consequence in its turn ushered in a further collapse, which was more

-visible. That such was actually the case can be shown as follows:

-Must a military defeat necessarily lead to such a complete overthrow of

-the State and Nation? Whenever has this been the result of an unlucky

-war? As a matter of fact, are nations ever ruined by a lost war and by

-that alone? The answer to this question can be briefly stated by

-referring to the fact that military defeats are the result of internal

-decay, cowardice, want of character, and are a retribution for such

-things. If such were not the causes then a military defeat would lead to

-a national resurgence and bring the nation to a higher pitch of effort.

-A military defeat is not the tombstone of national life. History affords

-innumerable examples to confirm the truth of that statement.

-Unfortunately Germany's military overthrow was not an undeserved

-catastrophe, but a well-merited punishment which was in the nature of an

-eternal retribution. This defeat was more than deserved by us; for it

-represented the greatest external phenomenon of decomposition among a

-series of internal phenomena, which, although they were visible, were

-not recognized by the majority of the people, who follow the tactics of

-the ostrich and see only what they want to see.

-Let us examine the symptoms that were evident in Germany at the time

-that the German people accepted this defeat. Is it not true that in

-several circles the misfortunes of the Fatherland were even joyfully

-welcomed in the most shameful manner? Who could act in such a way

-without thereby meriting vengeance for his attitude? Were there not

-people who even went further and boasted that they had gone to the

-extent of weakening the front and causing a collapse? Therefore it was

-not the enemy who brought this disgrace upon our shoulders but rather

-our own countrymen. If they suffered misfortune for it afterwards, was

-that misfortune undeserved? Was there ever a case in history where a

-people declared itself guilty of a war, and that even against its better

-conscience and its better knowledge?

-No, and again no. In the manner in which the German nation reacted to

-its defeat we can see that the real cause of our collapse must be looked

-for elsewhere and not in the purely military loss of a few positions or

-the failure of an offensive. For if the front as such had given way and

-thus brought about a national disaster, then the German nation would

-have accepted the defeat in quite another spirit. They would have borne

-the subsequent misfortune with clenched teeth, or they would have been

-overwhelmed by sorrow. Regret and fury would have filled their hearts

-against an enemy into whose hands victory had been given by a chance

-event or the decree of Fate; and in that case the nation, following the

-example of the Roman Senate (Note 14), would have faced the defeated

-legions on their return and expressed their thanks for the sacrifices that

-had been made and would have requested them not to lose faith in the

-Empire. Even the capitulation would have been signed under the sway of

-calm reason, while the heart would have beaten in the hope of the coming

-REVANCHE.

-[Note 14. Probably the author has two separate incidents in mind. The

-first happened in 390 B.C., when, as the victorious Gauls descended on

-Rome, the Senators ordered their ivory chairs to be placed in the Forum

-before the Temples ofthe Gods. There, clad in their robes of state, they

-awaited the invader, hoping to save the city by sacrificing themselves.

-This noble gesture failed for the time being; but it had an inspiring

-influence on subsequent generations. The second incident, which has more

-historical authenticity, occurred after the Roman defeat at Cannae in 216

-B.C. On that occasion Varro, the Roman commander, who, though in great

-part responsible for the disaster, made an effort to carry on the

-struggle, was, on his return to Rome, met by the citizens of all ranks

-and publicly thanked because he had not despaired of the Republic. The

-consequence was that the Republic refused to make peace with the

-victorious Carthagenians.]

-That is the reception that would have been given to a military defeat

-which had to be attributed only to the adverse decree of Fortune. There

-would have been neither joy-making nor dancing. Cowardice would not have

-been boasted of, and the defeat would not have been honoured. On

-returning from the Front, the troops would not have been mocked at, and

-the colours would not have been dragged in the dust. But above all, that

-disgraceful state of affairs could never have arisen which induced a

-British officer, Colonel Repington, to declare with scorn: Every third

-German is a traitor! No, in such a case this plague would never have

-assumed the proportions of a veritable flood which, for the past five

-years, has smothered every vestige of respect for the German nation in

-the outside world.

-This shows only too clearly how false it is to say that the loss of the

-War was the cause of the German break-up. No. The military defeat was

-itself but the consequence of a whole series of morbid symptoms and

-their causes which had become active in the German nation before the War

-broke out. The War was the first catastrophal consequence, visible to

-all, of how traditions and national morale had been poisoned and how the

-instinct of self-preservation had degenerated. These were the

-preliminary causes which for many years had been undermining the

-foundations of the nation and the Empire.

-But it remained for the Jews, with their unqualified capacity for

-falsehood, and their fighting comrades, the Marxists, to impute

-responsibility for the downfall precisely to the man who alone had shown

-a superhuman will and energy in his effort to prevent the catastrophe

-which he had foreseen and to save the nation from that hour of complete

-overthrow and shame. By placing responsibility for the loss of the world

-war on the shoulders of Ludendorff they took away the weapon of moral

-right from the only adversary dangerous enough to be likely to succeed

-in bringing the betrayers of the Fatherland to Justice. All this was

-inspired by the principle--which is quite true in itself--that in the

-big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the

-broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper

-strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and

-thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall

-victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often

-tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to

-large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to

-fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others

-could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though

-the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their

-minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that

-there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always

-leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact

-which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire

-together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use

-falsehood for the basest purposes.

-From time immemorial. however, the Jews have known better than any

-others how falsehood and calumny can be exploited. Is not their very

-existence founded on one great lie, namely, that they are a religious

-community, whereas in reality they are a race? And what a race! One of

-the greatest thinkers that mankind has produced has branded the Jews for

-all time with a statement which is profoundly and exactly true. He

-(Schopenhauer) called the Jew "The Great Master of Lies". Those who do

-not realize the truth of that statement, or do not wish to believe it,

-will never be able to lend a hand in helping Truth to prevail.

-We may regard it as a great stroke of fortune for the German nation that

-its period of lingering suffering was so suddenly curtailed and

-transformed into such a terrible catastrophe. For if things had gone on

-as they were the nation would have more slowly, but more surely, gone to

-ruin. The disease would have become chronic; whereas, in the acute form

-of the disaster, it at least showed itself clearly to the eyes of a

-considerable number of observers. It was not by accident that man

-conquered the black plague more easily than he conquered tuberculosis.

-The first appeared in terrifying waves of death that shook the whole of

-mankind, the other advances insidiously; the first induces terror, the

-other gradual indifference. The result is, however, that men opposed the

-first with all the energy they were capable of, whilst they try to

-arrest tuberculosis by feeble means. Thus man has mastered the black

-plague, while tuberculosis still gets the better of him.

-The same applies to diseases in nations. So long as these diseases are

-not of a catastrophic character, the population will slowly accustom

-itself to them and later succumb. It is then a stroke of luck--although

-a bitter one--when Fate decides to interfere in this slow process of

-decay and suddenly brings the victim face to face with the final stage

-of the disease. More often than not the result of a catastrophe is that

-a cure is at once undertaken and carried through with rigid

-determination.

-But even in such a case the essential preliminary condition is always

-the recognition of the internal causes which have given rise to the

-disease in question.

-The important question here is the differentiation of the root causes

-from the circumstances developing out of them. This becomes all the more

-difficult the longer the germs of disease remain in the national body

-and the longer they are allowed to become an integral part of that body.

-It may easily happen that, as time goes on, it will become so difficult

-to recognize certain definite virulent poisons as such that they are

-accepted as belonging to the national being; or they are merely

-tolerated as a necessary evil, so that drastic attempts to locate those

-alien germs are not held to be necessary.

-During the long period of peace prior to the last war certain evils were

-apparent here and there although, with one or two exceptions, very

-little effort was made to discover their origin. Here again these

-exceptions were first and foremost those phenomena in the economic life

-of the nation which were more apparent to the individual than the evil

-conditions existing in a good many other spheres.

-There were many signs of decay which ought to have been given serious

-thought. As far as economics were concerned, the following may be

-said:--

-The amazing increase of population in Germany before the war brought the

-question of providing daily bread into a more and more prominent

-position in all spheres of political and economic thought and action.

-But unfortunately those responsible could not make up their minds to

-arrive at the only correct solution and preferred to reach their

-objective by cheaper methods. Repudiation of the idea of acquiring fresh

-territory and the substitution for it of the mad desire for the

-commercial conquest of the world was bound to lead eventually to

-unlimited and injurious industrialization.

-The first and most fatal result brought about in this way was the

-weakening of the agricultural classes, whose decline was proportionate

-to the increase in the proletariat of the urban areas, until finally the

-equilibrium was completely upset.

-The big barrier dividing rich and poor now became apparent. Luxury and

-poverty lived so close to each other that the consequences were bound to

-be deplorable. Want and frequent unemployment began to play havoc with

-the people and left discontent and embitterment behind them. The result

-of this was to divide the population into political classes. Discontent

-increased in spite of commercial prosperity. Matters finally reached

-that stage which brought about the general conviction that 'things

-cannot go on as they are', although no one seemed able to visualize what

-was really going to happen.

-These were typical and visible signs of the depths which the prevailing

-discontent had reached. Far worse than these, however, were other

-consequences which became apparent as a result of the industrialization

-of the nation.

-In proportion to the extent that commerce assumed definite control of

-the State, money became more and more of a God whom all had to serve and

-bow down to. Heavenly Gods became more and more old-fashioned and were

-laid away in the corners to make room for the worship of mammon. And

-thus began a period of utter degeneration which became specially

-pernicious because it set in at a time when the nation was more than

-ever in need of an exalted idea, for a critical hour was threatening.

-Germany should have been prepared to protect with the sword her efforts

-to win her own daily bread in a peaceful way.

-Unfortunately, the predominance of money received support and sanction

-in the very quarter which ought to have been opposed to it. His Majesty,

-the Kaiser, made a mistake when he raised representatives of the new

-finance capital to the ranks of the nobility. Admittedly, it may be

-offered as an excuse that even Bismarck failed to realize the

-threatening danger in this respect. In practice, however, all ideal

-virtues became secondary considerations to those of money, for it was

-clear that having once taken this road, the nobility of the sword would

-very soon rank second to that of finance.

-Financial operations succeed easier than war operations. Hence it was no

-longer any great attraction for a true hero or even a statesman to be

-brought into touch with the nearest Jew banker. Real merit was not

-interested in receiving cheap decorations and therefore declined them

-with thanks. But from the standpoint of good breeding such a development

-was deeply regrettable. The nobility began to lose more and more of the

-racial qualities that were a condition of its very existence, with the

-result that in many cases the term 'plebeian' would have been more

-appropriate.

-A serious state of economic disruption was being brought about by the

-slow elimination of the personal control of vested interests and the

-gradual transference of the whole economic structure into the hands of

-joint stock companies.

-In this way labour became degraded into an object of speculation in the

-hands of unscrupulous exploiters.

-The de-personalization of property ownership increased on a vast scale.

-Financial exchange circles began to triumph and made slow but sure

-progress in assuming control of the whole of national life.

-Before the War the internationalization of the German economic structure

-had already begun by the roundabout way of share issues. It is true that

-a section of the German industrialists made a determined attempt to

-avert the danger, but in the end they gave way before the united attacks

-of money-grabbing capitalism, which was assisted in this fight by its

-faithful henchmen in the Marxist movement.

-The persistent war against German 'heavy industries' was the visible

-start of the internationalization of German economic life as envisaged

-by the Marxists. This, however, could only be brought to a successful

-conclusion by the victory which Marxism was able to gain in the

-Revolution. As I write these words, success is attending the general

-attack on the German State Railways which are now to be turned over to

-international capitalists. Thus 'International Social-Democracy' has

-once again attained one of its main objectives.

-The best evidence of how far this 'commercialization' of the German

-nation was able to go can be plainly seen in the fact that when the War

-was over one of the leading captains of German industry and commerce

-gave it as his opinion that commerce as such was the only force which

-could put Germany on its feet again.

-This sort of nonsense was uttered just at the time when France was

-restoring public education on a humanitarian basis, thus doing away with

-the idea that national life is dependent on commerce rather than ideal

-values. The statement which Stinnes broadcasted to the world at that

-time caused incredible confusion. It was immediately taken up and has

-become the leading motto of all those humbugs and babblers--the

-'statesmen' whom Fate let loose on Germany after the Revolution.

-One of the worst evidences of decadence in Germany before the War was

-the ever increasing habit of doing things by halves. This was one of the

-consequences of the insecurity that was felt all round. And it is to be

-attributed also to a certain timidity which resulted from one cause or

-another. And the latter malady was aggravated by the educational system.

-German education in pre-War times had an extraordinary number of weak

-features. It was simply and exclusively limited to the production of

-pure knowledge and paid little attention to the development of practical

-ability. Still less attention was given to the development of individual

-character, in so far as this is ever possible. And hardly any attention

-at all was paid to the development of a sense of responsibility, to

-strengthening the will and the powers of decision. The result of this

-method was to produce erudite people who had a passion for knowing

-everything. Before the War we Germans were accepted and estimated

-accordingly. The German was liked because good use could be made of him;

-but there was little esteem for him personally, on account of this

-weakness of character. For those who can read its significance aright,

-there is much instruction in the fact that among all nationalities

-Germans were the first to part with their national citizenship when they

-found themselves in a foreign country. And there is a world of meaning

-in the saying that was then prevalent: 'With the hat in the hand one can

-go through the whole country'.

-This kind of social etiquette turned out disastrous when it prescribed

-the exclusive forms that had to be observed in the presence of His

-Majesty. These forms insisted that there should be no contradiction

-whatsoever, but that everything should be praised which His Majesty

-condescended to like.

-It was just here that the frank expression of manly dignity, and not

-subservience, was most needed. Servility in the presence of monarchs may

-be good enough for the professional lackey and place-hunter, in fact for

-all those decadent beings who are more pleased to be found moving in the

-high circles of royalty than among honest citizens. These exceedingly

-'humble' creatures however, though they grovel before their lord and

-bread-giver, invariably put on airs of boundless superciliousness

-towards other mortals, which was particularly impudent when they posed

-as the only people who had the right to be called 'monarchists'. This

-was a gross piece of impertinence such as only despicable specimens

-among the newly-ennobled or yet-to-be-ennobled could be capable of.

-And these have always been just the people who have prepared the way for

-the downfall of monarchy and the monarchical principle. It could not be

-otherwise. For when a man is prepared to stand up for a cause, come what

-may, he never grovels before its representative. A man who is serious

-about the maintenance and welfare of an institution will not allow

-himself to be discouraged when the representatives of that institution

-show certain faults and failings. And he certainly will not run around

-to tell the world about it, as certain false democratic 'friends' of the

-monarchy have done; but he will approach His Majesty, the bearer of the

-Crown himself, to warn him of the seriousness of a situation and

-persuade the monarch to act. Furthermore, he will not take up the

-standpoint that it must be left to His Majesty to act as the latter

-thinks fit, even though the course which he would take must plainly lead

-to disaster. But the man I am thinking of will deem it his duty to

-protect the monarchy against the monarch himself, no matter what

-personal risk he may run in doing so. If the worth of the monarchical

-institution be dependent on the person of the monarch himself, then it

-would be the worst institution imaginable; for only in rare cases are

-kings found to be models of wisdom and understanding, and integrity of

-character, though we might like to think otherwise. But this fact is

-unpalatable to the professional knaves and lackeys. Yet all upright men,

-and they are the backbone of the nation, repudiate the nonsensical

-fiction that all monarchs are wise, etc. For such men history is history

-and truth is truth, even where monarchs are concerned. But if a nation

-should have the good luck to possess a great king or a great man it

-ought to consider itself as specially favoured above all the other

-nations, and these may be thankful if an adverse fortune has not

-allotted the worst to them.

-It is clear that the worth and significance of the monarchical principle

-cannot rest in the person of the monarch alone, unless Heaven decrees

-that the crown should be set on the head of a brilliant hero like

-Frederick the Great, or a sagacious person like William I. This may

-happen once in several centuries, but hardly oftener than that. The

-ideal of the monarchy takes precedence of the person of the monarch,

-inasmuch as the meaning of the institution must lie in the institution

-it self. Thus the monarchy may be reckoned in the category of those

-whose duty it is to serve. He, too, is but a wheel in this machine and

-as such he is obliged to do his duty towards it. He has to adapt himself

-for the fulfilment of high aims. If, therefore, there were no

-significance attached to the idea itself and everything merely centred

-around the 'sacred' person, then it would never be possible to depose a

-ruler who has shown himself to be an imbecile.

-It is essential to insist upon this truth at the present time, because

-recently those phenomena have appeared again and were in no small

-measure responsible for the collapse of the monarchy. With a certain

-amount of native impudence these persons once again talk about 'their

-King'--that is to say, the man whom they shamefully deserted a few years

-ago at a most critical hour. Those who refrain from participating in

-this chorus of lies are summarily classified as 'bad Germans'. They who

-make the charge are the same class of quitters who ran away in 1918 and

-took to wearing red badges. They thought that discretion was the better

-part of valour. They were indifferent about what happened to the Kaiser.

-They camouflaged themselves as 'peaceful citizens' but more often than

-not they vanished altogether. All of a sudden these champions of royalty

-were nowhere to be found at that time. Circumspectly, one by one, these

-'servants and counsellors' of the Crown reappeared, to resume their

-lip-service to royalty but only after others had borne the brunt of the

-anti-royalist attack and suppressed the Revolution for them. Once again

-they were all there. remembering wistfully the flesh-pots of Egypt and

-almost bursting with devotion for the royal cause. This went on until

-the day came when red badges were again in the ascendant. Then this

-whole ramshackle assembly of royal worshippers scuttled anew like mice

-from the cats.

-If monarchs were not themselves responsible for such things one could

-not help sympathizing with them. But they must realize that with such

-champions thrones can be lost but certainly never gained.

-All this devotion was a mistake and was the result of our whole system

-of education, which in this case brought about a particularly severe

-retribution. Such lamentable trumpery was kept up at the various courts

-that the monarchy was slowly becoming under mined. When finally it did

-begin to totter, everything was swept away. Naturally, grovellers and

-lick-spittles are never willing to die for their masters. That monarchs

-never realize this, and almost on principle never really take the

-trouble to learn it, has always been their undoing.

-One visible result of wrong educational system was the fear of

-shouldering responsibility and the resultant weakness in dealing with

-obvious vital problems of existence.

-The starting point of this epidemic, however, was in our parliamentary

-institution where the shirking of responsibility is particularly

-fostered. Unfortunately the disease slowly spread to all branches of

-everyday life but particularly affected the sphere of public affairs.

-Responsibility was being shirked everywhere and this led to insufficient

-or half-hearted measures being taken, personal responsibility for each

-act being reduced to a minimum.

-If we consider the attitude of various Governments towards a whole

-series of really pernicious phenomena in public life, we shall at once

-recognize the fearful significance of this policy of half-measures and

-the lack of courage to undertake responsibilities. I shall single out

-only a few from the large numbers of instances known to me.

-In journalistic circles it is a pleasing custom to speak of the Press as

-a 'Great Power' within the State. As a matter of fact its importance is

-immense. One cannot easily overestimate it, for the Press continues the

-work of education even in adult life. Generally, readers of the Press

-can be classified into three groups:

-First, those who believe everything they read;

-Second, those who no longer believe anything;

-Third, those who critically examine what they read and form their

-judgments accordingly.

-Numerically, the first group is by far the strongest, being composed of

-the broad masses of the people. Intellectually, it forms the simplest

-portion of the nation. It cannot be classified according to occupation

-but only into grades of intelligence. Under this category come all those

-who have not been born to think for themselves or who have not learnt to

-do so and who, partly through incompetence and partly through ignorance,

-believe everything that is set before them in print. To these we must

-add that type of lazy individual who, although capable of thinking for

-himself out of sheer laziness gratefully absorbs everything that others

-had thought over, modestly believing this to have been thoroughly done.

-The influence which the Press has on all these people is therefore

-enormous; for after all they constitute the broad masses of a nation.

-But, somehow they are not in a position or are not willing personally to

-sift what is being served up to them; so that their whole attitude

-towards daily problems is almost solely the result of extraneous

-influence. All this can be advantageous where public enlightenment is of

-a serious and truthful character, but great harm is done when scoundrels

-and liars take a hand at this work.

-The second group is numerically smaller, being partly composed of those

-who were formerly in the first group and after a series of bitter

-disappointments are now prepared to believe nothing of what they see in

-print. They hate all newspapers. Either they do not read them at all or

-they become exceptionally annoyed at their contents, which they hold to

-be nothing but a congeries of lies and misstatements. These people are

-difficult to handle; for they will always be sceptical of the truth.

-Consequently, they are useless for any form of positive work.

-The third group is easily the smallest, being composed of real

-intellectuals whom natural aptitude and education have taught to think

-for themselves and who in all things try to form their own judgments,

-while at the same time carefully sifting what they read. They will not

-read any newspaper without using their own intelligence to collaborate

-with that of the writer and naturally this does not set writers an easy

-task. Journalists appreciate this type of reader only with a certain

-amount of reservation.

-Hence the trash that newspapers are capable of serving up is of little

-danger--much less of importance--to the members of the third group of

-readers. In the majority of cases these readers have learnt to regard

-every journalist as fundamentally a rogue who sometimes speaks the

-truth. Most unfortunately, the value of these readers lies in their

-intelligence and not in their numerical strength, an unhappy state of

-affairs in a period where wisdom counts for nothing and majorities for

-everything. Nowadays when the voting papers of the masses are the

-deciding factor; the decision lies in the hands of the numerically

-strongest group; that is to say the first group, the crowd of simpletons

-and the credulous.

-It is an all-important interest of the State and a national duty to

-prevent these people from falling into the hands of false, ignorant or

-even evil-minded teachers. Therefore it is the duty of the State to

-supervise their education and prevent every form of offence in this

-respect. Particular attention should be paid to the Press; for its

-influence on these people is by far the strongest and most penetrating

-of all; since its effect is not transitory but continual. Its immense

-significance lies in the uniform and persistent repetition of its

-teaching. Here, if anywhere, the State should never forget that all

-means should converge towards the same end. It must not be led astray by

-the will-o'-the-wisp of so-called 'freedom of the Press', or be talked

-into neglecting its duty, and withholding from the nation that which is

-good and which does good. With ruthless determination the State must

-keep control of this instrument of popular education and place it at the

-service of the State and the Nation.

-But what sort of pabulum was it that the German Press served up for the

-consumption of its readers in pre-War days? Was it not the worst

-virulent poison imaginable? Was not pacifism in its worst form

-inoculated into our people at a time when others were preparing slowly

-but surely to pounce upon Germany? Did not this self-same Press of ours

-in peace time already instil into the public mind a doubt as to the

-sovereign rights of the State itself, thereby already handicapping the

-State in choosing its means of defence? Was it not the German Press that

-under stood how to make all the nonsensical talk about 'Western

-democracy' palatable to our people, until an exuberant public was

-eventually prepared to entrust its future to the League of Nations? Was

-not this Press instrumental in bringing in a state of moral degradation

-among our people? Were not morals and public decency made to look

-ridiculous and classed as out-of-date and banal, until finally our

-people also became modernized? By means of persistent attacks, did not

-the Press keep on undermining the authority of the State, until one blow

-sufficed to bring this institution tottering to the ground? Did not the

-Press oppose with all its might every movement to give the State that

-which belongs to the State, and by means of constant criticism, injure

-the reputation of the army, sabotage general conscription and demand

-refusal of military credits, etc.--until the success of this campaign

-was assured?

-The function of the so-called liberal Press was to dig the grave for the

-German people and REICH. No mention need be made of the lying Marxist

-Press. To them the spreading of falsehood is as much a vital necessity

-as the mouse is to a cat. Their sole task is to break the national

-backbone of the people, thus preparing the nation to become the slaves

-of international finance and its masters, the Jews.

-And what measures did the State take to counteract this wholesale

-poisoning of the public mind? None, absolutely nothing at all. By this

-policy it was hoped to win the favour of this pest--by means of

-flattery, by a recognition of the 'value' of the Press, its

-'importance', its 'educative mission' and similar nonsense. The Jews

-acknowledged all this with a knowing smile and returned thanks.

-The reason for this ignominious failure on the part of the State lay not

-so much in its refusal to realize the danger as in the out-and-out

-cowardly way of meeting the situation by the adoption of faulty and

-ineffective measures. No one had the courage to employ any energetic and

-radical methods. Everyone temporised in some way or other; and instead

-of striking at its heart, the viper was only further irritated. The

-result was that not only did everything remain as it was, but the power

-of this institution which should have been combated grew greater from

-year to year.

-The defence put up by the Government in those days against a mainly

-Jew-controlled Press that was slowly corrupting the nation, followed no

-definite line of action, it had no determination behind it and above

-all, no fixed objective whatsoever in view. This is where official

-understanding of the situation completely failed both in estimating the

-importance of the struggle, choosing the means and deciding on a

-definite plan. They merely tinkered with the problem. Occasionally, when

-bitten, they imprisoned one or another journalistic viper for a few

-weeks or months, but the whole poisonous brood was allowed to carry on

-in peace.

-It must be admitted that all this was partly the result of extraordinary

-crafty tactics on the part of Jewry on the one hand, and obvious

-official stupidity or na�vet� on the other hand. The Jews were too

-clever to allow a simultaneous attack to be made on the whole of their

-Press. No one section functioned as cover for the other. While the

-Marxist newspaper, in the most despicable manner possible, reviled

-everything that was sacred, furiously attacked the State and Government

-and incited certain classes of the community against each other, the

-bourgeois-democratic papers, also in Jewish hands, knew how to

-camouflage themselves as model examples of objectivity. They studiously

-avoided harsh language, knowing well that block-heads are capable of

-judging only by external appearances and never able to penetrate to the

-real depth and meaning of anything. They measure the worth of an object

-by its exterior and not by its content. This form of human frailty was

-carefully studied and understood by the Press.

-For this class of blockheads the FRANKFURTER ZEITUNG would be

-acknowledged as the essence of respectability. It always carefully

-avoided calling a spade a spade. It deprecated the use of every form of

-physical force and persistently appealed to the nobility of fighting

-with 'intellectual' weapons. But this fight, curiously enough, was most

-popular with the least intellectual classes. That is one of the results

-of our defective education, which turns the youth away from the

-instinctive dictates of Nature, pumps into them a certain amount of

-knowledge without however being able to bring them to what is the

-supreme act of knowing. To this end diligence and goodwill are of no

-avail, if innate understanding fail. This final knowledge at which man

-must aim is the understanding of causes which are instinctively

-perceived.

-Let me explain: Man must not fall into the error of thinking that he was

-ever meant to become lord and master of Nature. A lopsided education has

-helped to encourage that illusion. Man must realize that a fundamental

-law of necessity reigns throughout the whole realm of Nature and that

-his existence is subject to the law of eternal struggle and strife. He

-will then feel that there cannot be a separate law for mankind in a

-world in which planets and suns follow their orbits, where moons and

-planets trace their destined paths, where the strong are always the

-masters of the weak and where those subject to such laws must obey them

-or be destroyed. Man must also submit to the eternal principles of this

-supreme wisdom. He may try to understand them but he can never free

-himself from their sway.

-It is just for intellectual DEMI-MONDE that the Jew writes those papers

-which he calls his 'intellectual' Press. For them the FRANKFURTER

-ZEITUNG and BERLINER TAGEBLATT are written, the tone being adapted to

-them, and it is over these people that such papers have an influence.

-While studiously avoiding all forms of expression that might strike the

-reader as crude, the poison is injected from other vials into the hearts

-of the clientele. The effervescent tone and the fine phraseology lug the

-readers into believing that a love for knowledge and moral principle is

-the sole driving force that determines the policy of such papers,

-whereas in reality these features represent a cunning way of disarming

-any opposition that might be directed against the Jews and their Press.

-They make such a parade of respectability that the imbecile readers are

-all the more ready to believe that the excesses which other papers

-indulge in are only of a mild nature and not such as to warrant legal

-action being taken against them. Indeed such action might trespass on

-the freedom of the Press, that expression being a euphemism under which

-such papers escape legal punishment for deceiving the public and

-poisoning the public mind. Hence the authorities are very slow indeed to

-take any steps against these journalistic bandits for fear of

-immediately alienating the sympathy of the so-called respectable Press.

-A fear that is only too well founded, for the moment any attempt is made

-to proceed against any member of the gutter press all the others rush to

-its assistance at once, not indeed to support its policy but simply and

-solely to defend the principle of freedom of the Press and liberty of

-public opinion. This outcry will succeed in cowering the most stalwart;

-for it comes from the mouth of what is called decent journalism.

-And so this poison was allowed to enter the national bloodstream and

-infect public life without the Government taking any effectual measures

-to master the course of the disease. The ridiculous half-measures that

-were taken were in themselves an indication of the process of

-disintegration that was already threatening to break up the Empire. For

-an institution practically surrenders its existence when it is no longer

-determined to defend itself with all the weapons at its command. Every

-half-measure is the outward expression of an internal process of decay

-which must lead to an external collapse sooner or later.

-I believe that our present generation would easily master this danger if

-they were rightly led. For this generation has gone through certain

-experiences which must have strengthened the nerves of all those who did

-not become nervously broken by them. Certainly in days to come the Jews

-will raise a tremendous cry throughout their newspapers once a hand is

-laid on their favourite nest, once a move is made to put an end to this

-scandalous Press and once this instrument which shapes public opinion is

-brought under State control and no longer left in the hands of aliens

-and enemies of the people. I am certain that this will be easier for us

-than it was for our fathers. The scream of the twelve-inch shrapnel is

-more penetrating than the hiss from a thousand Jewish newspaper vipers.

-Therefore let them go on with their hissing.

-A further example of the weak and hesitating way in which vital national

-problems were dealt with in pre-War Germany is the following: Hand in

-hand with the political and moral process of infecting the nation, for

-many years an equally virulent process of infection had been attacking

-the public health of the people. In large cities, particularly, syphilis

-steadily increased and tuberculosis kept pace with it in reaping its

-harvest of death almost in every part of the country.

-Although in both cases the effect on the nation was alarming, it seemed

-as if nobody was in a position to undertake any decisive measures

-against these scourges.

-In the case of syphilis especially the attitude of the State and public

-bodies was one of absolute capitulation. To combat this state of affairs

-something of far wider sweep should have been undertaken than was really

-done. The discovery of a remedy which is of a questionable nature and

-the excellent way in which it was placed on the market were only of

-little assistance in fighting such a scourge. Here again the only course

-to adopt is to attack the disease in its causes rather than in its

-symptoms. But in this case the primary cause is to be found in the

-manner in which love has been prostituted. Even though this did not

-directly bring about the fearful disease itself, the nation must still

-suffer serious damage thereby, for the moral havoc resulting from this

-prostitution would be sufficient to bring about the destruction of the

-nation, slowly but surely. This Judaizing of our spiritual life and

-mammonizing of our natural instinct for procreation will sooner or later

-work havoc with our whole posterity. For instead of strong, healthy

-children, blessed with natural feelings, we shall see miserable

-specimens of humanity resulting from economic calculation. For economic

-considerations are becoming more and more the foundations of marriage

-and the sole preliminary condition of it. And love looks for an outlet

-elsewhere.

-Here, as elsewhere, one may defy Nature for a certain period of time;

-but sooner or later she will take her inexorable revenge. And when man

-realizes this truth it is often too late.

-Our own nobility furnishes an example of the devastating consequences

-that follow from a persistent refusal to recognize the primary

-conditions necessary for normal wedlock. Here we are openly brought face

-to face with the results of those reproductive habits which on the one

-hand are determined by social pressure and, on the other, by financial

-considerations. The one leads to inherited debility and the other to

-adulteration of the blood-strain; for all the Jewish daughters of the

-department store proprietors are looked upon as eligible mates to

-co-operate in propagating His Lordship's stock. And the stock certainly

-looks it. All this leads to absolute degeneration. Nowadays our

-bourgeoise are making efforts to follow in the same path, They will come

-to the same journey's end.

-These unpleasant truths are hastily and nonchalantly brushed aside, as

-if by so doing the real state of affairs could also be abolished. But

-no. It cannot be denied that the population of our great towns and

-cities is tending more and more to avail of prostitution in the exercise

-of its amorous instincts and is thus becoming more and more contaminated

-by the scourge of venereal disease. On the one hand, the visible effects

-of this mass-infection can be observed in our insane asylums and, on the

-other hand, alas! among the children at home. These are the doleful and

-tragic witnesses to the steadily increasing scourge that is poisoning

-our sexual life. Their sufferings are the visible results of parental

-vice.

-There are many ways of becoming resigned to this unpleasant and terrible

-fact. Many people go about seeing nothing or, to be more correct, not

-wanting to see anything. This is by far the simplest and cheapest

-attitude to adopt. Others cover themselves in the sacred mantle of

-prudery, as ridiculous as it is false. They describe the whole condition

-of affairs as sinful and are profoundly indignant when brought face to

-face with a victim. They close their eyes in reverend abhorrence to this

-godless scourge and pray to the Almighty that He--if possible after

-their own death--may rain down fire and brimstone as on Sodom and

-Gomorrah and so once again make an out standing example of this

-shameless section of humanity. Finally, there are those who are well

-aware of the terrible results which this scourge will and must bring

-about, but they merely shrug their shoulders, fully convinced of their

-inability to undertake anything against this peril. Hence matters are

-allowed to take their own course.

-Undoubtedly all this is very convenient and simple, only it must not be

-overlooked that this convenient way of approaching things can have fatal

-consequences for our national life. The excuse that other nations are

-also not faring any better does not alter the fact of our own

-deterioration, except that the feeling of sympathy for other stricken

-nations makes our own suffering easier to bear. But the important

-question that arises here is: Which nation will be the first to take the

-initiative in mastering this scourge, and which nations will succumb to

-it? This will be the final upshot of the whole situation. The present is

-a period of probation for racial values. The race that fails to come

-through the test will simply die out and its place will be taken by the

-healthier and stronger races, which will be able to endure greater

-hardships. As this problem primarily concerns posterity, it belongs to

-that category of which it is said with terrible justification that the

-sins of the fathers are visited on their offspring unto the tenth

-generation. This is a consequence which follows on an infringement of

-the laws of blood and race.

-The sin against blood and race is the hereditary sin in this world and

-it brings disaster on every nation that commits it.

-The attitude towards this one vital problem in pre-War Germany was most

-regrettable. What measures were undertaken to arrest the infection of

-our youth in the large cities? What was done to put an end to the

-contamination and mammonization of sexual life among us? What was done

-to fight the resultant spreading of syphilis throughout the whole of our

-national life? The reply to this question can best be illustrated by

-showing what should have been done.

-Instead of tackling this problem in a haphazard way, the authorities

-should have realized that the fortunes or misfortunes of future

-generations depended on its solution. But to admit this would have

-demanded that active measures be carried out in a ruthless manner. The

-primary condition would have been that the enlightened attention of the

-whole country should be concentrated on this terrible danger, so that

-every individual would realize the importance of fighting against it. It

-would be futile to impose obligations of a definite character--which are

-often difficult to bear--and expect them to become generally effective,

-unless the public be thoroughly instructed on the necessity of imposing

-and accepting such obligations. This demands a widespread and systematic

-method of enlightenment and all other daily problems that might distract

-public attention from this great central problem should be relegated to

-the background.

-In every case where there are exigencies or tasks that seem impossible

-to deal with successfully public opinion must be concentrated on the one

-problem, under the conviction that the solution of this problem alone is

-a matter of life or death. Only in this way can public interest be

-aroused to such a pitch as will urge people to combine in a great

-voluntary effort and achieve important results.

-This fundamental truth applies also to the individual, provided he is

-desirous of attaining some great end. He must always concentrate his

-efforts to one definitely limited stage of his progress which has to be

-completed before the next step be attempted. Those who do not endeavour

-to realize their aims step by step and who do not concentrate their

-energy in reaching the individual stages, will never attain the final

-objective. At some stage or other they will falter and fail. This

-systematic way of approaching an objective is an art in itself, and

-always calls for the expenditure of every ounce of energy in order to

-conquer step after step of the road.

-Therefore the most essential preliminary condition necessary for an

-attack on such a difficult stage of the human road is that the

-authorities should succeed in convincing the masses that the immediate

-objective which is now being fought for is the only one that deserves to

-be considered and the only one on which everything depends. The broad

-masses are never able clearly to see the whole stretch of the road lying

-in front of them without becoming tired and thus losing faith in their

-ability to complete the task. To a certain extent they will keep the

-objective in mind, but they are only able to survey the whole road in

-small stages, as in the case of the traveller who knows where his

-journey is going to end but who masters the endless stretch far better

-by attacking it in degrees. Only in this way can he keep up his

-determination to reach the final objective.

-It is in this way, with the assistance of every form of propaganda, that

-the problem of fighting venereal disease should be placed before the

-public--not as a task for the nation but as THE main task. Every

-possible means should be employed to bring the truth about this scourge

-home to the minds of the people, until the whole nation has been

-convinced that everything depends on the solution of this problem; that

-is to say, a healthy future or national decay.

-Only after such preparatory measures--if necessary spread over a period

-of many years--will public attention and public resolution be fully

-aroused, and only then can serious and definite measures be undertaken

-without running the risk of not being fully understood or of being

-suddenly faced with a slackening of the public will. It must be made

-clear to all that a serious fight against this scourge calls for vast

-sacrifices and an enormous amount of work.

-To wage war against syphilis means fighting against prostitution,

-against prejudice, against old-established customs, against current

-fashion, public opinion, and, last but not least, against false prudery

-in certain circles.

-The first preliminary condition to be fulfilled before the State can

-claim a moral right to fight against all these things is that the young

-generation should be afforded facilities for contracting early

-marriages. Late marriages have the sanction of a custom which, from

-whatever angle we view it, is and will remain a disgrace to humanity.

-Prostitution is a disgrace to humanity and cannot be removed simply by

-charitable or academic methods. Its restriction and final extermination

-presupposes the removal of a whole series of contributory circumstances.

-The first remedy must always be to establish such conditions as will

-make early marriages possible, especially for young men--for women are,

-after all, only passive subjects in this matter.

-An illustration of the extent to which people have so often been led

-astray nowadays is afforded by the fact that not infrequently one hears

-mothers in so-called 'better' circles openly expressing their

-satisfaction at having found as a husband for their daughter a man who

-has already sown his wild oats, etc. As there is usually so little

-shortage in men of this type, the poor girl finds no difficulty in

-getting a mate of this description, and the children of this marriage

-are a visible result of such supposedly sensible unions.

-When one realizes, apart from this, that every possible effort is being

-made to hinder the process of procreation and that Nature is being

-wilfully cheated of her rights, there remains really only one question:

-Why is such an institution as marriage still in existence, and what are

-its functions? Is it really nothing better than prostitution? Does our

-duty to posterity no longer play any part? Or do people not realize the

-nature of the curse they are inflicting on themselves and their

-offspring by such criminally foolish neglect of one of the primary laws

-of Nature? This is how civilized nations degenerate and gradually

-perish.

-Marriage is not an end in itself but must serve the greater end, which

-is that of increasing and maintaining the human species and the race.

-This is its only meaning and purpose.

-This being admitted, then it is clear that the institution of marriage

-must be judged by the manner in which its allotted function is

-fulfilled. Therefore early marriages should be the rule, because thus

-the young couple will still have that pristine force which is the

-fountain head of a healthy posterity with unimpaired powers of

-resistance. Of course early marriages cannot be made the rule unless a

-whole series of social measures are first undertaken without which early

-marriages cannot be even thought of. In other words, a solution of this

-question, which seems a small problem in itself, cannot be brought about

-without adopting radical measures to alter the social background. The

-importance of such measures ought to be studied and properly estimated,

-especially at a time when the so-called 'social' Republic has shown

-itself unable to solve the housing problem and thus has made it

-impossible for innumerable couples to get married. That sort of policy

-prepares the way for the further advance of prostitution.

-Another reason why early marriages are impossible is our nonsensical

-method of regulating the scale of salaries, which pays far too little

-attention to the problem of family support. Prostitution, therefore, can

-only be really seriously tackled if, by means of a radical social

-reform, early marriage is made easier than hitherto. This is the first

-preliminary necessity for the solution of this problem.

-Secondly, a whole series of false notions must be eradicated from our

-system of bringing up and educating children--things which hitherto no

-one seems to have worried about. In our present educational system a

-balance will have to be established, first and foremost, between mental

-instruction and physical training.

-What is known as GYMNASIUM (Grammar School) to-day is a positive insult

-to the Greek institution. Our system of education entirely loses sight

-of the fact that in the long run a healthy mind can exist only in a

-healthy body. This statement, with few exceptions, applies particularly

-to the broad masses of the nation.

-In the pre-War Germany there was a time when no one took the trouble to

-think over this truth. Training of the body was criminally neglected,

-the one-sided training of the mind being regarded as a sufficient

-guarantee for the nation's greatness. This mistake was destined to show

-its effects sooner than had been anticipated. It is not pure chance that

-the Bolshevic teaching flourishes in those regions whose degenerate

-population has been brought to the verge of starvation, as, for example,

-in the case of Central Germany, Saxony, and the Ruhr Valley. In all

-these districts there is a marked absence of any serious resistance,

-even by the so-called intellectual classes, against this Jewish

-contagion. And the simple reason is that the intellectual classes are

-themselves physically degenerate, not through privation but through

-education. The exclusive intellectualism of the education in vogue among

-our upper classes makes them unfit for life's struggle at an epoch in

-which physical force and not mind is the dominating factor. Thus they

-are neither capable of maintaining themselves nor of making their way in

-life. In nearly every case physical disability is the forerunner of

-personal cowardice.

-The extravagant emphasis laid on purely intellectual education and the

-consequent neglect of physical training must necessarily lead to sexual

-thoughts in early youth. Those boys whose constitutions have been

-trained and hardened by sports and gymnastics are less prone to sexual

-indulgence than those stay-at-homes who have been fed exclusively with

-mental pabulum. Sound methods of education cannot, however, afford to

-disregard this, and we must not forget that the expectations of a

-healthy young man from a woman will differ from those of a weakling who

-has been prematurely corrupted.

-Thus in every branch of our education the day's curriculum must be

-arranged so as to occupy a boy's free time in profitable development of

-his physical powers. He has no right in those years to loaf about,

-becoming a nuisance in public streets and in cinemas; but when his day's

-work is done he ought to harden his young body so that his strength may

-not be found wanting when the occasion arises. To prepare for this and

-to carry it out should be the function of our educational system and not

-exclusively to pump in knowledge or wisdom. Our school system must also

-rid itself of the notion that the training of the body is a task that

-should be left to the individual himself. There is no such thing as

-allowing freedom of choice to sin against posterity and thus against the

-race.

-The fight against pollution of the mind must be waged simultaneously

-with the training of the body. To-day the whole of our public life may

-be compared to a hot-house for the forced growth of sexual notions and

-incitements. A glance at the bill-of-fare provided by our cinemas,

-playhouses, and theatres suffices to prove that this is not the right

-food, especially for our young people. Hoardings and advertisements

-kiosks combine to attract the public in the most vulgar manner. Anyone

-who has not altogether lost contact with adolescent yearnings will

-realize that all this must have very grave consequences. This seductive

-and sensuous atmosphere puts notions into the heads of our youth which,

-at their age, ought still to be unknown to them. Unfortunately, the

-results of this kind of education can best be seen in our contemporary

-youth who are prematurely grown up and therefore old before their time.

-The law courts from time to time throw a distressing light on the

-spiritual life of our 14- and 15-year old children. Who, therefore, will

-be surprised to learn that venereal disease claims its victims at this

-age? And is it not a frightful shame to see the number of physically

-weak and intellectually spoiled young men who have been introduced to

-the mysteries of marriage by the whores of the big cities?

-No; those who want seriously to combat prostitution must first of all

-assist in removing the spiritual conditions on which it thrives. They

-will have to clean up the moral pollution of our city 'culture'

-fearlessly and without regard for the outcry that will follow. If we do

-not drag our youth out of the morass of their present environment they

-will be engulfed by it. Those people who do not want to see these things

-are deliberately encouraging them and are guilty of spreading the

-effects of prostitution to the future--for the future belongs to our

-young generation. This process of cleansing our 'Kultur' will have to be

-applied in practically all spheres. The stage, art, literature, the

-cinema, the Press and advertisement posters, all must have the stains of

-pollution removed and be placed in the service of a national and

-cultural idea. The life of the people must be freed from the

-asphyxiating perfume of our modern eroticism and also from every unmanly

-and prudish form of insincerity. In all these things the aim and the

-method must be determined by thoughtful consideration for the

-preservation of our national well-being in body and soul. The right to

-personal freedom comes second in importance to the duty of maintaining

-the race.

-Only after such measures have been put into practice can a medical

-campaign against this scourge begin with some hope of success. But, here

-again, half-measures will be valueless. Far-reaching and important

-decisions will have to be made. It would be doing things by halves if

-incurables were given the opportunity of infecting one healthy person

-after another. This would be that kind of humanitarianism which would

-allow hundreds to perish in order to save the suffering of one

-individual. The demand that it should be made impossible for defective

-people to continue to propagate defective offspring is a demand that is

-based on most reasonable grounds, and its proper fulfilment is the most

-humane task that mankind has to face. Unhappy and undeserved suffering

-in millions of cases will be spared, with the result that there will be

-a gradual improvement in national health. A determined decision to act

-in this manner will at the same time provide an obstacle against the

-further spread of venereal disease. It would then be a case, where

-necessary, of mercilessly isolating all incurables--perhaps a barbaric

-measure for those unfortunates--but a blessing for the present

-generation and for posterity. The temporary pain thus experienced in

-this century can and will spare future thousands of generations from

-suffering.

-The fight against syphilis and its pace-maker, prostitution, is one of

-the gigantic tasks of mankind; gigantic, because it is not merely a case

-of solving a single problem but the removal of a whole series of evils

-which are the contributory causes of this scourge. Disease of the body

-in this case is merely the result of a diseased condition of the moral,

-social, and racial instincts.

-But if for reasons of indolence or cowardice this fight is not fought to

-a finish we may imagine what conditions will be like 500 years hence.

-Little of God's image will be left in human nature, except to mock the

-Creator.

-But what has been done in Germany to counteract this scourge? If we

-think calmly over the answer we shall find it distressing. It is true

-that in governmental circles the terrible and injurious effects of this

-disease were well known, but the counter-measures which were officially

-adopted were ineffective and a hopeless failure. They tinkered with

-cures for the symptoms, wholly regardless of the cause of the disease.

-Prostitutes were medically examined and controlled as far as possible,

-and when signs of infection were apparent they were sent to hospital.

-When outwardly cured, they were once more let loose on humanity.

-It is true that 'protective legislation' was introduced which made

-sexual intercourse a punishable offence for all those not completely

-cured, or those suffering from venereal disease. This legislation was

-correct in theory, but in practice it failed completely. In the first

-place, in the majority of cases women will decline to appear in court as

-witnesses against men who have robbed them of their health. Women would

-be exposed far more than men to uncharitable remarks in such cases, and

-one can imagine what their position would be if they had been infected

-by their own husbands. Should women in that case lay a charge? Or what

-should they do?

-In the case of the man there is the additional fact that he frequently

-is unfortunate enough to run up against this danger when he is under the

-influence of alcohol. His condition makes it impossible for him to

-assess the qualities of his 'amorous beauty,' a fact which is well known

-to every diseased prostitute and makes them single out men in this ideal

-condition for preference. The result is that the unfortunate man is not

-able to recollect later on who his compassionate benefactress was, which

-is not surprising in cities like Berlin and Munich. Many of such cases

-are visitors from the provinces who, held speechless and enthralled by

-the magic charm of city life, become an easy prey for prostitutes.

-In the final analysis who is able to say whether he has been infected or

-not?

-Are there not innumerable cases on record where an apparently cured

-person has a relapse and does untold harm without knowing it?

-Therefore in practice the results of these legislative measures are

-negative. The same applies to the control of prostitution, and, finally,

-even medical treatment and cure are nowadays unsafe and doubtful. One

-thing only is certain. The scourge has spread further and further in

-spite of all measures, and this alone suffices definitely to stamp and

-substantiate their inefficiency.

-Everything else that was undertaken was just as inefficient as it was

-absurd. The spiritual prostitution of the people was neither arrested

-nor was anything whatsoever undertaken in this direction.

-Those, however, who do not regard this subject as a serious one would do

-well to examine the statistical data of the spread of this disease,

-study its growth in the last century and contemplate the possibilities

-of its further development. The ordinary observer, unless he were

-particularly stupid, would experience a cold shudder if the position

-were made clear to him.

-The half-hearted and wavering attitude adopted in pre-War Germany

-towards this iniquitous condition can assuredly be taken as a visible

-sign of national decay. When the courage to fight for one's own health

-is no longer in evidence, then the right to live in this world of

-struggle also ceases.

-One of the visible signs of decay in the old REICH was the slow setback

-which the general cultural level experienced. But by 'Kultur' I do not

-mean that which we nowadays style as civilization, which on the contrary

-may rather be regarded as inimical to the spiritual elevation of life.

-At the turn of the last century a new element began to make its

-appearance in our world. It was an element which had been hitherto

-absolutely unknown and foreign to us. In former times there had

-certainly been offences against good taste; but these were mostly

-departures from the orthodox canons of art, and posterity could

-recognize a certain historical value in them. But the new products

-showed signs, not only of artistic aberration but of spiritual

-degeneration. Here, in the cultural sphere, the signs of the coming

-collapse first became manifest.

-The Bolshevization of art is the only cultural form of life and the only

-spiritual manifestation of which Bolshevism is capable.

-Anyone to whom this statement may appear strange need only take a glance

-at those lucky States which have become Bolshevized and, to his horror,

-he will there recognize those morbid monstrosities which have been

-produced by insane and degenerate people. All those artistic aberrations

-which are classified under the names of cubism and dadism, since the

-opening of the present century, are manifestations of art which have

-come to be officially recognized by the State itself. This phenomenon

-made its appearance even during the short-lived period of the Soviet

-Republic in Bavaria. At that time one might easily have recognized how

-all the official posters, propagandist pictures and newspapers, etc.,

-showed signs not only of political but also of cultural decadence.

-About sixty years ago a political collapse such as we are experiencing

-to-day would have been just as inconceivable as the cultural decline

-which has been manifested in cubist and futurist pictures ever since

-1900. Sixty years ago an exhibition of so-called dadistic 'experiences'

-would have been an absolutely preposterous idea. The organizers of such

-an exhibition would then have been certified for the lunatic asylum,

-whereas, to-day they are appointed presidents of art societies. At that

-time such an epidemic would never have been allowed to spread. Public

-opinion would not have tolerated it, and the Government would not have

-remained silent; for it is the duty of a Government to save its people

-from being stampeded into such intellectual madness. But intellectual

-madness would have resulted from a development that followed the

-acceptance of this kind of art. It would have marked one of the worst

-changes in human history; for it would have meant that a retrogressive

-process had begun to take place in the human brain, the final stages of

-which would be unthinkable.

-If we study the course of our cultural life during the last twenty-five

-years we shall be astonished to note how far we have already gone in

-this process of retrogression. Everywhere we find the presence of those

-germs which give rise to protuberant growths that must sooner or later

-bring about the ruin of our culture. Here we find undoubted symptoms of

-slow corruption; and woe to the nations that are no longer able to bring

-that morbid process to a halt.

-In almost all the various fields of German art and culture those morbid

-phenomena may be observed. Here everything seems to have passed the

-culminating point of its excellence and to have entered the curve of a

-hasty decline. At the beginning of the century the theatres seemed

-already degenerating and ceasing to be cultural factors, except the

-Court theatres, which opposed this prostitution of the national art.

-With these exceptions, and also a few other decent institutions, the

-plays produced on the stage were of such a nature that the people would

-have benefited by not visiting them at all. A sad symptom of decline was

-manifested by the fact that in the case of many 'art centres' the sign

-was posted on the entrance doors: FOR ADULTS ONLY.

-Let it be borne in mind that these precautions had to be taken in regard

-to institutions whose main purpose should have been to promote the

-education of the youth and not merely to provide amusement for

-sophisticated adults. What would the great dramatists of other times

-have said of such measures and, above all, of the conditions which made

-these measures necessary? How exasperated Schiller would have been, and

-how Goethe would have turned away in disgust!

-But what are Schiller, Goethe and Shakespeare when confronted with the

-heroes of our modern German literature? Old and frowsy and outmoded and

-finished. For it was typical of this epoch that not only were its own

-products bad but that the authors of such products and their backers

-reviled everything that had really been great in the past. This is a

-phenomenon that is very characteristic of such epochs. The more vile and

-miserable are the men and products of an epoch, the more they will hate

-and denigrate the ideal achievements of former generations. What these

-people would like best would be completely to destroy every vestige of

-the past, in order to do away with that sole standard of comparison

-which prevents their own daubs from being looked upon as art. Therefore

-the more lamentable and wretched are the products of each new era, the

-more it will try to obliterate all the memorials of the past. But any

-real innovation that is for the benefit of mankind can always face

-comparison with the best of what has gone before; and frequently it

-happens that those monuments of the past guarantee the acceptance of

-those modern productions. There is no fear that modern productions of

-real worth will look pale and worthless beside the monuments of the

-past. What is contributed to the general treasury of human culture often

-fulfils a part that is necessary in order to keep the memory of old

-achievements alive, because this memory alone is the standard whereby

-our own works are properly appreciated. Only those who have nothing of

-value to give to the world will oppose everything that already exists

-and would have it destroyed at all costs.

-And this holds good not only for new phenomena in the cultural domain

-but also in politics. The more inferior new revolutionary movements are,

-the more will they try to denigrate the old forms. Here again the desire

-to pawn off their shoddy products as great and original achievements

-leads them into a blind hatred against everything which belongs to the

-past and which is superior to their own work. As long as the historical

-memory of Frederick the Great, for instance, still lives, Frederick

-Ebert can arouse only a problematic admiration. The relation of the hero

-of Sans Souci to the former republican of Bremen may be compared to that

-of the sun to the moon; for the moon can shine only after the direct

-rays of the sun have left the earth. Thus we can readily understand why

-it is that all the new moons in human history have hated the fixed

-stars. In the field of politics, if Fate should happen temporarily to

-place the ruling power in the hands of those nonentities they are not

-only eager to defile and revile the past but at the same time they will

-use all means to evade criticism of their own acts. The Law for the

-Protection of the Republic, which the new German State enacted, may be

-taken as one example of this truth.

-One has good grounds to be suspicious in regard to any new idea, or any

-doctrine or philosophy, any political or economical movement, which

-tries to deny everything that the past has produced or to present it as

-inferior and worthless. Any renovation which is really beneficial to

-human progress will always have to begin its constructive work at the

-level where the last stones of the structure have been laid. It need not

-blush to utilize those truths which have already been established; for

-all human culture, as well as man himself, is only the result of one

-long line of development, where each generation has contributed but one

-stone to the building of the whole structure. The meaning and purpose of

-revolutions cannot be to tear down the whole building but to take away

-what has not been well fitted into it or is unsuitable, and to rebuild

-the free space thus caused, after which the main construction of the

-building will be carried on.

-Thus alone will it be possible to talk of human progress; for otherwise

-the world would never be free of chaos, since each generation would feel

-entitled to reject the past and to destroy all the work of the past, as

-the necessary preliminary to any new work of its own.

-The saddest feature of the condition in which our whole civilization

-found itself before the War was the fact that it was not only barren of

-any creative force to produce its own works of art and civilization but

-that it hated, defiled and tried to efface the memory of the superior

-works produced in the past. About the end of the last century people

-were less interested in producing new significant works of their

-own--particularly in the fields of dramatic art and literature--than in

-defaming the best works of the past and in presenting them as inferior

-and antiquated. As if this period of disgraceful decadence had the

-slightest capacity to produce anything of superior quality! The efforts

-made to conceal the past from the eyes of the present afforded clear

-evidence of the fact that these apostles of the future acted from an

-evil intent. These symptoms should have made it clear to all that it was

-not a question of new, though wrong, cultural ideas but of a process

-which was undermining the very foundations of civilization. It threw the

-artistic feeling which had hitherto been quite sane into utter

-confusion, thus spiritually preparing the way for political Bolshevism.

-If the creative spirit of the Periclean age be manifested in the

-Parthenon, then the Bolshevist era is manifested through its cubist

-grimace.

-In this connection attention must be drawn once again to the want of

-courage displayed by one section of our people, namely, by those who, in

-virtue of their education and position, ought to have felt themselves

-obliged to take up a firm stand against this outrage on our culture. But

-they refrained from offering serious resistance and surrendered to what

-they considered the inevitable. This abdication of theirs was due,

-however, to sheer funk lest the apostles of Bolshevist art might raise a

-rumpus; for those apostles always violently attacked everyone who was

-not ready to recognize them as the choice spirits of artistic creation,

-and they tried to strangle all opposition by saying that it was the

-product of philistine and backwater minds. People trembled in fear lest

-they might be accused by these yahoos and swindlers of lacking artistic

-appreciation, as if it would have been a disgrace not to be able to

-understand and appreciate the effusions of those mental degenerates or

-arrant rogues. Those cultural disciples, however, had a very simple way

-of presenting their own effusions as works of the highest quality. They

-offered incomprehensible and manifestly crazy productions to their

-amazed contemporaries as what they called 'an inner experience'. Thus

-they forestalled all adverse criticism at very little cost indeed. Of

-course nobody ever doubted that there could have been inner experiences

-like that, but some doubt ought to have arisen as to whether or not

-there was any justification for exposing these hallucinations of

-psychopaths or criminals to the sane portion of human society. The works

-produced by a Moritz von Schwind or a B�cklin were also externalizations

-of an inner experience, but these were the experiences of divinely

-gifted artists and not of buffoons.

-This situation afforded a good opportunity of studying the miserable

-cowardliness of our so-called intellectuals who shirked the duty of

-offering serious resistance to the poisoning of the sound instincts of

-our people. They left it to the people themselves to formulate their own

-attitude towards his impudent nonsense. Lest they might be considered as

-understanding nothing of art, they accepted every caricature of art,

-until they finally lost the power of judging what is really good or bad.

-Taken all in all, there were superabundant symptoms to show that a

-diseased epoch had begun.

-Still another critical symptom has to be considered. In the course of

-the nineteenth century our towns and cities began more and more to lose

-their character as centres of civilization and became more and more

-centres of habitation. In our great modern cities the proletariat does

-not show much attachment to the place where it lives. This feeling

-results from the fact that their dwelling-place is nothing but an

-accidental abode, and that feeling is also partly due to the frequent

-change of residence which is forced upon them by social conditions.

-There is no time for the growth of any attachment to the town in which

-they live. But another reason lies in the cultural barrenness and

-superficiality of our modern cities. At the time of the German Wars of

-Liberation our German towns and cities were not only small in number but

-also very modest in size. The few that could really be called great

-cities were mostly the residential cities of princes; as such they had

-almost always a definite cultural value and also a definite cultural

-aspect. Those few towns which had more than fifty thousand inhabitants

-were, in comparison with modern cities of the same size, rich in

-scientific and artistic treasures. At the time when Munich had not more

-than sixty thousand souls it was already well on the way to become one

-of the first German centres of art. Nowadays almost every industrial

-town has a population at least as large as that, without having anything

-of real value to call its own. They are agglomerations of tenement

-houses and congested dwelling barracks, and nothing else. It would be a

-miracle if anybody should grow sentimentally attached to such a

-meaningless place. Nobody can grow attached to a place which offers only

-just as much or as little as any other place would offer, which has no

-character of its own and where obviously pains have been taken to avoid

-everything that might have any resemblance to an artistic appearance.

-But this is not all. Even the great cities become more barren of real

-works of art the more they increase in population. They assume more and

-more a neutral atmosphere and present the same aspect, though on a

-larger scale, as the wretched little factory towns. Everything that our

-modern age has contributed to the civilization of our great cities is

-absolutely deficient. All our towns are living on the glory and the

-treasures of the past. If we take away from the Munich of to-day

-everything that was created under Ludwig II we should be horror-stricken

-to see how meagre has been the output of important artistic creations

-since that time. One might say much the same of Berlin and most of our

-other great towns.

-But the following is the essential thing to be noticed: Our great modern

-cities have no outstanding monuments that dominate the general aspect of

-the city and could be pointed to as the symbols of a whole epoch. Yet

-almost every ancient town had a monument erected to its glory. It was

-not in private dwellings that the characteristic art of ancient cities

-was displayed but in the public monuments, which were not meant to have

-a transitory interest but an enduring one. And this was because they did

-not represent the wealth of some individual citizen but the greatness

-and importance of the community. It was under this inspiration that

-those monuments arose which bound the individual inhabitants to their

-own town in a manner that is often almost incomprehensible to us to-day.

-What struck the eye of the individual citizen was not a number of

-mediocre private buildings, but imposing structures that belonged to the

-whole community. In contradistinction to these, private dwellings were

-of only very secondary importance indeed.

-When we compare the size of those ancient public buildings with that of

-the private dwellings belonging to the same epoch then we can understand

-the great importance which was given to the principle that those works

-which reflected and affected the life of the community should take

-precedence of all others.

-Among the broken arches and vast spaces that are covered with ruins from

-the ancient world the colossal riches that still arouse our wonder have

-not been left to us from the commercial palaces of these days but from

-the temples of the Gods and the public edifices that belonged to the

-State. The community itself was the owner of those great edifices. Even

-in the pomp of Rome during the decadence it was not the villas and

-palaces of some citizens that filled the most prominent place but rather

-the temples and the baths, the stadia, the circuses, the aqueducts, the

-basilicas, etc., which belonged to the State and therefore to the people

-as a whole.

-In medieval Germany also the same principle held sway, although the

-artistic outlook was quite different. In ancient times the theme that

-found its expression in the Acropolis or the Pantheon was now clothed in

-the forms of the Gothic Cathedral. In the medieval cities these

-monumental structures towered gigantically above the swarm of smaller

-buildings with their framework walls of wood and brick. And they remain

-the dominant feature of these cities even to our own day, although they

-are becoming more and more obscured by the apartment barracks. They

-determine the character and appearance of the locality. Cathedrals,

-city-halls, corn exchanges, defence towers, are the outward expression

-of an idea which has its counterpart only in the ancient world.

-The dimensions and quality of our public buildings to-day are in

-deplorable contrast to the edifices that represent private interests. If

-a similar fate should befall Berlin as befell Rome future generations

-might gaze upon the ruins of some Jewish department stores or

-joint-stock hotels and think that these were the characteristic

-expressions of the culture of our time. In Berlin itself, compare the

-shameful disproportion between the buildings which belong to the REICH

-and those which have been erected for the accommodation of trade and

-finance.

-The credits that are voted for public buildings are in most cases

-inadequate and really ridiculous. They are not built as structures that

-were meant to last but mostly for the purpose of answering the need of

-the moment. No higher idea influenced those who commissioned such

-buildings. At the time the Berlin Schloss was built it had a quite

-different significance from what the new library has for our time,

-seeing that one battleship alone represents an expenditure of about

-sixty million marks, whereas less than half that sum was allotted for

-the building of the Reichstag, which is the most imposing structure

-erected for the REICH and which should have been built to last for ages.

-Yet, in deciding the question of internal decoration, the Upper House

-voted against the use of stone and ordered that the walls should be

-covered with stucco. For once, however, the parliamentarians made an

-appropriate decision on that occasion; for plaster heads would be out of

-place between stone walls.

-The community as such is not the dominant characteristic of our

-contemporary cities, and therefore it is not to be wondered at if the

-community does not find itself architecturally represented. Thus we must

-eventually arrive at a veritable civic desert which will at last be

-reflected in the total indifference of the individual citizen towards

-his own country.

-This is also a sign of our cultural decay and general break-up. Our era

-is entirely preoccupied with little things which are to no purpose, or

-rather it is entirely preoccupied in the service of money. Therefore it

-is not to be wondered at if, with the worship of such an idol, the sense

-of heroism should entirely disappear. But the present is only reaping

-what the past has sown.

-All these symptoms which preceded the final collapse of the Second

-Empire must be attributed to the lack of a definite and uniformly

-accepted WELTANSCHAUUNG and the general uncertainty of outlook

-consequent on that lack. This uncertainty showed itself when the great

-questions of the time had to be considered one after another and a

-decisive policy adopted towards them. This lack is also accountable for

-the habit of doing everything by halves, beginning with the educational

-system, the shilly-shally, the reluctance to undertake responsibilites

-and, finally, the cowardly tolerance of evils that were even admitted to

-be destructive. Visionary humanitarianisms became the fashion. In weakly

-submitting to these aberrations and sparing the feelings of the

-individual, the future of millions of human beings was sacrificed.

-An examination of the religious situation before the War shows that the

-general process of disruption had extended to this sphere also. A great

-part of the nation itself had for a long time already ceased to have any

-convictions of a uniform and practical character in their ideological

-outlook on life. In this matter the point of primary importance was by

-no means the number of people who renounced their church membership but

-rather the widespread indifference. While the two Christian

-denominations maintained missions in Asia and Africa, for the purpose of

-securing new adherents to the Faith, these same denominations were

-losing millions and millions of their adherents at home in Europe. These

-former adherents either gave up religion wholly as a directive force in

-their lives or they adopted their own interpretation of it. The

-consequences of this were specially felt in the moral life of the

-country. In parenthesis it may be remarked that the progress made by the

-missions in spreading the Christian Faith abroad was only quite modest

-in comparison with the spread of Mohammedanism.

-It must be noted too that the attack on the dogmatic principles

-underlying ecclesiastical teaching increased steadily in violence. And

-yet this human world of ours would be inconceivable without the

-practical existence of a religious belief. The great masses of a nation

-are not composed of philosophers. For the masses of the people,

-especially faith is absolutely the only basis of a moral outlook on

-life. The various substitutes that have been offered have not shown any

-results that might warrant us in thinking that they might usefully

-replace the existing denominations. But if religious teaching and

-religious faith were once accepted by the broad masses as active forces

-in their lives, then the absolute authority of the doctrines of faith

-would be the foundation of all practical effort. There may be a few

-hundreds of thousands of superior men who can live wisely and

-intelligently without depending on the general standards that prevail in

-everyday life, but the millions of others cannot do so. Now the place

-which general custom fills in everyday life corresponds to that of

-general laws in the State and dogma in religion. The purely spiritual

-idea is of itself a changeable thing that may be subjected to endless

-interpretations. It is only through dogma that it is given a precise and

-concrete form without which it could not become a living faith.

-Otherwise the spiritual idea would never become anything more than a

-mere metaphysical concept, or rather a philosophical opinion.

-Accordingly the attack against dogma is comparable to an attack against

-the general laws on which the State is founded. And so this attack would

-finally lead to complete political anarchy if it were successful, just

-as the attack on religion would lead to a worthless religious nihilism.

-The political leader should not estimate the worth of a religion by

-taking some of its shortcomings into account, but he should ask himself

-whether there be any practical substitute in a view which is

-demonstrably better. Until such a substitute be available only fools and

-criminals would think of abolishing the existing religion.

-Undoubtedly no small amount of blame for the present unsatisfactory

-religious situation must be attributed to those who have encumbered the

-ideal of religion with purely material accessories and have thus given

-rise to an utterly futile conflict between religion and science. In this

-conflict victory will nearly always be on the side of science, even

-though after a bitter struggle, while religion will suffer heavily in

-the eyes of those who cannot penetrate beneath the mere superficial

-aspects of science.

-But the greatest damage of all has come from the practice of debasing

-religion as a means that can be exploited to serve political interests,

-or rather commercial interests. The impudent and loud-mouthed liars who

-do this make their profession of faith before the whole world in

-stentorian tones so that all poor mortals may hear--not that they are

-ready to die for it if necessary but rather that they may live all the

-better. They are ready to sell their faith for any political QUID PRO

-QUO. For ten parliamentary mandates they would ally themselves with the

-Marxists, who are the mortal foes of all religion. And for a seat in the

-Cabinet they would go the length of wedlock with the devil, if the

-latter had not still retained some traces of decency.

-If religious life in pre-war Germany had a disagreeable savour for the

-mouths of many people this was because Christianity had been lowered to

-base uses by political parties that called themselves Christian and

-because of the shameful way in which they tried to identify the Catholic

-Faith with a political party.

-This substitution was fatal. It procured some worthless parliamentary

-mandates for the party in question, but the Church suffered damage

-thereby.

-The consequences of that situation had to be borne by the whole nation;

-for the laxity that resulted in religious life set in at a juncture when

-everything was beginning to lose hold and vacillate and the traditional

-foundations of custom and of morality were threatening to fall asunder.

-Yet all those cracks and clefts in the social organism might not have

-been dangerous if no grave burdens had been laid upon it; but they

-became disastrous when the internal solidarity of the nation was the

-most important factor in withstanding the storm of big events.

-In the political field also observant eyes might have noticed certain

-anomalies of the REICH which foretold disaster unless some alteration

-and correction took place in time. The lack of orientation in German

-policy, both domestic and foreign, was obvious to everyone who was not

-purposely blind. The best thing that could be said about the practice of

-making compromises is that it seemed outwardly to be in harmony with

-Bismarck's axiom that 'politics is the art of the possible'. But

-Bismarck was a slightly different man from the Chancellors who followed

-him. This difference allowed the former to apply that formula to the

-very essence of his policy, while in the mouths of the others it took on

-an utterly different significance. When he uttered that phrase Bismarck

-meant to say that in order to attain a definite political end all

-possible means should be employed or at least that all possibilities

-should be tried. But his successors see in that phrase only a solemn

-declaration that one is not necessarily bound to have political

-principles or any definite political aims at all. And the political

-leaders of the REICH at that time had no far-seeing policy. Here, again,

-the necessary foundation was lacking, namely, a definite

-WELTANSCHAUUNG, and these leaders also lacked that clear insight into

-the laws of political evolution which is a necessary quality in

-political leadership.

-Many people who took a gloomy view of things at that time condemned the

-lack of ideas and lack of orientation which were evident in directing

-the policy of the REICH. They recognized the inner weakness and futility

-of this policy. But such people played only a secondary role in

-politics. Those who had the Government of the country in their hands

-were quite as indifferent to principles of civil wisdom laid down by

-thinkers like Houston Stewart Chamberlain as our political leaders now

-are. These people are too stupid to think for themselves, and they have

-too much self-conceit to take from others the instruction which they

-need. Oxenstierna (Note 14a) gave expression to a truth which has lasted

-since time immemorial, when he said that the world is governed by only a

-particle of wisdom. Almost every civil servant of councillor rank might

-naturally be supposed to possess only an atom or so belonging to this

-particle. But since Germany became a Republic even this modicum is

-wanting. And that is why they had to promulgate the Law for the Defence

-of the Republic, which prohibits the holding of such views or expressing

-them. It was fortunate for Oxenstierna that he lived at that time and

-not in this wise Republic of our time.

-[Note 14a. Swedish Chancellor who took over the reins of Government after

-the death of Gustavus Adolphus]

-Already before the War that institution which should have represented

-the strength of the Reich--the Parliament, the Reichstag--was widely

-recognized as its weakest feature. Cowardliness and fear of shouldering

-responsibilities were associated together there in a perfect fashion.

-One of the silliest notions that one hears expressed to-day is that in

-Germany the parliamentary institution has ceased to function since the

-Revolution. This might easily be taken to imply that the case was

-different before the Revolution. But in reality the parliamentary

-institution never functioned except to the detriment of the country. And

-it functioned thus in those days when people saw nothing or did not wish

-to see anything. The German downfall is to be attributed in no small

-degree to this institution. But that the catastrophe did not take place

-sooner is not to be credited to the Parliament but rather to those who

-opposed the influence of this institution which, during peace times, was

-digging the grave of the German Nation and the German REICH.

-From the immense mass of devastating evils that were due either directly

-or indirectly to the Parliament I shall select one the most intimately

-typical of this institution which was the most irresponsible of all

-time. The evil I speak of was seen in the appalling shilly-shally and

-weakness in conducting the internal and external affairs of the REICH.

-It was attributable in the first place to the action of the Reichstag

-and was one of the principal causes of the political collapse.

-Everything subject to the influence of Parliament was done by halves, no

-matter from what aspect you may regard it.

-The foreign policy of the REICH in the matter of alliances was an

-example of shilly-shally. They wished to maintain peace, but in doing so

-they steered straight. into war.

-Their Polish policy was also carried out by half-measures. It resulted

-neither in a German triumph nor Polish conciliation, and it made enemies

-of the Russians.

-They tried to solve the Alsace-Lorraine question through half-measures.

-Instead of crushing the head of the French hydra once and for all with

-the mailed fist and granting Alsace-Lorraine equal rights with the other

-German States, they did neither the one nor the other. Anyhow, it was

-impossible for them to do otherwise, for they had among their ranks the

-greatest traitors to the country, such as Herr Wetterl� of the Centre

-Party.

-But still the country might have been able to bear with all this

-provided the half-measure policy had not victimized that force in which,

-as the last resort, the existence of the Empire depended: namely, the

-Army.

-The crime committed by the so-called German Reichstag in this regard was

-sufficient of itself to draw down upon it the curses of the German

-Nation for all time. On the most miserable of pretexts these

-parliamentary party henchmen filched from the hands of the nation and

-threw away the weapons which were needed to maintain its existence and

-therewith defend the liberty and independence of our people. If the

-graves on the plains of Flanders were to open to-day the bloodstained

-accusers would arise, hundreds of thousands of our best German youth who

-were driven into the arms of death by those conscienceless parliamentary

-ruffians who were either wrongly educated for their task or only

-half-educated. Those youths, and other millions of the killed and

-mutilated, were lost to the Fatherland simply and solely in order that a

-few hundred deceivers of the people might carry out their political

-manoeuvres and their exactions or even treasonably pursue their

-doctrinaire theories.

-By means of the Marxist and democratic Press, the Jews spread the

-colossal falsehood about 'German Militarism' throughout the world and

-tried to inculpate Germany by every possible means, while at the same

-time the Marxist and democratic parties refused to assent to the

-measures that were necessary for the adequate training of our national

-defence forces. The appalling crime thus committed by these people ought

-to have been obvious to everybody who foresaw that in case of war the

-whole nation would have to be called to arms and that, because of the

-mean huckstering of these noble 'representatives of the people', as they

-called themselves, millions of Germans would have to face the enemy

-ill-equipped and insufficiently trained. But even apart from the

-consequences of the crude and brutal lack of conscience which these

-parliamentarian rascals displayed, it was quite clear that the lack of

-properly trained soldiers at the beginning of a war would most probably

-lead to the loss of such a war; and this probability was confirmed in a

-most terrible way during the course of the world war.

-Therefore the German people lost the struggle for the freedom and

-independence of their country because of the half-hearted and defective

-policy employed during times of peace in the organization and training

-of the defensive strength of the nation.

-The number of recruits trained for the land forces was too small; but

-the same half-heartedness was shown in regard to the navy and made this

-weapon of national self-preservation more or less ineffective.

-Unfortunately, even the naval authorities themselves were contaminated

-with this spirit of half-heartedness. The tendency to build the ship on

-the stocks somewhat smaller than that just launched by the British did

-not show much foresight and less genius. A fleet which cannot be brought

-to the same numerical strength as that of the probable enemy ought to

-compensate for this inferiority by the superior fighting power of the

-individual ship. It is the weight of the fighting power that counts and

-not any sort of traditional quality. As a matter of fact, modern

-technical development is so advanced and so well proportioned among the

-various civilized States that it must be looked on as practically

-impossible for one Power to build vessels which would have a superior

-fighting quality to that of the vessels of equal size built by the other

-Powers. But it is even less feasible to build vessels of smaller

-displacement which will be superior in action to those of larger

-displacement.

-As a matter of fact, the smaller proportions of the German vessels could

-be maintained only at the expense of speed and armament. The phrase used

-to justify this policy was in itself an evidence of the lack of logical

-thinking on the part of the naval authorities who were in charge of

-these matters in times of peace. They declared that the German guns were

-definitely superior to the British 30.5 cm. as regards striking

-efficiency.

-But that was just why they should have adopted the policy of building

-30.5 cm. guns also; for it ought to have been their object not to

-achieve equality but superiority in fighting strength. If that were not

-so then it would have been superfluous to equip the land forces with 42

-cm. mortars; for the German 21 cm. mortar could be far superior to any

-high-angle guns which the French possessed at that time and since the

-fortresses could probably have been taken by means of 30.5 cm. mortars.

-The army authorities unfortunately failed to do so. If they refrained

-from assuring superior efficiency in the artillery as in the velocity,

-this was because of the fundamentally false 'principle of risk' which

-they adopted. The naval authorities, already in times of peace,

-renounced the principle of attack and thus had to follow a defensive

-policy from the very beginning of the War. But by this attitude they

-renounced also the chances of final success, which can be achieved only

-by an offensive policy.

-A vessel with slower speed and weaker armament will be crippled and

-battered by an adversary that is faster and stronger and can frequently

-shoot from a favourable distance. A large number of cruisers have been

-through bitter experiences in this matter. How wrong were the ideas

-prevalent among the naval authorities in times of peace was proved

-during the War. They were compelled to modify the armament of the old

-vessels and to equip the new ones with better armament whenever there

-was a chance to do so. If the German vessels in the Battle of the

-Skagerrak had been of equal size, the same armament and the same speed

-as the English, the British Fleet would have gone down under the tempest

-of the German 38 centimeter shells, which hit their aims more accurately

-and were more effective.

-Japan had followed a different kind of naval policy. There, care was

-principally taken to create with every single new vessel a fighting

-force that would be superior to those of the eventual adversaries. But,

-because of this policy, it was afterwards possible to use the fleet for

-the offensive.

-While the army authorities refused to adopt such fundamentally erroneous

-principles, the navy--which unfortunately had more representatives in

-Parliament--succumbed to the spirit that ruled there. The navy was not

-organized on a strong basis, and it was later used in an unsystematic

-and irresolute way. The immortal glory which the navy won, in spite of

-these drawbacks, must be entirely credited to the good work and the

-efficiency and incomparable heroism of officers and crews. If the former

-commanders-in-chief had been inspired with the same kind of genius all

-the sacrifices would not have been in vain.

-It was probably the very parliamentarian skill displayed by the chief of

-the navy during the years of peace which later became the cause of the

-fatal collapse, since parliamentarian considerations had begun to play a

-more important role in the construction of the navy than fighting

-considerations. The irresolution, the weakness and the failure to adopt

-a logically consistent policy, which is typical of the parliamentary

-system, contaminated the naval authorities.

-As I have already emphasized, the military authorities did not allow

-themselves to be led astray by such fundamentally erroneous ideas.

-Ludendorff, who was then a Colonel in the General Staff, led a desperate

-struggle against the criminal vacillations with which the Reichstag

-treated the most vital problems of the nation and in most cases voted

-against them. If the fight which this officer then waged remained

-unsuccessful this must be debited to the Parliament and partly also to

-the wretched and weak attitude of the Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg.

-Yet those who are responsible for Germany's collapse do not hesitate now

-to lay all the blame on the shoulders of the one man who took a firm

-stand against the neglectful manner in which the interests of the nation

-were managed. But one falsehood more or less makes no difference to

-these congenital tricksters.

-Anybody who thinks of all the sacrifices which this nation has had to

-bear, as a result of the criminal neglect of those irresponsible

-individuals; anybody who thinks of the number of those who died or were

-maimed unnecessarily; anybody who thinks of the deplorable shame and

-dishonour which has been heaped upon us and of the illimitable distress

-into which our people are now plunged--anybody who realizes that in

-order to prepare the way to a few seats in Parliament for some

-unscrupulous place-hunters and arrivists will understand that such

-hirelings can be called by no other name than that of rascal and

-criminal; for otherwise those words could have no meaning. In comparison

-with traitors who betrayed the nation's trust every other kind of

-twister may be looked upon as an honourable man.

-It was a peculiar feature of the situation that all the real faults of

-the old Germany were exposed to the public gaze only when the inner

-solidarity of the nation could be injured by doing so. Then, indeed,

-unpleasant truths were openly proclaimed in the ears of the broad

-masses, while many other things were at other times shamefully hushed up

-or their existence simply denied, especially at times when an open

-discussion of such problems might have led to an improvement in their

-regard. The higher government authorities knew little or nothing of the

-nature and use of propaganda in such matters. Only the Jew knew that by

-an able and persistent use of propaganda heaven itself can be presented

-to the people as if it were hell and, vice versa, the most miserable

-kind of life can be presented as if it were paradise. The Jew knew this

-and acted accordingly. But the German, or rather his Government, did not

-have the slightest suspicion of it. During the War the heaviest of

-penalties had to be paid for that ignorance.

-Over against the innumerable drawbacks which I have mentioned here and

-which affected German life before the War there were many outstanding

-features on the positive side. If we take an impartial survey we must

-admit that most of our drawbacks were in great measure prevalent also in

-other countries and among the other nations, and very often in a worse

-form than with us; whereas among us there were many real advantages

-which the other did not have.

-The leading phase of Germany's superiority arose from the fact that,

-almost alone among all the other European nations, the German nation had

-made the strongest effort to preserve the national character of its

-economic structure and for this reason was less subject than other

-countries to the power of international finance, though indeed there

-were many untoward symptoms in this regard also.

-And yet this superiority was a perilous one and turned out later to be

-one of the chief causes of the world war.

-But even if we disregard this advantage of national independence in

-economic matters there were certain other positive features of our

-social and political life which were of outstanding excellence. These

-features were represented by three institutions which were constant

-sources of regeneration. In their respective spheres they were models of

-perfection and were partly unrivalled.

-The first of these was the statal form as such and the manner in which

-it had been developed for Germany in modern times. Of course we must

-except those monarchs who, as human beings, were subject to the failings

-which afflict this life and its children. If we were not so tolerant in

-these matters, then the case of the present generation would be

-hopeless; for if we take into consideration the personal capabilities

-and character of the representative figures in our present regime it

-would be difficult to imagine a more modest level of intelligence and

-moral character. If we measure the 'value' of the German Revolution by

-the personal worth and calibre of the individuals whom this revolution

-has presented to the German people since November 1918 then we may feel

-ashamed indeed in thinking of the judgment which posterity will pass on

-these people, when the Law for the Protection of the Republic can no

-longer silence public opinion. Coming generations will surely decide

-that the intelligence and integrity of our new German leaders were in

-adverse ratio to their boasting and their vices.

-It must be admitted that the monarchy had become alien in spirit to many

-citizens and especially the broad masses. This resulted from the fact

-that the monarchs were not always surrounded by the highest

-intelligence--so to say--and certainly not always by persons of the most

-upright character. Unfortunately many of them preferred flatterers to

-honest-spoken men and hence received their 'information' from the

-former. This was a source of grave danger at a time when the world was

-passing through a period in which many of the old conditions were

-changing and when this change was affecting even the traditions of the

-Court.

-The average man or woman could not have felt a wave of enthusiasm

-surging within the breast when, for example, at the turn of the century,

-a princess in uniform and on horseback had the soldiers file past her on

-parade. Those high circles had apparently no idea of the impression

-which such a parade made on the minds of ordinary people; else such

-unfortunate occurrences would not have taken place. The sentimental

-humanitarianism--not always very sincere--which was professed in those

-high circles was often more repulsive than attractive. When, for

-instance, the Princess X condescended to taste the products of a soup

-kitchen and found them excellent, as usual, such a gesture might have

-made an excellent impression in times long past, but on this occasion it

-had the opposite effect to what was intended. For even if we take it for

-granted that Her Highness did not have the slightest idea, that on the

-day she sampled it, the food was not quite the same as on other days, it

-sufficed that the people knew it. Even the best of intentions thus

-became an object of ridicule or a cause of exasperation.

-Descriptions of the proverbial frugality practised by the monarch, his

-much too early rise in the morning and the drudgery he had to go through

-all day long until late at night, and especially the constantly

-expressed fears lest he might become undernourished--all this gave rise

-to ominous expression on the part of the people. Nobody was keen to know

-what and how much the monarch ate or drank. Nobody grudged him a full

-meal, or the necessary amount of sleep. Everybody was pleased when the

-monarch, as a man and a personality, brought honour on his family and

-his country and fulfilled his duties as a sovereign. All the legends

-which were circulated about him helped little and did much damage.

-These and such things, however, are only mere bagatelle. What was much

-worse was the feeling, which spread throughout large sections of the

-nation, that the affairs of the individual were being taken care of from

-above and that he did not need to bother himself with them. As long as

-the Government was really good, or at least moved by goodwill, no

-serious objections could be raised.

-But the country was destined to disaster when the old Government, which

-had at least striven for the best, became replaced by a new regime which

-was not of the same quality. Then the docile obedience and infantile

-credulity which formerly offered no resistance was bound to be one of

-the most fatal evils that can be imagined.

-But against these and other defects there were certain qualities which

-undoubtedly had a positive effect.

-First of all the monarchical form of government guarantees stability in

-the direction of public affairs and safeguards public offices from the

-speculative turmoil of ambitious politicians. Furthermore, the venerable

-tradition which this institution possesses arouses a feeling which gives

-weight to the monarchical authority. Beyond this there is the fact that

-the whole corps of officials, and the army in particular, are raised

-above the level of political party obligations. And still another

-positive feature was that the supreme rulership of the State was

-embodied in the monarch, as an individual person, who could serve as the

-symbol of responsibility, which a monarch has to bear more seriously

-than any anonymous parliamentary majority. Indeed, the proverbial

-honesty and integrity of the German administration must be attributed

-chiefly to this fact. Finally, the monarchy fulfilled a high cultural

-function among the German people, which made amends for many of its

-defects. The German residential cities have remained, even to our time,

-centres of that artistic spirit which now threatens to disappear and is

-becoming more and more materialistic. The German princes gave a great

-deal of excellent and practical encouragement to art and science,

-especially during the nineteenth century. Our present age certainly has

-nothing of equal worth.

-During that process of disintegration which was slowly extending

-throughout the social order the most positive force of resistance was

-that offered by the army. This was the strongest source of education

-which the German people possessed. For that reason all the hatred of our

-enemies was directed against the paladin of our national

-self-preservation and our liberty. The strongest testimony in favour of

-this unique institution is the fact that it was derided, hated and

-fought against, but also feared, by worthless elements all round. The

-fact that the international profiteers who gathered at Versailles,

-further to exploit and plunder the nations directed their enmity

-specially against the old German army proved once again that it deserved

-to be regarded as the institution which protected the liberties of our

-people against the forces of the international stock-exchange. If the

-army had not been there to sound the alarm and stand on guard, the

-purposes of the Versailles representatives would have been carried out

-much sooner. There is only one word to express what the German people

-owe to this army--Everything!

-It was the army that still inculcated a sense of responsibility among

-the people when this quality had become very rare and when the habit of

-shirking every kind of responsibility was steadily spreading. This habit

-had grown up under the evil influences of Parliament, which was itself

-the very model of irresponsibility. The army trained the people to

-personal courage at a time when the virtue of timidity threatened to

-become an epidemic and when the spirit of sacrificing one's personal

-interests for the good of the community was considered as something that

-amounted almost to weak-mindedness. At a time when only those were

-estimated as intelligent who knew how to safeguard and promote their own

-egotistic interests, the army was the school through which individual

-Germans were taught not to seek the salvation of their nation in the

-false ideology of international fraternization between negroes, Germans,

-Chinese, French and English, etc., but in the strength and unity of

-their own national being.

-The army developed the individual's powers of resolute decision, and

-this at a time when a spirit of indecision and scepticism governed human

-conduct. At a time when the wiseacres were everywhere setting the

-fashion it needed courage to uphold the principle that any command is

-better than none. This one principle represents a robust and sound style

-of thought, of which not a trace would have been left in the other

-branches of life if the army had not furnished a constant rejuvenation

-of this fundamental force. A sufficient proof of this may be found in

-the appalling lack of decision which our present government authorities

-display. They cannot shake off their mental and moral lethargy and

-decide on some definite line of action except when they are forced to

-sign some new dictate for the exploitation of the German people. In that

-case they decline all responsibility while at the same time they sign

-everything which the other side places before them; and they sign with

-the readiness of an official stenographer. Their conduct is here

-explicable on the ground that in this case they are not under the

-necessity of coming to a decision; for the decision is dictated to them.

-The army imbued its members with a spirit of idealism and developed

-their readiness to sacrifice themselves for their country and its

-honour, while greed and materialism dominated in all the other branches

-of life. The army united a people who were split up into classes: and in

-this respect had only one defect, which was the One Year Military

-Service, a privilege granted to those who had passed through the high

-schools. It was a defect, because the principle of absolute equality was

-thereby violated; and those who had a better education were thus placed

-outside the cadres to which the rest of their comrades belonged. The

-reverse would have been better. Since our upper classes were really

-ignorant of what was going on in the body corporate of the nation and

-were becoming more and more estranged from the life of the people, the

-army would have accomplished a very beneficial mission if it had refused

-to discriminate in favour of the so-called intellectuals, especially

-within its own ranks. It was a mistake that this was not done; but in

-this world of ours can we find any institution that has not at least one

-defect? And in the army the good features were so absolutely predominant

-that the few defects it had were far below the average that generally

-rises from human weakness.

-But the greatest credit which the army of the old Empire deserves is

-that, at a time when the person of the individual counted for nothing

-and the majority was everything, it placed individual personal values

-above majority values. By insisting on its faith in personality, the

-army opposed that typically Jewish and democratic apotheosis of the

-power of numbers. The army trained what at that time was most surely

-needed: namely, real men. In a period when men were falling a prey to

-effeminacy and laxity, 350,000 vigorously trained young men went from

-the ranks of the army each year to mingle with their fellow-men. In the

-course of their two years' training they had lost the softness of their

-young days and had developed bodies as tough as steel. The young man who

-had been taught obedience for two years was now fitted to command. The

-trained soldier could be recognized already by his walk.

-This was the great school of the German nation; and it was not without

-reason that it drew upon its head all the bitter hatred of those who

-wanted the Empire to be weak and defenceless, because they were jealous

-of its greatness and were themselves possessed by a spirit of rapacity

-and greed. The rest of the world recognized a fact which many Germans

-did not wish to see, either because they were blind to facts or because

-out of malice they did not wish to see it. This fact was that the German

-Army was the most powerful weapon for the defence and freedom of the

-German nation and the best guarantee for the livelihood of its citizens.

-There was a third institution of positive worth, which has to be placed

-beside that of the monarchy and the army. This was the civil service.

-German administration was better organized and better carried out than

-the administration of other countries. There may have been objections to

-the bureaucratic routine of the officials, but from this point of view

-the state of affairs was similar, if not worse, in the other countries.

-But the other States did not have the wonderful solidarity which this

-organization possessed in Germany, nor were their civil servants of that

-same high level of scrupulous honesty. It is certainly better to be a

-trifle over-bureaucratic and honest and loyal than to be

-over-sophisticated and modern, the latter often implying an inferior

-type of character and also ignorance and inefficiency. For if it be

-insinuated to-day that the German administration of the pre-War period

-may have been excellent so far as bureaucratic technique goes, but that

-from the practical business point of view it was incompetent, I can only

-give the following reply: What other country in the world possessed a

-better-organized and administered business enterprise than the German

-State Railways, for instance? It was left to the Revolution to destroy

-this standard organization, until a time came when it was taken out of

-the hands of the nation and socialized, in the sense which the founders

-of the Republic had given to that word, namely, making it subservient to

-the international stock-exchange capitalists, who were the wire-pullers

-of the German Revolution.

-The most outstanding trait in the civil service and the whole body of

-the civil administration was its independence of the vicissitudes of

-government, the political mentality of which could exercise no influence

-on the attitude of the German State officials. Since the Revolution this

-situation has been completely changed. Efficiency and capability have

-been replaced by the test of party-adherence; and independence of

-character and initiative are no longer appreciated as positive qualities

-in a public official. They rather tell against him.

-The wonderful might and power of the old Empire was based on the

-monarchical form of government, the army and the civil service. On these

-three foundations rested that great strength which is now entirely

-lacking; namely, the authority of the State. For the authority of the

-State cannot be based on the babbling that goes on in Parliament or in

-the provincial diets and not upon laws made to protect the State, or

-upon sentences passed by the law courts to frighten those who have had

-the hardihood to deny the authority of the State, but only on the

-general confidence which the management and administration of the

-community establishes among the people. This confidence is in its turn,

-nothing else than the result of an unshakable inner conviction that the

-government and administration of a country is inspired by disinterested

-and honest goodwill and on the feeling that the spirit of the law is in

-complete harmony with the moral convictions of the people. In the long

-run, systems of government are not maintained by terrorism but on the

-belief of the people in the merits and sincerity of those who administer

-and promote the public interests.

-Though it be true that in the period preceding the War certain grave

-evils tended to infect and corrode the inner strength of the nation, it

-must be remembered that the other States suffered even more than Germany

-from these drawbacks and yet those other States did not fail and break

-down when the time of crisis came. If we remember further that those

-defects in pre-War Germany were outweighed by great positive qualities

-we shall have to look elsewhere for the effective cause of the collapse.

-And elsewhere it lay.

-The ultimate and most profound reason of the German downfall is to be

-found in the fact that the racial problem was ignored and that its

-importance in the historical development of nations was not grasped. For

-the events that take place in the life of nations are not due to chance

-but are the natural results of the effort to conserve and multiply the

-species and the race, even though men may not be able consciously to

-picture to their minds the profound motives of their conduct.

-CHAPTER XI

-RACE AND PEOPLE

-There are certain truths which stand out so openly on the roadsides of

-life, as it were, that every passer-by may see them. Yet, because of

-their very obviousness, the general run of people disregard such truths

-or at least they do not make them the object of any conscious knowledge.

-People are so blind to some of the simplest facts in every-day life that

-they are highly surprised when somebody calls attention to what

-everybody ought to know. Examples of The Columbus Egg lie around us in

-hundreds of thousands; but observers like Columbus are rare.

-Walking about in the garden of Nature, most men have the self-conceit to

-think that they know everything; yet almost all are blind to one of the

-outstanding principles that Nature employs in her work. This principle

-may be called the inner isolation which characterizes each and every

-living species on this earth.

-Even a superficial glance is sufficient to show that all the innumerable

-forms in which the life-urge of Nature manifests itself are subject to a

-fundamental law--one may call it an iron law of Nature--which compels

-the various species to keep within the definite limits of their own

-life-forms when propagating and multiplying their kind. Each animal

-mates only with one of its own species. The titmouse cohabits only with

-the titmouse, the finch with the finch, the stork with the stork, the

-field-mouse with the field-mouse, the house-mouse with the house-mouse,

-the wolf with the she-wolf, etc.

-Deviations from this law take place only in exceptional circumstances.

-This happens especially under the compulsion of captivity, or when some

-other obstacle makes procreative intercourse impossible between

-individuals of the same species. But then Nature abhors such intercourse

-with all her might; and her protest is most clearly demonstrated by the

-fact that the hybrid is either sterile or the fecundity of its

-descendants is limited. In most cases hybrids and their progeny are

-denied the ordinary powers of resistance to disease or the natural means

-of defence against outer attack.

-Such a dispensation of Nature is quite logical. Every crossing between

-two breeds which are not quite equal results in a product which holds an

-intermediate place between the levels of the two parents. This means

-that the offspring will indeed be superior to the parent which stands in

-the biologically lower order of being, but not so high as the higher

-parent. For this reason it must eventually succumb in any struggle

-against the higher species. Such mating contradicts the will of Nature

-towards the selective improvements of life in general. The favourable

-preliminary to this improvement is not to mate individuals of higher and

-lower orders of being but rather to allow the complete triumph of the

-higher order. The stronger must dominate and not mate with the weaker,

-which would signify the sacrifice of its own higher nature. Only the

-born weakling can look upon this principle as cruel, and if he does so

-it is merely because he is of a feebler nature and narrower mind; for if

-such a law did not direct the process of evolution then the higher

-development of organic life would not be conceivable at all.

-This urge for the maintenance of the unmixed breed, which is a

-phenomenon that prevails throughout the whole of the natural world,

-results not only in the sharply defined outward distinction between one

-species and another but also in the internal similarity of

-characteristic qualities which are peculiar to each breed or species.

-The fox remains always a fox, the goose remains a goose, and the tiger

-will retain the character of a tiger. The only difference that can exist

-within the species must be in the various degrees of structural strength

-and active power, in the intelligence, efficiency, endurance, etc., with

-which the individual specimens are endowed. It would be impossible to

-find a fox which has a kindly and protective disposition towards geese,

-just as no cat exists which has a friendly disposition towards mice.

-That is why the struggle between the various species does not arise from

-a feeling of mutual antipathy but rather from hunger and love. In both

-cases Nature looks on calmly and is even pleased with what happens. The

-struggle for the daily livelihood leaves behind in the ruck everything

-that is weak or diseased or wavering; while the fight of the male to

-possess the female gives to the strongest the right, or at least, the

-possibility to propagate its kind. And this struggle is a means of

-furthering the health and powers of resistance in the species. Thus it

-is one of the causes underlying the process of development towards a

-higher quality of being.

-If the case were different the progressive process would cease, and even

-retrogression might set in. Since the inferior always outnumber the

-superior, the former would always increase more rapidly if they

-possessed the same capacities for survival and for the procreation of

-their kind; and the final consequence would be that the best in quality

-would be forced to recede into the background. Therefore a corrective

-measure in favour of the better quality must intervene. Nature supplies

-this by establishing rigorous conditions of life to which the weaker

-will have to submit and will thereby be numerically restricted; but even

-that portion which survives cannot indiscriminately multiply, for here a

-new and rigorous selection takes place, according to strength and

-health.

-If Nature does not wish that weaker individuals should mate with the

-stronger, she wishes even less that a superior race should intermingle

-with an inferior one; because in such a case all her efforts, throughout

-hundreds of thousands of years, to establish an evolutionary higher

-stage of being, may thus be rendered futile.

-History furnishes us with innumerable instances that prove this law. It

-shows, with a startling clarity, that whenever Aryans have mingled their

-blood with that of an inferior race the result has been the downfall of

-the people who were the standard-bearers of a higher culture. In North

-America, where the population is prevalently Teutonic, and where those

-elements intermingled with the inferior race only to a very small

-degree, we have a quality of mankind and a civilization which are

-different from those of Central and South America. In these latter

-countries the immigrants--who mainly belonged to the Latin races--mated

-with the aborigines, sometimes to a very large extent indeed. In this

-case we have a clear and decisive example of the effect produced by the

-mixture of races. But in North America the Teutonic element, which has

-kept its racial stock pure and did not mix it with any other racial

-stock, has come to dominate the American Continent and will remain

-master of it as long as that element does not fall a victim to the habit

-of adulterating its blood.

-In short, the results of miscegenation are always the following:

-(a) The level of the superior race becomes lowered;

-(b) physical and mental degeneration sets in, thus leading slowly but

-steadily towards a progressive drying up of the vital sap.

-The act which brings about such a development is a sin against the will

-of the Eternal Creator. And as a sin this act will be avenged.

-Man's effort to build up something that contradicts the iron logic of

-Nature brings him into conflict with those principles to which he

-himself exclusively owes his own existence. By acting against the laws

-of Nature he prepares the way that leads to his ruin.

-Here we meet the insolent objection, which is Jewish in its inspiration

-and is typical of the modern pacifist. It says: "Man can control even

-Nature."

-There are millions who repeat by rote that piece of Jewish babble and

-end up by imagining that somehow they themselves are the conquerors of

-Nature. And yet their only weapon is just a mere idea, and a very

-preposterous idea into the bargain; because if one accepted it, then it

-would be impossible even to imagine the existence of the world.

-The real truth is that, not only has man failed to overcome Nature in

-any sphere whatsoever but that at best he has merely succeeded in

-getting hold of and lifting a tiny corner of the enormous veil which she

-has spread over her eternal mysteries and secret. He never creates

-anything. All he can do is to discover something. He does not master

-Nature but has only come to be the master of those living beings who

-have not gained the knowledge he has arrived at by penetrating into some

-of Nature's laws and mysteries. Apart from all this, an idea can never

-subject to its own sway those conditions which are necessary for the

-existence and development of mankind; for the idea itself has come only

-from man. Without man there would be no human idea in this world. The

-idea as such is therefore always dependent on the existence of man and

-consequently is dependent on those laws which furnish the conditions of

-his existence.

-And not only that. Certain ideas are even confined to certain people.

-This holds true with regard to those ideas in particular which have not

-their roots in objective scientific truth but in the world of feeling.

-In other words, to use a phrase which is current to-day and which well

-and clearly expresses this truth: THEY REFLECT AN INNER EXPERIENCE. All

-such ideas, which have nothing to do with cold logic as such but

-represent mere manifestations of feeling, such as ethical and moral

-conceptions, etc., are inextricably bound up with man's existence. It is

-to the creative powers of man's imagination that such ideas owe their

-existence.

-Now, then, a necessary condition for the maintenance of such ideas is

-the existence of certain races and certain types of men. For example,

-anyone who sincerely wishes that the pacifist idea should prevail in

-this world ought to do all he is capable of doing to help the Germans

-conquer the world; for in case the reverse should happen it may easily

-be that the last pacifist would disappear with the last German. I say

-this because, unfortunately, only our people, and no other people in the

-world, fell a prey to this idea. Whether you like it or not, you would

-have to make up your mind to forget wars if you would achieve the

-pacifist ideal. Nothing less than this was the plan of the American

-world-redeemer, Woodrow Wilson. Anyhow that was what our visionaries

-believed, and they thought that through his plans their ideals would be

-attained.

-The pacifist-humanitarian idea may indeed become an excellent one when

-the most superior type of manhood will have succeeded in subjugating the

-world to such an extent that this type is then sole master of the earth.

-This idea could have an injurious effect only in the measure according

-to which its application would become difficult and finally impossible.

-So, first of all, the fight and then pacifism. If the case were

-different it would mean that mankind has already passed the zenith of

-its development, and accordingly the end would not be the supremacy of

-some moral ideal but degeneration into barbarism and consequent chaos.

-People may laugh at this statement; but our planet has been moving

-through the spaces of ether for millions and millions of years,

-uninhabited by men, and at some future date may easily begin to do so

-again--if men should forget that wherever they have reached a superior

-level of existence, it was not the result of following the ideas of

-crazy visionaries but by acknowledging and rigorously observing the iron

-laws of Nature.

-All that we admire in the world to-day, its science, its art, its

-technical developments and discoveries, are the products of the creative

-activities of a few peoples, and it may be true that their first

-beginnings must be attributed to one race. The maintenance of

-civilization is wholly dependent on such peoples. Should they perish,

-all that makes this earth beautiful will descend with them into the

-grave.

-However great, for example, be the influence which the soil exerts on

-men, this influence will always vary according to the race in which it

-produces its effect. Dearth of soil may stimulate one race to the most

-strenuous efforts and highest achievement; while, for another race, the

-poverty of the soil may be the cause of misery and finally of

-undernourishment, with all its consequences. The internal

-characteristics of a people are always the causes which determine the

-nature of the effect that outer circumstances have on them. What reduces

-one race to starvation trains another race to harder work.

-All the great civilizations of the past became decadent because the

-originally creative race died out, as a result of contamination of the

-blood.

-The most profound cause of such a decline is to be found in the fact

-that the people ignored the principle that all culture depends on men,

-and not the reverse. In other words, in order to preserve a certain

-culture, the type of manhood that creates such a culture must be

-preserved. But such a preservation goes hand-in-hand with the inexorable

-law that it is the strongest and the best who must triumph and that they

-have the right to endure.

-He who would live must fight. He who does not wish to fight in this

-world, where permanent struggle is the law of life, has not the right to

-exist.

-Such a saying may sound hard; but, after all, that is how the matter

-really stands. Yet far harder is the lot of him who believes that he can

-overcome Nature and thus in reality insults her. Distress, misery, and

-disease are her rejoinders.

-Whoever ignores or despises the laws of race really deprives himself of

-the happiness to which he believes he can attain. For he places an

-obstacle in the victorious path of the superior race and, by so doing,

-he interferes with a prerequisite condition of all human progress.

-Loaded with the burden of humanitarian sentiment, he falls back to the

-level of those who are unable to raise themselves in the scale of being.

-It would be futile to attempt to discuss the question as to what race or

-races were the original standard-bearers of human culture and were

-thereby the real founders of all that we understand by the word

-humanity. It is much simpler to deal with this question in so far as it

-relates to the present time. Here the answer is simple and clear. Every

-manifestation of human culture, every product of art, science and

-technical skill, which we see before our eyes to-day, is almost

-exclusively the product of the Aryan creative power. This very fact

-fully justifies the conclusion that it was the Aryan alone who founded a

-superior type of humanity; therefore he represents the architype of what

-we understand by the term: MAN. He is the Prometheus of mankind, from

-whose shining brow the divine spark of genius has at all times flashed

-forth, always kindling anew that fire which, in the form of knowledge,

-illuminated the dark night by drawing aside the veil of mystery and thus

-showing man how to rise and become master over all the other beings on

-the earth. Should he be forced to disappear, a profound darkness will

-descend on the earth; within a few thousand years human culture will

-vanish and the world will become a desert.

-If we divide mankind into three categories--founders of culture, bearers

-of culture, and destroyers of culture--the Aryan alone can be considered

-as representing the first category. It was he who laid the groundwork

-and erected the walls of every great structure in human culture. Only

-the shape and colour of such structures are to be attributed to the

-individual characteristics of the various nations. It is the Aryan who

-has furnished the great building-stones and plans for the edifices of

-all human progress; only the way in which these plans have been executed

-is to be attributed to the qualities of each individual race. Within a

-few decades the whole of Eastern Asia, for instance, appropriated a

-culture and called such a culture its own, whereas the basis of that

-culture was the Greek mind and Teutonic skill as we know it. Only the

-external form--at least to a certain degree--shows the traits of an

-Asiatic inspiration. It is not true, as some believe, that Japan adds

-European technique to a culture of her own. The truth rather is that

-European science and technics are just decked out with the peculiar

-characteristics of Japanese civilization. The foundations of actual life

-in Japan to-day are not those of the native Japanese culture, although

-this characterizes the external features of the country, which features

-strike the eye of European observers on account of their fundamental

-difference from us; but the real foundations of contemporary Japanese

-life are the enormous scientific and technical achievements of Europe

-and America, that is to say, of Aryan peoples. Only by adopting these

-achievements as the foundations of their own progress can the various

-nations of the Orient take a place in contemporary world progress. The

-scientific and technical achievements of Europe and America provide the

-basis on which the struggle for daily livelihood is carried on in the

-Orient. They provide the necessary arms and instruments for this

-struggle, and only the outer forms of these instruments have become

-gradually adapted to Japanese ways of life.

-If, from to-day onwards, the Aryan influence on Japan would cease--and

-if we suppose that Europe and America would collapse--then the present

-progress of Japan in science and technique might still last for a short

-duration; but within a few decades the inspiration would dry up, and

-native Japanese character would triumph, while the present civilization

-would become fossilized and fall back into the sleep from which it was

-aroused about seventy years ago by the impact of Aryan culture. We may

-therefore draw the conclusion that, just as the present Japanese

-development has been due to Aryan influence, so in the immemorial past

-an outside influence and an outside culture brought into existence the

-Japanese culture of that day. This opinion is very strongly supported by

-the fact that the ancient civilization of Japan actually became

-fossilizied and petrified. Such a process of senility can happen only if

-a people loses the racial cell which originally had been creative or if

-the outside influence should be withdrawn after having awakened and

-maintained the first cultural developments in that region. If it be

-shown that a people owes the fundamental elements of its culture to

-foreign races, assimilating and elaborating such elements, and if

-subsequently that culture becomes fossilized whenever the external

-influence ceases, then such a race may be called the depository but

-never the creator of a culture.

-If we subject the different peoples to a strict test from this

-standpoint we shall find that scarcely any one of them has originally

-created a culture, but almost all have been merely the recipients of a

-culture created elsewhere.

-This development may be depicted as always happening somewhat in the

-following way:

-Aryan tribes, often almost ridiculously small in number, subjugated

-foreign peoples and, stimulated by the conditions of life which their

-new country offered them (fertility, the nature of the climate, etc.),

-and profiting also by the abundance of manual labour furnished them by

-the inferior race, they developed intellectual and organizing faculties

-which had hitherto been dormant in these conquering tribes. Within the

-course of a few thousand years, or even centuries, they gave life to

-cultures whose primitive traits completely corresponded to the character

-of the founders, though modified by adaptation to the peculiarities of

-the soil and the characteristics of the subjugated people. But finally

-the conquering race offended against the principles which they first had

-observed, namely, the maintenance of their racial stock unmixed, and

-they began to intermingle with the subjugated people. Thus they put an

-end to their own separate existence; for the original sin committed in

-Paradise has always been followed by the expulsion of the guilty

-parties.

-After a thousand years or more the last visible traces of those former

-masters may then be found in a lighter tint of the skin which the Aryan

-blood had bequeathed to the subjugated race, and in a fossilized culture

-of which those Aryans had been the original creators. For just as the

-blood. of the conqueror, who was a conqueror not only in body but also

-in spirit, got submerged in the blood of the subject race, so the

-substance disappeared out of which the torch of human culture and

-progress was kindled. In so far as the blood of the former ruling race

-has left a light nuance of colour in the blood of its descendants, as a

-token and a memory, the night of cultural life is rendered less dim and

-dark by a mild light radiated from the products of those who were the

-bearers of the original fire. Their radiance shines across the barbarism

-to which the subjected race has reverted and might often lead the

-superficial observer to believe that he sees before him an image of the

-present race when he is really looking into a mirror wherein only the

-past is reflected.

-It may happen that in the course of its history such a people will come

-into contact a second time, and even oftener, with the original founders

-of their culture and may not even remember that distant association.

-Instinctively the remnants of blood left from that old ruling race will

-be drawn towards this new phenomenon and what had formerly been possible

-only under compulsion can now be successfully achieved in a voluntary

-way. A new cultural wave flows in and lasts until the blood of its

-standard-bearers becomes once again adulterated by intermixture with the

-originally conquered race.

-It will be the task of those who set themselves to the study of a

-universal history of civilization to investigate history from this point

-of view instead of allowing themselves to be smothered under the mass of

-external data, as is only too often the case with our present historical

-science.

-This short sketch of the changes that take place among those races that

-are only the depositories of a culture also furnishes a picture of the

-development and the activity and the disappearance of those who are the

-true founders of culture on this earth, namely the Aryans themselves.

-Just as in our daily life the so-called man of genius needs a particular

-occasion, and sometimes indeed a special stimulus, to bring his genius

-to light, so too in the life of the peoples the race that has genius in

-it needs the occasion and stimulus to bring that genius to expression.

-In the monotony and routine of everyday life even persons of

-significance seem just like the others and do not rise beyond the

-average level of their fellow-men. But as soon as such men find

-themselves in a special situation which disconcerts and unbalances the

-others, the humble person of apparently common qualities reveals traits

-of genius, often to the amazement of those who have hitherto known him

-in the small things of everyday life. That is the reason why a prophet

-only seldom counts for something in his own country. War offers an

-excellent occasion for observing this phenomenon. In times of distress,

-when the others despair, apparently harmless boys suddenly spring up and

-become heroes, full of determination, undaunted in the presence of Death

-and manifesting wonderful powers of calm reflection under such

-circumstances. If such an hour of trial did not come nobody would have

-thought that the soul of a hero lurked in the body of that beardless

-youth. A special impulse is almost always necessary to bring a man of

-genius into the foreground. The sledge-hammer of Fate which strikes down

-the one so easily suddenly finds the counter-impact of steel when it

-strikes at the other. And, after the common shell of everyday life is

-broken, the core that lay hidden in it is displayed to the eyes of an

-astonished world. This surrounding world then grows obstinate and will

-not believe that what had seemed so like itself is really of that

-different quality so suddenly displayed. This is a process which is

-repeated probably every time a man of outstanding significance appears.

-Though an inventor, for example, does not establish his fame until the

-very day that he carries through his invention, it would be a mistake to

-believe that the creative genius did not become alive in him until that

-moment. From the very hour of his birth the spark of genius is living

-within the man who has been endowed with the real creative faculty. True

-genius is an innate quality. It can never be the result of education or

-training.

-As I have stated already, this holds good not merely of the individual

-but also of the race. Those peoples who manifest creative abilities in

-certain periods of their history have always been fundamentally

-creative. It belongs to their very nature, even though this fact may

-escape the eyes of the superficial observer. Here also recognition from

-outside is only the consequence of practical achievement. Since the rest

-of the world is incapable of recognizing genius as such, it can only see

-the visible manifestations of genius in the form of inventions,

-discoveries, buildings, painting, etc.; but even here a long time passes

-before recognition is given. Just as the individual person who has been

-endowed with the gift of genius, or at least talent of a very high

-order, cannot bring that endowment to realization until he comes under

-the urge of special circumstances, so in the life of the nations the

-creative capacities and powers frequently have to wait until certain

-conditions stimulate them to action.

-The most obvious example of this truth is furnished by that race which

-has been, and still is, the standard-bearer of human progress: I mean

-the Aryan race. As soon as Fate brings them face to face with special

-circumstances their powers begin to develop progressively and to be

-manifested in tangible form. The characteristic cultures which they

-create under such circumstances are almost always conditioned by the

-soil, the climate and the people they subjugate. The last factor--that

-of the character of the people--is the most decisive one. The more

-primitive the technical conditions under which the civilizing activity

-takes place, the more necessary is the existence of manual labour which

-can be organized and employed so as to take the place of mechanical

-power. Had it not been possible for them to employ members of the

-inferior race which they conquered, the Aryans would never have been in

-a position to take the first steps on the road which led them to a later

-type of culture; just as, without the help of certain suitable animals

-which they were able to tame, they would never have come to the

-invention of mechanical power which has subsequently enabled them to do

-without these beasts. The phrase, 'The Moor has accomplished his

-function, so let him now depart', has, unfortunately, a profound

-application. For thousands of years the horse has been the faithful

-servant of man and has helped him to lay the foundations of human

-progress, but now motor power has dispensed with the use of the horse.

-In a few years to come the use of the horse will cease entirely; and yet

-without its collaboration man could scarcely have come to the stage of

-development which he has now created.

-For the establishment of superior types of civilization the members of

-inferior races formed one of the most essential pre-requisites. They

-alone could supply the lack of mechanical means without which no

-progress is possible. It is certain that the first stages of human

-civilization were not based so much on the use of tame animals as on the

-employment of human beings who were members of an inferior race.

-Only after subjugated races were employed as slaves was a similar fate

-allotted to animals, and not vice versa, as some people would have us

-believe. At first it was the conquered enemy who had to draw the plough

-and only afterwards did the ox and horse take his place. Nobody else but

-puling pacifists can consider this fact as a sign of human degradation.

-Such people fail to recognize that this evolution had to take place in

-order that man might reach that degree of civilization which these

-apostles now exploit in an attempt to make the world pay attention to

-their rigmarole.

-The progress of mankind may be compared to the process of ascending an

-infinite ladder. One does not reach the higher level without first

-having climbed the lower rungs. The Aryan therefore had to take that

-road which his sense of reality pointed out to him and not that which

-the modern pacifist dreams of. The path of reality is, however,

-difficult and hard to tread; yet it is the only one which finally leads

-to the goal where the others envisage mankind in their dreams. But the

-real truth is that those dreamers help only to lead man away from his

-goal rather than towards it.

-It was not by mere chance that the first forms of civilization arose

-there where the Aryan came into contact with inferior races, subjugated

-them and forced them to obey his command. The members of the inferior

-race became the first mechanical tools in the service of a growing

-civilization.

-Thereby the way was clearly indicated which the Aryan had to follow. As

-a conqueror, he subjugated inferior races and turned their physical

-powers into organized channels under his own leadership, forcing them to

-follow his will and purpose. By imposing on them a useful, though hard,

-manner of employing their powers he not only spared the lives of those

-whom he had conquered but probably made their lives easier than these

-had been in the former state of so-called 'freedom'. While he ruthlessly

-maintained his position as their master, he not only remained master but

-he also maintained and advanced civilization. For this depended

-exclusively on his inborn abilities and, therefore, on the preservation

-of the Aryan race as such. As soon, however, as his subject began to

-rise and approach the level of their conqueror, a phase of which

-ascension was probably the use of his language, the barriers that had

-distinguished master from servant broke down. The Aryan neglected to

-maintain his own racial stock unmixed and therewith lost the right to

-live in the paradise which he himself had created. He became submerged

-in the racial mixture and gradually lost his cultural creativeness,

-until he finally grew, not only mentally but also physically, more like

-the aborigines whom he had subjected rather than his own ancestors. For

-some time he could continue to live on the capital of that culture which

-still remained; but a condition of fossilization soon set in and he sank

-into oblivion.

-That is how cultures and empires decline and yield their places to new

-formations.

-The adulteration of the blood and racial deterioration conditioned

-thereby are the only causes that account for the decline of ancient

-civilizations; for it is never by war that nations are ruined, but by

-the loss of their powers of resistance, which are exclusively a

-characteristic of pure racial blood. In this world everything that is

-not of sound racial stock is like chaff. Every historical event in the

-world is nothing more nor less than a manifestation of the instinct of

-racial self-preservation, whether for weal or woe.

-The question as to the ground reasons for the predominant importance of

-Aryanism can be answered by pointing out that it is not so much that the

-Aryans are endowed with a stronger instinct for self-preservation, but

-rather that this manifests itself in a way which is peculiar to

-themselves. Considered from the subjective standpoint, the will-to-live

-is of course equally strong all round and only the forms in which it is

-expressed are different. Among the most primitive organisms the instinct

-for self-preservation does not extend beyond the care of the individual

-ego. Egotism, as we call this passion, is so predominant that it

-includes even the time element; which means that the present moment is

-deemed the most important and that nothing is left to the future. The

-animal lives only for itself, searching for food only when it feels

-hunger and fighting only for the preservation of its own life. As long

-as the instinct for self-preservation manifests itself exclusively in

-such a way, there is no basis for the establishment of a community; not

-even the most primitive form of all, that is to say the family. The

-society formed by the male with the female, where it goes beyond the

-mere conditions of mating, calls for the extension of the instinct of

-self-preservation, since the readiness to fight for one's own ego has to

-be extended also to the mate. The male sometimes provides food for the

-female, but in most cases both parents provide food for the offspring.

-Almost always they are ready to protect and defend each other; so that

-here we find the first, though infinitely simple, manifestation of the

-spirit of sacrifice. As soon as this spirit extends beyond the narrow

-limits of the family, we have the conditions under which larger

-associations and finally even States can be formed.

-The lowest species of human beings give evidence of this quality only to

-a very small degree, so that often they do not go beyond the formation

-of the family society. With an increasing readiness to place their

-immediate personal interests in the background, the capacity for

-organizing more extensive communities develops.

-The readiness to sacrifice one's personal work and, if necessary, even

-one's life for others shows its most highly developed form in the Aryan

-race. The greatness of the Aryan is not based on his intellectual

-powers, but rather on his willingness to devote all his faculties to the

-service of the community. Here the instinct for self-preservation has

-reached its noblest form; for the Aryan willingly subordinates his own

-ego to the common weal and when necessity calls he will even sacrifice

-his own life for the community.

-The constructive powers of the Aryan and that peculiar ability he has

-for the building up of a culture are not grounded in his intellectual

-gifts alone. If that were so they might only be destructive and could

-never have the ability to organize; for the latter essentially depends

-on the readiness of the individual to renounce his own personal opinions

-and interests and to lay both at the service of the human group. By

-serving the common weal he receives his reward in return. For example,

-he does not work directly for himself but makes his productive work a

-part of the activity of the group to which he belongs, not only for his

-own benefit but for the general. The spirit underlying this attitude is

-expressed by the word: WORK, which to him does not at all signify a

-means of earning one's daily livelihood but rather a productive activity

-which cannot clash with the interests of the community. Whenever human

-activity is directed exclusively to the service of the instinct for

-self-preservation it is called theft or usury, robbery or burglary, etc.

-This mental attitude, which forces self-interest to recede into the

-background in favour of the common weal, is the first prerequisite for

-any kind of really human civilization. It is out of this spirit alone

-that great human achievements have sprung for which the original doers

-have scarcely ever received any recompense but which turns out to be the

-source of abundant benefit for their descendants. It is this spirit

-alone which can explain why it so often happens that people can endure a

-harsh but honest existence which offers them no returns for their toil

-except a poor and modest livelihood. But such a livelihood helps to

-consolidate the foundations on which the community exists. Every worker

-and every peasant, every inventor, state official, etc., who works

-without ever achieving fortune or prosperity for himself, is a

-representative of this sublime idea, even though he may never become

-conscious of the profound meaning of his own activity.

-Everything that may be said of that kind of work which is the

-fundamental condition of providing food and the basic means of human

-progress is true even in a higher sense of work that is done for the

-protection of man and his civilization. The renunciation of one's own

-life for the sake of the community is the crowning significance of the

-idea of all sacrifice. In this way only is it possible to protect what

-has been built up by man and to assure that this will not be destroyed

-by the hand of man or of nature.

-In the German language we have a word which admirably expresses this

-underlying spirit of all work: It is Pflichterf�llung, which means the

-service of the common weal before the consideration of one's own

-interests. The fundamental spirit out of which this kind of activity

-springs is the contradistinction of 'Egotism' and we call it 'Idealism'.

-By this we mean to signify the willingness of the individual to make

-sacrifices for the community and his fellow-men.

-It is of the utmost importance to insist again and again that idealism

-is not merely a superfluous manifestation of sentiment but rather

-something which has been, is and always will be, a necessary

-precondition of human civilization; it is even out of this that the very

-idea of the word 'Human' arises. To this kind of mentality the Aryan

-owes his position in the world. And the world is indebted to the Aryan

-mind for having developed the concept of 'mankind'; for it is out of

-this spirit alone that the creative force has come which in a unique way

-combined robust muscular power with a first-class intellect and thus

-created the monuments of human civilization.

-Were it not for idealism all the faculties of the intellect, even the

-most brilliant, would be nothing but intellect itself, a mere external

-phenomenon without inner value and never a creative force.

-Since true idealism, however, is essentially the subordination of the

-interests and life of the individual to the interests and life of the

-community, and since the community on its part represents the

-pre-requisite condition of every form of organization, this idealism

-accords in its innermost essence with the final purpose of Nature. This

-feeling alone makes men voluntarily acknowledge that strength and power

-are entitled to take the lead and thus makes them a constituent particle

-in that order out of which the whole universe is shaped and formed.

-Without being conscious of it, the purest idealism is always associated

-with the most profound knowledge. How true this is and how little

-genuine idealism has to do with fantastic self-dramatization will become

-clear the moment we ask an unspoilt child, a healthy boy for example, to

-give his opinion. The very same boy who listens to the rantings of an

-'idealistic' pacifist without understanding them, and even rejects them,

-would readily sacrifice his young life for the ideal of his people.

-Unconsciously his instinct will submit to the knowledge that the

-preservation of the species, even at the cost of the individual life, is

-a primal necessity and he will protest against the fantasies of pacifist

-ranters, who in reality are nothing better than cowardly egoists, even

-though camouflaged, who contradict the laws of human development. For it

-is a necessity of human evolution that the individual should be imbued

-with the spirit of sacrifice in favour of the common weal, and that he

-should not be influenced by the morbid notions of those knaves who

-pretend to know better than Nature and who have the impudencc to

-criticize her decrees.

-It is just at those junctures when the idealistic attitude threatens to

-disappear that we notice a weakening of this force which is a necessary

-constituent in the founding and maintenance of the community and is

-thereby a necessary condition of civilization. As soon as the spirit of

-egotism begins to prevail among a people then the bonds of the social

-order break and man, by seeking his own personal happiness, veritably

-tumbles out of heaven and falls into hell.

-Posterity will not remember those who pursued only their own individual

-interests, but it will praise those heroes who renounced their own

-happiness.

-The Jew offers the most striking contrast to the Aryan. There is

-probably no other people in the world who have so developed the instinct

-of self-preservation as the so-called 'chosen' people. The best proof of

-this statement is found in the simple fact that this race still exists.

-Where can another people be found that in the course of the last two

-thousand years has undergone so few changes in mental outlook and

-character as the Jewish people? And yet what other people has taken such

-a constant part in the great revolutions? But even after having passed

-through the most gigantic catastrophes that have overwhelmed mankind,

-the Jews remain the same as ever. What an infinitely tenacious

-will-to-live, to preserve one's kind, is demonstrated by that fact!

-The intellectual faculties of the Jew have been trained through

-thousands of years. To-day the Jew is looked upon as specially

-'cunning'; and in a certain sense he has been so throughout the ages.

-His intellectual powers, however, are not the result of an inner

-evolution but rather have been shaped by the object-lessons which the

-Jew has received from others. The human spirit cannot climb upwards

-without taking successive steps. For every step upwards it needs the

-foundation of what has been constructed before--the past--which in, the

-comprehensive sense here employed, can have been laid only in a general

-civilization. All thinking originates only to a very small degree in

-personal experience. The largest part is based on the accumulated

-experiences of the past. The general level of civilization provides the

-individual, who in most cases is not consciously aware of the fact, with

-such an abundance of preliminary knowledge that with this equipment he

-can more easily take further steps on the road of progress. The boy of

-to-day, for example, grows up among such an overwhelming mass of

-technical achievement which has accumulated during the last century that

-he takes as granted many things which a hundred years ago were still

-mysteries even to the greatest minds of those times. Yet these things

-that are not so much a matter of course are of enormous importance to

-those who would understand the progress we have made in these matters

-and would carry on that progress a step farther. If a man of genius

-belonging to the 'twenties of the last century were to arise from his

-grave to-day he would find it more difficult to understand our present

-age than the contemporary boy of fifteen years of age who may even have

-only an average intelligence. The man of genius, thus come back from the

-past, would need to provide himself with an extraordinary amount of

-preliminary information which our contemporary youth receive

-automatically, so to speak, during the time they are growing up among

-the products of our modern civilization.

-Since the Jew--for reasons that I shall deal with immediately--never had

-a civilization of his own, he has always been furnished by others with a

-basis for his: intellectual work. His intellect has always developed by

-the use of those cultural achievements which he has found ready-to-hand

-around him.

-The process has never been the reverse.

-For, though among the Jews the instinct of self-preservation has not

-been weaker but has been much stronger than among other peoples, and

-though the impression may easily be created that the intellectual powers

-of the Jew are at least equal to those of other races, the Jews

-completely lack the most essential pre-requisite of a cultural people,

-namely the idealistic spirit. With the Jewish people the readiness for

-sacrifice does not extend beyond the simple instinct of individual

-preservation. In their case the feeling of racial solidarity which they

-apparently manifest is nothing but a very primitive gregarious instinct,

-similar to that which may be found among other organisms in this world.

-It is a remarkable fact that this herd instinct brings individuals

-together for mutual protection only as long as there is a common danger

-which makes mutual assistance expedient or inevitable. The same pack of

-wolves which a moment ago joined together in a common attack on their

-victim will dissolve into individual wolves as soon as their hunger has

-been satisfied. This is also sure of horses, which unite to defend

-themselves against any aggressor but separate the moment the danger is

-over.

-It is much the same with the Jew. His spirit of sacrifice is only

-apparent. It manifests itself only so long as the existence of the

-individual makes this a matter of absolute necessity. But as soon as the

-common foe is conquered and the danger which threatened the individual

-Jews is overcome and the prey secured, then the apparent harmony

-disappears and the original conditions set in again. Jews act in concord

-only when a common danger threatens them or a common prey attracts them.

-Where these two motives no longer exist then the most brutal egotism

-appears and these people who before had lived together in unity will

-turn into a swarm of rats that bitterly fight against each other.

-If the Jews were the only people in the world they would be wallowing in

-filth and mire and would exploit one another and try to exterminate one

-another in a bitter struggle, except in so far as their utter lack of

-the ideal of sacrifice, which shows itself in their cowardly spirit,

-would prevent this struggle from developing.

-Therefore it would be a complete mistake to interpret the mutual help

-which the Jews render one another when they have to fight--or, to put it

-more accurately, to exploit--their fellow being, as the expression of a

-certain idealistic spirit of sacrifice.

-Here again the Jew merely follows the call of his individual egotism.

-That is why the Jewish State, which ought to be a vital organization to

-serve the purpose of preserving or increasing the race, has absolutely

-no territorial boundaries. For the territorial delimitation of a State

-always demands a certain idealism of spirit on the part of the race

-which forms that State and especially a proper acceptance of the idea of

-work. A State which is territorially delimited cannot be established or

-maintained unless the general attitude towards work be a positive one.

-If this attitude be lacking, then the necessary basis of a civilization

-is also lacking.

-That is why the Jewish people, despite the intellectual powers with

-which they are apparently endowed, have not a culture--certainly not a

-culture of their own. The culture which the Jew enjoys to-day is the

-product of the work of others and this product is debased in the hands

-of the Jew.

-In order to form a correct judgment of the place which the Jew holds in

-relation to the whole problem of human civilization, we must bear in

-mind the essential fact that there never has been any Jewish art and

-consequently that nothing of this kind exists to-day. We must realize

-that especially in those two royal domains of art, namely architecture

-and music, the Jew has done no original creative work. When the Jew

-comes to producing something in the field of art he merely bowdler-izes

-something already in existence or simply steals the intellectual word,

-of others. The Jew essentially lacks those qualities which are

-characteristic of those creative races that are the founders of

-civilization.

-To what extent the Jew appropriates the civilization built up by

-others--or rather corrupts it, to speak more accurately--is indicated by

-the fact that he cultivates chiefly the art which calls for the smallest

-amount of original invention, namely the dramatic art. And even here he

-is nothing better than a kind of juggler or, perhaps more correctly

-speaking, a kind of monkey imitator; for in this domain also he lacks

-the creative elan which is necessary for the production of all really

-great work. Even here, therefore, he is not a creative genius but rather

-a superficial imitator who, in spite of all his retouching and tricks,

-cannot disguise the fact that there is no inner vitality in the shape he

-gives his products. At this juncture the Jewish Press comes in and

-renders friendly assistance by shouting hosannas over the head of even

-the most ordinary bungler of a Jew, until the rest of the world is

-stampeded into thinking that the object of so much praise must really be

-an artist, whereas in reality he may be nothing more than a low-class

-mimic.

-No; the Jews have not the creative abilities which are necessary to the

-founding of a civilization; for in them there is not, and never has

-been, that spirit of idealism which is an absolutely necessary element

-in the higher development of mankind. Therefore the Jewish intellect

-will never be constructive but always destructive. At best it may serve

-as a stimulus in rare cases but only within the meaning of the poet's

-lines: 'THE POWER WHICH ALWAYS WILLS THE BAD, AND ALWAYS WORKS THE GOOD'

-(KRAFT, DIE STETS DAS B�SE WILL UND STETS DAS GUTE SCHAFFT). (Note 15) It

-is not through his help but in spite of his help that mankind makes any

-progress.

-[Note 15. When Mephistopheles first appears to Faust, in the latter's

-study, Faust inquires: "What is thy name?" To which Mephistopheles

-replies: "A part ofthe Power which always wills the Bad and always works

-the Good." And when Faust asks him what is meant by this riddle and why he

-should call himself'a part,' the gist of Mephistopheles' reply is that he

-is the Spirit of Negation and exists through opposition to the positive

-Truth and Order and Beauty which proceed from the never-ending creative

-energy of the Deity. In the Prologue to Faust the Lord declares that

-man's active nature would grow sluggishin working the good and that

-therefore he has to be aroused by the Spirit of Opposition. This Spirit

-wills the Bad, but of itself it can do nothing positive, and by its

-opposition always works the opposite of what it wills.]

-Since the Jew has never had a State which was based on territorial

-delimitations, and therefore never a civilization of his own, the idea

-arose that here we were dealing with a people who had to be considered

-as Nomads. That is a great and mischievous mistake. The true nomad does

-actually possess a definite delimited territory where he lives. It is

-merely that he does not cultivate it, as the settled farmer does, but

-that he lives on the products of his herds, with which he wanders over

-his domain. The natural reason for this mode of existence is to be found

-in the fact that the soil is not fertile and that it does not give the

-steady produce which makes a fixed abode possible. Outside of this

-natural cause, however, there is a more profound cause: namely, that no

-mechanical civilization is at hand to make up for the natural poverty of

-the region in question. There are territories where the Aryan can

-establish fixed settlements by means of the technical skill which he has

-developed in the course of more than a thousand years, even though these

-territories would otherwise have to be abandoned, unless the Aryan were

-willing to wander about them in nomadic fashion; but his technical

-tradition and his age-long experience of the use of technical means

-would probably make the nomadic life unbearable for him. We ought to

-remember that during the first period of American colonization numerous

-Aryans earned their daily livelihood as trappers and hunters, etc.,

-frequently wandering about in large groups with their women and

-children, their mode of existence very much resembling that of ordinary

-nomads. The moment, however, that they grew more numerous and were able

-to accumulate larger resources, they cleared the land and drove out the

-aborigines, at the same time establishing settlements which rapidly

-increased all over the country.

-The Aryan himself was probably at first a nomad and became a settler in

-the course of ages. But yet he was never of the Jewish kind. The Jew is

-not a nomad; for the nomad has already a definite attitude towards the

-concept of 'work', and this attitude served as the basis of a later

-cultural development, when the necessary intellectual conditions were at

-hand. There is a certain amount of idealism in the general attitude of

-the nomad, even though it be rather primitive. His whole character may,

-therefore, be foreign to Aryan feeling but it will never be repulsive.

-But not even the slightest trace of idealism exists in the Jewish

-character. The Jew has never been a nomad, but always a parasite,

-battening on the substance of others. If he occasionally abandoned

-regions where he had hitherto lived he did not do it voluntarily. He did

-it because from time to time he was driven out by people who were tired

-of having their hospitality abused by such guests. Jewish self-expansion

-is a parasitic phenomenon--since the Jew is always looking for new

-pastures for his race.

-But this has nothing to do with nomadic life as such; because the Jew

-does not ever think of leaving a territory which he has once occupied.

-He sticks where he is with such tenacity that he can hardly be driven

-out even by superior physical force. He expands into new territories

-only when certain conditions for his existence are provided therein; but

-even then--unlike the nomad--he will not change his former abode. He is

-and remains a parasite, a sponger who, like a pernicious bacillus,

-spreads over wider and wider areas according as some favourable area

-attracts him. The effect produced by his presence is also like that of

-the vampire; for wherever he establishes himself the people who grant

-him hospitality are bound to be bled to death sooner or later. Thus the

-Jew has at all times lived in States that have belonged to other races

-and within the organization of those States he had formed a State of his

-own, which is, however, hidden behind the mask of a 'religious

-community', as long as external circumstances do not make it advisable

-for this community to declare its true nature. As soon as the Jew feels

-himself sufficiently established in his position to be able to hold it

-without a disguise, he lifts the mask and suddenly appears in the

-character which so many did not formerly believe or wish to see: namely

-that of the Jew.

-The life which the Jew lives as a parasite thriving on the substance of

-other nations and States has resulted in developing that specific

-character which Schopenhauer once described when he spoke of the Jew as

-'The Great Master of Lies'. The kind of existence which he leads forces

-the Jew to the systematic use of falsehood, just as naturally as the

-inhabitants of northern climates are forced to wear warm clothes.

-He can live among other nations and States only as long as he succeeds

-in persuading them that the Jews are not a distinct people but the

-representatives of a religious faith who thus constitute a 'religious

-community', though this be of a peculiar character.

-As a matter of fact, however, this is the first of his great falsehoods.

-He is obliged to conceal his own particular character and mode of life

-that he may be allowed to continue his existence as a parasite among the

-nations. The greater the intelligence of the individual Jew, the better

-will he succeed in deceiving others. His success in this line may even

-go so far that the people who grant him hospitality may be led to

-believe that the Jew among them is a genuine Frenchman, for instance, or

-Englishman or German or Italian, who just happens to belong to a

-religious denomination which is different from that prevailing in these

-countries. Especially in circles concerned with the executive

-administration of the State, where the officials generally have only a

-minimum of historical sense, the Jew is able to impose his infamous

-deception with comparative ease. In these circles independent thinking

-is considered a sin against the sacred rules according to which official

-promotion takes place. It is therefore not surprising that even to-day

-in the Bavarian government offices, for example, there is not the

-slightest suspicion that the Jews form a distinct nation themselves and

-are not merely the adherents of a 'Confession', though one glance at the

-Press which belongs to the Jews ought to furnish sufficient evidence to

-the contrary even for those who possess only the smallest degree of

-intelligence. The JEWISH ECHO, however, is not an official gazette and

-therefore not authoritative in the eyes of those government potentates.

-Jewry has always been a nation of a definite racial character and never

-differentiated merely by the fact of belonging to a certain religion. At

-a very early date, urged on by the desire to make their way in the

-world, the Jews began to cast about for a means whereby they might

-distract such attention as might prove inconvenient for them. What could

-be more effective and at the same time more above suspicion than to

-borrow and utilize the idea of the religious community? Here also

-everything is copied, or rather stolen; for the Jew could not possess

-any religious institution which had developed out of his own

-consciousness, seeing that he lacks every kind of idealism; which means

-that belief in a life beyond this terrestrial existence is foreign to

-him. In the Aryan mind no religion can ever be imagined unless it

-embodies the conviction that life in some form or other will continue

-after death. As a matter of fact, the Talmud is not a book that lays

-down principles according to which the individual should prepare for the

-life to come. It only furnishes rules for a practical and convenient

-life in this world.

-The religious teaching of the Jews is principally a collection of

-instructions for maintaining the Jewish blood pure and for regulating

-intercourse between Jews and the rest of the world: that is to say,

-their relation with non-Jews. But the Jewish religious teaching is not

-concerned with moral problems. It is rather concerned with economic

-problems, and very petty ones at that. In regard to the moral value of

-the religious teaching of the Jews there exist and always have existed

-quite exhaustive studies (not from the Jewish side; for whatever the

-Jews have written on this question has naturally always been of a

-tendentious character) which show up the kind of religion that the Jews

-have in a light that makes it look very uncanny to the Aryan mind. The

-Jew himself is the best example of the kind of product which this

-religious training evolves. His life is of this world only and his

-mentality is as foreign to the true spirit of Christianity as his

-character was foreign to the great Founder of this new creed two

-thousand years ago. And the Founder of Christianity made no secret

-indeed of His estimation of the Jewish people. When He found it

-necessary He drove those enemies of the human race out of the Temple of

-God; because then, as always, they used religion as a means of advancing

-their commercial interests. But at that time Christ was nailed to the

-Cross for his attitude towards the Jews; whereas our modern Christians

-enter into party politics and when elections are being held they debase

-themselves to beg for Jewish votes. They even enter into political

-intrigues with the atheistic Jewish parties against the interests of

-their own Christian nation.

-On this first and fundamental lie, the purpose of which is to make

-people believe that Jewry is not a nation but a religion, other lies are

-subsequently based. One of those further lies, for example, is in

-connection with the language spoken by the Jew. For him language is not

-an instrument for the expression of his inner thoughts but rather a

-means of cloaking them. When talking French his thoughts are Jewish and

-when writing German rhymes he only gives expression to the character of

-his own race.

-As long as the Jew has not succeeded in mastering other peoples he is

-forced to speak their language whether he likes it or not. But the

-moment that the world would become the slave of the Jew it would have to

-learn some other language (Esperanto, for example) so that by this means

-the Jew could dominate all the more easily.

-How much the whole existence of this people is based on a permanent

-falsehood is proved in a unique way by 'The Protocols of the Elders of

-Zion', which are so violently repudiated by the Jews. With groans and

-moans, the FRANKFURTER ZEITUNG repeats again and again that these are

-forgeries. This alone is evidence in favour of their authenticity. What

-many Jews unconsciously wish to do is here clearly set forth. It is not

-necessary to ask out of what Jewish brain these revelations sprang; but

-what is of vital interest is that they disclose, with an almost

-terrifying precision, the mentality and methods of action characteristic

-of the Jewish people and these writings expound in all their various

-directions the final aims towards which the Jews are striving. The study

-of real happenings, however, is the best way of judging the authenticity

-of those documents. If the historical developments which have taken

-place within the last few centuries be studied in the light of this book

-we shall understand why the Jewish Press incessantly repudiates and

-denounces it. For the Jewish peril will be stamped out the moment the

-general public come into possession of that book and understand it.

-In order to get to know the Jew properly it is necessary to study the

-road which he has been following among the other peoples during the last

-few centuries. One example will suffice to give a clear insight here.

-Since his career has been the same at all epochs--just as the people at

-whose expense he has lived have remained the same--for the purposes of

-making the requisite analysis it will be best to mark his progress by

-stages. For the sake of simplicity we shall indicate these stages by

-letters of the alphabet.

-The first Jews came into what was then called Germania during the period

-of the Roman invasion; and, as usual, they came as merchants. During the

-turmoil caused by the great migrations of the German tribes the Jews

-seem to have disappeared. We may therefore consider the period when the

-Germans formed the first political communities as the beginning of that

-process whereby Central and Northern Europe was again, and this time

-permanently, Judaized. A development began which has always been the

-same or similar wherever and whenever Jews came into contact with Aryan

-peoples.

-(a) As soon as the first permanent settlements had been established the

-Jew was suddenly 'there'. He arrived as a merchant and in the beginning

-did not trouble to disguise his nationality. He still remained openly a

-Jew, partly it may be because he knew too little of the language. It may

-also be that people of other races refused to mix with him, so that he

-could not very well adopt any other appearance than that of a foreign

-merchant. Because of his subtlety and cunning and the lack of experience

-on the part of the people whose guest he became, it was not to his

-disadvantage openly to retain his Jewish character. This may even have

-been advantageous to him; for the foreigner was received kindly.

-(b) Slowly but steadily he began to take part in the economic life

-around him; not as a producer, however, but only as a middleman. His

-commercial cunning, acquired through thousands of years of negotiation

-as an intermediary, made him superior in this field to the Aryans, who

-were still quite ingenuous and indeed clumsy and whose honesty was

-unlimited; so that after a short while commerce seemed destined to

-become a Jewish monopoly. The Jew began by lending out money at usurious

-interest, which is a permanent trade of his. It was he who first

-introduced the payment of interest on borrowed money. The danger which

-this innovation involved was not at first recognized; indeed the

-innovation was welcomed, because it offered momentary advantages.

-(c) At this stage the Jew had become firmly settled down; that is to

-say, he inhabited special sections of the cities and towns and had his

-own quarter in the market-places. Thus he gradually came to form a State

-within a State. He came to look upon the commercial domain and all money

-transactions as a privilege belonging exclusively to himself and he

-exploited it ruthlessly.

-(d) At this stage finance and trade had become his complete monopoly.

-Finally, his usurious rate of interest aroused opposition and the

-increasing impudence which the Jew began to manifest all round stirred

-up popular indignation, while his display of wealth gave rise to popular

-envy. The cup of his iniquity became full to the brim when he included

-landed property among his commercial wares and degraded the soil to the

-level of a market commodity. Since he himself never cultivated the soil

-but considered it as an object to be exploited, on which the peasant may

-still remain but only on condition that he submits to the most heartless

-exactions of his new master, public antipathy against the Jew steadily

-increased and finally turned into open animosity. His extortionate

-tyranny became so unbearable that people rebelled against his control

-and used physical violence against him. They began to scrutinize this

-foreigner somewhat more closely, and then began to discover the

-repulsive traits and characteristics inherent in him, until finally an

-abyss opened between the Jews and their hosts, across which abyss there

-could be no further contact.

-In times of distress a wave of public anger has usually arisen against

-the Jew; the masses have taken the law into their own hands; they have

-seized Jewish property and ruined the Jew in their urge to protect

-themselves against what they consider to be a scourge of God. Having

-come to know the Jew intimately through the course of centuries, in

-times of distress they looked upon his presence among them as a public

-danger comparable only to the plague.

-(e) But then the Jew began to reveal his true character. He paid court

-to governments, with servile flattery, used his money to ingratiate

-himself further and thus regularly secured for himself once again the

-privilege of exploiting his victim. Although public wrath flared up

-against this eternal profiteer and drove him out, after a few years he

-reappeared in those same places and carried on as before. No persecution

-could force him to give up his trade of exploiting other people and no

-amount of harrying succeeded in driving him out permanently. He always

-returned after a short time and it was always the old story with him.

-In an effort to save at least the worst from happening, legislation was

-passed which debarred the Jew from obtaining possession of the land.

-(f) In proportion as the powers of kings and princes increased, the Jew

-sidled up to them. He begged for 'charters' and 'privileges' which those

-gentlemen, who were generally in financial straits, gladly granted if

-they received adequate payment in return. However high the price he has

-to pay, the Jew will succeed in getting it back within a few years from

-operating the privilege he has acquired, even with interest and compound

-interest. He is a real leech who clings to the body of his unfortunate

-victims and cannot be removed; so that when the princes found themselves

-in need once again they took the blood from his swollen veins with their

-own hands.

-This game was repeated unendingly. In the case of those who were called

-'German Princes', the part they played was quite as contemptible as that

-played by the Jew. They were a real scourge for their people. Their

-compeers may be found in some of the government ministers of our time.

-It was due to the German princes that the German nation could not

-succeed in definitely freeing itself from the Jewish peril.

-Unfortunately the situation did not change at a later period. The

-princes finally received the reward which they had a thousand-fold

-deserved for all the crimes committed by them against their own people.

-They had allied themselves with Satan and later on they discovered that

-they were in Satan's embrace.

-(g) By permitting themselves to be entangled in the toils of the Jew,

-the princes prepared their own downfall. The position which they held

-among their people was slowly but steadily undermined not only by their

-continued failure to guard the interests of their subjects but by the

-positive exploitation of them. The Jew calculated exactly the time when

-the downfall of the princes was approaching and did his best to hasten

-it. He intensified their financial difficulties by hindering them in the

-exercise of their duty towards their people, by inveigling them through

-the most servile flatteries into further personal display, whereby he

-made himself more and more indispensable to them. His astuteness, or

-rather his utter unscrupulousness, in money affairs enabled him to exact

-new income from the princes, to squeeze the money out of them and then

-have it spent as quickly as possible. Every Court had its 'Court Jews',

-as this plague was called, who tortured the innocent victims until they

-were driven to despair; while at the same time this Jew provided the

-means which the princes squandered on their own pleasures. It is not to

-be wondered at that these ornaments of the human race became the

-recipients of official honours and even were admitted into the ranks of

-the hereditary nobility, thus contributing not only to expose that

-social institution to ridicule but also to contaminate it from the

-inside.

-Naturally the Jew could now exploit the position to which he had

-attained and push himself forward even more rapidly than before. Finally

-he became baptized and thus entitled to all the rights and privileges

-which belonged to the children of the nation on which he preyed. This

-was a high-class stroke of business for him, and he often availed

-himself of it, to the great joy of the Church, which was proud of having

-gained a new child in the Faith, and also to the joy of Israel, which

-was happy at seeing the trick pulled off successfully.

-(h) At this stage a transformation began to take place in the world of

-Jewry. Up to now they had been Jews--that is to say, they did not

-hitherto set any great value on pretending to be something else; and

-anyhow the distinctive characteristics which separated them from other

-races could not be easily overcome. Even as late as the time of

-Frederick the Great nobody looked upon the Jews as other than a

-'foreign' people, and Goethe rose up in revolt against the failure

-legally to prohibit marriage between Christians and Jews. Goethe was

-certainly no reactionary and no time-server. What he said came from the

-voice of the blood and the voice of reason. Notwithstanding the

-disgraceful happenings taking place in Court circles, the people

-recognized instinctively that the Jew was the foreign body in their own

-flesh and their attitude towards him was directed by recognition of that

-fact.

-But a change was now destined to take place. In the course of more than

-a thousand years the Jew had learned to master the language of his hosts

-so thoroughly that he considered he might now lay stress on his Jewish

-character and emphasize the 'Germanism' a bit more. Though it must have

-appeared ridiculous and absurd at first sight, he was impudent enough to

-call himself a 'Teuton', which in this case meant a German. In that way

-began one of the most infamous impositions that can be imagined. The Jew

-did not possess the slightest traces of the German character. He had

-only acquired the art of twisting the German language to his own uses,

-and that in a disgusting way, without having assimilated any other

-feature of the German character. Therefore his command of the language

-was the sole ground on which he could pretend to be a German. It is not

-however by the tie of language, but exclusively by the tie of blood that

-the members of a race are bound together. And the Jew himself knows this

-better than any other, seeing that he attaches so little importance to

-the preservation of his own language while at the same time he strives

-his utmost to maintain his blood free from intermixture with that of

-other races. A man may acquire and use a new language without much

-trouble; but it is only his old ideas that he expresses through the new

-language. His inner nature is not modified thereby. The best proof of

-this is furnished by the Jew himself. He may speak a thousand tongues

-and yet his Jewish nature will remain always one and the same. His

-distinguishing characteristics were the same when he spoke the Latin

-language at Ostia two thousand years ago as a merchant in grain, as they

-are to-day when he tries to sell adulterated flour with the aid of his

-German gibberish. He is always the same Jew. That so obvious a fact is

-not recognized by the average head-clerk in a German government

-department, or by an officer in the police administration, is also a

-self-evident and natural fact; since it would be difficult to find

-another class of people who are so lacking in instinct and intelligence

-as the civil servants employed by our modern German State authorities.

-The reason why, at the stage I am dealing with, the Jew so suddenly

-decided to transform himself into a German is not difficult to discover.

-He felt the power of the princes slowly crumbling and therefore looked

-about to find a new social plank on which he might stand. Furthermore,

-his financial domination over all the spheres of economic life had

-become so powerful that he felt he could no longer sustain that enormous

-structure or add to it unless he were admitted to the full enjoyment of

-the 'rights of citizenship.' He aimed at both, preservation and

-expansion; for the higher he could climb the more alluring became the

-prospect of reaching the old goal, which was promised to him in ancient

-times, namely world-rulership, and which he now looked forward to with

-feverish eyes, as he thought he saw it visibly approaching. Therefore

-all his efforts were now directed to becoming a fully-fledged citizen,

-endowed with all civil and political rights.

-That was the reason for his emancipation from the Ghetto.

-(i) And thus the Court Jew slowly developed into the national Jew. But

-naturally he still remained associated with persons in higher quarters

-and he even attempted to push his way further into the inner circles of

-the ruling set. But at the same time some other representatives of his

-race were currying favour with the people. If we remember the crimes the

-Jew had committed against the masses of the people in the course of so

-many centuries, how repeatedly and ruthlessly he exploited them and how

-he sucked out even the very marrow of their substance, and when we

-further remember how they gradually came to hate him and finally

-considered him as a public scourge--then we may well understand how

-difficult the Jew must have found this final transformation. Yes,

-indeed, it must tax all their powers to be able to present themselves as

-'friends of humanity' to the poor victims whom they have skinned raw.

-Therefore the Jew began by making public amends for the crimes which he

-had committed against the people in the past. He started his

-metamorphosis by first appearing as the 'benefactor' of humanity. Since

-his new philanthropic policy had a very concrete aim in view, he could

-not very well apply to himself the biblical counsel, not to allow the

-left hand to know what the right hand is giving. He felt obliged to let

-as many people as possible know how deeply the sufferings of the masses

-grieved him and to what excesses of personal sacrifice he was ready to

-go in order to help them. With this manifestation of innate modesty, so

-typical of the Jew, he trumpeted his virtues before the world until

-finally the world actually began to believe him. Those who refused to

-share this belief were considered to be doing him an injustice. Thus

-after a little while he began to twist things around, so as to make it

-appear that it was he who had always been wronged, and vice versa. There

-were really some particularly foolish people who could not help pitying

-this poor unfortunate creature of a Jew.

-Attention may be called to the fact that, in spite of his proclaimed

-readiness to make personal sacrifices, the Jew never becomes poor

-thereby. He has a happy knack of always making both ends meet.

-Occasionally his benevolence might be compared to the manure which is

-not spread over the field merely for the purpose of getting rid of it,

-but rather with a view to future produce. Anyhow, after a comparatively

-short period of time, the world was given to know that the Jew had

-become a general benefactor and philanthropist. What a transformation!

-What is looked upon as more or less natural when done by other people

-here became an object of astonishment, and even sometimes of admiration,

-because it was considered so unusual in a Jew. That is why he has

-received more credit for his acts of benevolence than ordinary mortals.

-And something more: The Jew became liberal all of a sudden and began to

-talk enthusiastically of how human progress must be encouraged.

-Gradually he assumed the air of being the herald of a new age.

-Yet at the same time he continued to undermine the ground-work of that

-part of the economic system in which the people have the most practical

-interest. He bought up stock in the various national undertakings and

-thus pushed his influence into the circuit of national production,

-making this latter an object of buying and selling on the stock

-exchange, or rather what might be called the pawn in a financial game of

-chess, and thus ruining the basis on which personal proprietorship alone

-is possible. Only with the entrance of the Jew did that feeling of

-estrangement, between employers and employees begin which led at a later

-date to the political class-struggle.

-Finally the Jew gained an increasing influence in all economic

-undertakings by means of his predominance in the stock-exchange. If not

-the ownership, at least he secured control of the working power of the

-nation.

-In order to strengthen his political position, he directed his efforts

-towards removing the barrier of racial and civic discrimination which

-had hitherto hindered his advance at every turn. With characteristic

-tenacity he championed the cause of religious tolerance for this

-purpose; and in the freemason organization, which had fallen completely

-into his hands, he found a magnificent weapon which helped him to

-achieve his ends. Government circles, as well as the higher sections of

-the political and commercial bourgeoisie, fell a prey to his plans

-through his manipulation of the masonic net, though they themselves did

-not even suspect what was happening.

-Only the people as such, or rather the masses which were just becoming

-conscious of their own power and were beginning to use it in the fight

-for their rights and liberties, had hitherto escaped the grip of the

-Jew. At least his influence had not yet penetrated to the deeper and

-wider sections of the people. This was unsatisfactory to him. The most

-important phase of his policy was therefore to secure control over the

-people. The Jew realized that in his efforts to reach the position of

-public despot he would need a 'peace-maker.' And he thought he could

-find a peace-maker if he could whip-in sufficient extensive sections of

-the bourgeois. But the freemasons failed to catch the

-glove-manufacturers and the linen-weavers in the frail meshes of their

-net. And so it became necessary to find a grosser and withal a more

-effective means. Thus another weapon beside that of freemasonry would

-have to be secured. This was the Press. The Jew exercised all his skill

-and tenacity in getting hold of it. By means of the Press he began

-gradually to control public life in its entirety. He began to drive it

-along the road which he had chosen to reach his own ends; for he was now

-in a position to create and direct that force which, under the name of

-'public opinion' is better known to-day than it was some decades ago.

-Simultaneously the Jew gave himself the air of thirsting after

-knowledge. He lauded every phase of progress, particularly those phases

-which led to the ruin of others; for he judges all progress and

-development from the standpoint of the advantages which these bring to

-his own people. When it brings him no such advantages he is the deadly

-enemy of enlightenment and hates all culture which is real culture as

-such. All the knowledge which he acquires in the schools of others is

-exploited by him exclusively in the service of his own race.

-Even more watchfully than ever before, he now stood guard over his

-Jewish nationality. Though bubbling over with 'enlightenment',

-'progress', 'liberty', 'humanity', etc., his first care was to preserve

-the racial integrity of his own people. He occasionally bestowed one of

-his female members on an influential Christian; but the racial stock of

-his male descendants was always preserved unmixed fundamentally. He

-poisons the blood of others but preserves his own blood unadulterated.

-The Jew scarcely ever marries a Christian girl, but the Christian takes

-a Jewess to wife. The mongrels that are a result of this latter union

-always declare themselves on the Jewish side. Thus a part of the higher

-nobility in particular became completely degenerate. The Jew was well

-aware of this fact and systematically used this means of disarming the

-intellectual leaders of the opposite race. To mask his tactics and fool

-his victims, he talks of the equality of all men, no matter what their

-race or colour may be. And the simpletons begin to believe him.

-Since his whole nature still retains too foreign an odour for the broad

-masses of the people to allow themselves to be caught in his snare, he

-uses the Press to put before the public a picture of himself which is

-entirely untrue to life but well designed to serve his purpose. In the

-comic papers special efforts are made to represent the Jews as an

-inoffensive little race which, like all others, has its peculiarities.

-In spite of their manners, which may seem a bit strange, the comic

-papers present the Jews as fundamentally good-hearted and honourable.

-Attempts are generally made to make them appear insignificant rather

-than dangerous.

-During this phase of his progress the chief goal of the Jew was the

-victory of democracy, or rather the supreme hegemony of the

-parliamentary system, which embodies his concept of democracy. This

-institution harmonises best with his purposes; for thus the personal

-element is eliminated and in its place we have the dunder-headed

-majority, inefficiency and, last but by no means least, knavery.

-The final result must necessarily have been the overthrow of the

-monarchy, which had to happen sooner or later.

-(j) A tremendous economic development transformed the social structure

-of the nation. The small artisan class slowly disappeared and the

-factory worker, who took its place, had scarcely any chance of

-establishing an independent existence of his own but sank more and more

-to the level of a proletariat. An essential characteristic of the

-factory worker is that he is scarcely ever able to provide for an

-independent source of livelihood which will support him in later life.

-In the true sense of the word, he is 'disinherited'. His old age is a

-misery to him and can hardly be called life at all.

-In earlier times a similar situation had been created, which had

-imperatively demanded a solution and for which a solution was found.

-Side by side with the peasant and the artisan, a new class was gradually

-developed, namely that of officials and employees, especially those

-employed in the various services of the State. They also were a

-'disinherited' class, in the true sense of the word. But the State found

-a remedy for this unhealthy situation by taking upon itself the duty of

-providing for the State official who could establish nothing that would

-be an independent means of livelihood for himself in his old age. Thus

-the system of pensions and retiring allowances was introduced. Private

-enterprises slowly followed this example in increasing numbers; so that

-to-day every permanent non-manual worker receives a pension in his later

-years, if the firm which he has served is one that has reached or gone

-beyond a certain size. It was only by virtue of the assurance given of

-State officials, that they would be cared for in their old age. that

-such a high degree of unselfish devotion to duty was developed, which in

-pre-war times was one of the distinguising characteristics of German

-officials.

-Thus a whole class which had no personal property was saved from

-destitution by an intelligent system of provision, and found a place in

-the social structure of the national community.

-The problem is now put before the State and nation, but this time in a

-much larger form. When the new industries sprang up and developed,

-millions of people left the countryside and the villages to take up

-employment in the big factories. The conditions under which this new

-class found itself forced to live were worse than miserable. The more or

-less mechanical transformation of the methods of work hitherto in vogue

-among the artisans and peasants did not fit in well with the habits or

-mentality of this new working-class. The way in which the peasants and

-artisans had formerly worked had nothing comparable to the intensive

-labour of the new factory worker. In the old trades time did not play a

-highly important role, but it became an essential element in the new

-industrial system. The formal taking over of the old working hours into

-the mammoth industrial enterprises had fatal results. The actual amount

-of work hitherto accomplished within a certain time was comparatively

-small, because the modern methods of intensive production were then

-unknown. Therefore, though in the older system a working day of fourteen

-or even fifteen hours was not unendurable, now it was beyond the

-possibilities of human endurance because in the new system every minute

-was utilized to the extreme. This absurd transference of the old working

-hours to the new industrial system proved fatal in two directions.

-First, it ruined the health of the workers; secondly, it destroyed their

-faith in a superior law of justice. Finally, on the one hand a miserable

-wage was received and, on the other, the employer held a much more

-lucrative position than before. Hence a striking difference between the

-ways of life on the one side and on the other.

-In the open country there could be no social problem, because the master

-and the farm-hand were doing the same kind of work and doing it

-together. They ate their food in common, and sometimes even out of the

-same dish. But in this sphere also the new system introduced an entirely

-different set of conditions between masters and men.

-The division created between employer and employees seems not to have

-extended to all branches of life. How far this Judaizing process has

-been allowed to take effect among our people is illustrated by the fact

-that manual labour not only receives practically no recognition but is

-even considered degrading. That is not a natural German attitude. It is

-due to the introduction of a foreign element into our lives, and that

-foreign element is the Jewish spirit, one of the effects of which has

-been to transform the high esteem in which our handicrafts once were

-held into a definite feeling that all physical labour is something base

-and unworthy.

-Thus a new social class has grown up which stands in low esteem; and the

-day must come when we shall have to face the question of whether the

-nation will be able to make this class an integral part of the social

-community or whether the difference of status now existing will become a

-permanent gulf separating this class from the others.

-One thing, however, is certain: This class does not include the worst

-elements of the community in its ranks. Rather the contrary is the

-truth: it includes the most energetic parts of the nation. The

-sophistication which is the result of a so-called civilization has not

-yet exercised its disintegrating and degenerating influence on this

-class. The broad masses of this new lower class, constituted by the

-manual labourers, have not yet fallen a prey to the morbid weakness of

-pacifism. These are still robust and, if necessary, they can be brutal.

-While our bourgeoisie middle class paid no attention at all to this

-momentous problem and indifferently allowed events to take their course,

-the Jew seized upon the manifold possibilities which the situation

-offered him for the future. While on the one hand he organized

-capitalistic methods of exploitation to their ultimate degree of

-efficiency, he curried favour with the victims of his policy and his

-power and in a short while became the leader of their struggle against

-himself. 'Against himself' is here only a figurative way of speaking;

-for this 'Great Master of Lies' knows how to appear in the guise of the

-innocent and throw the guilt on others. Since he had the impudence to

-take a personal lead among the masses, they never for a moment suspected

-that they were falling a prey to one of the most infamous deceits ever

-practised. And yet that is what it actually was.

-The moment this new class had arisen out of the general economic

-situation and taken shape as a definite body in the social order, the

-Jew saw clearly where he would find the necessary pacemaker for his own

-progressive march. At first he had used the bourgeois class as a

-battering-ram against the feudal order; and now he used the worker

-against the bourgeois world. Just as he succeeded in obtaining civic

-rights by intrigues carried on under the protection of the bourgeois

-class, he now hoped that by joining in the struggle which the workers

-were waging for their own existence he would be able to obtain full

-control over them.

-When that moment arrives, then the only objective the workers will have

-to fight for will be the future of the Jewish people. Without knowing

-it, the worker is placing himself at the service of the very power

-against which he believes he is fighting. Apparently he is made to fight

-against capital and thus he is all the more easily brought to fight for

-capitalist interests. Outcries are systematically raised against

-international capital but in reality it is against the structure of

-national economics that these slogans are directed. The idea is to

-demolish this structure and on its ruins triumphantly erect the

-structure of the International Stock Exchange.

-In this line of action the procedure of the Jew was as follows:

-He kowtowed to the worker, hypocritically pretended to feel pity for him

-and his lot, and even to be indignant at the misery and poverty which

-the worker had to endure. That is the way in which the Jew endeavoured

-to gain the confidence of the working class. He showed himself eager to

-study their various hardships, whether real or imaginary, and strove to

-awaken a yearning on the part of the workers to change the conditions

-under which they lived. The Jew artfully enkindled that innate yearning

-for social justice which is a typical Aryan characteristic. Once that

-yearning became alive it was transformed into hatred against those in

-more fortunate circumstances of life. The next stage was to give a

-precise philosophical aspect to the struggle for the elimination of

-social wrongs. And thus the Marxist doctrine was invented.

-By presenting his doctrine as part and parcel of a just revindication of

-social rights, the Jew propagated the doctrine all the more effectively.

-But at the same time he provoked the opposition of decent people who

-refused to admit these demands which, because of the form and

-pseudo-philosophical trimmings in which they are presented, seemed

-fundamentally unjust and impossible for realization. For, under the

-cloak of purely social concepts there are hidden aims which are of a

-Satanic character. These aims are even expounded in the open with the

-clarity of unlimited impudence. This Marxist doctrine is an individual

-mixture of human reason and human absurdity; but the combination is

-arranged in such a way that only the absurd part of it could ever be put

-into practice, but never the reasonable part of it. By categorically

-repudiating the personal worth of the individual and also the nation and

-its racial constituent, this doctrine destroys the fundamental basis of

-all civilization; for civilization essentially depends on these very

-factors. Such is the true essence of the Marxist WELTANSCHAUUNG, so far

-as the word WELTANSCHAUUNG can be applied at all to this phantom

-arising from a criminal brain. The destruction of the concept of

-personality and of race removes the chief obstacle which barred the way

-to domination of the social body by its inferior elements, which are the

-Jews.

-The very absurdity of the economic and political theories of Marxism

-gives the doctrine its peculiar significance. Because of its

-pseudo-logic, intelligent people refuse to support it, while all those

-who are less accustomed to use their intellectual faculties, or who have

-only a rudimentary notion of economic principles, join the Marxist cause

-with flying banners. The intelligence behind the movement--for even this

-movement needs intelligence if it is to subsist--is supplied by the Jews

-themselves, naturally of course as a gratuitous service which is at the

-same time a sacrifice on their part.

-Thus arose a movement which was composed exclusively of manual workers

-under the leadership of Jews. To all external appearances, this movement

-strives to ameliorate the conditions under which the workers live; but

-in reality its aim is to enslave and thereby annihilate the non-Jewish

-races.

-The propaganda which the freemasons had carried on among the so-called

-intelligentsia, whereby their pacifist teaching paralysed the instinct

-for national self-preservation, was now extended to the broad masses of

-the workers and bourgeoisie by means of the Press, which was almost

-everywhere in Jewish hands. To those two instruments of disintegration a

-third and still more ruthless one was added, namely, the organization of

-brute physical force among the masses. As massed columns of attacks, the

-Marxist troops stormed those parts of the social order which had been

-left standing after the two former undermining operations had done their

-work.

-The combined activity of all these forces has been marvellously managed.

-And it will not be surprising if it turns out that those institutions

-which have always appeared as the organs of the more or less traditional

-authority of the State should now fall before the Marxist attack. Among

-our higher and highest State officials, with very few exceptions, the

-Jew has found the cost complacent backers in his work of destruction. An

-attitude of sneaking servility towards 'superiors' and supercilious

-arrogance towards 'inferiors' are the characteristics of this class of

-people, as well as a grade of stupidity which is really frightening and

-at the same time a towering self-conceit, which has been so consistently

-developed to make it amusing.

-But these qualities are of the greatest utility to the Jew in his

-dealings with our authorities. Therefore they are qualities which he

-appreciates most in the officials.

-If I were to sketch roughly the actual struggle which is now beginning I

-should describe it somewhat thus:

-Not satisfied with the economic conquest of the world, but also

-demanding that it must come under his political control, the Jew

-subdivides the organized Marxist power into two parts, which correspond

-to the ultimate objectives that are to be fought for in this struggle

-which is carried on under the direction of the Jew. To outward

-appearance, these seem to be two independent movements, but in reality

-they constitute an indivisible unity. The two divisions are: The

-political movement and the trades union movement.

-The trades union movement has to gather in the recruits. It offers

-assistance and protection to the workers in the hard struggle which they

-have to wage for the bare means of existence, a struggle which has been

-occasioned by the greediness and narrow-mindedness of many of the

-industrialists. Unless the workers be ready to surrender all claims to

-an existence which the dignity of human nature itself demands, and

-unless they are ready to submit their fate to the will of employers who

-in many cases have no sense of human responsibilities and are utterly

-callous to human wants, then the worker must necessarily take matters

-into his own hands, seeing that the organized social community--that is

-to say, the State--pays no attention to his needs.

-The so-called national-minded bourgeoisie, blinded by its own material

-interests, opposes this life-or-death struggle of the workers and places

-the most difficult obstacles in their way. Not only does this

-bourgeoisie hinder all efforts to enact legislation which would shorten

-the inhumanly long hours of work, prohibit child-labour, grant security

-and protection to women and improve the hygienic conditions of the

-workshops and the dwellings of the working-class, but while the

-bourgeoisie hinders all this the shrewd Jew takes the cause of the

-oppressed into his own hands. He gradually becomes the leader of the

-trades union movements, which is an easy task for him, because he does

-not genuinely intend to find remedies for the social wrong: he pursues

-only one objective, namely, to gather and consolidate a body of

-followers who will act under his commands as an armed weapon in the

-economic war for the destruction of national economic independence. For,

-while a sound social policy has to move between the two poles of

-securing a decent level of public health and welfare on the one hand

-and, on the other, that of safeguarding the independence of the economic

-life of the nation, the Jew does not take these poles into account at

-all. The destruction of both is one of his main objects. He would ruin,

-rather than safeguard, the independence of the national economic system.

-Therefore, as the leader of the trades union movement, he has no

-scruples about putting forward demands which not only go beyond the

-declared purpose of the movement but could not be carried into effect

-without ruining the national economic structure. On the other hand, he

-has no interest in seeing a healthy and sturdy population develop; he

-would be more content to see the people degenerate into an unthinking

-herd which could be reduced to total subjection. Because these are his

-final objectives, he can afford to put forward the most absurd claims.

-He knows very well that these claims can never be realized and that

-therefore nothing in the actual state of affairs could be altered by

-them, but that the most they can do is to arouse the spirit of unrest

-among the masses. That is exactly the purpose which he wishes such

-propaganda to serve and not a real and honest improvement of the social

-conditions.

-The Jews will therefore remain the unquestioned leaders of the trades

-union movement so long as a campaign is not undertaken, which must be

-carried out on gigantic lines, for the enlightenment of the masses; so

-that they will be enabled better to understand the causes of their

-misery. Or the same end might be achieved if the government authorities

-would get rid of the Jew and his work. For as long as the masses remain

-so ill-informed as they actually are to-day, and as long as the State

-remains as indifferent to their lot as it now is, the masses will follow

-whatever leader makes them the most extravagant promises in regard to

-economic matters. The Jew is a past master at this art and his

-activities are not hampered by moral considerations of any kind.

-Naturally it takes him only a short time to defeat all his competitors

-in this field and drive them from the scene of action. In accordance

-with the general brutality and rapacity of his nature, he turns the

-trades union movement into an organization for the exercise of physical

-violence. The resistance of those whose common sense has hitherto saved

-them from surrendering to the Jewish dictatorship is now broken down by

-terrorization. The success of that kind of activity is enormous.

-Parallel with this, the political organization advances. It operates

-hand-in-hand with the trades union movement, inasmuch as the latter

-prepares the masses for the political organization and even forces them

-into it. This is also the source that provides the money which the

-political organization needs to keep its enormous apparatus in action.

-The trades union organization is the organ of control for the political

-activity of its members and whips in the masses for all great political

-demonstrations. In the end it ceases to struggle for economic interests

-but places its chief weapon, the refusal to continue work--which takes

-the form of a general strike--at the disposal of the political movement.

-By means of a Press whose contents are adapted to the level of the most

-ignorant readers, the political and trades union organizations are

-provided with an instrument which prepares the lowest stratum of the

-nation for a campaign of ruthless destruction. It is not considered part

-of the purpose of this Press to inspire its readers with ideals which

-might help them to lift their minds above the sordid conditions of their

-daily lives; but, on the contrary, it panders to their lowest instincts.

-Among the lazy-minded and self-seeking sections of the masses this kind

-of speculation turns out lucrative.

-It is this Press above all which carries on a fanatical campaign of

-calumny, strives to tear down everything that might be considered as a

-mainstay of national independence and to sabotage all cultural values as

-well as to destroy the autonomy of the national economic system.

-It aims its attack especially against all men of character who refuse to

-fall into line with the Jewish efforts to obtain control over the State

-or who appear dangerous to the Jews merely because of their superior

-intelligence. For in order to incur the enmity of the Jew it is not

-necessary to show any open hostility towards him. It is quite sufficient

-if one be considered capable of opposing the Jew some time in the future

-or using his abilities and character to enhance the power and position

-of a nation which the Jew finds hostile to himself.

-The Jewish instinct, which never fails where these problems have to be

-dealt with, readily discerns the true mentality of those whom the Jew

-meets in everyday life; and those who are not of a kindred spirit with

-him may be sure of being listed among his enemies. Since the Jew is not

-the object of aggression but the aggressor himself, he considers as his

-enemies not only those who attack him but also those who may be capable

-of resisting him. The means which he employs to break people of this

-kind, who may show themselves decent and upright, are not the open means

-generally used in honourable conflict, but falsehood and calumny.

-He will stop at nothing. His utterly low-down conduct is so appalling

-that one really cannot be surprised if in the imagination of our people

-the Jew is pictured as the incarnation of Satan and the symbol of evil.

-The ignorance of the broad masses as regards the inner character of the

-Jew, and the lack of instinct and insight that our upper classes

-display, are some of the reasons which explain how it is that so many

-people fall an easy prey to the systematic campaign of falsehood which

-the Jew carries on.

-While the upper classes, with their innate cowardliness, turn away from

-anyone whom the Jew thus attacks with lies and calumny, the common

-people are credulous of everything, whether because of their ignorance

-or their simple-mindedness. Government authorities wrap themselves up in

-a robe of silence, but more frequently they persecute the victims of

-Jewish attacks in order to stop the campaign in the Jewish Press. To the

-fatuous mind of the government official such a line of conduct appears

-to belong to the policy of upholding the authority of the State and

-preserving public order. Gradually the Marxist weapon in the hands of

-the Jew becomes a constant bogy to decent people. Sometimes the fear of

-it sticks in the brain or weighs upon them as a kind of nightmare.

-People begin to quail before this fearful foe and therewith become his

-victims.

-(k) The Jewish domination in the State seems now so fully assured that

-not only can he now afford to call himself a Jew once again, but he even

-acknowledges freely and openly what his ideas are on racial and

-political questions. A section of the Jews avows itself quite openly as

-an alien people, but even here there is another falsehood. When the

-Zionists try to make the rest of the world believe that the new national

-consciousness of the Jews will be satisfied by the establishment of a

-Jewish State in Palestine, the Jews thereby adopt another means to dupe

-the simple-minded Gentile. They have not the slightest intention of

-building up a Jewish State in Palestine so as to live in it. What they

-really are aiming at is to establish a central organization for their

-international swindling and cheating. As a sovereign State, this cannot

-be controlled by any of the other States. Therefore it can serve as a

-refuge for swindlers who have been found out and at the same time a

-high-school for the training of other swindlers.

-As a sign of their growing presumption and sense of security, a certain

-section of them openly and impudently proclaim their Jewish nationality

-while another section hypocritically pretend that they are German,

-French or English as the case may be. Their blatant behaviour in their

-relations with other people shows how clearly they envisage their day of

-triumph in the near future.

-The black-haired Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end, satanically

-glaring at and spying on the unsuspicious girl whom he plans to seduce,

-adulterating her blood and removing her from the bosom of her own

-people. The Jew uses every possible means to undermine the racial

-foundations of a subjugated people. In his systematic efforts to ruin

-girls and women he strives to break down the last barriers of

-discrimination between him and other peoples. The Jews were responsible

-for bringing negroes into the Rhineland, with the ultimate idea of

-bastardizing the white race which they hate and thus lowering its

-cultural and political level so that the Jew might dominate. For as long

-as a people remain racially pure and are conscious of the treasure of

-their blood, they can never be overcome by the Jew. Never in this world

-can the Jew become master of any people except a bastardized people.

-That is why the Jew systematically endeavours to lower the racial

-quality of a people by permanently adulterating the blood of the

-individuals who make up that people.

-In the field of politics he now begins to replace the idea of democracy

-by introducing the dictatorship of the proletariat. In the masses

-organized under the Marxist banners he has found a weapon which makes it

-possible for him to discard democracy, so as to subjugate and rule in a

-dictatorial fashion by the aid of brute force. He is systematically

-working in two ways to bring about this revolution. These ways are the

-economic and the political respectively.

-Aided by international influences, he forms a ring of enemies around

-those nations which have proved themselves too sturdy for him in

-withstanding attacks from within. He would like to force them into war

-and then, if it should be necessary to his plans, he will unfurl the

-banners of revolt even while the troops are actually fighting at the

-front.

-Economically he brings about the destruction of the State by a

-systematic method of sabotaging social enterprises until these become so

-costly that they are taken out of the hands of the State and then

-submitted to the control of Jewish finance. Politically he works to

-withdraw from the State its means of susbsistence, inasmuch as he

-undermines the foundations of national resistance and defence, destroys

-the confidence which the people have in their Government, reviles the

-past and its history and drags everything national down into the gutter.

-Culturally his activity consists in bowdlerizing art, literature and the

-theatre, holding the expressions of national sentiment up to scorn,

-overturning all concepts of the sublime and beautiful, the worthy and

-the good, finally dragging the people to the level of his own low

-mentality.

-Of religion he makes a mockery. Morality and decency are described as

-antiquated prejudices and thus a systematic attack is made to undermine

-those last foundations on which the national being must rest if the

-nation is to struggle for its existence in this world.

-(l) Now begins the great and final revolution. As soon as the Jew is in

-possession of political power he drops the last few veils which have

-hitherto helped to conceal his features. Out of the democratic Jew, the

-Jew of the People, arises the 'Jew of the Blood', the tyrant of the

-peoples. In the course of a few years he endeavours to exterminate all

-those who represent the national intelligence. And by thus depriving the

-peoples of their natural intellectual leaders he fits them for their

-fate as slaves under a lasting despotism.

-Russia furnishes the most terrible example of such a slavery. In that

-country the Jew killed or starved thirty millions of the people, in a

-bout of savage fanaticism and partly by the employment of inhuman

-torture. And he did this so that a gang of Jewish literati and financial

-bandits should dominate over a great people.

-But the final consequence is not merely that the people lose all their

-freedom under the domination of the Jews, but that in the end these

-parasites themselves disappear. The death of the victim is followed

-sooner or later by that of the vampire.

-If we review all the causes which contributed to bring about the

-downfall of the German people we shall find that the most profound and

-decisive cause must be attributed to the lack of insight into the racial

-problem and especially in the failure to recognize the Jewish danger.

-It would have been easy enough to endure the defeats suffered on the

-battlefields in August 1918. They were nothing when compared with the

-military victories which our nation had achieved. Our downfall was not

-the result of those defeats; but we were overthrown by that force which

-had prepared those defeats by systematically operating for several

-decades to destroy those political instincts and that moral stamina

-which alone enable a people to struggle for its existence and therewith

-secure the right to exist.

-By neglecting the problem of preserving the racial foundations of our

-national life, the old Empire abrogated the sole right which entitles a

-people to live on this planet. Nations that make mongrels of their

-people, or allow their people to be turned into mongrels, sin against

-the Will of Eternal Providence. And thus their overthrow at the hands of

-a stronger opponent cannot be looked upon as a wrong but, on the

-contrary, as a restoration of justice. If a people refuses to guard and

-uphold the qualities with which it has been endowed by Nature and which

-have their roots in the racial blood, then such a people has no right to

-complain over the loss of its earthly existence.

-Everything on this earth can be made into something better. Every defeat

-may be made the foundation of a future victory. Every lost war may be

-the cause of a later resurgence. Every visitation of distress can give a

-new impetus to human energy. And out of every oppression those forces

-can develop which bring about a new re-birth of the national

-soul--provided always that the racial blood is kept pure.

-But the loss of racial purity will wreck inner happiness for ever. It

-degrades men for all time to come. And the physical and moral

-consequences can never be wiped out.

-If this unique problem be studied and compared with the other problems

-of life we shall easily recognize how small is their importance in

-comparison with this. They are all limited to time; but the problem of

-the maintenance or loss of the purity of the racial blood will last as

-long as man himself lasts.

-All the symptoms of decline which manifested themselves already in

-pre-war times can be traced back to the racial problem.

-Whether one is dealing with questions of general law, or monstrous

-excrescences in economic life, of phenomena which point to a cultural

-decline or political degeneration, whether it be a question of defects

-in the school-system or of the evil influence which the Press exerts

-over the adult population--always and everywhere these phenomena are at

-bottom caused by a lack of consideration for the interests of the race

-to which one's own nation belongs, or by the failure to recognize the

-danger that comes from allowing a foreign race to exist within the

-national body.

-That is why all attempts at reform, all institutions for social relief,

-all political striving, all economic progress and all apparent increase

-in the general stock of knowledge, were doomed to be unproductive of any

-significant results. The nation, as well as the organization which

-enables it to exist--namely, the State--were not developing in inner

-strength and stability, but, on the contrary, were visibly losing their

-vitality. The false brilliance of the Second Empire could not disguise

-the inner weakness. And every attempt to invigorate it anew failed

-because the main and most important problem was left out of

-consideration.

-It would be a mistake to think that the followers of the various

-political parties which tried to doctor the condition of the German

-people, or even all their leaders, were bad in themselves or meant

-wrong. Their activity even at best was doomed to fail, merely because of

-the fact that they saw nothing but the symptoms of our general malady

-and they tried to doctor the symptoms while they overlooked the real

-cause of the disease. If one makes a methodical study of the lines along

-which the old Empire developed one cannot help seeing, after a careful

-political analysis, that a process of inner degeneration had already set

-in even at the time when the united Empire was formed and the German

-nation began to make rapid external progress. The general situation was

-declining, in spite of the apparent political success and in spite of

-the increasing economic wealth. At the elections to the Reichstag the

-growing number of Marxist votes indicated that the internal breakdown

-and the political collapse were then rapidly approaching. All the

-victories of the so-called bourgeois parties were fruitless, not only

-because they could not prevent the numerical increase in the growing

-mass of Marxist votes, even when the bourgeois parties triumphed at the

-polls, but mainly because they themselves were already infected with the

-germs of decay. Though quite unaware of it, the bourgeois world was

-infected from within with the deadly virus of Marxist ideas. The fact

-that they sometimes openly resisted was to be explained by the

-competitive strife among ambitious political leaders, rather than by

-attributing it to any opposition in principle between adversaries who

-were determined to fight one another to the bitter end. During all those

-years only one protagonist was fighting with steadfast perseverance.

-This was the Jew. The Star of David steadily ascended as the will to

-national self-preservation declined.

-Therefore it was not a solid national phalanx that, of itself and out of

-its own feeling of solidarity, rushed to the battlefields in August

-1914. But it was rather the manifestation of the last flicker from the

-instinct of national self-preservation against the progress of the

-paralysis with which the pacifist and Marxist doctrine threatened our

-people. Even in those days when the destinies of the nation were in the

-balance the internal enemy was not recognized; therefore all efforts to

-resist the external enemy were bound to be in vain. Providence did not

-grant the reward to the victorious sword, but followed the eternal law

-of retributive justice. A profound recognition of all this was the

-source of those principles and tendencies which inspire our new

-movement. We were convinced that only by recognizing such truths could

-we stop the national decline in Germany and lay a granite foundation on

-which the State could again be built up, a State which would not be a

-piece of mechanism alien to our people, constituted for economic

-purposes and interests, but an organism created from the soul of the

-people themselves.

-A GERMAN STATE IN A GERMAN NATION

-CHAPTER XII

-THE FIRST STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GERMAN

-NATIONAL SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY

-Here at the close of the volume I shall describe the first stage in the

-progress of our movement and shall give a brief account of the problems

-we had to deal with during that period. In doing this I have no

-intention of expounding the ideals which we have set up as the goal of

-our movement; for these ideals are so momentous in their significance

-that an exposition of them will need a whole volume. Therefore I shall

-devote the second volume of this book to a detailed survey of the

-principles which form the programme of our movement and I shall attempt

-to draw a picture of what we mean by the word 'State'. When I say 'we'

-in this connection I mean to include all those hundreds of thousands who

-have fundamentally the same longing, though in the individual cases they

-cannot find adequate words to describe the vision that hovers before

-their eyes. It is a characteristic feature of all great reforms that in

-the beginning there is only one single protagonist to come forward on

-behalf of several millions of people. The final goal of a great

-reformation has often been the object of profound longing on the parts

-of hundreds of thousands for many centuries before, until finally one

-among them comes forward as a herald to announce the will of that

-multitude and become the standard-bearer of the old yearning, which he

-now leads to a realization in a new idea.

-The fact that millions of our people yearn at heart for a radical change

-in our present conditions is proved by the profound discontent which

-exists among them. This feeling is manifested in a thousand ways. Some

-express it in a form of discouragement and despair. Others show it in

-resentment and anger and indignation. Among some the profound discontent

-calls forth an attitude of indifference, while it urges others to

-violent manifestations of wrath. Another indication of this feeling may

-be seen on the one hand in the attitude of those who abstain from voting

-at elections and, on the other, in the large numbers of those who side

-with the fanatical extremists of the left wing.

-To these latter people our young movement had to appeal first of all. It

-was not meant to be an organization for contented and satisfied people,

-but was meant to gather in all those who were suffering from profound

-anxiety and could find no peace, those who were unhappy and

-discontented. It was not meant to float on the surface of the nation but

-rather to push its roots deep among the masses.

-Looked at from the purely political point of view, the situation in 1918

-was as follows: A nation had been torn into two parts. One part, which

-was by far the smaller of the two, contained the intellectual classes of

-the nation from which all those employed in physical labour were

-excluded. On the surface these intellectual classes appeared to be

-national-minded, but that word meant nothing else to them except a very

-vague and feeble concept of the duty to defend what they called the

-interests of the State, which in turn seemed identical with those of the

-dynastic regime. This class tried to defend its ideas and reach its aims

-by carrying on the fight with the aid of intellectual weapons, which

-could be used only here and there and which had only a superficial

-effect against the brutal measures employed by the adversaries, in the

-face of which the intellectual weapons were of their very nature bound

-to fail. With one violent blow the class which had hitherto governed was

-now struck down. It trembled with fear and accepted every humiliation

-imposed on it by the merciless victor.

-Over against this class stood the broad masses of manual labourers who

-were organized in movements with a more or less radically Marxist

-tendency. These organized masses were firmly determined to break any

-kind of intellectual resistance by the use of brute force. They had no

-nationalist tendencies whatsoever and deliberately repudiated the idea

-of advancing the interests of the nation as such. On the contrary, they

-promoted the interests of the foreign oppressor. Numerically this class

-embraced the majority of the population and, what is more important,

-included all those elements of the nation without whose collaboration a

-national resurgence was not only a practical impossibility but was even

-inconceivable.

-For already in 1918 one thing had to be clearly recognized; namely, that

-no resurgence of the German nation could take place until we had first

-restored our national strength to face the outside world. For this

-purpose arms are not the preliminary necessity, though our bourgeois

-'statesmen' always blathered about it being so; what was wanted was

-will-power. At one time the German people had more than sufficient

-military armament. And yet they were not able to defend their liberty

-because they lacked those energies which spring from the instinct of

-national self-preservation and the will to hold on to one's own. The

-best armament is only dead and worthless material as long as the spirit

-is wanting which makes men willing and determined to avail themselves of

-such weapons. Germany was rendered defenceless not because she lacked

-arms, but because she lacked the will to keep her arms for the

-maintenance of her people.

-To-day our Left-wing politicians in particular are constantly insisting

-that their craven-hearted and obsequious foreign policy necessarily

-results from the disarmament of Germany, whereas the truth is that this

-is the policy of traitors. To all that kind of talk the answer ought to

-be: No, the contrary is the truth. Your action in delivering up the arms

-was dictated by your anti-national and criminal policy of abandoning the

-interests of the nation. And now you try to make people believe that

-your miserable whining is fundamentally due to the fact that you have no

-arms. Just like everything else in your conduct, this is a lie and a

-falsification of the true reason.

-But the politicians of the Right deserve exactly the same reproach. It

-was through their miserable cowardice that those ruffians of Jews who

-came into power in 1918 were able to rob the nation of its arms. The

-conservative politicians have neither right nor reason on their side

-when they appeal to disarmament as the cause which compelled them to

-adopt a policy of prudence (that is to say, cowardice). Here, again, the

-contrary is the truth. Disarmament is the result of their lack of

-spirit.

-Therefore the problem of restoring Germany's power is not a question of

-how can we manufacture arms but rather a question of how we can produce

-that spirit which enables a people to bear arms. Once this spirit

-prevails among a people then it will find a thousand ways, each of which

-leads to the necessary armament. But a coward will not fire even a

-single shot when attacked though he may be armed with ten pistols. For

-him they are of less value than a blackthorn in the hands of a man of

-courage.

-The problem of re-establishing the political power of our nation is

-first of all a problem of restoring the instinct of national

-self-preservation for if no other reason than that every preparatory

-step in foreign policy and every foreign judgment on the worth of a

-State has been proved by experience to be grounded not on the material

-size of the armament such a State may possess but rather on the moral

-capacity for resistance which such a State has or is believed to have.

-The question whether or not a nation be desirable as an ally is not so

-much determined by the inert mass of arms which it has at hand but by

-the obvious presence of a sturdy will to national self-preservation and

-a heroic courage which will fight through to the last breath. For an

-alliance is not made between arms but between men.

-The British nation will therefore be considered as the most valuable

-ally in the world as long as it can be counted upon to show that

-brutality and tenacity in its government, as well as in the spirit of

-the broad masses, which enables it to carry through to victory any

-struggle that it once enters upon, no matter how long such a struggle

-may last, or however great the sacrifice that may be necessary or

-whatever the means that have to be employed; and all this even though

-the actual military equipment at hand may be utterly inadequate when

-compared with that of other nations.

-Once it is understood that the restoration of Germany is a question of

-reawakening the will to political self-preservation we shall see quite

-clearly that it will not be enough to win over those elements that are

-already national-minded but that the deliberately anti-national masses

-must be converted to believe in the national ideals.

-A young movement that aims at re-establishing a German State with full

-sovereign powers will therefore have to make the task of winning over

-the broad masses a special objective of its plan of campaign. Our

-so-called 'national bourgeoisie' are so lamentably supine, generally

-speaking, and their national spirit appears so feckless, that we may

-feel sure they will offer no serious resistance against a vigorous

-national foreign--or domestic policy. Even though the narrow-minded

-German bourgeoisie should keep up a passive resistance when the hour of

-deliverance is at hand, as they did in Bismarck's time, we shall never

-have to fear any active resistance on their part, because of their

-recognized proverbial cowardice.

-It is quite different with the masses of our population, who are imbued

-with ideas of internationalism. Through the primitive roughness of their

-natures they are disposed to accept the preaching of violence, while at

-the same time their Jewish leaders are more brutal and ruthless. They

-will crush any attempt at a German revival, just as they smashed the

-German Army by striking at it from the rear. Above all, these organized

-masses will use their numerical majority in this Parliamentarian State

-not only to hinder any national foreign policy, but also to prevent

-Germany from restoring her political power and therewith her prestige

-abroad. Thus she becomes excluded from the ranks of desirable allies.

-For it is not we ourselves alone who are aware of the handicap that

-results from the existence of fifteen million Marxists, democrats,

-pacifists and followers of the Centre, in our midst, but foreign nations

-also recognize this internal burden which we have to bear and take it

-into their calculations when estimating the value of a possible alliance

-with us. Nobody would wish to form an alliance with a State where the

-active portion of the population is at least passively opposed to any

-resolute foreign policy.

-The situation is made still worse by reason of the fact that the leaders

-of those parties which were responsible for the national betrayal are

-ready to oppose any and every attempt at a revival, simply because they

-want to retain the positions they now hold. According to the laws that

-govern human history it is inconceivable that the German people could

-resume the place they formerly held without retaliating on those who

-were both cause and occasion of the collapse that involved the ruin of

-our State. Before the judgment seat of posterity November 1918 will not

-be regarded as a simple rebellion but as high treason against the

-country.

-Therefore it is not possible to think of re-establishing German

-sovereignty and political independence without at the same time

-reconstructing a united front within the nation, by a peaceful

-conversion of the popular will.

-Looked at from the standpoint of practical ways and means, it seems

-absurd to think of liberating Germany from foreign bondage as long as

-the masses of the people are not willing to support such an ideal of

-freedom. After carefully considering this problem from the purely

-military point of view, everybody, and in particular every officer, will

-agree that a war cannot be waged against an outside enemy by battalions

-of students; but that, together with the brains of the nation, the

-physical strength of the nation is also necessary. Furthermore it must

-be remembered that the nation would be robbed of its irreplaceable

-assets by a national defence in which only the intellectual circles, as

-they are called, were engaged. The young German intellectuals who joined

-the volunteer regiments and fell on the battlefields of Flanders in the

-autumn of 1914 were bitterly missed later on. They were the dearest

-treasure which the nation possessed and their loss could not be made

-good in the course of the war. And it is not only the struggle itself

-which could not be waged if the working masses of the nation did not

-join the storm battalions, but the necessary technical preparations

-could not be made without a unified will and a common front within the

-nation itself. Our nation which has to exist disarmed, under the

-thousand eyes appointed by the Versailles Peace Treaty, cannot make any

-technical preparations for the recovery of its freedom and human

-independence until the whole army of spies employed within the country

-is cut down to those few whose inborn baseness would lead them to betray

-anything and everything for the proverbial thirty pieces of silver. But

-we can deal with such people. The millions, however, who are opposed to

-every kind of national revival simply because of their political

-opinions, constitute an insurmountable obstacle. At least the obstacle

-will remain insurmountable as long as the cause of their opposition,

-which is international Marxism, is not overcome and its teachings

-banished from both their hearts and heads.

-From whatever point of view we may examine the possibility of recovering

-our independence as a State and a people, whether we consider the

-problem from the standpoint of technical rearmament or from that of the

-actual struggle itself, the necessary pre-requisite always remains the

-same. This pre-requisite is that the broad masses of the people must

-first be won over to accept the principle of our national independence.

-If we do not regain our external freedom every step forward in domestic

-reform will at best be an augmentation of our productive powers for the

-benefit of those nations that look upon us as a colony to be exploited.

-The surplus produced by any so-called improvement would only go into the

-hands of our international controllers and any social betterment would

-at best increase the product of our labour in favour of those people. No

-cultural progress can be made by the German nation, because such

-progress is too much bound up with the political independence and

-dignity of a people.

-Therefore, as we can find a satisfactory solution for the problem of

-Germany's future only by winning over the broad masses of our people for

-the support of the national idea, this work of education must be

-considered the highest and most important task to be accomplished by a

-movement which does not strive merely to satisfy the needs of the moment

-but considers itself bound to examine in the light of future results

-everything it decides to do or refrain from doing.

-As early as 1919 we were convinced that the nationalization of the

-masses would have to constitute the first and paramount aim of the new

-movement. From the tactical standpoint, this decision laid a certain

-number of obligations on our shoulders.

-(1) No social sacrifice could be considered too great in this effort to

-win over the masses for the national revival.

-In the field of national economics, whatever concessions are granted

-to-day to the employees are negligible when compared with the benefit to

-be reaped by the whole nation if such concessions contribute to bring

-back the masses of the people once more to the bosom of their own

-nation. Nothing but meanness and shortsightedness, which are

-characteristics that unfortunately are only too prevalent among our

-employers, could prevent people from recognizing that in the long run no

-economic improvement and therefore no rise in profits are possible

-unless internal solidarity be restored among the bulk of the people who

-make up our nation.

-If the German trades unions had defended the interests of the

-working-classes uncompromisingly during the War; if even during the War

-they had used the weapon of the strike to force the industrialists--who

-were greedy for higher dividends--to grant the demands of the workers

-for whom the unions acted; if at the same time they had stood up as good

-Germans for the defence of the nation as stoutly as for their own

-claims, and if they had given to their country what was their country's

-due--then the War would never have been lost. How ludicrously

-insignificant would all, and even the greatest, economic concession have

-been in face of the tremendous importance of such a victory.

-For a movement which would restore the German worker to the German

-people it is therefore absolutely necessary to understand clearly that

-economic sacrifices must be considered light in such cases, provided of

-course that they do not go the length of endangering the independence

-and stability of the national economic system.

-(2) The education of the masses along national lines can be carried out

-only indirectly, by improving their social conditions; for only by such

-a process can the economic conditions be created which enable everybody

-to share in the cultural life of the nation.

-(3) The nationalization of the broad masses can never be achieved by

-half-measures--that is to say, by feebly insisting on what is called the

-objective side of the question--but only by a ruthless and devoted

-insistence on the one aim which must be achieved. This means that a

-people cannot be made 'national' according to the signification attached

-to that word by our bourgeois class to-day--that is to say, nationalism

-with many reservations--but national in the vehement and extreme sense.

-Poison can be overcome only by a counter-poison, and only the supine

-bourgeois mind could think that the Kingdom of Heaven can be attained by

-a compromise.

-The broad masses of a nation are not made up of professors and

-diplomats. Since these masses have only a poor acquaintance with

-abstract ideas, their reactions lie more in the domain of the feelings,

-where the roots of their positive as well as their negative attitudes

-are implanted. They are susceptible only to a manifestation of strength

-which comes definitely either from the positive or negative side, but

-they are never susceptible to any half-hearted attitude that wavers

-between one pole and the other. The emotional grounds of their attitude

-furnish the reason for their extraordinary stability. It is always more

-difficult to fight successfully against Faith than against knowledge.

-Love is less subject to change than respect. Hatred is more lasting than

-mere aversion. And the driving force which has brought about the most

-tremendous revolutions on this earth has never been a body of scientific

-teaching which has gained power over the masses, but always a devotion

-which has inspired them, and often a kind of hysteria which has urged

-them to action.

-Whoever wishes to win over the masses must know the key that will open

-the door to their hearts. It is not objectivity, which is a feckless

-attitude, but a determined will, backed up by force, when necessary.

-(4) The soul of the masses can be won only if those who lead the

-movement for that purpose are determined not merely to carry through the

-positive struggle for their own aims but are also determined to destroy

-the enemy that opposes them.

-When they see an uncompromising onslaught against an adversary the

-people have at all times taken this as a proof that right is on the side

-of the active aggressor; but if the aggressor should go only half-way

-and fail to push home his success by driving his opponent entirely from

-the scene of action, the people will look upon this as a sign that the

-aggressor is uncertain of the justice of his own cause and his half-way

-policy may even be an acknowledgment that his cause is unjust.

-The masses are but a part of Nature herself. Their feeling is such that

-they cannot understand mutual hand-shakings between men who are declared

-enemies. Their wish is to see the stronger side win and the weaker wiped

-out or subjected unconditionally to the will of the stronger.

-The nationalization of the masses can be successfully achieved only if,

-in the positive struggle to win the soul of the people, those who spread

-the international poison among them are exterminated.

-(5) All the great problems of our time are problems of the moment and

-are only the results of certain definite causes. And among all those

-there is only one that has a profoundly causal significance. This is the

-problem of preserving the pure racial stock among the people. Human

-vigour or decline depends on the blood. Nations that are not aware of

-the importance of their racial stock, or which neglect to preserve it,

-are like men who would try to educate the pug-dog to do the work of the

-greyhound, not understanding that neither the speed of the greyhound nor

-the imitative faculties of the poodle are inborn qualities which cannot

-be drilled into the one or the other by any form of training. A people

-that fails to preserve the purity of its racial blood thereby destroys

-the unity of the soul of the nation in all its manifestations. A

-disintegrated national character is the inevitable consequence of a

-process of disintegration in the blood. And the change which takes place

-in the spiritual and creative faculties of a people is only an effect of

-the change that has modified its racial substance.

-If we are to free the German people from all those failings and ways of

-acting which do not spring from their original character, we must first

-get rid of those foreign germs in the national body which are the cause

-of its failings and false ways.

-The German nation will never revive unless the racial problem is taken

-into account and dealt with. The racial problem furnishes the key not

-only to the understanding of human history but also to the understanding

-of every kind of human culture.

-(6) By incorporating in the national community the masses of our people

-who are now in the international camp we do not thereby mean to renounce

-the principle that the interests of the various trades and professions

-must be safeguarded. Divergent interests in the various branches of

-labour and in the trades and professions are not the same as a division

-between the various classes, but rather a feature inherent in the

-economic situation. Vocational grouping does not clash in the least with

-the idea of a national community, for this means national unity in

-regard to all those problems that affect the life of the nation as such.

-To incorporate in the national community, or simply the State, a stratum

-of the people which has now formed a social class the standing of the

-higher classes must not be lowered but that of the lower classes must be

-raised. The class which carries through this process is never the higher

-class but rather the lower one which is fighting for equality of rights.

-The bourgeoisie of to-day was not incorporated in the State through

-measures enacted by the feudal nobility but only through its own energy

-and a leadership that had sprung from its own ranks.

-The German worker cannot be raised from his present standing and

-incorporated in the German folk-community by means of goody-goody

-meetings where people talk about the brotherhood of the people, but

-rather by a systematic improvement in the social and cultural life of

-the worker until the yawning abyss between him and the other classes can

-be filled in. A movement which has this for its aim must try to recruit

-its followers mainly from the ranks of the working class. It must

-include members of the intellectual classes only in so far as such

-members have rightly understood and accepted without reserve the ideal

-towards which the movement is striving. This process of transformation

-and reunion cannot be completed within ten or twenty years. It will take

-several generations, as the history of such movements has shown.

-The most difficult obstacle to the reunion of our contemporary worker in

-the national folk-community does not consist so much in the fact that he

-fights for the interests of his fellow-workers, but rather in the

-international ideas with which he is imbued and which are of their

-nature at variance with the ideas of nationhood and fatherland. This

-hostile attitude to nation and fatherland has been inculcated by the

-leaders of the working class. If they were inspired by the principle of

-devotion to the nation in all that concerns its political and social

-welfare, the trades unions would make those millions of workers most

-valuable members of the national community, without thereby affecting

-their own constant struggle for their economic demands.

-A movement which sincerely endeavours to bring the German worker back

-into his folk-community, and rescue him from the folly of

-internationalism, must wage a vigorous campaign against certain notions

-that are prevalent among the industrialists. One of these notions is

-that according to the concept of the folk-community, the employee is

-obliged to surrender all his economic rights to the employer and,

-further, that the workers would come into conflict with the

-folk-community if they should attempt to defend their own just and vital

-interests. Those who try to propagate such a notion are deliberate

-liars. The idea of a folk-community does not impose any obligations on

-the one side that are not imposed on the other.

-A worker certainly does something which is contrary to the spirit of

-folk-community if he acts entirely on his own initiative and puts

-forward exaggerated demands without taking the common good into

-consideration or the maintenance of the national economic structure. But

-an industrialist also acts against the spirit of the folk-community if

-he adopts inhuman methods of exploitation and misuses the working forces

-of the nation to make millions unjustly for himself from the sweat of

-the workers. He has no right to call himself 'national' and no right to

-talk of a folk-community, for he is only an unscrupulous egoist who sows

-the seeds of social discontent and provokes a spirit of conflict which

-sooner or later must be injurious to the interests of the country.

-The reservoir from which the young movement has to draw its members will

-first of all be the working masses. Those masses must be delivered from

-the clutches of the international mania. Their social distress must be

-eliminated. They must be raised above their present cultural level,

-which is deplorable, and transformed into a resolute and valuable factor

-in the folk-community, inspired by national ideas and national

-sentiment.

-If among those intellectual circles that are nationalist in their

-outlook men can be found who genuinely love the people and look forward

-eagerly to the future of Germany, and at the same time have a sound

-grasp of the importance of a struggle whose aim is to win over the soul

-of the masses, such men are cordially welcomed in the ranks of our

-movement, because they can serve as a valuable intellectual force in the

-work that has to be done. But this movement can never aim at recruiting

-its membership from the unthinking herd of bourgeois voters. If it did

-so the movement would be burdened with a mass of people whose whole

-mentality would only help to paralyse the effort of our campaign to win

-the mass of the people. In theory it may be very fine to say that the

-broad masses ought to be influenced by a combined leadership of the

-upper and lower social strata within the framework of the one movement;

-but, notwithstanding all this, the fact remains that though it may be

-possible to exercise a psychological influence on the bourgeois classes

-and to arouse some enthusiasm or even awaken some understanding among

-them by our public demonstrations, their traditional characteristics

-cannot be changed. In other words, we could not eliminate from the

-bourgeois classes the inefficiency and supineness which are part of a

-tradition that has developed through centuries. The difference between

-the cultural levels of the two groups and between their respective

-attitudes towards social-economic questions is still so great that it

-would turn out a hindrance to the movement the moment the first

-enthusiasm aroused by our demonstrations calmed down.

-Finally, it is not part of our programme to transform the nationalist

-camp itself, but rather to win over those who are anti-national in their

-outlook. It is from this viewpoint that the strategy of the whole

-movement must finally be decided.

-(7) This one-sided but accordingly clear and definite attitude must be

-manifested in the propaganda of the movement; and, on the other hand,

-this is absolutely necessary to make the propaganda itself effective.

-If propaganda is to be of service to the movement it must be addressed

-to one side alone; for if it should vary the direction of its appeal it

-will not be understood in the one camp or may be rejected by the other,

-as merely insisting on obvious and uninteresting truisms; for the

-intellectual training of the two camps that come into question here has

-been very different.

-Even the manner in which something is presented and the tone in which

-particular details are emphasized cannot have the same effect in those

-two strata that belong respectively to the opposite extremes of the

-social structure. If the propaganda should refrain from using primitive

-forms of expression it will not appeal to the sentiments of the masses.

-If, on the other hand, it conforms to the crude sentiments of the masses

-in its words and gestures the intellectual circles will be averse to it

-because of its roughness and vulgarity. Among a hundred men who call

-themselves orators there are scarcely ten who are capable of speaking

-with effect before an audience of street-sweepers, locksmiths and

-navvies, etc., to-day and expound the same subject with equal effect

-to-morrow before an audience of university professors and students.

-Among a thousand public speakers there may be only one who can speak

-before a composite audience of locksmiths and professors in the same

-hall in such a way that his statements can be fully comprehended by each

-group while at the same time he effectively influences both and awakens

-enthusiasm, on the one side as well as on the other, to hearty applause.

-But it must be remembered that in most cases even the most beautiful

-idea embodied in a sublime theory can be brought home to the public only

-through the medium of smaller minds. The thing that matters here is not

-the vision of the man of genius who created the great idea but rather

-the success which his apostles achieve in shaping the expression of this

-idea so as to bring it home to the minds of the masses.

-Social-Democracy and the whole Marxist movement were particularly

-qualified to attract the great masses of the nation, because of the

-uniformity of the public to which they addressed their appeal. The more

-limited and narrow their ideas and arguments, the easier it was for the

-masses to grasp and assimilate them; for those ideas and arguments were

-well adapted to a low level of intelligence.

-These considerations led the new movement to adopt a clear and simple

-line of policy, which was as follows:

-In its message as well as in its forms of expression the propaganda must

-be kept on a level with the intelligence of the masses, and its value

-must be measured only by the actual success it achieves.

-At a public meeting where the great masses are gathered together the

-best speaker is not he whose way of approaching a subject is most akin

-to the spirit of those intellectuals who may happen to be present, but

-the speaker who knows how to win the hearts of the masses.

-An educated man who is present and who finds fault with an address

-because he considers it to be on an intellectual plane that is too low,

-though he himself has witnessed its effect on the lower intellectual

-groups whose adherence has to be won, only shows himself completely

-incapable of rightly judging the situation and therewith proves that he

-can be of no use in the new movement. Only intellectuals can be of use

-to a movement who understand its mission and its aims so well that they

-have learned to judge our methods of propaganda exclusively by the

-success obtained and never by the impression which those methods made on

-the intellectuals themselves. For our propaganda is not meant to serve

-as an entertainment for those people who already have a nationalist

-outlook, but its purpose is to win the adhesion of those who have

-hitherto been hostile to national ideas and who are nevertheless of our

-own blood and race.

-In general, those considerations of which I have given a brief summary

-in the chapter on 'War Propaganda' became the guiding rules and

-principles which determined the kind of propaganda we were to adopt in

-our campaign and the manner in which we were to put it into practice.

-The success that has been obtained proves that our decision was right.

-(8) The ends which any political reform movement sets out to attain can

-never be reached by trying to educate the public or influence those in

-power but only by getting political power into its hands. Every idea

-that is meant to move the world has not only the right but also the

-obligation of securing control of those means which will enable the idea

-to be carried into effect. In this world success is the only rule of

-judgment whereby we can decide whether such an undertaking was right or

-wrong. And by the word 'success' in this connection I do not mean such a

-success as the mere conquest of power in 1918 but the successful issue

-whereby the common interests of the nation have been served. A COUP

-D'ETAT cannot be considered successful if, as many empty-headed

-government lawyers in Germany now believe, the revolutionaries succeeded

-in getting control of the State into their hands but only if, in

-comparison with the state of affairs under the old regime, the lot of

-the nation has been improved when the aims and intentions on which the

-revolution was based have been put into practice. This certainly does

-not apply to the German Revolution, as that movement was called, which

-brought a gang of bandits into power in the autumn of 1918.

-But if the conquest of political power be a requisite preliminary for

-the practical realization of the ideals that inspire a reform movement,

-then any movement which aims at reform must, from the very first day of

-its activity, be considered by its leaders as a movement of the masses

-and not as a literary tea club or an association of philistines who meet

-to play ninepins.

-(9) The nature and internal organization of the new movement make it

-anti-parliamentarian. That is to say, it rejects in general and in its

-own structure all those principles according to which decisions are to

-be taken on the vote of the majority and according to which the leader

-is only the executor of the will and opinion of others. The movement

-lays down the principle that, in the smallest as well as in the greatest

-problems, one person must have absolute authority and bear all

-responsibility.

-In our movement the practical consequences of this principle are the

-following:

-The president of a large group is appointed by the head of the group

-immediately above his in authority. He is then the responsible leader of

-his group. All the committees are subject to his authority and not he to

-theirs. There is no such thing as committees that vote but only

-committees that work. This work is allotted by the responsible leader,

-who is the president of the group. The same principle applies to the

-higher organizations--the Bezirk (district), the KREIS (urban circuit)

-and the GAU (the region). In each case the president is appointed from

-above and is invested with full authority and executive power. Only the

-leader of the whole party is elected at the general meeting of the

-members. But he is the sole leader of the movement. All the committees

-are responsible to him, but he is not responsible to the committees. His

-decision is final, but he bears the whole responsibility of it. The

-members of the movement are entitled to call him to account by means of

-a new election, or to remove him from office if he has violated the

-principles of the movement or has not served its interests adequately.

-He is then replaced by a more capable man. who is invested with the same

-authority and obliged to bear the same responsibility.

-One of the highest duties of the movement is to make this principle

-imperative not only within its own ranks but also for the whole State.

-The man who becomes leader is invested with the highest and unlimited

-authority, but he also has to bear the last and gravest responsibility.

-The man who has not the courage to shoulder responsibility for his

-actions is not fitted to be a leader. Only a man of heroic mould can

-have the vocation for such a task.

-Human progress and human cultures are not founded by the multitude. They

-are exclusively the work of personal genius and personal efficiency.

-Because of this principle, our movement must necessarily be

-anti-parliamentarian, and if it takes part in the parliamentary

-institution it is only for the purpose of destroying this institution

-from within; in other words, we wish to do away with an institution

-which we must look upon as one of the gravest symptoms of human decline.

-(10) The movement steadfastly refuses to take up any stand in regard to

-those problems which are either outside of its sphere of political work

-or seem to have no fundamental importance for us. It does not aim at

-bringing about a religious reformation, but rather a political

-reorganization of our people. It looks upon the two religious

-denominations as equally valuable mainstays for the existence of our

-people, and therefore it makes war on all those parties which would

-degrade this foundation, on which the religious and moral stability of

-our people is based, to an instrument in the service of party interests.

-Finally, the movement does not aim at establishing any one form of State

-or trying to destroy another, but rather to make those fundamental

-principles prevail without which no republic and no monarchy can exist

-for any length of time. The movement does not consider its mission to be

-the establishment of a monarchy or the preservation of the Republic but

-rather to create a German State.

-The problem concerning the outer form of this State, that is to say, its

-final shape, is not of fundamental importance. It is a problem which

-must be solved in the light of what seems practical and opportune at the

-moment.

-Once a nation has understood and appreciated the great problems that

-affect its inner existence, the question of outer formalities will never

-lead to any internal conflict.

-(11) The problem of the inner organization of the movement is not one of

-principle but of expediency.

-The best kind of organization is not that which places a large

-intermediary apparatus between the leadership of the movement and the

-individual followers but rather that which works successfully with the

-smallest possible intermediary apparatus. For it is the task of such an

-organization to transmit a certain idea which originated in the brain of

-one individual to a multitude of people and to supervise the manner in

-which this idea is being put into practice.

-Therefore, from any and every viewpoint, the organization is only a

-necessary evil. At best it is only a means of reaching certain ends. The

-worst happens when it becomes an end in itself.

-Since the world produces more mechanical than intelligent beings, it

-will always be easier to develop the form of an organization than its

-substance; that is to say, the ideas which it is meant to serve.

-The march of any idea which strives towards practical fulfilment, and in

-particular those ideas which are of a reformatory character, may be

-roughly sketched as follows:

-A creative idea takes shape in the mind of somebody who thereupon feels

-himself called upon to transmit this idea to the world. He propounds his

-faith before others and thereby gradually wins a certain number of

-followers. This direct and personal way of promulgating one's ideas

-among one's contemporaries is the most natural and the most ideal. But

-as the movement develops and secures a large number of followers it

-gradually becomes impossible for the original founder of the doctrine on

-which the movement is based to carry on his propaganda personally among

-his innumerable followers and at the same time guide the course of the

-movement.

-According as the community of followers increases, direct communication

-between the head and the individual followers becomes impossible. This

-intercourse must then take place through an intermediary apparatus

-introduced into the framework of the movement. Thus ideal conditions of

-inter-communication cease, and organization has to be introduced as a

-necessary evil. Small subsidiary groups come into existence, as in the

-political movement, for example, where the local groups represent the

-germ-cells out of which the organization develops later on.

-But such sub-divisions must not be introduced into the movement until

-the authority of the spiritual founder and of the school he has created

-are accepted without reservation. Otherwise the movement would run the

-risk of becoming split up by divergent doctrines. In this connection too

-much emphasis cannot be laid on the importance of having one geographic

-centre as the chief seat of the movement. Only the existence of such a

-seat or centre, around which a magic charm such as that of Mecca or Rome

-is woven, can supply a movement with that permanent driving force which

-has its sources in the internal unity of the movement and the

-recognition of one head as representing this unity.

-When the first germinal cells of the organization are being formed care

-must always be taken to insist on the importance of the place where the

-idea originated. The creative, moral and practical greatness of the

-place whence the movement went forth and from which it is governed must

-be exalted to a supreme symbol, and this must be honoured all the more

-according as the original cells of the movement become so numerous that

-they have to be regrouped into larger units in the structure of the

-organization.

-When the number of individual followers became so large that direct

-personal contact with the head of the movement was out of the question,

-then we had to form those first local groups. As those groups multiplied

-to an extraordinary number it was necessary to establish higher cadres

-into which the local groups were distributed. Examples of such cadres in

-the political organization are those of the region (GAU) and the

-district (BEZIRK).

-Though it may be easy enough to maintain the original central authority

-over the lowest groups, it is much more difficult to do so in relation

-to the higher units of organization which have now developed. And yet we

-must succeed in doing this, for this is an indispensable condition if

-the unity of the movement is to be guaranteed and the idea of it carried

-into effect.

-Finally, when those larger intermediary organizations have to be

-combined in new and still higher units it becomes increasingly difficult

-to maintain over them the absolute supremacy of the original seat of the

-movement and the school attached to it.

-Consequently the mechanical forms of an organization must only be

-introduced if and in so far as the spiritual authority and the ideals of

-the central seat of the organization are shown to be firmly established.

-In the political sphere it may often happen that this supremacy can be

-maintained only when the movement has taken over supreme political

-control of the nation.

-Having taken all these considerations into account, the following

-principles were laid down for the inner structure of the movement:

-(a) That at the beginning all activity should be concentrated in one

-town: namely, Munich. That a band of absolutely reliable followers

-should be trained and a school founded which would subsequently help to

-propagate the idea of the movement. That the prestige of the movement,

-for the sake of its subsequent extension, should first be established

-here through gaining as many successful and visible results as possible

-in this one place. To secure name and fame for the movement and its

-leader it was necessary, not only to give in this one town a striking

-example to shatter the belief that the Marxist doctrine was invincible

-but also to show that a counter-doctrine was possible.

-(b) That local groups should not be established before the supremacy of

-the central authority in Munich was definitely established and

-acknowledged.

-(c) That District, Regional, and Provincial groups should be formed only

-after the need for them has become evident and only after the supremacy

-of the central authority has been satisfactorily guaranteed.

-Further, that the creation of subordinate organisms must depend on

-whether or not those persons can be found who are qualified to undertake

-the leadership of them.

-Here there were only two solutions:

-(a) That the movement should acquire the necessary funds to attract and

-train intelligent people who would be capable of becoming leaders. The

-personnel thus obtained could then be systematically employed according

-as the tactical situation and the necessity for efficiency demanded.

-This solution was the easier and the more expedite. But it demanded

-large financial resources; for this group of leaders could work in the

-movement only if they could be paid a salary.

-(b) Because the movement is not in a position to employ paid officials

-it must begin by depending on honorary helpers. Naturally this solution

-is slower and more difficult.

-It means that the leaders of the movement have to allow vast territories

-to lie fallow unless in these respective districts one of the members

-comes forward who is capable and willing to place himself at the service

-of the central authority for the purpose of organizing and directing the

-movement in the region concerned.

-It may happen that in extensive regions no such leader can be found, but

-that at the same time in other regions two or three or even more persons

-appear whose capabilities are almost on a level. The difficulty which

-this situation involves is very great and can be overcome only with the

-passing of the years.

-For the establishment of any branch of the organization the decisive

-condition must always be that a person can be found who is capable of

-fulfilling the functions of a leader.

-Just as the army and all its various units of organization are useless

-if there are no officers, so any political organization is worthless if

-it has not the right kind of leaders.

-If an inspiring personality who has the gift of leadership cannot be

-found for the organization and direction of a local group it is better

-for the movement to refrain from establishing such a group than to run

-the risk of failure after the group has been founded.

-The will to be a leader is not a sufficient qualification for

-leadership. For the leader must have the other necessary qualities.

-Among these qualities will-power and energy must be considered as more

-serviceable than the intellect of a genius. The most valuable

-association of qualities is to be found in a combination of talent,

-determination and perseverance.

-(12) The future of a movement is determined by the devotion, and even

-intolerance, with which its members fight for their cause. They must

-feel convinced that their cause alone is just, and they must carry it

-through to success, as against other similar organizations in the same

-field.

-It is quite erroneous to believe that the strength of a movement must

-increase if it be combined with other movements of a similar kind. Any

-expansion resulting from such a combination will of course mean an

-increase in external development, which superficial observers might

-consider as also an increase of power; but in reality the movement thus

-admits outside elements which will subsequently weaken its

-constitutional vigour.

-Though it may be said that one movement is identical in character with

-another, in reality no such identity exists. If it did exist then

-practically there would not be two movements but only one. And whatever

-the difference may be, even if it consist only of the measure in which

-the capabilities of the one set of leaders differ from those of the

-other, there it is. It is against the natural law of all development to

-couple dissimilar organisms, or the law is that the stronger must

-overcome the weaker and, through the struggle necessary for such a

-conquest, increase the constitutional vigour and effective strength of

-the victor.

-By amalgamating political organizations that are approximately alike,

-certain immediate advantages may be gained, but advantages thus gained

-are bound in the long run to become the cause of internal weaknesses

-which will make their appearance later on.

-A movement can become great only if the unhampered development of its

-internal strength be safeguarded and steadfastly augmented, until

-victory over all its competitors be secured.

-One may safely say that the strength of a movement and its right to

-existence can be developed only as long as it remains true to the

-principle that struggle is a necessary condition of its progress and

-that its maximum strength will be reached only as soon as complete

-victory has been won.

-Therefore a movement must not strive to obtain successes that will be

-only immediate and transitory, but it must show a spirit of

-uncompromising perseverance in carrying through a long struggle which

-will secure for it a long period of inner growth.

-All those movements which owe their expansion to a so-called combination

-of similar organisms, which means that their external strength is due to

-a policy of compromise, are like plants whose growth is forced in a

-hothouse. They shoot up externally but they lack that inner strength

-which enables the natural plant to grow into a tree that will withstand

-the storms of centuries.

-The greatness of every powerful organization which embodies a creative

-idea lies in the spirit of religious devotion and intolerance with which

-it stands out against all others, because it has an ardent faith in its

-own right. If an idea is right in itself and, furnished with the

-fighting weapons I have mentioned, wages war on this earth, then it is

-invincible and persecution will only add to its internal strength.

-The greatness of Christianity did not arise from attempts to make

-compromises with those philosophical opinions of the ancient world which

-had some resemblance to its own doctrine, but in the unrelenting and

-fanatical proclamation and defence of its own teaching.

-The apparent advance that a movement makes by associating itself with

-other movements will be easily reached and surpassed by the steady

-increase of strength which a doctrine and its organization acquires if

-it remains independent and fights its own cause alone.

-(13) The movement ought to educate its adherents to the principle that

-struggle must not be considered a necessary evil but as something to be

-desired in itself. Therefore they must not be afraid of the hostility

-which their adversaries manifest towards them but they must take it as a

-necessary condition on which their whole right to existence is based.

-They must not try to avoid being hated by those who are the enemies of

-our people and our philosophy of life, but must welcome such hatred.

-Lies and calumnies are part of the method which the enemy employs to

-express his chagrin.

-The man who is not opposed and vilified and slandered in the Jewish

-Press is not a staunch German and not a true National Socialist. The

-best rule whereby the sincerity of his convictions, his character and

-strength of will, can be measured is the hostility which his name

-arouses among the mortal enemies of our people.

-The followers of the movement, and indeed the whole nation, must be

-reminded again and again of the fact that, through the medium of his

-newspapers, the Jew is always spreading falsehood and that if he tells

-the truth on some occasions it is only for the purpose of masking some

-greater deceit, which turns the apparent truth into a deliberate

-falsehood. The Jew is the Great Master of Lies. Falsehood and duplicity

-are the weapons with which he fights.

-Every calumny and falsehood published by the Jews are tokens of honour

-which can be worn by our comrades. He whom they decry most is nearest to

-our hearts and he whom they mortally hate is our best friend.

-If a comrade of ours opens a Jewish newspaper in the morning and does

-not find himself vilified there, then he has spent yesterday to no

-account. For if he had achieved something he would be persecuted,

-slandered, derided and abused. Those who effectively combat this mortal

-enemy of our people, who is at the same time the enemy of all Aryan

-peoples and all culture, can only expect to arouse opposition on the

-part of this race and become the object of its slanderous attacks.

-When these truths become part of the flesh and blood, as it were, of our

-members, then the movement will be impregnable and invincible.

-(14) The movement must use all possible means to cultivate respect for

-the individual personality. It must never forget that all human values

-are based on personal values, and that every idea and achievement is the

-fruit of the creative power of one man. We must never forget that

-admiration for everything that is great is not only a tribute to one

-creative personality but that all those who feel such admiration become

-thereby united under one covenant.

-Nothing can take the place of the individual, especially if the

-individual embodies in himself not the mechanical element but the

-element of cultural creativeness. No pupil can take the place of the

-master in completing a great picture which he has left unfinished; and

-just in the same way no substitute can take the place of the great poet

-or thinker, or the great statesman or military general. For the source

-of their power is in the realm of artistic creativeness. It can never be

-mechanically acquired, because it is an innate product of divine grace.

-The greatest revolutions and the greatest achievements of this world,

-its greatest cultural works and the immortal creations of great

-statesmen, are inseparably bound up with one name which stands as a

-symbol for them in each respective case. The failure to pay tribute to

-one of those great spirits signifies a neglect of that enormous source

-of power which lies in the remembrance of all great men and women.

-The Jew himself knows this best. He, whose great men have always been

-great only in their efforts to destroy mankind and its civilization,

-takes good care that they are worshipped as idols. But the Jew tries to

-degrade the honour in which nations hold their great men and women. He

-stigmatizes this honour as 'the cult of personality'.

-As soon as a nation has so far lost its courage as to submit to this

-impudent defamation on the part of the Jews it renounces the most

-important source of its own inner strength. This inner force cannot

-arise from a policy of pandering to the masses but only from the worship

-of men of genius, whose lives have uplifted and ennobled the nation

-itself.

-When men's hearts are breaking and their souls are plunged into the

-depths of despair, their great forebears turn their eyes towards them

-from the dim shadows of the past--those forebears who knew how to

-triumph over anxiety and affliction, mental servitude and physical

-bondage--and extend their eternal hands in a gesture of encouragement to

-despairing souls. Woe to the nation that is ashamed to clasp those

-hands.

-During the initial phase of our movement our greatest handicap was the

-fact that none of us were known and our names meant nothing, a fact

-which then seemed to some of us to make the chances of final success

-problematical. Our most difficult task then was to make our members

-firmly believe that there was a tremendous future in store for the

-movement and to maintain this belief as a living faith; for at that time

-only six, seven or eight persons came to hear one of our speakers.

-Consider that only six or seven poor devils who were entirely unknown

-came together to found a movement which should succeed in doing what the

-great mass-parties had failed to do: namely, to reconstruct the German

-REICH, even in greater power and glory than before. We should have been

-very pleased if we were attacked or even ridiculed. But the most

-depressing fact was that nobody paid any attention to us whatever. This

-utter lack of interest in us caused me great mental pain at that time.

-When I entered the circle of those men there was not yet any question of

-a party or a movement. I have already described the impression which was

-made on me when I first came into contact with that small organization.

-Subsequently I had time, and also the occasion, to study the form of

-this so-called party which at first had made such a woeful impression.

-The picture was indeed quite depressing and discouraging. There was

-nothing, absolutely nothing at all. There was only the name of a party.

-And the committee consisted of all the party members. Somehow or other

-it seemed just the kind of thing we were about to fight against--a

-miniature parliament. The voting system was employed. When the great

-parliament cried until they were hoarse--at least they shouted over

-problems of importance--here this small circle engaged in interminable

-discussions as to the form in which they might answer the letters which

-they were delighted to have received.

-Needless to say, the public knew nothing of all this. In Munich nobody

-knew of the existence of such a party, not even by name, except our few

-members and their small circle of acquaintances.

-Every Wednesday what was called a committee meeting was held in one of

-the caf�s, and a debate was arranged for one evening each week. In the

-beginning all the members of the movement were also members of the

-committee, therefore the same persons always turned up at both meetings.

-The first step that had to be taken was to extend the narrow limits of

-this small circle and get new members, but the principal necessity was

-to utilize all the means at our command for the purpose of making the

-movement known.

-We chose the following methods: We decided to hold a monthly meeting to

-which the public would be invited. Some of the invitations were

-typewritten, and some were written by hand. For the first few meetings

-we distributed them in the streets and delivered them personally at

-certain houses. Each one canvassed among his own acquaintances and tried

-to persuade some of them to attend our meetings. The result was

-lamentable.

-I still remember once how I personally delivered eighty of these

-invitations and how we waited in the evening for the crowds to come.

-After waiting in vain for a whole hour the chairman finally had to open

-the meeting. Again there were only seven people present, the old

-familiar seven.

-We then changed our methods. We had the invitations written with a

-typewriter in a Munich stationer's shop and then multigraphed them.

-The result was that a few more people attended our next meeting. The

-number increased gradually from eleven to thirteen to seventeen, to

-twenty-three and finally to thirty-four. We collected some money within

-our own circle, each poor devil giving a small contribution, and in that

-way we raised sufficient funds to be able to advertise one of our

-meetings in the MUNICH OBSERVER, which was still an independent paper.

-This time we had an astonishing success. We had chosen the Munich

-HOFBR�U HAUS KELLER (which must not be confounded with the Munich

-HOFBR�U HAUS FESTSAAL) as our meeting-place. It was a small hall and

-would accommodate scarcely more than 130 people. To me, however, the

-hall seemed enormous, and we were all trembling lest this tremendous

-edifice would remain partly empty on the night of the meeting.

-At seven o'clock 111 persons were present, and the meeting was opened. A

-Munich professor delivered the principal address, and I spoke after him.

-That was my first appearance in the role of public orator. The whole

-thing seemed a very daring adventure to Herr Harrer, who was then

-chairman of the party. He was a very decent fellow; but he had an

-A PRIORI conviction that, although I might have quite a number of good

-qualities, I certainly did not have a talent for public speaking. Even

-later he could not be persuaded to change his opinion. But he was

-mistaken. Twenty minutes had been allotted to me for my speech on this

-occasion, which might be looked upon as our first public meeting.

-I talked for thirty minutes, and what I always had felt deep down in my

-heart, without being able to put it to the test, was here proved to be

-true: I could make a good speech. At the end of the thirty minutes it

-was quite clear that all the people in the little hall had been

-profoundly impressed. The enthusiasm aroused among them found its first

-expression in the fact that my appeal to those present brought us

-donations which amounted to three hundred marks. That was a great relief

-for us. Our finances were at that time so meagre that we could not

-afford to have our party prospectus printed, or even leaflets. Now we

-possessed at least the nucleus of a fund from which we could pay the

-most urgent and necessary expenses.

-But the success of this first larger meeting was also important from

-another point of view. I had already begun to introduce some young and

-fresh members into the committee. During the long period of my military

-service I had come to know a large number of good comrades whom I was

-now able to persuade to join our party. All of them were energetic and

-disciplined young men who, through their years of military service, had

-been imbued with the principle that nothing is impossible and that where

-there's a will there's a way.

-The need for this fresh blood supply became evident to me after a few

-weeks of collaboration with the new members. Herr Harrer, who was then

-chairman of the party, was a journalist by profession, and as such he

-was a man of general knowledge. But as leader of the party he had one

-very serious handicap: he could not speak to the crowd. Though he did

-his work conscientiously, it lacked the necessary driving force,

-probably for the reason that he had no oratorical gifts whatsoever. Herr

-Drexler, at that time chairman of the Munich local group, was a simple

-working man. He, too, was not of any great importance as a speaker.

-Moreover, he was not a soldier. He had never done military service, even

-during the War. So that this man who was feeble and diffident by nature

-had missed the only school which knows how to transform diffident and

-weakly natures into real men. Therefore neither of those two men were of

-the stuff that would have enabled them to stir up an ardent and

-indomitable faith in the ultimate triumph of the movement and to brush

-aside, with obstinate force and if necessary with brutal ruthlessness,

-all obstacles that stood in the path of the new idea. Such a task could

-be carried out only by men who had been trained, body and soul, in those

-military virtues which make a man, so to speak, agile as a greyhound,

-tough as leather, and hard as Krupp steel.

-At that time I was still a soldier. Physically and mentally I had the

-polish of six years of service, so that in the beginning this circle

-must have looked on me as quite a stranger. In common with my army

-comrades, I had forgotten such phrases as: "That will not go", or "That

-is not possible", or "We ought not to take such a risk; it is too

-dangerous".

-The whole undertaking was of its very nature dangerous. At that time

-there were many parts of Germany where it would have been absolutely

-impossible openly to invite people to a national meeting that dared to

-make a direct appeal to the masses. Those who attended such meetings

-were usually dispersed and driven away with broken heads. It certainly

-did not call for any great qualities to be able to do things in that

-way. The largest so-called bourgeois mass meetings were accustomed to

-dissolve, and those in attendance would run away like rabbits when

-frightened by a dog as soon as a dozen communists appeared on the scene.

-The Reds used to pay little attention to those bourgeois organizations

-where only babblers talked. They recognized the inner triviality of such

-associations much better than the members themselves and therefore felt

-that they need not be afraid of them. On the contrary, however, they

-were all the more determined to use every possible means of annihilating

-once and for all any movement that appeared to them to be a danger to

-their own interests. The most effective means which they always employed

-in such cases were terror and brute force.

-The Marxist leaders, whose business consisted in deceiving and

-misleading the public, naturally hated most of all a movement whose

-declared aim was to win over those masses which hitherto had been

-exclusively at the service of international Marxism in the Jewish and

-Stock Exchange parties. The title alone, 'German Labour party',

-irritated them. It could easily be foreseen that at the first opportune

-moment we should have to face the opposition of the Marxist despots, who

-were still intoxicated with their triumph in 1918.

-People in the small circles of our own movement at that time showed a

-certain amount of anxiety at the prospect of such a conflict. They

-wanted to refrain as much as possible from coming out into the open,

-because they feared that they might be attacked and beaten. In their

-minds they saw our first public meetings broken up and feared that the

-movement might thus be ruined for ever. I found it difficult to defend

-my own position, which was that the conflict should not be evaded but

-that it should be faced openly and that we should be armed with those

-weapons which are the only protection against brute force. Terror cannot

-be overcome by the weapons of the mind but only by counter-terror. The

-success of our first public meeting strengthened my own position. The

-members felt encouraged to arrange for a second meeting, even on a

-larger scale.

-Some time in October 1919 the second larger meeting took place in the

-EBERLBR�U KELLER. The theme of our speeches was 'Brest-Litowsk and

-Versailles'. There were four speakers. I talked for almost an hour, and

-the success was even more striking than at our first meeting. The number

-of people who attended had grown to more than 130. An attempt to disturb

-the proceedings was immediately frustrated by my comrades. The would-be

-disturbers were thrown down the stairs, bearing imprints of violence on

-their heads.

-A fortnight later another meeting took place in the same hall. The

-number in attendance had now increased to more than 170, which meant

-that the room was fairly well filled. I spoke again, and once more the

-success obtained was greater than at the previous meeting.

-Then I proposed that a larger hall should be found. After looking around

-for some time we discovered one at the other end of the town, in the

-'Deutschen REICH' in the Dachauer Strasse. The first meeting at this new

-rendezvous had a smaller attendance than the previous meeting. There

-were just less than 140 present. The members of the committee began to

-be discouraged, and those who had always been sceptical were now

-convinced that this falling-off in the attendance was due to the fact

-that we were holding the meetings at too short intervals. There were

-lively discussions, in which I upheld my own opinion that a city with

-700,000 inhabitants ought to be able not only to stand one meeting every

-fortnight but ten meetings every week. I held that we should not be

-discouraged by one comparative setback, that the tactics we had chosen

-were correct, and that sooner or later success would be ours if we only

-continued with determined perseverance to push forward on our road. This

-whole winter of 1919-20 was one continual struggle to strengthen

-confidence in our ability to carry the movement through to success and

-to intensify this confidence until it became a burning faith that could

-move mountains.

-Our next meeting in the small hall proved the truth of my contention.

-Our audience had increased to more than 200. The publicity effect and

-the financial success were splendid. I immediately urged that a further

-meeting should be held. It took place in less than a fortnight, and

-there were more than 270 people present. Two weeks later we invited our

-followers and their friends, for the seventh time, to attend our

-meeting. The same hall was scarcely large enough for the number that

-came. They amounted to more than four hundred.

-During this phase the young movement developed its inner form. Sometimes

-we had more or less hefty discussions within our small circle. From

-various sides--it was then just the same as it is to-day--objections

-were made against the idea of calling the young movement a party. I have

-always considered such criticism as a demonstration of practical

-incapability and narrow-mindedness on the part of the critic. Those

-objections have always been raised by men who could not differentiate

-between external appearances and inner strength, but tried to judge the

-movement by the high-sounding character of the name attached to it. To

-this end they ransacked the vocabulary of our ancestors, with

-unfortunate results.

-At that time it was very difficult to make the people understand that

-every movement is a party as long as it has not brought its ideals to

-final triumph and thus achieved its purpose. It is a party even if it

-give itself a thousand difterent names.

-Any person who tries to carry into practice an original idea whose

-realization would be for the benefit of his fellow men will first have

-to look for disciples who are ready to fight for the ends he has in

-view. And if these ends did not go beyond the destruction of the party

-system and therewith put a stop to the process of disintegration, then

-all those who come forward as protagonists and apostles of such an ideal

-are a party in themselves as long as their final goal is reached. It is

-only hair-splitting and playing with words when these antiquated

-theorists, whose practical success is in reverse ratio to their wisdom,

-presume to think they can change the character of a movement which is at

-the same time a party, by merely changing its name.

-On the contrary, it is entirely out of harmony with the spirit of the

-nation to keep harping on that far-off and forgotten nomenclature which

-belongs to the ancient Germanic times and does not awaken any distinct

-association in our age. This habit of borrowing words from the dead past

-tends to mislead the people into thinking that the external trappings of

-its vocabulary are the important feature of a movement. It is really a

-mischievous habit; but it is quite prevalent nowadays.

-At that time, and subsequently, I had to warn followers repeatedly

-against these wandering scholars who were peddling Germanic folk-lore

-and who never accomplished anything positive or practical, except to

-cultivate their own superabundant self-conceit. The new movement must

-guard itself against an influx of people whose only recommendation is

-their own statement that they have been fighting for these very same

-ideals during the last thirty or forty years.

-Now if somebody has fought for forty years to carry into effect what he

-calls an idea, and if these alleged efforts not only show no positive

-results but have not even been able to hinder the success of the

-opposing party, then the story of those forty years of futile effort

-furnishes sufficient proof for the incompetence of such a protagonist.

-People of that kind are specially dangerous because they do not want to

-participate in the movement as ordinary members. They talk rather of the

-leading positions which would be the only fitting posts for them, in

-view of their past work and also so that they might be enabled to carry

-on that work further. But woe to a young movement if the conduct of it

-should fall into the hands of such people. A business man who has been

-in charge of a great firm for forty years and who has completely ruined

-it through his mismanagement is not the kind of person one would

-recommend for the founding of a new firm. And it is just the same with a

-new national movement. Nobody of common sense would appoint to a leading

-post in such a movement some Teutonic Methuselah who had been

-ineffectively preaching some idea for a period of forty years, until

-himself and his idea had entered the stage of senile decay.

-Furthermore, only a very small percentage of such people join a new

-movement with the intention of serving its end unselfishly and helping

-in the spread of its principles. In most cases they come because they

-think that, under the aegis of the new movement, it will be possible for

-them to promulgate their old ideas to the misfortune of their new

-listeners. Anyhow, nobody ever seems able to describe what exactly these

-ideas are.

-It is typical of such persons that they rant about ancient Teutonic

-heroes of the dim and distant ages, stone axes, battle spears and

-shields, whereas in reality they themselves are the woefullest poltroons

-imaginable. For those very same people who brandish Teutonic tin swords

-that have been fashioned carefully according to ancient models and wear

-padded bear-skins, with the horns of oxen mounted over their bearded

-faces, proclaim that all contemporary conflicts must be decided by the

-weapons of the mind alone. And thus they skedaddle when the first

-communist cudgel appears. Posterity will have little occasion to write a

-new epic on these heroic gladiators.

-I have seen too much of that kind of people not to feel a profound

-contempt for their miserable play-acting. To the masses of the nation

-they are just an object of ridicule; but the Jew finds it to his own

-interest to treat these folk-lore comedians with respect and to prefer

-them to real men who are fighting to establish a German State. And yet

-these comedians are extremely proud of themselves. Notwithstanding their

-complete fecklessness, which is an established fact, they pretend to

-know everything better than other people; so much so that they make

-themselves a veritable nuisance to all sincere and honest patriots, to

-whom not only the heroism of the past is worthy of honour but who also

-feel bound to leave examples of their own work for the inspiration of

-the coming generation.

-Among those people there were some whose conduct can be explained by

-their innate stupidity and incompetence; but there are others who have a

-definite ulterior purpose in view. Often it is difficult to distinguish

-between the two classes. The impression which I often get, especially of

-those so-called religious reformers whose creed is grounded on ancient

-Germanic customs, is that they are the missionaries and prot�g�s of

-those forces which do not wish to see a national revival taking place in

-Germany. All their activities tend to turn the attention of the people

-away from the necessity of fighting together in a common cause against

-the common enemy, namely the Jew. Moreover, that kind of preaching

-induces the people to use up their energies, not in fighting for the

-common cause, but in absurd and ruinous religious controversies within

-their own ranks. There are definite grounds that make it absolutely

-necessary for the movement to be dominated by a strong central force

-which is embodied in the authoritative leadership. In this way alone is

-it possible to counteract the activity of such fatal elements. And that

-is just the reason why these folk-lore Ahasueruses are vigorously

-hostile to any movement whose members are firmly united under one leader

-and one discipline. Those people of whom I have spoken hate such a

-movement because it is capable of putting a stop to their mischief.

-It was not without good reason that when we laid down a clearly defined

-programme for the new movement we excluded the word V�LKISCH from it.

-The concept underlying the term V�LKISCH cannot serve as the basis of a

-movement, because it is too indefinite and general in its application.

-Therefore, if somebody called himself V�LKISCH such a designation could

-not be taken as the hall-mark of some definite, party affiliation.

-Because this concept is so indefinite from the practical viewpoint, it

-gives rise to various interpretations and thus people can appeal to it

-all the more easily as a sort of personal recommendation. Whenever such

-a vague concept, which is subject to so many interpretations, is

-admitted into a political movement it tends to break up the disciplined

-solidarity of the fighting forces. No such solidarity can be maintained

-if each individual member be allowed to define for himself what he

-believes and what he is willing to do.

-One feels it a disgrace when one notices the kind of people who float

-about nowadays with the V�LKISCH symbol stuck in their buttonholes, and

-at the same time to notice how many people have various ideas of their

-own as to the significance of that symbol. A well-known professor in

-Bavaria, a famous combatant who fights only with the weapons of the mind

-and who boasts of having marched against Berlin--by shouldering the

-weapons of the mind, of course--believes that the word V�LKISCH is

-synonymous with 'monarchical'. But this learned authority has hitherto

-neglected to explain how our German monarchs of the past can be

-identified with what we generally mean by the word V�LKISCH to-day. I am

-afraid he will find himself at a loss if he is asked to give a precise

-answer. For it would be very difficult indeed to imagine anything less

-V�LKISCH than most of those German monarchical States were. Had they

-been otherwise they would not have disappeared; or if they were

-V�LKISCH, then the fact of their downfall may be taken as evidence that

-the V�LKISCH outlook on the world (WELTANSCHAUUNG) is a false outlook.

-Everybody interprets this concept in his own way. But such multifarious

-opinions cannot be adopted as the basis of a militant political

-movement. I need not call attention to the absolute lack of worldly

-wisdom, and especially the failure to understand the soul of the nation,

-which is displayed by these Messianic Precursors of the Twentieth

-Century. Sufficient attention has been called to those people by the

-ridicule which the left-wing parties have bestowed on them. They allow

-them to babble on and sneer at them.

-I do not set much value on the friendship of people who do not succeed

-in getting disliked by their enemies. Therefore, we considered the

-friendship of such people as not only worthless but even dangerous to

-our young movement. That was the principal reason why we first called

-ourselves a PARTY. We hoped that by giving ourselves such a name we

-might scare away a whole host of V�LKISCH dreamers. And that was the

-reason also why we named our Party, THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN LABOUR

-PARTY.

-The first term, Party, kept away all those dreamers who live in the past

-and all the lovers of bombastic nomenclature, as well as those who went

-around beating the big drum for the V�LKISCH idea. The full name of the

-Party kept away all those heroes whose weapon is the sword of the spirit

-and all those whining poltroons who take refuge behind their so-called

-'intelligence' as if it were a kind of shield.

-It was only to be expected that this latter class would launch a massed

-attack against us after our movement had started; but, of course, it was

-only a pen-and-ink attack, for the goose-quill is the only weapon which

-these V�LKISCH lancers wield. We had declared one of our principles

-thus: "We shall meet violence with violence in our own defence".

-Naturally that principle disturbed the equanimity of the knights of the

-pen. They reproached us bitterly not only for what they called our crude

-worship of the cudgel but also because, according to them, we had no

-intellectual forces on our side. These charlatans did not think for a

-moment that a Demosthenes could be reduced to silence at a mass-meeting

-by fifty idiots who had come there to shout him down and use their fists

-against his supporters. The innate cowardice of the pen-and-ink

-charlatan prevents him from exposing himself to such a danger, for he

-always works in safe retirement and never dares to make a noise or come

-forward in public.

-Even to-day I must warn the members of our young movement in the

-strongest possible terms to guard against the danger of falling into the

-snare of those who call themselves 'silent workers'. These 'silent

-workers' are not only a whitelivered lot but are also, and always will

-be, ignorant do-nothings. A man who is aware of certain happenings and

-knows that a certain danger threatens, and at the same time sees a

-certain remedy which can be employed against it, is in duty bound not to

-work in silence but to come into the open and publicly fight for the

-destruction of the evil and the acceptance of his own remedy. If he does

-not do so, then he is neglecting his duty and shows that he is weak in

-character and that he fails to act either because of his timidity, or

-indolence or incompetence. Most of these 'silent workers' generally

-pretend to know God knows what. Not one of them is capable of any real

-achievement, but they keep on trying to fool the world with their

-antics. Though quite indolent, they try to create the impression that

-their 'silent work' keeps them very busy. To put it briefly, they are

-sheer swindlers, political jobbers who feel chagrined by the honest work

-which others are doing. When you find one of these V�LKISCH moths

-buzzing over the value of his 'silent work' you may be sure that you are

-dealing with a fellow who does no productive work at all but steals from

-others the fruits of their honest labour.

-In addition to all this one ought to note the arrogance and conceited

-impudence with which these obscurantist idlers try to tear to pieces the

-work of other people, criticizing it with an air of superiority, and

-thus playing into the hands of the mortal enemy of our people.

-Even the simplest follower who has the courage to stand on the table in

-some beer-hall where his enemies are gathered, and manfully and openly

-defend his position against them, achieves a thousand times more than

-these slinking hypocrites. He at least will convert one or two people to

-believe in the movement. One can examine his work and test its

-effectiveness by its actual results. But those knavish swindlers--who

-praise their own 'silent work' and shelter themselves under the cloak of

-anonymity, are just worthless drones, in the truest sense of the term,

-and are utterly useless for the purpose of our national reconstruction.

-In the beginning of 1920 I put forward the idea of holding our first

-mass meeting. On this proposal there were differences of opinion amongst

-us. Some leading members of our party thought that the time was not ripe

-for such a meeting and that the result might be detrimental. The Press

-of the Left had begun to take notice of us and we were lucky enough in

-being able gradually to arouse their wrath. We had begun to appear at

-other meetings and to ask questions or contradict the speakers, with the

-natural result that we were shouted down forthwith. But still we thereby

-gained some of our ends. People began to know of our existence and the

-better they understood us, the stronger became their aversion and their

-enmity. Therefore we might expect that a large contingent of our friends

-from the Red Camp would attend our first mass meeting.

-I fully realized that our meeting would probably be broken up. But we

-had to face the fight; if not now, then some months later. Since the

-first day of our foundation we were resolved to secure the future of the

-movement by fighting our way forward in a spirit of blind faith and

-ruthless determination. I was well acquainted with the mentality of all

-those who belonged to the Red Camp, and I knew quite well that if we

-opposed them tooth and nail not only would we make an impression on them

-but that we even might win new followers for ourselves. Therefore I felt

-that we must decide on a policy of active opposition.

-Herr Harrer was then chairman of our party. He did not see eye to eye

-with me as to the opportune time for our first mass meeting. Accordingly

-he felt himself obliged to resign from the leadership of the movement,

-as an upright and honest man. Herr Anton Drexler took his place. I kept

-the work of organizing the propaganda in my own hands and I listened to

-no compromise in carrying it out.

-We decided on February 24th 1920 as the date for the first great popular

-meeting to be held under the aegis of this movement which was hitherto

-unknown.

-I made all the preparatory arrangements personally. They did not take

-very long. The whole apparatus of our organization was set in motion for

-the purpose of being able to secure a rapid decision as to our policy.

-Within twenty-four hours we had to decide on the attitude we should take

-in regard to the questions of the day which would be put forward at the

-mass meeting. The notices which advertised the meeting had to bring

-these points before the public. In this direction we were forced to

-depend on the use of posters and leaflets, the contents of which and the

-manner in which they were displayed were decided upon in accordance with

-the principles which I have already laid down in dealing with propaganda

-in general. They were produced in a form which would appeal to the

-crowd. They concentrated on a few points which were repeated again and

-again. The text was concise and definite, an absolutely dogmatic form of

-expression being used. We distributed these posters and leaflets with a

-dogged energy and then we patiently waited for the effect they would

-produce.

-For our principal colour we chose red, as it has an exciting effect on

-the eye and was therefore calculated to arouse the attention of our

-opponents and irritate them. Thus they would have to take notice of

-us--whether they liked it or not--and would not forget us.

-One result of our tactics was to show up clearly the close political

-fraternization that existed also here in Bavaria between the Marxists

-and the Centre Party. The political party that held power in Bavaria,

-which was the Bavarian People's Party (affiliated with the Centre Party)

-did its best to counteract the effect which our placards were having on

-the 'Red' masses. Thus they made a definite step to fetter our

-activities. If the police could find no other grounds for prohibiting

-our placards, then they might claim that we were disturbing the traffic

-in the streets. And thus the so-called German National People's Party

-calmed the anxieties of their 'Red' allies by completely prohibiting

-those placards which proclaimed a message that was bringing back to the

-bosom of their own people hundreds of thousands of workers who had been

-misled by international agitators and incensed against their own nation.

-These placards bear witness to the bitterness of the struggle in which

-the young movement was then engaged. Future generations will find in

-these placards a documentary proof of our determination and the justice

-of our own cause. And these placards will also prove how the so-called

-national officials took arbitrary action to strangle a movement that did

-not please them, because it was nationalizing the broad masses of the

-people and winning them back to their own racial stock.

-These placards will also help to refute the theory that there was then a

-national government in Bavaria and they will afford documentary

-confirmation of the fact that if Bavaria remained nationally-minded

-during the years 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923, this was not due to a

-national government but it was because the national spirit gradually

-gained a deeper hold on the people and the Government was forced to

-follow public feeling. The Government authorities themselves did

-everything in their power to hamper this process of recovery and make it

-impossible. But in this connection two officials must be mentioned as

-outstanding exceptions.

-Ernst P�hner was Chief of Police at the time. He had a loyal counsellor

-in Dr. Frick, who was his chief executive official. These were the only

-men among the higher officials who had the courage to place the

-interests of their country before their own interests in holding on to

-their jobs. Of those in responsible positions Ernst P�hner was the only

-one who did not pay court to the mob but felt that his duty was towards

-the nation as such and was ready to risk and sacrifice everything, even

-his personal livelihood, to help in the restoration of the German

-people, whom he dearly loved. For that reason he was a bitter thorn in

-the side of the venal group of Government officials. It was not the

-interests of the nation or the necessity of a national revival that

-inspired or directed their conduct. They simply truckled to the wishes

-of the Government, so as to secure their daily bread for themselves, but

-they had no thought whatsoever for the national welfare that had been

-entrusted to their care.

-Above all, P�hner was one of those people who, in contradistinction to

-the majority of our so-called defenders of the authority of the State,

-did not fear to incur the enmity of the traitors to the country and the

-nation but rather courted it as a mark of honour and honesty. For such

-men the hatred of the Jews and Marxists and the lies and calumnies they

-spread, were their only source of happiness in the midst of the national

-misery. P�hner was a man of granite loyalty. He was like one of the

-ascetic characters of the classical era and was at the same time that

-kind of straightforward German for whom the saying 'Better dead than a

-slave' is not an empty phrase but a veritable heart's cry.

-In my opinion he and his collaborator, Dr. Frick, are the only men

-holding positions then in Bavaria who have the right to be considered as

-having taken active part in the creation of a national Bavaria.

-Before holding our first great mass meeting it was necessary not only to

-have our propaganda material ready but also to have the main items of

-our programme printed.

-In the second volume of this book I shall give a detailed account of the

-guiding principles which we then followed in drawing up our programme.

-Here I will only say that the programme was arranged not merely to set

-forth the form and content of the young movement but also with an eye to

-making it understood among the broad masses. The so-called intellectual

-circles made jokes and sneered at it and then tried to criticize it. But

-the effect of our programme proved that the ideas which we then held

-were right.

-During those years I saw dozens of new movements arise and disappear

-without leaving a trace behind. Only one movement has survived. It is

-the National Socialist German Labour Party. To-day I am more convinced

-than ever before that, though they may combat us and try to paralyse our

-movement, and though pettifogging party ministers may forbid us the

-right of free speech, they cannot prevent the triumph of our ideas. When

-the present system of statal administration and even the names of the

-political parties that represent it will be forgotten, the programmatic

-basis of the National Socialist movement will supply the groundwork on

-which the future State will be built.

-The meetings which we held before January 1920 had enabled us to collect

-the financial means that were necessary to have our first pamphlets and

-posters and programmes printed.

-I shall bring the first part of this book to a close by referring to our

-first great mass meeting, because that meeting marked the occasion on

-which our framework as a small party had to be broken up and we started

-to become the most powerful factor of this epoch in the influence we

-exercised on public opinion. At that time my chief anxiety was that we

-might not fill the hall and that we might have to face empty benches. I

-myself was firmly convinced that if only the people would come this day

-would turn out a great success for the young movement. That was my

-feeling as I waited impatiently for the hour to come.

-It had been announced that the meeting would begin at 7.30. A

-quarter-of-an-hour before the opening time I walked through the chief

-hall of the Hofbr�uhaus on the PLATZ in Munich and my heart was nearly

-bursting with joy. The great hall--for at that time it seemed very big

-to me--was filled to overflowing. Nearly 2,000 people were present. And,

-above all, those people had come whom we had always wished to reach.

-More than half the audience consisted of persons who seemed to be

-communists or independents. Our first great demonstration was destined,

-in their view, to come to an abrupt end.

-But things happened otherwise. When the first speaker had finished I got

-up to speak. After a few minutes I was met with a hailstorm of

-interruptions and violent encounters broke out in the body of the hall.

-A handful of my loyal war comrades and some other followers grappled

-with the disturbers and restored order in a little while. I was able to

-continue my speech. After half an hour the applause began to drown the

-interruptions and the hootings. Then interruptions gradually ceased and

-applause took their place. When I finally came to explain the

-twenty-five points and laid them, point after point, before the masses

-gathered there and asked them to pass their own judgment on each point,

-one point after another was accepted with increasing enthusiasm. When

-the last point was reached I had before me a hall full of people united

-by a new conviction, a new faith and a new will.

-Nearly four hours had passed when the hall began to clear. As the masses

-streamed towards the exits, crammed shoulder to shoulder, shoving and

-pushing, I knew that a movement was now set afoot among the German

-people which would never pass into oblivion.

-A fire was enkindled from whose glowing heat the sword would be

-fashioned which would restore freedom to the German Siegfried and bring

-back life to the German nation.

-Beside the revival which I then foresaw, I also felt that the Goddess of

-Vengeance was now getting ready to redress the treason of the 9th of

-November, 1918. The hall was emptied. The movement was on the march.

-VOLUME II: THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST MOVEMENT

-CHAPTER I

-WELTANSCHAUUNG AND PARTY

-On February 24th, 1920, the first great mass meeting under the auspices

-of the new movement took place. In the Banquet Hall of the Hofbr�uhaus

-in Munich the twenty-five theses which constituted the programme of our

-new party were expounded to an audience of nearly two thousand people

-and each thesis was enthusiastically received.

-Thus we brought to the knowledge of the public those first principles

-and lines of action along which the new struggle was to be conducted for

-the abolition of a confused mass of obsolete ideas and opinions which

-had obscure and often pernicious tendencies. A new force was to make its

-appearance among the timid and feckless bourgeoisie. This force was

-destined to impede the triumphant advance of the Marxists and bring the

-Chariot of Fate to a standstill just as it seemed about to reach its

-goal.

-It was evident that this new movement could gain the public significance

-and support which are necessary pre-requisites in such a gigantic

-struggle only if it succeeded from the very outset in awakening a

-sacrosanct conviction in the hearts of its followers, that here it was

-not a case of introducing a new electoral slogan into the political

-field but that an entirely new WELTANSCHAUUNG, which was of a radical

-significance, had to be promoted.

-One must try to recall the miserable jumble of opinions that used to be

-arrayed side by side to form the usual Party Programme, as it was

-called, and one must remember how these opinions used to be brushed up

-or dressed in a new form from time to time. If we would properly

-understand these programmatic monstrosities we must carefully

-investigate the motives which inspired the average bourgeois 'programme

-committee'.

-Those people are always influenced by one and the same preoccupation

-when they introduce something new into their programme or modify

-something already contained in it. That preoccupation is directed

-towards the results of the next election. The moment these artists in

-parliamentary government have the first glimmering of a suspicion that

-their darling public may be ready to kick up its heels and escape from

-the harness of the old party wagon they begin to paint the shafts with

-new colours. On such occasions the party astrologists and horoscope

-readers, the so-called 'experienced men' and 'experts', come forward.

-For the most part they are old parliamentary hands whose political

-schooling has furnished them with ample experience. They can remember

-former occasions when the masses showed signs of losing patience and

-they now diagnose the menace of a similar situation arising. Resorting

-to their old prescription, they form a 'committee'. They go around among

-the darling public and listen to what is being said. They dip their

-noses into the newspapers and gradually begin to scent what it is that

-their darlings, the broad masses, are wishing for, what they reject and

-what they are hoping for. The groups that belong to each trade or

-business, and even office employees, are carefully studied and their

-innermost desires are investigated. The 'malicious slogans' of the

-opposition from which danger is threatened are now suddenly looked upon

-as worthy of reconsideration, and it often happens that these slogans,

-to the great astonishment of those who originally coined and circulated

-them, now appear to be quite harmless and indeed are to be found among

-the dogmas of the old parties.

-So the committees meet to revise the old programme and draw up a new

-one.

-For these people change their convictions just as the soldier changes

-his shirt in war--when the old one is bug-eaten. In the new programme

-everyone gets everything he wants. The farmer is assured that the

-interests of agriculture will be safeguarded. The industrialist is

-assured of protection for his products. The consumer is assured that his

-interests will be protected in the market prices. Teachers are given

-higher salaries and civil servants will have better pensions. Widows and

-orphans will receive generous assistance from the State. Trade will be

-promoted. The tariff will be lowered and even the taxes, though they

-cannot be entirely abolished, will be almost abolished. It sometimes

-happens that one section of the public is forgotten or that one of the

-demands mooted among the public has not reached the ears of the party.

-This is also hurriedly patched on to the whole, should there be any

-space available for it: until finally it is felt that there are good

-grounds for hoping that the whole normal host of philistines, including

-their wives, will have their anxieties laid to rest and will beam with

-satisfaction once again. And so, internally armed with faith in the

-goodness of God and the impenetrable stupidity of the electorate, the

-struggle for what is called 'the reconstruction of the REICH' can now

-begin.

-When the election day is over and the parliamentarians have held their

-last public meeting for the next five years, when they can leave their

-job of getting the populace to toe the line and can now devote

-themselves to higher and more pleasing tasks--then the programme

-committee is dissolved and the struggle for the progressive

-reorganization of public affairs becomes once again a business of

-earning one's daily bread, which for the parliamentarians means merely

-the attendance that is required in order to be able to draw their daily

-remunerations. Morning after morning the honourable deputy wends his way

-to the House, and though he may not enter the Chamber itself he gets at

-least as far as the front hall, where he will find the register on which

-the names of the deputies in attendance have to be inscribed. As a part

-of his onerous service to his constituents he enters his name, and in

-return receives a small indemnity as a well-earned reward for his

-unceasing and exhausting labours.

-When four years have passed, or in the meantime if there should be some

-critical weeks during which the parliamentary corporations have to face

-the danger of being dissolved, these honourable gentlemen become

-suddenly seized by an irresistible desire to act. Just as the grub-worm

-cannot help growing into a cock-chafer, these parliamentarian worms

-leave the great House of Puppets and flutter on new wings out among the

-beloved public. They address the electors once again, give an account of

-the enormous labours they have accomplished and emphasize the malicious

-obstinacy of their opponents. They do not always meet with grateful

-applause; for occasionally the unintelligent masses throw rude and

-unfriendly remarks in their faces. When this spirit of public

-ingratitude reaches a certain pitch there is only one way of saving the

-situation. The prestige of the party must be burnished up again. The

-programme has to be amended. The committee is called into existence once

-again. And the swindle begins anew. Once we understand the impenetrable

-stupidity of our public we cannot be surprised that such tactics turn

-out successful. Led by the Press and blinded once again by the alluring

-appearance of the new programme, the bourgeois as well as the

-proletarian herds of voters faithfully return to the common stall and

-re-elect their old deceivers. The 'people's man' and labour candidate

-now change back again into the parliamentarian grub and become fat and

-rotund as they batten on the leaves that grow on the tree of public

-life--to be retransformed into the glittering butterfly after another

-four years have passed.

-Scarcely anything else can be so depressing as to watch this process in

-sober reality and to be the eyewitness of this repeatedly recurring

-fraud. On a spiritual training ground of that kind it is not possible

-for the bourgeois forces to develop the strength which is necessary to

-carry on the fight against the organized might of Marxism. Indeed they

-have never seriously thought of doing so. Though these parliamentary

-quacks who represent the white race are generally recognized as persons

-of quite inferior mental capacity, they are shrewd enough to know that

-they could not seriously entertain the hope of being able to use the

-weapon of Western Democracy to fight a doctrine for the advance of which

-Western Democracy, with all its accessories, is employed as a means to

-an end. Democracy is exploited by the Marxists for the purpose of

-paralysing their opponents and gaining for themselves a free hand to put

-their own methods into action. When certain groups of Marxists use all

-their ingenuity for the time being to make it be believed that they are

-inseparably attached to the principles of democracy, it may be well to

-recall the fact that when critical occasions arose these same gentlemen

-snapped their fingers at the principle of decision by majority vote, as

-that principle is understood by Western Democracy. Such was the case in

-those days when the bourgeois parliamentarians, in their monumental

-shortsightedness, believed that the security of the REICH was guaranteed

-because it had an overwhelming numerical majority in its favour, and the

-Marxists did not hesitate suddenly to grasp supreme power in their own

-hands, backed by a mob of loafers, deserters, political place-hunters

-and Jewish dilettanti. That was a blow in the face for that democracy in

-which so many parliamentarians believed. Only those credulous

-parliamentary wizards who represented bourgeois democracy could have

-believed that the brutal determination of those whose interest it is to

-spread the Marxist world-pest, of which they are the carriers, could for

-a moment, now or in the future, be held in check by the magical formulas

-of Western Parliamentarianism. Marxism will march shoulder to shoulder

-with democracy until it succeeds indirectly in securing for its own

-criminal purposes even the support of those whose minds are nationally

-orientated and whom Marxism strives to exterminate. But if the Marxists

-should one day come to believe that there was a danger that from this

-witch's cauldron of our parliamentary democracy a majority vote might be

-concocted, which by reason of its numerical majority would be empowered

-to enact legislation and might use that power seriously to combat

-Marxism, then the whole parliamentarian hocus-pocus would be at an end.

-Instead of appealing to the democratic conscience, the standard bearers

-of the Red International would immediately send forth a furious

-rallying-cry among the proletarian masses and the ensuing fight would

-not take place in the sedate atmosphere of Parliament but in the

-factories and the streets. Then democracy would be annihilated

-forthwith. And what the intellectual prowess of the apostles who

-represented the people in Parliament had failed to accomplish would now

-be successfully carried out by the crow-bar and the sledge-hammer of the

-exasperated proletarian masses--just as in the autumn of 1918. At a blow

-they would awaken the bourgeois world to see the madness of thinking

-that the Jewish drive towards world-conquest can be effectually opposed

-by means of Western Democracy.

-As I have said, only a very credulous soul could think of binding

-himself to observe the rules of the game when he has to face a player

-for whom those rules are nothing but a mere bluff or a means of serving

-his own interests, which means he will discard them when they prove no

-longer useful for his purpose.

-All the parties that profess so-called bourgeois principles look upon

-political life as in reality a struggle for seats in Parliament. The

-moment their principles and convictions are of no further use in that

-struggle they are thrown overboard, as if they were sand ballast. And

-the programmes are constructed in such a way that they can be dealt with

-in like manner. But such practice has a correspondingly weakening effect

-on the strength of those parties. They lack the great magnetic force

-which alone attracts the broad masses; for these masses always respond

-to the compelling force which emanates from absolute faith in the ideas

-put forward, combined with an indomitable zest to fight for and defend

-them.

-At a time in which the one side, armed with all the fighting power that

-springs from a systematic conception of life--even though it be criminal

-in a thousand ways--makes an attack against the established order the

-other side will be able to resist when it draws its strength from a new

-faith, which in our case is a political faith. This faith must supersede

-the weak and cowardly command to defend. In its stead we must raise the

-battle-cry of a courageous and ruthless attack. Our present movement is

-accused, especially by the so-called national bourgeois cabinet

-ministers--the Bavarian representatives of the Centre, for example--of

-heading towards a revolution. We have one answer to give to those

-political pigmies. We say to them: We are trying to make up for that

-which you, in your criminal stupidity, have failed to carry out. By your

-parliamentarian jobbing you have helped to drag the nation into ruin.

-But we, by our aggressive policy, are setting up a new WELTANSCHAUUNG

-which we shall defend with indomitable devotion. Thus we are building

-the steps on which our nation once again may ascend to the temple of

-freedom.

-And so during the first stages of founding our movement we had to take

-special care that our militant group which fought for the establishment

-of a new and exalted political faith should not degenerate into a

-society for the promotion of parliamentarian interests.

-The first preventive measure was to lay down a programme which of itself

-would tend towards developing a certain moral greatness that would scare

-away all the petty and weakling spirits who make up the bulk of our

-present party politicians.

-Those fatal defects which finally led to Germany's downfall afford the

-clearest proof of how right we were in considering it absolutely

-necessary to set up programmatic aims which were sharply and distinctly

-defined.

-Because we recognized the defects above mentioned, we realized that a

-new conception of the State had to be formed, which in itself became a

-part of our new conception of life in general.

-In the first volume of this book I have already dealt with the term

-V�LKISCH, and I said then that this term has not a sufficiently precise

-meaning to furnish the kernel around which a closely consolidated

-militant community could be formed. All kinds of people, with all kinds

-of divergent opinions, are parading about at the present moment under

-the device V�LKISCH on their banners. Before I come to deal with the

-purposes and aims of the National Socialist Labour Party I want to

-establish a clear understanding of what is meant by the concept V�LKISCH

-and herewith explain its relation to our party movement. The word

-V�LKISCH does not express any clearly specified idea. It may be

-interpreted in several ways and in practical application it is just as

-general as the word 'religious', for instance. It is difficult to attach

-any precise meaning to this latter word, either as a theoretical concept

-or as a guiding principle in practical life. The word 'religious'

-acquires a precise meaning only when it is associated with a distinct

-and definite form through which the concept is put into practice. To say

-that a person is 'deeply religious' may be very fine phraseology; but,

-generally speaking, it tells us little or nothing. There may be some few

-people who are content with such a vague description and there may even

-be some to whom the word conveys a more or less definite picture of the

-inner quality of a person thus described. But, since the masses of the

-people are not composed of philosophers or saints, such a vague

-religious idea will mean for them nothing else than to justify each

-individual in thinking and acting according to his own bent. It will not

-lead to that practical faith into which the inner religious yearning is

-transformed only when it leaves the sphere of general metaphysical ideas

-and is moulded to a definite dogmatic belief. Such a belief is certainly

-not an end in itself, but the means to an end. Yet it is a means without

-which the end could never be reached at all. This end, however, is not

-merely something ideal; for at the bottom it is eminently practical. We

-must always bear in mind the fact that, generally speaking, the highest

-ideals are always the outcome of some profound vital need, just as the

-most sublime beauty owes its nobility of shape, in the last analysis, to

-the fact that the most beautiful form is the form that is best suited to

-the purpose it is meant to serve.

-By helping to lift the human being above the level of mere animal

-existence, Faith really contributes to consolidate and safeguard its own

-existence. Taking humanity as it exists to-day and taking into

-consideration the fact that the religious beliefs which it generally

-holds and which have been consolidated through our education, so that

-they serve as moral standards in practical life, if we should now

-abolish religious teaching and not replace it by anything of equal value

-the result would be that the foundations of human existence would be

-seriously shaken. We may safely say that man does not live merely to

-serve higher ideals, but that these ideals, in their turn, furnish the

-necessary conditions of his existence as a human being. And thus the

-circle is closed.

-Of course, the word 'religious' implies some ideas and beliefs that are

-fundamental. Among these we may reckon the belief in the immortality of

-the soul, its future existence in eternity, the belief in the existence

-of a Higher Being, and so on. But all these ideas, no matter how firmly

-the individual believes in them, may be critically analysed by any

-person and accepted or rejected accordingly, until the emotional concept

-or yearning has been transformed into an active service that is governed

-by a clearly defined doctrinal faith. Such a faith furnishes the

-practical outlet for religious feeling to express itself and thus opens

-the way through which it can be put into practice.

-Without a clearly defined belief, the religious feeling would not only

-be worthless for the purposes of human existence but even might

-contribute towards a general disorganization, on account of its vague

-and multifarious tendencies.

-What I have said about the word 'religious' can also be applied to the

-term V�LKISCH. This word also implies certain fundamental ideas. Though

-these ideas are very important indeed, they assume such vague and

-indefinite forms that they cannot be estimated as having a greater value

-than mere opinions, until they become constituent elements in the

-structure of a political party. For in order to give practical force to

-the ideals that grow out of a WELTANSCHAUUNG and to answer the demands

-which are a logical consequence of such ideals, mere sentiment and inner

-longing are of no practical assistance, just as freedom cannot be won by

-a universal yearning for it. No. Only when the idealistic longing for

-independence is organized in such a way that it can fight for its ideal

-with military force, only then can the urgent wish of a people be

-transformed into a potent reality.

-Any WELTANSCHAUUNG, though a thousandfold right and supremely

-beneficial to humanity, will be of no practical service for the

-maintenance of a people as long as its principles have not yet become

-the rallying point of a militant movement. And, on its own side, this

-movement will remain a mere party until is has brought its ideals to

-victory and transformed its party doctrines into the new foundations of

-a State which gives the national community its final shape.

-If an abstract conception of a general nature is to serve as the basis

-of a future development, then the first prerequisite is to form a clear

-understanding of the nature and character and scope of this conception.

-For only on such a basis can a movement he founded which will be able to

-draw the necessary fighting strength from the internal cohesion of its

-principles and convictions. From general ideas a political programme

-must be constructed and a general WELTANSCHAUUNG must receive the stamp

-of a definite political faith. Since this faith must be directed towards

-ends that have to be attained in the world of practical reality, not

-only must it serve the general ideal as such but it must also take into

-consideration the means that have to be employed for the triumph of the

-ideal. Here the practical wisdom of the statesman must come to the

-assistance of the abstract idea, which is correct in itself. In that way

-an eternal ideal, which has everlasting significance as a guiding star

-to mankind, must be adapted to the exigencies of human frailty so that

-its practical effect may not be frustrated at the very outset through

-those shortcomings which are general to mankind. The exponent of truth

-must here go hand in hand with him who has a practical knowledge of the

-soul of the people, so that from the realm of eternal verities and

-ideals what is suited to the capacities of human nature may be selected

-and given practical form. To take abstract and general principles,

-derived from a WELTANSCHAUUNG which is based on a solid foundation of

-truth, and transform them into a militant community whose members have

-the same political faith--a community which is precisely defined,

-rigidly organized, of one mind and one will--such a transformation is

-the most important task of all; for the possibility of successfully

-carrying out the idea is dependent on the successful fulfilment of that

-task. Out of the army of millions who feel the truth of these ideas, and

-even may understand them to some extent, one man must arise. This man

-must have the gift of being able to expound general ideas in a clear and

-definite form, and, from the world of vague ideas shimmering before the

-minds of the masses, he must formulate principles that will be as

-clear-cut and firm as granite. He must fight for these principles as the

-only true ones, until a solid rock of common faith and common will

-emerges above the troubled waves of vagrant ideas. The general

-justification of such action is to be sought in the necessity for it and

-the individual will be justified by his success.

-If we try to penetrate to the inner meaning of the word V�LKISCH we

-arrive at the following conclusions:

-The current political conception of the world is that the State, though

-it possesses a creative force which can build up civilizations, has

-nothing in common with the concept of race as the foundation of the

-State. The State is considered rather as something which has resulted

-from economic necessity, or, at best, the natural outcome of the play of

-political forces and impulses. Such a conception of the foundations of

-the State, together with all its logical consequences, not only ignores

-the primordial racial forces that underlie the State, but it also leads

-to a policy in which the importance of the individual is minimized. If

-it be denied that races differ from one another in their powers of

-cultural creativeness, then this same erroneous notion must necessarily

-influence our estimation of the value of the individual. The assumption

-that all races are alike leads to the assumption that nations and

-individuals are equal to one another. And international Marxism is

-nothing but the application--effected by the Jew, Karl Marx--of a

-general conception of life to a definite profession of political faith;

-but in reality that general concept had existed long before the time of

-Karl Marx. If it had not already existed as a widely diffused infection

-the amazing political progress of the Marxist teaching would never have

-been possible. In reality what distinguished Karl Marx from the millions

-who were affected in the same way was that, in a world already in a

-state of gradual decomposition, he used his keen powers of prognosis to

-detect the essential poisons, so as to extract them and concentrate

-them, with the art of a necromancer, in a solution which would bring

-about the rapid destruction of the independent nations on the globe. But

-all this was done in the service of his race.

-Thus the Marxist doctrine is the concentrated extract of the mentality

-which underlies the general concept of life to-day. For this reason

-alone it is out of the question and even ridiculous to think that what

-is called our bourgeois world can put up any effective fight against

-Marxism. For this bourgeois world is permeated with all those same

-poisons and its conception of life in general differs from Marxism only

-in degree and in the character of the persons who hold it. The bourgeois

-world is Marxist but believes in the possibility of a certain group of

-people--that is to say, the bourgeoisie--being able to dominate the

-world, while Marxism itself systematically aims at delivering the world

-into the hands of the Jews.

-Over against all this, the V�LKISCH concept of the world recognizes that

-the primordial racial elements are of the greatest significance for

-mankind. In principle, the State is looked upon only as a means to an

-end and this end is the conservation of the racial characteristics of

-mankind. Therefore on the V�LKISCH principle we cannot admit that one

-race is equal to another. By recognizing that they are different, the

-V�LKISCH concept separates mankind into races of superior and inferior

-quality. On the basis of this recognition it feels bound in conformity

-with the eternal Will that dominates the universe, to postulate the

-victory of the better and stronger and the subordination of the inferior

-and weaker. And so it pays homage to the truth that the principle

-underlying all Nature's operations is the aristocratic principle and it

-believes that this law holds good even down to the last individual

-organism. It selects individual values from the mass and thus operates

-as an organizing principle, whereas Marxism acts as a disintegrating

-solvent. The V�LKISCH belief holds that humanity must have its ideals,

-because ideals are a necessary condition of human existence itself. But,

-on the other hand, it denies that an ethical ideal has the right to

-prevail if it endangers the existence of a race that is the

-standard-bearer of a higher ethical ideal. For in a world which would be

-composed of mongrels and negroids all ideals of human beauty and

-nobility and all hopes of an idealized future for our humanity would be

-lost forever.

-On this planet of ours human culture and civilization are indissolubly

-bound up with the presence of the Aryan. If he should be exterminated or

-subjugated, then the dark shroud of a new barbarian era would enfold the

-earth.

-To undermine the existence of human culture by exterminating its

-founders and custodians would be an execrable crime in the eyes of those

-who believe that the folk-idea lies at the basis of human existence.

-Whoever would dare to raise a profane hand against that highest image of

-God among His creatures would sin against the bountiful Creator of this

-marvel and would collaborate in the expulsion from Paradise.

-Hence the folk concept of the world is in profound accord with Nature's

-will; because it restores the free play of the forces which will lead

-the race through stages of sustained reciprocal education towards a

-higher type, until finally the best portion of mankind will possess the

-earth and will be free to work in every domain all over the world and

-even reach spheres that lie outside the earth.

-We all feel that in the distant future many may be faced with problems

-which can be solved only by a superior race of human beings, a race

-destined to become master of all the other peoples and which will have

-at its disposal the means and resources of the whole world.

-It is evident that such a general sketch of the ideas implied in the

-folk concept of the world may easily be interpreted in a thousand

-different ways. As a matter of fact there is scarcely one of our recent

-political movements that does not refer at some point to this conception

-of the world. But the fact that this conception of the world still

-maintains its independent existence in face of all the others proves

-that their ways of looking at life are quite difierent from this. Thus

-the Marxist conception, directed by a central organization endowed with

-supreme authority, is opposed by a motley crew of opinions which is not

-very impressive in face of the solid phalanx presented by the enemy.

-Victory cannot be achieved with such weak weapons. Only when the

-international idea, politically organized by Marxism, is confronted by

-the folk idea, equally well organized in a systematic way and equally

-well led--only then will the fighting energy in the one camp be able to

-meet that of the other on an equal footing; and victory will be found on

-the side of eternal truth.

-But a general conception of life can never be given an organic

-embodiment until it is precisely and definitely formulated. The function

-which dogma fulfils in religious belief is parallel to the function

-which party principles fulfil for a political party which is in the

-process of being built up. Therefore, for the conception of life that is

-based on the folk idea it is necessary that an instrument be forged

-which can be used in fighting for this ideal, similar to the Marxist

-party organization which clears the way for internationalism.

-And this is the aim which the German National Socialist Labour Movement

-pursues.

-The folk conception must therefore be definitely formulated so that it

-may be organically incorporated in the party. That is a necessary

-prerequisite for the success of this idea. And that it is so is very

-clearly proved even by the indirect acknowledgment of those who oppose

-such an amalgamation of the folk idea with party principles. The very

-people who never tire of insisting again and again that the conception

-of life based on the folk idea can never be the exclusive property of a

-single group, because it lies dormant or 'lives' in myriads of hearts,

-only confirm by their own statements the simple fact that the general

-presence of such ideas in the hearts of millions of men has not proved

-sufficient to impede the victory of the opposing ideas, which are

-championed by a political party organized on the principle of class

-conflict. If that were not so, the German people ought already to have

-gained a gigantic victory instead of finding themselves on the brink of

-the abyss. The international ideology achieved success because it was

-organized in a militant political party which was always ready to take

-the offensive. If hitherto the ideas opposed to the international

-concept have had to give way before the latter the reason is that they

-lacked a united front to fight for their cause. A doctrine which forms a

-definite outlook on life cannot struggle and triumph by allowing the

-right of free interpretation of its general teaching, but only by

-defining that teaching in certain articles of faith that have to be

-accepted and incorporating it in a political organization.

-Therefore I considered it my special duty to extract from the extensive

-but vague contents of a general WELTANSCHAUUNG the ideas which were

-essential and give them a more or less dogmatic form. Because of their

-precise and clear meaning, these ideas are suited to the purpose of

-uniting in a common front all those who are ready to accept them as

-principles. In other words: The German National Socialist Labour Party

-extracts the essential principles from the general conception of the

-world which is based on the folk idea. On these principles it

-establishes a political doctrine which takes into account the practical

-realities of the day, the nature of the times, the available human

-material and all its deficiencies. Through this political doctrine it is

-possible to bring great masses of the people into an organization which

-is constructed as rigidly as it could be. Such an organization is the

-main preliminary that is necessary for the final triumph of this ideal.

-CHAPTER II

-THE STATE

-Already in 1920-1921 certain circles belonging to the effete bourgeois

-class accused our movement again and again of taking up a negative

-attitude towards the modern State. For that reason the motley gang of

-camp followers attached to the various political parties, representing a

-heterogeneous conglomeration of political views, assumed the right of

-utilizing all available means to suppress the protagonists of this young

-movement which was preaching a new political gospel. Our opponents

-deliberately ignored the fact that the bourgeois class itself stood for

-no uniform opinion as to what the State really meant and that the

-bourgeoisie did not and could not give any coherent definition of this

-institution. Those whose duty it is to explain what is meant when we

-speak of the State, hold chairs in State universities, often in the

-department of constitutional law, and consider it their highest duty to

-find explanations and justifications for the more or less fortunate

-existence of that particular form of State which provides them with

-their daily bread. The more absurd such a form of State is the more

-obscure and artificial and incomprehensible are the definitions which

-are advanced to explain the purpose of its existence. What, for

-instance, could a royal and imperial university professor write about

-the meaning and purpose of a State in a country whose statal form

-represented the greatest monstrosity of the twentieth century? That

-would be a difficult undertaking indeed, in view of the fact that the

-contemporary professor of constitutional law is obliged not so much to

-serve the cause of truth but rather to serve a certain definite purpose.

-And this purpose is to defend at all costs the existence of that

-monstrous human mechanism which we now call the State. Nobody can be

-surprised if concrete facts are evaded as far as possible when the

-problem of the State is under discussion and if professors adopt the

-tactics of concealing themselves in morass of abstract values and duties

-and purposes which are described as 'ethical' and 'moral'.

-Generally speaking, these various theorists may be classed in three

-groups:

-1. Those who hold that the State is a more or less voluntary association

-of men who have agreed to set up and obey a ruling authority.

-This is numerically the largest group. In its ranks are to be found

-those who worship our present principle of legalized authority. In their

-eyes the will of the people has no part whatever in the whole affair.

-For them the fact that the State exists is sufficient reason to consider

-it sacred and inviolable. To accept this aberration of the human brain

-one would have to have a sort of canine adoration for what is called the

-authority of the State. In the minds of these people the means is

-substituted for the end, by a sort of sleight-of-hand movement. The

-State no longer exists for the purpose of serving men but men exist for

-the purpose of adoring the authority of the State, which is vested in

-its functionaries, even down to the smallest official. So as to prevent

-this placid and ecstatic adoration from changing into something that

-might become in any way disturbing, the authority of the State is

-limited simply to the task of preserving order and tranquillity.

-Therewith it is no longer either a means or an end. The State must see

-that public peace and order are preserved and, in their turn, order and

-peace must make the existence of the State possible. All life must move

-between these two poles. In Bavaria this view is upheld by the artful

-politicians of the Bavarian Centre, which is called the 'Bavarian

-Populist Party'. In Austria the Black-and-Yellow legitimists adopt a

-similar attitude. In the REICH, unfortunately, the so-called

-conservative elements follow the same line of thought.

-2. The second group is somewhat smaller in numbers. It includes those

-who would make the existence of the State dependent on some conditions

-at least. They insist that not only should there be a uniform system of

-government but also, if possible, that only one language should be used,

-though solely for technical reasons of administration. In this view the

-authority of the State is no longer the sole and exclusive end for which

-the State exists. It must also promote the good of its subjects. Ideas

-of 'freedom', mostly based on a misunderstanding of the meaning of that

-word, enter into the concept of the State as it exists in the minds of

-this group. The form of government is no longer considered inviolable

-simply because it exists. It must submit to the test of practical

-efficiency. Its venerable age no longer protects it from being

-criticized in the light of modern exigencies. Moreover, in this view the

-first duty laid upon the State is to guarantee the economic well-being

-of the individual citizens. Hence it is judged from the practical

-standpoint and according to general principles based on the idea of

-economic returns. The chief representatives of this theory of the State

-are to be found among the average German bourgeoisie, especially our

-liberal democrats.

-3. The third group is numerically the smallest. In the State they

-discover a means for the realization of tendencies that arise from a

-policy of power, on the part of a people who are ethnically homogeneous

-and speak the same language. But those who hold this view are not clear

-about what they mean by 'tendencies arising from a policy of power'. A

-common language is postulated not only because they hope that thereby

-the State would be furnished with a solid basis for the extension of its

-power outside its own frontiers, but also because they think--though

-falling into a fundamental error by doing so--that such a common

-language would enable them to carry out a process of nationalization in

-a definite direction.

-During the last century it was lamentable for those who had to witness

-it, to notice how in these circles I have just mentioned the word

-'Germanization' was frivolously played with, though the practice was

-often well intended. I well remember how in the days of my youth this

-very term used to give rise to notions which were false to an incredible

-degree. Even in Pan-German circles one heard the opinion expressed that

-the Austrian Germans might very well succeed in Germanizing the Austrian

-Slavs, if only the Government would be ready to co-operate. Those people

-did not understand that a policy of Germanization can be carried out

-only as regards human beings. What they mostly meant by Germanization

-was a process of forcing other people to speak the German language. But

-it is almost inconceivable how such a mistake could be made as to think

-that a Nigger or a Chinaman will become a German because he has learned

-the German language and is willing to speak German for the future, and

-even to cast his vote for a German political party. Our bourgeois

-nationalists could never clearly see that such a process of

-Germanization is in reality de-Germanization; for even if all the

-outstanding and visible differences between the various peoples could be

-bridged over and finally wiped out by the use of a common language, that

-would produce a process of bastardization which in this case would not

-signify Germanization but the annihilation of the German element. In the

-course of history it has happened only too often that a conquering race

-succeeded by external force in compelling the people whom they subjected

-to speak the tongue of the conqueror and that after a thousand years

-their language was spoken by another people and that thus the conqueror

-finally turned out to be the conquered.

-What makes a people or, to be more correct, a race, is not language but

-blood. Therefore it would be justifiable to speak of Germanization only

-if that process could change the blood of the people who would be

-subjected to it, which is obviously impossible. A change would be

-possible only by a mixture of blood, but in this case the quality of the

-superior race would be debased. The final result of such a mixture would

-be that precisely those qualities would be destroyed which had enabled

-the conquering race to achieve victory over an inferior people. It is

-especially the cultural creativeness which disappears when a superior

-race intermixes with an inferior one, even though the resultant mongrel

-race should excel a thousandfold in speaking the language of the race

-that once had been superior. For a certain time there will be a conflict

-between the different mentalities, and it may be that a nation which is

-in a state of progressive degeneration will at the last moment rally its

-cultural creative power and once again produce striking examples of that

-power. But these results are due only to the activity of elements that

-have remained over from the superior race or hybrids of the first

-crossing in whom the superior blood has remained dominant and seeks to

-assert itself. But this will never happen with the final descendants of

-such hybrids. These are always in a state of cultural retrogression.

-We must consider it as fortunate that a Germanization of Austria

-according to the plan of Joseph II did not succeed. Probably the result

-would have been that the Austrian State would have been able to survive,

-but at the same time participation in the use of a common language would

-have debased the racial quality of the German element. In the course of

-centuries a certain herd instinct might have been developed but the herd

-itself would have deteriorated in quality. A national State might have

-arisen, but a people who had been culturally creative would have

-disappeared.

-For the German nation it was better that this process of intermixture

-did not take place, although it was not renounced for any high-minded

-reasons but simply through the short-sighted pettiness of the Habsburgs.

-If it had taken place the German people could not now be looked upon as

-a cultural factor.

-Not only in Austria, however, but also in the REICH, these so-called

-national circles were, and still are, under the influence of similar

-erroneous ideas. Unfortunately, a policy towards Poland, whereby the

-East was to be Germanized, was demanded by many and was based on the

-same false reasoning. Here again it was believed that the Polish people

-could be Germanized by being compelled to use the German language. The

-result would have been fatal. A people of foreign race would have had to

-use the German language to express modes of thought that were foreign to

-the German, thus compromising by its own inferiority the dignity and

-nobility of our nation.

-It is revolting to think how much damage is indirectly done to German

-prestige to-day through the fact that the German patois of the Jews when

-they enter the United States enables them to be classed as Germans,

-because many Americans are quite ignorant of German conditions. Among

-us, nobody would think of taking these unhygienic immigrants from the

-East for members of the German race and nation merely because they

-mostly speak German.

-What has been beneficially Germanized in the course of history was the

-land which our ancestors conquered with the sword and colonized with

-German tillers of the soil. To the extent that they introduced foreign

-blood into our national body in this colonization, they have helped to

-disintegrate our racial character, a process which has resulted in our

-German hyper-individualism, though this latter characteristic is even

-now frequently praised.

-In this third group also there are people who, to a certain degree,

-consider the State as an end in itself. Hence they consider its

-preservation as one of the highest aims of human existence. Our analysis

-may be summed up as follows:

-All these opinions have this common feature and failing: that they are

-not grounded in a recognition of the profound truth that the capacity

-for creating cultural values is essentially based on the racial element

-and that, in accordance with this fact, the paramount purpose of the

-State is to preserve and improve the race; for this is an indispensable

-condition of all progress in human civilization.

-Thus the Jew, Karl Marx, was able to draw the final conclusions from

-these false concepts and ideas on the nature and purpose of the State.

-By eliminating from the concept of the State all thought of the

-obligation which the State bears towards the race, without finding any

-other formula that might be universally accepted, the bourgeois teaching

-prepared the way for that doctrine which rejects the State as such.

-That is why the bourgeois struggle against Marxist internationalism is

-absolutely doomed to fail in this field. The bourgeois classes have

-already sacrificed the basic principles which alone could furnish a

-solid footing for their ideas. Their crafty opponent has perceived the

-defects in their structure and advances to the assault on it with those

-weapons which they themselves have placed in his hands though not

-meaning to do so.

-Therefore any new movement which is based on the racial concept of the

-world will first of all have to put forward a clear and logical doctrine

-of the nature and purpose of the State.

-The fundamental principle is that the State is not an end in itself but

-the means to an end. It is the preliminary condition under which alone a

-higher form of human civilization can be developed, but it is not the

-source of such a development. This is to be sought exclusively in the

-actual existence of a race which is endowed with the gift of cultural

-creativeness. There may be hundreds of excellent States on this earth,

-and yet if the Aryan, who is the creator and custodian of civilization,

-should disappear, all culture that is on an adequate level with the

-spiritual needs of the superior nations to-day would also disappear. We

-may go still further and say that the fact that States have been created

-by human beings does not in the least exclude the possiblity that the

-human race may become extinct, because the superior intellectual

-faculties and powers of adaptation would be lost when the racial bearer

-of these faculties and powers disappeared.

-If, for instance, the surface of the globe should be shaken to-day by

-some seismic convulsion and if a new Himalaya would emerge from the

-waves of the sea, this one catastrophe alone might annihilate human

-civilization. No State could exist any longer. All order would be

-shattered. And all vestiges of cultural products which had been evolved

-through thousands of years would disappear. Nothing would be left but

-one tremendous field of death and destruction submerged in floods of

-water and mud. If, however, just a few people would survive this

-terrible havoc, and if these people belonged to a definite race that had

-the innate powers to build up a civilization, when the commotion had

-passed, the earth would again bear witness to the creative power of the

-human spirit, even though a span of a thousand years might intervene.

-Only with the extermination of the last race that possesses the gift of

-cultural creativeness, and indeed only if all the individuals of that

-race had disappeared, would the earth definitely be turned into a

-desert. On the other hand, modern history furnishes examples to show

-that statal institutions which owe their beginnings to members of a race

-which lacks creative genius are not made of stuff that will endure. Just

-as many varieties of prehistoric animals had to give way to others and

-leave no trace behind them, so man will also have to give way, if he

-loses that definite faculty which enables him to find the weapons that

-are necessary for him to maintain his own existence.

-It is not the State as such that brings about a certain definite advance

-in cultural progress. The State can only protect the race that is the

-cause of such progress. The State as such may well exist without

-undergoing any change for hundreds of years, though the cultural

-faculties and the general life of the people, which is shaped by these

-faculties, may have suffered profound changes by reason of the fact that

-the State did not prevent a process of racial mixture from taking place.

-The present State, for instance, may continue to exist in a mere

-mechanical form, but the poison of miscegenation permeating the national

-body brings about a cultural decadence which manifests itself already in

-various symptoms that are of a detrimental character.

-Thus the indispensable prerequisite for the existence of a superior

-quality of human beings is not the State but the race, which is alone

-capable of producing that higher human quality.

-This capacity is always there, though it will lie dormant unless

-external circumstances awaken it to action. Nations, or rather races,

-which are endowed with the faculty of cultural creativeness possess this

-faculty in a latent form during periods when the external circumstances

-are unfavourable for the time being and therefore do not allow the

-faculty to express itself effectively. It is therefore outrageously

-unjust to speak of the pre-Christian Germans as barbarians who had no

-civilization. They never have been such. But the severity of the climate

-that prevailed in the northern regions which they inhabited imposed

-conditions of life which hampered a free development of their creative

-faculties. If they had come to the fairer climate of the South, with no

-previous culture whatsoever, and if they acquired the necessary human

-material--that is to say, men of an inferior race--to serve them as

-working implements, the cultural faculty dormant in them would have

-splendidly blossomed forth, as happened in the case of the Greeks, for

-example. But this primordial creative faculty in cultural things was not

-solely due to their northern climate. For the Laplanders or the Eskimos

-would not have become creators of a culture if they were transplanted to

-the South. No, this wonderful creative faculty is a special gift

-bestowed on the Aryan, whether it lies dormant in him or becomes active,

-according as the adverse conditions of nature prevent the active

-expression of that faculty or favourable circumstances permit it.

-From these facts the following conclusions may be drawn:

-The State is only a means to an end. Its end and its purpose is to

-preserve and promote a community of human beings who are physically as

-well as spiritually kindred. Above all, it must preserve the existence

-of the race, thereby providing the indispensable condition for the free

-development of all the forces dormant in this race. A great part of

-these faculties will always have to be employed in the first place to

-maintain the physical existence of the race, and only a small portion

-will be free to work in the field of intellectual progress. But, as a

-matter of fact, the one is always the necessary counterpart of the

-other.

-Those States which do not serve this purpose have no justification for

-their existence. They are monstrosities. The fact that they do exist is

-no more of a justification than the successful raids carried out by a

-band of pirates can be considered a justification of piracy.

-We National Socialists, who are fighting for a new WELTANSCHAUUNG, must

-never take our stand on the famous 'basis of facts', and especially not

-on mistaken facts. If we did so, we should cease to be the protagonists

-of a new and great idea and would become slaves in the service of the

-fallacy which is dominant to-day. We must make a clear-cut distinction

-between the vessel and its contents. The State is only the vessel and

-the race is what it contains. The vessel can have a meaning only if it

-preserves and safeguards the contents. Otherwise it is worthless.

-Hence the supreme purpose of the ethnical State is to guard and preserve

-those racial elements which, through their work in the cultural field,

-create that beauty and dignity which are characteristic of a higher

-mankind. As Aryans, we can consider the State only as the living

-organism of a people, an organism which does not merely maintain the

-existence of a people, but functions in such a way as to lead its people

-to a position of supreme liberty by the progressive development of the

-intellectual and cultural faculties.

-What they want to impose upon us as a State to-day is in most cases

-nothing but a monstrosity, the product of a profound human aberration

-which brings untold suffering in its train.

-We National Socialists know that in holding these views we take up a

-revolutionary stand in the world of to-day and that we are branded as

-revolutionaries. But our views and our conduct will not be determined by

-the approbation or disapprobation of our contemporaries, but only by our

-duty to follow a truth which we have acknowledged. In doing this we have

-reason to believe that posterity will have a clearer insight, and will

-not only understand the work we are doing to-day, but will also ratify

-it as the right work and will exalt it accordingly.

-On these principles we National Socialists base our standards of value

-in appraising a State. This value will be relative when viewed from the

-particular standpoint of the individual nation, but it will be absolute

-when considered from the standpoint of humanity as a whole. In other

-words, this means:

-That the excellence of a State can never be judged by the level of its

-culture or the degree of importance which the outside world attaches to

-its power, but that its excellence must be judged by the degree to which

-its institutions serve the racial stock which belongs to it.

-A State may be considered as a model example if it adequately serves not

-only the vital needs of the racial stock it represents but if it

-actually assures by its own existence the preservation of this same

-racial stock, no matter what general cultural significance this statal

-institution may have in the eyes of the rest of the world. For it is not

-the task of the State to create human capabilities, but only to assure

-free scope for the exercise of capabilities that already exist. On the

-other hand, a State may be called bad if, in spite of the existence of a

-high cultural level, it dooms to destruction the bearers of that culture

-by breaking up their racial uniformity. For the practical effect of such

-a policy would be to destroy those conditions that are indispensable for

-the ulterior existence of that culture, which the State did not create

-but which is the fruit of the creative power inherent in the racial

-stock whose existence is assured by being united in the living organism

-of the State. Once again let me emphasize the fact that the State itself

-is not the substance but the form. Therefore, the cultural level is not

-the standard by which we can judge the value of the State in which that

-people lives. It is evident that a people which is endowed with high

-creative powers in the cultural sphere is of more worth than a tribe of

-negroes. And yet the statal organization of the former, if judged from

-the standpoint of efficiency, may be worse than that of the negroes. Not

-even the best of States and statal institutions can evolve faculties

-from a people which they lack and which they never possessed, but a bad

-State may gradually destroy the faculties which once existed. This it

-can do by allowing or favouring the suppression of those who are the

-bearers of a racial culture.

-Therefore, the worth of a State can be determined only by asking how far

-it actually succeeds in promoting the well-being of a definite race and

-not by the role which it plays in the world at large. Its relative worth

-can be estimated readily and accurately; but it is difficult to judge

-its absolute worth, because the latter is conditioned not only by the

-State but also by the quality and cultural level of the people that

-belong to the individual State in question.

-Therefore, when we speak of the high mission of the State we must not

-forget that the high mission belongs to the people and that the business

-of the State is to use its organizing powers for the purpose of

-furnishing the necessary conditions which allow this people freely to

-unfold its creative faculties. And if we ask what kind of statal

-institution we Germans need, we must first have a clear notion as to the

-people which that State must embrace and what purpose it must serve.

-Unfortunately the German national being is not based on a uniform racial

-type. The process of welding the original elements together has not gone

-so far as to warrant us in saying that a new race has emerged. On the

-contrary, the poison which has invaded the national body, especially

-since the Thirty Years' War, has destroyed the uniform constitution not

-only of our blood but also of our national soul. The open frontiers of

-our native country, the association with non-German foreign elements in

-the territories that lie all along those frontiers, and especially the

-strong influx of foreign blood into the interior of the REICH itself,

-has prevented any complete assimilation of those various elements,

-because the influx has continued steadily. Out of this melting-pot no

-new race arose. The heterogeneous elements continue to exist side by

-side. And the result is that, especially in times of crisis, when the

-herd usually flocks together, the Germans disperse in all directions.

-The fundamental racial elements are not only different in different

-districts, but there are also various elements in the single districts.

-Beside the Nordic type we find the East-European type, beside the

-Eastern there is the Dinaric, the Western type intermingling with both,

-and hybrids among them all. That is a grave drawback for us. Through it

-the Germans lack that strong herd instinct which arises from unity of

-blood and saves nations from ruin in dangerous and critical times;

-because on such occasions small differences disappear, so that a united

-herd faces the enemy. What we understand by the word hyper-individualism

-arises from the fact that our primordial racial elements have existed

-side by side without ever consolidating. During times of peace such a

-situation may offer some advantages, but, taken all in all, it has

-prevented us from gaining a mastery in the world. If in its historical

-development the German people had possessed the unity of herd instinct

-by which other peoples have so much benefited, then the German REICH

-would probably be mistress of the globe to-day. World history would have

-taken another course and in this case no man can tell if what many

-blinded pacifists hope to attain by petitioning, whining and crying, may

-not have been reached in this way: namely, a peace which would not be

-based upon the waving of olive branches and tearful misery-mongering of

-pacifist old women, but a peace that would be guaranteed by the

-triumphant sword of a people endowed with the power to master the world

-and administer it in the service of a higher civilization.

-The fact that our people did not have a national being based on a unity

-of blood has been the source of untold misery for us. To many petty

-German potentates it gave residential capital cities, but the German

-people as a whole was deprived of its right to rulership.

-Even to-day our nation still suffers from this lack of inner unity; but

-what has been the cause of our past and present misfortunes may turn out

-a blessing for us in the future. Though on the one hand it may be a

-drawback that our racial elements were not welded together, so that no

-homogeneous national body could develop, on the other hand, it was

-fortunate that, since at least a part of our best blood was thus kept

-pure, its racial quality was not debased.

-A complete assimilation of all our racial elements would certainly have

-brought about a homogeneous national organism; but, as has been proved

-in the case of every racial mixture, it would have been less capable of

-creating a civilization than by keeping intact its best original

-elements. A benefit which results from the fact that there was no

-all-round assimilation is to be seen in that even now we have large

-groups of German Nordic people within our national organization, and

-that their blood has not been mixed with the blood of other races. We

-must look upon this as our most valuable treasure for the sake of the

-future. During that dark period of absolute ignorance in regard to all

-racial laws, when each individual was considered to be on a par with

-every other, there could be no clear appreciation of the difference

-between the various fundamental racial characteristics. We know to-day

-that a complete assimilation of all the various elements which

-constitute the national being might have resulted in giving us a larger

-share of external power: but, on the other hand, the highest of human

-aims would not have been attained, because the only kind of people which

-fate has obviously chosen to bring about this perfection would have been

-lost in such a general mixture of races which would constitute such a

-racial amalgamation.

-But what has been prevented by a friendly Destiny, without any

-assistance on our part, must now be reconsidered and utilized in the

-light of our new knowledge.

-He who talks of the German people as having a mission to fulfil on this

-earth must know that this cannot be fulfilled except by the building up

-of a State whose highest purpose is to preserve and promote those nobler

-elements of our race and of the whole of mankind which have remained

-unimpaired.

-Thus for the first time a high inner purpose is accredited to the State.

-In face of the ridiculous phrase that the State should do no more than

-act as the guardian of public order and tranquillity, so that everybody

-can peacefully dupe everybody else, it is given a very high mission

-indeed to preserve and encourage the highest type of humanity which a

-beneficent Creator has bestowed on this earth. Out of a dead mechanism

-which claims to be an end in itself a living organism shall arise which

-has to serve one purpose exclusively: and that, indeed, a purpose which

-belongs to a higher order of ideas.

-As a State the German REICH shall include all Germans. Its task is not

-only to gather in and foster the most valuable sections of our people

-but to lead them slowly and surely to a dominant position in the world.

-Thus a period of stagnation is superseded by a period of effort. And

-here, as in every other sphere, the proverb holds good that to rest is

-to rust; and furthermore the proverb that victory will always be won by

-him who attacks. The higher the final goal which we strive to reach, and

-the less it be understood at the time by the broad masses, the more

-magnificent will be its success. That is what the lesson of history

-teaches. And the achievement will be all the more significant if the end

-is conceived in the right way and the fight carried through with

-unswerving persistence. Many of the officials who direct the affairs of

-State nowadays may find it easier to work for the maintenance of the

-present order than to fight for a new one. They will find it more

-comfortable to look upon the State as a mechanism, whose purpose is its

-own preservation, and to say that 'their lives belong to the State,' as

-if anything that grew from the inner life of the nation can logically

-serve anything but the national being, and as if man could be made for

-anything else than for his fellow beings. Naturally, it is easier, as I

-have said, to consider the authority of the State as nothing but the

-formal mechanism of an organization, rather than as the sovereign

-incarnation of a people's instinct for self-preservation on this earth.

-For these weak minds the State and the authority of the State is nothing

-but an aim in itself, while for us it is an effective weapon in the

-service of the great and eternal struggle for existence, a weapon which

-everyone must adopt, not because it is a mere formal mechanism, but

-because it is the main expression of our common will to exist.

-Therefore, in the fight for our new idea, which conforms completely to

-the primal meaning of life, we shall find only a small number of

-comrades in a social order which has become decrepit not only physically

-but mentally also. From these strata of our population only a few

-exceptional people will join our ranks, only those few old people whose

-hearts have remained young and whose courage is still vigorous, but not

-those who consider it their duty to maintain the state of affairs that

-exists.

-Against us we have the innumerable army of all those who are lazy-minded

-and indifferent rather than evil, and those whose self-interest leads

-them to uphold the present state of affairs. On the apparent

-hopelessness of our great struggle is based the magnitude of our task

-and the possibilities of success. A battle-cry which from the very start

-will scare off all the petty spirits, or at least discourage them, will

-become the signal for a rally of all those temperaments that are of the

-real fighting metal. And it must be clearly recognized that if a highly

-energetic and active body of men emerge from a nation and unite in the

-fight for one goal, thereby ultimately rising above the inert masses of

-the people, this small percentage will become masters of the whole.

-World history is made by minorities if these numerical minorities

-represent in themselves the will and energy and initiative of the people

-as a whole.

-What seems an obstacle to many persons is really a preliminary condition

-of our victory. Just because our task is so great and because so many

-difficulties have to be overcome, the highest probability is that only

-the best kind of protagonists will join our ranks. This selection is the

-guarantee of our success. Nature generally takes certain measures to

-correct the effect which racial mixture produces in life. She is not

-much in favour of the mongrel. The later products of cross-breeding have

-to suffer bitterly, especially the third, fourth and fifth generations.

-Not only are they deprived of the higher qualities that belonged to the

-parents who participated in the first mixture, but they also lack

-definite will-power and vigorous vital energies owing to the lack of

-harmony in the quality of their blood. At all critical moments in which

-a person of pure racial blood makes correct decisions, that is to say,

-decisions that are coherent and uniform, the person of mixed blood will

-become confused and take measures that are incoherent. Hence we see that

-a person of mixed blood is not only relatively inferior to a person of

-pure blood, but is also doomed to become extinct more rapidly. In

-innumerable cases wherein the pure race holds its ground the mongrel

-breaks down. Therein we witness the corrective provision which Nature

-adopts. She restricts the possibilities of procreation, thus impeding

-the fertility of cross-breeds and bringing them to extinction.

-For instance, if an individual member of a race should mingle his blood

-with the member of a superior race the first result would be a lowering

-of the racial level, and furthermore the descendants of this

-cross-breeding would be weaker than those of the people around them who

-had maintained their blood unadulterated. Where no new blood from the

-superior race enters the racial stream of the mongrels, and where those

-mongrels continue to cross-breed among themselves, the latter will

-either die out because they have insufficient powers of resistance,

-which is Nature's wise provision, or in the course of many thousands of

-years they will form a new mongrel race in which the original elements

-will become so wholly mixed through this millennial crossing that traces

-of the original elements will be no longer recognizable. And thus a new

-people would be developed which possessed a certain resistance capacity

-of the herd type, but its intellectual value and its cultural

-significance would be essentially inferior to those which the first

-cross-breeds possessed. But even in this last case the mongrel product

-would succumb in the mutual struggle for existence with a higher racial

-group that had maintained its blood unmixed. The herd solidarity which

-this mongrel race had developed through thousands of years will not be

-equal to the struggle. And this is because it would lack elasticity and

-constructive capacity to prevail over a race of homogeneous blood that

-was mentally and culturally superior.

-Therewith we may lay down the following principle as valid: every racial

-mixture leads, of necessity, sooner or later to the downfall of the

-mongrel product, provided the higher racial strata of this cross-breed

-has not retained within itself some sort of racial homogeneity. The

-danger to the mongrels ceases only when this higher stratum, which has

-maintained certain standards of homogeneous breeding, ceases to be true

-to its pedigree and intermingles with the mongrels.

-This principle is the source of a slow but constant regeneration whereby

-all the poison which has invaded the racial body is gradually eliminated

-so long as there still remains a fundamental stock of pure racial

-elements which resists further crossbreeding.

-Such a process may set in automatically among those people where a

-strong racial instinct has remained. Among such people we may count

-those elements which, for some particular cause such as coercion, have

-been thrown out of the normal way of reproduction along strict racial

-lines. As soon as this compulsion ceases, that part of the race which

-has remained intact will tend to marry with its own kind and thus impede

-further intermingling. Then the mongrels recede quite naturally into the

-background unless their numbers had increased so much as to be able to

-withstand all serious resistance from those elements which had preserved

-the purity of their race.

-When men have lost their natural instincts and ignore the obligations

-imposed on them by Nature, then there is no hope that Nature will

-correct the loss that has been caused, until recognition of the lost

-instincts has been restored. Then the task of bringing back what has

-been lost will have to be accomplished. But there is serious danger that

-those who have become blind once in this respect will continue more and

-more to break down racial barriers and finally lose the last remnants of

-what is best in them. What then remains is nothing but a uniform

-mish-mash, which seems to be the dream of our fine Utopians. But that

-mish-mash would soon banish all ideals from the world. Certainly a great

-herd could thus be formed. One can breed a herd of animals; but from a

-mixture of this kind men such as have created and founded civilizations

-would not be produced. The mission of humanity might then be considered

-at an end.

-Those who do not wish that the earth should fall into such a condition

-must realize that it is the task of the German State in particular to

-see to it that the process of bastardization is brought to a stop.

-Our contemporary generation of weaklings will naturally decry such a

-policy and whine and complain about it as an encroachment on the most

-sacred of human rights. But there is only one right that is sacrosanct

-and this right is at the same time a most sacred duty. This right and

-obligation are: that the purity of the racial blood should be guarded,

-so that the best types of human beings may be preserved and that thus we

-should render possible a more noble development of humanity itself.

-A folk-State should in the first place raise matrimony from the level of

-being a constant scandal to the race. The State should consecrate it as

-an institution which is called upon to produce creatures made in the

-likeness of the Lord and not create monsters that are a mixture of man

-and ape. The protest which is put forward in the name of humanity does

-not fit the mouth of a generation that makes it possible for the most

-depraved degenerates to propagate themselves, thereby imposing

-unspeakable suffering on their own products and their contemporaries,

-while on the other hand contraceptives are permitted and sold in every

-drug store and even by street hawkers, so that babies should not be born

-even among the healthiest of our people. In this present State of ours,

-whose function it is to be the guardian of peace and good order, our

-national bourgeoisie look upon it as a crime to make procreation

-impossible for syphilitics and those who suffer from tuberculosis or

-other hereditary diseases, also cripples and imbeciles. But the

-practical prevention of procreation among millions of our very best

-people is not considered as an evil, nor does it offend against the

-noble morality of this social class but rather encourages their

-short-sightedness and mental lethargy. For otherwise they would at least

-stir their brains to find an answer to the question of how to create

-conditions for the feeding and maintaining of those future beings who

-will be the healthy representatives of our nation and must also provide

-the conditions on which the generation that is to follow them will have

-to support itself and live.

-How devoid of ideals and how ignoble is the whole contemporary system!

-The fact that the churches join in committing this sin against the image

-of God, even though they continue to emphasize the dignity of that

-image, is quite in keeping with their present activities. They talk

-about the Spirit, but they allow man, as the embodiment of the Spirit,

-to degenerate to the proletarian level. Then they look on with amazement

-when they realize how small is the influence of the Christian Faith in

-their own country and how depraved and ungodly is this riff-raff which

-is physically degenerate and therefore morally degenerate also. To

-balance this state of affairs they try to convert the Hottentots and the

-Zulus and the Kaffirs and to bestow on them the blessings of the Church.

-While our European people, God be praised and thanked, are left to

-become the victims of moral depravity, the pious missionary goes out to

-Central Africa and establishes missionary stations for negroes. Finally,

-sound and healthy--though primitive and backward--people will be

-transformed, under the name of our 'higher civilization', into a motley

-of lazy and brutalized mongrels.

-It would better accord with noble human aspirations if our two Christian

-denominations would cease to bother the negroes with their preaching,

-which the negroes do not want and do not understand. It would be better

-if they left this work alone, and if, in its stead, they tried to teach

-people in Europe, kindly and seriously, that it is much more pleasing to

-God if a couple that is not of healthy stock were to show loving

-kindness to some poor orphan and become a father and mother to him,

-rather than give life to a sickly child that will be a cause of

-suffering and unhappiness to all.

-In this field the People's State will have to repair the damage that

-arises from the fact that the problem is at present neglected by all the

-various parties concerned. It will be the task of the People's State to

-make the race the centre of the life of the community. It must make sure

-that the purity of the racial strain will be preserved. It must proclaim

-the truth that the child is the most valuable possession a people can

-have. It must see to it that only those who are healthy shall beget

-children; that there is only one infamy, namely, for parents that are

-ill or show hereditary defects to bring children into the world and that

-in such cases it is a high honour to refrain from doing so. But, on the

-other hand, it must be considered as reprehensible conduct to refrain

-from giving healthy children to the nation. In this matter the State

-must assert itself as the trustee of a millennial future, in face of

-which the egotistic desires of the individual count for nothing and will

-have to give way before the ruling of the State. In order to fulfil this

-duty in a practical manner the State will have to avail itself of modern

-medical discoveries. It must proclaim as unfit for procreation all those

-who are inflicted with some visible hereditary disease or are the

-carriers of it; and practical measures must be adopted to have such

-people rendered sterile. On the other hand, provision must be made for

-the normally fertile woman so that she will not be restricted in

-child-bearing through the financial and economic system operating in a

-political regime that looks upon the blessing of having children as a

-curse to their parents. The State will have to abolish the cowardly and

-even criminal indifference with which the problem of social amenities

-for large families is treated, and it will have to be the supreme

-protector of this greatest blessing that a people can boast of. Its

-attention and care must be directed towards the child rather than the

-adult.

-Those who are physically and mentally unhealthy and unfit must not

-perpetuate their own suffering in the bodies of their children. From the

-educational point of view there is here a huge task for the People's

-State to accomplish. But in a future era this work will appear greater

-and more significant than the victorious wars of our present bourgeois

-epoch. Through educational means the State must teach individuals that

-illness is not a disgrace but an unfortunate accident which has to be

-pitied, yet that it is a crime and a disgrace to make this affliction

-all the worse by passing on disease and defects to innocent creatures

-out of mere egotism.

-And the State must also teach the people that it is an expression of a

-really noble nature and that it is a humanitarian act worthy of

-admiration if a person who innocently suffers from hereditary disease

-refrains from having a child of his own but gives his love and affection

-to some unknown child who, through its health, promises to become a

-robust member of a healthy community. In accomplishing such an

-educational task the State integrates its function by this activity in

-the moral sphere. It must act on this principle without paying any

-attention to the question of whether its conduct will be understood or

-misconstrued, blamed or praised.

-If for a period of only 600 years those individuals would be sterilized

-who are physically degenerate or mentally diseased, humanity would not

-only be delivered from an immense misfortune but also restored to a

-state of general health such as we at present can hardly imagine. If the

-fecundity of the healthy portion of the nation should be made a

-practical matter in a conscientious and methodical way, we should have

-at least the beginnings of a race from which all those germs would be

-eliminated which are to-day the cause of our moral and physical

-decadence. If a people and a State take this course to develop that

-nucleus of the nation which is most valuable from the racial standpoint

-and thus increase its fecundity, the people as a whole will subsequently

-enjoy that most precious of gifts which consists in a racial quality

-fashioned on truly noble lines.

-To achieve this the State should first of all not leave the colonization

-of newly acquired territory to a haphazard policy but should have it

-carried out under the guidance of definite principles. Specially

-competent committees ought to issue certificates to individuals

-entitling them to engage in colonization work, and these certificates

-should guarantee the racial purity of the individuals in question. In

-this way frontier colonies could gradually be founded whose inhabitants

-would be of the purest racial stock, and hence would possess the best

-qualities of the race. Such colonies would be a valuable asset to the

-whole nation. Their development would be a source of joy and confidence

-and pride to each citizen of the nation, because they would contain the

-pure germ which would ultimately bring about a great development of the

-nation and indeed of mankind itself.

-The WELTANSCHAUUNG which bases the State on the racial idea must

-finally succeed in bringing about a nobler era, in which men will no

-longer pay exclusive attention to breeding and rearing pedigree dogs and

-horses and cats, but will endeavour to improve the breed of the human

-race itself. That will be an era of silence and renunciation for one

-class of people, while the others will give their gifts and make their

-sacrifices joyfully.

-That such a mentality may be possible cannot be denied in a world where

-hundreds and thousands accept the principle of celibacy from their own

-choice, without being obliged or pledged to do so by anything except an

-ecclesiastical precept. Why should it not be possible to induce people

-to make this sacrifice if, instead of such a precept, they were simply

-told that they ought to put an end to this truly original sin of racial

-corruption which is steadily being passed on from one generation to

-another. And, further, they ought to be brought to realize that it is

-their bounden duty to give to the Almighty Creator beings such as He

-himself made to His own image.

-Naturally, our wretched army of contemporary philistines will not

-understand these things. They will ridicule them or shrug their round

-shoulders and groan out their everlasting excuses: "Of course it is a

-fine thing, but the pity is that it cannot be carried out." And we

-reply: "With you indeed it cannot be done, for your world is incapable

-of such an idea. You know only one anxiety and that is for your own

-personal existence. You have one God, and that is your money. We do not

-turn to you, however, for help, but to the great army of those who are

-too poor to consider their personal existence as the highest good on

-earth. They do not place their trust in money but in other gods, into

-whose hands they confide their lives. Above all we turn to the vast army

-of our German youth. They are coming to maturity in a great epoch, and

-they will fight against the evils which were due to the laziness and

-indifference of their fathers." Either the German youth will one day

-create a new State founded on the racial idea or they will be the last

-witnesses of the complete breakdown and death of the bourgeois world.

-For if a generation suffers from defects which it recognizes and even

-admits and is nevertheless quite pleased with itself, as the bourgeois

-world is to-day, resorting to the cheap excuse that nothing can be done

-to remedy the situation, then such a generation is doomed to disaster. A

-marked characteristic of our bourgeois world is that they no longer can

-deny the evil conditions that exist. They have to admit that there is

-much which is foul and wrong; but they are not able to make up their

-minds to fight against that evil, which would mean putting forth the

-energy to mobilize the forces of 60 or 70 million people and thus oppose

-this menace. They do just the opposite. When such an effort is made

-elsewhere they only indulge in silly comment and try from a safe

-distance to show that such an enterprise is theoretically impossible and

-doomed to failure. No arguments are too stupid to be employed in the

-service of their own pettifogging opinions and their knavish moral

-attitude. If, for instance, a whole continent wages war against

-alcoholic intoxication, so as to free a whole people from this

-devastating vice, our bourgeois European does not know better than to

-look sideways stupidly, shake the head in doubt and ridicule the

-movement with a superior sneer--a state of mind which is effective in a

-society that is so ridiculous. But when all these stupidities miss their

-aim and in that part of the world this sublime and intangible attitude

-is treated effectively and success attends the movement, then such

-success is called into question or its importance minimized. Even moral

-principles are used in this slanderous campaign against a movement which

-aims at suppressing a great source of immorality.

-No. We must not permit ourselves to be deceived by any illusions on this

-point. Our contemporary bourgeois world has become useless for any such

-noble human task because it has lost all high quality and is evil, not

-so much--as I think--because evil is wished but rather because these

-people are too indolent to rise up against it. That is why those

-political societies which call themselves 'bourgeois parties' are

-nothing but associations to promote the interests of certain

-professional groups and classes. Their highest aim is to defend their

-own egoistic interests as best they can. It is obvious that such a

-guild, consisting of bourgeois politicians, may be considered fit for

-anything rather than a struggle, especially when the adversaries are not

-cautious shopkeepers but the proletarian masses, goaded on to

-extremities and determined not to hesitate before deeds of violence.

-If we consider it the first duty of the State to serve and promote the

-general welfare of the people, by preserving and encouraging the

-development of the best racial elements, the logical consequence is that

-this task cannot be limited to measures concerning the birth of the

-infant members of the race and nation but that the State will also have

-to adopt educational means for making each citizen a worthy factor in

-the further propagation of the racial stock.

-Just as, in general, the racial quality is the preliminary condition for

-the mental efficiency of any given human material, the training of the

-individual will first of all have to be directed towards the development

-of sound bodily health. For the general rule is that a strong and

-healthy mind is found only in a strong and healthy body. The fact that

-men of genius are sometimes not robust in health and stature, or even of

-a sickly constitution, is no proof against the principle I have

-enunciated. These cases are only exceptions which, as everywhere else,

-prove the rule. But when the bulk of a nation is composed of physical

-degenerates it is rare for a great spirit to arise from such a miserable

-motley. And in any case his activities would never meet with great

-success. A degenerate mob will either be incapable of understanding him

-at all or their will-power is so feeble that they cannot follow the

-soaring of such an eagle.

-The State that is grounded on the racial principle and is alive to the

-significance of this truth will first of all have to base its

-educational work not on the mere imparting of knowledge but rather on

-physical training and development of healthy bodies. The cultivation of

-the intellectual facilities comes only in the second place. And here

-again it is character which has to be developed first of all, strength

-of will and decision. And the educational system ought to foster the

-spirit of readiness to accept responsibilities gladly. Formal

-instruction in the sciences must be considered last in importance.

-Accordingly the State which is grounded on the racial idea must start

-with the principle that a person whose formal education in the sciences

-is relatively small but who is physically sound and robust, of a

-steadfast and honest character, ready and able to make decisions and

-endowed with strength of will, is a more useful member of the national

-community than a weakling who is scholarly and refined. A nation

-composed of learned men who are physical weaklings, hesitant about

-decisions of the will, and timid pacifists, is not capable of assuring

-even its own existence on this earth. In the bitter struggle which

-decides the destiny of man it is very rare that an individual has

-succumbed because he lacked learning. Those who fail are they who try to

-ignore these consequences and are too faint-hearted about putting them

-into effect. There must be a certain balance between mind and body. An

-ill-kept body is not made a more beautiful sight by the indwelling of a

-radiant spirit. We should not be acting justly if we were to bestow the

-highest intellectual training on those who are physically deformed and

-crippled, who lack decision and are weak-willed and cowardly. What has

-made the Greek ideal of beauty immortal is the wonderful union of a

-splendid physical beauty with nobility of mind and spirit.

-Moltke's saying, that in the long run fortune favours only the

-efficient, is certainly valid for the relationship between body and

-spirit. A mind which is sound will generally maintain its dwelling in a

-body that is sound.

-Accordingly, in the People's State physical training is not a matter for

-the individual alone. Nor is it a duty which first devolves on the

-parents and only secondly or thirdly a public interest; but it is

-necessary for the preservation of the people, who are represented and

-protected by the State. As regards purely formal education the State

-even now interferes with the individual's right of self-determination

-and insists upon the right of the community by submitting the child to

-an obligatory system of training, without paying attention to the

-approval or disapproval of the parents. In a similar way and to a higher

-degree the new People's State will one day make its authority prevail

-over the ignorance and incomprehension of individuals in problems

-appertaining to the safety of the nation. It must organize its

-educational work in such a way that the bodies of the young will be

-systematically trained from infancy onwards, so as to be tempered and

-hardened for the demands to be made on them in later years. Above all,

-the State must see to it that a generation of stay-at-homes is not

-developed.

-The work of education and hygiene has to begin with the young mother.

-The painstaking efforts carried on for several decades have succeeded in

-abolishing septic infection at childbirth and reducing puerperal fever

-to a relatively small number of cases. And so it ought to be possible by

-means of instructing sisters and mothers in an opportune way, to

-institute a system of training the child from early infancy onwards so

-that this may serve as an excellent basis for future development.

-The People's State ought to allow much more time for physical training

-in the school. It is nonsense to burden young brains with a load of

-material of which, as experience shows, they retain only a small part,

-and mostly not the essentials, but only the secondary and useless

-portion; because the young mind is incapable of sifting the right kind

-of learning out of all the stuff that is pumped into it. To-day, even in

-the curriculum of the high schools, only two short hours in the week are

-reserved for gymnastics; and worse still, it is left to the pupils to

-decide whether or not they want to take part. This shows a grave

-disproportion between this branch of education and purely intellectual

-instruction. Not a single day should be allowed to pass in which the

-young pupil does not have one hour of physical training in the morning

-and one in the evening; and every kind of sport and gymnastics should be

-included. There is one kind of sport which should be specially

-encouraged, although many people who call themselves V�LKISCH consider

-it brutal and vulgar, and that is boxing. It is incredible how many

-false notions prevail among the 'cultivated' classes. The fact that the

-young man learns how to fence and then spends his time in duels is

-considered quite natural and respectable. But boxing--that is brutal.

-Why? There is no other sport which equals this in developing the

-militant spirit, none that demands such a power of rapid decision or

-which gives the body the flexibility of good steel. It is no more vulgar

-when two young people settle their differences with their fists than

-with sharp-pointed pieces of steel. One who is attacked and defends

-himself with his fists surely does not act less manly than one who runs

-off and yells for the assistance of a policeman. But, above all, a

-healthy youth has to learn to endure hard knocks. This principle may

-appear savage to our contemporary champions who fight only with the

-weapons of the intellect. But it is not the purpose of the People's

-State to educate a colony of aesthetic pacifists and physical

-degenerates. This State does not consider that the human ideal is to be

-found in the honourable philistine or the maidenly spinster, but in a

-dareful personification of manly force and in women capable of bringing

-men into the world.

-Generally speaking, the function of sport is not only to make the

-individual strong, alert and daring, but also to harden the body and

-train it to endure an adverse environment.

-If our superior class had not received such a distinguished education,

-and if, on the contrary, they had learned boxing, it would never have

-been possible for bullies and deserters and other such CANAILLE to carry

-through a German revolution. For the success of this revolution was not

-due to the courageous, energetic and audacious activities of its authors

-but to the lamentable cowardice and irresolution of those who ruled the

-German State at that time and were responsible for it. But our educated

-leaders had received only an 'intellectual' training and thus found

-themselves defenceless when their adversaries used iron bars instead of

-intellectual weapons. All this could happen only because our superior

-scholastic system did not train men to be real men but merely to be

-civil servants, engineers, technicians, chemists, litterateurs, jurists

-and, finally, professors; so that intellectualism should not die out.

-Our leadership in the purely intellectual sphere has always been

-brilliant, but as regards will-power in practical affairs our leadership

-has been beneath criticism.

-Of course education cannot make a courageous man out of one who is

-temperamentally a coward. But a man who naturally possesses a certain

-degree of courage will not be able to develop that quality if his

-defective education has made him inferior to others from the very start

-as regards physical strength and prowess. The army offers the best

-example of the fact that the knowledge of one's physical ability

-develops a man's courage and militant spirit. Outstanding heroes are not

-the rule in the army, but the average represents men of high courage.

-The excellent schooling which the German soldiers received before the

-War imbued the members of the whole gigantic organism with a degree of

-confidence in their own superiority such as even our opponents never

-thought possible. All the immortal examples of dauntless courage and

-daring which the German armies gave during the late summer and autumn of

-1914, as they advanced from triumph to triumph, were the result of that

-education which had been pursued systematically. During those long years

-of peace before the last War men who were almost physical weaklings were

-made capable of incredible deeds, and thus a self-confidence was

-developed which did not fail even in the most terrible battles.

-It is our German people, which broke down and were delivered over to be

-kicked by the rest of the world, that had need of the power that comes

-by suggestion from self-confidence. But this confidence in one's self

-must be instilled into our children from their very early years. The

-whole system of education and training must be directed towards

-fostering in the child the conviction that he is unquestionably a match

-for any- and everybody. The individual has to regain his own physical

-strength and prowess in order to believe in the invincibility of the

-nation to which he belongs. What has formerly led the German armies to

-victory was the sum total of the confidence which each individual had in

-himself, and which all of them had in those who held the positions of

-command. What will restore the national strength of the German people is

-the conviction that they will be able to reconquer their liberty. But

-this conviction can only be the final product of an equal feeling in the

-millions of individuals. And here again we must have no illusions.

-The collapse of our people was overwhelming, and the efforts to put an

-end to so much misery must also be overwhelming. It would be a bitter

-and grave error to believe that our people could be made strong again

-simply by means of our present bourgeois training in good order and

-obedience. That will not suffice if we are to break up the present order

-of things, which now sanctions the acknowledgment of our defeat and cast

-the broken chains of our slavery in the face of our opponents. Only by a

-superabundance of national energy and a passionate thirst for liberty

-can we recover what has been lost.

-Also the manner of clothing the young should be such as harmonizes with

-this purpose. It is really lamentable to see how our young people have

-fallen victims to a fashion mania which perverts the meaning of the old

-adage that clothes make the man.

-Especially in regard to young people clothes should take their place in

-the service of education. The boy who walks about in summer-time wearing

-long baggy trousers and clad up to the neck is hampered even by his

-clothes in feeling any inclination towards strenuous physical exercise.

-Ambition and, to speak quite frankly, even vanity must be appealed to. I

-do not mean such vanity as leads people to want to wear fine clothes,

-which not everybody can afford, but rather the vanity which inclines a

-person towards developing a fine bodily physique. And this is something

-which everybody can help to do.

-This will come in useful also for later years. The young girl must

-become acquainted with her sweetheart. If the beauty of the body were

-not completely forced into the background to-day through our stupid

-manner of dressing, it would not be possible for thousands of our girls

-to be led astray by Jewish mongrels, with their repulsive crooked

-waddle. It is also in the interests of the nation that those who have a

-beautiful physique should be brought into the foreground, so that they

-might encourage the development of a beautiful bodily form among the

-people in general.

-Military training is excluded among us to-day, and therewith the only

-institution which in peace-times at least partly made up for the lack of

-physical training in our education. Therefore what I have suggested is

-all the more necessary in our time. The success of our old military

-training not only showed itself in the education of the individual but

-also in the influence which it exercised over the mutual relationship

-between the sexes. The young girl preferred the soldier to one who was

-not a soldier. The People's State must not confine its control of

-physical training to the official school period, but it must demand

-that, after leaving school and while the adolescent body is still

-developing, the boy continues this training. For on such proper physical

-development success in after-life largely depends. It is stupid to think

-that the right of the State to supervise the education of its young

-citizens suddenly comes to an end the moment they leave school and

-recommences only with military service. This right is a duty, and as

-such it must continue uninterruptedly. The present State, which does not

-interest itself in developing healthy men, has criminally neglected this

-duty. It leaves our contemporary youth to be corrupted on the streets

-and in the brothels, instead of keeping hold of the reins and continuing

-the physical training of these youths up to the time when they are grown

-into healthy young men and women.

-For the present it is a matter of indifference what form the State

-chooses for carrying on this training. The essential matter is that it

-should be developed and that the most suitable ways of doing so should

-be investigated. The People's State will have to consider the physical

-training of the youth after the school period just as much a public duty

-as their intellectual training; and this training will have to be

-carried out through public institutions. Its general lines can be a

-preparation for subsequent service in the army. And then it will no

-longer be the task of the army to teach the young recruit the most

-elementary drill regulations. In fact the army will no longer have to

-deal with recruits in the present sense of the word, but it will rather

-have to transform into a soldier the youth whose bodily prowess has been

-already fully trained.

-In the People's State the army will no longer be obliged to teach boys

-how to walk and stand erect, but it will be the final and supreme school

-of patriotic education. In the army the young recruit will learn the art

-of bearing arms, but at the same time he will be equipped for his other

-duties in later life. And the supreme aim of military education must

-always be to achieve that which was attributed to the old army as its

-highest merit: namely, that through his military schooling the boy must

-be transformed into a man, that he must not only learn to obey but also

-acquire the fundamentals that will enable him one day to command. He

-must learn to remain silent not only when he is rightly rebuked but also

-when he is wrongly rebuked.

-Furthermore, on the self-consciousness of his own strength and on the

-basis of that ESPRIT DE CORPS which inspires him and his comrades, he

-must become convinced that he belongs to a people who are invincible.

-After he has completed his military training two certificates shall be

-handed to the soldier. The one will be his diploma as a citizen of the

-State, a juridical document which will enable him to take part in public

-affairs. The second will be an attestation of his physical health, which

-guarantees his fitness for marriage.

-The People's State will have to direct the education of girls just as

-that of boys and according to the same fundamental principles. Here

-again special importance must be given to physical training, and only

-after that must the importance of spiritual and mental training be taken

-into account. In the education of the girl the final goal always to be

-kept in mind is that she is one day to be a mother.

-It is only in the second place that the People's State must busy itself

-with the training of character, using all the means adapted to that

-purpose.

-Of course the essential traits of the individual character are already

-there fundamentally before any education takes place. A person who is

-fundamentally egoistic will always remain fundamentally egoistic, and

-the idealist will always remain fundamentally an idealist. Besides

-those, however, who already possess a definite stamp of character there

-are millions of people with characters that are indefinite and vague.

-The born delinquent will always remain a delinquent, but numerous people

-who show only a certain tendency to commit criminal acts may become

-useful members of the community if rightly trained; whereas, on the

-other hand, weak and unstable characters may easily become evil elements

-if the system of education has been bad.

-During the War it was often lamented that our people could be so little

-reticent. This failing made it very difficult to keep even highly

-important secrets from the knowledge of the enemy. But let us ask this

-question: What did the German educational system do in pre-War times to

-teach the Germans to be discreet? Did it not very often happen in

-schooldays that the little tell-tale was preferred to his companions who

-kept their mouths shut? Is it not true that then, as well as now,

-complaining about others was considered praiseworthy 'candour', while

-silent discretion was taken as obstinacy? Has any attempt ever been made

-to teach that discretion is a precious and manly virtue? No, for such

-matters are trifles in the eyes of our educators. But these trifles cost

-our State innumerable millions in legal expenses; for 90 per cent of all

-the processes for defamation and such like charges arise only from a

-lack of discretion. Remarks that are made without any sense of

-responsibility are thoughtlessly repeated from mouth to mouth; and our

-economic welfare is continually damaged because important methods of

-production are thus disclosed. Secret preparations for our national

-defence are rendered illusory because our people have never learned the

-duty of silence. They repeat everything they happen to hear. In times of

-war such talkative habits may even cause the loss of battles and

-therefore may contribute essentially to the unsuccessful outcome of a

-campaign. Here, as in other matters, we may rest assured that adults

-cannot do what they have not learnt to do in youth. A teacher must not

-try to discover the wild tricks of the boys by encouraging the evil

-practice of tale-bearing. Young people form a sort of State among

-themselves and face adults with a certain solidarity. That is quite

-natural. The ties which unite the ten-year boys to one another are

-stronger and more natural than their relationship to adults. A boy who

-tells on his comrades commits an act of treason and shows a bent of

-character which is, to speak bluntly, similar to that of a man who

-commits high treason. Such a boy must not be classed as 'good',

-'reliable', and so on, but rather as one with undesirable traits of

-character. It may be rather convenient for the teacher to make use of

-such unworthy tendencies in order to help his own work, but by such an

-attitude the germ of a moral habit is sown in young hearts and may one

-day show fatal consequences. It has happened more often than once that a

-young informer developed into a big scoundrel.

-This is only one example among many. The deliberate training of fine and

-noble traits of character in our schools to-day is almost negative. In

-the future much more emphasis will have to be laid on this side of our

-educational work. Loyalty, self-sacrifice and discretion are virtues

-which a great nation must possess. And the teaching and development of

-these in the school is a more important matter than many others things

-now included in the curriculum. To make the children give up habits of

-complaining and whining and howling when they are hurt, etc., also

-belongs to this part of their training. If the educational system fails

-to teach the child at an early age to endure pain and injury without

-complaining we cannot be surprised if at a later age, when the boy has

-grown to be the man and is, for example, in the trenches, the postal

-service is used for nothing else than to send home letters of weeping

-and complaint. If our youths, during their years in the primary schools,

-had had their minds crammed with a little less knowledge, and if instead

-they had been better taught how to be masters of themselves, it would

-have served us well during the years 1914-1918.

-In its educational system the People's State will have to attach the

-highest importance to the development of character, hand-in-hand with

-physical training. Many more defects which our national organism shows

-at present could be at least ameliorated, if not completely eliminated,

-by education of the right kind.

-Extreme importance should be attached to the training of will-power and

-the habit of making firm decisions, also the habit of being always ready

-to accept responsibilities.

-In the training of our old army the principle was in vogue that any

-order is always better than no order. Applied to our youth this

-principle ought to take the form that any answer is better than no

-answer. The fear of replying, because one fears to be wrong, ought to be

-considered more humiliating than giving the wrong reply. On this simple

-and primitive basis our youth should be trained to have the courage to

-act.

-It has been often lamented that in November and December 1918 all the

-authorities lost their heads and that, from the monarch down to the last

-divisional commander, nobody had sufficient mettle to make a decision on

-his own responsibility. That terrible fact constitutes a grave rebuke to

-our educational system; because what was then revealed on a colossal

-scale at that moment of catastrophe was only what happens on a smaller

-scale everywhere among us. It is the lack of will-power, and not the

-lack of arms, which renders us incapable of offering any serious

-resistance to-day. This defect is found everywhere among our people and

-prevents decisive action wherever risks have to be taken, as if any

-great action can be taken without also taking the risk. Quite

-unsuspectingly, a German General found a formula for this lamentable

-lack of the will-to-act when he said: "I act only when I can count on a

-51 per cent probability of success." In that '51 per cent probability'

-we find the very root of the German collapse. The man who demands from

-Fate a guarantee of his success deliberately denies the significance of

-an heroic act. For this significance consists in the very fact that, in

-the definite knowledge that the situation in question is fraught with

-mortal danger, an action is undertaken which may lead to success. A

-patient suffering from cancer and who knows that his death is certain if

-he does not undergo an operation, needs no 51 per cent probability of a

-cure before facing the operation. And if the operation promises only

-half of one per cent probability of success a man of courage will risk

-it and would not whine if it turned out unsuccessful.

-All in all, the cowardly lack of will-power and the incapacity for

-making decisions are chiefly results of the erroneous education given us

-in our youth. The disastrous effects of this are now widespread among

-us. The crowning examples of that tragic chain of consequences are shown

-in the lack of civil courage which our leading statesmen display.

-The cowardice which leads nowadays to the shirking of every kind of

-responsibility springs from the same roots. Here again it is the fault

-of the education given our young people. This drawback permeates all

-sections of public life and finds its immortal consummation in the

-institutions of government that function under the parliamentary regime.

-Already in the school, unfortunately, more value is placed on

-'confession and full repentance' and 'contrite renouncement', on the

-part of little sinners, than on a simple and frank avowal. But this

-latter seems to-day, in the eyes of many an educator, to savour of a

-spirit of utter incorrigibility and depravation. And, though it may seem

-incredible, many a boy is told that the gallows tree is waiting for him

-because he has shown certain traits which might be of inestimable value

-in the nation as a whole.

-Just as the People's State must one day give its attention to training

-the will-power and capacity for decision among the youth, so too it must

-inculcate in the hearts of the young generation from early childhood

-onwards a readiness to accept responsibilities, and the courage of open

-and frank avowal. If it recognizes the full significance of this

-necessity, finally--after a century of educative work--it will succeed

-in building up a nation which will no longer be subject to those defeats

-that have contributed so disastrously to bring about our present

-overthrow.

-The formal imparting of knowledge, which constitutes the chief work of

-our educational system to-day, will be taken over by the People's State

-with only few modifications. These modifications must be made in three

-branches.

-First of all, the brains of the young people must not generally be

-burdened with subjects of which ninety-five per cent are useless to them

-and are therefore forgotten again. The curriculum of the primary and

-secondary schools presents an odd mixture at the present time. In many

-branches of study the subject matter to be learned has become so

-enormous that only a very small fraction of it can be remembered later

-on, and indeed only a very small fraction of this whole mass of

-knowledge can be used. On the other hand, what is learned is

-insufficient for anybody who wishes to specialize in any certain branch

-for the purpose of earning his daily bread. Take, for example, the

-average civil servant who has passed through the GYMNASIUM or High

-School, and ask him at the age of thirty or forty how much he has

-retained of the knowledge that was crammed into him with so much pains.

-How much is retained from all that was stuffed into his brain? He will

-certainly answer: "Well, if a mass of stuff was then taught, it was not

-for the sole purpose of supplying the student with a great stock of

-knowledge from which he could draw in later years, but it served to

-develop the understanding, the memory, and above all it helped to

-strengthen the thinking powers of the brain." That is partly true. And

-yet it is somewhat dangerous to submerge a young brain in a flood of

-impressions which it can hardly master and the single elements of which

-it cannot discern or appreciate at their just value. It is mostly the

-essential part of this knowledge, and not the accidental, that is

-forgotten and sacrificed. Thus the principal purpose of this copious

-instruction is frustrated, for that purpose cannot be to make the brain

-capable of learning by simply offering it an enormous and varied amount

-of subjects for acquisition, but rather to furnish the individual with

-that stock of knowledge which he will need in later life and which he

-can use for the good of the community. This aim, however, is rendered

-illusory if, because of the superabundance of subjects that have been

-crammed into his head in childhood, a person is able to remember

-nothing, or at least not the essential portion, of all this in later

-life. There is no reason why millions of people should learn two or

-three languages during the school years, when only a very small fraction

-will have the opportunity to use these languages in later life and when

-most of them will therefore forget those languages completely. To take

-an instance: Out of 100,000 students who learn French there are probably

-not 2,000 who will be in a position to make use of this accomplishment

-in later life, while 98,000 will never have a chance to utilize in

-practice what they have learned in youth. They have spent thousands of

-hours on a subject which will afterwards be without any value or

-importance to them. The argument that these matters form part of the

-general process of educating the mind is invalid. It would be sound if

-all these people were able to use this learning in after life. But, as

-the situation stands, 98,000 are tortured to no purpose and waste their

-valuable time, only for the sake of the 2,000 to whom the language will

-be of any use.

-In the case of that language which I have chosen as an example it cannot

-be said that the learning of it educates the student in logical thinking

-or sharpens his mental acumen, as the learning of Latin, for instance,

-might be said to do. It would therefore be much better to teach young

-students only the general outline, or, better, the inner structure of

-such a language: that is to say, to allow them to discern the

-characteristic features of the language, or perhaps to make them

-acquainted with the rudiments of its grammar, its pronunciation, its

-syntax, style, etc. That would be sufficient for average students,

-because it would provide a clearer view of the whole and could be more

-easily remembered. And it would be more practical than the present-day

-attempt to cram into their heads a detailed knowledge of the whole

-language, which they can never master and which they will readily

-forget. If this method were adopted, then we should avoid the danger

-that, out of the superabundance of matter taught, only some fragments

-will remain in the memory; for the youth would then have to learn what

-is worth while, and the selection between the useful and the useless

-would thus have been made beforehand.

-As regards the majority of students the knowledge and understanding of

-the rudiments of a language would be quite sufficient for the rest of

-their lives. And those who really do need this language subsequently

-would thus have a foundation on which to start, should they choose to

-make a more thorough study of it.

-By adopting such a curriculum the necessary amount of time would be

-gained for physical exercises as well as for a more intense training in

-the various educational fields that have already been mentioned.

-A reform of particular importance is that which ought to take place in

-the present methods of teaching history. Scarcely any other people are

-made to study as much of history as the Germans, and scarcely any other

-people make such a bad use of their historical knowledge. If politics

-means history in the making, then our way of teaching history stands

-condemned by the way we have conducted our politics. But there would be

-no point in bewailing the lamentable results of our political conduct

-unless one is now determined to give our people a better political

-education. In 99 out of 100 cases the results of our present teaching of

-history are deplorable. Usually only a few dates, years of birth and

-names, remain in the memory, while a knowledge of the main and clearly

-defined lines of historical development is completely lacking. The

-essential features which are of real significance are not taught. It is

-left to the more or less bright intelligence of the individual to

-discover the inner motivating urge amid the mass of dates and

-chronological succession of events.

-You may object as strongly as you like to this unpleasant statement. But

-read with attention the speeches which our parliamentarians make during

-one session alone on political problems and on questions of foreign

-policy in particular. Remember that those gentlemen are, or claim to be,

-the elite of the German nation and that at least a great number of them

-have sat on the benches of our secondary schools and that many of them

-have passed through our universities. Then you will realize how

-defective the historical education of these people has been. If these

-gentlemen had never studied history at all but had possessed a sound

-instinct for public affairs, things would have gone better, and the

-nation would have benefited greatly thereby.

-The subject matter of our historical teaching must be curtailed. The

-chief value of that teaching is to make the principal lines of

-historical development understood. The more our historical teaching is

-limited to this task, the more we may hope that it will turn out

-subsequently to be of advantage to the individual and, through the

-individual, to the community as a whole. For history must not be studied

-merely with a view to knowing what happened in the past but as a guide

-for the future, and to teach us what policy would be the best to follow

-for the preservation of our own people. That is the real end; and the

-teaching of history is only a means to attain this end. But here again

-the means has superseded the end in our contemporary education. The goal

-is completely forgotten. Do not reply that a profound study of history

-demands a detailed knowledge of all these dates because otherwise we

-could not fix the great lines of development. That task belongs to the

-professional historians. But the average man is not a professor of

-history. For him history has only one mission and that is to provide him

-with such an amount of historical knowledge as is necessary in order to

-enable him to form an independent opinion on the political affairs of

-his own country. The man who wants to become a professor of history can

-devote himself to all the details later on. Naturally he will have to

-occupy himself even with the smallest details. Of course our present

-teaching of history is not adequate to all this. Its scope is too vast

-for the average student and too limited for the student who wishes to be

-an historical expert.

-Finally, it is the business of the People's State to arrange for the

-writing of a world history in which the race problem will occupy a

-dominant position.

-To sum up: The People's State must reconstruct our system of general

-instruction in such a way that it will embrace only what is essential.

-Beyond this it will have to make provision for a more advanced teaching

-in the various subjects for those who want to specialize in them. It

-will suffice for the average individual to be acquainted with the

-fundamentals of the various subjects to serve as the basis of what may

-be called an all-round education. He ought to study exhaustively and in

-detail only that subject in which he intends to work during the rest of

-his life. A general instruction in all subjects should be obligatory,

-and specialization should be left to the choice of the individual.

-In this way the scholastic programme would be shortened, and thus

-several school hours would be gained which could be utilized for

-physical training and character training, in will-power, the capacity

-for making practical judgments, decisions, etc.

-The little account taken by our school training to-day, especially in

-the secondary schools, of the callings that have to be followed in after

-life is demonstrated by the fact that men who are destined for the same

-calling in life are educated in three different kinds of schools. What

-is of decisive importance is general education only and not the special

-teaching. When special knowledge is needed it cannot be given in the

-curriculum of our secondary schools as they stand to-day.

-Therefore the People's State will one day have to abolish such

-half-measures.

-The second modification in the curriculum which the People's State will

-have to make is the following:

-It is a characteristic of our materialistic epoch that our scientific

-education shows a growing emphasis on what is real and practical: such

-subjects, for instance, as applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc.

-Of course they are necessary in an age that is dominated by industrial

-technology and chemistry, and where everyday life shows at least the

-external manifestations of these. But it is a perilous thing to base the

-general culture of a nation on the knowledge of these subjects. On the

-contrary, that general culture ought always to be directed towards

-ideals. It ought to be founded on the humanist disciplines and should

-aim at giving only the ground work of further specialized instruction in

-the various practical sciences. Otherwise we should sacrifice those

-forces that are more important for the preservation of the nation than

-any technical knowledge. In the historical department the study of

-ancient history should not be omitted. Roman history, along general

-lines, is and will remain the best teacher, not only for our own time

-but also for the future. And the ideal of Hellenic culture should be

-preserved for us in all its marvellous beauty. The differences between

-the various peoples should not prevent us from recognizing the community

-of race which unites them on a higher plane. The conflict of our times

-is one that is being waged around great objectives. A civilization is

-fighting for its existence. It is a civilization that is the product of

-thousands of years of historical development, and the Greek as well as

-the German forms part of it.

-A clear-cut division must be made between general culture and the

-special branches. To-day the latter threaten more and more to devote

-themselves exclusively to the service of Mammon. To counterbalance this

-tendency, general culture should be preserved, at least in its ideal

-forms. The principle should be repeatedly emphasized, that industrial

-and technical progress, trade and commerce, can flourish only so long as

-a folk community exists whose general system of thought is inspired by

-ideals, since that is the preliminary condition for a flourishing

-development of the enterprises I have spoken of. That condition is not

-created by a spirit of materialist egotism but by a spirit of

-self-denial and the joy of giving one's self in the service of others.

-The system of education which prevails to-day sees its principal object

-in pumping into young people that knowledge which will help them to make

-their way in life. This principle is expressed in the following terms:

-"The young man must one day become a useful member of human society." By

-that phrase they mean the ability to gain an honest daily livelihood.

-The superficial training in the duties of good citizenship, which he

-acquires merely as an accidental thing, has very weak foundations. For

-in itself the State represents only a form, and therefore it is

-difficult to train people to look upon this form as the ideal which they

-will have to serve and towards which they must feel responsible. A form

-can be too easily broken. But, as we have seen, the idea which people

-have of the State to-day does not represent anything clearly defined.

-Therefore, there is nothing but the usual stereotyped 'patriotic'

-training. In the old Germany the greatest emphasis was placed on the

-divine right of the small and even the smallest potentates. The way in

-which this divine right was formulated and presented was never very

-clever and often very stupid. Because of the large numbers of those

-small potentates, it was impossible to give adequate biographical

-accounts of the really great personalities that shed their lustre on the

-history of the German people. The result was that the broad masses

-received a very inadequate knowledge of German history. Here, too, the

-great lines of development were missing.

-It is evident that in such a way no real national enthusiasm could be

-aroused. Our educational system proved incapable of selecting from the

-general mass of our historical personages the names of a few

-personalities which the German people could be proud to look upon as

-their own. Thus the whole nation might have been united by the ties of a

-common knowledge of this common heritage. The really important figures

-in German history were not presented to the present generation. The

-attention of the whole nation was not concentrated on them for the

-purpose of awakening a common national spirit. From the various subjects

-that were taught, those who had charge of our training seemed incapable

-of selecting what redounded most to the national honour and lifting that

-above the common objective level, in order to inflame the national pride

-in the light of such brilliant examples. At that time such a course

-would have been looked upon as rank chauvinism, which did not then have

-a very pleasant savour. Pettifogging dynastic patriotism was more

-acceptable and more easily tolerated than the glowing fire of a supreme

-national pride. The former could be always pressed into service, whereas

-the latter might one day become a dominating force. Monarchist

-patriotism terminated in Associations of Veterans, whereas passionate

-national patriotism might have opened a road which would be difficult to

-determine. This national passion is like a highly tempered thoroughbred

-who is discriminate about the sort of rider he will tolerate in the

-saddle. No wonder that most people preferred to shirk such a danger.

-Nobody seemed to think it possible that one day a war might come which

-would put the mettle of this kind of patriotism to the test, in

-artillery bombardment and waves of attacks with poison gas. But when it

-did come our lack of this patriotic passion was avenged in a terrible

-way. None were very enthusiastic about dying for their imperial and

-royal sovereigns; while on the other hand the 'Nation' was not

-recognized by the greater number of the soldiers.

-Since the revolution broke out in Germany and the monarchist patriotism

-was therefore extinguished, the purpose of teaching history was nothing

-more than to add to the stock of objective knowledge. The present State

-has no use for patriotic enthusiasm; but it will never obtain what it

-really desires. For if dynastic patriotism failed to produce a supreme

-power of resistance at a time when the principle of nationalism

-dominated, it will be still less possible to arouse republican

-enthusiasm. There can be no doubt that the German people would not have

-stood on the field of battle for four and a half years to fight under

-the battle slogan 'For the Republic,' and least of all those who created

-this grand institution.

-In reality this Republic has been allowed to exist undisturbed only by

-grace of its readiness and its promise to all and sundry, to pay tribute

-and reparations to the stranger and to put its signature to any kind of

-territorial renunciation. The rest of the world finds it sympathetic,

-just as a weakling is always more pleasing to those who want to bend him

-to their own uses than is a man who is made of harder metal. But the

-fact that the enemy likes this form of government is the worst kind of

-condemnation. They love the German Republic and tolerate its existence

-because no better instrument could be found which would help them to

-keep our people in slavery. It is to this fact alone that this

-magnanimous institution owes its survival. And that is why it can

-renounce any REAL system of national education and can feel satisfied

-when the heroes of the REICH banner shout their hurrahs, but in reality

-these same heroes would scamper away like rabbits if called upon to

-defend that banner with their blood.

-The People's State will have to fight for its existence. It will not

-gain or secure this existence by signing documents like that of the

-Dawes Plan. But for its existence and defence it will need precisely

-those things which our present system believes can be repudiated. The

-more worthy its form and its inner national being. the greater will be

-the envy and opposition of its adversaries. The best defence will not be

-in the arms it possesses but in its citizens. Bastions of fortresses

-will not save it, but the living wall of its men and women, filled with

-an ardent love for their country and a passionate spirit of national

-patriotism.

-Therefore the third point which will have to be considered in relation

-to our educational system is the following:

-The People's State must realize that the sciences may also be made a

-means of promoting a spirit of pride in the nation. Not only the history

-of the world but the history of civilization as a whole must be taught

-in the light of this principle. An inventor must appear great not only

-as an inventor but also, and even more so, as a member of the nation.

-The admiration aroused by the contemplation of a great achievement must

-be transformed into a feeling of pride and satisfaction that a man of

-one's own race has been chosen to accomplish it. But out of the

-abundance of great names in German history the greatest will have to be

-selected and presented to our young generation in such a way as to

-become solid pillars of strength to support the national spirit.

-The subject matter ought to be systematically organized from the

-standpoint of this principle. And the teaching should be so orientated

-that the boy or girl, after leaving school, will not be a semi-pacifist,

-a democrat or of something else of that kind, but a whole-hearted

-German. So that this national feeling be sincere from the very

-beginning, and not a mere pretence, the following fundamental and

-inflexible principle should be impressed on the young brain while it is

-yet malleable: The man who loves his nation can prove the sincerity of

-this sentiment only by being ready to make sacrifices for the nation's

-welfare. There is no such thing as a national sentiment which is

-directed towards personal interests. And there is no such thing as a

-nationalism that embraces only certain classes. Hurrahing proves nothing

-and does not confer the right to call oneself national if behind that

-shout there is no sincere preoccupation for the conservation of the

-nation's well-being. One can be proud of one's people only if there is

-no class left of which one need to be ashamed. When one half of a nation

-is sunk in misery and worn out by hard distress, or even depraved or

-degenerate, that nation presents such an unattractive picture that

-nobody can feel proud to belong to it. It is only when a nation is sound

-in all its members, physically and morally, that the joy of belonging to

-it can properly be intensified to the supreme feeling which we call

-national pride. But this pride, in its highest form, can be felt only by

-those who know the greatness of their nation.

-The spirit of nationalism and a feeling for social justice must be fused

-into one sentiment in the hearts of the youth. Then a day will come when

-a nation of citizens will arise which will be welded together through a

-common love and a common pride that shall be invincible and

-indestructible for ever.

-The dread of chauvinism, which is a symptom of our time, is a sign of

-its impotence. Since our epoch not only lacks everything in the nature

-of exuberant energy but even finds such a manifestation disagreeable,

-fate will never elect it for the accomplishment of any great deeds. For

-the greatest changes that have taken place on this earth would have been

-inconceivable if they had not been inspired by ardent and even

-hysterical passions, but only by the bourgeois virtues of peacefulness

-and order.

-One thing is certain: our world is facing a great revolution. The only

-question is whether the outcome will be propitious for the Aryan portion

-of mankind or whether the everlasting Jew will profit by it.

-By educating the young generation along the right lines, the People's

-State will have to see to it that a generation of mankind is formed

-which will be adequate to this supreme combat that will decide the

-destinies of the world.

-That nation will conquer which will be the first to take this road.

-The whole organization of education and training which the People's

-State is to build up must take as its crowning task the work of

-instilling into the hearts and brains of the youth entrusted to it the

-racial instinct and understanding of the racial idea. No boy or girl

-must leave school without having attained a clear insight into the

-meaning of racial purity and the importance of maintaining the racial

-blood unadulterated. Thus the first indispensable condition for the

-preservation of our race will have been established and thus the future

-cultural progress of our people will be assured.

-For in the last analysis all physical and mental training would be in

-vain unless it served an entity which is ready and determined to carry

-on its own existence and maintain its own characteristic qualities.

-If it were otherwise, something would result which we Germans have cause

-to regret already, without perhaps having hitherto recognized the extent

-of the tragic calamity. We should be doomed to remain also in the future

-only manure for civilization. And that not in the banal sense of the

-contemporary bourgeois mind, which sees in a lost fellow member of our

-people only a lost citizen, but in a sense which we should have

-painfully to recognize: namely, that our racial blood would be destined

-to disappear. By continually mixing with other races we might lift them

-from their former lower level of civilization to a higher grade; but we

-ourselves should descend for ever from the heights we had reached.

-Finally, from the racial standpoint this training also must find its

-culmination in the military service. The term of military service is to

-be a final stage of the normal training which the average German

-receives.

-While the People's State attaches the greatest importance to physical

-and mental training, it has also to consider, and no less importantly,

-the task of selecting men for the service of the State itself. This

-important matter is passed over lightly at the present time. Generally

-the children of parents who are for the time being in higher situations

-are in their turn considered worthy of a higher education. Here talent

-plays a subordinate part. But talent can be estimated only relatively.

-Though in general culture he may be inferior to the city child, a

-peasant boy may be more talented than the son of a family that has

-occupied high positions through many generations. But the superior

-culture of the city child has in itself nothing to do with a greater or

-lesser degree of talent; for this culture has its roots in the more

-copious mass of impressions which arise from the more varied education

-and the surroundings among which this child lives. If the intelligent

-son of peasant parents were educated from childhood in similar

-surroundings his intellectual accomplishments would be quite otherwise.

-In our day there is only one sphere where the family in which a person

-has been born means less than his innate gifts. That is the sphere of

-art. Here, where a person cannot just 'learn,' but must have innate

-gifts that later on may undergo a more or less happy development (in the

-sense of a wise development of what is already there), money and

-parental property are of no account. This is a good proof that genius is

-not necessarily connected with the higher social strata or with wealth.

-Not rarely the greatest artists come from poor families. And many a boy

-from the country village has eventually become a celebrated master.

-It does not say much for the mental acumen of our time that advantage is

-not taken of this truth for the sake of our whole intellectual life. The

-opinion is advanced that this principle, though undoubtedly valid in the

-field of art, has not the same validity in regard to what are called the

-applied sciences. It is true that a man can be trained to a certain

-amount of mechanical dexterity, just as a poodle can be taught

-incredible tricks by a clever master. But such training does not bring

-the animal to use his intelligence in order to carry out those tricks.

-And the same holds good in regard to man. It is possible to teach men,

-irrespective of talent or no talent, to go through certain scientific

-exercises, but in such cases the results are quite as inanimate and

-mechanical as in the case of the animal. It would even be possible to

-force a person of mediocre intelligence, by means of a severe course of

-intellectual drilling, to acquire more than the average amount of

-knowledge; but that knowledge would remain sterile. The result would be

-a man who might be a walking dictionary of knowledge but who will fail

-miserably on every critical occasion in life and at every juncture where

-vital decisions have to be taken. Such people need to be drilled

-specially for every new and even most insignificant task and will never

-be capable of contributing in the least to the general progress of

-mankind. Knowledge that is merely drilled into people can at best

-qualify them to fill government positions under our present regime.

-It goes without saying that, among the sum total of individuals who make

-up a nation, gifted people are always to be found in every sphere of

-life. It is also quite natural that the value of knowledge will be all

-the greater the more vitally the dead mass of learning is animated by

-the innate talent of the individual who possesses it. Creative work in

-this field can be done only through the marriage of knowledge and

-talent.

-One example will suffice to show how much our contemporary world is at

-fault in this matter. From time to time our illustrated papers publish,

-for the edification of the German philistine, the news that in some

-quarter or other of the globe, and for the first time in that locality,

-a Negro has become a lawyer, a teacher, a pastor, even a grand opera

-tenor or something else of that kind. While the bourgeois blockhead

-stares with amazed admiration at the notice that tells him how

-marvellous are the achievements of our modern educational technique, the

-more cunning Jew sees in this fact a new proof to be utilized for the

-theory with which he wants to infect the public, namely that all men are

-equal. It does not dawn on the murky bourgeois mind that the fact which

-is published for him is a sin against reason itself, that it is an act

-of criminal insanity to train a being who is only an anthropoid by birth

-until the pretence can be made that he has been turned into a lawyer;

-while, on the other hand, millions who belong to the most civilized

-races have to remain in positions which are unworthy of their cultural

-level. The bourgeois mind does not realize that it is a sin against the

-will of the eternal Creator to allow hundreds of thousands of highly

-gifted people to remain floundering in the swamp of proletarian misery

-while Hottentots and Zulus are drilled to fill positions in the

-intellectual professions. For here we have the product only of a

-drilling technique, just as in the case of the performing dog. If the

-same amount of care and effort were applied among intelligent races each

-individual would become a thousand times more capable in such matters.

-This state of affairs would become intolerable if a day should arrive

-when it no longer refers to exceptional cases. But the situation is

-already intolerable where talent and natural gifts are not taken as

-decisive factors in qualifying for the right to a higher education. It

-is indeed intolerable to think that year after year hundreds of

-thousands of young people without a single vestige of talent are deemed

-worthy of a higher education, while other hundreds of thousands who

-possess high natural gifts have to go without any sort of higher

-schooling at all. The practical loss thus caused to the nation is

-incalculable. If the number of important discoveries which have been

-made in America has grown considerably in recent years one of the

-reasons is that the number of gifted persons belonging to the lowest

-social classes who were given a higher education in that country is

-proportionately much larger than in Europe.

-A stock of knowledge packed into the brain will not suffice for the

-making of discoveries. What counts here is only that knowledge which is

-illuminated by natural talent. But with us at the present time no value

-is placed on such gifts. Only good school reports count.

-Here is another educative work that is waiting for the People's State to

-do. It will not be its task to assure a dominant influence to a certain

-social class already existing, but it will be its duty to attract the

-most competent brains in the total mass of the nation and promote them

-to place and honour. It is not merely the duty of the State to give to

-the average child a certain definite education in the primary school,

-but it is also its duty to open the road to talent in the proper

-direction. And above all, it must open the doors of the higher schools

-under the State to talent of every sort, no matter in what social class

-it may appear. This is an imperative necessity; for thus alone will it

-be possible to develop a talented body of public leaders from the class

-which represents learning that in itself is only a dead mass.

-There is still another reason why the State should provide for this

-situation. Our intellectual class, particularly in Germany, is so shut

-up in itself and fossilized that it lacks living contact with the

-classes beneath it. Two evil consequences result from this: First, the

-intellectual class neither understands nor sympathizes with the broad

-masses. It has been so long cut off from all connection with them that

-it cannot now have the necessary psychological ties that would enable it

-to understand them. It has become estranged from the people. Secondly,

-the intellectual class lacks the necessary will-power; for this faculty

-is always weaker in cultivated circles, which live in seclusion, than

-among the primitive masses of the people. God knows we Germans have

-never been lacking in abundant scientific culture, but we have always

-had a considerable lack of will-power and the capacity for making

-decisions. For example, the more 'intellectual' our statesmen have been

-the more lacking they have been, for the most part, in practical

-achievement. Our political preparation and our technical equipment for

-the world war were defective, certainly not because the brains governing

-the nation were too little educated, but because the men who directed

-our public affairs were over-educated, filled to over-flowing with

-knowledge and intelligence, yet without any sound instinct and simply

-without energy, or any spirit of daring. It was our nation's tragedy to

-have to fight for its existence under a Chancellor who was a

-dillydallying philosopher. If instead of a Bethmann von Hollweg we had

-had a rough man of the people as our leader the heroic blood of the

-common grenadier would not have been shed in vain. The exaggeratedly

-intellectual material out of which our leaders were made proved to be

-the best ally of the scoundrels who carried out the November revolution.

-These intellectuals safeguarded the national wealth in a miserly

-fashion, instead of launching it forth and risking it, and thus they set

-the conditions on which the others won success.

-Here the Catholic Church presents an instructive example. Clerical

-celibacy forces the Church to recruit its priests not from their own

-ranks but progressively from the masses of the people. Yet there are not

-many who recognize the significance of celibacy in this relation. But

-therein lies the cause of the inexhaustible vigour which characterizes

-that ancient institution. For by thus unceasingly recruiting the

-ecclesiastical dignitaries from the lower classes of the people, the

-Church is enabled not only to maintain the contact of instinctive

-understanding with the masses of the population but also to assure

-itself of always being able to draw upon that fund of energy which is

-present in this form only among the popular masses. Hence the surprising

-youthfulness of that gigantic organism, its mental flexibility and its

-iron will-power.

-It will be the task of the Peoples' State so to organize and administer

-its educational system that the existing intellectual class will be

-constantly furnished with a supply of fresh blood from beneath. From the

-bulk of the nation the State must sift out with careful scrutiny those

-persons who are endowed with natural talents and see that they are

-employed in the service of the community. For neither the State itself

-nor the various departments of State exist to furnish revenues for

-members of a special class, but to fulfil the tasks allotted to them.

-This will be possible, however, only if the State trains individuals

-specially for these offices. Such individuals must have the necessary

-fundamental capabilities and will-power. The principle does not hold

-true only in regard to the civil service but also in regard to all those

-who are to take part in the intellectual and moral leadership of the

-people, no matter in what sphere they may be employed. The greatness of

-a people is partly dependent on the condition that it must succeed in

-training the best brains for those branches of the public service for

-which they show a special natural aptitude and in placing them in the

-offices where they can do their best work for the good of the community.

-If two nations of equal strength and quality engage in a mutual conflict

-that nation will come out victorious which has entrusted its

-intellectual and moral leadership to its best talents and that nation

-will go under whose government represents only a common food trough for

-privileged groups or classes and where the inner talents of its

-individual members are not availed of.

-Of course such a reform seems impossible in the world as it is to-day.

-The objection will at once be raised, that it is too much to expect from

-the favourite son of a highly-placed civil servant, for instance, that

-he shall work with his hands simply because somebody else whose parents

-belong to the working-class seems more capable for a job in the civil

-service. That argument may be valid as long as manual work is looked

-upon in the same way as it is looked upon to-day. Hence the Peoples'

-State will have to take up an attitude towards the appreciation of

-manual labour which will be fundamentally different from that which now

-exists. If necessary, it will have to organize a persistent system of

-teaching which will aim at abolishing the present-day stupid habit of

-looking down on physical labour as an occupation to be ashamed of.

-The individual will have to be valued, not by the class of work he does

-but by the way in which he does it and by its usefulness to the

-community. This statement may sound monstrous in an epoch when the most

-brainless columnist on a newspaper staff is more esteemed than the most

-expert mechanic, merely because the former pushes a pen. But, as I have

-said, this false valuation does not correspond to the nature of things.

-It has been artificially introduced, and there was a time when it did

-not exist at all. The present unnatural state of affairs is one of those

-general morbid phenomena that have arisen from our materialistic epoch.

-Fundamentally every kind of work has a double value; the one material,

-the other ideal. The material value depends on the practical importance

-of the work to the life of the community. The greater the number of the

-population who benefit from the work, directly or indirectly, the higher

-will be its material value. This evaluation is expressed in the material

-recompense which the individual receives for his labour. In

-contradistinction to this purely material value there is the ideal

-value. Here the work performed is not judged by its material importance

-but by the degree to which it answers a necessity. Certainly the

-material utility of an invention may be greater than that of the service

-rendered by an everyday workman; but it is also certain that the

-community needs each of those small daily services just as much as the

-greater services. From the material point of view a distinction can be

-made in the evaluation of different kinds of work according to their

-utility to the community, and this distinction is expressed by the

-differentiation in the scale of recompense; but on the ideal or abstract

-plans all workmen become equal the moment each strives to do his best in

-his own field, no matter what that field may be. It is on this that a

-man's value must be estimated, and not on the amount of recompense

-received.

-In a reasonably directed State care must be taken that each individual

-is given the kind of work which corresponds to his capabilities. In

-other words, people will be trained for the positions indicated by their

-natural endowments; but these endowments or faculties are innate and

-cannot be acquired by any amount of training, being a gift from Nature

-and not merited by men. Therefore, the way in which men are generally

-esteemed by their fellow-citizens must not be according to the kind of

-work they do, because that has been more or less assigned to the

-individual. Seeing that the kind of work in which the individual is

-employed is to be accounted to his inborn gifts and the resultant

-training which he has received from the community, he will have to be

-judged by the way in which he performs this work entrusted to him by the

-community. For the work which the individual performs is not the purpose

-of his existence, but only a means. His real purpose in life is to

-better himself and raise himself to a higher level as a human being; but

-this he can only do in and through the community whose cultural life he

-shares. And this community must always exist on the foundations on which

-the State is based. He ought to contribute to the conservation of those

-foundations. Nature determines the form of this contribution. It is the

-duty of the individual to return to the community, zealously and

-honestly, what the community has given him. He who does this deserves

-the highest respect and esteem. Material remuneration may be given to

-him whose work has a corresponding utility for the community; but the

-ideal recompense must lie in the esteem to which everybody has a claim

-who serves his people with whatever powers Nature has bestowed upon him

-and which have been developed by the training he has received from the

-national community. Then it will no longer be dishonourable to be an

-honest craftsman; but it will be a cause of disgrace to be an

-inefficient State official, wasting God's day and filching daily bread

-from an honest public. Then it will be looked upon as quite natural that

-positions should not be given to persons who of their very nature are

-incapable of filling them.

-Furthermore, this personal efficiency will be the sole criterion of the

-right to take part on an equal juridical footing in general civil

-affairs.

-The present epoch is working out its own ruin. It introduces universal

-suffrage, chatters about equal rights but can find no foundation for

-this equality. It considers the material wage as the expression of a

-man's value and thus destroys the basis of the noblest kind of equality

-that can exist. For equality cannot and does not depend on the work a

-man does, but only on the manner in which each one does the particular

-work allotted to him. Thus alone will mere natural chance be set aside

-in determining the work of a man and thus only does the individual

-become the artificer of his own social worth.

-At the present time, when whole groups of people estimate each other's

-value only by the size of the salaries which they respectively receive,

-there will be no understanding of all this. But that is no reason why we

-should cease to champion those ideas. Quite the opposite: in an epoch

-which is inwardly diseased and decaying anyone who would heal it must

-have the courage first to lay bare the real roots of the disease. And

-the National Socialist Movement must take that duty on its shoulders. It

-will have to lift its voice above the heads of the small bourgeoisie and

-rally together and co-ordinate all those popular forces which are ready

-to become the protagonists of a new WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-Of course the objection will be made that in general it is difficult to

-differentiate between the material and ideal values of work and that the

-lower prestige which is attached to physical labour is due to the fact

-that smaller wages are paid for that kind of work. It will be said that

-the lower wage is in its turn the reason why the manual worker has less

-chance to participate in the culture of the nation; so that the ideal

-side of human culture is less open to him because it has nothing to do

-with his daily activities. It may be added that the reluctance to do

-physical work is justified by the fact that, on account of the small

-income, the cultural level of manual labourers must naturally be low,

-and that this in turn is a justification for the lower estimation in

-which manual labour is generally held.

-There is quite a good deal of truth in all this. But that is the very

-reason why we ought to see that in the future there should not be such a

-wide difference in the scale of remuneration. Don't say that under such

-conditions poorer work would be done. It would be the saddest symptom of

-decadence if finer intellectual work could be obtained only through the

-stimulus of higher payment. If that point of view had ruled the world up

-to now humanity would never have acquired its greatest scientific and

-cultural heritage. For all the greatest inventions, the greatest

-discoveries, the most profoundly revolutionary scientific work, and the

-most magnificent monuments of human culture, were never given to the

-world under the impulse or compulsion of money. Quite the contrary: not

-rarely was their origin associated with a renunciation of the worldly

-pleasures that wealth can purchase.

-It may be that money has become the one power that governs life to-day.

-Yet a time will come when men will again bow to higher gods. Much that

-we have to-day owes its existence to the desire for money and property;

-but there is very little among all this which would leave the world

-poorer by its lack.

-It is also one of the aims before our movement to hold out the prospect

-of a time when the individual will be given what he needs for the

-purposes of his life and it will be a time in which, on the other hand,

-the principle will be upheld that man does not live for material

-enjoyment alone. This principle will find expression in a wiser scale of

-wages and salaries which will enable everyone, including the humblest

-workman who fulfils his duties conscientiously, to live an honourable

-and decent life both as a man and as a citizen. Let it not be said that

-this is merely a visionary ideal, that this world would never tolerate

-it in practice and that of itself it is impossible to attain.

-Even we are not so simple as to believe that there will ever be an age

-in which there will be no drawbacks. But that does not release us from

-the obligation to fight for the removal of the defects which we have

-recognized, to overcome the shortcomings and to strive towards the

-ideal. In any case the hard reality of the facts to be faced will always

-place only too many limits to our aspirations. But that is precisely why

-man must strive again and again to serve the ultimate aim and no

-failures must induce him to renounce his intentions, just as we cannot

-spurn the sway of justice because mistakes creep into the administration

-of the law, and just as we cannot despise medical science because, in

-spite of it, there will always be diseases.

-Man should take care not to have too low an estimate of the power of an

-ideal. If there are some who may feel disheartened over the present

-conditions, and if they happen to have served as soldiers, I would

-remind them of the time when their heroism was the most convincing

-example of the power inherent in ideal motives. It was not preoccupation

-about their daily bread that led men to sacrifice their lives, but the

-love of their country, the faith which they had in its greatness, and an

-all round feeling for the honour of the nation. Only after the German

-people had become estranged from these ideals, to follow the material

-promises offered by the Revolution, only after they threw away their

-arms to take up the rucksack, only then--instead of entering an earthly

-paradise--did they sink into the purgatory of universal contempt and at

-the same time universal want.

-That is why we must face the calculators of the materialist Republic

-with faith in an idealist REICH.

-CHAPTER III

-CITIZENS AND SUBJECTS OF THE STATE

-The institution that is now erroneously called the State generally

-classifies people only into two groups: citizens and aliens. Citizens

-are all those who possess full civic rights, either by reason of their

-birth or by an act of naturalization. Aliens are those who enjoy the

-same rights in some other State. Between these two categories there are

-certain beings who resemble a sort of meteoric phenomena. They are

-people who have no citizenship in any State and consequently no civic

-rights anywhere.

-In most cases nowadays a person acquires civic rights by being born

-within the frontiers of a State. The race or nationality to which he may

-belong plays no role whatsoever. The child of a Negro who once lived in

-one of the German protectorates and now takes up his residence in

-Germany automatically becomes a 'German Citizen' in the eyes of the

-world. In the same way the child of any Jew, Pole, African or Asian may

-automatically become a German Citizen.

-Besides naturalization that is acquired through the fact of having been

-born within the confines of a State there exists another kind of

-naturalization which can be acquired later. This process is subject to

-various preliminary requirements. For example one condition is that, if

-possible, the applicant must not be a burglar or a common street thug.

-It is required of him that his political attitude is not such as to give

-cause for uneasiness; in other words he must be a harmless simpleton in

-politics. It is required that he shall not be a burden to the State of

-which he wishes to become a citizen. In this realistic epoch of ours

-this last condition naturally only means that he must not be a financial

-burden. If the affairs of the candidate are such that it appears likely

-he will turn out to be a good taxpayer, that is a very important

-consideration and will help him to obtain civic rights all the more

-rapidly.

-The question of race plays no part at all.

-The whole process of acquiring civic rights is not very different from

-that of being admitted to membership of an automobile club, for

-instance. A person files his application. It is examined. It is

-sanctioned. And one day the man receives a card which informs him that

-he has become a citizen. The information is given in an amusing way. An

-applicant who has hitherto been a Zulu or Kaffir is told: "By these

-presents you are now become a German Citizen."

-The President of the State can perform this piece of magic. What God

-Himself could not do is achieved by some Theophrastus Paracelsus (Note 16)

-of a civil servant through a mere twirl of the hand. Nothing but a stroke

-of the pen, and a Mongolian slave is forthwith turned into a real

-German. Not only is no question asked regarding the race to which the

-new citizen belongs; even the matter of his physical health is not

-inquired into. His flesh may be corrupted with syphilis; but he will

-still be welcome in the State as it exists to-day so long as he may not

-become a financial burden or a political danger.

-[Note 16. The last and most famous of the medieval alchemists. He was born

-at Basleabout the year 1490 and died at Salzburg in 1541. He taught that

-all metals could be transmuted through the action of one primary element

-common to them all. This element he called ALCAHEST. If it could be found

-it would proveto be at once the philosopher's stone, the universal

-medicine and their resistible solvent. There are many aspects of his

-teaching which are now looked upon as by no means so fantastic as they

-were considered in his own time.]

-In this way, year after year, those organisms which we call States take

-up poisonous matter which they can hardly ever overcome.

-Another point of distinction between a citizen and an alien is that the

-former is admitted to all public offices, that he may possibly have to

-do military service and that in return he is permitted to take a passive

-or active part at public elections. Those are his chief privileges. For

-in regard to personal rights and personal liberty the alien enjoys the

-same amount of protection as the citizen, and frequently even more.

-Anyhow that is how it happens in our present German Republic.

-I realize fully that nobody likes to hear these things. But it would be

-difficult to find anything more illogical or more insane than our

-contemporary laws in regard to State citizenship.

-At present there exists one State which manifests at least some modest

-attempts that show a better appreciation of how things ought to be done

-in this matter. It is not, however, in our model German Republic but in

-the U.S.A. that efforts are made to conform at least partly to the

-counsels of commonsense. By refusing immigrants to enter there if they

-are in a bad state of health, and by excluding certain races from the

-right to become naturalized as citizens, they have begun to introduce

-principles similar to those on which we wish to ground the People's

-State.

-The People's State will classify its population in three groups:

-Citizens, subjects of the State, and aliens.

-The principle is that birth within the confines of the State gives only

-the status of a subject. It does not carry with it the right to fill any

-position under the State or to participate in political life, such as

-taking an active or passive part in elections. Another principle is that

-the race and nationality of every subject of the State will have to be

-proved. A subject is at any time free to cease being a subject and to

-become a citizen of that country to which he belongs in virtue of his

-nationality. The only difference between an alien and a subject of the

-State is that the former is a citizen of another country.

-The young boy or girl who is of German nationality and is a subject of

-the German State is bound to complete the period of school education

-which is obligatory for every German. Thereby he submits to the system

-of training which will make him conscious of his race and a member of

-the folk-community. Then he has to fulfil all those requirements laid

-down by the State in regard to physical training after he has left

-school; and finally he enters the army. The training in the army is of a

-general kind. It must be given to each individual German and will render

-him competent to fulfil the physical and mental requirements of military

-service. The rights of citizenship shall be conferred on every young man

-whose health and character have been certified as good, after having

-completed his period of military service. This act of inauguration in

-citizenship shall be a solemn ceremony. And the diploma conferring the

-rights of citizenship will be preserved by the young man as the most

-precious testimonial of his whole life. It entitles him to exercise all

-the rights of a citizen and to enjoy all the privileges attached

-thereto. For the State must draw a sharp line of distinction between

-those who, as members of the nation, are the foundation and the support

-of its existence and greatness, and those who are domiciled in the State

-simply as earners of their livelihood there.

-On the occasion of conferring a diploma of citizenship the new citizen

-must take a solemn oath of loyalty to the national community and the

-State. This diploma must be a bond which unites together all the various

-classes and sections of the nation. It shall be a greater honour to be a

-citizen of this REICH, even as a street-sweeper, than to be the King of

-a foreign State.

-The citizen has privileges which are not accorded to the alien. He is

-the master in the REICH. But this high honour has also its obligations.

-Those who show themselves without personal honour or character, or

-common criminals, or traitors to the fatherland, can at any time be

-deprived of the rights of citizenship. Therewith they become merely

-subjects of the State.

-The German girl is a subject of the State but will become a citizen when

-she marries. At the same time those women who earn their livelihood

-independently have the right to acquire citizenship if they are German

-subjects.

-CHAPTER IV

-PERSONALITY AND THE IDEAL OF THE PEOPLE'S STATE

-If the principal duty of the National Socialist People's State be to

-educate and promote the existence of those who are the material out of

-which the State is formed, it will not be sufficient to promote those

-racial elements as such, educate them and finally train them for

-practical life, but the State must also adapt its own organization to

-meet the demands of this task.

-It would be absurd to appraise a man's worth by the race to which he

-belongs and at the same time to make war against the Marxist principle,

-that all men are equal, without being determined to pursue our own

-principle to its ultimate consequences. If we admit the significance of

-blood, that is to say, if we recognize the race as the fundamental

-element on which all life is based, we shall have to apply to the

-individual the logical consequences of this principle. In general I must

-estimate the worth of nations differently, on the basis of the different

-races from which they spring, and I must also differentiate in

-estimating the worth of the individual within his own race. The

-principle, that one people is not the same as another, applies also to

-the individual members of a national community. No one brain, for

-instance, is equal to another; because the constituent elements

-belonging to the same blood vary in a thousand subtle details, though

-they are fundamentally of the same quality.

-The first consequence of this fact is comparatively simple. It demands

-that those elements within the folk-community which show the best racial

-qualities ought to be encouraged more than the others and especially

-they should be encouraged to increase and multiply.

-This task is comparatively simple because it can be recognized and

-carried out almost mechanically. It is much more difficult to select

-from among a whole multitude of people all those who actually possess

-the highest intellectual and spiritual characteristics and assign them

-to that sphere of influence which not only corresponds to their

-outstanding talents but in which their activities will above all things

-be of benefit to the nation. This selection according to capacity and

-efficiency cannot be effected in a mechanical way. It is a work which

-can be accomplished only through the permanent struggle of everyday life

-itself.

-A WELTANSCHAUUNG which repudiates the democratic principle of the rule

-of the masses and aims at giving this world to the best people--that

-is, to the highest quality of mankind--must also apply that same

-aristocratic postulate to the individuals within the folk-community. It

-must take care that the positions of leadership and highest influence

-are given to the best men. Hence it is not based on the idea of the

-majority, but on that of personality.

-Anyone who believes that the People's National Socialist State should

-distinguish itself from the other States only mechanically, as it were,

-through the better construction of its economic life--thanks to a

-better equilibrium between poverty and riches, or to the extension to

-broader masses of the power to determine the economic process, or to a

-fairer wage, or to the elimination of vast differences in the scale of

-salaries--anyone who thinks this understands only the superficial

-features of our movement and has not the least idea of what we mean when

-we speak of our WELTANSCHAUUNG. All these features just mentioned could

-not in the least guarantee us a lasting existence and certainly would be

-no warranty of greatness. A nation that could content itself with

-external reforms would not have the slightest chance of success in the

-general struggle for life among the nations of the world. A movement

-that would confine its mission to such adjustments, which are certainly

-right and equitable, would effect no far-reaching or profound reform in

-the existing order. The whole effect of such measures would be limited

-to externals. They would not furnish the nation with that moral armament

-which alone will enable it effectively to overcome the weaknesses from

-which we are suffering to-day.

-In order to elucidate this point of view it may be worth while to glance

-once again at the real origins and causes of the cultural evolution of

-mankind.

-The first step which visibly brought mankind away from the animal world

-was that which led to the first invention. The invention itself owes its

-origin to the ruses and stratagems which man employed to assist him in

-the struggle with other creatures for his existence and often to provide

-him with the only means he could adopt to achieve success in the

-struggle. Those first very crude inventions cannot be attributed to the

-individual; for the subsequent observer, that is to say the modern

-observer, recognizes them only as collective phenomena. Certain tricks

-and skilful tactics which can be observed in use among the animals

-strike the eye of the observer as established facts which may be seen

-everywhere; and man is no longer in a position to discover or explain

-their primary cause and so he contents himself with calling such

-phenomena 'instinctive.'

-In our case this term has no meaning. Because everyone who believes in

-the higher evolution of living organisms must admit that every

-manifestation of the vital urge and struggle to live must have had a

-definite beginning in time and that one subject alone must have

-manifested it for the first time. It was then repeated again and again;

-and the practice of it spread over a widening area, until finally it

-passed into the subconscience of every member of the species, where it

-manifested itself as 'instinct.'

-This is more easily understood and more easy to believe in the case of

-man. His first skilled tactics in the struggle with the rest of the

-animals undoubtedly originated in his management of creatures which

-possessed special capabilities.

-There can be no doubt that personality was then the sole factor in all

-decisions and achievements, which were afterwards taken over by the

-whole of humanity as a matter of course. An exact exemplification of

-this may be found in those fundamental military principles which have

-now become the basis of all strategy in war. Originally they sprang from

-the brain of a single individual and in the course of many years, maybe

-even thousands of years, they were accepted all round as a matter of

-course and this gained universal validity.

-Man completed his first discovery by making a second. Among other things

-he learned how to master other living beings and make them serve him in

-his struggle for existence. And thus began the real inventive activity

-of mankind, as it is now visible before our eyes. Those material

-inventions, beginning with the use of stones as weapons, which led to

-the domestication of animals, the production of fire by artificial

-means, down to the marvellous inventions of our own days, show clearly

-that an individual was the originator in each case. The nearer we come

-to our own time and the more important and revolutionary the inventions

-become, the more clearly do we recognize the truth of that statement.

-All the material inventions which we see around us have been produced by

-the creative powers and capabilities of individuals. And all these

-inventions help man to raise himself higher and higher above the animal

-world and to separate himself from that world in an absolutely definite

-way. Hence they serve to elevate the human species and continually to

-promote its progress. And what the most primitive artifice once did for

-man in his struggle for existence, as he went hunting through the

-primeval forest, that same sort of assistance is rendered him to-day in

-the form of marvellous scientific inventions which help him in the

-present day struggle for life and to forge weapons for future struggles.

-In their final consequences all human thought and invention help man in

-his life-struggle on this planet, even though the so-called practical

-utility of an invention, a discovery or a profound scientific theory,

-may not be evident at first sight. Everything contributes to raise man

-higher and higher above the level of all the other creatures that

-surround him, thereby strengthening and consolidating his position; so

-that he develops more and more in every direction as the ruling being on

-this earth.

-Hence all inventions are the result of the creative faculty of the

-individual. And all such individuals, whether they have willed it or

-not, are the benefactors of mankind, both great and small. Through their

-work millions and indeed billions of human beings have been provided

-with means and resources which facilitate their struggle for existence.

-Thus at the origin of the material civilization which flourishes to-day

-we always see individual persons. They supplement one another and one of

-them bases his work on that of the other. The same is true in regard to

-the practical application of those inventions and discoveries. For all

-the various methods of production are in their turn inventions also and

-consequently dependent on the creative faculty of the individual. Even

-the purely theoretical work, which cannot be measured by a definite rule

-and is preliminary to all subsequent technical discoveries, is

-exclusively the product of the individual brain. The broad masses do not

-invent, nor does the majority organize or think; but always and in every

-case the individual man, the person.

-Accordingly a human community is well organized only when it facilitates

-to the highest possible degree individual creative forces and utilizes

-their work for the benefit of the community. The most valuable factor of

-an invention, whether it be in the world of material realities or in the

-world of abstract ideas, is the personality of the inventor himself. The

-first and supreme duty of an organized folk community is to place the

-inventor in a position where he can be of the greatest benefit to all.

-Indeed the very purpose of the organization is to put this principle

-into practice. Only by so doing can it ward off the curse of

-mechanization and remain a living thing. In itself it must personify the

-effort to place men of brains above the multitude and to make the latter

-obey the former.

-Therefore not only does the organization possess no right to prevent men

-of brains from rising above the multitude but, on the contrary, it must

-use its organizing powers to enable and promote that ascension as far as

-it possibly can. It must start out from the principle that the blessings

-of mankind never came from the masses but from the creative brains of

-individuals, who are therefore the real benefactors of humanity. It is

-in the interest of all to assure men of creative brains a decisive

-influence and facilitate their work. This common interest is surely not

-served by allowing the multitude to rule, for they are not capable of

-thinking nor are they efficient and in no case whatsoever can they be

-said to be gifted. Only those should rule who have the natural

-temperament and gifts of leadership.

-Such men of brains are selected mainly, as I have already said, through

-the hard struggle for existence itself. In this struggle there are many

-who break down and collapse and thereby show that they are not called by

-Destiny to fill the highest positions; and only very few are left who

-can be classed among the elect. In the realm of thought and of artistic

-creation, and even in the economic field, this same process of selection

-takes place, although--especially in the economic field--its operation

-is heavily handicapped. This same principle of selection rules in the

-administration of the State and in that department of power which

-personifies the organized military defence of the nation. The idea of

-personality rules everywhere, the authority of the individual over his

-subordinates and the responsibility of the individual towards the

-persons who are placed over him. It is only in political life that this

-very natural principle has been completely excluded. Though all human

-civilization has resulted exclusively from the creative activity of the

-individual, the principle that it is the mass which counts--through the

-decision of the majority--makes its appearance only in the

-administration of the national community especially in the higher

-grades; and from there downwards the poison gradually filters into all

-branches of national life, thus causing a veritable decomposition. The

-destructive workings of Judaism in different parts of the national body

-can be ascribed fundamentally to the persistent Jewish efforts at

-undermining the importance of personality among the nations that are

-their hosts and, in place of personality, substituting the domination of

-the masses. The constructive principle of Aryan humanity is thus

-displaced by the destructive principle of the Jews, They become the

-'ferment of decomposition' among nations and races and, in a broad

-sense, the wreckers of human civilization.

-Marxism represents the most striking phase of the Jewish endeavour to

-eliminate the dominant significance of personality in every sphere of

-human life and replace it by the numerical power of the masses. In

-politics the parliamentary form of government is the expression of this

-effort. We can observe the fatal effects of it everywhere, from the

-smallest parish council upwards to the highest governing circles of the

-nation. In the field of economics we see the trade union movement, which

-does not serve the real interests of the employees but the destructive

-aims of international Jewry. Just to the same degree in which the

-principle of personality is excluded from the economic life of the

-nation, and the influence and activities of the masses substituted in

-its stead, national economy, which should be for the service and benefit

-of the community as a whole, will gradually deteriorate in its creative

-capacity. The shop committees which, instead of caring for the interests

-of the employees, strive to influence the process of production, serve

-the same destructive purpose. They damage the general productive system

-and consequently injure the individual engaged in industry. For in the

-long run it is impossible to satisfy popular demands merely by

-high-sounding theoretical phrases. These can be satisfied only by

-supplying goods to meet the individual needs of daily life and by so

-doing create the conviction that, through the productive collaboration

-of its members, the folk community serves the interests of the

-individual.

-Even if, on the basis of its mass-theory, Marxism should prove itself

-capable of taking over and developing the present economic system, that

-would not signify anything. The question as to whether the Marxist

-doctrine be right or wrong cannot be decided by any test which would

-show that it can administer for the future what already exists to-day,

-but only by asking whether it has the creative power to build up

-according to its own principles a civilization which would be a

-counterpart of what already exists. Even if Marxism were a thousandfold

-capable of taking over the economic life as we now have it and

-maintaining it in operation under Marxist direction, such an achievement

-would prove nothing; because, on the basis of its own principles,

-Marxism would never be able to create something which could supplant

-what exists to-day.

-And Marxism itself has furnished the proof that it cannot do this. Not

-only has it been unable anywhere to create a cultural or economic system

-of its own; but it was not even able to develop, according to its own

-principles, the civilization and economic system it found ready at hand.

-It has had to make compromises, by way of a return to the principle of

-personality, just as it cannot dispense with that principle in its own

-organization.

-The racial WELTANSCHAUUNG is fundamentally distinguished from the

-Marxist by reason of the fact that the former recognizes the

-significance of race and therefore also personal worth and has made

-these the pillars of its structure. These are the most important factors

-of its WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-If the National Socialist Movement should fail to understand the

-fundamental importance of this essential principle, if it should merely

-varnish the external appearance of the present State and adopt the

-majority principle, it would really do nothing more than compete with

-Marxism on its own ground. For that reason it would not have the right

-to call itself a WELTANSCHAUUNG. If the social programme of the

-movement consisted in eliminating personality and putting the multitude

-in its place, then National Socialism would be corrupted with the poison

-of Marxism, just as our national-bourgeois parties are.

-The People's State must assure the welfare of its citizens by

-recognizing the importance of personal values under all circumstances

-and by preparing the way for the maximum of productive efficiency in all

-the various branches of economic life, thus securing to the individual

-the highest possible share in the general output.

-Hence the People's State must mercilessly expurgate from all the leading

-circles in the government of the country the parliamentarian principle,

-according to which decisive power through the majority vote is invested

-in the multitude. Personal responsibility must be substituted in its

-stead.

-From this the following conclusion results:

-The best constitution and the best form of government is that which

-makes it quite natural for the best brains to reach a position of

-dominant importance and influence in the community.

-Just as in the field of economics men of outstanding ability cannot be

-designated from above but must come forward in virtue of their own

-efforts, and just as there is an unceasing educative process that leads

-from the smallest shop to the largest undertaking, and just as life

-itself is the school in which those lessons are taught, so in the

-political field it is not possible to 'discover' political talent all in

-a moment. Genius of an extraordinary stamp is not to be judged by normal

-standards whereby we judge other men.

-In its organization the State must be established on the principle of

-personality, starting from the smallest cell and ascending up to the

-supreme government of the country.

-There are no decisions made by the majority vote, but only by

-responsible persons. And the word 'council' is once more restored to its

-original meaning. Every man in a position of responsibility will have

-councillors at his side, but the decision is made by that individual

-person alone.

-The principle which made the former Prussian Army an admirable

-instrument of the German nation will have to become the basis of our

-statal constitution, that is to say, full authority over his

-subordinates must be invested in each leader and he must be responsible

-to those above him.

-Even then we shall not be able to do without those corporations which at

-present we call parliaments. But they will be real councils, in the

-sense that they will have to give advice. The responsibility can and

-must be borne by one individual, who alone will be vested with authority

-and the right to command.

-Parliaments as such are necessary because they alone furnish the

-opportunity for leaders to rise gradually who will be entrusted

-subsequently with positions of special responsibility.

-The following is an outline of the picture which the organization will

-present:

-From the municipal administration up to the government of the REICH, the

-People's State will not have any body of representatives which makes its

-decisions through the majority vote. It will have only advisory bodies

-to assist the chosen leader for the time being and he will distribute

-among them the various duties they are to perform. In certain fields

-they may, if necessary, have to assume full responsibility, such as the

-leader or president of each corporation possesses on a larger scale.

-In principle the People's State must forbid the custom of taking advice

-on certain political problems--economics, for instance--from persons

-who are entirely incompetent because they lack special training and

-practical experience in such matters. Consequently the State must divide

-its representative bodies into a political chamber and a corporative

-chamber that represents the respective trades and professions.

-To assure an effective co-operation between those two bodies, a selected

-body will be placed over them. This will be a special senate.

-No vote will be taken in the chambers or senate. They are to be

-organizations for work and not voting machines. The individual members

-will have consultive votes but no right of decision will be attached

-thereto. The right of decision belongs exclusively to the president, who

-must be entirely responsible for the matter under discussion.

-This principle of combining absolute authority with absolute

-responsibility will gradually cause a selected group of leaders to

-emerge; which is not even thinkable in our present epoch of

-irresponsible parliamentarianism.

-The political construction of the nation will thereby be brought into

-harmony with those laws to which the nation already owes its greatness

-in the economic and cultural spheres.

-Regarding the possibility of putting these principles into practice, I

-should like to call attention to the fact that the principle of

-parliamentarian democracy, whereby decisions are enacted through the

-majority vote, has not always ruled the world. On the contrary, we find

-it prevalent only during short periods of history, and those have always

-been periods of decline in nations and States.

-One must not believe, however, that such a radical change could be

-effected by measures of a purely theoretical character, operating from

-above downwards; for the change I have been describing could not be

-limited to transforming the constitution of a State but would have to

-include the various fields of legislation and civic existence as a

-whole. Such a revolution can be brought about only by means of a

-movement which is itself organized under the inspiration of these

-principles and thus bears the germ of the future State in its own

-organism.

-Therefore it is well for the National Socialist Movement to make itself

-completely familiar with those principles to-day and actually to put

-them into practice within its own organization, so that not only will it

-be in a position to serve as a guide for the future State but will have

-its own organization such that it can subsequently be placed at the

-disposal of the State itself.

-CHAPTER V

-WELTANSCHAUUNG AND ORGANIZATION

-The People's State, which I have tried to sketch in general outline,

-will not become a reality in virtue of the simple fact that we know the

-indispensable conditions of its existence. It does not suffice to know

-what aspect such a State would present. The problem of its foundation is

-far more important. The parties which exist at present and which draw

-their profits from the State as it now is cannot be expected to bring

-about a radical change in the regime or to change their attitude on

-their own initiative. This is rendered all the more impossible because

-the forces which now have the direction of affairs in their hands are

-Jews here and Jews there and Jews everywhere. The trend of development

-which we are now experiencing would, if allowed to go on unhampered,

-lead to the realization of the Pan-Jewish prophecy that the Jews will

-one day devour the other nations and become lords of the earth.

-In contrast to the millions of 'bourgeois' and 'proletarian' Germans,

-who are stumbling to their ruin, mostly through timidity, indolence and

-stupidity, the Jew pursues his way persistently and keeps his eye always

-fixed on his future goal. Any party that is led by him can fight for no

-other interests than his, and his interests certainly have nothing in

-common with those of the Aryan nations.

-If we would transform our ideal picture of the People's State into a

-reality we shall have to keep independent of the forces that now control

-public life and seek for new forces that will be ready and capable of

-taking up the fight for such an ideal. For a fight it will have to be,

-since the first objective will not be to build up the idea of the

-People's State but rather to wipe out the Jewish State which is now in

-existence. As so often happens in the course of history, the main

-difficulty is not to establish a new order of things but to clear the

-ground for its establishment. Prejudices and egotistic interests join

-together in forming a common front against the new idea and in trying by

-every means to prevent its triumph, because it is disagreeable to them

-or threatens their existence.

-That is why the protagonist of the new idea is unfortunately, in spite

-of his {254}desire for constructive work, compelled to wage a

-destructive battle first, in order to abolish the existing state of

-affairs.

-A doctrine whose principles are radically new and of essential

-importance must adopt the sharp probe of criticism as its weapon, though

-this may show itself disagreeable to the individual followers.

-It is evidence of a very superficial insight into historical

-developments if the so-called folkists emphasize again and again that

-they will adopt the use of negative criticism under no circumstances but

-will engage only in constructive work. That is nothing but puerile

-chatter and is typical of the whole lot of folkists. It is another proof

-that the history of our own times has made no impression on these minds.

-Marxism too has had its aims to pursue and it also recognizes

-constructive work, though by this it understands only the establishment

-of despotic rule in the hands of international Jewish finance.

-Nevertheless for seventy years its principal work still remains in the

-field of criticism. And what disruptive and destructive criticism it has

-been! Criticism repeated again and again, until the corrosive acid ate

-into the old State so thoroughly that it finally crumbled to pieces.

-Only then did the so-called 'constructive' critical work of Marxism

-begin. And that was natural, right and logical. An existing order of

-things is not abolished by merely proclaiming and insisting on a new

-one. It must not be hoped that those who are the partisans of the

-existing order and have their interests bound up with it will be

-converted and won over to the new movement simply by being shown that

-something new is necessary. On the contrary, what may easily happen is

-that two different situations will exist side by side and that a

-WELTANSCHAUUNG is transformed into a party, above which level it will

-not be able to raise itself afterwards. For a WELTANSCHAUUNG is

-intolerant and cannot permit another to exist side by side with it. It

-imperiously demands its own recognition as unique and exclusive and a

-complete transformation in accordance with its views throughout all the

-branches of public life. It can never allow the previous state of

-affairs to continue in existence by its side.

-And the same holds true of religions.

-Christianity was not content with erecting an altar of its own. It had

-first to destroy the pagan altars. It was only in virtue of this

-passionate intolerance that an apodictic faith could grow up. And

-intolerance is an indispensable condition for the growth of such a

-faith.

-It may be objected here that in these phenomena which we find throughout

-the history of the world we have to recognize mostly a specifically

-Jewish mode of thought and that such fanaticism and intolerance are

-typical symptoms of Jewish mentality. That may be a thousandfold true;

-and it is a fact deeply to be regretted. The appearance of intolerance

-and fanaticism in the history of mankind may be deeply regrettable, and

-it may be looked upon as foreign to human nature, but the fact does not

-change conditions as they exist to-day. The men who wish to liberate our

-German nation from the conditions in which it now exists cannot cudgel

-their brains with thinking how excellent it would be if this or that had

-never arisen. They must strive to find ways and means of abolishing what

-actually exists. A philosophy of life which is inspired by an infernal

-spirit of intolerance can only be set aside by a doctrine that is

-advanced in an equally ardent spirit and fought for with as determined a

-will and which is itself a new idea, pure and absolutely true.

-Each one of us to-day may regret the fact that the advent of

-Christianity was the first occasion on which spiritual terror was

-introduced into the much freer ancient world, but the fact cannot be

-denied that ever since then the world is pervaded and dominated by this

-kind of coercion and that violence is broken only by violence and terror

-by terror. Only then can a new regime be created by means of

-constructive work. Political parties are prone to enter compromises; but

-a WELTANSCHAUUNG never does this. A political party is inclined to

-adjust its teachings with a view to meeting those of its opponents, but

-a WELTANSCHAUUNG proclaims its own infallibility.

-In the beginning, political parties have also and nearly always the

-intention of {255}securing an exclusive and despotic domination for

-themselves. They always show a slight tendency to become

-WELTANSCHHAUUNGen. But the limited nature of their programme is in

-itself enough to rob them of that heroic spirit which a WELTANSCHAUUNG

-demands. The spirit of conciliation which animates their will attracts

-those petty and chicken-hearted people who are not fit to be

-protagonists in any crusade. That is the reason why they mostly become

-struck in their miserable pettiness very early on the march. They give

-up fighting for their ideology and, by way of what they call 'positive

-collaboration,' they try as quickly as possible to wedge themselves into

-some tiny place at the trough of the existent regime and to stick there

-as long as possible. Their whole effort ends at that. And if they should

-get shouldered away from the common manger by a competition of more

-brutal manners then their only idea is to force themselves in again, by

-force or chicanery, among the herd of all the others who have similar

-appetites, in order to get back into the front row, and finally--even

-at the expense of their most sacred convictions--participate anew in

-that beloved spot where they find their fodder. They are the jackals of

-politics.

-But a general WELTANSCHAUUNG will never share its place with something

-else. Therefore it can never agree to collaborate in any order of things

-that it condemns. On the contrary it feels obliged to employ every means

-in fighting against the old order and the whole world of ideas belonging

-to that order and prepare the way for its destruction.

-These purely destructive tactics, the danger of which is so readily

-perceived by the enemy that he forms a united front against them for his

-common defence, and also the constructive tactics, which must be

-aggressive in order to carry the new world of ideas to success--both

-these phases of the struggle call for a body of resolute fighters. Any

-new philosophy of life will bring its ideas to victory only if the most

-courageous and active elements of its epoch and its people are enrolled

-under its standards and grouped firmly together in a powerful fighting

-organization. To achieve this purpose it is absolutely necessary to

-select from the general system of doctrine a certain number of ideas

-which will appeal to such individuals and which, once they are expressed

-in a precise and clear-cut form, will serve as articles of faith for a

-new association of men. While the programme of the ordinary political

-party is nothing but the recipe for cooking up favourable results out of

-the next general elections, the programme of a WELTANSCHAUUNG

-represents a declaration of war against an existing order of things,

-against present conditions, in short, against the established

-WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-It is not necessary, however, that every individual fighter for such a

-new doctrine need have a full grasp of the ultimate ideas and plans of

-those who are the leaders of the movement. It is only necessary that

-each should have a clear notion of the fundamental ideas and that he

-should thoroughly assimilate a few of the most fundamental principles,

-so that he will be convinced of the necessity of carrying the movement

-and its doctrines to success. The individual soldier is not initiated in

-the knowledge of high strategical plans. But he is trained to submit to

-a rigid discipline, to be passionately convinced of the justice and

-inner worth of his cause and that he must devote himself to it without

-reserve. So, too, the individual follower of a movement must be made

-acquainted with its far-reaching purpose, how it is inspired by a

-powerful will and has a great future before it.

-Supposing that each soldier in an army were a general, and had the

-training and capacity for generalship, that army would not be an

-efficient fighting instrument. Similarly a political movement would not

-be very efficient in fighting for a WELTANSCHAUUNG if it were made up

-exclusively of intellectuals. No, we need the simple soldier also.

-Without him no discipline can be established.

-By its very nature, an organization can exist only if leaders of high

-intellectual ability are served by a large mass of men who are

-emotionally devoted to the cause. To maintain discipline in a company of

-two hundred men who are equally intelligent and capable would turn out

-more difficult in the long run than in a company of one hundred and

-ninety less gifted men and ten who have had a higher education.

-{256}The Social-Democrats have profited very much by recognizing this

-truth. They took the broad masses of our people who had just completed

-military service and learned to submit to discipline, and they subjected

-this mass of men to the discipline of the Social-Democratic

-organization, which was no less rigid than the discipline through which

-the young men had passed in their military training. The

-Social-Democratic organization consisted of an army divided into

-officers and men. The German worker who had passed through his military

-service became the private soldier in that army, and the Jewish

-intellectual was the officer. The German trade union functionaries may

-be compared to the non-commissioned officers. The fact, which was always

-looked upon with indifference by our middle-classes, that only the

-so-called uneducated classes joined Marxism was the very ground on which

-this party achieved its success. For while the bourgeois parties,

-because they mostly consisted of intellectuals, were only a feckless

-band of undisciplined individuals, out of much less intelligent human

-material the Marxist leaders formed an army of party combatants who obey

-their Jewish masters just as blindly as they formerly obeyed their

-German officers. The German middle-classes, who never; bothered their

-heads about psychological problems because they felt themselves superior

-to such matters, did not think it necessary to reflect on the profound

-significance of this fact and the secret danger involved in it. Indeed

-they believed. that a political movement which draws its followers

-exclusively from intellectual circles must, for that very reason, be of

-greater importance and have better grounds. for its chances of success,

-and even a greater probability of taking over the government of the

-country than a party made up of the ignorant masses. They completely

-failed to realize the fact that the strength of a political party never

-consists in the intelligence and independent spirit of the rank-and-file

-of its members but rather in the spirit of willing obedience with which

-they follow their intellectual leaders. What is of decisive importance

-is the leadership itself. When two bodies of troops are arrayed in

-mutual combat victory will not fall to that side in which every soldier

-has an expert knowledge of the rules of strategy, but rather to that

-side which has the best leaders and at the same time the best

-disciplined, most blindly obedient and best drilled troops.

-That is a fundamental piece of knowledge which we must always bear in

-mind when we examine the possibility of transforming a WELTANSCHAUUNG

-into a practical reality.

-If we agree that in order to carry a WELTANSCHAUUNG into practical

-effect it must be incorporated in a fighting movement, then the logical

-consequence is that the programme of such a movement must take account

-of the human material at its disposal. Just as the ultimate aims and

-fundamental principles must be absolutely definite and unmistakable, so

-the propagandist programme must be well drawn up and must be inspired by

-a keen sense of its psychological appeals to the minds of those without

-whose help the noblest ideas will be doomed to remain in the eternal,

-realm of ideas.

-If the idea of the People's State, which is at present an obscure wish,

-is one day to attain a clear and definite success, from its vague and

-vast mass of thought it will have to put forward certain definite

-principles which of their very nature and content are calculated to

-attract a broad mass of adherents; in other words, such a group of

-people as can guarantee that these principles will be fought for. That

-group of people are the German workers.

-That is why the programme of the new movement was condensed into a few

-fundamental postulates, twenty-five in all. They are meant first of all

-to give the ordinary man a rough sketch of what the movement is aiming

-at. They are, so to say, a profession of faith which on the one hand is

-meant to win adherents to the movement and, on the other, they are meant

-to unite such adherents together in a covenant to which all have

-subscribed.

-In these matters we must never lose sight of the following: What we call

-the programme of the movement is absolutely right as far as its ultimate

-aims are concerned, but as regards the manner in which that programme is

-formulated, certain psychological considerations had to be taken

-into account. Hence, in the course of time, the opinion may well arise

-that certain principles should be expressed differently and might be

-better formulated. But any attempt at a different formulation has a

-fatal effect in most cases. For something that ought to be fixed and

-unshakable thereby becomes the subject of discussion. As soon as one

-point alone is removed from the sphere of dogmatic certainty, the

-discussion will not simply result in a new and better formulation which

-will have greater consistency but may easily lead to endless debates and

-general confusion. In such cases the question must always be carefully

-considered as to whether a new and more adequate formulation is to be

-preferred, though it may cause a controversy within the movement, or

-whether it may not be better to retain the old formula which, though

-probably not the best, represents an organism enclosed in itself, solid

-and internally homogeneous. All experience shows that the second of

-these alternatives is preferable. For since in these changes one is

-dealing only with external forms such corrections will always appear

-desirable and possible. But in the last analysis the generality of

-people think superficially and therefore the great danger is that in

-what is merely an external formulation of the programme people will see

-an essential aim of the movement. In that way the will and the combative

-force at the service of the ideas are weakened and the energies that

-ought to be directed towards the outer world are dissipated in

-programmatic discussions within the ranks of the movement.

-For a doctrine that is actually right in its main features it is less

-dangerous to retain a formulation which may no longer be quite adequate

-instead of trying to improve it and thereby allowing a fundamental

-principle of the movement, which had hitherto been considered as solid

-as granite, to become the subject of a general discussion which may have

-unfortunate consequences. This is particularly to be avoided as long as

-a movement is still fighting for victory. For would it be possible to

-inspire people with blind faith in the truth of a doctrine if doubt and

-uncertainty are encouraged by continual alterations in its external

-formulation?

-The essentials of a teaching must never be looked for in its external

-formulas, but always in its inner meaning. And this meaning is

-unchangeable. And in its interest one can only wish that a movement

-should exclude everything that tends towards disintegration and

-uncertainty in order to preserve the unified force that is necessary for

-its triumph.

-Here again the Catholic Church has a lesson to teach us. Though

-sometimes, and often quite unnecessarily, its dogmatic system is in

-conflict with the exact sciences and with scientific discoveries, it is

-not disposed to sacrifice a syllable of its teachings. It has rightly

-recognized that its powers of resistance would be weakened by

-introducing greater or less doctrinal adaptations to meet the temporary

-conclusions of science, which in reality are always vacillating. And

-thus it holds fast to its fixed and established dogmas which alone can

-give to the whole system the character of a faith. And that is the

-reason why it stands firmer to-day than ever before. We may prophesy

-that, as a fixed pole amid fleeting phenomena, it will continue to

-attract increasing numbers of people who will be blindly attached to it

-the more rapid the rhythm of changing phenomena around it.

-Therefore whoever really and seriously desires that the idea of the

-People's State should triumph must realize that this triumph can be

-assured only through a militant movement and that this movement must

-ground its strength only on the granite firmness of an impregnable and

-firmly coherent programme. In regard to its formulas it must never make

-concessions to the spirit of the time but must maintain the form that

-has once and for all been decided upon as the right one; in any case

-until victory has crowned its efforts. Before this goal has been reached

-any attempt to open a discussion on the opportuneness of this or that

-point in the programme might tend to disintegrate the solidity and

-fighting strength of the movement, according to the measures in which

-its followers might take part in such an internal dispute. Some

-'improvements' introduced to-day might be subjected to a critical

-examination to-morrow, in order to substitute it with something better

-{258}the day after. Once the barrier has been taken down the road is

-opened and we know only the beginning, but we do not know to what

-shoreless sea it may lead.

-This important principle had to be acknowledged in practice by the

-members of the National Socialist Movement at its very beginning. In its

-programme of twenty-five points the National Socialist German Labour

-Party has been furnished with a basis that must remain unshakable. The

-members of the movement, both present and future, must never feel

-themselves called upon to undertake a critical revision of these leading

-postulates, but rather feel themselves obliged to put them into practice

-as they stand. Otherwise the next generation would, in its turn and with

-equal right, expend its energy in such purely formal work within the

-party, instead of winning new adherents to the movement and thus adding

-to its power. For the majority of our followers the essence of the

-movement will consist not so much in the letter of our theses but in the

-meaning that we attribute to them.

-The new movement owes its name to these considerations, and later on its

-programme was drawn up in conformity with them. They are the basis of

-our propaganda. In order to carry the idea of the People's State to

-victory, a popular party had to be founded, a party that did not consist

-of intellectual leaders only but also of manual labourers. Any attempt

-to carry these theories into effect without the aid of a militant

-organization would be doomed to failure to-day, as it has failed in the

-past and must fail in the future. That is why the movement is not only

-justified but it is also obliged to consider itself as the champion and

-representative of these ideas. Just as the fundamental principles of the

-National Socialist Movement are based on the folk idea, folk ideas are

-National Socialist. If National Socialism would triumph it will have to

-hold firm to this fact unreservedly, and here again it has not only the

-right but also the duty to emphasize most rigidly that any attempt to

-represent the folk idea outside of the National Socialist German Labour

-Party is futile and in most cases fraudulent.

-If the reproach should be launched against our movement that it has

-'monopolized' the folk idea, there is only one answer to give.

-Not only have we monopolized the folk idea but, to all practical intents

-and purposes, we have created it.

-For what hitherto existed under this name was not in the least capable

-of influencing the destiny of our people, since all those ideas lacked a

-political and coherent formulation. In most cases they are nothing but

-isolated and incoherent notions which are more or less right. Quite

-frequently these were in open contradiction to one another and in no

-case was there any internal cohesion among them. And even if this

-internal cohesion existed it would have been much too weak to form the

-basis of any movement.

-Only the National Socialist Movement proved capable of fulfilling this

-task.

-All kinds of associations and groups, big as well as little, now claim

-the title V�LKISCH. This is one result of the work which National

-Socialism has done. Without this work, not one of all these parties

-would have thought of adopting the word V�LKISCH at all. That expression

-would have meant nothing to them and especially their directors would

-never have had anything to do with such an idea. Not until the work of

-the German National Socialist Labour Party had given this idea a

-pregnant meaning did it appear in the mouths of all kinds of people. Our

-party above all, by the success of its propaganda, has shown the force

-of the folk idea; so much so that the others, in an effort to gain

-proselytes, find themselves forced to copy our example, at least in

-words.

-Just as heretofore they exploited everything to serve their petty

-electoral purposes, to-day they use the word V�LKISCH only as an

-external and hollow-sounding phrase for the purpose of counteracting the

-force of the impression which the National Socialist Party makes on the

-members of those other parties. Only the desire to maintain their

-existence and the fear that our movement may prevail, because it is

-based on a WELTANSCHAUUNG that is of universal importance, and because

-they feel that the exclusive character of our movement betokens danger

-for them--only for these reasons do they use words which they

-repudiated eight {259}years ago, derided seven years ago, branded as

-stupid six years ago, combated five years ago, hated four years ago, and

-finally, two years ago, annexed and incorporated them in their present

-political vocabulary, employing them as war slogans in their struggle.

-And so it is necessary even now not to cease calling attention to the

-fact that not one of those parties has the slightest idea of what the

-German nation needs. The most striking proof of this is represented by

-the superficial way in which they use the word V�LKISCH.

-Not less dangerous are those who run about as semi-folkists formulating

-fantastic schemes which are mostly based on nothing else than a fixed

-idea which in itself might be right but which, because it is an isolated

-notion, is of no use whatsoever for the formation of a great homogeneous

-fighting association and could by no means serve as the basis of its

-organization. Those people who concoct a programme which consists partly

-of their own ideas and partly of ideas taken from others, about which

-they have read somewhere, are often more dangerous than the outspoken

-enemies of the V�LKISCH idea. At best they are sterile theorists but

-more frequently they are mischievous agitators of the public mind. They

-believe that they can mask their intellectual vanity, the futility of

-their efforts, and their lack of stability, by sporting flowing beards

-and indulging in ancient German gestures.

-In face of all those futile attempts, it is therefore worth while to

-recall the time when the new National Socialist Movement began its

-fight.

-CHAPTER VI

-THE FIRST PERIOD OF OUR STRUGGLE

-The echoes of our first great meeting, in the banquet hall of the

-Hofbr�uhaus on February 24th, 1920, had not yet died away when we began

-preparations for our next meeting. Up to that time we had to consider

-carefully the venture of holding a small meeting every month or at most

-every fortnight in a city like Munich; but now it was decided that we

-should hold a mass meeting every week. I need not say that we anxiously

-asked ourselves on each occasion again and again: Will the people come

-and will they listen? Personally I was firmly convinced that if once

-they came they would remain and listen.

-During that period the hall of the Hofbrau Haus in Munich acquired for

-us, National Socialists, a sort of mystic significance. Every week there

-was a meeting, almost always in that hall, and each time the hall was

-better filled than on the former occasion, and our public more

-attentive.

-Starting with the theme, 'Responsibility for the War,' which nobody at

-that time cared about, and passing on to the discussion of the peace

-treaties, we dealt with almost everything that served to stimulate the

-minds of our audience and make them interested in our ideas. We drew

-attention to the peace treaties. What the new movement prophesied again

-and again before those great masses of people has been fulfilled almost

-in every detail. To-day it is easy to talk and write about these things.

-But in those days a public mass meeting which was attended not by the

-small bourgeoisie but by proletarians who had been aroused by agitators,

-to criticize the Peace Treaty of Versailles meant an attack on the

-Republic and an evidence of reaction, if not of monarchist tendencies.

-The moment one uttered the first criticism of the Versailles Treaty one

-could expect an immediate reply, which became almost stereotyped: 'And

-Brest-Litowsk?' 'Brest-Litowsk!' And then the crowd would murmur and the

-murmur would gradually swell into a roar, until the speaker would have

-to give up his attempt to persuade them. It would be like knocking one's

-head against a wall, so desperate were these people. They would not

-listen nor understand that Versailles was a scandal and a disgrace and

-that the dictate signified an act of highway robbery against our people.

-The disruptive work done by the Marxists and the poisonous propaganda of

-the external enemy had robbed these people of their reason. And one had

-no right to complain. For the guilt on this side was enormous. What had

-the German bourgeoisie done to call a halt to this terrible campaign of

-disintegration, to oppose it and open a way to a recognition of the

-truth by giving a better and more thorough explanation of the situation

-than that of the Marxists? Nothing, nothing. At that time I never saw

-those who are now the great apostles of the people. Perhaps they spoke

-to select groups, at tea parties of their own little coteries; but there

-where they should have been, where the wolves were at work, they never

-risked their appearance, unless it gave them the opportunity of yelling

-in concert with the wolves.

-As for myself, I then saw clearly that for the small group which first

-composed our movement the question of war guilt had to be cleared up,

-and cleared up in the light of historical truth. A preliminary condition

-for the future success of our movement was that it should bring

-knowledge of the meaning of the peace treaties to the minds of the

-popular masses. In the opinion of the masses, the peace treaties then

-signified a democratic success. Therefore, it was necessary to take the

-opposite side and dig ourselves into the minds of the people as the

-enemies of the peace treaties; so that later on, when the naked truth of

-this despicable swindle would be disclosed in all its hideousness, the

-people would recall the position which we then took and would give us

-their confidence.

-Already at that time I took up my stand on those important fundamental

-questions where public opinion had gone wrong as a whole. I opposed

-these wrong notions without regard either for popularity or for hatred,

-and I was ready to face the fight. The National Socialist German Labour

-Party ought not to be the beadle but rather the master of public

-opinion. It must not serve the masses but rather dominate them.

-In the case of every movement, especially during its struggling stages,

-there is naturally a temptation to conform to the tactics of an opponent

-and use the same battle-cries, when his tactics have succeeded in

-leading the people to crazy conclusions or to adopt mistaken attitudes

-towards the questions at issue. This temptation is particularly strong

-when motives can be found, though they are entirely illusory, that seem

-to point towards the same ends which the young movement is aiming at.

-Human poltroonery will then all the more readily adopt those arguments

-which give it a semblance of justification, 'from its own point of

-view,' in participating in the criminal policy which the adversary is

-following.

-On several occasions I have experienced such cases, in which the

-greatest energy had to be employed to prevent the ship of our movement

-from being drawn into a general current which had been started

-artificially, and indeed from sailing with it. The last occasion was

-when our German Press, the Hecuba of the existence of the German nation,

-succeeded in bringing the question of South Tyrol into a position of

-importance which was seriously damaging to the interests of the German

-people. Without considering what interests they were serving, several

-so-called 'national' men, parties and leagues, joined in the general

-cry, simply for fear of public opinion which had been excited by the

-Jews, and foolishly contributed to help in the struggle against a system

-which we Germans ought, particularly in those days, to consider as the

-one ray of light in this distracted world. While the international

-World-Jew is slowly but surely strangling us, our so-called patriots

-vociferate against a man and his system which have had the courage to

-liberate themselves from the shackles of Jewish Freemasonry at least in

-one quarter of the globe and to set the forces of national resistance

-against the international world-poison. But weak characters were tempted

-to set their sails according to the direction of the wind and capitulate

-before the shout of public opinion. For it was veritably a capitulation.

-They are so much in the habit of lying and so morally base that men may

-not admit this even to themselves, but the truth remains that only

-cowardice and fear of the public feeling aroused by the Jews induced

-certain people to join in the hue and cry. All the other reasons put

-forward were only miserable excuses of paltry culprits who were

-conscious of their own crime.

-There it was necessary to grasp the rudder with an iron hand and turn

-the movement about, so as to save it from a course that would have led

-it on the rocks. Certainly to attempt such a change of course was not a

-popular manoeuvre at that time, because all the leading forces of public

-opinion had been active and a great flame of public feeling illuminated

-only one direction. Such a decision almost always brings disfavour on

-those who dare to take it. In the course of history not a few men have

-been stoned for an act for which posterity has afterwards thanked them

-on its knees.

-But a movement must count on posterity and not on the plaudits of the

-movement. It may well be that at such moments certain individuals have

-to endure hours of anguish; but they should not forget that the moment

-of liberation will come and that a movement which purposes to reshape

-the world must serve the future and not the passing hour.

-On this point it may be asserted that the greatest and most enduring

-successes in history are mostly those which were least understood at the

-beginning, because they were in strong contrast to public opinion and

-the views and wishes of the time.

-We had experience of this when we made our own first public appearance.

-In all truth it can be said that we did not court public favour but made

-an onslaught on the follies of our people. In those days the following

-happened almost always: I presented myself before an assembly of men who

-believed the opposite of what I wished to say and who wanted the

-opposite of what I believed in. Then I had to spend a couple of hours in

-persuading two or three thousand people to give up the opinions they had

-first held, in destroying the foundations of their views with one blow

-after another and finally in leading them over to take their stand on

-the grounds of our own convictions and our WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-I learned something that was important at that time, namely, to snatch

-from the hands of the enemy the weapons which he was using in his reply.

-I soon noticed that our adversaries, especially in the persons of those

-who led the discussion against us, were furnished with a definite

-repertoire of arguments out of which they took points against our claims

-which were being constantly repeated. The uniform character of this mode

-of procedure pointed to a systematic and unified training. And so we

-were able to recognize the incredible way in which the enemy's

-propagandists had been disciplined, and I am proud to-day that I

-discovered a means not only of making this propaganda ineffective but of

-beating the artificers of it at their own work. Two years later I was

-master of that art.

-In every speech which I made it was important to get a clear idea

-beforehand of the probable form and matter of the counter-arguments we

-had to expect in the discussion, so that in the course of my own speech

-these could be dealt with and refuted. To this end it was necessary to

-mention all the possible objections and show their inconsistency; it was

-all the easier to win over an honest listener by expunging from his

-memory the arguments which had been impressed upon it, so that we

-anticipated our replies. What he had learned was refuted without having

-been mentioned by him and that made him all the more attentive to what I

-had to say.

-That was the reason why, after my first lecture on the 'Peace Treaty of

-Versailles,' which I delivered to the troops while I was still a

-political instructor in my regiment, I made an alteration in the title

-and subject and henceforth spoke on 'The Treaties of Brest-Litowsk and

-Versailles.' For after the discussion which followed my first lecture I

-quickly ascertained that in reality people knew nothing about the Treaty

-of Brest-Litowsk and that able party propaganda had succeeded in

-presenting that Treaty as one of the most scandalous acts of violence in

-the history of the world.

-As a result of the persistency with which this falsehood was repeated

-again and again before the masses of the people, millions of Germans saw

-in the Treaty of Versailles a just castigation for the crime we had

-committed at Brest-Litowsk. Thus they considered all opposition to

-Versailles as unjust and in many cases there was an honest moral dislike

-to such a proceeding. And this was also the reason why the shameless and

-monstrous word 'Reparations' came into common use in Germany. This

-hypocritical falsehood appeared to millions of our exasperated fellow

-countrymen as the fulfilment of a higher justice. It is a terrible

-thought, but the fact was so. The best proof of this was the propaganda

-which I initiated against Versailles by explaining the Treaty of

-Brest-Litowsk. I compared the two treaties with one another, point by

-point, and showed how in truth the one treaty was immensely humane, in

-contradistinction to the inhuman barbarity of the other. The effect was

-very striking. Then I spoke on this theme before an assembly of two

-thousand persons, during which I often saw three thousand six hundred

-hostile eyes fixed on me. And three hours later I had in front of me a

-swaying mass of righteous indignation and fury. A great lie had been

-uprooted from the hearts and brains of a crowd composed of thousands of

-individuals and a truth had been implanted in its place.

-The two lectures--that 'On the Causes of the World War' and 'On the

-Peace Treaties of Brest-Litowsk and Versailles' respectively--I then

-considered as the most important of all. Therefore I repeated them

-dozens of times, always giving them a new intonation; until at least on

-those points a definitely clear and unanimous opinion reigned among

-those from whom our movement recruited its first members.

-Furthermore, these gatherings brought me the advantage that I slowly

-became a platform orator at mass meetings, and gave me practice in the

-pathos and gesture required in large halls that held thousands of

-people.

-Outside of the small circles which I have mentioned, at that time I

-found no party engaged in explaining things to the people in this way.

-Not one of these parties was then active which talk to-day as if it was

-they who had brought about the change in public opinion. If a political

-leader, calling himself a nationalist, pronounced a discourse somewhere

-or other on this theme it was only before circles which for the most

-part were already of his own conviction and among whom the most that was

-done was to confirm them in their opinions. But that was not what was

-needed then. What was needed was to win over through propaganda and

-explanation those whose opinions and mental attitudes held them bound to

-the enemy's camp.

-The one-page circular was also adopted by us to help in this propaganda.

-While still a soldier I had written a circular in which I contrasted the

-Treaty of Brest-Litowsk with that of Versailles. That circular was

-printed and distributed in large numbers. Later on I used it for the

-party, and also with good success. Our first meetings were distinguished

-by the fact that there were tables covered with leaflets, papers, and

-pamphlets of every kind. But we relied principally on the spoken word.

-And, in fact, this is the only means capable of producing really great

-revolutions, which can be explained on general psychological grounds.

-In the first volume I have already stated that all the formidable events

-which have changed the aspect of the world were carried through, not by

-the written but by the spoken word. On that point there was a long

-discussion in a certain section of the Press during the course of which

-our shrewd bourgeois people strongly opposed my thesis. But the reason

-for this attitude confounded the sceptics. The bourgeois intellectuals

-protested against my attitude simply because they themselves did not

-have the force or ability to influence the masses through the spoken

-word; for they always relied exclusively on the help of writers and did

-not enter the arena themselves as orators for the purpose of arousing

-the people. The development of events necessarily led to that condition

-of affairs which is characteristic of the bourgeoisie to-day, namely,

-the loss of the psychological instinct to act upon and influence the

-masses.

-An orator receives continuous guidance from the people before whom he

-speaks. This helps him to correct the direction of his speech; for he

-can always gauge, by the faces of his hearers, how far they follow and

-understand him, and whether his words are producing the desired effect.

-But the writer does not know his reader at all. Therefore, from the

-outset he does not address himself to a definite human group of persons

-which he has before his eyes but must write in a general way. Hence, up

-to a certain extent he must fail in psychological finesse and

-flexibility. Therefore, in general it may be said that a brilliant

-orator writes better than a brilliant writer can speak, unless the

-latter has continual practice in public speaking. One must also remember

-that of itself the multitude is mentally inert, that it remains attached

-to its old habits and that it is not naturally prone to read something

-which does not conform with its own pre-established beliefs when such

-writing does not contain what the multitude hopes to find there.

-Therefore, some piece of writing which has a particular tendency is for

-the most part read only by those who are in sympathy with it. Only a

-leaflet or a placard, on account of its brevity, can hope to arouse a

-momentary interest in those whose opinions differ from it. The picture,

-in all its forms, including the film, has better prospects. Here there

-is less need of elaborating the appeal to the intelligence. It is

-sufficient if one be careful to have quite short texts, because many

-people are more ready to accept a pictorial presentation than to read a

-long written description. In a much shorter time, at one stroke I might

-say, people will understand a pictorial presentation of something which

-it would take them a long and laborious effort of reading to understand.

-The most important consideration, however, is that one never knows into

-what hands a piece of written material comes and yet the form in which

-its subject is presented must remain the same. In general the effect is

-greater when the form of treatment corresponds to the mental level of

-the reader and suits his nature. Therefore, a book which is meant for

-the broad masses of the people must try from the very start to gain its

-effects through a style and level of ideas which would be quite

-different from a book intended to be read by the higher intellectual

-classes.

-Only through his capacity for adaptability does the force of the written

-word approach that of oral speech. The orator may deal with the same

-subject as a book deals with; but if he has the genius of a great and

-popular orator he will scarcely ever repeat the same argument or the

-same material in the same form on two consecutive occasions. He will

-always follow the lead of the great mass in such a way that from the

-living emotion of his hearers the apt word which he needs will be

-suggested to him and in its turn this will go straight to the hearts of

-his hearers. Should he make even a slight mistake he has the living

-correction before him. As I have already said, he can read the play of

-expression on the faces of his hearers, first to see if they understand

-what he says, secondly to see if they take in the whole of his argument,

-and, thirdly, in how far they are convinced of the justice of what has

-been placed before them. Should he observe, first, that his hearers do

-not understand him he will make his explanation so elementary and clear

-that they will be able to grasp it, even to the last individual.

-Secondly, if he feels that they are not capable of following him he will

-make one idea follow another carefully and slowly until the most

-slow-witted hearer no longer lags behind. Thirdly, as soon as he has the

-feeling that they do not seem convinced that he is right in the way he

-has put things to them he will repeat his argument over and over again,

-always giving fresh illustrations, and he himself will state their

-unspoken objection. He will repeat these objections, dissecting them and

-refuting them, until the last group of the opposition show him by their

-behaviour and play of expression that they have capitulated before his

-exposition of the case.

-Not infrequently it is a case of overcoming ingrained prejudices which

-are mostly unconscious and are supported by sentiment rather than

-reason. It is a thousand times more difficult to overcome this barrier

-of instinctive aversion, emotional hatred and preventive dissent than to

-correct opinions which are founded on defective or erroneous knowledge.

-False ideas and ignorance may be set aside by means of instruction, but

-emotional resistance never can. Nothing but an appeal to these hidden

-forces will be effective here. And that appeal can be made by scarcely

-any writer. Only the orator can hope to make it.

-A very striking proof of this is found in the fact that, though we had a

-bourgeois Press which in many cases was well written and produced and

-had a circulation of millions among the people, it could not prevent the

-broad masses from becoming the implacable enemies of the bourgeois

-class. The deluge of papers and books published by the intellectual

-circles year after year passed over the millions of the lower social

-strata like water over glazed leather. This proves that one of two

-things must be true: either that the matter offered in the bourgeois

-Press was worthless or that it is impossible to reach the hearts of the

-broad masses by means of the written word alone. Of course, the latter

-would be specially true where the written material shows such little

-psychological insight as has hitherto been the case.

-It is useless to object here, as certain big Berlin papers of

-German-National tendencies have attempted to do, that this statement is

-refuted by the fact that the Marxists have exercised their greatest

-influence through their writings, and especially through their principal

-book, published by Karl Marx. Seldom has a more superficial argument

-been based on a false assumption. What gave Marxism its amazing

-influence over the broad masses was not that formal printed work which

-sets forth the Jewish system of ideas, but the tremendous oral

-propaganda carried on for years among the masses. Out of one hundred

-thousand German workers scarcely one hundred know of Marx's book. It has

-been studied much more in intellectual circles and especially by the

-Jews than by the genuine followers of the movement who come from the

-lower classes. That work was not written for the masses, but exclusively

-for the intellectual leaders of the Jewish machine for conquering the

-world. The engine was heated with quite different stuff: namely, the

-journalistic Press. What differentiates the bourgeois Press from the

-Marxist Press is that the latter is written by agitators, whereas the

-bourgeois Press would like to carry on agitation by means of

-professional writers. The Social-Democrat sub-editor, who almost always

-came directly from the meeting to the editorial offices of his paper,

-felt his job on his finger-tips. But the bourgeois writer who left his

-desk to appear before the masses already felt ill when he smelled the

-very odour of the crowd and found that what he had written was useless

-to him.

-What won over millions of workpeople to the Marxist cause was not the EX

-CATHEDRA style of the Marxist writers but the formidable propagandist

-work done by tens of thousands of indefatigable agitators, commencing

-with the leading fiery agitator down to the smallest official in the

-syndicate, the trusted delegate and the platform orator. Furthermore,

-there were the hundreds of thousands of meetings where these orators,

-standing on tables in smoky taverns, hammered their ideas into the heads

-of the masses, thus acquiring an admirable psychological knowledge of

-the human material they had to deal with. And in this way they were

-enabled to select the best weapons for their assault on the citadel of

-public opinion. In addition to all this there were the gigantic

-mass-demonstrations with processions in which a hundred thousand men

-took part. All this was calculated to impress on the petty-hearted

-individual the proud conviction that, though a small worm, he was at the

-same time a cell of the great dragon before whose devastating breath the

-hated bourgeois world would one day be consumed in fire and flame, and

-the dictatorship of the proletariat would celebrate its conclusive

-victory.

-This kind of propaganda influenced men in such a way as to give them a

-taste for reading the Social Democratic Press and prepare their minds

-for its teaching. That Press, in its turn, was a vehicle of the spoken

-word rather than of the written word. Whereas in the bourgeois camp

-professors and learned writers, theorists and authors of all kinds, made

-attempts at talking, in the Marxist camp real speakers often made

-attempts at writing. And it was precisely the Jew who was most prominent

-here. In general and because of his shrewd dialectical skill and his

-knack of twisting the truth to suit his own purposes, he was an

-effective writer but in reality his M�TIER was that of a revolutionary

-orator rather than a writer.

-For this reason the journalistic bourgeois world, setting aside the fact

-that here also the Jew held the whip hand and that therefore this press

-did not really interest itself in the instructtion of the broad masses,

-was not able to exercise even the least influence over the opinions held

-by the great masses of our people.

-It is difficult to remove emotional prejudices, psychological bias,

-feelings, etc., and to put others in their place. Success depends here

-on imponderable conditions and influences. Only the orator who is gifted

-with the most sensitive insight can estimate all this. Even the time of

-day at which the speech is delivered has a decisive influence on its

-results. The same speech, made by the same orator and on the same theme,

-will have very different results according as it is delivered at ten

-o'clock in the forenoon, at three in the afternoon, or in the evening.

-When I first engaged in public speaking I arranged for meetings to take

-place in the forenoon and I remember particularly a demonstration that

-we held in the Munich Kindl Keller 'Against the Oppression of German

-Districts.' That was the biggest hall then in Munich and the audacity of

-our undertaking was great. In order to make the hour of the meeting

-attractive for all the members of our movement and the other people who

-might come, I fixed it for ten o'clock on a Sunday morning. The result

-was depressing. But it was very instructive. The hall was filled. The

-impression was profound, but the general feeling was cold as ice. Nobody

-got warmed up, and I myself, as the speaker of the occasion, felt

-profoundly unhappy at the thought that I could not establish the

-slightest contact with my audience. I do not think I spoke worse than

-before, but the effect seemed absolutely negative. I left the hall very

-discontented, but also feeling that I had gained a new experience. Later

-on I tried the same kind of experiment, but always with the same

-results.

-That was nothing to be wondered at. If one goes to a theatre to see a

-matin�e performance and then attends an evening performance of the same

-play one is astounded at the difference in the impressions created. A

-sensitive person recognizes for himself the fact that these two states

-of mind caused by the matinee and the evening performance respectively

-are quite different in themselves. The same is true of cinema

-productions. This latter point is important; for one may say of the

-theatre that perhaps in the afternoon the actor does not make the same

-effort as in the evening. But surely it cannot be said that the cinema

-is different in the afternoon from what it is at nine o'clock in the

-evening. No, here the time exercises a distinct influence, just as a

-room exercises a distinct influence on a person. There are rooms which

-leave one cold, for reasons which are difficult to explain. There are

-rooms which refuse steadfastly to allow any favourable atmosphere to be

-created in them. Moreover, certain memories and traditions which are

-present as pictures in the human mind may have a determining influence

-on the impression produced. Thus, a representation of Parsifal at

-Bayreuth will have an effect quite different from that which the same

-opera produces in any other part of the world. The mysterious charm of

-the House on the 'Festival Heights' in the old city of The Margrave

-cannot be equalled or substituted anywhere else.

-In all these cases one deals with the problem of influencing the freedom

-of the human will. And that is true especially of meetings where there

-are men whose wills are opposed to the speaker and who must be brought

-around to a new way of thinking. In the morning and during the day it

-seems that the power of the human will rebels with its strongest energy

-against any attempt to impose upon it the will or opinion of another. On

-the other hand, in the evening it easily succumbs to the domination of a

-stronger will. Because really in such assemblies there is a contest

-between two opposite forces. The superior oratorical art of a man who

-has the compelling character of an apostle will succeed better in

-bringing around to a new way of thinking those who have naturally been

-subjected to a weakening of their forces of resistance rather than in

-converting those who are in full possession of their volitional and

-intellectual energies.

-The mysterious artificial dimness of the Catholic churches also serves

-this purpose, the burning candles, the incense, the thurible, etc.

-In this struggle between the orator and the opponent whom he must

-convert to his cause this marvellous sensibility towards the

-psychological influences of propaganda can hardly ever be availed of by

-an author. Generally speaking, the effect of the writer's work helps

-rather to conserve, reinforce and deepen the foundations of a mentality

-already existing. All really great historical revolutions were not

-produced by the written word. At most, they were accompanied by it.

-It is out of the question to think that the French Revolution could have

-been carried into effect by philosophizing theories if they had not

-found an army of agitators led by demagogues of the grand style. These

-demagogues inflamed popular passion that had been already aroused, until

-that volcanic eruption finally broke out and convulsed the whole of

-Europe. And the same happened in the case of the gigantic Bolshevik

-revolution which recently took place in Russia. It was not due to the

-writers on Lenin's side but to the oratorical activities of those who

-preached the doctrine of hatred and that of the innumerable small and

-great orators who took part in the agitation.

-The masses of illiterate Russians were not fired to Communist

-revolutionary enthusiasm by reading the theories of Karl Marx but by the

-promises of paradise made to the people by thousands of agitators in the

-service of an idea.

-It was always so, and it will always be so.

-It is just typical of our pig-headed intellectuals, who live apart from

-the practical world, to think that a writer must of necessity be

-superior to an orator in intelligence. This point of view was once

-exquisitely illustrated by a critique, published in a certain National

-paper which I have already mentioned, where it was stated that one is

-often disillusioned by reading the speech of an acknowledged great

-orator in print. That reminded me of another article which came into my

-hands during the War. It dealt with the speeches of Lloyd George, who

-was then Minister of Munitions, and examined them in a painstaking way

-under the microscope of criticism. The writer made the brilliant

-statement that these speeches showed inferior intelligence and learning

-and that, moreover, they were banal and commonplace productions. I

-myself procured some of these speeches, published in pamphlet form, and

-had to laugh at the fact that a normal German quill-driver did not in

-the least understand these psychological masterpieces in the art of

-influencing the masses. This man criticized these speeches exclusively

-according to the impression they made on his own blas� mind, whereas the

-great British Demagogue had produced an immense effect on his audience

-through them, and in the widest sense on the whole of the British

-populace. Looked at from this point of view, that Englishman's speeches

-were most wonderful achievements, precisely because they showed an

-astounding knowledge of the soul of the broad masses of the people. For

-that reason their effect was really penetrating. Compare with them the

-futile stammerings of a Bethmann-Hollweg. On the surface his speeches

-were undoubtedly more intellectual, but they just proved this man's

-inability to speak to the people, which he really could not do.

-Nevertheless, to the average stupid brain of the German writer, who is,

-of course, endowed with a lot of scientific learning, it came quite

-natural to judge the speeches of the English Minister--which were made

-for the purpose of influencing the masses--by the impression which they

-made on his own mind, fossilized in its abstract learning. And it was

-more natural for him to compare them in the light of that impression

-with the brilliant but futile talk of the German statesman, which of

-course appealed to the writer's mind much more favourably. That the

-genius of Lloyd George was not only equal but a thousandfold superior to

-that of a Bethmann-Hollweg is proved by the fact that he found for his

-speeches that form and expression which opened the hearts of his people

-to him and made these people carry out his will absolutely. The

-primitive quality itself of those speeches, the originality of his

-expressions, his choice of clear and simple illustration, are examples

-which prove the superior political capacity of this Englishman. For one

-must never judge the speech of a statesman to his people by the

-impression which it leaves on the mind of a university professor but by

-the effect it produces on the people. And this is the sole criterion of

-the orator's genius.

-The astonishing development of our movement, which was created from

-nothing a few years ago and is to-day singled out for persecution by all

-the internal and external enemies of our nation, must be attributed to

-the constant recognition and practical application of those principles.

-Written matter also played an important part in our movement; but at the

-stage of which I am writing it served to give an equal and uniform

-education to the directors of the movement, in the upper as well as in

-the lower grades, rather than to convert the masses of our adversaries.

-It was only in very rare cases that a convinced and devoted Social

-Democrat or Communist was induced to acquire an understanding of our

-WELTANSCHAUUNG or to study a criticism of his own by procuring and

-reading one of our pamphlets or even one of our books. Even a newspaper

-is rarely read if it does not bear the stamp of a party affiliation.

-Moreover, the reading of newspapers helps little; because the general

-picture given by a single number of a newspaper is so confused and

-produces such a fragmentary impression that it really does not influence

-the occasional reader. And where a man has to count his pennies it

-cannot be assumed that, exclusively for the purpose of being objectively

-informed, he will become a regular reader or subscriber to a paper which

-opposes his views. Only one who has already joined a movement will

-regularly read the party organ of that movement, and especially for the

-purpose of keeping himself informed of what is happening in the

-movement.

-It is quite different with the 'spoken' leaflet. Especially if it be

-distributed gratis it will be taken up by one person or another, all the

-more willingly if its display title refers to a question about which

-everybody is talking at the moment. Perhaps the reader, after having

-read through such a leaflet more or less thoughtfully, will have new

-viewpoints and mental attitudes and may give his attention to a new

-movement. But with these, even in the best of cases, only a small

-impulse will be given, but no definite conviction will be created;

-because the leaflet can do nothing more than draw attention to something

-and can become effective only by bringing the reader subsequently into a

-situation where he is more fundamentally informed and instructed. Such

-instruction must always be given at the mass assembly.

-Mass assemblies are also necessary for the reason that, in attending

-them, the individual who felt himself formerly only on the point of

-joining the new movement, now begins to feel isolated and in fear of

-being left alone as he acquires for the first time the picture of a

-great community which has a strengthening and encouraging effect on most

-people. Brigaded in a company or battalion, surrounded by his

-companions, he will march with a lighter heart to the attack than if he

-had to march alone. In the crowd he feels himself in some way thus

-sheltered, though in reality there are a thousand arguments against such

-a feeling.

-Mass demonstrations on the grand scale not only reinforce the will of

-the individual but they draw him still closer to the movement and help

-to create an ESPRIT DE CORPS. The man who appears first as the

-representative of a new doctrine in his place of business or in his

-factory is bound to feel himself embarrassed and has need of that

-reinforcement which comes from the consciousness that he is a member of

-a great community. And only a mass demonstration can impress upon him

-the greatness of this community. If, on leaving the shop or mammoth

-factory, in which he feels very small indeed, he should enter a vast

-assembly for the first time and see around him thousands and thousands

-of men who hold the same opinions; if, while still seeking his way, he

-is gripped by the force of mass-suggestion which comes from the

-excitement and enthusiasm of three or four thousand other men in whose

-midst he finds himself; if the manifest success and the concensus of

-thousands confirm the truth and justice of the new teaching and for the

-first time raise doubt in his mind as to the truth of the opinions held

-by himself up to now--then he submits himself to the fascination of

-what we call mass-suggestion. The will, the yearning and indeed the

-strength of thousands of people are in each individual. A man who enters

-such a meeting in doubt and hesitation leaves it inwardly fortified; he

-has become a member of a community.

-The National Socialist Movement should never forget this, and it should

-never allow itself to be influenced by these bourgeois duffers who think

-they know everything but who have foolishly gambled away a great State,

-together with their own existence and the supremacy of their own class.

-They are overflowing with ability; they can do everything, and they know

-everything. But there is one thing they have not known how to do, and

-that is how to save the German people from falling into the arms of

-Marxism. In that they have shown themselves most pitiably and miserably

-impotent. So that the present opinion they have of themselves is only

-equal to their conceit. Their pride and stupidity are fruits of the same

-tree.

-If these people try to disparage the importance of the spoken word

-to-day, they do it only because they realize--God be praised and

-thanked--how futile all their own speechifying has been.

-CHAPTER VII

-THE CONFLICT WITH THE RED FORCES

-In 1919-20 and also in 1921 I attended some of the bourgeois meetings.

-Invariably I had the same feeling towards these as towards the

-compulsory dose of castor oil in my boyhood days. It just had to be

-taken because it was good for one: but it certainly tasted unpleasant.

-If it were possible to tie ropes round the German people and forcibly

-drag them to these bourgeois meetings, keeping them there behind barred

-doors and allowing nobody to escape until the meeting closed, then this

-procedure might prove successful in the course of a few hundred years.

-For my own part, I must frankly admit that, under such circumstances, I

-could not find life worth living; and indeed I should no longer wish to

-be a German. But, thank God, all this is impossible. And so it is not

-surprising that the sane and unspoilt masses shun these 'bourgeois mass

-meetings' as the devil shuns holy water.

-I came to know the prophets of the bourgeois WELTANSCHAUUNG, and I was

-not surprised at what I learned, as I knew that they attached little

-importance to the spoken word. At that time I attended meetings of the

-Democrats, the German Nationalists, the German People's Party and the

-Bavarian People's Party (the Centre Party of Bavaria). What struck me at

-once was the homogeneous uniformity of the audiences. Nearly always they

-were made up exclusively of party members. The whole affair was more

-like a yawning card party than an assembly of people who had just passed

-through a great revolution. The speakers did all they could to maintain

-this tranquil atmosphere. They declaimed, or rather read out, their

-speeches in the style of an intellectual newspaper article or a learned

-treatise, avoiding all striking expressions. Here and there a feeble

-professorial joke would be introduced, whereupon the people sitting at

-the speaker's table felt themselves obliged to laugh--not loudly but

-encouragingly and with well-bred reserve.

-And there were always those people at the speaker's table. I once

-attended a meeting in the Wagner Hall in Munich. It was a demonstration

-to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig. (Note 17) The

-speech was delivered or rather read out by a venerable old professor from

-one or other of the universities. The committee sat on the platform: one

-monocle on the right, another monocle on the left, and in the centre a

-gentleman with no monocle. All three of them were punctiliously attired

-in morning coats, and I had the impression of being present before a

-judge's bench just as the death sentence was about to be pronounced or

-at a christening or some more solemn religious ceremony. The so-called

-speech, which in printed form may have read quite well, had a disastrous

-effect. After three quarters of an hour the audience fell into a sort of

-hypnotic trance, which was interrupted only when some man or woman left

-the hall, or by the clatter which the waitresses made, or by the

-increasing yawns of slumbering individuals. I had posted myself behind

-three workmen who were present either out of curiosity or because they

-were sent there by their parties. From time to time they glanced at one

-another with an ill-concealed grin, nudged one another with the elbow,

-and then silently left the hall. One could see that they had no

-intention whatsoever of interrupting the proceedings, nor indeed was it

-necessary to interrupt them. At long last the celebration showed signs

-of drawing to a close. After the professor, whose voice had meanwhile

-become more and more inaudible, finally ended his speech, the gentleman

-without the monocle delivered a rousing peroration to the assembled

-'German sisters and brothers.' On behalf of the audience and himself he

-expressed gratitude for the magnificent lecture which they had just

-heard from Professor X and emphasized how deeply the Professor's words

-had moved them all. If a general discussion on the lecture were to take

-place it would be tantamount to profanity, and he thought he was voicing

-the opinion of all present in suggesting that such a discussion should

-not be held. Therefore, he would ask the assembly to rise from their

-seats and join in singing the patriotic song, WIR SIND EIN EINIG VOLK

-VON BR�DERN. The proceedings finally closed with the anthem, DEUTSCHLAND

-�BER ALLES.

-[Note 17. The Battle of Leipzig (1813), where the Germans inflicted an

-overwhelming defeat on Napoleon, was the decisive event which put an end

-to the French occupation of Germany.

-The occupation had lasted about twenty years. After the Great War, and

-the partial occupation of Germany once again by French forces, the

-Germans used to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig as a

-symbol of their yearning.]

-And then they all sang. It appeared to me that when the second verse was

-reached the voices were fewer and that only when the refrain came on

-they swelled loudly. When we reached the third verse my belief was

-confirmed that a good many of those present were not very familiar with

-the text.

-But what has all this to do with the matter when such a song is sung

-wholeheartedly and fervidly by an assembly of German nationals?

-After this the meeting broke up and everyone hurried to get outside, one

-to his glass of beer, one to a cafe, and others simply into the fresh

-air.

-Out into the fresh air! That was also my feeling. And was this the way

-to honour an heroic struggle in which hundreds of thousands of Prussians

-and Germans had fought? To the devil with it all!

-That sort of thing might find favour with the Government, it being

-merely a 'peaceful' meeting. The Minister responsible for law and order

-need not fear that enthusiasm might suddenly get the better of public

-decorum and induce these people to pour out of the room and, instead of

-dispersing to beer halls and cafes, march in rows of four through the

-town singing DEUTSCHLAND hoch in Ehren and causing some unpleasantness

-to a police force in need of rest.

-No. That type of citizen is of no use to anyone.

-On the other hand the National Socialist meetings were by no means

-'peaceable' affairs. Two distinct WELTANSCHHAUUNGen raged in bitter

-opposition to one another, and these meetings did not close with the

-mechanical rendering of a dull patriotic song but rather with a

-passionate outbreak of popular national feeling.

-It was imperative from the start to introduce rigid discipline into our

-meetings and establish the authority of the chairman absolutely. Our

-purpose was not to pour out a mixture of soft-soap bourgeois talk; what

-we had to say was meant to arouse the opponents at our meetings! How

-often did they not turn up in masses with a few individual agitators

-among them and, judging by the expression on all their faces, ready to

-finish us off there and then.

-Yes, how often did they not turn up in huge numbers, those supporters of

-the Red Flag, all previously instructed to smash up everything once and

-for all and put an end to these meetings. More often than not everything

-hung on a mere thread, and only the chairman's ruthless determination

-and the rough handling by our ushers baffled our adversaries'

-intentions. And indeed they had every reason for being irritated.

-The fact that we had chosen red as the colour for our posters sufficed

-to attract them to our meetings. The ordinary bourgeoisie were very

-shocked to see that, we had also chosen the symbolic red of Bolshevism

-and they regarded this as something ambiguously significant. The

-suspicion was whispered in German Nationalist circles that we also were

-merely another variety of Marxism, perhaps even Marxists suitably

-disguised, or better still, Socialists. The actual difference between

-Socialism and Marxism still remains a mystery to these people up to this

-day. The charge of Marxism was conclusively proved when it was

-discovered that at our meetings we deliberately substituted the words

-'Fellow-countrymen and Women' for 'Ladies and Gentlemen' and addressed

-each other as 'Party Comrade'. We used to roar with laughter at these

-silly faint-hearted bourgeoisie and their efforts to puzzle out our

-origin, our intentions and our aims.

-We chose red for our posters after particular and careful deliberation,

-our intention being to irritate the Left, so as to arouse their

-attention and tempt them to come to our meetings--if only in order to

-break them up--so that in this way we got a chance of talking to the

-people.

-In those years' it was indeed a delightful experience to follow the

-constantly changing tactics of our perplexed and helpless adversaries.

-First of all they appealed to their followers to ignore us and keep away

-from our meetings. Generally speaking this appeal was heeded. But, as

-time went on, more and more of their followers gradually found their way

-to us and accepted our teaching. Then the leaders became nervous and

-uneasy. They clung to their belief that such a development should not be

-ignored for ever, and that terror must be applied in order to put an end

-to it.

-Appeals were then made to the 'class-conscious proletariat' to attend

-our meetings in masses and strike with the clenched hand of the

-proletarian at the representatives of a 'monarchist and reactionary

-agitation'.

-Our meetings suddenly became packed with work-people fully

-three-quarters of an hour before the proceedings were scheduled to

-begin. These gatherings resembled a powder cask ready to explode at any

-moment; and the fuse was conveniently at hand. But matters always turned

-out differently. People came as enemies and left, not perhaps prepared

-to join us, yet in a reflective mood and disposed critically to examine

-the correctness of their own doctrine. Gradually as time went on my

-three-hour lectures resulted in supporters and opponents becoming united

-in one single enthusiastic group of people. Every signal for the

-breaking-up of the meeting failed. The result was that the opposition

-leaders became frightened and once again looked for help to those

-quarters that had formerly discountenanced these tactics and, with some

-show of right, had been of the opinion that on principle the workers

-should be forbidden to attend our meetings.

-Then they did not come any more, or only in small numbers. But after a

-short time the whole game started all over again. The instructions to

-keep away from us were ignored; the comrades came in steadily increasing

-numbers, until finally the advocates of the radical tactics won the day.

-We were to be broken up.

-Yet when, after two, three and even eight meetings, it was realized that

-to break up these gatherings was easier said than done and that every

-meeting resulted in a decisive weakening of the red fighting forces,

-then suddenly the other password was introduced: 'Proletarians, comrades

-and comradesses, avoid meetings of the National Socialist agitators'.

-The same eternally alternating tactics were also to be observed in the

-Red Press. Soon they tried to silence us but discovered the uselessness

-of such an attempt. After that they swung round to the opposite tactics.

-Daily 'reference' was made to us solely for the purpose of absolutely

-ridiculing us in the eyes of the working-classes. After a time these

-gentlemen must have felt that no harm was being done to us, but that, on

-the contrary, we were reaping an advantage in that people were asking

-themselves why so much space was being devoted to a subject which was

-supposed to be so ludicrous. People became curious. Suddenly there was a

-change of tactics and for a time we were treated as veritable criminals

-against mankind. One article followed the other, in which our criminal

-intentions were explained and new proofs brought forward to support what

-was said. Scandalous tales, all of them fabricated from start to finish,

-were published in order to help to poison the public mind. But in a

-short time even these attacks also proved futile; and in fact they

-assisted materially because they attracted public attention to us.

-In those days I took up the standpoint that it was immaterial whether

-they laughed at us or reviled us, whether they depicted us as fools or

-criminals; the important point was that they took notice of us and that

-in the eyes of the working-classes we came to be regarded as the only

-force capable of putting up a fight. I said to myself that the followers

-of the Jewish Press would come to know all about us and our real aims.

-One reason why they never got so far as breaking up our meetings was

-undoubtedly the incredible cowardice displayed by the leaders of the

-opposition. On every critical occasion they left the dirty work to the

-smaller fry whilst they waited outside the halls for the results of the

-break up.

-We were exceptionally well informed in regard to our opponents'

-intentions, not only because we allowed several of our party colleagues

-to remain members of the Red organizations for reasons of expediency,

-but also because the Red wire-pullers, fortunately for us, were

-afflicted with a degree of talkativeness that is still unfortunately

-very prevalent among Germans. They could not keep their own counsel, and

-more often than not they started cackling before the proverbial egg was

-laid. Hence, time and again our precautions were such that Red agitators

-had no inkling of how near they were to being thrown out of the

-meetings.

-This state of affairs compelled us to take the work of safeguarding our

-meetings into our own hands. No reliance could be placed on official

-protection. On the contrary; experience showed that such protection

-always favoured only the disturbers. The only real outcome of police

-intervention would be that the meeting would be dissolved, that is to

-say, closed. And that is precisely what our opponents granted.

-Generally speaking, this led the police to adopt a procedure which, to

-say the least, was a most infamous sample of official malpractice. The

-moment they received information of a threat that the one or other

-meeting was to be broken up, instead of arresting the would-be

-disturbers, they promptly advised the innocent parties that the meeting

-was forbidden. This step the police proclaimed as a 'precautionary

-measure in the interests of law and order'.

-The political work and activities of decent people could therefore

-always be hindered by desperate ruffians who had the means at their

-disposal. In the name of peace and order State authority bowed down to

-these ruffians and demanded that others should not provoke them. When

-National Socialism desired to hold meetings in certain parts and the

-labour unions declared that their members would resist, then it was not

-these blackmailers that were arrested and gaoled. No. Our meetings were

-forbidden by the police. Yes, this organ of the law had the unspeakable

-impudence to advise us in writing to this effect in innumerable

-instances. To avoid such eventualities, it was necessary to see to it

-that every attempt to disturb a meeting was nipped in the bud. Another

-feature to be taken into account in this respect is that all meetings

-which rely on police protection must necessarily bring discredit to

-their promoters in the eyes of the general public. Meetings that are

-only possible with the protective assistance of a strong force of police

-convert nobody; because in order to win over the lower strata of the

-people there must be a visible show of strength on one's own side. In

-the same way that a man of courage will win a woman's affection more

-easily than a coward, so a heroic movement will be more successful in

-winning over the hearts of a people than a weak movement which relies on

-police support for its very existence.

-It is for this latter reason in particular that our young movement was

-to be charged with the responsibility of assuring its own existence,

-defending itself; and conducting its own work of smashing the Red

-opposition.

-The work of organizing the protective measures for our meetings was

-based on the following:

-(1) An energetic and psychologically judicious way of conducting the

-meeting.

-(2) An organized squad of troops to maintain order.

-In those days we and no one else were masters of the situation at our

-meetings and on no occasion did we fail to emphasize this. Our opponents

-fully realized that any provocation would be the occasion of throwing

-them out of the hall at once, whatever the odds against us. At meetings,

-particularly outside Munich, we had in those days from five to eight

-hundred opponents against fifteen to sixteen National Socialists; yet we

-brooked no interference, for we were ready to be killed rather than

-capitulate. More than once a handful of party colleagues offered a

-heroic resistance to a raging and violent mob of Reds. Those fifteen or

-twenty men would certainly have been overwhelmed in the end had not the

-opponents known that three or four times as many of themselves would

-first get their skulls cracked. Arid that risk they were not willing to

-run. We had done our best to study Marxist and bourgeois methods of

-conducting meetings, and we had certainly learnt something.

-The Marxists had always exercised a most rigid discipline so that the

-question of breaking up their meetings could never have originated in

-bourgeois quarters. This gave the Reds all the more reason for acting on

-this plan. In time they not only became past-masters in this art but in

-certain large districts of the REICH they went so far as to declare that

-non-Marxist meetings were nothing less than a cause of' provocation

-against the proletariat. This was particularly the case when the

-wire-pullers suspected that a meeting might call attention to their own

-transgressions and thus expose their own treachery and chicanery.

-Therefore the moment such a meeting was announced to be held a howl of

-rage went up from the Red Press. These detractors of the law nearly

-always turned first to the authorities and requested in imperative and

-threatening language that this 'provocation of the proletariat' be

-stopped forthwith in the 'interests of law and order'. Their language

-was chosen according to the importance of the official blockhead they

-were dealing with and thus success was assured. If by chance the

-official happened to be a true German--and not a mere figurehead--and he

-declined the impudent request, then the time-honoured appeal to stop

-'provocation of the proletariat' was issued together with instructions

-to attend such and such a meeting on a certain date in full strength for

-the purpose of 'putting a stop to the disgraceful machinations of the

-bourgeoisie by means of the proletarian fist'.

-The pitiful and frightened manner in which these bourgeois meetings are

-conducted must be seen in order to be believed. Very frequently these

-threats were sufficient to call off such a meeting at once. The feeling

-of fear was so marked that the meeting, instead of commencing at eight

-o'clock, very seldom was opened before a quarter to nine or nine

-o'clock. The Chairman thereupon did his best, by showering compliments

-on the 'gentleman of the opposition' to prove how he and all others

-present were pleased (a palpable lie) to welcome a visit from men who as

-yet were not in sympathy with them for the reason that only by mutual

-discussion (immediately agreed to) could they be brought closer together

-in mutual understanding. Apart from this the Chairman also assured them

-that the meeting had no intention whatsoever of interfering with the

-professed convictions of anybody. Indeed no. Everyone had the right to

-form and hold his own political views, but others should be allowed to

-do likewise. He therefore requested that the speaker be allowed to

-deliver his speech without interruption--the speech in any case not

-being a long affair. People abroad, he continued, would thus not come to

-regard this meeting as another shameful example of the bitter fraternal

-strife that is raging in Germany. And so on and so forth

-The brothers of the Left had little if any appreciation for that sort of

-talk; the speaker had hardly commenced when he was shouted down. One

-gathered the impression at times that these speakers were graceful for

-being peremptorily cut short in their martyr-like discourse. These

-bourgeois toreadors left the arena in the midst of a vast uproar, that

-is to say, provided that they were not thrown down the stairs with

-cracked skulls, which was very often the case.

-Therefore, our methods of organization at National Socialist meetings

-were something quite strange to the Marxists. They came to our meetings

-in the belief that the little game which they had so often played could

-as a matter of course be also repeated on us. "To-day we shall finish

-them off." How often did they bawl this out to each other on entering

-the meeting hall, only to be thrown out with lightning speed before they

-had time to repeat it.

-In the first place our method of conducting a meeting was entirely

-different. We did not beg and pray to be allowed to speak, and we did

-not straightway give everybody the right to hold endless discussions. We

-curtly gave everyone to understand that we were masters of the meeting

-and that we would do as it pleased us and that everyone who dared to

-interrupt would be unceremoniously thrown out. We stated clearly our

-refusal to accept responsibility for anyone treated in this manner. If

-time permitted and if it suited us, a discussion would be allowed to

-take place. Our party colleague would now make his speech.... That kind

-of talk was sufficient in itself to astonish the Marxists.

-Secondly, we had at our disposal a well-trained and organized body of

-men for maintaining order at our meetings. On the other hand the

-bourgeois parties protected their meetings with a body of men better

-classified as ushers who by virtue of their age thought they were

-entitled to-authority and respect. But as Marxism has little or no

-respect for these things, the question of suitable self-protection at

-these bourgeois meetings was, so to speak, in practice non-existent.

-When our political meetings first started I made it a special point to

-organize a suitable defensive squad--a squad composed chiefly of young

-men. Some of them were comrades who had seen active service with me;

-others were young party members who, right from the start, had been

-trained and brought up to realize that only terror is capable of

-smashing terror--that only courageous and determined people had made a

-success of things in this world and that, finally, we were fighting for

-an idea so lofty that it was worth the last drop of our blood. These

-young men had been brought up to realize that where force replaced

-common sense in the solution of a problem, the best means of defence was

-attack and that the reputation of our hall-guard squads should stamp us

-as a political fighting force and not as a debating society.

-And it was extraordinary how eagerly these boys of the War generation

-responded to this order. They had indeed good reason for being bitterly

-disappointed and indignant at the miserable milksop methods employed by

-the bourgeoise.

-Thus it became clear to everyone that the Revolution had only been

-possible thanks to the dastardly methods of a bourgeois government. At

-that time there was certainly no lack of man-power to suppress the

-revolution, but unfortunately there was an entire lack of directive

-brain power. How often did the eyes of my young men light up with

-enthusiasm when I explained to them the vital functions connected with

-their task and assured them time and again that all earthly wisdom is

-useless unless it be supported by a measure of strength, that the gentle

-goddess of Peace can only walk in company with the god of War, and that

-every great act of peace must be protected and assisted by force. In

-this way the idea of military service came to them in a far more

-realistic form--not in the fossilized sense of the souls of decrepit

-officials serving the dead authority of a dead State, but in the living

-realization of the duty of each man to sacrifice his life at all times

-so that his country might live.

-How those young men did their job!

-Like a swarm of hornets they tackled disturbers at our meetings,

-regardless of superiority of numbers, however great, indifferent to

-wounds and bloodshed, inspired with the great idea of blazing a trail

-for the sacred mission of our movement.

-As early as the summer of 1920 the organization of squads of men as hall

-guards for maintaining order at our meetings was gradually assuming

-definite shape. By the spring of 1921 this body of men were sectioned

-off into squads of one hundred, which in turn were sub-divided into

-smaller groups.

-The urgency for this was apparent, as meanwhile the number of our

-meetings had steadily increased. We still frequently met in the Munich

-Hofbr�uhaus but more frequently in the large meeting halls throughout

-the city itself. In the autumn and winter of 1920-1921 our meetings in

-the B�rgerbr�u and Munich Kindlbr�u had assumed vast proportions and it

-was always the same picture that presented itself; namely, meetings of

-the NSDAP (The German National Socialist Labour Party) were always

-crowded out so that the police were compelled to close and bar the doors

-long before proceedings commenced.

-The organization of defence guards for keeping order at our meetings

-cleared up a very difficult question. Up till then the movement had

-possessed no party badge and no party flag. The lack of these tokens was

-not only a disadvantage at that time but would prove intolerable in the

-future. The disadvantages were chiefly that members of the party

-possessed no outward broken of membership which linked them together,

-and it was absolutely unthinkable that for the future they should remain

-without some token which would be a symbol of the movement and could be

-set against that of the International.

-More than once in my youth the psychological importance of such a symbol

-had become clearly evident to me and from a sentimental point of view

-also it was advisable. In Berlin, after the War, I was present at a

-mass-demonstration of Marxists in front of the Royal Palace and in the

-Lustgarten. A sea of red flags, red armlets and red flowers was in

-itself sufficient to give that huge assembly of about 120,000 persons an

-outward appearance of strength. I was now able to feel and understand

-how easily the man in the street succumbs to the hypnotic magic of such

-a grandiose piece of theatrical presentation.

-The bourgeoisie, which as a party neither possesses or stands for any

-WELTANSCHAUUNG, had therefore not a single banner. Their party was

-composed of 'patriots' who went about in the colours of the REICH. If

-these colours were the symbol of a definite WELTANSCHAUUNG then one

-could understand the rulers of the State regarding this flag as

-expressive of their own WELTANSCHAUUNG, seeing that through their

-efforts the official REICH flag was expressive of their own

-WELTANSCHAUUNG.

-But in reality the position was otherwise.

-The REICH was morticed together without the aid of the German

-bourgeoisie and the flag itself was born of the War and therefore merely

-a State flag possessing no importance in the sense of any particular

-ideological mission.

-Only in one part of the German-speaking territory--in

-German-Austria--was there anything like a bourgeois party flag in

-evidence. Here a section of the national bourgeoisie selected the 1848

-colours (black, red and gold) as their party flag and therewith created

-a symbol which, though of no importance from a weltanschauliche

-viewpoint, had, nevertheless, a revolutionary character from a national

-point of view. The most bitter opponents of this flag at that time, and

-this should not be forgotten to-day, were the Social Democrats and the

-Christian Socialists or clericals. They, in particular, were the ones

-who degraded and besmirched these colours in the same way as in 1918

-they dragged black, white and red into the gutter. Of course, the black,

-red and gold of the German parties in the old Austria were the colours

-of the year 1848: that is to say, of a period likely to be regarded as

-somewhat visionary, but it was a period that had honest German souls as

-its representatives, although the Jews were lurking unseen as

-wire-pullers in the background. It was high treason and the shameful

-enslavement of the German territory that first of all made these colours

-so attractive to the Marxists of the Centre Party; so much so that

-to-day they revere them as their most cherished possession and use them

-as their own banners for the protection of the flag they once foully

-besmirched.

-It is a fact, therefore, that, up till 1920, in opposition to the

-Marxists there was no flag that would have stood for a consolidated

-resistance to them. For even if the better political elements of the

-German bourgeoisie were loath to accept the suddenly discovered black,

-red and gold colours as their symbol after the year 1918, they

-nevertheless were incapable of counteracting this with a future

-programme of their own that would correspond to the new trend of

-affairs. At the most, they had a reconstruction of the old REICH in

-mind.

-And it is to this way of thinking that the black, white and red colours

-of the old REICH are indebted for their resurrection as the flag of our

-so-called national bourgeois parties.

-It was obvious that the symbol of a r�gime which had been overthrown by

-the Marxists under inglorious circumstances was not now worthy to serve

-as a banner under which the same Marxism was to be crushed in its turn.

-However much any decent German may love and revere those old colours,

-glorious when placed side by side in their youthful freshness, when he

-had fought under them and seen the sacrifice of so many lives, that flag

-had little value for the struggle of the future.

-In our Movement I have always adopted the standpoint that it was a

-really lucky thing for the German nation that it had lost its old flag

-(Note 18). This standpoint of mine was in strong contrast to that of the

-bourgeois politicians. It may be immaterial to us what the Republic does

-under its flag. But let us be deeply grateful to fate for having so

-graciously spared the most glorious war flag for all time from becoming

-an ignominious rag. The REICH of to-day, which sells itself and its

-people, must never be allowed to adopt the honourable and heroic black,

-white and red colours.

-[Note 18. The flag of the German Empire, founded in 1871, was

-Black-White-Red. This was discarded in 1918 and Black-Red-Gold was chosen

-as the flag of the German Republic founded at Weimar in 1919. The flag

-designed by Hitler--red with a white disc in the centre, bearing the

-black swastika--is now the national flag.]

-As long as the November outrage endures, that outrage may continue to

-bear its own external sign and not steal that of an honourable past. Our

-bourgeois politicians should awaken their consciences to the fact that

-whoever desires this State to have the black, white and red colours is

-pilfering from the past. The old flag was suitable only for the old

-REICH and, thank Heaven, the Republic chose the colours best suited to

-itself.

-This was also the reason why we National Socialists recognized that

-hoisting the old colours would be no symbol of our special aims; for we

-had no wish to resurrect from the dead the old REICH which had been

-ruined through its own blunders, but to build up a new State.

-The Movement which is fighting Marxism to-day along these lines must

-display on its banner the symbol of the new State.

-The question of the new flag, that is to say the form and appearance it

-must take, kept us very busy in those days. Suggestions poured in from

-all quarters, which although well meant were more or less impossible in

-practice. The new flag had not only to become a symbol expressing our

-own struggle but on the other hand it was necessary that it should prove

-effective as a large poster. All those who busy themselves with the

-tastes of the public will recognize and appreciate the great importance

-of these apparently petty matters. In hundreds of thousands of cases a

-really striking emblem may be the first cause of awakening interest in a

-movement.

-For this reason we declined all suggestions from various quarters for

-identifying our movement by means of a white flag with the old State or

-rather with those decrepit parties whose sole political objective is the

-restoration of past conditions. And, apart from this, white is not a

-colour capable of attracting and focusing public attention. It is a

-colour suitable only for young women's associations and not for a

-movement that stands for reform in a revolutionary period.

-Black was also suggested--certainly well-suited to the times, but

-embodying no significance to empress the will behind our movement. And,

-finally, black is incapable of attracting attention.

-White and blue was discarded, despite its admirable aesthetic appeal--as

-being the colours of an individual German Federal State--a State that,

-unfortunately, through its political attitude of particularist

-narrow-mindedness did not enjoy a good reputation. And, generally

-speaking, with these colours it would have been difficult to attract

-attention to our movement. The same applies to black and white.

-Black, red and gold did not enter the question at all.

-And this also applies to black, white and red for reasons already

-stated. At least, not in the form hitherto in use. But the effectiveness

-of these three colours is far superior to all the others and they are

-certainly the most strikingly harmonious combination to be found.

-I myself was always for keeping the old colours, not only because I, as

-a soldier, regarded them as my most sacred possession, but because in

-their aesthetic effect, they conformed more than anything else to my

-personal taste. Accordingly I had to discard all the innumerable

-suggestions and designs which had been proposed for the new movement,

-among which were many that had incorporated the swastika into the old

-colours. I, as leader, was unwilling to make public my own design, as it

-was possible that someone else could come forward with a design just as

-good, if not better, than my own. As a matter of fact, a dental surgeon

-from Starnberg submitted a good design very similar to mine, with only

-one mistake, in that his swastika with curved corners was set upon a

-white background.

-After innumerable trials I decided upon a final form--a flag of red

-material with a white disc bearing in its centre a black swastika. After

-many trials I obtained the correct proportions between the dimensions of

-the flag and of the white central disc, as well as that of the swastika.

-And this is how it has remained ever since.

-At the same time we immediately ordered the corresponding armlets for

-our squad of men who kept order at meetings, armlets of red material, a

-central white disc with the black swastika upon it. Herr F�ss, a Munich

-goldsmith, supplied the first practical and permanent design.

-The new flag appeared in public in the midsummer of 1920. It suited our

-movement admirably, both being new and young. Not a soul had seen this

-flag before; its effect at that time was something akin to that of a

-blazing torch. We ourselves experienced almost a boyish delight when one

-of the ladies of the party who had been entrusted with the making of the

-flag finally handed it over to us. And a few months later those of us in

-Munich were in possession of six of these flags. The steadily increasing

-strength of our hall guards was a main factor in popularizing the

-symbol.

-And indeed a symbol it proved to be.

-Not only because it incorporated those revered colours expressive of our

-homage to the glorious past and which once brought so much honour to the

-German nation, but this symbol was also an eloquent expression of the

-will behind the movement. We National Socialists regarded our flag as

-being the embodiment of our party programme. The red expressed the

-social thought underlying the movement. White the national thought. And

-the swastika signified the mission allotted to us--the struggle for the

-victory of Aryan mankind and at the same time the triumph of the ideal

-of creative work which is in itself and always will be anti-Semitic.

-Two years later, when our squad of hall guards had long since grown into

-storm detachments, it seemed necessary to give this defensive

-organization of a young WELTANSCHAUUNG a particular symbol of victory,

-namely a Standard. I also designed this and entrusted the execution of

-it to an old party comrade, Herr Gahr, who was a goldsmith. Ever since

-that time this Standard has been the distinctive token of the National

-Socialist struggle.

-The increasing interest taken in our meetings, particularly during 1920,

-compelled us at times to hold two meetings a week. Crowds gathered round

-our posters; the large meeting halls in the town were always filled and

-tens of thousands of people, who had been led astray by the teachings of

-Marxism, found their way to us and assisted in the work of fighting for

-the liberation of the REICH. The public in Munich had got to know us. We

-were being spoken about. The words 'National Socialist' had become

-common property to many and signified for them a definite party

-programme. Our circle of supporters and even of members was constantly

-increasing, so that in the winter of 1920-21 we were able to appear as a

-strong party in Munich.

-At that time there was no party in Munich with the exception of the

-Marxist parties--certainly no nationalist party--which was able to hold

-such mass demonstrations as ours. The Munich Kindl Hall, which held

-5,000 people, was more than once overcrowded and up till then there was

-only one other hall, the Krone Circus Hall, into which we had not

-ventured.

-At the end of January 1921 there was again great cause for anxiety in

-Germany. The Paris Agreement, by which Germany pledged herself to pay

-the crazy sum of a hundred milliards of gold marks, was to be confirmed

-by the London Ultimatum.

-Thereupon an old-established Munich working committee, representative of

-so-called V�LKISCH groups, deemed it advisable to call for a public

-meeting of protest. I became nervous and restless when I saw that a lot

-of time was being wasted and nothing undertaken. At first a meeting was

-suggested in the K�NIG PLATZ; on second thoughts this was turned down,

-as someone feared the proceedings might be wrecked by Red elements.

-Another suggestion was a demonstration in front of the Feldherrn Hall,

-but this also came to nothing. Finally a combined meeting in the Munich

-Kindl Hall was suggested. Meanwhile, day after day had gone by; the big

-parties had entirely ignored the terrible event, and the working

-committee could not decide on a definite date for holding the

-demonstration.

-On Tuesday, February 1st, I put forward an urgent demand for a final

-decision. I was put off until Wednesday. On that day I demanded to be

-told clearly if and when the meeting was to take place. The reply was

-again uncertain and evasive, it being stated that it was 'intended' to

-arrange a demonstration that day week.

-At that I lost all patience and decided to conduct a demonstration of

-protest on my own. At noon on Wednesday I dictated in ten minutes the

-text of the poster and at the same time hired the Krone Circus Hall for

-the next day, February 3rd.

-In those days this was a tremendous venture. Not only because of the

-uncertainty of filling that vast hall, but also because of the risk of

-the meeting being wrecked.

-Numerically our squad of hall guards was not strong enough for this vast

-hall. I was also uncertain about what to do in case the meeting was

-broken up--a huge circus building being a different proposition from an

-ordinary meeting hall. But events showed that my fears were misplaced,

-the opposite being the case. In that vast building a squad of wreckers

-could be tackled and subdued more easily than in a cramped hall.

-One thing was certain: A failure would throw us back for a long time to

-come. If one meeting was wrecked our prestige would be seriously injured

-and our opponents would be encouraged to repeat their success. That

-would lead to sabotage of our work in connection with further meetings

-and months of difficult struggle would be necessary to overcome this.

-We had only one day in which to post our bills, Thursday. Unfortunately

-it rained on the morning of that day and there was reason to fear that

-many people would prefer to remain at home rather than hurry to a

-meeting through rain and snow, especially when there was likely to be

-violence and bloodshed.

-And indeed on that Thursday morning I was suddenly struck with fear that

-the hall might never be filled to capacity, which would have made me

-ridiculous in the eyes of the working committee. I therefore immediately

-dictated various leaflets, had them printed and distributed in the

-afternoon. Of course they contained an invitation to attend the meeting.

-Two lorries which I hired were draped as much as possible in red, each

-had our new flag hoisted on it and was then filled with fifteen or

-twenty members of our party. Orders were given the members to canvas the

-streets thoroughly, distribute leaflets and conduct propaganda for the

-mass meeting to be held that evening. It was the first time that lorries

-had driven through the streets bearing flags and not manned by Marxists.

-The public stared open-mouthed at these red-draped cars, and in the

-outlying districts clenched fists were angrily raised at this new

-evidence of 'provocation of the proletariat'. Were not the Marxists the

-only ones entitled to hold meetings and drive about in motor lorries?

-At seven o'clock in the evening only a few had gathered in the circus

-hall. I was being kept informed by telephone every ten minutes and was

-becoming uneasy. Usually at seven or a quarter past our meeting halls

-were already half filled; sometimes even packed. But I soon found out

-the reason why I was uneasy. I had entirely forgotten to take into

-account the huge dimensions of this new meeting place. A thousand people

-in the Hofbr�uhaus was quite an impressive sight, but the same number in

-the Circus building was swallowed up in its dimensions and was hardly

-noticeable. Shortly afterwards I received more hopeful reports and at a

-quarter to eight I was informed that the hall was three-quarters filled,

-with huge crowds still lined up at the pay boxes. I then left for the

-meeting.

-I arrived at the Circus building at two minutes past eight. There was

-still a crowd of people outside, partly inquisitive people and many

-opponents who preferred to wait outside for developments.

-When I entered the great hall I felt the same joy I had felt a year

-previously at the first meeting in the Munich Hofbr�u Banquet Hall; but

-it was not until I had forced my way through the solid wall of people

-and reached the platform that I perceived the full measure of our

-success. The hall was before me, like a huge shell, packed with

-thousands and thousands of people. Even the arena was densely crowded.

-More than 5,600 tickets had been sold and, allowing for the unemployed,

-poor students and our own detachments of men for keeping order, a crowd

-of about 6,500 must have been present.

-My theme was 'Future or Downfall' and I was filled with joy at the

-conviction that the future was represented by the crowds that I was

-addressing.

-I began, and spoke for about two and a half hours. I had the feeling

-after the first half-hour that the meeting was going to be a big

-success. Contact had been at once established with all those thousands

-of individuals. After the first hour the speech was already being

-received by spontaneous outbreaks of applause, but after the second hour

-this died down to a solemn stillness which I was to experience so often

-later on in this same hall, and which will for ever be remembered by all

-those present. Nothing broke this impressive silence and only when the

-last word had been spoken did the meeting give vent to its feelings by

-singing the national anthem.

-I watched the scene during the next twenty minutes, as the vast hall

-slowly emptied itself, and only then did I leave the platform, a happy

-man, and made my way home.

-Photographs were taken of this first meeting in the Krone Circus Hall in

-Munich. They are more eloquent than words to demonstrate the success of

-this demonstration. The bourgeois papers reproduced photographs and

-reported the meeting as having been merely 'nationalist' in character;

-in their usual modest fashion they omitted all mention of its promoters.

-Thus for the first time we had developed far beyond the dimensions of an

-ordinary party. We could no longer be ignored. And to dispel all doubt

-that the meeting was merely an isolated success, I immediately arranged

-for another at the Circus Hall in the following week, and again we had

-the same success. Once more the vast hall was overflowing with people;

-so much so that I decided to hold a third meeting during the following

-week, which also proved a similar success.

-After these initial successes early in 1921 I increased our activity in

-Munich still further. I not only held meetings once a week, but during

-some weeks even two were regularly held and very often during midsummer

-and autumn this increased to three. We met regularly at the Circus Hall

-and it gave us great satisfaction to see that every meeting brought us

-the same measure of success.

-The result was shown in an ever-increasing number of supporters and

-members into our party.

-Naturally, such success did not allow our opponents to sleep soundly. At

-first their tactics fluctuated between the use of terror and silence in

-our regard. Then they recognized that neither terror nor silence could

-hinder the progress of our movement. So they had recourse to a supreme

-act of terror which was intended to put a definite end to our activities

-in the holding of meetings.

-As a pretext for action along this line they availed themselves of a

-very mysterious attack on one of the Landtag deputies, named Erhard

-Auer. It was declared that someone had fired several shots at this man

-one evening. This meant that he was not shot but that an attempt had

-been made to shoot him. A fabulous presence of mind and heroic courage

-on the part of Social Democratic leaders not only prevented the

-sacrilegious intention from taking effect but also put the crazy

-would-be assassins to flight, like the cowards that they were. They were

-so quick and fled so far that subsequently the police could not find

-even the slightest traces of them. This mysterious episode was used by

-the organ of the Social Democratic Party to arouse public feeling

-against the movement, and while doing this it delivered its old

-rigmarole about the tactics that were to be employed the next time.

-Their purpose was to see to it that our movement should not grow but

-should be immediately hewn down root and branch by the hefty arm of the

-proletariat.

-A few days later the real attack came. It was decided finally to

-interrupt one of our meetings which was billed to take place in the

-Munich Hofbr�uhaus, and at which I myself was to speak.

-On November 4th, 1921, in the evening between six and seven o'clock I

-received the first precise news that the meeting would positively be

-broken up and that to carry out this action our adversaries had decided

-to send to the meeting great masses of workmen employed in certain 'Red'

-factories.

-It was due to an unfortunate accident that we did not receive this news

-sooner. On that day we had given up our old business office in the

-Sternecker Gasse in Munich and moved into other quarters; or rather we

-had given up the old offices and our new quarters were not yet in

-functioning order. The telephone arrangements had been cut off by the

-former tenants and had not yet been reinstalled. Hence it happened that

-several attempts made that day to inform us by telephone of the break-up

-which had been planned for the evening did not reach us.

-Consequently our order troops were not present in strong force at that

-meeting. There was only one squad present, which did not consist of the

-usual one hundred men, but only of about forty-six. And our telephone

-connections were not yet sufficiently organized to be able to give the

-alarm in the course of an hour or so, so that a sufficiently powerful

-number of order troops to deal with the situation could be called. It

-must also be added that on several previous occasions we had been

-forewarned, but nothing special happened. The old proverb, 'Revolutions

-which were announced have scarcely ever come off', had hitherto been

-proved true in our regard.

-Possibly for this reason also sufficiently strong precautions had not

-been taken on that day to cope with the brutal determination of our

-opponents to break up our meeting.

-Finally, we did not believe that the Hofbr�uhaus in Munich was suitable

-for the interruptive tactics of our adversaries. We had feared such a

-thing far more in the bigger halls, especially that of the Krone Circus.

-But on this point we learned a very serviceable lesson that evening.

-Later, we studied this whole question according to a scientific system

-and arrived at results, both interesting and incredible, and which

-subsequently were an essential factor in the direction of our

-organization and in the tactics of our Storm Troops.

-When I arrived in the entrance halt of the Hofbr�uhaus at 7.45 that

-evening I realizcd that there could be no doubt as to what the 'Reds'

-intended. The hall was filled, and for that reason the police had barred

-the entrances. Our adversaries, who had arrived very early, were in the

-hall, and our followers were for the most part outside. The small

-bodyguard awaited me at the entrance. I had the doors leading to the

-principal hall closed and then asked the bodyguard of forty-five or

-forty-six men to come forward. I made it clear to the boys that perhaps

-on that evening for the first time they would have to show their

-unbending and unbreakable loyalty to the movement and that not one of us

-should leave the hall unless carried out dead. I added that I would

-remain in the hall and that I did not believe that one of them would

-abandon me, and that if I saw any one of them act the coward I myself

-would personally tear off his armlet and his badge. I demanded of them

-that they should come forward if the slightest attempt to sabotage the

-meeting were made and that they must remember that the best defence is

-always attack.

-I was greeted with a triple 'HEIL' which sounded more hoarse and violent

-than usual.

-Then I advanced through the hall and could take in the situation with my

-own eyes. Our opponents sat closely huddled together and tried to pierce

-me through with their looks. Innumerable faces glowing with hatred and

-rage were fixed on me, while others with sneering grimaces shouted at me

-together. Now they would 'Finish with us. We must look out for our

-entrails. To-day they would smash in our faces once and for all.' And

-there were other expressions of an equally elegant character. They knew

-that they were there in superior numbers and they acted accordingly.

-Yet we were able to open the meeting; and I began to speak. In the Hall

-of the Hofbr�uhaus I stood always at the side, away from the entry and

-on top of a beer table. Therefore I was always right in the midst of the

-audience. Perhaps this circumstance was responsible for creating a

-certain feeling and a sense of agreement which I never found elsewhere.

-Before me, and especially towards my left, there were only opponents,

-seated or standing. They were mostly robust youths and men from the

-Maffei Factory, from Kustermann's, and from the factories on the Isar,

-etc. Along the right-hand wall of the hall they were thickly massed

-quite close to my table. They now began to order litre mugs of beer, one

-after the other, and to throw the empty mugs under the table. In this

-way whole batteries were collected. I should have been surprised had

-this meeting ended peacefully.

-In spite of all the interruptions, I was able to speak for about an hour

-and a half and I felt as if I were master of the situation. Even the

-ringleaders of the disturbers appeared to be convinced of this; for they

-steadily became more uneasy, often left the hall, returned and spoke to

-their men in an obviously nervous way.

-A small psychological error which I committed in replying to an

-interruption, and the mistake of which I myself was conscious the moment

-the words had left my mouth, gave the sign for the outbreak.

-There were a few furious outbursts and all in a moment a man jumped on a

-seat and shouted "Liberty". At that signal the champions of liberty

-began their work.

-In a few moments the hall was filled with a yelling and shrieking mob.

-Numerous beer-mugs flew like howitzers above their heads. Amid this

-uproar one heard the crash of chair legs, the crashing of mugs, groans

-and yells and screams.

-It was a mad spectacle. I stood where I was and could observe my boys

-doing their duty, every one of them.

-There I had the chance of seeing what a bourgeois meeting could be.

-The dance had hardly begun when my Storm Troops, as they were called

-from that day onwards, launched their attack. Like wolves they threw

-themselves on the enemy again and again in parties of eight or ten and

-began steadily to thrash them out of the hall. After five minutes I

-could see hardly one of them that was not streaming with blood. Then I

-realized what kind of men many of them were, above all my brave Maurice

-Hess, who is my private secretary to-day, and many others who, even

-though seriously wounded, attacked again and again as long as they could

-stand on their feet. Twenty minutes long the pandemonium continued. Then

-the opponents, who had numbered seven or eight hundred, had been driven

-from the hall or hurled out headlong by my men, who had not numbered

-fifty. Only in the left corner a big crowd still stood out against our

-men and put up a bitter fight. Then two pistol shots rang out from the

-entrance to the hall in the direction of the platform and now a wild din

-of shooting broke out from all sides. One's heart almost rejoiced at

-this spectacle which recalled memories of the War.

-At that moment it was not possible to identify the person who had fired

-the shots. But at any rate I could see that my boys renewed the attack

-with increased fury until finally the last disturbers were overcome and

-flung out of the hall.

-About twenty-five minutes had passed since it all began. The hall looked

-as if a bomb had exploded there. Many of my comrades had to be bandaged

-and others taken away. But we remained masters of the situation. Hermann

-Essen, who was chairman of the meeting, announced: "The meeting will

-continue. The speaker shall proceed." So I went on with my speech.

-When we ourselves declared the meeting at an end an excited police

-officer rushed in, waved his hands and declared: "The meeting is

-dissolved."

-Without wishing to do so I had to laugh at this example of the law's

-delay. It was the authentic constabulary officiosiousness. The smaller

-they are the greater they must always appear.

-That evening we learned a real lesson. And our adversaries never forgot

-the lesson they had received.

-Up to the autumn of 1923 the M�nchener post did not again mention the

-clenched fists of the Proletariat.

-CHAPTER VIII

-THE STRONG IS STRONGEST WHEN ALONE

-In the preceding chapter I mentioned the existence of a co-operative

-union between the German patriotic associations. Here I shall deal

-briefly with this question.

-In speaking of a co-operative union we generally mean a group of

-associations which, for the purpose of facilitating their work,

-establish mutual relations for collaborating with one another along

-certain lines, appointing a common directorate with varying powers and

-thenceforth carrying out a common line of action. The average citizen is

-pleased and reassured when he hears that these associations, by

-establishing a co-operative union among one another, have at long last

-discovered a common platform on which they can stand united and have

-eliminated all grounds of mutual difference. Therewith a general

-conviction arises, to the effect that such a union is an immense gain in

-strength and that small groups which were weak as long as they stood

-alone have now suddenly become strong. Yet this conviction is for the

-most part a mistaken one.

-It will be interesting and, in my opinion, important for the better

-understanding of this question if we try to get a clear notion of how it

-comes about that these associations, unions, etc., are established, when

-all of them declare that they have the same ends in view. In itself it

-would be logical to expect that one aim should be fought for by a single

-association and it would be more reasonable if there were not a number

-of associations fighting for the same aim. In the beginning there was

-undoubtedly only one association which had this one fixed aim in view.

-One man proclaimed a truth somewhere and, calling for the solution of a

-definite question, fixed his aim and founded a movement for the purpose

-of carrying his views into effect.

-That is how an association or a party is founded, the scope of whose

-programme is either the abolition of existing evils or the positive

-establishment of a certain order of things in the future.

-Once such a movement has come into existence it may lay practical claim

-to certain priority rights. The natural course of things would now be

-that all those who wish to fight for the same objective as this movement

-is striving for should identify themselves with it and thus increase its

-strength, so that the common purpose in view may be all the better

-served. Especially men of superior intelligence must feel, one and all,

-that by joining the movement they are establishing precisely those

-conditions which are necessary for practical success in the common

-struggle. Accordingly it is reasonable and, in a certain sense,

-honest--which honesty, as I shall show later, is an element of very

-great importance--that only one movement should be founded for the

-purpose of attaining the one aim.

-The fact that this does not happen must be attributed to two causes. The

-first may almost be described as tragic. The second is a matter for

-pity, because it has its foundation in the weaknesses of human nature.

-But, on going to the bottom of things, I see in both causes only facts

-which give still another ground for strengthening our will, our energy

-and intensity of purpose; so that finally, through the higher

-development of the human faculties, the solution of the problem in

-question may be rendered possible.

-The tragic reason why it so often happens that the pursuit of one

-definite task is not left to one association alone is as follows:

-Generally speaking, every action carried out on the grand style in this

-world is the expression of a desire that has already existed for a long

-time in millions of human hearts, a longing which may have been

-nourished in silence. Yes, it may happen that throughout centuries men

-may have been yearning for the solution of a definite problem, because

-they have been suffering under an unendurable order of affairs, without

-seeing on the far horizon the coming fulfilment of the universal

-longing. Nations which are no longer capable of finding an heroic

-deliverance from such a sorrowful fate may be looked upon as effete.

-But, on the other hand, nothing gives better proof of the vital forces

-of a people and the consequent guarantee of its right to exist than that

-one day, through a happy decree of Destiny, a man arises who is capable

-of liberating his people from some great oppression, or of wiping out

-some bitter distress, or of calming the national soul which had been

-tormented through its sense of insecurity, and thus fulfilling what had

-long been the universal yearning of the people.

-An essential characteristic of what are called the great questions of

-the time is that thousands undertake the task of solving them and that

-many feel themselves called to this task: yea, even that Destiny itself

-has proposed many for the choice, so that through the free play of

-forces the stronger and bolder shall finally be victorious and to him

-shall be entrusted the task of solving the problem.

-Thus it may happen that for centuries many are discontented with the

-form in which their religious life expresses itself and yearn for a

-renovation of it; and so it may happen that through this impulse of the

-soul some dozens of men may arise who believe that, by virtue of their

-understanding and their knowledge, they are called to solve the

-religious difficulties of the time and accordingly present themselves as

-the prophets of a new teaching or at least as declared adversaries of

-the standing beliefs.

-Here also it is certain that the natural law will take its course,

-inasmuch as the strongest will be destined to fulfil the great mission.

-But usually the others are slow to acknowledge that only one man is

-called. On the contrary, they all believe that they have an equal right

-to engage in the solution of the diffculties in question and that they

-are equally called to that task. Their contemporary world is generally

-quite unable to decide which of all these possesses the highest gifts

-and accordingly merits the support of all.

-So in the course of centuries, or indeed often within the same epoch,

-different men establish different movements to struggle towards the same

-end. At least the end is declared by the founders of the movements to be

-the same, or may be looked upon as such by the masses of the people. The

-populace nourishes vague desires and has only general opinions, without

-having any precise notion of their own ideals and desires or of the

-question whether and how it is impossible for these ideals and desires

-to be fulfilled.

-The tragedy lies in the fact that many men struggle to reach the same

-objective by different roads, each one genuinely believing in his own

-mission and holding himself in duty bound to follow his own road without

-any regard for the others.

-These movements, parties, religious groups, etc., originate entirely

-independently of one another out of the general urge of the time, and

-all with a view to working towards the same goal. It may seem a tragic

-thing, at least at first sight, that this should be so, because people

-are too often inclined to think that forces which are dispersed in

-different directions would attain their ends far more quickly and more

-surely if they were united in one common effort. But that is not so. For

-Nature herself decides according to the rules of her inexorable logic.

-She leaves these diverse groups to compete with one another and dispute

-the palm of victory and thus she chooses the clearest, shortest and

-surest way along which she leads the movement to its final goal.

-How could one decide from outside which is the best way, if the forces

-at hand were not allowed free play, if the final decision were to rest

-with the doctrinaire judgment of men who are so infatuated with their

-own superior knowledge that their minds are not open to accept the

-indisputable proof presented by manifest success, which in the last

-analysis always gives the final confirmation of the justice of a course

-of action.

-Hence, though diverse groups march along different routes towards the

-same objective, as soon as they come to know that analogous efforts are

-being made around them, they will have to study all the more carefully

-whether they have chosen the best way and whether a shorter way may not

-be found and how their efforts can best be employed to reach the

-objective more quickly.

-Through this rivalry each individual protagonist develops his faculties

-to a still higher pitch of perfection and the human race has frequently

-owed its progress to the lessons learned from the misfortunes of former

-attempts which have come to grief. Therefore we may conclude that we

-come to know the better ways of reaching final results through a state

-of things which at first sight appeared tragic; namely, the initial

-dispersion of individual efforts, wherein each group was unconsciously

-responsible for such dispersion.

-In studying the lessons of history with a view to finding a way for the

-solution of the German problem, the prevailing opinion at one time was

-that there were two possible paths along which that problem might be

-solved and that these two paths should have united from the very

-beginning. The chief representatives and champions of these two paths

-were Austria and Prussia respectively, Habsburg and Hohenzollern. All

-the rest, according to this prevalent opinion, ought to have entrusted

-their united forces to the one or the other party. But at that time the

-path of the most prominent representative, the Habsburg, would have been

-taken, though the Austrian policy would never have led to the foundation

-of a united German REICH.

-Finally, a strong and united German REICH arose out of that which many

-millions of Germans deplored in their hearts as the last and most

-terrible manifestation of our fratricidal strife. The truth is that the

-German Imperial Crown was retrieved on the battle field of K�niggr�tz

-and not in the fights that were waged before Paris, as was commonly

-asserted afterwards.

-Thus the foundation of the German REICH was not the consequence of any

-common will working along common lines, but it was much more the outcome

-of a deliberate struggle for hegemony, though the protagonists were

-often hardly conscious of this. And from this struggle Prussia finally

-came out victorious. Anybody who is not so blinded by partisan politics

-as to deny this truth will have to agree that the so-called wisdom of

-men would never have come to the same wise decision as the wisdom of

-Life itself, that is to say, the free play of forces, finally brought to

-realization. For in the German lands of two hundred years before who

-would seriously have believed that Hohenzollern Prussia, and not

-Habsburg, would become the germ cell, the founder and the tutor of the

-new REICH? And, on the other hand, who would deny to-day that Destiny

-thus acted wiser than human wisdom. Who could now imagine a German REICH

-based on the foundations of an effete and degenerate dynasty?

-No. The general evolution of things, even though it took a century of

-struggle, placed the best in the position that it had merited.

-And that will always be so. Therefore it is not to be regretted if

-different men set out to attain the same objective. In this way the

-strongest and swiftest becomes recognized and turns out to be the

-victor.

-Now there is a second cause for the fact that often in the lives of

-nations several movements which show the same characteristics strive

-along different ways to reach what appears to be the same goal. This

-second cause is not at all tragic, but just something that rightly calls

-forth pity. It arises from a sad mixture of envy, jealousy, ambition,

-and the itch for taking what belongs to others. Unfortunately these

-failings are often found united in single specimens of the human

-species.

-The moment a man arises who profoundly understands the distress of his

-people and, having diagnosed the evil with perfect accuracy, takes

-measures to cure it; the moment he fixes his aim and chooses the means

-to reach it--then paltry and pettifogging people become all attention

-and eagerly follow the doings of this man who has thus come before the

-public gaze. Just like sparrows who are apparently indifferent, but in

-reality are firmly intent on the movements of the fortunate companion

-with the morsel of bread so that they may snatch it from him if he

-should momentarily relax his hold on it, so it is also with the human

-species. All that is needed is that one man should strike out on a new

-road and then a crowd of poltroons will prick up their ears and begin to

-sniff for whatever little booty may possibly lie at the end of that

-road. The moment they think they have discovered where the booty is to

-be gathered they hurry to find another way which may prove to be quicker

-in reaching that goal.

-As soon as a new movement is founded and has formulated a definite

-programme, people of that kind come forward and proclaim that they are

-fighting for the same cause. This does not imply that they are ready

-honestly to join the ranks of such a movement and thus recognize its

-right of priority. It implies rather that they intend to steal the

-programme and found a new party on it. In doing this they are shameless

-enough to assure the unthinking public that for a long time they had

-intended to take the same line of action as the other has now taken, and

-frequently they succeed in thus placing themselves in a favourable

-light, instead of arousing the general disapprobation which they justly

-deserve. For it is a piece of gross impudence to take what has already

-been inscribed on another's flag and display it on one's own, to steal

-the programme of another, and then to form a separate group as if all

-had been created by the new founder of this group. The impudence of such

-conduct is particularly demonstrated when the individuals who first

-caused dispersion and disruption by their new foundation are those

-who--as experience has shown--are most emphatic in proclaiming the

-necessity of union and unity the moment they find they cannot catch up

-with their adversary's advance.

-It is to that kind of conduct that the so-called 'patriotic

-disintegration' is to be attributed.

-Certainly in the years 1918--1919 the founding of a multitude of new

-groups, parties, etc., calling themselves 'Patriotic,' was a natural

-phenomenon of the time, for which the founders were not at all

-responsible. By 1920 the National Socialist German Labour Party had

-slowly crystallized from all these parties and had become supreme. There

-could be no better proof of the sterling honesty of certain individual

-founders than the fact that many of them decided, in a really admirable

-manner, to sacrifice their manifestly less successful movements to the

-stronger movement, by joining it unconditionally and dissolving their

-own.

-This is specially true in regard to Julius Streicher, who was at that

-time the protagonist of the German Socialist party in N�rnberg. The

-National Socialist German Labour Party had been founded with similar

-aims in view, but quite independently of the other. I have already said

-that Streicher, then a teacher in N�rnberg, was the chief protagonist of

-the German Socialist Party. He had a sacred conviction of the mission

-and future of his own movement. As soon, however, as the superior

-strength and stronger growth of the National Socialist Party became

-clear and unquestionable to his mind, he gave up his work in the German

-Socialist Party and called upon his followers to fall into line with the

-National Socialist German Labour Party, which had come out victorious

-from the mutual contest, and carry on the fight within its ranks for the

-common cause. The decision was personally a difficult one for him, but

-it showed a profound sense of honesty.

-When that first period of the movement was over there remained no

-further dispersion of forces: for their honest intentions had led the

-men of that time to the same honourable, straightforward and just

-conclusion. What we now call the 'patriotic disintegration' owes its

-existence exclusively to the second of the two causes which I have

-mentioned. Ambitious men who at first had no ideas of their own, and

-still less any concept of aims to be pursued, felt themselves 'called'

-exactly at that moment in which the success of the National Socialist

-German Labour Party became unquestionable.

-Suddenly programmes appeared which were mere transcripts of ours. Ideas

-were proclaimed which had been taken from us. Aims were set up on behalf

-of which we had been fighting for several years, and ways were mapped

-out which the National Socialists had for a long time trodden. All kinds

-of means were resorted to for the purpose of trying to convince the

-public that, although the National Socialist German Labour Party had now

-been for a long time in existence, it was found necessary to establish

-these new parties. But all these phrases were just as insincere as the

-motives behind them were ignoble.

-In reality all this was grounded only on one dominant motive. That

-motive was the personal ambition of the founders, who wished to play a

-part in which their own pigmy talents could contribute nothing original

-except the gross effrontery which they displayed in appropriating the

-ideas of others, a mode of conduct which in ordinary life is looked upon

-as thieving.

-At that time there was not an idea or concept launched by other people

-which these political kleptomaniacs did not seize upon at once for the

-purpose of applying to their own base uses. Those who did all this were

-the same people who subsequently, with tears in their eyes, profoundly

-deplored the 'patriotic disintegration' and spoke unceasingly about the

-'necessity of unity'. In doing this they nurtured the secret hope that

-they might be able to cry down the others, who would tire of hearing

-these loud-mouthed accusations and would end up by abandoning all claim

-to the ideas that had been stolen from them and would abandon to the

-thieves not only the task of carrying these ideas into effect but also

-the task of carrying on the movements of which they themselves were the

-original founders.

-When that did not succeed, and the new enterprises, thanks to the paltry

-mentality of their promoters, did not show the favourable results which

-had been promised beforehand, then they became more modest in their

-pretences and were happy if they could land themselves in one of the

-so-called 'co-operative unions'.

-At that period everything which could not stand on its own feet joined

-one of those co-operative unions, believing that eight lame people

-hanging on to one another could force a gladiator to surrender to them.

-But if among all these cripples there was one who was sound of limb he

-had to use all his strength to sustain the others and thus he himself

-was practically paralysed.

-We ought to look upon the question of joining these working coalitions

-as a tactical problem, but, in coming to a decision, we must never

-forget the following fundamental principle:

-Through the formation of a working coalition associations which are weak

-in themselves can never be made strong, whereas it can and does happen

-not infrequently that a strong association loses its strength by joining

-in a coalition with weaker ones. It is a mistake to believe that a

-factor of strength will result from the coalition of weak groups;

-because experience shows that under all forms and all conditions the

-majority represents the duffers and poltroons. Hence a multiplicity of

-associations, under a directorate of many heads, elected by these same

-associations, is abandoned to the control of poltroons and weaklings.

-Through such a coalition the free play of forces is paralysed, the

-struggle for the selection of the best is abolished and therewith the

-necessary and final victory of the healthier and stronger is impeded.

-Coalitions of that kind are inimical to the process of natural

-development, because for the most part they hinder rather than advance

-the solution of the problem which is being fought for.

-It may happen that, from considerations of a purely tactical kind, the

-supreme command of a movement whose goal is set in the future will enter

-into a coalition with such associations for the treatment of special

-questions and may also stand on a common platform with them, but this

-can be only for a short and limited period. Such a coalition must not be

-permanent, if the movement does not wish to renounce its liberating

-mission. Because if it should become indissolubly tied up in such a

-combination it would lose the capacity and the right to allow its own

-forces to work freely in following out a natural development, so as to

-overcome rivals and attain its own objective triumphantly.

-It must never be forgotten that nothing really great in this world has

-ever been achieved through coalitions, but that such achievements have

-always been due to the triumph of the individual. Successes achieved

-through coalitions, owing to the very nature of their source, carry the

-germs of future disintegration in them from the very start; so much so

-that they have already forfeited what has been achieved. The great

-revolutions which have taken place in human thought and have veritably

-transformed the aspect of the world would have been inconceivable and

-impossible to carry out except through titanic struggles waged between

-individual natures, but never as the enterprises of coalitions.

-And, above all things, the People's State will never be created by the

-desire for compromise inherent in a patriotic coalition, but only by the

-iron will of a single movement which has successfully come through in

-the struggle with all the others.

-CHAPTER IX

-FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS REGARDING THE NATURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STORM TROOPS

-The strength of the old state rested on three pillars: the monarchical

-form of government, the civil service, and the army. The Revolution of

-1918 abolished the form of government, dissolved the army and abandoned

-the civil service to the corruption of party politics. Thus the

-essential supports of what is called the Authority of the State were

-shattered. This authority nearly always depends on three elements, which

-are the essential foundations of all authority.

-Popular support is the first element which is necessary for the creation

-of authority. But an authority resting on that foundation alone is still

-quite frail, uncertain and vacillating. Hence everyone who finds himself

-vested with an authority that is based only on popular support must take

-measures to improve and consolidate the foundations of that authority by

-the creation of force. Accordingly we must look upon power, that is to

-say, the capacity to use force, as the second foundation on which all

-authority is based. This foundation is more stable and secure, but not

-always stronger, than the first. If popular support and power are united

-together and can endure for a certain time, then an authority may arise

-which is based on a still stronger foundation, namely, the authority of

-tradition. And, finally, if popular support, power, and tradition are

-united together, then the authority based on them may be looked upon as

-invincible.

-In Germany the Revolution abolished this last foundation. There was no

-longer even a traditional authority. With the collapse of the old REICH,

-the suppression of the monarchical form of government, the destruction

-of all the old insignia of greatness and the imperial symbols, tradition

-was shattered at a blow. The result was that the authority of the State

-was shaken to its foundations.

-The second pillar of statal authority, namely POWER, also ceased to

-exist. In order to carry through the Revolution it was necessary to

-dissolve that body which had hitherto incorporated the organized force

-and power of the State, namely, the Army. Indeed, some detached

-fragments of the Army itself had to be employed as fighting elements in

-the Revolution. The Armies at the front were not subjected in the same

-measure to this process of disruption; but as they gradually left

-farther behind them the fields of glory on which they had fought

-heroically for four-and-half years, they were attacked by the solvent

-acid that had permeated the Fatherland; and when they arrived at the

-demobilizing centres they fell into that state of confusion which was

-styled voluntary obedience in the time of the Soldiers' Councils.

-Of course it was out of the question to think of founding any kind of

-authority on this crowd of mutineering soldiers, who looked upon

-military service as a work of eight hours per day. Therefore the second

-element, that which guarantees the stability of authority, was also

-abolished and the Revolution had only the original element, popular

-support, on which to build up its authority. But this basis was

-extraordinarily insecure. By means of a few violent thrusts the

-Revolution had shattered the old statal edifice to its deepest

-foundations, but only because the normal equilibrium within the social

-structure of the nation had already been destroyed by the war.

-Every national body is made up of three main classes. At one extreme we

-have the best of the people, taking the word 'best' here to indicate

-those who are highly endowed with the civic virtues and are noted for

-their courage and their readiness to sacrifice their private interests.

-At the other extreme are the worst dregs of humanity, in whom vice and

-egotistic interests prevail. Between these two extremes stands the third

-class, which is made up of the broad middle stratum, who do not

-represent radiant heroism or vulgar vice.

-The stages of a nation's rise are accomplished exclusively under the

-leadership of the best extreme.

-Times of normal and symmetrical development, or of stable conditions,

-owe their existence and outwardly visible characteristics to the

-preponderating influence of the middle stratum. In this stage the two

-extreme classes are balanced against one another; in other words, they

-are relatively cancelled out.

-Times of national collapse are determined by the preponderating

-influence of the worst elements.

-It must be noted here, however, that the broad masses, which constitute

-what I have called the middle section, come forward and make their

-influence felt only when the two extreme sections are engaged in mutual

-strife. In case one of the extreme sections comes out victorious the

-middle section will readily submit to its domination. If the best

-dominate, the broad masses will follow it. Should the worst extreme turn

-out triumphant, then the middle section will at least offer no

-opposition to it; for the masses that constitute the middle class never

-fight their own battles.

-The outpouring of blood for four-and-a-half years during the war

-destroyed the inner equilibrium between these three sections in so far

-as it can be said--though admitting the sacrifices made by the middle

-section--that the class which consisted of the best human elements

-almost completely disappeared through the loss of so much of its blood

-in the war, because it was impossible to replace the truly enormous

-quantity of heroic German blood which had been shed during those

-four-and-a-half years. In hundreds of thousands of cases it was always a

-matter of 'VOLUNTEERS to the front', VOLUNTEERS for patrol and duty,

-VOLUNTEER dispatch carriers, VOLUNTEERS for establishing and working

-telephonic communications, VOLUNTEERS for bridge-building, VOLUNTEERS

-for the submarines, VOLUNTEERS for the air service, VOLUNTEERS for the

-storm battalions, and so on, and so on. During four-and-a-half years,

-and on thousands of occasions, there was always the call for volunteers

-and again for volunteers. And the result was always the same. Beardless

-young fellows or fully developed men, all filled with an ardent love for

-their country, urged on by their own courageous spirit or by a lofty

-sense of their duty--it was always such men who answered the call for

-volunteers. Tens of thousands, indeed hundreds of thousands, of such men

-came forward, so that that kind of human material steadily grew scarcer

-and scarcer. What did not actually fall was maimed in the fight or

-gradually had to join the ranks of the crippled because of the wounds

-they were constantly receiving, and thus they had to carry on

-interminably owing to the steady decrease in the supply of such men. In

-1914 whole armies were composed of volunteers who, owing to a criminal

-lack of conscience on the part of our feckless parliamentarians, had not

-received any proper training in times of peace, and so were thrown as

-defenceless cannon-fodder to the enemy. The four hundred thousand who

-thus fell or were permanently maimed on the battlefields of Flanders

-could not be replaced any more. Their loss was something far more than

-merely numerical. With their death the scales, which were already too

-lightly weighed at that end of the social structure which represented

-our best human quality, now moved upwards rapidly, becoming heavier on

-the other end with those vulgar elements of infamy and cowardice--in

-short, there was an increase in the elements that constituted the worst

-extreme of our population.

-And there was something more: While for four-and-a-half years our best

-human material was being thinned to an exceptional degree on the

-battlefields, our worst people wonderfully succeeded in saving

-themselves. For each hero who made the supreme sacrifice and ascended

-the steps of Valhalla, there was a shirker who cunningly dodged death on

-the plea of being engaged in business that was more or less useful at

-home.

-And so the picture which presented itself at the end of the war was

-this: The great middle stratum of the nation had fulfilled its duty and

-paid its toll of blood. One extreme of the population, which was

-constituted of the best elements, had given a typical example of its

-heroism and had sacrificed itself almost to a man. The other extreme,

-which was constituted of the worst elements of the population, had

-preserved itself almost intact, through taking advantage of absurd laws

-and also because the authorities failed to enforce certain articles of

-the military code.

-This carefully preserved scum of our nation then made the Revolution.

-And the reason why it could do so was that the extreme section composed

-of the best elements was no longer there to oppose it. It no longer

-existed.

-Hence the German Revolution, from the very beginning, depended on only

-one section of the population. This act of Cain was not committed by the

-German people as such, but by an obscure CANAILLE of deserters,

-hooligans, etc.

-The man at the front gladly welcomed the end of the strife in which so

-much blood had been shed. He was happy to be able to return home and see

-his wife and children once again. But he had no moral connection with

-the Revolution. He did not like it, nor did he like those who had

-provoked and organized it. During the four-and-a-half years of that

-bitter struggle at the front he had come to forget the party hyenas at

-home and all their wrangling had become foreign to him.

-The Revolution was really popular only with a small section of the

-German people: namely, that class and their accomplices who had selected

-the rucksack as the hall-mark of all honourable citizens in this new

-State. They did not like the Revolution for its own sake, though many

-people still erroneously believe the contrary, but for the consequences

-which followed in its train.

-But it was very difficult to establish any abiding authority on the

-popular support given to these Marxist freebooters. And yet the young

-Republic stood in need of authority at any cost, unless it was ready to

-agree to be overthrown after a short period of chaos by an elementary

-force assembled from those last elements that still remained among the

-best extreme of the population.

-The danger which those who were responsible for the Revolution feared

-most at that time was that, in the turmoil of the confusion which they

-themselves had created, the ground would suddenly be taken from under

-their feet, that they might be suddenly seized and transported to

-another terrain by an iron grip, such as has often appeared at these

-junctures in the history of nations. The Republic must be consolidated

-at all costs.

-Hence it was forced almost immediately after its foundation to erect

-another pillar beside that wavering pillar of popularity. They found

-that power must be organized once again in order to procure a firmer

-foundation for their authority.

-When those who had been the matadors of the Revolution in December 1918,

-and January and February 1919, felt the ground trembling beneath their

-feet they looked around them for men who would be ready to reinforce

-them with military support; for their feeble position was dependent only

-on whatever popular favour they enjoyed. The 'anti-militarist' Republic

-had need of soldiers. But the first and only pillar on which the

-authority of the State rested, namely, its popularity, was grounded only

-on a conglomeration of rowdies and thieves, burglars, deserters,

-shirkers, etc. Therefore in that section of the nation which we have

-called the evil extreme it was useless to look for men who would be

-willing to sacrifice their lives on behalf of a new ideal. The section

-which had nourished the revolutionary idea and carried out the

-Revolution was neither able nor willing to call on the soldiers to

-protect it. For that section had no wish whatsoever to organize a

-republican State, but to disorganize what already existed and thus

-satisfy its own instincts all the better. Their password was not the

-organization and construction of the German Republic, but rather the

-plundering of it.

-Hence the cry for help sent out by the public representatives, who were

-beset by a thousand anxieties, did not find any response among this

-class of people, but rather provoked a feeling of bitterness and

-repudiation. For they looked upon this step as the beginning of a breach

-of faith and trust, and in the building up of an authority which was no

-longer based on popular support but also on force they saw the beginning

-of a hostile move against what the Revolution meant essentially for

-those elements. They feared that measures might be taken against the

-right to robbery and absolute domination on the part of a horde of

-thieves and plunderers--in short, the worst rabble--who had broken out

-of the convict prisons and left their chains behind.

-The representatives of the people might cry out as much as they liked,

-but they could get no help from that rabble. The cries for help were met

-with the counter-cry 'traitors' by those very people on whose support

-the popularity of the regime was founded.

-Then for the first time large numbers of young Germans were found who

-were ready to button on the military uniform once again in the service

-of 'Peace and Order', as they believed, shouldering the carbine and

-rifle and donning the steel helmet to defend the wreckers of the

-Fatherland. Volunteer corps were assembled and, although hating the

-Revolution, they began to defend it. The practical effect of their

-action was to render the Revolution firm and stable. In doing this they

-acted in perfect good faith.

-The real organizer of the Revolution and the actual wire-puller behind

-it, the international Jew, had sized up the situation correctly. The

-German people were not yet ripe to be drawn into the blood swamp of

-Bolshevism, as the Russian people had been drawn. And that was because

-there was a closer racial union between the intellectual classes in

-Germany and the manual workers, and also because broad social strata

-were permeated with cultured people, such as was the case also in the

-other States of Western Europe; but this state of affairs was completely

-lacking in Russia. In that country the intellectual classes were mostly

-not of Russian nationality, or at least they did not have the racial

-characteristics of the Slav. The thin upper layer of intellectuals which

-then existed in Russia might be abolished at any time, because there was

-no intermediate stratum connecting it organically with the great mass of

-the people. There the mental and moral level of the great mass of the

-people was frightfully low.

-In Russia the moment the agitators were successful in inciting broad

-masses of the people, who could not read or write, against the upper

-layer of intellectuals who were not in contact with the masses or

-permanently linked with them in any way--at that moment the destiny of

-Russia was decided, the success of the Revolution was assured. Thereupon

-the analphabetic Russian became the slave of his Jewish dictators who,

-on their side, were shrewd enough to name their dictatorship 'The

-Dictatorship of the People'.

-In the case of Germany an additional factor must be taken into account.

-Here the Revolution could be carried into effect only if the Army could

-first be gradually dismembered. But the real author of the Revolution

-and of the process of disintegration in the Army was not the soldier who

-had fought at the front but the CANAILLE which more or less shunned the

-light and which were either quartered in the home garrisons or were

-officiating as 'indispensables' somewhere in the business world at home.

-This army was reinforced by ten thousand deserters who, without running

-any particular risk, could turn their backs on the Front. At all times

-the real poltroon fears nothing so much as death. But at the Front he

-had death before his eyes every day in a thousand different shapes.

-There has always been one possible way, and one only, of making weak or

-wavering men, or even downright poltroons, face their duty steadfastly.

-This means that the deserter must be given to understand that his

-desertion will bring upon him just the very thing he is flying from. At

-the Front a man may die, but the deserter MUST die. Only this draconian

-threat against every attempt to desert the flag can have a terrifying

-effect, not merely on the individual but also on the mass. Therein lay

-the meaning and purpose of the military penal code.

-It was a fine belief to think that the great struggle for the life of a

-nation could be carried through if it were based solely on voluntary

-fidelity arising from and sustained by the knowledge that such a

-struggle was necessary. The voluntary fulfilment of one's duty is a

-motive that determines the actions of only the best men, but not of the

-average type of men. Hence special laws are necessary; just as, for

-instance, the law against stealing, which was not made for men who are

-honest on principle but for the weak and unstable elements. Such laws

-are meant to hinder the evil-doer through their deterrent effect and

-thus prevent a state of affairs from arising in which the honest man is

-considered the more stupid, and which would end in the belief that it is

-better to have a share in the robbery than to stand by with empty hands

-or allow oneself to be robbed.

-It was a mistake to believe that in a struggle which, according to all

-human foresight, might last for several years it would be possible to

-dispense with those expedients which the experience of hundreds and even

-of thousands of years had proved to be effective in making weak and

-unstable men face and fulfil their duty in difficult times and at

-moments of great nervous stress.

-For the voluntary war hero it is, of course, not necessary to have the

-death penalty in the military code, but it is necessary for the cowardly

-egoists who value their own lives more than the existence of the

-community in the hour of national need. Such weak and characterless

-people can be held back from surrendering to their cowardice only by the

-application of the heaviest penalties. When men have to struggle with

-death every day and remain for weeks in trenches of mire, often very

-badly supplied with food, the man who is unsure of himself and begins to

-waver cannot be made to stick to his post by threats of imprisonment or

-even penal servitude. Only by a ruthless enforcement of the death

-penalty can this be effected. For experience shows that at such a time

-the recruit considers prison a thousand times more preferable than the

-battlefield. In prison at least his precious life is not in danger. The

-practical abolition of the death penalty during the war was a mistake

-for which we had to pay dearly. Such omission really meant that the

-military penal code was no longer recognized as valid. An army of

-deserters poured into the stations at the rear or returned home,

-especially in 1918, and there began to form that huge criminal

-organization with which we were suddenly faced, after November 7th,

-1918, and which perpetrated the Revolution.

-The Front had nothing to do with all this. Naturally, the soldiers at

-the Front were yearning for peace. But it was precisely that fact which

-represented a special danger for the Revolution. For when the German

-soldiers began to draw near home, after the Armistice, the

-revolutionaries were in trepidation and asked the same question again

-and again: What will the troops from the Front do? Will the field-greys

-stand for it?

-During those weeks the Revolution was forced to give itself at least an

-external appearance of moderation, if it were not to run the risk of

-being wrecked in a moment by a few German divisions. For at that time,

-even if the commander of one division alone had made up his mind to

-rally the soldiers of his division, who had always remained faithful to

-him, in an onslaught to tear down the red flag and put the 'councils' up

-against the wall, or, if there was any resistance, to break it with

-trench-mortars and hand grenades, that division would have grown into an

-army of sixty divisions in less than four weeks. The Jew wire-pullers

-were terrified by this prospect more than by anything else; and to

-forestall this particular danger they found it necessary to give the

-Revolution a certain aspect of moderation. They dared not allow it to

-degenerate into Bolshevism, so they had to face the existing conditions

-by putting up the hypocritical picture of 'order and tranquillity'.

-Hence many important concessions, the appeal to the old civil service

-and to the heads of the old Army. They would be needed at least for a

-certain time, and only when they had served the purpose of Turks' Heads

-could the deserved kick-out be administered with impunity. Then the

-Republic would be taken entirely out of the hands of the old servants of

-the State and delivered into the claws of the revolutionaries.

-They thought that this was the only plan which would succeed in duping

-the old generals and civil servants and disarm any eventual opposition

-beforehand through the apparently harmless and mild character of the new

-regime.

-Practical experience has shown to what extent the plan succeeded.

-The Revolution, however, was not made by the peaceful and orderly

-elements of the nation but rather by rioters, thieves and robbers. And

-the way in which the Revolution was developing did not accord with the

-intentions of these latter elements; still, on tactical grounds, it was

-not possible to explain to them the reasons for the course things were

-taking and make that course acceptable.

-As Social Democracy gradually gained power it lost more and more the

-character of a crude revolutionary party. Of course in their inner

-hearts the Social Democrats wanted a revolution; and their leaders had

-no other end in view. Certainly not. But what finally resulted was only

-a revolutionary programme; but not a body of men who would be able to

-carry it out. A revolution cannot be carried through by a party of ten

-million members. If such a movement were attempted the leaders would

-find that it was not an extreme section of the population on which they

-had to depend butrather the broad masses of the middle stratum; hence

-the inert masses.

-Recognizing all this, already during the war, the Jews caused the famous

-split in the Social Democratic Party. While the Social Democratic Party,

-conforming to the inertia of its mass following, clung like a leaden

-weight on the neck of the national defence, the actively radical

-elements were extracted from it and formed into new aggressive columns

-for purposes of attack. The Independent Socialist Party and the

-Spartacist League were the storm battalions of revolutionary Marxism.

-The objective assigned to them was to create a FAIT ACCOMPLI, on the

-grounds of which the masses of the Social Democratic Party could take

-their stand, having been prepared for this event long beforehand. The

-feckless bourgeoisie had been estimated at its just value by the

-Marxists and treated EN CANAILLE. Nobody bothered about it, knowing well

-that in their canine servility the representatives of an old and

-worn-out generation would not be able to offer any serious resistance.

-When the Revolution had succeeded and its artificers believed that the

-main pillars of the old State had been broken down, the Army returning

-from the Front began to appear in the light of a sinister sphinx and

-thus made it necessary to slow down the national course of the

-Revolution. The main body of the Social Democratic horde occupied the

-conquered positions, and the Independent Socialist and Spartacist storm

-battalions were side-tracked.

-But that did not happen without a struggle.

-The activist assault formations that had started the Revolution were

-dissatisfied and felt that they had been betrayed. They now wanted to

-continue the fight on their own account. But their illimitable

-racketeering became odious even to the wire-pullers of the Revolution.

-For the Revolution itself had scarcely been accomplished when two camps

-appeared. In the one camp were the elements of peace and order; in the

-other were those of blood and terror. Was it not perfectly natural that

-our bourgeoisie should rush with flying colours to the camp of peace and

-order? For once in their lives their piteous political organizations

-found it possible to act, inasmuch as the ground had been prepared for

-them on which they were glad to get a new footing; and thus to a certain

-extent they found themselves in coalition with that power which they

-hated but feared. The German political bourgeoisie achieved the high

-honour of being able to associate itself with the accursed Marxist

-leaders for the purpose of combating Bolshevism.

-Thus the following state of affairs took shape as early as December 1918

-and January 1919:

-A minority constituted of the worst elements had made the Revolution.

-And behind this minority all the Marxist parties immediately fell into

-step. The Revolution itself had an outward appearance of moderation,

-which aroused against it the enmity of the fanatical extremists. These

-began to launch hand-grenades and fire machine-guns, occupying public

-buildings, thus threatening to destroy the moderate appearance of the

-Revolution. To prevent this terror from developing further a truce was

-concluded between the representatives of the new regime and the

-adherents of the old order, so as to be able to wage a common fight

-against the extremists. The result was that the enemies of the Republic

-ceased to oppose the Republic as such and helped to subjugate those who

-were also enemies of the Republic, though for quite different reasons.

-But a further result was that all danger of the adherents of the old

-State putting up a fight against the new was now definitely averted.

-This fact must always be clearly kept in mind. Only by remembering it

-can we understand how it was possible that a nation in which nine-tenths

-of the people had not joined in a revolution, where seven-tenths

-repudiated it and six-tenths detested it--how this nation allowed the

-Revolution to be imposed upon it by the remaining one-tenth of the

-population.

-Gradually the barricade heroes in the Spartacist camp petered out, and

-so did the nationalist patriots and idealists on the other side. As

-these two groups steadily dwindled, the masses of the middle stratum, as

-always happens, triumphed. The Bourgeoisie and the Marxists met together

-on the grounds of accomplished facts, and the Republic began to be

-consolidated. At first, however, that did not prevent the bourgeois

-parties from propounding their monarchist ideas for some time further,

-especially at the elections, whereby they endeavoured to conjure up the

-spirits of the dead past to encourage their own feeble-hearted

-followers. It was not an honest proceeding. In their hearts they had

-broken with the monarchy long ago; but the foulness of the new regime

-had begun to extend its corruptive action and make itself felt in the

-camp of the bourgeois parties. The common bourgeois politician now felt

-better in the slime of republican corruption than in the severe decency

-of the defunct State, which still lived in his memory.

-As I have already pointed out, after the destruction of the old Army the

-revolutionary leaders were forced to strengthen statal authority by

-creating a new factor of power. In the conditions that existed they

-could do this only by winning over to their side the adherents of a

-WELTANSCHAUUNG which was a direct contradiction of their own. From

-those elements alone it was possible slowly to create a new army which,

-limited numerically by the peace treaties, had to be subsequently

-transformed in spirit so as to become an instrument of the new regime.

-Setting aside the defects of the old State, which really became the

-cause of the Revolution, if we ask how it was possible to carry the

-Revolution to a successful issue as a political act, we arrive at the

-following conclusions:

-l. It was due to a process of dry rot in our conceptions of duty and

-obedience.

-2. It was due also to the passive timidity of the Parties who were

-supposed to uphold the State.

-To this the following must be added: The dry rot which attacked our

-concepts of duty and obedience was fundamentally due to our wholly

-non-national and purely State education. From this came the habit of

-confusing means and ends. Consciousness of duty, fulfilment of duty, and

-obedience, are not ends in themselves no more than the State is an end

-in itself; but they all ought to be employed as means to facilitate and

-assure the existence of a community of people who are kindred both

-physically and spiritually. At a moment when a nation is manifestly

-collapsing and when all outward signs show that it is on the point of

-becoming the victim of ruthless oppression, thanks to the conduct of a

-few miscreants, to obey these people and fulfil one's duty towards them

-is merely doctrinaire formalism, and indeed pure folly; whereas, on the

-other hand, the refusal of obedience and fulfilment of duty in such a

-case might save the nation from collapse. According to our current

-bourgeois idea of the State, if a divisional general received from above

-the order not to shoot he fulfilled his duty and therefore acted rightly

-in not shooting, because to the bourgeois mind blind formal obedience is

-a more valuable thing than the life of a nation. But according to the

-National Socialist concept it is not obedience to weak superiors that

-should prevail at such moments, in such an hour the duty of assuming

-personal responsibility towards the whole nation makes its appearance.

-The Revolution succeeded because that concept had ceased to be a vital

-force with our people, or rather with our governments, and died down to

-something that was merely formal and doctrinaire.

-As regards the second point, it may be said that the more profound cause

-of the fecklessness of the bourgeois parties must be attributed to the

-fact that the most active and upright section of our people had lost

-their lives in the war. Apart from that, the bourgeois parties, which

-may be considered as the only political formations that stood by the old

-State, were convinced that they ought to defend their principles only by

-intellectual ways and means, since the use of physical force was

-permitted only to the State. That outlook was a sign of the weakness and

-decadence which had been gradually developing. And it was also senseless

-at a period when there was a political adversary who had long ago

-abandoned that standpoint and, instead of this, had openly declared that

-he meant to attain his political ends by force whenever that became

-possible. When Marxism emerged in the world of bourgeois democracy, as a

-consequence of that democracy itself, the appeal sent out by the

-bourgeois democracy to fight Marxism with intellectual weapons was a

-piece of folly for which a terrible expiation had to be made later on.

-For Marxism always professed the doctrine that the use of arms was a

-matter which had to be judged from the standpoint of expediency and that

-success justified the use of arms.

-This idea was proved correct during the days from November 7 to 10,

-1918. The Marxists did not then bother themselves in the least about

-parliament or democracy, but they gave the death blow to both by turning

-loose their horde of criminals to shoot and raise hell.

-When the Revolution was over the bourgeois parties changed the title of

-their firm and suddenly reappeared, the heroic leaders emerging from

-dark cellars or more lightsome storehouses where they had sought refuge.

-But, just as happens in the case of all representatives of antiquated

-institutions, they had not forgotten their errors or learned anything

-new. Their political programme was grounded in the past, even though

-they themselves had become reconciled to the new regime. Their aim was

-to secure a share in the new establishment, and so they continued the

-use of words as their sole weapon.

-Therefore after the Revolution the bourgeois parties also capitulated to

-the street in a miserable fashion.

-When the law for the Protection of the Republic was introduced the

-majority was not at first in favour of it. But, confronted with two

-hundred thousand Marxists demonstrating in the streets, the bourgeois

-'statesmen' were so terror-stricken that they voted for the Law against

-their wills, for the edifying reason that otherwise they feared they

-might get their heads smashed by the enraged masses on leaving the

-Reichstag.

-And so the new State developed along its own course, as if there had

-been no national opposition at all.

-The only organizations which at that time had the strength and courage

-to face Marxism and its enraged masses were first of all the volunteer

-corps (Note 19), and subsequently the organizations for self-defence, the

-civic guards and finally the associations formed by the demobilized

-soldiers of the old Army.

-[Note 19. After the DEBACLE of 1918 several semi-military associations were

-formed by demobilized officers who had fought at the Front. These were

-semi-clandestine associations and were known as FREIKORPS (Volunteer

-corps). Their principal purpose was to act as rallying centres for the

-old nationalist elements.]

-But the existence of these bodies did not appreciably change the course

-of German history; and that for the following causes:

-As the so-called national parties were without influence, because they

-had no force which could effectively demonstrate in the street, the

-Leagues of Defence could not exercise any influence because they had no

-political idea and especially because they had no definite political aim

-in view.

-The success which Marxism once attained was due to perfect co-operation

-between political purposes and ruthless force. What deprived nationalist

-Germany of all practical hopes of shaping German development was the

-lack of a determined co-operation between brute force and political aims

-wisely chosen.

-Whatever may have been the aspirations of the 'national' parties, they

-had no force whatsoever to fight for these aspirations, least of all in

-the streets.

-The Defence Leagues had force at their disposal. They were masters of

-the street and of the State, but they lacked political ideas and aims on

-behalf of which their forces might have been or could have been employed

-in the interests of the German nation. The cunning Jew was able in both

-cases, by his astute powers of persuasion, in reinforcing an already

-existing tendency to make this unfortunate state of affairs permanent

-and at the same time to drive the roots of it still deeper.

-The Jew succeeded brilliantly in using his Press for the purpose of

-spreading abroad the idea that the defence associations were of a

-'non-political' character just as in politics he was always astute

-enough to praise the purely intellectual character of the struggle and

-demand that it must always be kept on that plane

-Millions of German imbeciles then repeated this folly without having the

-slightest suspicion that by so doing they were, for all practical

-purposes, disarming themselves and delivering themselves defenceless

-into the hands of the Jew.

-But there is a natural explanation of this also. The lack of a great

-idea which would re-shape things anew has always meant a limitation in

-fighting power. The conviction of the right to employ even the most

-brutal weapons is always associated with an ardent faith in the

-necessity for a new and revolutionary transformation of the world.

-A movement which does not fight for such high aims and ideals will never

-have recourse to extreme means.

-The appearance of a new and great idea was the secret of success in the

-French Revolution. The Russian Revolution owes its triumph to an idea.

-And it was only the idea that enabled Fascism triumphantly to subject a

-whole nation to a process of complete renovation.

-Bourgeois parties are not capable of such an achievement. And it was not

-the bourgeois parties alone that fixed their aim in a restoration of the

-past. The defence associations also did so, in so far as they concerned

-themselves with political aims at all. The spirit of the old war legions

-and Kyffauser tendencies lived in them and therewith helped politically

-to blunt the sharpest weapons which the German nation then possessed and

-allow them to rust in the hands of republican serfs. The fact that these

-associations were inspired by the best of intentions in so doing, and

-certainly acted in good faith, does not alter in the slightest degree

-the foolishness of the course they adopted.

-In the consolidated REICHSWEHR Marxism gradually acquired the support of

-force, which it needed for its authority. As a logical consequence it

-proceeded to abolish those defence associations which it considered

-dangerous, declaring that they were now no longer necessary. Some rash

-leaders who defied the Marxist orders were summoned to court and sent to

-prison. But they all got what they had deserved.

-The founding of the National Socialist German Labour Party incited a

-movement which was the first to fix its aim, not in a mechanical

-restoration of the past--as the bourgeois parties did--but in the

-substitution of an organic People's State for the present absurd statal

-mechanism.

-From the first day of its foundation the new movement took its stand on

-the principle that its ideas had to be propagated by intellectual means

-but that, wherever necessary, muscular force must be employed to support

-this propaganda. In accordance with their conviction of the paramount

-importance of the new doctrine, the leaders of the new movement

-naturally believe that no sacrifice can be considered too great when it

-is a question of carrying through the purpose of the movement.

-I have emphasized that in certain circumstances a movement which is

-meant to win over the hearts of the people must be ready to defend

-itself with its own forces against terrorist attempts on the part of its

-adversaries. It has invariably happened in the history of the world that

-formal State authority has failed to break a reign of terror which was

-inspired by a WELTANSCHAUUNG. It can only be conquered by a new and

-different WELTANSCHAUUNG whose representatives are quite as audacious

-and determined. The acknowledgment of this fact has always been very

-unpleasant for the bureaucrats who are the protectors of the State, but

-the fact remains nevertheless. The rulers of the State can guarantee

-tranquillity and order only in case the State embodies a WELTANSCHAUUNG

-which is shared in by the people as a whole; so that elements of

-disturbance can be treated as isolated criminals, instead of being

-considered as the champions of an idea which is diametrically opposed to

-official opinions. If such should be the case the State may employ the

-most violent measures for centuries long against the terror that

-threatens it; but in the end all these measures will prove futile, and

-the State will have to succumb.

-The German State is intensely overrun by Marxism. In a struggle that

-went on for seventy years the State was not able to prevent the triumph

-of the Marxist idea. Even though the sentences to penal servitude and

-imprisonment amounted in all to thousands of years, and even though the

-most sanguinary methods of repression were in innumerable instances

-threatened against the champions of the Marxist WELTANSCHAUUNG, in the

-end the State was forced to capitulate almost completely. The ordinary

-bourgeois political leaders will deny all this, but their protests are

-futile.

-Seeing that the State capitulated unconditionally to Marxism on November

-9th, 1918, it will not suddenly rise up tomorrow as the conqueror of

-Marxism. On the contrary. Bourgeois simpletons sitting on office stools

-in the various ministries babble about the necessity of not governing

-against the wishes of the workers, and by the word 'workers' they mean

-the Marxists. By identifying the German worker with Marxism not only are

-they guilty of a vile falsification of the truth, but they thus try to

-hide their own collapse before the Marxist idea and the Marxist

-organization.

-In view of the complete subordination of the present State to Marxism,

-the National Socialist Movement feels all the more bound not only to

-prepare the way for the triumph of its idea by appealing to the reason

-and understanding of the public but also to take upon itself the

-responsibility of organizing its own defence against the terror of the

-International, which is intoxicated with its own victory.

-I have already described how practical experience in our young movement

-led us slowly to organize a system of defence for our meetings. This

-gradually assumed the character of a military body specially trained for

-the maintenance of order, and tended to develop into a service which

-would have its properly organized cadres.

-This new formation might resemble the defence associations externally,

-but in reality there were no grounds of comparison between the one and

-the other.

-As I have already said, the German defence organizations did not have

-any definite political ideas of their own. They really were only

-associations for mutual protection, and they were trained and organized

-accordingly, so that they were an illegal complement or auxiliary to the

-legal forces of the State. Their character as free corps arose only from

-the way in which they were constructed and the situation in which the

-State found itself at that time. But they certainly could not claim to

-be free corps on the grounds that they were associations formed freely

-and privately for the purpose of fighting for their own freely formed

-political convictions. Such they were not, despite the fact that some of

-their leaders and some associations as such were definitely opposed to

-the Republic. For before we can speak of political convictions in the

-higher sense we must be something more than merely convinced that the

-existing regime is defective. Political convictions in the higher sense

-mean that one has the picture of a new regime clearly before one's mind,

-feels that the establishment of this regime is an absolute necessity and

-sets himself to carry out that purpose as the highest task to which his

-life can be devoted.

-The troops for the preservation of order, which were then formed under

-the National Socialist Movement, were fundamentally different from all

-the other defence associations by reason of the fact that our formations

-were not meant in any way to defend the state of things created by the

-Revolution, but rather that they were meant exclusively to support our

-struggle for the creation of a new Germany.

-In the beginning this body was merely a guard to maintain order at our

-meetings. Its first task was limited to making it possible for us to

-hold our meetings, which otherwise would have been completely prevented

-by our opponents. These men were at that time trained merely for

-purposes of attack, but they were not taught to adore the big stick

-exclusively, as was then pretended in stupid German patriotic circles.

-They used the cudgel because they knew that it can be made impossible

-for high ideals to be put forward if the man who endeavours to propagate

-them can be struck down with the cudgel. As a matter of fact, it has

-happened in history not infrequently that some of the greatest minds

-have perished under the blows of the most insignificant helots. Our

-bodyguards did not look upon violence as an end in itself, but they

-protected the expositors of ideal aims and purposes against hostile

-coercion by violence. They also understood that there was no obligation

-to undertake the defence of a State which did not guarantee the defence

-of the nation, but that, on the contrary, they had to defend the nation

-against those who were threatening to destroy nation and State.

-After the fight which took place at the meeting in the Munich

-Hofbr�uhaus, where the small number of our guards who were present won

-everlasting fame for themselves by the heroic manner in which they

-stormed the adversaries; these guards were called THE STORM DETACHMENT.

-As the name itself indicates, they represent only a DETACHMENT of the

-Movement. They are one constituent element of it, just as is the Press,

-the propaganda, educational institutes, and other sections of the Party.

-We learned how necessary was the formation of such a body, not only from

-our experience on the occasion of that memorable meeting but also when

-we sought gradually to carry the Movement beyond Munich and extend it to

-the other parts of Germany. Once we had begun to appear as a danger to

-Marxism the Marxists lost no opportunity of trying to crush beforehand

-all preparations for the holding of National Socialist meetings. When

-they did not succeed in this they tried to break up the meeting itself.

-It goes without saying that all the Marxist organizations, no matter of

-what grade or view, blindly supported the policy and activities of their

-representations in every case. But what is to be said of the bourgeois

-parties who, when they were reduced to silence by these same Marxists

-and in many places did not dare to send their speakers to appear before

-the public, yet showed themselves pleased, in a stupid and

-incomprehensible manner, every time we received any kind of set-back in

-our fight against Marxism. The bourgeois parties were happy to think

-that those whom they themselves could not stand up against, but had to

-knuckle down to, could not be broken by us. What must be said of those

-State officials, chiefs of police, and even cabinet ministers, who

-showed a scandalous lack of principle in presenting themselves

-externally to the public as 'national' and yet shamelessly acted as the

-henchmen of the Marxists in the disputes which we, National Socialists,

-had with the latter. What can be said of persons who debased themselves

-so far, for the sake of a little abject praise in the Jewish Press, that

-they persecuted those men to whose heroic courage and intervention,

-regardless of risk, they were partly indebted for not having been torn

-to pieces by the Red mob a few years previously and strung up to the

-lamp-posts?

-One day these lamentable phenomena fired the late but unforgotten

-Prefect P�hner--a man whose unbending straightforwardness forced him to

-hate all twisters and to hate them as only a man with an honest heart

-can hate--to say: "In all my life I wished to be first a German and then

-an official, and I never wanted to mix up with these creatures who, as

-if they were kept officials, prostituted themselves before anybody who

-could play lord and master for the time being."

-It was a specially sad thing that gradually tens of thousands of honest

-and loyal servants of the State did not only come under the power of

-such people but were also slowly contaminated by their unprincipled

-morals. Moreover, these kind of men pursued honest officials with a

-furious hatred, degrading them and driving them from their positions,

-and yet passed themselves off as 'national' by the aid of their lying

-hypocrisy.

-From officials of that kind we could expect no support, and only in very

-rare instances was it given. Only by building up its own defence could

-our movement become secure and attract that amount of public attention

-and general respect which is given to those who can defend themselves

-when attacked.

-As an underlying principle in the internal development of the Storm

-Detachment, we came to the decision that not only should it be perfectly

-trained in bodily efficiency but that the men should be so instructed as

-to make them indomitably convinced champions of the National Socialist

-ideas and, finally, that they should be schooled to observe the

-strictest discipline. This body was to have nothing to do with the

-defence organizations of the bourgeois type and especially not with any

-secret organization.

-My reasons at that time for guarding strictly against letting the Storm

-Detachment of the German National Socialist Labour Party appear as a

-defence association were as follows:

-On purely practical grounds it is impossible to build up a national

-defence organization by means of private associations, unless the State

-makes an enormous contribution to it. Whoever thinks otherwise

-overestimates his own powers. Now it is entirely out of the question to

-form organizations of any military value for a definite purpose on the

-principle of so-called 'voluntary discipline'. Here the chief support

-for enforcing orders, namely, the power of inflicting punishment, is

-lacking. In the autumn, or rather in the spring, of 1919 it was still

-possible to raise 'volunteer corps', not only because most of the men

-who came forward at that time had been through the school of the old

-Army, but also because the kind of duty imposed there constrained the

-individual to absolute obedience at least for a definite period of time.

-That spirit is entirely lacking in the volunteer defence organizations

-of to-day. The more the defence association grows, the weaker its

-discipline becomes and so much the less can one demand from the

-individual members. Thus the whole organization will more and more

-assume the character of the old non-political associations of war

-comrades and veterans.

-It is impossible to carry through a voluntary training in military

-service for larger masses unless one is assured absolute power of

-command. There will always be few men who will voluntarily and

-spontaneously submit to that kind of obedience which is considered

-natural and necessary in the Army.

-Moreover, a proper system of military training cannot be developed where

-there are such ridiculously scanty means as those at the disposal of the

-defence associations. The principal task of such an institution must be

-to impart the best and most reliable kind of instruction. Eight years

-have passed since the end of the War, and during that time none of our

-German youth, at an age when formerly they would have had to do military

-service, have received any systematic training at all. The aim of a

-defence association cannot be to enlist here and now all those who have

-already received a military training; for in that case it could be

-reckoned with mathematical accuracy when the last member would leave the

-association. Even the younger soldier from 1918 will no longer be fit

-for front-line service twenty years later, and we are approaching that

-state of things with a rapidity that gives cause for anxiety. Thus the

-defence associations must assume more and more the aspect of the old

-ex-service men's societies. But that cannot be the meaning and purpose

-of an institution which calls itself, not an association of ex-service

-men but a DEFENCE association, indicating by this title that it

-considers its task to be, not only to preserve the tradition of the old

-soldiers and hold them together but also to propagate the idea of

-national defence and be able to carry this idea into practical effect,

-which means the creation of a body of men who are fit and trained for

-military defence.

-But this implies that those elements will receive a military training

-which up to now have received none. This is something that in practice

-is impossible for the defence associations. Real soldiers cannot be made

-by a training of one or two hours per week. In view of the enormously

-increasing demands which modern warfare imposes on each individual

-soldier to-day, a military service of two years is barely sufficient to

-transform a raw recruit into a trained soldier. At the Front during the

-War we all saw the fearful consequences which our young recruits had to

-suffer from their lack of a thorough military training. Volunteer

-formations which had been drilled for fifteen or twenty weeks under an

-iron discipline and shown unlimited self-denial proved nevertheless to

-be no better than cannon fodder at the Front. Only when distributed

-among the ranks of the old and experienced soldiers could the young

-recruits, who had been trained for four or six months, become useful

-members of a regiment. Guided by the 'old men', they adapted themselves

-gradually to their task.

-In the light of all this, how hopeless must the attempt be to create a

-body of fighting troops by a so-called training of one or two hours in

-the week, without any definite power of command and without any

-considerable means. In that way perhaps one could refresh military

-training in old soldiers, but raw recruits cannot thus be transformed

-into expert soldiers.

-How such a proceeding produces utterly worthless results may also be

-demonstrated by the fact that at the same time as these so-called

-volunteer defence associations, with great effort and outcry and under

-difficulties and lack of necessities, try to educate and train a few

-thousand men of goodwill (the others need not be taken into account) for

-purposes of national defence, the State teaches our young men democratic

-and pacifist ideas and thus deprives millions and millions of their

-national instincts, poisons their logical sense of patriotism and

-gradually turns them into a herd of sheep who will patiently follow any

-arbitrary command. Thus they render ridiculous all those attempts made

-by the defence associations to inculcate their ideas in the minds of the

-German youth.

-Almost more important is the following consideration, which has always

-made me take up a stand against all attempts at a so-called military

-training on the basis of the volunteer associations.

-Assuming that, in spite of all the difficulties just mentioned, a

-defence association were successful in training a certain number of

-Germans every year to be efficient soldiers, not only as regards their

-mental outlook but also as regards bodily efficiency and the expert

-handling of arms, the result must necessarily be null and void in a

-State whose whole tendency makes it not only look upon such a defensive

-formation as undesirable but even positively hate it, because such an

-association would completely contradict the intimate aims of the

-political leaders, who are the corrupters of this State.

-But anyhow, such a result would be worthless under governments which

-have demonstrated by their own acts that they do not lay the slightest

-importance on the military power of the nation and are not disposed to

-permit an appeal to that power only in case that it were necessary for

-the protection of their own malignant existence.

-And that is the state of affairs to-day. It is not ridiculous to think

-of training some ten thousand men in the use of arms, and carry on that

-training surreptitiously, when a few years previously the State, having

-shamefully sacrificed eight-and-a-half million highly trained soldiers,

-not merely did not require their services any more, but, as a mark of

-gratitude for their sacrifices, held them up to public contumely. Shall

-we train soldiers for a regime which besmirched and spat upon our most

-glorious soldiers, tore the medals and badges from their breasts,

-trampled on their flags and derided their achievements? Has the present

-regime taken one step towards restoring the honour of the old army and

-bringing those who destroyed and outraged it to answer for their deeds?

-Not in the least. On the contrary, the people I have just referred to

-may be seen enthroned in the highest positions under the State to-day.

-And yet it was said at Leipzig: "Right goes with might." Since, however,

-in our Republic to-day might is in the hands of the very men who

-arranged for the Revolution, and since that Revolution represents a most

-despicable act of high treason against the nation--yea, the vilest act

-in German history--there can surely be no grounds for saying that might

-of this character should be enhanced by the formation of a new young

-army. It is against all sound reason.

-The importance which this State attached, after the Revolution of 1918,

-to the reinforcement of its position from the military point of view is

-clearly and unmistakably demonstrated by its attitude towards the large

-self-defence organizations which existed in that period. They were not

-unwelcome as long as they were of use for the personal protection of the

-miserable creatures cast up by the Revolution.

-But the danger to these creatures seemed to disappear as the debasement

-of our people gradually increased. As the existence of the defence

-associations no longer implied a reinforcement of the national policy

-they became superfluous. Hence every effort was made to disarm them and

-suppress them wherever that was possible.

-History records only a few examples of gratitude on the part of princes.

-But there is not one patriot among the new bourgeoisie who can count on

-the gratitude of revolutionary incendiaries and assassins, persons who

-have enriched themselves from the public spoil and betrayed the nation.

-In examining the problem as to the wisdom of forming these defence

-associations I have never ceased to ask: 'For whom shall I train these

-young men? For what purpose will they be employed when they will have to

-be called out?' The answer to these questions lays down at the same time

-the best rule for us to follow.

-If the present State should one day have to call upon trained troops of

-this kind it would never be for the purpose of defending the interests

-of the nation VIS-�-VIS those of the stranger but rather to protect the

-oppressors of the nation inside the country against the danger of a

-general outbreak of wrath on the part of a nation which has been

-deceived and betrayed and whose interests have been bartered away.

-For this reason it was decided that the Storm Detachment of the German

-National Socialist Labour Party ought not to be in the nature of a

-military organization. It had to be an instrument of protection and

-education for the National Socialist Movement and its duties should be

-in quite a different sphere from that of the military defence

-association.

-And, of course, the Storm Detachment should not be in the nature of a

-secret organization. Secret organizations are established only for

-purposes that are against the law. Therewith the purpose of such an

-organization is limited by its very nature. Considering the loquacious

-propensities of the German people, it is not possible to build up any

-vast organization, keeping it secret at the same time and cloaking its

-purpose. Every attempt of that kind is destined to turn out absolutely

-futile. It is not merely that our police officials to-day have at their

-disposal a staff of eaves-droppers and other such rabble who are ready

-to play traitor, like Judas, for thirty pieces of silver and will betray

-whatever secrets they can discover and will invent what they would like

-to reveal. In order to forestall such eventualities, it is never

-possible to bind one's own followers to the silence that is necessary.

-Only small groups can become really secret societies, and that only

-after long years of filtration. But the very smallness of such groups

-would deprive them of all value for the National Socialist Movement.

-What we needed then and need now is not one or two hundred dare-devil

-conspirators but a hundred thousand devoted champions of our

-WELTANSCHAUUNG. The work must not be done through secret conventicles

-but through formidable mass demonstrations in public. Dagger and pistol

-and poison-vial cannot clear the way for the progress of the movement.

-That can be done only by winning over the man in the street. We must

-overthrow Marxism, so that for the future National Socialism will be

-master of the street, just as it will one day become master of the

-State.

-There is another danger connected with secret societies. It lies in the

-fact that their members often completely misunderstand the greatness of

-the task in hand and are apt to believe that a favourable destiny can be

-assured for the nation all at once by means of a single murder. Such a

-belief may find historical justification by appealing to cases where a

-nation had been suffering under the tyranny of some oppressor who at the

-same time was a man of genius and whose extraordinary personality

-guaranteed the internal solidity of his position and enabled him to

-maintain his fearful oppression. In such cases a man may suddenly arise

-from the ranks of the people who is ready to sacrifice himself and

-plunge the deadly steel into the heart of the hated individual. In order

-to look upon such a deed as abhorrent one must have the republican

-mentality of that petty CANAILLE who are conscious of their own crime.

-But the greatest champion (Note 20) of liberty that the German people have

-ever had has glorified such a deed in WILLIAM TELL.

-[Note 20. Schiller, who wrote the famous drama of WILLIAM TELL.]

-During 1919 and 1920 there was danger that the members of secret

-organizations, under the influence of great historical examples and

-overcome by the immensity of the nation's misfortunes, might attempt to

-wreak vengeance on the destroyers of their country, under the belief

-that this would end the miseries of the people. All such attempts were

-sheer folly, for the reason that the Marxist triumph was not due to the

-superior genius of one remarkable person but rather to immeasurable

-incompetence and cowardly shirking on the part of the bourgeoisie. The

-hardest criticism that can be uttered against our bourgeoisie is simply

-to state the fact that it submitted to the Revolution, even though the

-Revolution did not produce one single man of eminent worth. One can

-always understand how it was possible to capitulate before a

-Robespierre, a Danton, or a Marat; but it was utterly scandalous to go

-down on all fours before the withered Scheidemann, the obese Herr

-Erzberger, Frederick Ebert, and the innumerable other political pigmies

-of the Revolution. There was not a single man of parts in whom one could

-see the revolutionary man of genius. Therein lay the country's

-misfortune; for they were only revolutionary bugs, Spartacists wholesale

-and retail. To suppress one of them would be an act of no consequence.

-The only result would be that another pair of bloodsuckers, equally fat

-and thirsty, would be ready to take his place.

-During those years we had to take up a determined stand against an idea

-which owed its origin and foundation to historical episodes that were

-really great, but to which our own despicable epoch did not bear the

-slightest similarity.

-The same reply may be given when there is question of putting somebody

-'on the spot' who has acted as a traitor to his country. It would be

-ridiculous and illogical to shoot a poor wretch (Note 21) who had betrayed

-the position of a howitzer to the enemy while the highest positions of the

-government are occupied by a rabble who bartered away a whole empire,

-who have on their consciences the deaths of two million men who were

-sacrificed in vain, fellows who were responsible for the millions maimed

-in the war and who make a thriving business out of the republican regime

-without allowing their souls to be disturbed in any way. It would be

-absurd to do away with small traitors in a State whose government has

-absolved the great traitors from all punishment. For it might easily

-happen that one day an honest idealist, who, out of love for his

-country, had removed from circulation some miserable informer that had

-given information about secret stores of arms might now be called to

-answer for his act before the chief traitors of the country. And there

-is still an important question: Shall some small traitorous creature be

-suppressed by another small traitor, or by an idealist? In the former

-case the result would be doubtful and the deed would almost surely be

-revealed later on. In the second case a petty rascal is put out of the

-way and the life of an idealist who may be irreplaceable is in jeopardy.

-[Note 21. The reference here is to those who gave information to the

-Allied Commissions about hidden stores of arms in Germany.]

-For myself, I believe that small thieves should not be hanged while big

-thieves are allowed to go free. One day a national tribunal will have to

-judge and sentence some tens of thousands of organizers who were

-responsible for the criminal November betrayal and all the consequences

-that followed on it. Such an example will teach the necessary lesson,

-once and for ever, to those paltry traitors who revealed to the enemy

-the places where arms were hidden.

-On the grounds of these considerations I steadfastly forbade all

-participation in secret societies, and I took care that the Storm

-Detachment should not assume such a character. During those years I kept

-the National Socialist Movement away from those experiments which were

-being undertaken by young Germans who for the most part were inspired

-with a sublime idealism but who became the victims of their own deeds,

-because they could not ameliorate the lot of their fatherland to the

-slightest degree.

-If then the Storm Detachment must not be either a military defence

-organization or a secret society, the following conclusions must result:

-1. Its training must not be organized from the military standpoint but

-from the standpoint of what is most practical for party purposes. Seeing

-that its members must undergo a good physical training, the place of

-chief importance must not be given to military drill but rather to the

-practice of sports. I have always considered boxing and ju-jitsu more

-important than some kind of bad, because mediocre, training in

-rifle-shooting. If the German nation were presented with a body of young

-men who had been perfectly trained in athletic sports, who were imbued

-with an ardent love for their country and a readiness to take the

-initiative in a fight, then the national State could make an army out of

-that body within less than two years if it were necessary, provided the

-cadres already existed. In the actual state of affairs only the

-REICHSWEHR could furnish the cadres and not a defence organization that

-was neither one thing nor the other. Bodily efficiency would develop in

-the individual a conviction of his superiority and would give him that

-confidence which is always based only on the consciousness of one's own

-powers. They must also develop that athletic agility which can be

-employed as a defensive weapon in the service of the Movement.

-2. In order to safeguard the Storm Detachment against any tendency

-towards secrecy, not only must the uniform be such that it can

-immediately be recognized by everybody, but the large number of its

-effectives show the direction in which the Movement is going and which

-must be known to the whole public. The members of the Storm Detachment

-must not hold secret gatherings but must march in the open and thus, by

-their actions, put an end to all legends about a secret organization. In

-order to keep them away from all temptations towards finding an outlet

-for their activities in small conspiracies, from the very beginning we

-had to inculcate in their minds the great idea of the Movement and

-educate them so thoroughly to the task of defending this idea that their

-horizon became enlarged and that the individual no longer considered it

-his mission to remove from circulation some rascal or other, whether big

-or small, but to devote himself entirely to the task of bringing about

-the establishment of a new National Socialist People's State. In this

-way the struggle against the present State was placed on a higher plane

-than that of petty revenge and small conspiracies. It was elevated to

-the level of a spiritual struggle on behalf of a WELTANSCHAUUNG, for

-the destruction of Marxism in all its shapes and forms.

-3. The form of organization adopted for the Storm Detachment, as well as

-its uniform and equipment, had to follow different models from those of

-the old Army. They had to be specially suited to the requirements of the

-task that was assigned to the Storm Detachment.

-These were the ideas I followed in 1920 and 1921. I endeavoured to

-instil them gradually into the members of the young organization. And

-the result was that by the midsummer of 1922 we had a goodly number of

-formations which consisted of a hundred men each. By the late autumn of

-that year these formations received their distinctive uniforms. There

-were three events which turned out to be of supreme importance for the

-subsequent development of the Storm Detachment.

-1. The great mass demonstration against the Law for the Protection of

-the Republic. This demonstration was held in the late summer of 1922 on

-the K�NIGS-PLATZ in Munich, by all the patriotic societies. The National

-Socialist Movement also participated in it. The march-past of our party,

-in serried ranks, was led by six Munich companies of a hundred men each,

-followed by the political sections of the Party. Two bands marched with

-us and about fifteen flags were carried. When the National Socialists

-arrived at the great square it was already half full, but no flag was

-flying. Our entry aroused unbounded enthusiasm. I myself had the honour

-of being one of the speakers who addressed that mass of about sixty

-thousand people.

-The demonstration was an overwhelming success; especially because it was

-proved for the first time that nationalist Munich could march on the

-streets, in spite of all threats from the Reds. Members of the

-organization for the defence of the Red Republic endeavoured to hinder

-the marching columns by their terrorist activities, but they were

-scattered by the companies of the Storm Detachment within a few minutes

-and sent off with bleeding skulls. The National Socialist Movement had

-then shown for the first time that in future it was determined to

-exercise the right to march on the streets and thus take this monopoly

-away from the international traitors and enemies of the country.

-The result of that day was an incontestable proof that our ideas for the

-creation of the Storm Detachment were right, both from the psychological

-viewpoint and as to the manner in which this body was organized.

-On the basis of this success the enlistment progressed so rapidly that

-within a few weeks the number of Munich companies of a hundred men each

-became doubled.

-2. The expedition to Coburg in October 1922.

-Certain People's Societies had decided to hold a German Day at Coburg. I

-was invited to take part, with the intimation that they wished me to

-bring a following along. This invitation, which I received at eleven

-o'clock in the morning, arrived just in time. Within an hour the

-arrangements for our participation in the German Congress were ready. I

-picked eight hundred men of the Storm Detachment to accompany me. These

-were divided into about fourteen companies and had to be brought by

-special train from Munich to Coburg, which had just voted by plebiscite

-to be annexed to Bavaria. Corresponding orders were given to other

-groups of the National Socialist Storm Detachment which had meanwhile

-been formed in various other localities.

-This was the first time that such a special train ran in Germany. At all

-the places where the new members of the Storm Detachment joined us our

-train caused a sensation. Many of the people had never seen our flag.

-And it made a very great impression.

-As we arrived at the station in Coburg we were received by a deputation

-of the organizing committee of the German Day. They announced that it

-had been 'arranged' at the orders of local trades unions--that is to

-say, the Independent and Communist Parties--that we should not enter the

-town with our flags unfurled and our band playing (we had a band

-consisting of forty-two musicians with us) and that we should not march

-with closed ranks.

-I immediately rejected these unmilitary conditions and did not fail to

-declare before the gentlemen who had arranged this 'day' how astonished

-I was at the idea of their negotiating with such people and coming to an

-agreement with them. Then I announced that the Storm Troops would

-immediately march into the town in company formation, with our flags

-flying and the band playing.

-And that is what happened.

-As we came out into the station yard we were met by a growling and

-yelling mob of several thousand, that shouted at us: 'Assassins',

-'Bandits', 'Robbers', 'Criminals'. These were the choice names which

-these exemplary founders of the German Republic showered on us. The

-young Storm Detachment gave a model example of order. The companies fell

-into formation on the square in front of the station and at first took

-no notice of the insults hurled at them by the mob. The police were

-anxious. They did not pilot us to the quarters assigned to us on the

-outskirts of Coburg, a city quite unknown to us, but to the Hofbr�uhaus

-Keller in the centre of the town. Right and left of our march the tumult

-raised by the accompanying mob steadily increased. Scarcely had the last

-company entered the courtyard of the Hofbr�uhaus when the huge mass made

-a rush to get in after them, shouting madly. In order to prevent this,

-the police closed the gates. Seeing the position was untenable I called

-the Storm Detachment to attention and then asked the police to open the

-gates immediately. After a good deal of hesitation, they consented.

-We now marched back along the same route as we had come, in the

-direction of our quarters, and there we had to make a stand against the

-crowd. As their cries and yells all along the route had failed to

-disturb the equanimity of our companies, the champions of true

-Socialism, Equality, and Fraternity now took to throwing stones. That

-brought our patience to an end. For ten minutes long, blows fell right

-and left, like a devastating shower of hail. Fifteen minutes later there

-were no more Reds to be seen in the street.

-The collisions which took place when the night came on were more

-serious. Patrols of the Storm Detachment had discovered National

-Socialists who had been attacked singly and were in an atrocious state.

-Thereupon we made short work of the opponents. By the following morning

-the Red terror, under which Coburg had been suffering for years, was

-definitely smashed.

-Adopting the typically Marxist and Jewish method of spreading

-falsehoods, leaflets were distributed by hand on the streets, bearing

-the caption: "Comrades and Comradesses of the International

-Proletariat." These leaflets were meant to arouse the wrath of the

-populace. Twisting the facts completely around, they declared that our

-'bands of assasins' had commenced 'a war of extermination against the

-peaceful workers of Coburg'. At half-past one that day there was to be a

-'great popular demonstration', at which it was hoped that the workers of

-the whole district would turn up. I was determined finally to crush this

-Red terror and so I summoned the Storm Detachment to meet at midday.

-Their number had now increased to 1,500. I decided to march with these

-men to the Coburg Festival and to cross the big square where the Red

-demonstration was to take place. I wanted to see if they would attempt

-to assault us again. When we entered the square we found that instead of

-the ten thousand that had been advertised, there were only a few hundred

-people present. As we approached they remained silent for the most part,

-and some ran away. Only at certain points along the route some bodies of

-Reds, who had arrived from outside the city and had not yet come to know

-us, attempted to start a row. But a few fisticuffs put them to flight.

-And now one could see how the population, which had for such a long time

-been so wretchedly intimidated, slowly woke up and recovered their

-courage. They welcomed us openly, and in the evening, on our return

-march, spontaneous shouts of jubilation broke out at several points

-along the route.

-At the station the railway employees informed us all of a sudden that

-our train would not move. Thereupon I had some of the ringleaders told

-that if this were the case I would have all the Red Party heroes

-arrested that fell into our hands, that we would drive the train

-ourselves, but that we would take away with us, in the locomotive and

-tender and in some of the carriages, a few dozen members of this

-brotherhood of international solidarity. I did not omit to let those

-gentry know that if we had to conduct the train the journey would

-undoubtedly be a very risky adventure and that we might all break our

-necks. It would be a consolation, however, to know that we should not go

-to Eternity alone, but in equality and fraternity with the Red gentry.

-Thereupon the train departed punctually and we arrived next morning in

-Munich safe and sound.

-Thus at Coburg, for the first time since 1914, the equality of all

-citizens before the law was re-established. For even if some coxcomb of

-a higher official should assert to-day that the State protects the lives

-of its citizens, at least in those days it was not so. For at that time

-the citizens had to defend themselves against the representatives of the

-present State.

-At first it was not possible fully to estimate the importance of the

-consequences which resulted from that day. The victorious Storm Troops

-had their confidence in themselves considerably reinforced and also

-their faith in the sagacity of their leaders. Our contemporaries began

-to pay us special attention and for the first time many recognized the

-National Socialist Movement as an organization that in all probability

-was destined to bring the Marxist folly to a deserving end.

-Only the democrats lamented the fact that we had not the complaisance to

-allow our skulls to be cracked and that we had dared, in a democratic

-Republic, to hit back with fists and sticks at a brutal assault, rather

-than with pacifist chants.

-Generally speaking, the bourgeois Press was partly distressed and partly

-vulgar, as always. Only a few decent newspapers expressed their

-satisfaction that at least in one locality the Marxist street bullies

-had been effectively dealt with.

-And in Coburg itself at least a part of the Marxist workers who must be

-looked upon as misled, learned from the blows of National Socialist

-fists that these workers were also fighting for ideals, because

-experience teaches that the human being fights only for something in

-which he believes and which he loves.

-The Storm Detachment itself benefited most from the Coburg events. It

-grew so quickly in numbers that at the Party Congress in January 1923

-six thousand men participated in the ceremony of consecrating the flags

-and the first companies were fully clad in their new uniform.

-Our experience in Coburg proved how essential it is to introduce one

-distinctive uniform for the Storm Detachment, not only for the purpose

-of strengthening the ESPRIT DE CORPS but also to avoid confusion and the

-danger of not recognizing the opponent in a squabble. Up to that time

-they had merely worn the armlet, but now the tunic and the well-known

-cap were added.

-But the Coburg experience had also another important result. We now

-determined to break the Red Terror in all those localities where for

-many years it had prevented men of other views from holding their

-meetings. We were determined to restore the right of free assembly. From

-that time onwards we brought our battalions together in such places and

-little by little the red citadels of Bavaria, one after another, fell

-before the National Socialist propaganda. The Storm Troops became more

-and more adept at their job. They increasingly lost all semblance of an

-aimless and lifeless defence movement and came out into the light as an

-active militant organization, fighting for the establishment of a new

-German State.

-This logical development continued until March 1923. Then an event

-occurred which made me divert the Movement from the course hitherto

-followed and introduce some changes in its outer formation.

-In the first months of 1923 the French occupied the Ruhr district. The

-consequence of this was of great importance in the development of the

-Storm Detachment.

-It is not yet possible, nor would it be in the interest of the nation,

-to write or speak openly and freely on the subject. I shall speak of it

-only as far as the matter has been dealt with in public discussions and

-thus brought to the knowledge of everybody.

-The occupation of the Ruhr district, which did not come as a surprise to

-us, gave grounds for hoping that Germany would at last abandon its

-cowardly policy of submission and therewith give the defensive

-associations a definite task to fulfil. The Storm Detachment also, which

-now numbered several thousand of robust and vigorous young men, should

-not be excluded from this national service. During the spring and summer

-of 1923 it was transformed into a fighting military organization. It is

-to this reorganization that we must in great part attribute the later

-developments that took place during 1923, in so far as it affected our

-Movement.

-Elsewhere I shall deal in broad outline with the development of events

-in 1923. Here I wish only to state that the transformation of the Storm

-Detachment at that time must have been detrimental to the interests of

-the Movement if the conditions that had motivated the change were not to

-be carried into effect, namely, the adoption of a policy of active

-resistance against France.

-The events which took place at the close of 1923, terrible as they may

-appear at first sight, were almost a necessity if looked at from a

-higher standpoint; because, in view of the attitude taken by the

-Government of the German REICH, conversion of the Storm Troops into a

-military force would be meaningless and thus a transformation which

-would also be harmful to the Movement was ended at one stroke. At the

-same time it was made possible for us to reconstruct at the point where

-we had been diverted from the proper course.

-In the year 1925 the German National Socialist Labour Party was

-re-founded and had to organize and train its Storm Detachment once again

-according to the principles I have laid down. It must return to the

-original idea and once more it must consider its most essential task to

-function as the instrument of defence and reinforcement in the spiritual

-struggle to establish the ideals of the Movement.

-The Storm Detachment must not be allowed to sink to the level of

-something in the nature of a defence organization or a secret society.

-Steps must be taken rather to make it a vanguard of 100,000 men in the

-struggle for the National Socialist ideal which is based on the profound

-principle of a People's State.

-CHAPTER X

-THE MASK OF FEDERALISM

-In the winter of 1919, and still more in the spring and summer of 1920,

-the young Party felt bound to take up a definite stand on a question

-which already had become quite serious during the War. In the first

-volume of this book I have briefly recorded certain facts which I had

-personally witnessed and which foreboded the break-up of Germany. In

-describing these facts I made reference to the special nature of the

-propaganda which was directed by the English as well as the French

-towards reopening the breach that had existed between North and South in

-Germany. In the spring of 1915 there appeared the first of a series of

-leaflets which was systematically followed up and the aim of which was

-to arouse feeling against Prussia as being solely responsible for the

-war. Up to 1916 this system had been developed and perfected in a

-cunning and shameless manner. Appealing to the basest of human

-instincts, this propaganda endeavoured to arouse the wrath of the South

-Germans against the North Germans and after a short time it bore fruit.

-Persons who were then in high positions under the Government and in the

-Army, especially those attached to headquarters in the Bavarian Army,

-merited the just reproof of having blindly neglected their duty and

-failed to take the necessary steps to counter such propaganda. But

-nothing was done. On the contrary, in some quarters it did not appear to

-be quite unwelcome and probably they were short-sighted enough to think

-that such propaganda might help along the development of unification in

-Germany but even that it might automatically bring about consolidation

-of the federative forces. Scarcely ever in history was such a wicked

-neglect more wickedly avenged. The weakening of Prussia, which they

-believed would result from this propaganda, affected the whole of

-Germany. It resulted in hastening the collapse which not only wrecked

-Germany as a whole but even more particularly the federal states.

-In that town where the artificially created hatred against Prussia raged

-most violently the revolt against the reigning House was the beginning

-of the Revolution.

-It would be a mistake to think that the enemy propaganda was exclusively

-responsible for creating an anti-Prussian feeling and that there were no

-reasons which might excuse the people for having listened to this

-propaganda. The incredible fashion in which the national economic

-interests were organized during the War, the absolutely crazy system of

-centralization which made the whole REICH its ward and exploited the

-REICH, furnished the principal grounds for the growth of that

-anti-Prussian feeling. The average citizen looked upon the companies for

-the placing of war contracts, all of which had their headquarters in

-Berlin, as identical with Berlin and Berlin itself as identical with

-Prussia. The average citizen did not know that the organization of these

-robber companies, which were called War Companies, was not in the hands

-of Berlin or Prussia and not even in German hands at all. People

-recognized only the gross irregularities and the continual encroachments

-of that hated institution in the Metropolis of the REICH and directed

-their anger towards Berlin and Prussia, all the more because in certain

-quarters (the Bavarian Government) nothing was done to correct this

-attitude, but it was even welcomed with silent rubbing of hands.

-The Jew was far too shrewd not to understand that the infamous campaign

-which he had organized, under the cloak of War Companies, for plundering

-the German nation would and must eventually arouse opposition. As long

-as that opposition did not spring directly at his own throat he had no

-reason to be afraid. Hence he decided that the best way of forestalling

-an outbreak on the part of the enraged and desperate masses would be to

-inflame their wrath and at the same time give it another outlet.

-Let Bavaria quarrel as much as it liked with Prussia and Prussia with

-Bavaria. The more, the merrier. This bitter strife between the two

-states assured peace to the Jew. Thus public attention was completely

-diverted from the international maggot in the body of the nation;

-indeed, he seemed to have been forgotten. Then when there came a danger

-that level-headed people, of whom there are many to be found also in

-Bavaria, would advise a little more reserve and a more judicious

-evaluation of things, thus calming the rage against Prussia, all the Jew

-had to do in Berlin was to stage a new provocation and await results.

-Every time that was done all those who had profiteered out of the

-conflict between North and South filled their lungs and again fanned the

-flame of indignation until it became a blaze.

-It was a shrewd and expert manoeuvre on the part of the Jew, to set the

-different branches of the German people quarrelling with one another, so

-that their attention would be turned away from himself and he could

-plunder them all the more completely.

-Then came the Revolution.

-Until the year 1918, or rather until the November of that year, the

-average German citizen, particularly the less educated lower

-middle-class and the workers, did not rightly understand what was

-happening and did not realize what must be the inevitable consequences,

-especially for Bavaria, of this internecine strife between the branches

-of the German people; but at least those sections which called

-themselves 'National' ought to have clearly perceived these consequences

-on the day that the Revolution broke out. For the moment the COUP D'�TAT

-had succeeded, the leader and organizer of the Revolution in Bavaria put

-himself forward as the defender of 'Bavarian' interests. The

-international Jew, Kurt Eisner, began to play off Bavaria against

-Prussia. This Oriental was just about the last person in the world that

-could be pointed to as the logical defender of Bavarian interests. In

-his trade as newspaper reporter he had wandered from place to place all

-over Germany and to him it was a matter of sheer indifference whether

-Bavaria or any other particular part of God's whole world continued to

-exist.

-In deliberately giving the revolutionary rising in Bavaria the character

-of an offensive against Prussia, Kurt Eisner was not acting in the

-slightest degree from the standpoint of Bavarian interests, but merely

-as the commissioned representative of Jewry. He exploited existing

-instincts and antipathies in Bavaria as a means which would help to make

-the dismemberment of Germany all the more easy. When once dismembered,

-the REICH would fall an easy prey to Bolshevism.

-The tactics employed by him were continued for a time after his death.

-The Marxists, who had always derided and exploited the individual German

-states and their princes, now suddenly appealed, as an 'Independent

-Party' to those sentiments and instincts which had their strongest roots

-in the families of the reigning princes and the individual states.

-The fight waged by the Bavarian Soviet Republic against the military

-contingents that were sent to free Bavaria from its grasp was

-represented by the Marxist propagandists as first of all the 'Struggle

-of the Bavarian Worker' against 'Prussian Militarism.' This explains why

-it was that the suppression of the Soviet Republic in Munich did not

-have the same effect there as in the other German districts. Instead of

-recalling the masses to a sense of reason, it led to increased

-bitterness and anger against Prussia.

-The art of the Bolshevik agitators, in representing the suppression of

-the Bavarian Soviet Republic as a victory of 'Prussian Militarism' over

-the 'Anti-militarists' and 'Anti-Prussian' people of Bavaria, bore rich

-fruit. Whereas on the occasion of the elections to the Bavarian

-Legislative Diet, Kurt Eisner did not have ten thousand followers in

-Munich and the Communist party less than three thousand, after the fall

-of the Bavarian Republic the votes given to the two parties together

-amounted to nearly one hundred thousand.

-It was then that I personally began to combat that crazy incitement of

-some branches of the German people against other branches.

-I believe that never in my life did I undertake a more unpopular task

-than I did when I took my stand against the anti-Prussian incitement.

-During the Soviet regime in Munich great public meetings were held at

-which hatred against the rest of Germany, but particularly against

-Prussia, was roused up to such a pitch that a North German would have

-risked his life in attending one of those meetings. These meetings often

-ended in wild shouts: "Away from Prussia", "Down with the Prussians",

-"War against Prussia", and so on. This feeling was openly expressed in

-the Reichstag by a particularly brilliant defender of Bavarian sovereign

-rights when he said: "Rather die as a Bavarian than rot as a Prussian".

-One should have attended some of the meetings held at that time in order

-to understand what it meant for one when, for the first time and

-surrounded by only a handful of friends, I raised my voice against this

-folly at a meeting held in the Munich L�wenbr�u Keller. Some of my War

-comrades stood by me then. And it is easy to imagine how we felt when

-that raging crowd, which had lost all control of its reason, roared at

-us and threatened to kill us. During the time that we were fighting for

-the country the same crowd were for the most part safely ensconced in

-the rear positions or were peacefully circulating at home as deserters

-and shirkers. It is true that that scene turned out to be of advantage

-to me. My small band of comrades felt for the first time absolutely

-united with me and readily swore to stick by me through life and death.

-These conflicts, which were constantly repeated in 1919, seemed to

-become more violent soon after the beginning of 1920. There were

-meetings--I remember especially one in the Wagner Hall in the

-Sonnenstrasse in Munich--during the course of which my group, now grown

-much larger, had to defend themselves against assaults of the most

-violent character. It happened more than once that dozens of my

-followers were mishandled, thrown to the floor and stamped upon by the

-attackers and were finally thrown out of the hall more dead than alive.

-The struggle which I had undertaken, first by myself alone and

-afterwards with the support of my war comrades, was now continued by the

-young movement, I might say almost as a sacred mission.

-I am proud of being able to say to-day that we--depending almost

-exclusively on our followers in Bavaria--were responsible for putting an

-end, slowly but surely, to the coalition of folly and treason. I say

-folly and treason because, although convinced that the masses who joined

-in it meant well but were stupid, I cannot attribute such simplicity as

-an extenuating circumstance in the case of the organizers and their

-abetters. I then looked upon them, and still look upon them to-day, as

-traitors in the payment of France. In one case, that of Dorten, history

-has already pronounced its judgment.

-The situation became specially dangerous at that time by reason of the

-fact that they were very astute in their ability to cloak their real

-tendencies, by insisting primarily on their federative intentions and

-claiming that those were the sole motives of the agitation. Of course it

-is quite obvious that the agitation against Prussia had nothing to do

-with federalism. Surely 'Federal Activities' is not the phrase with

-which to describe an effort to dissolve and dismember another federal

-state. For an honest federalist, for whom the formula used by Bismarck

-to define his idea of the REICH is not a counterfeit phrase, could not

-in the same breath express the desire to cut off portions of the

-Prussian State, which was created or at least completed by Bismarck. Nor

-could he publicly support such a separatist attempt.

-What an outcry would be raised in Munich if some prussian conservative

-party declared itself in favour of detaching Franconia from Bavaria or

-took public action in demanding and promoting such a separatist policy.

-Nevertheless, one can only have sympathy for all those real and honest

-federalists who did not see through this infamous swindle, for they were

-its principal victims. By distorting the federalist idea in such a way

-its own champions prepared its grave. One cannot make propaganda for a

-federalist configuration of the REICH by debasing and abusing and

-besmirching the essential element of such a political structure, namely

-Prussia, and thus making such a Confederation impossible, if it ever had

-been possible. It is all the more incredible by reason of the fact that

-the fight carried on by those so-called federalists was directed against

-that section of the Prussian people which was the last that could be

-looked upon as connected with the November democracy. For the abuse and

-attacks of these so-called federalists were not levelled against the

-fathers of the Weimar Constitution--the majority of whom were South

-Germans or Jews--but against those who represented the old conservative

-Prussia, which was the antipodes of the Weimar Constitution. The fact

-that the directors of this campaign were careful not to touch the Jews

-is not to be wondered at and perhaps gives the key to the whole riddle.

-Before the Revolution the Jew was successful in distracting attention

-from himself and his War Companies by inciting the masses, and

-especially the Bavarians, against Prussia. Similarly he felt obliged,

-after the Revolution, to find some way of camouflaging his new plunder

-campaign which was nine or ten times greater. And again he succeeded, in

-this case by provoking the so-called 'national' elements against one

-another: the conservative Bavarians against the Prussians, who were just

-as conservative. He acted again with extreme cunning, inasmuch as he who

-held the reins of Prussia's destiny in his hands provoked such crude and

-tactless aggressions that again and again they set the blood boiling in

-those who were being continually duped. Never against the Jew, however,

-but always the German against his own brother. The Bavarian did not see

-the Berlin of four million industrious and efficient working people, but

-only the lazy and decadent Berlin which is to be found in the worst

-quarters of the West End. And his antipathy was not directed against

-this West End of Berlin but against the 'Prussian' city.

-In many cases it tempted one to despair.

-The ability which the Jew has displayed in turning public attention away

-from himself and giving it another direction may be studied also in what

-is happening to-day.

-In 1918 there was nothing like an organized anti-Semitic feeling. I

-still remember the difficulties we encountered the moment we mentioned

-the Jew. We were either confronted with dumb-struck faces or else a

-lively and hefty antagonism. The efforts we made at the time to point

-out the real enemy to the public seemed to be doomed to failure. But

-then things began to change for the better, though only very slowly. The

-'League for Defence and Offence' was defectively organized but at least

-it had the great merit of opening up the Jewish question once again. In

-the winter of 1918-1919 a kind of anti-semitism began slowly to take

-root. Later on the National Socialist Movement presented the Jewish

-problem in a new light. Taking the question beyond the restricted

-circles of the upper classes and small bourgeoisie we succeeded in

-transforming it into the driving motive of a great popular movement. But

-the moment we were successful in placing this problem before the German

-people in the light of an idea that would unite them in one struggle the

-Jew reacted. He resorted to his old tactics. With amazing alacrity he

-hurled the torch of discord into the patriotic movement and opened a

-rift there. In bringing forward the ultramontane question and in the

-mutual quarrels that it gave rise to between Catholicism and

-Protestantism lay the sole possibility, as conditions then were, of

-occupying public attention with other problems and thus ward off the

-attack which had been concentrated against Jewry. The men who dragged

-our people into this controversy can never make amends for the crime

-they then committed against the nation. Anyhow, the Jew has attained the

-ends he desired. Catholics and Protestants are fighting with one another

-to their hearts' content, while the enemy of Aryan humanity and all

-Christendom is laughing up his sleeve.

-Once it was possible to occupy the attention of the public for several

-years with the struggle between federalism and unification, wearing out

-their energies in this mutual friction while the Jew trafficked in the

-freedom of the nation and sold our country to the masters of

-international high finance. So in our day he has succeeded again, this

-time by raising ructions between the two German religious denominations

-while the foundations on which both rest are being eaten away and

-destroyed through the poison injected by the international and

-cosmopolitan Jew.

-Look at the ravages from which our people are suffering daily as a

-result of being contaminated with Jewish blood. Bear in mind the fact

-that this poisonous contamination can be eliminated from the national

-body only after centuries, or perhaps never. Think further of how the

-process of racial decomposition is debasing and in some cases even

-destroying the fundamental Aryan qualities of our German people, so that

-our cultural creativeness as a nation is gradually becoming impotent and

-we are running the danger, at least in our great cities, of falling to

-the level where Southern Italy is to-day. This pestilential adulteration

-of the blood, of which hundreds of thousands of our people take no

-account, is being systematically practised by the Jew to-day.

-Systematically these negroid parasites in our national body corrupt our

-innocent fair-haired girls and thus destroy something which can no

-longer be replaced in this world.

-The two Christian denominations look on with indifference at the

-profanation and destruction of a noble and unique creature who was given

-to the world as a gift of God's grace. For the future of the world,

-however, it does not matter which of the two triumphs over the other,

-the Catholic or the Protestant. But it does matter whether Aryan

-humanity survives or perishes. And yet the two Christian denominations

-are not contending against the destroyer of Aryan humanity but are

-trying to destroy one another. Everybody who has the right kind of

-feeling for his country is solemnly bound, each within his own

-denomination, to see to it that he is not constantly talking about the

-Will of God merely from the lips but that in actual fact he fulfils the

-Will of God and does not allow God's handiwork to be debased. For it was

-by the Will of God that men were made of a certain bodily shape, were

-given their natures and their faculties. Whoever destroys His work wages

-war against God's Creation and God's Will. Therefore everyone should

-endeavour, each in his own denomination of course, and should consider

-it as his first and most solemn duty to hinder any and everyone whose

-conduct tends, either by word or deed, to go outside his own religious

-body and pick a quarrel with those of another denomination. For, in view

-of the religious schism that exists in Germany, to attack the essential

-characteristics of one denomination must necessarily lead to a war of

-extermination between the two Christian denominations. Here there can be

-no comparison between our position and that of France, or Spain or

-Italy. In those three countries one may, for instance, make propaganda

-for the side that is fighting against ultramontanism without thereby

-incurring the danger of a national rift among the French, or Spanish or

-Italian people. In Germany, however, that cannot be so, for here the

-Protestants would also take part in such propaganda. And thus the

-defence which elsewhere only Catholics organize against clerical

-aggression in political matters would assume with us the character of a

-Protestant attack against Catholicism. What may be tolerated by the

-faithful in one denomination even when it seems unjust to them, will at

-once be indignantly rejected and opposed on A PRIORI grounds if it

-should come from the militant leaders of another denomination. This is

-so true that even men who would be ready and willing to fight for the

-removal of manifest grievances within their own religious denomination

-will drop their own fight and turn their activities against the outsider

-the moment the abolition of such grievances is counselled or demanded by

-one who is not of the same faith. They consider it unjustified and

-inadmissible and incorrect for outsiders to meddle in matters which do

-not affect them at all. Such attempts are not excused even when they are

-inspired by a feeling for the supreme interests of the national

-community; because even in our day religious feelings still have deeper

-roots than all feeling for political and national expediency. That

-cannot be changed by setting one denomination against another in bitter

-conflict. It can be changed only if, through a spirit of mutual

-tolerance, the nation can be assured of a future the greatness of which

-will gradually operate as a conciliating factor in the sphere of

-religion also. I have no hesitation in saying that in those men who seek

-to-day to embroil the patriotic movement in religious quarrels I see

-worse enemies of my country than the international communists are. For

-the National Socialist Movement has set itself to the task of converting

-those communists. But anyone who goes outside the ranks of his own

-Movement and tends to turn it away from the fulfilment of its mission is

-acting in a manner that deserves the severest condemnation. He is acting

-as a champion of Jewish interests, whether consciously or unconsciously

-does not matter. For it is in the interests of the Jews to-day that the

-energies of the patriotic movement should be squandered in a religious

-conflict, because it is beginning to be dangerous for the Jews. I have

-purposely used the phrase about SQUANDERING the energies of the

-Movement, because nobody but some person who is entirely ignorant of

-history could imagine that this movement can solve a question which the

-greatest statesmen have tried for centuries to solve, and tried in vain.

-Anyhow the facts speak for themselves. The men who suddenly discovered,

-in 1924, that the highest mission of the patriotic movement was to fight

-ultramontanism, have not succeeded in smashing ultramontanism, but they

-succeeded in splitting the patriotic movement. I have to guard against

-the possibility of some immature brain arising in the patriotic movement

-which thinks that it can do what even a Bismarck failed to do. It will

-be always one of the first duties of those who are directing the

-National Socialist Movement to oppose unconditionally any attempt to

-place the National Socialist Movement at the service of such a conflict.

-And anybody who conducts a propaganda with that end in view must be

-expelled forthwith from its ranks.

-As a matter of fact we succeeded until the autumn of 1923 in keeping our

-movement away from such controversies. The most devoted Protestant could

-stand side by side with the most devoted Catholic in our ranks without

-having his conscience disturbed in the slightest as far as concerned his

-religious convictions. The bitter struggle which both waged in common

-against the wrecker of Aryan humanity taught them natural respect and

-esteem. And it was just in those years that our movement had to engage

-in a bitter strife with the Centre Party not for religious ends but for

-national, racial, political and economic ends. The success we then

-achieved showed that we were right, but it does not speak to-day in

-favour of those who thought they knew better.

-In recent years things have gone so far that patriotic circles, in

-god-forsaken blindness of their religious strife, could not recognize

-the folly of their conduct even from the fact that atheist Marxist

-newspapers advocated the cause of one religious denomination or the

-other, according as it suited Marxist interests, so as to create

-confusion through slogans and declarations which were often immeasurably

-stupid, now molesting the one party and again the other, and thus poking

-the fire to keep the blaze at its highest.

-But in the case of a people like the Germans, whose history has so often

-shown them capable of fighting for phantoms to the point of complete

-exhaustion, every war-cry is a mortal danger. By these slogans our

-people have often been drawn away from the real problems of their

-existence. While we were exhausting our energies in religious wars the

-others were acquiring their share of the world. And while the patriotic

-movement is debating with itself whether the ultramontane danger be

-greater than the Jewish, or vice versa, the Jew is destroying the racial

-basis of our existence and thereby annihilating our people. As far as

-regards that kind of 'patriotic' warrior, on behalf of the National

-Socialist Movement and therefore of the German people I pray with all my

-heart: "Lord, preserve us from such friends, and then we can easily deal

-with our enemies."

-The controversy over federation and unification, so cunningly

-propagandized by the Jews in 1919-1920 and onwards, forced National

-Socialism, which repudiated the quarrel, to take up a definite stand in

-relation to the essential problem concerned in it. Ought Germany to be a

-confederacy or a military State? What is the practical significance of

-these terms? To me it seems that the second question is more important

-than the first, because it is fundamental to the understanding of the

-whole problem and also because the answer to it may help to clear up

-confusion and therewith have a conciliating effect.

-What is a Confederacy? (Note 22)

-[Note 22. Before 1918 Germany was a federal Empire, composed of

-twenty-five federal states.]

-By a Confederacy we mean a union of sovereign states which of their own

-free will and in virtue of their sovereignty come together and create a

-collective unit, ceding to that unit as much of their own sovereign

-rights as will render the existence of the union possible and will

-guarantee it.

-But the theoretical formula is not wholly put into practice by any

-confederacy that exists to-day. And least of all by the American Union,

-where it is impossible to speak of original sovereignty in regard to the

-majority of the states. Many of them were not included in the federal

-complex until long after it had been established. The states that make

-up the American Union are mostly in the nature of territories, more or

-less, formed for technical administrative purposes, their boundaries

-having in many cases been fixed in the mapping office. Originally these

-states did not and could not possess sovereign rights of their own.

-Because it was the Union that created most of the so-called states.

-Therefore the sovereign rights, often very comprehensive, which were

-left, or rather granted, to the various territories correspond not only

-to the whole character of the Confederation but also to its vast space,

-which is equivalent to the size of a Continent. Consequently, in

-speaking of the United States of America one must not consider them as

-sovereign states but as enjoying rights or, better perhaps, autarchic

-powers, granted to them and guaranteed by the Constitution.

-Nor does our definition adequately express the condition of affairs in

-Germany. It is true that in Germany the individual states existed as

-states before the REICH and that the REICH was formed from them. The

-REICH, however, was not formed by the voluntary and equal co-operation

-of the individual states, but rather because the state of Prussia

-gradually acquired a position of hegemony over the others. The

-difference in the territorial area alone between the German states

-prevents any comparison with the American Union. The great difference in

-territorial area between the very small German states that then existed

-and the larger, or even still more the largest, demonstrates the

-inequality of their achievements and shows that they could not take an

-equal part in founding and shaping the federal Empire. In the case of

-most of these individual states it cannot be maintained that they ever

-enjoyed real sovereignty; and the term 'State Sovereignty' was really

-nothing more than an administrative formula which had no inner meaning.

-As a matter of fact, not only developments in the past but also in our

-own time wiped out several of these so-called 'Sovereign States' and

-thus proved in the most definite way how frail these 'sovereign' state

-formations were.

-I cannot deal here with the historical question of how these individual

-states came to be established, but I must call attention to the fact

-that hardly in any case did their frontiers coincide with ethical

-frontiers of the inhabitants. They were purely political phenomena which

-for the most part emerged during the sad epoch when the German Empire

-was in a state of exhaustion and was dismembered. They represented both

-cause and effect in the process of exhaustion and partition of our

-fatherland.

-The Constitution of the old REICH took all this into account, at least

-up to a certain degree, in so far as the individual states were not

-accorded equal representation in the Reichstag, but a representation

-proportionate to their respective areas, their actual importance and the

-role which they played in the formation of the REICH.

-The sovereign rights which the individual states renounced in order to

-form the REICH were voluntarily ceded only to a very small degree. For

-the most part they had no practical existence or they were simply taken

-by Prussia under the pressure of her preponderant power. The principle

-followed by Bismarck was not to give the REICH what he could take from

-the individual states but to demand from the individual states only what

-was absolutely necessary for the REICH. A moderate and wise policy. On

-the one side Bismarck showed the greatest regard for customs and

-traditions; on the other side his policy secured for the new REICH from

-its foundation onwards a great measure of love and willing co-operation.

-But it would be a fundamental error to attribute Bismarck's decision to

-any conviction on his part that the REICH was thus acquiring all the

-rights of sovereignty which would suflice for all time. That was far

-from Bismarck's idea. On the contrary, he wished to leave over for the

-future what it would be difficult to carry through at the moment and

-might not have been readily agreed to by the individual states. He

-trusted to the levelling effect of time and to the pressure exercised by

-the process of evolution, the steady action of which appeared more

-effective than an attempt to break the resistance which the individual

-states offered at the moment. By this policy he showed his great ability

-in the art of statesmanship. And, as a matter of fact, the sovereignty

-of the REICH has continually increased at the cost of the sovereignty of

-the individual states. The passing of time has achieved what Bismarck

-hoped it would.

-The German collapse and the abolition of the monarchical form of

-government necessarily hastened this development. The German federal

-states, which had not been grounded on ethnical foundations but arose

-rather out of political conditions, were bound to lose their importance

-the moment the monarchical form of government and the dynasties

-connected with it were abolished, for it was to the spirit inherent in

-these that the individual states owned their political origin and

-development. Thus deprived of their internal RAISON D'�TRE, they

-renounced all right to survival and were induced by purely practical

-reasons to fuse with their neighbours or else they joined the more

-powerful states out of their own free will. That proved in a striking

-manner how extraordinarily frail was the actual sovereignty these small

-phantom states enjoyed, and it proved too how lightly they were

-estimated by their own citizens.

-Though the abolition of the monarchical regime and its representatives

-had dealt a hard blow to the federal character of the REICH, still more

-destructive, from the federal point of view, was the acceptance of the

-obligations that resulted from the 'peace' treaty.

-It was only natural and logical that the federal states should lose all

-sovereign control over the finances the moment the REICH, in consequence

-of a lost war, was subjected to financial obligations which could never

-be guaranteed through separate treaties with the individual states. The

-subsequent steps which led the REICH to take over the posts and railways

-were an enforced advance in the process of enslaving our people, a

-process which the peace treaties gradually developed. The REICH was

-forced to secure possession of resources which had to be constantly

-increased in order to satisfy the demands made by further extortions.

-The form in which the powers of the REICH were thus extended to embrace

-the federal states was often ridiculously stupid, but in itself the

-procedure was logical and natural. The blame for it must be laid at the

-door of these men and those parties that failed in the hour of need to

-concentrate all their energies in an effort to bring the war to a

-victorious issue. The guilt lies on those parties which, especially in

-Bavaria, catered for their own egotistic interests during the war and

-refused to the REICH what the REICH had to requisition to a tenfold

-greater measure when the war was lost. The retribution of History!

-Rarely has the vengeance of Heaven followed so closely on the crime as

-it did in this case. Those same parties which, a few years previously,

-placed the interests of their own states--especially in Bavaria--before

-those of the REICH had now to look on passively while the pressure of

-events forced the REICH, in its own interests, to abolish the existence

-of the individual states. They were the victims of their own defaults.

-It was an unparalleled example of hypocrisy to raise the cry of

-lamentation over the loss which the federal states suffered in being

-deprived of their sovereign rights. This cry was raised before the

-electorate, for it is only to the electorate that our contemporary

-parties address themselves. But these parties, without exception, outbid

-one another in accepting a policy of fulfilment which, by the sheer

-force of circumstances and in its ultimate consequences, could not but

-lead to a profound alteration in the internal structure of the REICH.

-Bismarck's REICH was free and unhampered by any obligations towards the

-outside world.

-Bismarck's REICH never had to shoulder such heavy and entirely

-unproductive obligations as those to which Germany was subjected under

-the Dawes Plan. Also in domestic affairs Bismarck's REICH was able to

-limit its powers to a few matters that were absolutely necessary for its

-existence. Therefore it could dispense with the necessity of a financial

-control over these states and could live from their contributions. On

-the other side the relatively small financial tribute which the federal

-states had to pay to the REICH induced them to welcome its existence.

-But it is untrue and unjust to state now, as certain propagandists do,

-that the federal states are displeased with the REICH merely because of

-their financial subjection to it. No, that is not how the matter really

-stands. The lack of sympathy for the political idea embodied in the

-REICH is not due to the loss of sovereign rights on the part of the

-individual states. It is much more the result of the deplorable fashion

-in which the present r�gime cares for the interests of the German

-people. Despite all the celebrations in honour of the national flag and

-the Constitution, every section of the German people feels that the

-present REICH is not in accordance with its heart's desire. And the Law

-for the Protection of the Republic may prevent outrages against

-republican institutions, but it will not gain the love of one single

-German. In its constant anxiety to protect itself against its own

-citizens by means of laws and sentences of imprisonment, the Republic

-has aroused sharp and humiliating criticism of all republican

-institutions as such.

-For another reason also it is untrue to say, as certain parties affirm

-to-day, that the REICH has ceased to be popular on account of its

-overbearing conduct in regard to certain sovereign rights which the

-individual states had heretofore enjoyed. Supposing the REICH had not

-extended its authority over the individual states, there is no reason to

-believe that it would find more favour among those states if the general

-obligations remained so heavy as they now are. On the contrary, if the

-individual states had to pay their respective shares of the highly

-increased tribute which the REICH has to meet to-day in order to fulfil

-the provisions of the Versailles Dictate, the hostility towards the

-REICH would be infinitely greater. For then not only would it prove

-difficult to collect the respective contributions due to the REICH from

-the federal states, but coercive methods would have to be employed in

-making the collections. The Republic stands on the footing of the peace

-treaties and has neither the courage nor the intention to break them.

-That being so, it must observe the obligations which the peace treaties

-have imposed on it. The responsibility for this situation is to be

-attributed solely to those parties who preach unceasingly to the patient

-electoral masses on the necessity of maintaining the autonomy of the

-federal states, while at the same time they champion and demand of the

-REICH a policy which must necessarily lead to the suppression of even

-the very last of those so-called 'sovereign' rights.

-I say NECESSARILY because the present REICH has no other possible means

-of bearing the burden of charges which an insane domestic and foreign

-policy has laid on it. Here still another wedge is placed on the former,

-to drive it in still deeper. Every new debt which the REICH contracts,

-through the criminal way in which the interests of Germany are

-represented VIS-�-VIS foreign countries, necessitates a new and stronger

-blow which drives the under wedges still deeper, That blow demands

-another step in the progressive abolition of the sovereign rights of the

-individual states, so as not to allow the germs of opposition to rise up

-into activity or even to exist.

-The chief characteristic difference between the policy of the present

-REICH and that of former times lies in this: The old REICH gave freedom

-to its people at home and showed itself strong towards the outside

-world, whereas the Republic shows itself weak towards the stranger and

-oppresses its own citizens at home. In both cases one attitude

-determines the other. A vigorous national State does not need to make

-many laws for the interior, because of the affection and attachment of

-its citizens. The international servile State can live only by coercing

-its citizens to render it the services it demands. And it is a piece of

-impudent falsehood for the present regime to speak of 'Free citizens'.

-Only the old Germany could speak in that manner. The present Republic is

-a colony of slaves at the service of the stranger. At best it has

-subjects, but not citizens. Hence it does not possess a national flag

-but only a trade mark, introduced and protected by official decree and

-legislative measures. This symbol, which is the Gessler's cap of German

-Democracy, will always remain alien to the spirit of our people. On its

-side, the Republic having no sense of tradition or respect for past

-greatness, dragged the symbol of the past in the mud, but it will be

-surprised one day to discover how superficial is the devotion of its

-citizens to its own symbol. The Republic has given to itself the

-character of an intermezzo in German history. And so this State is bound

-constantly to restrict more and more the sovereign rights of the

-individual states, not only for general reasons of a financial character

-but also on principle. For by enforcing a policy of financial blackmail,

-to squeeze the last ounce of substance out of its people, it is forced

-also to take their last rights away from them, lest the general

-discontent may one day flame up into open rebellion.

-We, National Socialists, would reverse this formula and would adopt the

-following axiom: A strong national REICH which recognizes and protects

-to the largest possible measure the rights of its citizens both within

-and outside its frontiers can allow freedom to reign at home without

-trembling for the safety of the State. On the other hand, a strong

-national Government can intervene to a considerable degree in the

-liberties of the individual subject as well as in the liberties of the

-constituent states without thereby weakening the ideal of the REICH; and

-it can do this while recognizing its responsibility for the ideal of the

-REICH, because in these particular acts and measures the individual

-citizen recognizes a means of promoting the prestige of the nation as a

-whole.

-Of course, every State in the world has to face the question of

-unification in its internal organization. And Germany is no exception in

-this matter. Nowadays it is absurd to speak of 'statal sovereignty' for

-the constituent states of the REICH, because that has already become

-impossible on account of the ridiculously small size of so many of these

-states. In the sphere of commerce as well as that of administration the

-importance of the individual states has been steadily decreasing. Modern

-means of communication and mechanical progress have been increasingly

-restricting distance and space. What was once a State is to-day only a

-province and the territory covered by a modern State had once the

-importance of a continent. The purely technical difficulty of

-administering a State like Germany is not greater than that of governing

-a province like Brandenburg a hundred years ago. And to-day it is easier

-to cover the distance from Munich to Berlin than it was to cover the

-distance from Munich to Starnberg a hundred years ago. In view of the

-modern means of transport, the whole territory of the REICH to-day is

-smaller than that of certain German federal states at the time of the

-Napoleonic wars. To close one's eyes to the consequences of these facts

-means to live in the past. There always were, there are and always will

-be, men who do this. They may retard but they cannot stop the

-revolutions of history.

-We, National Socialists, must not allow the consequences of that truth

-to pass by us unnoticed. In these matters also we must not permit

-ourselves to be misled by the phrases of our so-called national

-bourgeois parties. I say 'phrases', because these same parodies do not

-seriously believe that it is possible for them to carry out their

-proposals, and because they themselves are the chief culprits and also

-the accomplices responsible for the present state of affairs. Especially

-in Bavaria, the demands for a halt in the process of centralization can

-be no more than a party move behind which there is no serious idea. If

-these parties ever had to pass from the realm of phrase-making into that

-of practical deeds they would present a sorry spectacle. Every so-called

-'Robbery of Sovereign Rights' from Bavaria by the REICH has met with no

-practical resistance, except for some fatuous barking by way of protest.

-Indeed, when anyone seriously opposed the madness that was shown in

-carrying out this system of centralization he was told by those same

-parties that he understood nothing of the nature and needs of the State

-to-day. They slandered him and pronounced him anathema and persecuted

-him until he was either shut up in prison or illegally deprived of the

-right of public speech. In the light of these facts our followers should

-become all the more convinced of the profound hypocrisy which

-characterizes these so-called federalist circles. To a certain extent

-they use the federalist doctrine just as they use the name of religion,

-merely as a means of promoting their own base party interests.

-A certain unification, especially in the field of transport, appears

-logical. But we, National Socialists, feel it our duty to oppose with

-all our might such a development in the modern State, especially when

-the measures proposed are solely for the purpose of screening a

-disastrous foreign policy and making it possible. And just because the

-present REICH has threatened to take over the railways, the posts, the

-finances, etc., not from the high standpoint of a national policy, but

-in order to have in its hands the means and pledges for an unlimited

-policy of fulfilment--for that reason we, National Socialists, must take

-every step that seems suitable to obstruct and, if possible, definitely

-to prevent such a policy. We must fight against the present system of

-amalgamating institutions that are vitally important for the existence

-of our people, because this system is being adopted solely to facilitate

-the payment of milliards and the transference of pledges to the

-stranger, under the post-War provisions which our politicians have

-accepted.

-For these reasons also the National Socialist Movement has to take up a

-stand against such tendencies.

-Moreover, we must oppose such centralization because in domestic affairs

-it helps to reinforce a system of government which in all its

-manifestations has brought the greatest misfortunes on the German

-nation. The present Jewish-Democratic REICH, which has become a

-veritable curse for the German people, is seeking to negative the force

-of the criticism offered by all the federal states which have not yet

-become imbued with the spirit of the age, and is trying to carry out

-this policy by crushing them to the point of annihilation. In face of

-this we National Socialists must try to ground the opposition of the

-individual states on such a basis that it will be able to operate with a

-good promise of success. We must do this by transforming the struggle

-against centralization into something that will be an expression of the

-higher interests of the German nation as such. Therefore, while the

-Bavarian Populist Party, acting from its own narrow and particularist

-standpoint, fights to maintain the 'special rights' of the Bavarian

-State, we ought to stand on quite a different ground in fighting for the

-same rights. Our grounds ought to be those of the higher national

-interests in opposition to the November Democracy.

-A still further reason for opposing a centralizing process of that kind

-arises from the certain conviction that in great part this so-called

-nationalization does not make for unification at all and still less for

-simplification. In many cases it is adopted simply as a means of

-removing from the sovereign control of the individual states certain

-institutions which they wish to place in the hands of the revolutionary

-parties. In German History favouritism has never been of so base a

-character as in the democratic republic. A great portion of this

-centralization to-day is the work of parties which once promised that

-they would open the way for the promotion of talent, meaning thereby

-that they would fill those posts and offices entirely with their own

-partisans. Since the foundation of the Republic the Jews especially have

-been obtaining positions in the economic institutions taken over by the

-REICH and also positions in the national administration, so that the one

-and the other have become preserves of Jewry.

-For tactical reasons, this last consideration obliges us to watch with

-the greatest attention every further attempt at centralization and fight

-it at each step. But in doing this our standpoint must always be that of

-a lofty national policy and never a pettifogging particularism.

-This last observation is necessary, lest an opinion might arise among

-our own followers that we do not accredit to the REICH the right of

-incorporating in itself a sovereignty which is superior to that of the

-constituent states. As regards this right we cannot and must not

-entertain the slightest doubt. Because for us the State is nothing but a

-form. Its substance, or content, is the essential thing. And that is the

-nation, the people. It is clear therefore that every other interest must

-be subordinated to the supreme interests of the nation. In particular we

-cannot accredit to any other state a sovereign power and sovereign

-rights within the confines of the nation and the REICH, which represents

-the nation. The absurdity which some federal states commit by

-maintaining 'representations' abroad and corresponding foreign

-'representations' among themselves--that must cease and will cease.

-Until this happens we cannot be surprised if certain foreign countries

-are dubious about the political unity of the REICH and act accordingly.

-The absurdity of these 'representations' is all the greater because they

-do harm and do not bring the slightest advantage. If the interests of a

-German abroad cannot be protected by the ambassador of the REICH, much

-less can they be protected by the minister from some small federal state

-which appears ridiculous in the framework of the present world order.

-The real truth is that these small federal states are envisaged as

-points of attack for attempts at secession, which prospect is always

-pleasing to a certain foreign State. We, National Socialists, must not

-allow some noble caste which has become effete with age to occupy an

-ambassadorial post abroad, with the idea that by engrafting one of its

-withered branches in new soil the green leaves may sprout again. Already

-in the time of the old REICH our diplomatic representatives abroad were

-such a sorry lot that a further trial of that experience would be out of

-the question.

-It is certain that in the future the importance of the individual states

-will be transferred to the sphere of our cultural policy. The monarch

-who did most to make Bavaria an important centre was not an obstinate

-particularist with anti-German tendencies, but Ludwig I who was as much

-devoted to the ideal of German greatness as he was to that of art. His

-first consideration was to use the powers of the state to develop the

-cultural position of Bavaria and not its political power. And in doing

-this he produced better and more durable results than if he had followed

-any other line of conduct. Up to this time Munich was a provincial

-residence town of only small importance, but he transformed it into the

-metropolis of German art and by doing so he made it an intellectual

-centre which even to-day holds Franconia to Bavaria, though the

-Franconians are of quite a different temperament. If Munich had remained

-as it had been earlier, what has happened in Saxony would have been

-repeated in Bavaria, with the difference that Leipzig and Bavarian

-N�rnberg would have become, not Bavarian but Franconian cities. It was

-not the cry of "Down with Prussia" that made Munich great. What made

-this a city of importance was the King who wished to present it to the

-German nation as an artistic jewel that would have to be seen and

-appreciated, and so it has turned out in fact. Therein lies a lesson for

-the future. The importance of the individual states in the future will

-no longer lie in their political or statal power. I look to them rather

-as important ethnical and cultural centres. But even in this respect

-time will do its levelling work. Modern travelling facilities shuffle

-people among one another in such a way that tribal boundaries will fade

-out and even the cultural picture will gradually become more of a

-uniform pattern.

-The army must definitely be kept clear of the influence of the

-individual states. The coming National Socialist State must not fall

-back into the error of the past by imposing on the army a task which is

-not within its sphere and never should have been assigned to it. The

-German army does not exist for the purpose of being a school in which

-tribal particularisms are to be cultivated and preserved, but rather as

-a school for teaching all the Germans to understand and adapt their

-habits to one another. Whatever tends to have a separating influence in

-the life of the nation ought to be made a unifying influence in the

-army. The army must raise the German boy above the narrow horizon of his

-own little native province and set him within the broad picture of the

-nation. The youth must learn to know, not the confines of his own region

-but those of the fatherland, because it is the latter that he will have

-to defend one day. It is therefore absurd to have the German youth do

-his military training in his own native region. During that period he

-ought to learn to know Germany. This is all the more important to-day,

-since young Germans no longer travel on their own account as they once

-used to do and thus enlarge their horizon. In view of this, is it not

-absurd to leave the young Bavarian recruit at Munich, the recruit from

-Baden at Baden itself and the W�rttemberger at Stuttgart and so on? And

-would it not be more reasonable to show the Rhine and the North Sea to

-the Bavarian, the Alps to the native of Hamburg and the mountains of

-Central Germany to the boy from East Prussia? The character proper to

-each region ought to be maintained in the troops but not in the training

-garrisons. We may disapprove of every attempt at unification but not

-that of unifying the army. On the contrary, even though we should wish

-to welcome no other kind of unification, this must be greeted with joy.

-In view of the size of the present army of the REICH, it would be absurd

-to maintain the federal divisions among the troops. Moreover, in the

-unification of the German army which has actually been effected we see a

-fact which we must not renounce but restore in the future national army.

-Finally a new and triumphant idea should burst every chain which tends

-to paralyse its efforts to push forward. National Socialism must claim

-the right to impose its principles on the whole German nation, without

-regard to what were hitherto the confines of federal states. And we must

-educate the German nation in our ideas and principles. As the Churches

-do not feel themselves bound or limited by political confines, so the

-National Socialist Idea cannot feel itself limited to the territories of

-the individual federal states that belong to our Fatherland.

-The National Socialist doctrine is not handmaid to the political

-interests of the single federal states. One day it must become teacher

-to the whole German nation. It must determine the life of the whole

-people and shape that life anew. For this reason we must imperatively

-demand the right to overstep boundaries that have been traced by a

-political development which we repudiate.

-The more completely our ideas triumph, the more liberty can we concede

-in particular affairs to our citizens at home.

-CHAPTER XI

-PROPAGANDA AND ORGANIZATION

-The year 1921 was specially important for me from many points of view.

-When I entered the German Labour Party I at once took charge of the

-propaganda, believing this branch to be far the most important for the

-time being. Just then it was not a matter of pressing necessity to

-cudgel one's brains over problems of organization. The first necessity

-was to spread our ideas among as many people as possible. Propaganda

-should go well ahead of organization and gather together the human

-material for the latter to work up. I have never been in favour of hasty

-and pedantic methods of organization, because in most cases the result

-is merely a piece of dead mechanism and only rarely a living

-organization. Organization is a thing that derives its existence from

-organic life, organic evolution. When the same set of ideas have found a

-lodgement in the minds of a certain number of people they tend of

-themselves to form a certain degree of order among those people and out

-of this inner formation something that is very valuable arises. Of

-course here, as everywhere else, one must take account of those human

-weaknesses which make men hesitate, especially at the beginning, to

-submit to the control of a superior mind. If an organization is imposed

-from above downwards in a mechanical fashion, there is always the danger

-that some individual may push himself forward who is not known for what

-he is and who, out of jealousy, will try to hinder abler persons from

-taking a leading place in the movement. The damage that results from

-that kind of thing may have fatal consequences, especially in a new

-movement.

-For this reason it is advisable first to propagate and publicly expound

-the ideas on which the movement is founded. This work of propaganda

-should continue for a certain time and should be directed from one

-centre. When the ideas have gradually won over a number of people this

-human material should be carefully sifted for the purpose of selecting

-those who have ability in leadership and putting that ability to the

-test. It will often be found that apparently insignificant persons will

-nevertheless turn out to be born leaders.

-Of course, it is quite a mistake to suppose that those who show a very

-intelligent grasp of the theory underlying a movement are for that

-reason qualified to fill responsible positions on the directorate. The

-contrary is very frequently the case.

-Great masters of theory are only very rarely great organizers also. And

-this is because the greatness of the theorist and founder of a system

-consists in being able to discover and lay down those laws that are

-right in the abstract, whereas the organizer must first of all be a man

-of psychological insight. He must take men as they are, and for that

-reason he must know them, not having too high or too low an estimate of

-human nature. He must take account of their weaknesses, their baseness

-and all the other various characteristics, so as to form something out

-of them which will be a living organism, endowed with strong powers of

-resistance, fitted to be the carrier of an idea and strong enough to

-ensure the triumph of that idea.

-But it is still more rare to find a great theorist who is at the same

-time a great leader. For the latter must be more of an agitator, a truth

-that will not be readily accepted by many of those who deal with

-problems only from the scientific standpoint. And yet what I say is only

-natural. For an agitator who shows himself capable of expounding ideas

-to the great masses must always be a psychologist, even though he may be

-only a demagogue. Therefore he will always be a much more capable leader

-than the contemplative theorist who meditates on his ideas, far from the

-human throng and the world. For to be a leader means to be able to move

-the masses. The gift of formulating ideas has nothing whatsoever to do

-with the capacity for leadership. It would be entirely futile to discuss

-the question as to which is the more important: the faculty of

-conceiving ideals and human aims or that of being able to have them put

-into practice. Here, as so often happens in life, the one would be

-entirely meaningless without the other. The noblest conceptions of the

-human understanding remain without purpose or value if the leader cannot

-move the masses towards them. And, conversely, what would it avail to

-have all the genius and elan of a leader if the intellectual theorist

-does not fix the aims for which mankind must struggle. But when the

-abilities of theorist and organizer and leader are united in the one

-person, then we have the rarest phenomenon on this earth. And it is that

-union which produces the great man.

-As I have already said, during my first period in the Party I devoted

-myself to the work of propaganda. I had to succeed in gradually

-gathering together a small nucleus of men who would accept the new

-teaching and be inspired by it. And in this way we should provide the

-human material which subsequently would form the constituent elements of

-the organization. Thus the goal of the propagandist is nearly always

-fixed far beyond that of the organizer.

-If a movement proposes to overthrow a certain order of things and

-construct a new one in its place, then the following principles must be

-clearly understood and must dominate in the ranks of its leadership:

-Every movement which has gained its human material must first divide

-this material into two groups: namely, followers and members.

-It is the task of the propagandist to recruit the followers and it is

-the task of the organizer to select the members.

-The follower of a movement is he who understands and accepts its aims;

-the member is he who fights for them.

-The follower is one whom the propaganda has converted to the doctrine of

-the movement. The member is he who will be charged by the organization

-to collaborate in winning over new followers from which in turn new

-members can be formed.

-To be a follower needs only the passive recognition of the idea. To be a

-member means to represent that idea and fight for it. From ten followers

-one can have scarcely more than two members. To be a follower simply

-implies that a man has accepted the teaching of the movement; whereas to

-be a member means that a man has the courage to participate actively in

-diffusing that teaching in which he has come to believe.

-Because of its passive character, the simple effort of believing in a

-political doctrine is enough for the majority, for the majority of

-mankind is mentally lazy and timid. To be a member one must be

-intellectually active, and therefore this applies only to the minority.

-Such being the case, the propagandist must seek untiringly to acquire

-new followers for the movement, whereas the organizer must diligently

-look out for the best elements among such followers, so that these

-elements may be transformed into members. The propagandist need not

-trouble too much about the personal worth of the individual proselytes

-he has won for the movement. He need not inquire into their abilities,

-their intelligence or character. From these proselytes, however, the

-organizer will have to select those individuals who are most capable of

-actively helping to bring the movement to victory.

-The propagandist aims at inducing the whole people to accept his

-teaching. The organizer includes in his body of membership only those

-who, on psychological grounds, will not be an impediment to the further

-diffusion of the doctrines of the movement.

-The propagandist inculcates his doctrine among the masses, with the idea

-of preparing them for the time when this doctrine will triumph, through

-the body of combatant members which he has formed from those followers

-who have given proof of the necessary ability and will-power to carry

-the struggle to victory.

-The final triumph of a doctrine will be made all the more easy if the

-propagandist has effectively converted large bodies of men to the belief

-in that doctrine and if the organization that actively conducts the

-fight be exclusive, vigorous and solid.

-When the propaganda work has converted a whole people to believe in a

-doctrine, the organization can turn the results of this into practical

-effect through the work of a mere handful of men. Propaganda and

-organization, therefore follower and member, then stand towards one

-another in a definite mutual relationship. The better the propaganda has

-worked, the smaller will the organization be. The greater the number of

-followers, so much the smaller can be the number of members. And

-conversely. If the propaganda be bad, the organization must be large.

-And if there be only a small number of followers, the membership must be

-all the larger--if the movement really counts on being successful.

-The first duty of the propagandist is to win over people who can

-subsequently be taken into the organization. And the first duty of the

-organization is to select and train men who will be capable of carrying

-on the propaganda. The second duty of the organization is to disrupt the

-existing order of things and thus make room for the penetration of the

-new teaching which it represents, while the duty of the organizer must

-be to fight for the purpose of securing power, so that the doctrine may

-finally triumph.

-A revolutionary conception of the world and human existence will always

-achieve decisive success when the new WELTANSCHAUUNG has been taught to

-a whole people, or subsequently forced upon them if necessary, and when,

-on the other hand, the central organization, the movement itself, is in

-the hands of only those few men who are absolutely indispensable to form

-the nerve-centres of the coming State.

-Put in another way, this means that in every great revolutionary

-movement that is of world importance the idea of this movement must

-always be spread abroad through the operation of propaganda. The

-propagandist must never tire in his efforts to make the new ideas

-clearly understood, inculcating them among others, or at least he must

-place himself in the position of those others and endeavour to upset

-their confidence in the convictions they have hitherto held. In order

-that such propaganda should have backbone to it, it must be based on an

-organization. The organization chooses its members from among those

-followers whom the propaganda has won. That organization will become all

-the more vigorous if the work of propaganda be pushed forward

-intensively. And the propaganda will work all the better when the

-organization back of it is vigorous and strong in itself.

-Hence the supreme task of the organizer is to see to it that any discord

-or differences which may arise among the members of the movement will

-not lead to a split and thereby cramp the work within the movement.

-Moreover, it is the duty of the organization to see that the fighting

-spirit of the movement does not flag or die out but that it is

-constantly reinvigorated and restrengthened. It is not necessary the

-number of members should increase indefinitely. Quite the contrary would

-be better. In view of the fact that only a fraction of humanity has

-energy and courage, a movement which increases its own organization

-indefinitely must of necessity one day become plethoric and inactive.

-Organizations, that is to say, groups of members, which increase their

-size beyond certain dimensions gradually lose their fighting force and

-are no longer in form to back up the propagation of a doctrine with

-aggressive elan and determination.

-Now the greater and more revolutionary a doctrine is, so much the more

-active will be the spirit inspiring its body of members, because the

-subversive energy of such a doctrine will frighten way the

-chicken-hearted and small-minded bourgeoisie. In their hearts they may

-believe in the doctrine but they are afraid to acknowledge their belief

-openly. By reason of this very fact, however, an organization inspired

-by a veritable revolutionary idea will attract into the body of its

-membership only the most active of those believers who have been won for

-it by its propaganda. It is in this activity on the part of the

-membership body, guaranteed by the process of natural selection, that we

-are to seek the prerequisite conditions for the continuation of an

-active and spirited propaganda and also the victorious struggle for the

-success of the idea on which the movement is based.

-The greatest danger that can threaten a movement is an abnormal increase

-in the number of its members, owing to its too rapid success. So long as

-a movement has to carry on a hard and bitter fight, people of weak and

-fundamentally egotistic temperament will steer very clear of it; but

-these will try to be accepted as members the moment the party achieves a

-manifest success in the course of its development.

-It is on these grounds that we are to explain why so many movements

-which were at first successful slowed down before reaching the

-fulfilment of their purpose and, from an inner weakness which could not

-otherwise be explained, gave up the struggle and finally disappeared

-from the field. As a result of the early successes achieved, so many

-undesirable, unworthy and especially timid individuals became members of

-the movement that they finally secured the majority and stifled the

-fighting spirit of the others. These inferior elements then turned the

-movement to the service of their personal interests and, debasing it to

-the level of their own miserable heroism, no longer struggled for the

-triumph of the original idea. The fire of the first fervour died out,

-the fighting spirit flagged and, as the bourgeois world is accustomed to

-say very justly in such cases, the party mixed water with its wine.

-For this reason it is necessary that a movement should, from the sheer

-instinct of self-preservation, close its lists to new membership the

-moment it becomes successful. And any further increase in its

-organization should be allowed to take place only with the most careful

-foresight and after a painstaking sifting of those who apply for

-membership. Only thus will it be possible to keep the kernel of the

-movement intact and fresh and sound. Care must be taken that the conduct

-of the movement is maintained exclusively in the hands of this original

-nucleus. This means that the nucleus must direct the propaganda which

-aims at securing general recognition for the movement. And the movement

-itself, when it has secured power in its hands, must carry out all those

-acts and measures which are necessary in order that its ideas should be

-finally established in practice.

-With those elements that originally made the movement, the organization

-should occupy all the important positions that have been conquered and

-from those elements the whole directorate should be formed. This should

-continue until the maxims and doctrines of the party have become the

-foundation and policy of the new State. Only then will it be permissible

-gradually to give the reins into the hands of the Constitution of that

-State which the spirit of the movement has created. But this usually

-happens through a process of mutual rivalry, for here it is less a

-question of human intelligence than of the play and effect of the forces

-whose development may indeed be foreseen from the start but not

-perpetually controlled.

-All great movements, whether of a political or religious nature, owe

-their imposing success to the recognition and adoption of those

-principles. And no durable success is conceivable if these laws are not

-observed.

-As director of propaganda for the party, I took care not merely to

-prepare the ground for the greatness of the movement in its subsequent

-stages, but I also adopted the most radical measures against allowing

-into the organization any other than the best material. For the more

-radical and exciting my propaganda was, the more did it frighten weak

-and wavering characters away, thus preventing them from entering the

-first nucleus of our organization. Perhaps they remained followers, but

-they did not raise their voices. On the contrary, they maintained a

-discreet silence on the fact. Many thousands of persons then assured me

-that they were in full agreement with us but they could not on any

-account become members of our party. They said that the movement was so

-radical that to take part in it as members would expose them to grave

-censures and grave dangers, so that they would rather continue to be

-looked upon as honest and peaceful citizens and remain aside, for the

-time being at least, though devoted to our cause with all their hearts.

-And that was all to the good. If all these men who in their hearts did

-not approve of revolutionary ideas came into our movement as members at

-that time, we should be looked upon as a pious confraternity to-day and

-not as a young movement inspired with the spirit of combat.

-The lively and combative form which I gave to all our propaganda

-fortified and guaranteed the radical tendency of our movement, and the

-result was that, with a few exceptions, only men of radical views were

-disposed to become members.

-It was due to the effect of our propaganda that within a short period of

-time hundreds of thousands of citizens became convinced in their hearts

-that we were right and wished us victory, although personally they were

-too timid to make sacrifices for our cause or even participate in it.

-Up to the middle of 1921 this simple activity of gathering in followers

-was sufficient and was of value to the movement. But in the summer of

-that year certain events happened which made it seem opportune for us to

-bring our organization into line with the manifest successes which the

-propaganda had achieved.

-An attempt made by a group of patriotic visionaries, supported by the

-chairman of the party at that time, to take over the direction of the

-party led to the break up of this little intrigue and, by a unanimous

-vote at a general meeting, entrusted the entire direction of the party

-to my own hands. At the same time a new statute was passed which

-invested sole responsibility in the chairman of the movement, abolished

-the system of resolutions in committee and in its stead introduced the

-principle of division of labour which since that time has worked

-excellently.

-From August 1st, 1921, onwards I undertook this internal reorganization

-of the party and was supported by a number of excellent men. I shall

-mention them and their work individually later on.

-In my endeavour to turn the results gained by the propaganda to the

-advantage of the organization and thus stabilize them, I had to abolish

-completely a number of old customs and introduce regulations which none

-of the other parties possessed or had adopted.

-In the years 1920-21 the movement was controlled by a committee elected

-by the members at a general meeting. The committee was composed of a

-first and second treasurer, a first and second secretary, and a first

-and second chairman at the head of it. In addition to these there was a

-representative of the members, the director of propaganda, and various

-assessors.

-Comically enough, the committee embodied the very principle against

-which the movement itself wanted to fight with all its energy, namely,

-the principle of parliamentarianism. Here was a principle which

-personified everything that was being opposed by the movement, from the

-smallest local groups to the district and regional groups, the state

-groups and finally the national directorate itself. It was a system

-under which we all suffered and are still suffering.

-It was imperative to change this state of affairs forthwith, if this bad

-foundation in the internal organization was not to keep the movement

-insecure and render the fulfilment of its high mission impossible.

-The sessions of the committee, which were ruled by a protocol, and in

-which decisions were made according to the vote of the majority,

-presented the picture of a miniature parliament. Here also there was no

-such thing as personal responsibility. And here reigned the same

-absurdities and illogical state of affairs as flourish in our great

-representative bodies of the State. Names were presented to this

-committee for election as secretaries, treasurers, representatives of

-the members of the organization, propaganda agents and God knows what

-else. And then they all acted in common on every particular question and

-decided it by vote. Accordingly, the director of propaganda voted on a

-question that concerned the man who had to do with the finances and the

-latter in his turn voted on a question that concerned only the

-organization as such, the organizer voting on a subject that had to do

-with the secretarial department, and so on.

-Why select a special man for propaganda if treasurers and scribes and

-commissaries, etc., had to deliver judgment on questions concerning it?

-To a person of commonsense that sort of thing seemed as incomprehensible

-as it would be if in a great manufacturing concern the board of

-directors were to decide on technical questions of production or if,

-inversely, the engineers were to decide on questions of administration.

-I refused to countenance that kind of folly and after a short time I

-ceased to appear at the meetings of the committee. I did nothing else

-except attend to my own department of propaganda and I did not permit

-any of the others to poke their heads into my activities. Conversely, I

-did not interfere in the affairs of others.

-When the new statute was approved and I was appointed as president, I

-had the necessary authority in my hands and also the corresponding right

-to make short shrift of all that nonsense. In the place of decisions by

-the majority vote of the committee, the principle of absolute

-responsibility was introduced.

-The chairman is responsible for the whole control of the movement. He

-apportions the work among the members of the committee subordinate to

-him and for special work he selects other individuals. Each of these

-gentlemen must bear sole responsibility for the task assigned to him. He

-is subordinate only to the chairman, whose duty is to supervise the

-general collaboration, selecting the personnel and giving general

-directions for the co-ordination of the common work.

-This principle of absolute responsibility is being adopted little by

-little throughout the movement. In the small local groups and perhaps

-also in the regional and district groups it will take yet a long time

-before the principle can be thoroughly imposed, because timid and

-hesitant characters are naturally opposed to it. For them the idea of

-bearing absolute responsibility for an act opens up an unpleasant

-prospect. They would like to hide behind the shoulders of the majority

-in the so-called committee, having their acts covered by decisions

-passed in that way. But it seems to me a matter of absolute necessity to

-take a decisive stand against that view, to make no concessions

-whatsoever to this fear of responsibility, even though it takes some

-time before we can put fully into effect this concept of duty and

-ability in leadership, which will finally bring forward leaders who have

-the requisite abilities to occupy the chief posts.

-In any case, a movement which must fight against the absurdity of

-parliamentary institutions must be immune from this sort of thing. Only

-thus will it have the requisite strength to carry on the struggle.

-At a time when the majority dominates everywhere else a movement which

-is based on the principle of one leader who has to bear personal

-responsibility for the direction of the official acts of the movement

-itself will one day overthrow the present situation and triumph over the

-existing regime. That is a mathematical certainty.

-This idea made it necessary to reorganize our movement internally. The

-logical development of this reorganization brought about a clear-cut

-distinction between the economic section of the movement and the general

-political direction. The principle of personal responsibility was

-extended to all the administrative branches of the party and it brought

-about a healthy renovation, by liberating them from political influences

-and allowing them to operate solely on economic principles.

-In the autumn of 1921, when the party was founded, there were only six

-members. The party did not have any headquarters, nor officials, nor

-formularies, nor a stamp, nor printed material of any sort. The

-committee first held its sittings in a restaurant on the Herrengasse and

-then in a caf� at Gasteig. This state of affairs could not last. So I at

-once took action in the matter. I went around to several restaurants and

-hotels in Munich, with the idea of renting a room in one of them for the

-use of the Party. In the old Sterneckerbr�u im Tal, there was a small

-room with arched roof, which in earlier times was used as a sort of

-festive tavern where the Bavarian Counsellors of the Holy Roman Empire

-foregathered. It was dark and dismal and accordingly well suited to its

-ancient uses, though less suited to the new purpose it was now destined

-to serve. The little street on which its one window looked out was so

-narrow that even on the brightest summer day the room remained dim and

-sombre. Here we took up our first fixed abode. The rent came to fifty

-marks per month, which was then an enormous sum for us. But our

-exigencies had to be very modest. We dared not complain even when they

-removed the wooden wainscoting a few days after we had taken possession.

-This panelling had been specially put up for the Imperial Counsellors.

-The place began to look more like a grotto than an office.

-Still it marked an important step forward. Slowly we had electric light

-installed and later on a telephone. A table and some borrowed chairs

-were brought, an open paper-stand and later on a cupboard. Two

-sideboards, which belonged to the landlord, served to store our

-leaflets, placards, etc.

-As time went on it turned out impossible to direct the course of the

-movement merely by holding a committee meeting once a week. The current

-business administration of the movement could not be regularly attended

-to except we had a salaried official.

-But that was then very difficult for us. The movement had still so few

-members that it was hard to find among them a suitable person for the

-job who would be content with very little for himself and at the same

-time would be ready to meet the manifold demands which the movement

-would make on his time and energy.

-After long searching we discovered a soldier who consented to become our

-first administrator. His name was Sch�ssler, an old war comrade of mine.

-At first he came to our new office every day between six and eight

-o'clock in the evening. Later on he came from five to eight and

-subsequently for the whole afternoon. Finally it became a full-time job

-and he worked in the office from morning until late at night. He was an

-industrious, upright and thoroughly honest man, faithful and devoted to

-the movement. He brought with him a small Adler typewriter of his own.

-It was the first machine to be used in the service of the party.

-Subsequently the party bought it by paying for it in installments. We

-needed a small safe in order to keep our papers and register of

-membership from danger of being stolen--not to guard our funds, which

-did not then exist. On the contrary, our financial position was so

-miserable that I often had to dip my hand into my own personal savings.

-After eighteen months our business quarters had become too small, so we

-moved to a new place in the Cornelius Strasse. Again our office was in a

-restaurant, but instead of one room we now had three smaller rooms and

-one large room with great windows. At that time this appeared a

-wonderful thing to us. We remained there until the end of November 1923.

-In December 1920, we acquired the V�LKISCHER BEOBACHTER. This newspaper

-which, as its name implies, championed the claims of the people, was now

-to become the organ of the German National Socialist Labour Party. At

-first it appeared twice weekly; but at the beginning of 1928 it became a

-daily paper, and at the end of August in the same year it began to

-appear in the large format which is now well known.

-As a complete novice in journalism I then learned many a lesson for

-which I had to pay dearly.

-In contradistinction to the enormous number of papers in Jewish hands,

-there was at that time only one important newspaper that defended the

-cause of the people. This was a matter for grave consideration. As I

-have often learned by experience, the reason for that state of things

-must be attributed to the incompetent way in which the business side of

-the so-called popular newspapers was managed. These were conducted too

-much according to the rule that opinion should prevail over action that

-produces results. Quite a wrong standpoint, for opinion is of itself

-something internal and finds its best expression in productive activity.

-The man who does valuable work for his people expresses thereby his

-excellent sentiments, whereas another who merely talks about his

-opinions and does nothing that is of real value or use to the people is

-a person who perverts all right thinking. And that attitude of his is

-also pernicious for the community.

-The V�LKISCHE BEOBACHTER was a so-called 'popular' organ, as its name

-indicated. It had all the good qualities, but still more the errors and

-weaknesses, inherent in all popular institutions. Though its contents

-were excellent, its management as a business concern was simply

-impossible. Here also the underlying idea was that popular newspapers

-ought to be subsidized by popular contributions, without recognizing

-that it had to make its way in competition with the others and that it

-was dishonest to expect the subscriptions of good patriots to make up

-for the mistaken management of the undertaking.

-I took care to alter those conditions promptly, for I recognized the

-danger lurking in them. Luck was on my side here, inasmuch as it brought

-me the man who since that time has rendered innumerable services to the

-movement, not only as business manager of the newspaper but also as

-business manager of the party. In 1914, in the War, I made the

-acquaintance of Max Amann, who was then my superior and is to-day

-general business Director of the Party. During four years in the War I

-had occasion to observe almost continually the unusual ability, the

-diligence and the rigorous conscientiousness of my future collaborator.

-In the summer of 1921 I applied to my old regimental comrade, whom I met

-one day by chance, and asked him to become business manager of the

-movement. At that time the movement was passing through a grave crisis

-and I had reason to be dissatisfied with several of our officials, with

-one of whom I had had a very bitter experience. Amann then held a good

-situation in which there were also good prospects for him.

-After long hesitation he agreed to my request, but only on condition

-that he must not be at the mercy of incompetent committees. He must be

-responsible to one master, and only one.

-It is to the inestimable credit of this first business manager of the

-party, whose commercial knowledge is extensive and profound, that he

-brought order and probity into the various offices of the party. Since

-that time these have remained exemplary and cannot be equalled or

-excelled in this by any other branches of the movement. But, as often

-happens in life, great ability provokes envy and disfavour. That had

-also to be expected in this case and borne patiently.

-Since 1922 rigorous regulations have been in force, not only for the

-commercial construction of the movement but also in the organization of

-it as such. There exists now a central filing system, where the names

-and particulars of all the members are enrolled. The financing of the

-party has been placed on sound lines. The current expenditure must be

-covered by the current receipts and special receipts can be used only

-for special expenditures. Thus, notwithstanding the difficulties of the

-time the movement remained practically without any debts, except for a

-few small current accounts. Indeed, there was a permanent increase in

-the funds. Things are managed as in a private business. The employed

-personnel hold their jobs in virtue of their practical efficiency and

-could not in any manner take cover behind their professed loyalty to the

-party. A good National Socialist proves his soundness by the readiness,

-diligence and capability with which he discharges whatever duties are

-assigned to him in whatever situation he holds within the national

-community. The man who does not fulfil his duty in the job he holds

-cannot boast of a loyalty against which he himself really sins.

-Adamant against all kinds of outer influence, the new business director

-of the party firmly maintained the standpoint that there were no

-sinecure posts in the party administration for followers and members of

-the movement whose pleasure is not work. A movement which fights so

-energetically against the corruption introduced into our civil service

-by the various political parties must be immune from that vice in its

-own administrative department. It happened that some men were taken on

-the staff of the paper who had formerly been adherents of the Bavarian

-People's Party, but their work showed that they were excellently

-qualified for the job. The result of this experiment was generally

-excellent. It was owing to this honest and frank recognition of

-individual efficiency that the movement won the hearts of its employees

-more swiftly and more profoundly than had ever been the case before.

-Subsequently they became good National Socialists and remained so. Not

-in word only, but they proved it by the steady and honest and

-conscientious work which they performed in the service of the new

-movement. Naturally a well qualified party member was preferred to

-another who had equal qualifications but did not belong to the party.

-The rigid determination with which our new business chief applied these

-principles and gradually put them into force, despite all

-misunderstandings, turned out to be of great advantage to the movement.

-To this we owe the fact that it was possible for us--during the

-difficult period of the inflation, when thousands of businesses failed

-and thousands of newspapers had to cease publication--not only to keep

-the commercial department of the movement going and meet all its

-obligations but also to make steady progress with the V�LKISCHE

-BEOBACHTER. At that time it came to be ranked among the great

-newspapers.

-The year 1921 was of further importance for me by reason of the fact

-that in my position as chairman of the party I slowly but steadily

-succeeded in putting a stop to the criticisms and the intrusions of some

-members of the committee in regard to the detailed activities of the

-party administration. This was important, because we could not get a

-capable man to take on a job if nincompoops were constantly allowed to

-butt in, pretending that they knew everything much better; whereas in

-reality they had left only general chaos behind them. Then these

-wise-acres retired, for the most part quite modestly, to seek another

-field for their activities where they could supervise and tell how

-things ought to be done. Some men seemed to have a mania for sniffing

-behind everything and were, so to say, always in a permanent state of

-pregnancy with magnificent plans and ideas and projects and methods.

-Naturally their noble aim and ideal were always the formation of a

-committee which could pretend to be an organ of control in order to be

-able to sniff as experts into the regular work done by others. But it is

-offensive and contrary to the spirit of National Socialism when

-incompetent people constantly interfere in the work of capable persons.

-But these makers of committees do not take that very much into account.

-In those years I felt it my duty to safeguard against such annoyance all

-those who were entrusted with regular and responsible work, so that

-there should be no spying over the shoulder and they would be guaranteed

-a free hand in their day's work.

-The best means of making committees innocuous, which either did nothing

-or cooked up impracticable decisions, was to give them some real work to

-do. It was then amusing to see how the members would silently fade away

-and were soon nowhere to be found. It made me think of that great

-institution of the same kind, the Reichstag. How quickly they would

-evanesce if they were put to some real work instead of talking,

-especially if each member were made personally responsible for the work

-assigned to him.

-I always demanded that, just as in private life so also in the movement,

-one should not tire of seeking until the best and honestest and

-manifestly the most competent person could be found for the position of

-leader or administrator in each section of the movement. Once installed

-in his position he was given absolute authority and full freedom of

-action towards his subordinates and full responsibility towards his

-superiors. Nobody was placed in a position of authority towards his

-subordinates unless he himself was competent in the work entrusted to

-them. In the course of two years I brought my views more and more into

-practice; so that to-day, at least as far as the higher direction of the

-movement is concerned, they are accepted as a matter of course.

-The manifest success of this attitude was shown on November 9th, 1923.

-Four years previously, when I entered the movement, it did not have even

-a rubber stamp. On November 9th, 1923, the party was dissolved and its

-property confiscated. The total sum realized by all the objects of value

-and the paper amounted to more than 170,000 gold marks.

-CHAPTER XII

-THE PROBLEM OF THE TRADE UNIONS

-Owing to the rapid growth of the movement, in 1922 we felt compelled to

-take a definite stand on a question which has not been fully solved even

-yet.

-In our efforts to discover the quickest and easiest way for the movement

-to reach the heart of the broad masses we were always confronted with

-the objection that the worker could never completely belong to us while

-his interests in the purely vocational and economic sphere were cared

-for by a political organization conducted by men whose principles were

-quite different from ours.

-That was quite a serious objection. The general belief was that a

-workman engaged in some trade or other could not exist if he did not

-belong to a trade union. Not only were his professional interests thus

-protected but a guarantee of permanent employment was simply

-inconceivable without membership in a trade union. The majority of the

-workers were in the trades unions. Generally speaking, the unions had

-successfully conducted the battle for the establishment of a definite

-scale of wages and had concluded agreements which guaranteed the worker

-a steady income. Undoubtedly the workers in the various trades benefited

-by the results of that campaign and, for honest men especially,

-conflicts of conscience must have arisen if they took the wages which

-had been assured through the struggle fought by the trades unions and if

-at the same time the men themselves withdrew from the fight.

-It was difficult to discuss this problem with the average bourgeois

-employer. He had no understanding (or did not wish to have any) for

-either the material or moral side of the question. Finally he declared

-that his own economic interests were in principle opposed to every kind

-of organization which joined together the workmen that were dependent on

-him. Hence it was for the most part impossible to bring these bourgeois

-employers to take an impartial view of the situation. Here, therefore,

-as in so many other cases, it was necessary to appeal to disinterested

-outsiders who would not be subject to the temptation of fixing their

-attention on the trees and failing to see the forest. With a little good

-will on their part, they could much more easily understand a state of

-affairs which is of the highest importance for our present and future

-existence.

-In the first volume of this book I have already expressed my views on

-the nature and purpose and necessity of trade unions. There I took up

-the standpoint that unless measures are undertaken by the State (usually

-futile in such cases) or a new ideal is introduced in our education,

-which would change the attitude of the employer towards the worker, no

-other course would be open to the latter except to defend his own

-interests himself by appealing to his equal rights as a contracting

-party within the economic sphere of the nation's existence. I stated

-further that this would conform to the interests of the national

-community if thereby social injustices could be redressed which

-otherwise would cause serious damage to the whole social structure. I

-stated, moreover, that the worker would always find it necessary to

-undertake this protective action as long as there were men among the

-employers who had no sense of their social obligations nor even of the

-most elementary human rights. And I concluded by saying that if such

-self-defence be considered necessary its form ought to be that of an

-association made up of the workers themselves on the basis of trades

-unions.

-This was my general idea and it remained the same in 1922. But a clear

-and precise formula was still to be discovered. We could not be

-satisfied with merely understanding the problem. It was necessary to

-come to some conclusions that could be put into practice. The following

-questions had to be answered:

-(1) Are trade unions necessary?

-(2) Should the German National Socialist Labour Party itself operate on

-a trade unionist basis or have its members take part in trade unionist

-activities in some form or other?

-(3) What form should a National Socialist Trades Union take? What are

-the tasks confronting us and the ends we must try to attain?

-(4) How can we establish trade unions for such tasks and aims?

-I think that I have already answered the first question adequately. In

-the present state of affairs I am convinced that we cannot possibly

-dispense with the trades unions. On the contrary, they are among the

-most important institutions in the economic life of the nation. Not only

-are they important in the sphere of social policy but also, and even

-more so, in the national political sphere. For when the great masses of

-a nation see their vital needs satisfied through a just trade unionist

-movement the stamina of the whole nation in its struggle for existence

-will be enormously reinforced thereby.

-Before everything else, the trades unions are necessary as building

-stones for the future economic parliament, which will be made up of

-chambers representing the various professions and occupations.

-The second question is also easy to answer. If the trade unionist

-movement is important, then it is clear that National Socialism ought to

-take a definite stand on that question, not only theoretically but also

-in practice. But how? That is more difficult to see clearly.

-The National Socialist Movement, which aims at establishing the National

-Socialist People's State, must always bear steadfastly in mind the

-principle that every future institution under that State must be rooted

-in the movement itself. It is a great mistake to believe that by

-acquiring possession of supreme political power we can bring about a

-definite reorganization, suddenly starting from nothing, without the

-help of a certain reserve stock of men who have been trained beforehand,

-especially in the spirit of the movement. Here also the principle holds

-good that the spirit is always more important than the external form

-which it animates; since this form can be created mechanically and

-quickly. For instance, the leadership principle may be imposed on an

-organized political community in a dictatorial way. But this principle

-can become a living reality only by passing through the stages that are

-necessary for its own evolution. These stages lead from the smallest

-cell of the State organism upwards. As its bearers and representatives,

-the leadership principle must have a body of men who have passed through

-a process of selection lasting over several years, who have been

-tempered by the hard realities of life and thus rendered capable of

-carrying the principle into practical effect.

-It is out of the question to think that a scheme for the Constitution of

-a State can be pulled out of a portfolio at a moment's notice and

-'introduced' by imperative orders from above. One may try that kind of

-thing but the result will always be something that has not sufficient

-vitality to endure. It will be like a stillborn infant. The idea of it

-calls to mind the origin of the Weimar Constitution and the attempt to

-impose on the German people a new Constitution and a new flag, neither

-of which had any inner relation to the vicissitudes of our people's

-history during the last half century.

-The National Socialist State must guard against all such experiments. It

-must grow out of an organization which has already existed for a long

-time. This organization must possess National Socialist life in itself,

-so that finally it may be able to establish a National Socialist State

-that will be a living reality.

-As I have already said, the germ cells of this State must lie in the

-administrative chambers which will represent the various occupations and

-professions, therefore first of all in the trades unions. If this

-subsequent vocational representation and the Central Economic Parliament

-are to be National Socialist institutions, these important germ cells

-must be vehicles of the National Socialist concept of life. The

-institutions of the movement are to be brought over into the State; for

-the State cannot call into existence all of a sudden and as if by magic

-those institutions which are necessary to its existence, unless it

-wishes to have institutions that are bound to remain completely

-lifeless.

-Looking at the matter from the highest standpoint, the National

-Socialist Movement will have to recognize the necessity of adopting its

-own trade-unionist policy.

-It must do this for a further reason, namely because a real National

-Socialist education for the employer as well as for the employee, in the

-spirit of a mutual co-operation within the common framework of the

-national community, cannot be secured by theoretical instruction,

-appeals and exhortations, but through the struggles of daily life. In

-this spirit and through this spirit the movement must educate the

-several large economic groups and bring them closer to one another under

-a wider outlook. Without this preparatory work it would be sheer

-illusion to hope that a real national community can be brought into

-existence. The great ideal represented by its philosophy of life and for

-which the movement fights can alone form a general style of thought

-steadily and slowly. And this style will show that the new state of

-things rests on foundations that are internally sound and not merely an

-external fa�ade.

-Hence the movement must adopt a positive attitude towards the

-trade-unionist idea. But it must go further than this. For the enormous

-number of members and followers of the trade-unionist movement it must

-provide a practical education which will meet the exigencies of the

-coming National Socialist State.

-The answer to the third question follows from what has been already

-said.

-The National Socialist Trades Union is not an instrument for class

-warfare, but a representative organ of the various occupations and

-callings. The National Socialist State recognizes no 'classes'. But,

-under the political aspect, it recognizes only citizens with absolutely

-equal rights and equal obligations corresponding thereto. And, side by

-side with these, it recognizes subjects of the State who have no

-political rights whatsoever.

-According to the National Socialist concept, it is not the task of the

-trades union to band together certain men within the national community

-and thus gradually transform these men into a class, so as to use them

-in a conflict against other groups similarly organized within the

-national community. We certainly cannot assign this task to the trades

-union as such. This was the task assigned to it the moment it became a

-fighting weapon in the hands of the Marxists. The trades union is not

-naturally an instrument of class warfare; but the Marxists transformed

-it into an instrument for use in their own class struggle. They created

-the economic weapon which the international Jew uses for the purpose of

-destroying the economic foundations of free and independent national

-States, for ruining their national industry and trade and thereby

-enslaving free nations to serve Jewish world-finance, which transcends

-all State boundaries.

-In contradistinction to this, the National Socialist Trades Union must

-organize definite groups and those who participate in the economic life

-of the nation and thus enhance the security of the national economic

-system itself, reinforcing it by the elimination of all those anomalies

-which ultimately exercise a destructive influence on the social body of

-the nation, damaging the vital forces of the national community,

-prejudicing the welfare of the State and, by no means as a last

-consequence, bringing evil and destruction on economic life itself.

-Therefore in the hands of the National Socialist Trades Union the strike

-is not an instrument for disturbing and dislocating the national

-production, but for increasing it and making it run smoothly, by

-fighting against all those annoyances which by reason of their unsocial

-character hinder efficiency in business and thereby hamper the existence

-of the whole nation. For individual efficiency stands always in casual

-relation to the general social and juridical position of the individual

-in the economic process. Individual efficiency is also the sole root of

-the conviction that the economic prosperity of the nation must

-necessarily redound to the benefit of the individual citizen.

-The National Socialist employee will have to recognize the fact that the

-economic prosperity of the nation brings with it his own material

-happiness.

-The National Socialist employer must recognize that the happiness and

-contentment of his employees are necessary pre-requisites for the

-existence and development of his own economic prosperity.

-National Socialist workers and employers are both together the delegates

-and mandatories of the whole national community. The large measure of

-personal freedom which is accorded to them for their activities must be

-explained by the fact that experience has shown that the productive

-powers of the individual are more enhanced by being accorded a generous

-measure of freedom than by coercion from above. Moreover, by according

-this freedom we give free play to the natural process of selection which

-brings forward the ablest and most capable and most industrious. For the

-National Socialist Trades Union, therefore, the strike is a means that

-may, and indeed must, be resorted to as long as there is not a National

-Socialist State yet. But when that State is established it will, as a

-matter of course, abolish the mass struggle between the two great groups

-made up of employers and employees respectively, a struggle which has

-always resulted in lessening the national production and injuring the

-national community. In place of this struggle, the National Socialist

-State will take over the task of caring for and defending the rights of

-all parties concerned. It will be the duty of the Economic Chamber

-itself to keep the national economic system in smooth working order and

-to remove whatever defects or errors it may suffer from. Questions that

-are now fought over through a quarrel that involves millions of people

-will then be settled in the Representative Chambers of Trades and

-Professions and in the Central Economic Parliament. Thus employers and

-employees will no longer find themselves drawn into a mutual conflict

-over wages and hours of work, always to the detriment of their mutual

-interests. But they will solve these problems together on a higher

-plane, where the welfare of the national community and of the State will

-be as a shining ideal to throw light on all their negotiations.

-Here again, as everywhere else, the inflexible principle must be

-observed, that the interests of the country must come before party

-interests.

-The task of the National Socialist Trades Union will be to educate and

-prepare its members to conform to these ideals. That task may be stated

-as follows: All must work together for the maintenance and security of

-our people and the People's State, each one according to the abilities

-and powers with which Nature has endowed him and which have been

-developed and trained by the national community.

-Our fourth question was: How shall we establish trades unions for such

-tasks and aims? That is far more difficult to answer.

-Generally speaking, it is easier to establish something in new territory

-than in old territory which already has its established institutions. In

-a district where there is no existing business of a special character

-one can easily establish a new business of this character. But it is

-more difficult if the same kind of enterprise already exists and it is

-most difficult of all when the conditions are such that only one

-enterprise of this kind can prosper. For here the promoters of the new

-enterprise find themselves confronted not only with the problem of

-introducing their own business but also that of how to bring about the

-destruction of the other business already existing in the district, so

-that the new enterprise may be able to exist.

-It would be senseless to have a National Socialist Trades Union side by

-side with other trades unions. For this Trades Union must be thoroughly

-imbued with a feeling for the ideological nature of its task and of the

-resulting obligation not to tolerate other similar or hostile

-institutions. It must also insist that itself alone is necessary, to the

-exclusion of all the rest. It can come to no arrangement and no

-compromise with kindred tendencies but must assert its own absolute and

-exclusive right.

-There were two ways which might lead to such a development:

-(1) We could establish our Trades Union and then gradually take up the

-fight against the Marxist International Trades Union.

-(2) Or we could enter the Marxist Trades Union and inculcate a new

-spirit in it, with the idea of transforming it into an instrument in the

-service of the new ideal.

-The first way was not advisable, by reason of the fact that our

-financial situation was still the cause of much worry to us at that time

-and our resources were quite slender. The effects of the inflation were

-steadily spreading and made the particular situation still more

-difficult for us, because in those years one could scarcely speak of any

-material help which the trades unions could extend to their members.

-From this point of view, there was no reason why the individual worker

-should pay his dues to the union. Even the Marxist unions then existing

-were already on the point of collapse until, as the result of Herr

-Cuno's enlightened Ruhr policy, millions were suddenly poured into their

-coffers. This so-called 'national' Chancellor of the REICH should go

-down in history as the Redeemer of the Marxist trades unions.

-We could not count on similar financial facilities. And nobody could be

-induced to enter a new Trades Union which, on account of its financial

-weakness, could not offer him the slightest material benefit. On the

-other hand, I felt bound absolutely to guard against the creation of

-such an organization which would only be a shelter for shirkers of the

-more or less intellectual type.

-At that time the question of personnel played the most important role. I

-did not have a single man whom I might call upon to carry out this

-important task. Whoever could have succeeded at that time in

-overthrowing the Marxist unions to make way for the triumph of the

-National Socialist corporative idea, which would then take the place of

-the ruinous class warfare--such a person would be fit to rank with the

-very greatest men our nation has produced and his bust should be

-installed in the Valhalla at Regensburg for the admiration of posterity.

-But I knew of no person who could qualify for such a pedestal.

-In this connection we must not be led astray by the fact that the

-international trades unions are conducted by men of only mediocre

-significance, for when those unions were founded there was nothing else

-of a similar kind already in existence. To-day the National Socialist

-Movement must fight against a monster organization which has existed for

-a long time, rests on gigantic foundations and is carefully constructed

-even in the smallest details. An assailant must always exercise more

-intelligence than the defender, if he is to overthrow the latter. The

-Marxist trade-unionist citadel may be governed to-day by mediocre

-leaders, but it cannot be taken by assault except through the dauntless

-energy and genius of a superior leader on the other side. If such a

-leader cannot be found it is futile to struggle with Fate and even more

-foolish to try to overthrow the existing state of things without being

-able to construct a better in its place.

-Here one must apply the maxim that in life it is often better to allow

-something to go by the board rather than try to half do it or do it

-badly, owing to a lack of suitable means.

-To this we must add another consideration, which is not at all of a

-demagogic character. At that time I had, and I still have to-day, a

-firmly rooted conviction that when one is engaged in a great ideological

-struggle in the political field it would be a grave mistake to mix up

-economic questions with this struggle in its earlier stages. This

-applies particularly to our German people. For if such were to happen in

-their case the economic struggle would immediately distract the energy

-necessary for the political fight. Once the people are brought to

-believe that they can buy a little house with their savings they will

-devote themselves to the task of increasing their savings and no spare

-time will be left to them for the political struggle against those who,

-in one way or another, will one day secure possession of the pennies

-that have been saved. Instead of participating in the political conflict

-on behalf of the opinions and convictions which they have been brought

-to accept they will now go further with their 'settlement' idea and in

-the end they will find themselves for the most part sitting on the

-ground amidst all the stools.

-To-day the National Socialist Movement is at the beginning of its

-struggle. In great part it must first of all shape and develop its

-ideals. It must employ every ounce of its energy in the struggle to have

-its great ideal accepted, and the success of this effort is not

-conceivable unless the combined energies of the movement be entirely at

-the service of this struggle.

-To-day we have a classical example of how the active strength of a

-people becomes paralysed when that people is too much taken up with

-purely economic problems.

-The Revolution which took place in November 1918 was not made by the

-trades unions, but it was carried out in spite of them. And the people

-of Germany did not wage any political fight for the future of their

-country because they thought that the future could be sufficiently

-secured by constructive work in the economic field.

-We must learn a lesson from this experience, because in our case the

-same thing must happen under the same circumstances. The more the

-combined strength of our movement is concentrated in the political

-struggle, the more confidently may we count on being successful along

-our whole front. But if we busy ourselves prematurely with trade

-unionist problems, settlement problems, etc., it will be to the

-disadvantage of our own cause, taken as a whole. For, though these

-problems may be important, they cannot be solved in an adequate manner

-until we have political power in our hand and are able to use it in the

-service of this idea. Until that day comes these problems can have only

-a paralysing effect on the movement. And if it takes them up too soon

-they will only be a hindrance in the effort to attain its own

-ideological aims. It may then easily happen that trade unionist

-considerations will control the political direction of the movement,

-instead of the ideological aims of the movement directing the way that

-the trades unions are to take.

-The movement and the nation can derive advantage from a National

-Socialist trade unionist organization only if the latter be so

-thoroughly inspired by National Socialist ideas that it runs no danger

-of falling into step behind the Marxist movement. For a National

-Socialist Trades Union which would consider itself only as a competitor

-against the Marxist unions would be worse than none. It must declare war

-against the Marxist Trades Union, not only as an organization but, above

-all, as an idea. It must declare itself hostile to the idea of class and

-class warfare and, in place of this, it must declare itself as the

-defender of the various occupational and professional interests of the

-German people.

-Considered from all these points of view it was not then advisable, nor

-is it yet advisable, to think of founding our own Trades Union. That

-seemed clear to me, at least until somebody appeared who was obviously

-called by fate to solve this particular problem.

-Therefore there remained only two possible ways. Either to recommend our

-own party members to leave the trades unions in which they were enrolled

-or to remain in them for the moment, with the idea of causing as much

-destruction in them as possible.

-In general, I recommended the latter alternative.

-Especially in the year 1922-23 we could easily do that. For, during the

-period of inflation, the financial advantages which might be reaped from

-a trades union organization would be negligible, because we could expect

-to enroll only a few members owing to the undeveloped condition of our

-movement. The damage which might result from such a policy was all the

-greater because its bitterest critics and opponents were to be found

-among the followers of the National Socialist Party.

-I had already entirely discountenanced all experiments which were

-destined from the very beginning to be unsuccessful. I would have

-considered it criminal to run the risk of depriving a worker of his

-scant earnings in order to help an organization which, according to my

-inner conviction, could not promise real advantages to its members.

-Should a new political party fade out of existence one day nobody would

-be injured thereby and some would have profited, but none would have a

-right to complain. For what each individual contributes to a political

-movement is given with the idea that it may ultimately come to nothing.

-But the man who pays his dues to a trade union has the right to expect

-some guarantee in return. If this is not done, then the directors of

-such a trade union are swindlers or at least careless people who ought

-to be brought to a sense of their responsibilities.

-We took all these viewpoints into consideration before making our

-decision in 1922. Others thought otherwise and founded trades unions.

-They upbraided us for being short-sighted and failing to see into the

-future. But it did not take long for these organizations to disappear

-and the result was what would have happened in our own case. But the

-difference was that we should have deceived neither ourselves nor those

-who believed in us.

-CHAPTER XIII

-THE GERMAN POST-WAR POLICY OF ALLIANCES

-The erratic manner in which the foreign affairs of the REICH were

-conducted was due to a lack of sound guiding principles for the

-formation of practical and useful alliances. Not only was this state of

-affairs continued after the Revolution, but it became even worse.

-For the confused state of our political ideas in general before the War

-may be looked upon as the chief cause of our defective statesmanship;

-but in the post-War period this cause must be attributed to a lack of

-honest intentions. It was natural that those parties who had fully

-achieved their destructive purpose by means of the Revolution should

-feel that it would not serve their interests if a policy of alliances

-were adopted which must ultimately result in the restoration of a free

-German State. A development in this direction would not be in conformity

-with the purposes of the November crime. It would have interrupted and

-indeed put an end to the internationalization of German national economy

-and German Labour. But what was feared most of all was that a successful

-effort to make the REICH independent of foreign countries might have an

-influence in domestic politics which one day would turn out disastrous

-for those who now hold supreme power in the government of the REICH. One

-cannot imagine the revival of a nation unless that revival be preceded

-by a process of nationalization. Conversely, every important success in

-the field of foreign politics must call forth a favourable reaction at

-home. Experience proves that every struggle for liberty increases the

-national sentiment and national self-consciousness and therewith gives

-rise to a keener sensibility towards anti-national elements and

-tendencies. A state of things, and persons also, that may be tolerated

-and even pass unnoticed in times of peace will not only become the

-object of aversion when national enthusiasm is aroused but will even

-provoke positive opposition, which frequently turns out disastrous for

-them. In this connection we may recall the spy-scare that became

-prevalent when the war broke out, when human passion suddenly manifested

-itself to such a heightened degree as to lead to the most brutal

-persecutions, often without any justifiable grounds, although everybody

-knew that the danger resulting from spies is greater during the long

-periods of peace; but, for obvious reasons, they do not then attract a

-similar amount of public attention. For this reason the subtle instinct

-of the State parasites who came to the surface of the national body

-through the November happenings makes them feel at once that a policy of

-alliances which would restore the freedom of our people and awaken

-national sentiment might possibly ruin their own criminal existence.

-Thus we may explain the fact that since 1918 the men who have held the

-reins of government adopted an entirely negative attitude towards

-foreign affairs and that the business of the State has been almost

-constantly conducted in a systematic way against the interests of the

-German nation. For that which at first sight seemed a matter of chance

-proved, on closer examination, to be a logical advance along the road

-which was first publicly entered upon by the November Revolution of

-1918.

-Undoubtedly a distinction ought to be made between (1) the responsible

-administrators of our affairs of State, or rather those who ought to be

-responsible; (2) the average run of our parliamentary politicasters, and

-(3) the masses of our people, whose sheepish docility corresponds to

-their want of intelligence.

-The first know what they want. The second fall into line with them,

-either because they have been already schooled in what is afoot or

-because they have not the courage to take an uncompromising stand

-against a course which they know and feel to be detrimental. The third

-just submit to it because they are too stupid to understand.

-While the German National Socialist Labour Party was only a small and

-practically unknown society, problems of foreign policy could have only

-a secondary importance in the eyes of many of its members. This was the

-case especially because our movement has always proclaimed the

-principle, and must proclaim it, that the freedom of the country in its

-foreign relations is not a gift that will be bestowed upon us by Heaven

-or by any earthly Powers, but can only be the fruit of a development of

-our inner forces. We must first root out the causes which led to our

-collapse and we must eliminate all those who are profiting by that

-collapse. Then we shall be in a position to take up the fight for the

-restoration of our freedom in the management of our foreign relations.

-It will be easily understood therefore why we did not attach so much

-importance to foreign affairs during the early stages of our young

-movement, but preferred to concentrate on the problem of internal

-reform.

-But when the small and insignificant society expanded and finally grew

-too large for its first framework, the young organization assumed the

-importance of a great association and we then felt it incumbent on us to

-take a definite stand on problems regarding the development of a foreign

-policy. It was necessary to lay down the main lines of action which

-would not only be in accord with the fundamental ideas of our

-WELTANSCHAUUNG but would actually be an expansion of it in the

-practical world of foreign affairs.

-Just because our people have had no political education in matters

-concerning our relations abroad, it was necessary to teach the leaders

-in the various sections of our movement, and also the masses of the

-people, the chief principles which ought to guide the development of our

-foreign relations. That was one of the first tasks to be accomplished in

-order to prepare the ground for the practical carrying out of a foreign

-policy which would win back the independence of the nation in managing

-its external affairs and thus restore the real sovereignty of the REICH.

-The fundamental and guiding principles which we must always bear in mind

-when studying this question is that foreign policy is only a means to an

-end and that the sole end to be pursued is the welfare of our own

-people. Every problem in foreign politics must be considered from this

-point of view, and this point of view alone. Shall such and such a

-solution prove advantageous to our people now or in the future, or will

-it injure their interests? That is the question.

-This is the sole preoccupation that must occupy our minds in dealing

-with a question. Party politics, religious considerations, humanitarian

-ideals--all such and all other preoccupations must absolutely give way

-to this.

-Before the War the purpose to which German foreign policy should have

-been devoted was to assure the supply of material necessities for the

-maintenance of our people and their children. And the way should have

-been prepared which would lead to this goal. Alliances should have been

-established which would have proved beneficial to us from this point of

-view and would have brought us the necessary auxiliary support. The task

-to be accomplished is the same to-day, but with this difference: In

-pre-War times it was a question of caring for the maintenance of the

-German people, backed up by the power which a strong and independent

-State then possessed, but our task to-day is to make our nation powerful

-once again by re-establishing a strong and independent State. The

-re-establishment of such a State is the prerequisite and necessary

-condition which must be fulfilled in order that we may be able

-subsequently to put into practice a foreign policy which will serve to

-guarantee the existence of our people in the future, fulfilling their

-needs and furnishing them with those necessities of life which they

-lack. In other words, the aim which Germany ought to pursue to-day in

-her foreign policy is to prepare the way for the recovery of her liberty

-to-morrow. In this connection there is a fundamental principle which we

-must keep steadily before our minds. It is this: The possibility of

-winning back the independence of a nation is not absolutely bound up

-with the question of territorial reintegration but it will suffice if a

-small remnant, no matter how small, of this nation and State will exist,

-provided it possesses the necessary independence to become not only the

-vehicle of' the common spirit of the whole people but also to prepare

-the way for the military fight to reconquer the nation's liberty.

-When a people who amount to a hundred million souls tolerate the yoke of

-common slavery in order to prevent the territory belonging to their

-State from being broken up and divided, that is worse than if such a

-State and such a people were dismembered while one fragment still

-retained its complete independence. Of course, the natural proviso here

-is that this fragment must be inspired with a consciousness of the

-solemn duty that devolves upon it, not only to proclaim persistently the

-inviolable unity of its spiritual and cultural life with that of its

-detached members but also to prepare the means that are necessary for

-the military conflict which will finally liberate and re-unite the

-fragments that are suffering under oppression.

-One must also bear in mind the fact that the restoration of lost

-districts which were formerly parts of the State, both ethnically and

-politically, must in the first instance be a question of winning back

-political power and independence for the motherland itself, and that in

-such cases the special interests of the lost districts must be

-uncompromisingly regarded as a matter of secondary importance in the

-face of the one main task, which is to win back the freedom of the

-central territory. For the detached and oppressed fragments of a nation

-or an imperial province cannot achieve their liberation through the

-expression of yearnings and protests on the part of the oppressed and

-abandoned, but only when the portion which has more or less retained its

-sovereign independence can resort to the use of force for the purpose of

-reconquering those territories that once belonged to the common

-fatherland.

-Therefore, in order to reconquer lost territories the first condition to

-be fulfilled is to work energetically for the increased welfare and

-reinforcement of the strength of that portion of the State which has

-remained over after the partition. Thus the unquenchable yearning which

-slumbers in the hearts of the people must be awakened and restrengthened

-by bringing new forces to its aid, so that when the hour comes all will

-be devoted to the one purpose of liberating and uniting the whole

-people. Therefore, the interests of the separated territories must be

-subordinated to the one purpose. That one purpose must aim at obtaining

-for the central remaining portion such a measure of power and might that

-will enable it to enforce its will on the hostile will of the victor and

-thus redress the wrong. For flaming protests will not restore the

-oppressed territories to the bosom of a common REICH. That can be done

-only through the might of the sword.

-The forging of this sword is a work that has to be done through the

-domestic policy which must be adopted by a national government. To see

-that the work of forging these arms is assured, and to recruit the men

-who will bear them, that is the task of the foreign policy.

-In the first volume of this book I discussed the inadequacy of our

-policy of alliances before the War. There were four possible ways to

-secure the necessary foodstuffs for the maintenance of our people. Of

-these ways the fourth, which was the most unfavourable, was chosen.

-Instead of a sound policy of territorial expansion in Europe, our rulers

-embarked on a policy of colonial and trade expansion. That policy was

-all the more mistaken inasmuch as they presumed that in this way the

-danger of an armed conflict would be averted. The result of the attempt

-to sit on many stools at the same time might have been foreseen. It let

-us fall to the ground in the midst of them all. And the World War was

-only the last reckoning presented to the REICH to pay for the failure of

-its foreign policy.

-The right way that should have been taken in those days was the third

-way I indicated: namely, to increase the strength of the REICH as a

-Continental Power by the acquisition of new territory in Europe. And at

-the same time a further expansion, through the subsequent acquisition of

-colonial territory, might thus be brought within the range of practical

-politics. Of course, this policy could not have been carried through

-except in alliance with England, or by devoting such abnormal efforts to

-the increase of military force and armament that, for forty or fifty

-years, all cultural undertakings would have to be completely relegated

-to the background. This responsibility might very well have been

-undertaken. The cultural importance of a nation is almost always

-dependent on its political freedom and independence. Political freedom

-is a prerequisite condition for the existence, or rather the creation,

-of great cultural undertakings. Accordingly no sacrifice can be too

-great when there is question of securing the political freedom of a

-nation. What might have to be deducted from the budget expenses for

-cultural purposes, in order to meet abnormal demands for increasing the

-military power of the State, can be generously paid back later on.

-Indeed, it may be said that after a State has concentrated all its

-resources in one effort for the purpose of securing its political

-independence a certain period of ease and renewed equilibrium sets in.

-And it often happens that the cultural spirit of the nation, which had

-been heretofore cramped and confined, now suddenly blooms forth. Thus

-Greece experienced the great Periclean era after the miseries it had

-suffered during the Persian Wars. And the Roman Republic turned its

-energies to the cultivation of a higher civilization when it was freed

-from the stress and worry of the Punic Wars.

-Of course, it could not be expected that a parliamentary majority of

-feckless and stupid people would be capable of deciding on such a

-resolute policy for the absolute subordination of all other national

-interests to the one sole task of preparing for a future conflict of

-arms which would result in establishing the security of the State. The

-father of Frederick the Great sacrificed everything in order to be ready

-for that conflict; but the fathers of our absurd parliamentarian

-democracy, with the Jewish hall-mark, could not do it.

-That is why, in pre-War times, the military preparation necessary to

-enable us to conquer new territory in Europe was only very mediocre, so

-that it was difficult to obtain the support of really helpful allies.

-Those who directed our foreign affairs would not entertain even the idea

-of systematically preparing for war. They rejected every plan for the

-acquisition of territory in Europe. And by preferring a policy of

-colonial and trade expansion, they sacrificed the alliance with England,

-which was then possible. At the same time they neglected to seek the

-support of Russia, which would have been a logical proceeding. Finally

-they stumbled into the World War, abandoned by all except the

-ill-starred Habsburgs.

-The characteristic of our present foreign policy is that it follows no

-discernible or even intelligible lines of action. Whereas before the War

-a mistake was made in taking the fourth way that I have mentioned, and

-this was pursued only in a halfhearted manner, since the Revolution not

-even the sharpest eye can detect any way that is being followed. Even

-more than before the War, there is absolutely no such thing as a

-systematic plan, except the systematic attempts that are made to destroy

-the last possibility of a national revival.

-If we make an impartial examination of the situation existing in Europe

-to-day as far as concerns the relation of the various Powers to one

-another, we shall arrive at the following results:

-For the past three hundred years the history of our Continent has been

-definitely determined by England's efforts to keep the European States

-opposed to one another in an equilibrium of forces, thus assuring the

-necessary protection of her own rear while she pursued the great aims of

-British world-policy.

-The traditional tendency of British diplomacy ever since the reign of

-Queen Elizabeth has been to employ systematically every possible means

-to prevent any one Power from attaining a preponderant position over the

-other European Powers and, if necessary, to break that preponderance by

-means of armed intervention. The only parallel to this has been the

-tradition of the Prussian Army. England has made use of various forces

-to carry out its purpose, choosing them according to the actual

-situation or the task to be faced; but the will and determination to use

-them has always been the same. The more difficult England's position

-became in the course of history the more the British Imperial Government

-considered it necessary to maintain a condition of political paralysis

-among the various European States, as a result of their mutual

-rivalries. When the North American colonies obtained their political

-independence it became still more necessary for England to use every

-effort to establish and maintain the defence of her flank in Europe. In

-accordance with this policy she reduced Spain and the Netherlands to the

-position of inferior naval Powers. Having accomplished this, England

-concentrated all her forces against the increasing strength of France,

-until she brought about the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte and therewith

-destroyed the military hegemony of France, which was the most dangerous

-rival that England had to fear.

-The change of attitude in British statesmanship towards Germany took

-place only very slowly, not only because the German nation did not

-represent an obvious danger for England as long as it lacked national

-unification, but also because public opinion in England, which had been

-directed to other quarters by a system of propaganda that had been

-carried out for a long time, could be turned to a new direction only by

-slow degrees. In order to reach the proposed ends the calmly reflecting

-statesman had to bow to popular sentiment, which is the most powerful

-motive-force and is at the same time the most lasting in its energy.

-When the statesman has attained one of his ends, he must immediately

-turn his thoughts to others; but only by degrees and the slow work of

-propaganda can the sentiment of the masses be shaped into an instrument

-for the attainment of the new aims which their leaders have decided on.

-As early as 1870-71 England had decided on the new stand it would take.

-On certain occasions minor oscillations in that policy were caused by

-the growing influence of America in the commercial markets of the world

-and also by the increasing political power of Russia; but,

-unfortunately, Germany did not take advantage of these and, therefore,

-the original tendency of British diplomacy was only reinforced.

-England looked upon Germany as a Power which was of world importance

-commercially and politically and which, partly because of its enormous

-industrial development, assumed such threatening proportions that the

-two countries already contended against one another in the same sphere

-and with equal energy. The so-called peaceful conquest of the world by

-commercial enterprise, which, in the eyes of those who governed our

-public affairs at that time, represented the highest peak of human

-wisdom, was just the thing that led English statesmen to adopt a policy

-of resistance. That this resistance assumed the form of an organized

-aggression on a vast scale was in full conformity with a type of

-statesmanship which did not aim at the maintenance of a dubious world

-peace but aimed at the consolidation of British world-hegemony. In

-carrying out this policy, England allied herself with those countries

-which had a definite military importance. And that was in keeping with

-her traditional caution in estimating the power of her adversary and

-also in recognizing her own temporary weakness. That line of conduct

-cannot be called unscrupulous; because such a comprehensive organization

-for war purposes must not be judged from the heroic point of view but

-from that of expediency. The object of a diplomatic policy must not be

-to see that a nation goes down heroically but rather that it survives in

-a practical way. Hence every road that leads to this goal is opportune

-and the failure to take it must be looked upon as a criminal neglect of

-duty.

-When the German Revolution took place England's fears of a German world

-hegemony came to a satisfactory end.

-From that time it was not an English interest to see Germany totally

-cancelled from the geographic map of Europe. On the contrary, the

-astounding collapse which took place in November 1918 found British

-diplomacy confronted with a situation which at first appeared untenable.

-For four-and-a-half years the British Empire had fought to break the

-presumed preponderance of a Continental Power. A sudden collapse now

-happened which removed this Power from the foreground of European

-affairs. That collapse disclosed itself finally in the lack of even the

-primordial instinct of self-preservation, so that European equilibrium

-was destroyed within forty-eight hours. Germany was annihilated and

-France became the first political Power on the Continent of Europe.

-The tremendous propaganda which was carried on during this war for the

-purpose of encouraging the British public to stick it out to the end

-aroused all the primitive instincts and passions of the populace and was

-bound eventually to hang as a leaden weight on the decisions of British

-statesmen. With the colonial, economical and commercial destruction of

-Germany, England's war aims were attained. Whatever went beyond those

-aims was an obstacle to the furtherance of British interests. Only the

-enemies of England could profit by the disappearance of Germany as a

-Great Continental Power in Europe. In November 1918, however, and up to

-the summer of 1919, it was not possible for England to change its

-diplomatic attitude; because during the long war it had appealed, more

-than it had ever done before, to the feelings of the populace. In view

-of the feeling prevalent among its own people, England could not change

-its foreign policy; and another reason which made that impossible was

-the military strength to which other European Powers had now attained.

-France had taken the direction of peace negotiations into her own hands

-and could impose her law upon the others. During those months of

-negotiations and bargaining the only Power that could have altered the

-course which things were taking was Germany herself; but Germany was

-torn asunder by a civil war, and her so-called statesmen had declared

-themselves ready to accept any and every dictate imposed on them.

-Now, in the comity of nations, when one nation loses its instinct for

-self-preservation and ceases to be an active member it sinks to the

-level of an enslaved nation and its territory will have to suffer the

-fate of a colony.

-To prevent the power of France from becoming too great, the only form

-which English negotiations could take was that of participating in

-France's lust for aggrandizement.

-As a matter of fact, England did not attain the ends for which she went

-to war. Not only did it turn out impossible to prevent a Continental

-Power from obtaining a preponderance over the ratio of strength in the

-Continental State system of Europe, but a large measure of preponderance

-had been obtained and firmly established.

-In 1914 Germany, considered as a military State, was wedged in between

-two countries, one of which had equal military forces at its disposal

-and the other had greater military resources. Then there was England's

-overwhelming supremacy at sea. France and Russia alone hindered and

-opposed the excessive aggrandizement of Germany. The unfavourable

-geographical situation of the REICH, from the military point of view,

-might be looked upon as another coefficient of security against an

-exaggerated increase of German power. From the naval point of view, the

-configuration of the coast-line was unfavourable in case of a conflict

-with England. And though the maritime frontier was short and cramped,

-the land frontier was widely extended and open.

-France's position is different to-day. It is the first military Power

-without a serious rival on the Continent. It is almost entirely

-protected by its southern frontier against Spain and Italy. Against

-Germany it is safeguarded by the prostrate condition of our country. A

-long stretch of its coast-line faces the vital nervous system of the

-British Empire. Not only could French aeroplanes and long-range

-batteries attack the vital centres of the British system, but submarines

-can threaten the great British commercial routes. A submarine campaign

-based on France's long Atlantic coast and on the European and North

-African coasts of the Mediterranean would have disastrous consequences

-for England.

-Thus the political results of the war to prevent the development of

-German power was the creation of a French hegemony on the Continent. The

-military result was the consolidation of France as the first Continental

-Power and the recognition of American equality on the sea. The economic

-result was the cession of great spheres of British interests to her

-former allies and associates.

-The Balkanization of Europe, up to a certain degree, was desirable and

-indeed necessary in the light of the traditional policy of Great

-Britain, just as France desired the Balkanization of Germany.

-What England has always desired, and will continue to desire, is to

-prevent any one Continental Power in Europe from attaining a position of

-world importance. Therefore England wishes to maintain a definite

-equilibrium of forces among the European States--for this equilibrium

-seems a necessary condition of England's world-hegemony.

-What France has always desired, and will continue to desire, is to

-prevent Germany from becoming a homogeneous Power. Therefore France

-wants to maintain a system of small German States whose forces would

-balance one another and over which there should be no central

-government. Then, by acquiring possession of the left bank of the Rhine,

-she would have fulfilled the pre-requisite conditions for the

-establishment and security of her hegemony in Europe.

-The final aims of French diplomacy must be in perpetual opposition to

-the final tendencies of British statesmanship.

-Taking these considerations as a starting-point, anyone who investigates

-the possibilities that exist for Germany to find allies must come to the

-conclusion that there remains no other way of forming an alliance except

-to approach England. The consequences of England's war policy were and

-are disastrous for Germany. However, we cannot close our eyes to the

-fact that, as things stand to-day, the necessary interests of England no

-longer demand the destruction of Germany. On the contrary, British

-diplomacy must tend more and more, from year to year, towards curbing

-France's unbridled lust after hegemony. Now, a policy of alliances

-cannot be pursued by bearing past grievances in mind, but it can be

-rendered fruitful by taking account of past experiences. Experience

-should have taught us that alliances formed for negative purposes suffer

-from intrinsic weakness. The destinies of nations can be welded together

-only under the prospect of a common success, of common gain and

-conquest, in short, a common extension of power for both contracting

-parties.

-The ignorance of our people on questions of foreign politics is clearly

-demonstrated by the reports in the daily Press which talk about

-"friendship towards Germany" on the part of one or the other foreign

-statesman, whereby this professed friendship is taken as a special

-guarantee that such persons will champion a policy that will be

-advantageous to our people. That kind of talk is absurd to an incredible

-degree. It means speculating on the unparalleled simplicity of the

-average German philistine when he comes to talking politics. There is

-not any British, American, or Italian statesman who could ever be

-described as 'pro-German'. Every Englishman must naturally be British

-first of all. The same is true of every American. And no Italian

-statesman would be prepared to adopt a policy that was not pro-Italian.

-Therefore, anyone who expects to form alliances with foreign nations on

-the basis of a pro-German feeling among the statesmen of other countries

-is either an ass or a deceiver. The necessary condition for linking

-together the destinies of nations is never mutual esteem or mutual

-sympathy, but rather the prospect of advantages accruing to the

-contracting parties. It is true that a British statesman will always

-follow a pro-British and not a pro-German policy; but it is also true

-that certain definite interests involved in this pro-British policy may

-coincide on various grounds with German interests. Naturally that can be

-so only to a certain degree and the situation may one day be completely

-reversed. But the art of statesmanship is shown when at certain periods

-there is question of reaching a certain end and when allies are found

-who must take the same road in order to defend their own interests.

-The practical application of these principles at the present time must

-depend on the answer given to the following questions: What States are

-not vitally interested in the fact that, by the complete abolition of a

-German Central Europe, the economic and military power of France has

-reached a position of absolute hegemony? Which are the States that, in

-consideration of the conditions which are essential to their own

-existence and in view of the tradition that has hitherto been followed

-in conducting their foreign policy, envisage such a development as a

-menace to their own future?

-Finally, we must be quite clear on the following point: France is and

-will remain the implacable enemy of Germany. It does not matter what

-Governments have ruled or will rule in France, whether Bourbon or

-Jacobin, Napoleonic or Bourgeois-Democratic, Clerical Republican or Red

-Bolshevik, their foreign policy will always be directed towards

-acquiring possession of the Rhine frontier and consolidating France's

-position on this river by disuniting and dismembering Germany.

-England did not want Germany to be a world Power. France desired that

-there should be no Power called Germany. Therefore there was a very

-essential difference. To-day we are not fighting for our position as a

-World-Power but only for the existence of our country, for national

-unity and the daily bread of our children. Taking this point of view

-into consideration, only two States remain to us as possible allies in

-Europe--England and Italy.

-England is not pleased to see a France on whose military power there is

-no check in Europe, so that one day she might undertake the support of a

-policy which in some way or other might come into conflict with British

-interests. Nor can England be pleased to see France in possession of

-such enormous coal and iron mines in Western Europe as would make it

-possible for her one day to play a role in world-commerce which might

-threaten danger to British interests. Moreover, England can never be

-pleased to see a France whose political position on the Continent, owing

-to the dismemberment of the rest of Europe, seems so absolutely assured

-that she is not only able to resume a French world-policy on great lines

-but would even find herself compelled to do so. The bombs which were

-once dropped by the Zeppelins might be multiplied by the thousand every

-night. The military predominance of France is a weight that presses

-heavily on the hearts of the World Empire over which Great Britain

-rules.

-Nor can Italy desire, nor will she desire, any further strengthening of

-France's power in Europe. The future of Italy will be conditioned by the

-development of events in the Mediterranean and by the political

-situation in the area surrounding that sea. The reason that led Italy

-into the War was not a desire to contribute towards the aggrandizement

-of France but rather to deal her hated Adriatic rival a mortal blow. Any

-further increase of France's power on the Continent would hamper the

-development of Italy's future, and Italy does not deceive herself by

-thinking that racial kindred between the nations will in any way

-eliminate rivalries.

-Serious and impartial consideration proves that it is these two States,

-Great Britain and Italy, whose natural interests not only do not

-contrast with the conditions essential to the existence of the German

-nation but are identical with them, to a certain extent.

-But when we consider the possibilities of alliances we must be careful

-not to lose sight of three factors. The first factor concerns ourselves;

-the other two concern the two States I have mentioned.

-Is it at all possible to conclude an alliance with Germany as it is

-to-day? Can a Power which would enter into an alliance for the purpose

-of securing assistance in an effort to carry out its own OFFENSIVE

-aims--can such a Power form an alliance with a State whose rulers have

-for years long presented a spectacle of deplorable incompetence and

-pacifist cowardice and where the majority of the people, blinded by

-democratic and Marxist teachings, betray the interests of their own

-people and country in a manner that cries to Heaven for vengeance? As

-things stand to-day, can any Power hope to establish useful relations

-and hope to fight together for the furtherance of their common interests

-with this State which manifestly has neither the will nor the courage to

-move a finger even in the defence of its bare existence? Take the case

-of a Power for which an alliance must be much more than a pact to

-guarantee a state of slow decomposition, such as happened with the old

-and disastrous Triple Alliance. Can such a Power associate itself for

-life or death with a State whose most characteristic signs of activity

-consist of a rampant servility in external relations and a scandalous

-repression of the national spirit at home? Can such a Power be

-associated with a State in which there is nothing of greatness, because

-its whole policy does not deserve it? Or can alliances be made with

-Governments which are in the hands of men who are despised by their own

-fellow-citizens and consequently are not respected abroad?

-No. A self-respecting Power which expects something more from alliances

-than commissions for greedy Parliamentarians will not and cannot enter

-into an alliance with our present-day Germany. Our present inability to

-form alliances furnishes the principle and most solid basis for the

-combined action of the enemies who are robbing us. Because Germany does

-not defend itself in any other way except by the flamboyant protests of

-our parliamentarian elect, there is no reason why the rest of the world

-should take up the fight in our defence. And God does not follow the

-principle of granting freedom to a nation of cowards, despite all the

-implications of our 'patriotic' associations. Therefore, for those

-States which have not a direct interest in our annihilation no other

-course remains open except to participate in France's campaign of

-plunder, at least to make it impossible for the strength of France to be

-exclusively aggrandized thereby.

-In the second place, we must not forget that among the nations which

-were formerly our enemies mass-propaganda has turned the opinions and

-feelings of large sections of the population in a fixed direction. When

-for years long a foreign nation has been presented to the public as a

-horde of 'Huns', 'Robbers', 'Vandals', etc., they cannot suddenly be

-presented as something different, and the enemy of yesterday cannot be

-recommended as the ally of tomorrow.

-But the third factor deserves greater attention, since it is of

-essential importance for establishing future alliances in Europe.

-From the political point of view it is not in the interests of Great

-Britain that Germany should be ruined even still more, but such a

-proceeding would be very much in the interests of the international

-money-markets manipulated by the Jew. The cleavage between the official,

-or rather traditional, British statesmanship and the controlling

-influence of the Jew on the money-markets is nowhere so clearly

-manifested as in the various attitudes taken towards problems of British

-foreign policy. Contrary to the interests and welfare of the British

-State, Jewish finance demands not only the absolute economic destruction

-of Germany but its complete political enslavement. The

-internationalization of our German economic system, that is to say, the

-transference of our productive forces to the control of Jewish

-international finance, can be completely carried out only in a State

-that has been politically Bolshevized. But the Marxist fighting forces,

-commanded by international and Jewish stock-exchange capital, cannot

-finally smash the national resistance in Germany without friendly help

-from outside. For this purpose French armies would first have to invade

-and overcome the territory of the German REICH until a state of

-international chaos would set in, and then the country would have to

-succumb to Bolshevik storm troops in the service of Jewish international

-finance.

-Hence it is that at the present time the Jew is the great agitator for

-the complete destruction of Germany. Whenever we read of attacks against

-Germany taking place in any part of the world the Jew is always the

-instigator. In peace-time, as well as during the War, the Jewish-Marxist

-stock-exchange Press systematically stirred up hatred against Germany,

-until one State after another abandoned its neutrality and placed itself

-at the service of the world coalition, even against the real interests

-of its own people.

-The Jewish way of reasoning thus becomes quite clear. The Bolshevization

-of Germany, that is to say, the extermination of the patriotic and

-national German intellectuals, thus making it possible to force German

-Labour to bear the yoke of international Jewish finance--that is only

-the overture to the movement for expanding Jewish power on a wider scale

-and finally subjugating the world to its rule. As has so often happened

-in history, Germany is the chief pivot of this formidable struggle. If

-our people and our State should fall victims to these oppressors of the

-nations, lusting after blood and money, the whole earth would become the

-prey of that hydra. Should Germany be freed from its grip, a great

-menace for the nations of the world would thereby be eliminated.

-It is certain that Jewry uses all its subterranean activities not only

-for the purpose of keeping alive old national enmities against Germany

-but even to spread them farther and render them more acute wherever

-possible. It is no less certain that these activities are only very

-partially in keeping with the true interests of the nations among whose

-people the poison is spread. As a general principle, Jewry carries on

-its campaign in the various countries by the use of arguments that are

-best calculated to appeal to the mentality of the respective nations and

-are most likely to produce the desired results; for Jewry knows what the

-public feeling is in each country. Our national stock has been so much

-adulterated by the mixture of alien elements that, in its fight for

-power, Jewry can make use of the more or less 'cosmopolitan' circles

-which exist among us, inspired by the pacifist and international

-ideologies. In France they exploit the well-known and accurately

-estimated chauvinistic spirit. In England they exploit the commercial

-and world-political outlook. In short, they always work upon the

-essential characteristics that belong to the mentality of each nation.

-When they have in this way achieved a decisive influence in the

-political and economic spheres they can drop the limitations which their

-former tactics necessitated, now disclosing their real intentions and

-the ends for which they are fighting. Their work of destruction now goes

-ahead more quickly, reducing one State after another to a mass of ruins

-on which they will erect the everlasting and sovereign Jewish Empire.

-In England, and in Italy, the contrast between the better kind of solid

-statesmanship and the policy of the Jewish stock-exchange often becomes

-strikingly evident.

-Only in France there exists to-day more than ever before a profound

-accord between the views of the stock-exchange, controlled by the Jews,

-and the chauvinistic policy pursued by French statesmen. This identity

-of views constitutes an immense, danger for Germany. And it is just for

-this reason that France is and will remain by far the most dangerous

-enemy. The French people, who are becoming more and more obsessed by

-negroid ideas, represent a threatening menace to the existence of the

-white race in Europe, because they are bound up with the Jewish campaign

-for world-domination. For the contamination caused by the influx of

-negroid blood on the Rhine, in the very heart of Europe, is in accord

-with the sadist and perverse lust for vengeance on the part of the

-hereditary enemy of our people, just as it suits the purpose of the cool

-calculating Jew who would use this means of introducing a process of

-bastardization in the very centre of the European Continent and, by

-infecting the white race with the blood of an inferior stock, would

-destroy the foundations of its independent existence.

-France's activities in Europe to-day, spurred on by the French lust for

-vengeance and systematically directed by the Jew, are a criminal attack

-against the life of the white race and will one day arouse against the

-French people a spirit of vengeance among a generation which will have

-recognized the original sin of mankind in this racial pollution.

-As far as concerns Germany, the danger which France represents involves

-the duty of relegating all sentiment to a subordinate place and

-extending the hand to those who are threatened with the same menace and

-who are not willing to suffer or tolerate France's lust for hegemony.

-For a long time yet to come there will be only two Powers in Europe with

-which it may be possible for Germany to conclude an alliance. These

-Powers are Great Britain and Italy.

-If we take the trouble to cast a glance backwards on the way in which

-German foreign policy has been conducted since the Revolution we must,

-in view of the constant and incomprehensible acts of submission on the

-part. of our governments, either lose heart or become fired with rage

-and take up the cudgels against such a regime. Their way of acting

-cannot be attributed to a want of understanding, because what seemed to

-every thinking man to be inconceivable was accomplished by the leaders

-of the November parties with their Cyclopean intellects. They bowed to

-France and begged her favour. Yes, during all these recent years, with

-the touching simplicity of incorrigible visionaries, they went on their

-knees to France again and again. They perpetuaily wagged their tails

-before the GRANDE NATION. And in each trick-o'-the-loop which the French

-hangmen performed with his rope they recognized a visible change of

-feeling. Our real political wire-pullers never shared in this absurd

-credulity. The idea of establishing a friendship with France was for

-them only a means of thwarting every attempt on Germany's part to adopt

-a practical policy of alliances. They had no illusions about French aims

-or those of the men behind the scenes in France. What induced them to

-take up such an attitude and to act as if they honestly believed that

-the fate of Germany could possibly be changed in this way was the cool

-calculation that if this did not happen our people might take the reins

-into their own hands and choose another road.

-Of course it is difficult for us to propose England as our possible ally

-in the future. Our Jewish Press has always been adept in concentrating

-hatred against England particularly. And many of our good German

-simpletons perch on these branches which the Jews have limed to capture

-them. They babble about a restoration of German sea power and protest

-against the robbery of our colonies. Thus they furnish material which

-the contriving Jew transmits to his clansmen in England, so that it can

-be used there for purposes of practical propaganda. For our

-simple-minded bourgeoisie who indulge in politics can take in only

-little by little the idea that to-day we have not to fight for

-'sea-power' and such things. Even before the War it was absurd to direct

-the national energies of Germany towards this end without first having

-secured our position in Europe. Such a hope to-day reaches that peak of

-absurdity which may be called criminal in the domain of politics.

-Often one becomes really desperate on seeing how the Jewish wire-pullers

-succeeded in concentrating the attention of the people on things which

-are only of secondary importance to-day, They incited the people to

-demonstrations and protests while at the same time France was tearing

-our nation asunder bit by bit and systematically removing the very

-foundations of our national independence.

-In this connection I have to think of the Wooden Horse in the riding of

-which the Jew showed extraordinary skill during these years. I mean

-South Tyrol.

-Yes, South Tyrol. The reason why I take up this question here is just

-because I want to call to account that shameful CANAILLE who relied on

-the ignorance and short memories of large sections of our people and

-stimulated a national indignation which is as foreign to the real

-character of our parliamentary impostors as the idea of respect for

-private property is to a magpie.

-I should like to state here that I was one of those who, at the time

-when the fate of South Tyrol was being decided--that is to say, from

-August 1914 to November 1918--took my place where that country also

-could have been effectively defended, namely, in the Army. I did my

-share in the fighting during those years, not merely to save South Tyrol

-from being lost but also to save every other German province for the

-Fatherland.

-The parliamentary sharpers did not take part in that combat. The whole

-CANAILLE played party politics. On the other hand, we carried on the

-fight in the belief that a victorious issue of the War would enable the

-German nation to keep South Tyrol also; but the loud-mouthed traitor

-carried on a seditious agitation against such a victorious issue, until

-the fighting Siegfried succumbed to the dagger plunged in his back. It

-was only natural that the inflammatory and hypocritical speeches of the

-elegantly dressed parliamentarians on the Vienna RATHAUS PLATZ or in

-front of the FELDHERRNHALLE in Munich could not save South Tyrol for

-Germany. That could be done only by the fighting battalions at the

-Front. Those who broke up that fighting front betrayed South Tyrol, as

-well as the other districts of Germany.

-Anyone who thinks that the South Tyrol question can be solved to-day by

-protests and manifestations and processions organized by various

-associations is either a humbug or merely a German philistine.

-In this regard it must be quite clearly understood that we cannot get

-back the territories we have lost if we depend on solemn imprecations

-before the throne of the Almighty God or on pious hopes in a League of

-Nations, but only by the force of arms.

-Therefore the only remaining question is: Who is ready to take up arms

-for the restoration of the lost territories?

-As far as concerns myself personally, I can state with a good conscience

-that I would have courage enough to take part in a campaign for the

-reconquest of South Tyrol, at the head of parliamentarian storm

-battalions consisting of parliamentarian gasconaders and all the party

-leaders, also the various Councillors of State. Only the Devil knows

-whether I might have the luck of seeing a few shells suddenly burst over

-this 'burning' demonstration of protest. I think that if a fox were to

-break into a poultry yard his presence would not provoke such a

-helter-skelter and rush to cover as we should witness in the band of

-'protesters'.

-The vilest part of it all is that these talkers themselves do not

-believe that anything can be achieved in this way. Each one of them

-knows very well how harmless and ineffective their whole pretence is.

-They do it only because it is easier now to babble about the restoration

-of South Tyrol than to fight for its preservation in days gone by.

-Each one plays the part that he is best capable of playing in life. In

-those days we offered our blood. To-day these people are engaged in

-whetting their tusks.

-It is particularly interesting to note to-day how legitimist circles in

-Vienna preen themselves on their work for the restoration of South

-Tyrol. Seven years ago their august and illustrious Dynasty helped, by

-an act of perjury and treason, to make it possible for the victorious

-world-coalition to take away South Tyrol. At that time these circles

-supported the perfidious policy adopted by their Dynasty and did not

-trouble themselves in the least about the fate of South Tyrol or any

-other province. Naturally it is easier to-day to take up the fight for

-this territory, since the present struggle is waged with 'the weapons of

-the mind'. Anyhow, it is easier to join in a 'meeting of protestation'

-and talk yourself hoarse in giving vent to the noble indignation that

-fills your breast, or stain your finger with the writing of a newspaper

-article, than to blow up a bridge, for instance, during the occupation

-of the Ruhr.

-The reason why certain circles have made the question of South Tyrol the

-pivot of German-Italian relations during the past few years is quite

-evident. Jews and Habsburg legitimists are greatly interested in

-preventing Germany from pursuing a policy of alliance which might lead

-one day to the resurgence of a free German fatherland. It is not out of

-love for South Tyrol that they play this role to-day--for their policy

-would turn out detrimental rather than helpful to the interests of that

-province--but through fear of an agreement being established between

-Germany and Italy.

-A tendency towards lying and calumny lies in the nature of these people,

-and that explains how they can calmly and brazenly attempt to twist

-things in such a way as to make it appear that we have 'betrayed' South

-Tyrol.

-There is one clear answer that must be given to these gentlemen. It is

-this: Tyrol has been betrayed, in the first place, by every German who

-was sound in limb and body and did not offer himself for service at the

-Front during 1914-1918 to do his duty towards his country.

-In the second place, Tyrol was betrayed by every man who, during those

-years did not help to reinforce the national spirit and the national

-powers of resistance, so as to enable the country to carry through the

-War and keep up the fight to the very end.

-In the third place, South Tyrol was betrayed by everyone who took part

-in the November Revolution, either directly by his act or indirectly by

-a cowardly toleration of it, and thus broke the sole weapon that could

-have saved South Tyrol.

-In the fourth place, South Tyrol was betrayed by those parties and their

-adherents who put their signatures to the disgraceful treaties of

-Versailles and St. Germain.

-And so the matter stands, my brave gentlemen, who make your protests

-only with words.

-To-day I am guided by a calm and cool recognition of the fact that the

-lost territories cannot be won back by the whetted tongues of

-parliamentary spouters but only by the whetted sword; in other words,

-through a fight where blood will have to be shed.

-Now, I have no hesitations in saying that to-day, once the die has been

-cast, it is not only impossible to win back South Tyrol through a war

-but I should definitely take my stand against such a movement, because I

-am convinced that it would not be possible to arouse the national

-enthusiasm of the German people and maintain it in such a way as would

-be necessary in order to carry through such a war to a successful issue.

-On the contrary, I believe that if we have to shed German blood once

-again it would be criminal to do so for the sake of liberating 200,000

-Germans, when more than seven million neighbouring Germans are suffering

-under foreign domination and a vital artery of the German nation has

-become a playground for hordes of African niggers.

-If the German nation is to put an end to a state of things which

-threatens to wipe it off the map of Europe it must not fall into the

-errors of the pre-War period and make the whole world its enemy. But it

-must ascertain who is its most dangerous enemy so that it can

-concentrate all its forces in a struggle to beat him. And if, in order

-to carry through this struggle to victory, sacrifices should be made in

-other quarters, future generations will not condemn us for that. They

-will take account of the miseries and anxieties which led us to make

-such a bitter decision, and in the light of that consideration they will

-more clearly recognize the brilliancy of our success.

-Again I must say here that we must always be guided by the fundamental

-principle that, as a preliminary to winning back lost provinces, the

-political independence and strength of the motherland must first be

-restored.

-The first task which has to be accomplished is to make that independence

-possible and to secure it by a wise policy of alliances, which

-presupposes an energetic management of our public affairs.

-But it is just on this point that we, National Socialists, have to guard

-against being dragged into the tow of our ranting bourgeois patriots who

-take their cue from the Jew. It would be a disaster if, instead of

-preparing for the coming struggle, our Movement also were to busy itself

-with mere protests by word of mouth.

-It was the fantastic idea of a Nibelungen alliance with the decomposed

-body of the Habsburg State that brought about Germany's ruin. Fantastic

-sentimentality in dealing with the possibilities of foreign policy

-to-day would be the best means of preventing our revival for innumerable

-years to come.

-Here I must briefly answer the objections which may be raised in regard

-to the three questions I have put.

-1. Is it possible at all to form an alliance with the present Germany,

-whose weakness is so visible to all eyes?

-2. Can the ex-enemy nations change their attitude towards Germany?

-3. In other nations is not the influence of Jewry stronger than the

-recognition of their own interests, and does not this influence thwart

-all their good intentions and render all their plans futile?

-I think that I have already dealt adequately with one of the two aspects

-of the first point. Of course nobody will enter into an alliance with

-the present Germany. No Power in the world would link its fortunes with

-a State whose government does not afford grounds for the slightest

-confidence. As regards the attempt which has been made by many of our

-compatriots to explain the conduct of the Government by referring to the

-woeful state of public feeling and thus excuse such conduct, I must

-strongly object to that way of looking at things.

-The lack of character which our people have shown during the last six

-years is deeply distressing. The indifference with which they have

-treated the most urgent necessities of our nation might veritably lead

-one to despair. Their cowardice is such that it often cries to heaven

-for vengeance. But one must never forget that we are dealing with a

-people who gave to the world, a few years previously, an admirable

-example of the highest human qualities. From the first days of August

-1914 to the end of the tremendous struggle between the nations, no

-people in the world gave a better proof of manly courage, tenacity and

-patient endurance, than this people gave who are so cast down and

-dispirited to-day. Nobody will dare to assert that the lack of character

-among our people to-day is typical of them. What we have to endure

-to-day, among us and around us, is due only to the influence of the sad

-and distressing effects that followed the high treason committed on

-November 9th, 1918. More than ever before the word of the poet is true:

-that evil can only give rise to evil. But even in this epoch those

-qualities among our people which are fundamentally sound are not

-entirely lost. They slumber in the depths of the national conscience,

-and sometimes in the clouded firmament we see certain qualities like

-shining lights which Germany will one day remember as the first symptoms

-of a revival. We often see young Germans assembling and forming

-determined resolutions, as they did in 1914, freely and willingly to

-offer themselves as a sacrifice on the altar of their beloved

-Fatherland. Millions of men have resumed work, whole-heartedly and

-zealously, as if no revolution had ever affected them. The smith is at

-his anvil once again. And the farmer drives his plough. The scientist is

-in his laboratory. And everybody is once again attending to his duty

-with the same zeal and devotion as formerly.

-The oppression which we suffer from at the hands of our enemies is no

-longer taken, as it formerly was, as a matter for laughter; but it is

-resented with bitterness and anger. There can be no doubt that a great

-change of attitude has taken place.

-This evolution has not yet taken the shape of a conscious intention and

-movement to restore the political power and independence of our nation;

-but the blame for this must be attributed to those utterly incompetent

-people who have no natural endowments to qualify them for statesmanship

-and yet have been governing our nation since 1918 and leading it to

-ruin.

-Yes. If anybody accuses our people to-day he ought to be asked: What is

-being done to help them? What are we to say of the poor support which

-the people give to any measures introduced by the Government? Is it not

-true that such a thing as a Government hardly exists at all? And must we

-consider the poor support which it receives as a sign of a lack of

-vitality in the nation itself; or is it not rather a proof of the

-complete failure of the methods employed in the management of this

-valuable trust? What have our Governments done to re-awaken in the

-nation a proud spirit of self-assertion, up-standing manliness, and a

-spirit of righteous defiance towards its enemies?

-In 1919, when the Peace Treaty was imposed on the German nation, there

-were grounds for hoping that this instrument of unrestricted oppression

-would help to reinforce the outcry for the freedom of Germany. Peace

-treaties which make demands that fall like a whip-lash on the people

-turn out not infrequently to be the signal of a future revival.

-To what purpose could the Treaty of Versailles have been exploited?

-In the hands of a willing Government, how could this instrument of

-unlimited blackmail and shameful humiliation have been applied for the

-purpose of arousing national sentiment to its highest pitch? How could a

-well-directed system of propaganda have utilized the sadist cruelty of

-that treaty so as to change the indifference of the people to a feeling

-of indignation and transform that indignation into a spirit of dauntless

-resistance?

-Each point of that Treaty could have been engraved on the minds and

-hearts of the German people and burned into them until sixty million men

-and women would find their souls aflame with a feeling of rage and

-shame; and a torrent of fire would burst forth as from a furnace, and

-one common will would be forged from it, like a sword of steel. Then the

-people would join in the common cry: "To arms again!"

-Yes. A treaty of that kind can be used for such a purpose. Its unbounded

-oppression and its impudent demands were an excellent propaganda weapon

-to arouse the sluggish spirit of the nation and restore its vitality.

-Then, from the child's story-book to the last newspaper in the country,

-and every theatre and cinema, every pillar where placards are posted and

-every free space on the hoardings should be utilized in the service of

-this one great mission, until the faint-hearted cry, "Lord, deliver us,"

-which our patriotic associations send up to Heaven to-day would be

-transformed into an ardent prayer: "Almighty God, bless our arms when

-the hour comes. Be just, as Thou hast always been just. Judge now if we

-deserve our freedom. Lord, bless our struggle."

-All opportunities were neglected and nothing was done.

-Who will be surprised now if our people are not such as they should be

-or might be? The rest of the world looks upon us only as its valet, or

-as a kindly dog that will lick its master's hand after he has been

-whipped.

-Of course the possibilities of forming alliances with other nations are

-hampered by the indifference of our own people, but much more by our

-Governments. They have been and are so corrupt that now, after eight

-years of indescribable oppression, there exists only a faint desire for

-liberty.

-In order that our nation may undertake a policy of alliances, it must

-restore its prestige among other nations, and it must have an

-authoritative Government that is not a drudge in the service of foreign

-States and the taskmaster of its own people, but rather the herald of

-the national will.

-If our people had a government which would look upon this as its

-mission, six years would not have passed before a courageous foreign

-policy on the part of the REICH would find a corresponding support among

-the people, whose desire for freedom would be encouraged and intensified

-thereby.

-The third objection referred to the difficulty of changing the ex-enemy

-nations into friendly allies. That objection may be answered as follows:

-The general anti-German psychosis which has developed in other countries

-through the war propaganda must of necessity continue to exist as long

-as there is not a renaissance of the national conscience among the

-German people, so that the German REICH may once again become a State

-which is able to play its part on the chess-board of European politics

-and with whom the others feel that they can play. Only when the

-Government and the people feel absolutely certain of being able to

-undertake a policy of alliances can one Power or another, whose

-interests coincide with ours, think of instituting a system of

-propaganda for the purpose of changing public opinion among its own

-people. Naturally it will take several years of persevering and ably

-directed work to reach such a result. Just because a long period is

-needed in order to change the public opinion of a country, it is

-necessary to reflect calmly before such an enterprise be undertaken.

-This means that one must not enter upon this kind of work unless one is

-absolutely convinced that it is worth the trouble and that it will bring

-results which will be valuable in the future. One must not try to change

-the opinions and feelings of a people by basing one's actions on the

-vain cajolery of a more or less brilliant Foreign Minister, but only if

-there be a tangible guarantee that the new orientation will be really

-useful. Otherwise public opinion in the country dealt with may be just

-thrown into a state of complete confusion. The most reliable guarantee

-that can be given for the possibility of subsequently entering into an

-alliance with a certain State cannot be found in the loquacious suavity

-of some individual member of the Government, but in the manifest

-stability of a definite and practical policy on the part of the

-Government as a whole, and in the support which is given to that policy

-by the public opinion of the country. The faith of the public in this

-policy will be strengthened all the more if the Government organize one

-active propaganda to explain its efforts and secure public support for

-them, and if public opinion favourably responds to the Government's

-policy.

-Therefore a nation in such a position as ours will be looked upon as a

-possible ally if public opinion supports the Government's policy and if

-both are united in the same enthusiastic determination to carry through

-the fight for national freedom. That condition of affairs must be firmly

-established before any attempt can be made to change public opinion in

-other countries which, for the sake of defending their most elementary

-interests, are disposed to take the road shoulder-to-shoulder with a

-companion who seems able to play his part in defending those interests.

-In other words, this means that they will be ready to establish an

-alliance.

-For this purpose, however, one thing is necessary. Seeing that the task

-of bringing about a radical change in the public opinion of a country

-calls for hard work, and many do not at first understand what it means,

-it would be both foolish and criminal to commit mistakes which could be

-used as weapons in the hands of those who are opposed to such a change.

-One must recognize the fact that it takes a long time for a people to

-understand completely the inner purposes which a Government has in view,

-because it is not possible to explain the ultimate aims of the

-preparations that are being made to carry through a certain policy. In

-such cases the Government has to count on the blind faith of the masses

-or the intuitive instinct of the ruling caste that is more developed

-intellectually. But since many people lack this insight, this political

-acumen and faculty for seeing into the trend of affairs, and since

-political considerations forbid a public explanation of why such and

-such a course is being followed, a certain number of leaders in

-intellectual circles will always oppose new tendencies which, because

-they are not easily grasped, can be pointed to as mere experiments. And

-that attitude arouses opposition among conservative circles regarding

-the measures in question.

-For this reason a strict duty devolves upon everybody not to allow any

-weapon to fall into the hands of those who would interfere with the work

-of bringing about a mutual understanding with other nations. This is

-specially so in our case, where we have to deal with the pretentions and

-fantastic talk of our patriotic associations and our small bourgeoisie

-who talk politics in the cafes. That the cry for a new war fleet, the

-restoration of our colonies, etc., has no chance of ever being carried

-out in practice will not be denied by anyone who thinks over the matter

-calmly and seriously. These harmless and sometimes half-crazy spouters

-in the war of protests are serving the interests of our mortal enemy,

-while the manner in which their vapourings are exploited for political

-purposes in England cannot be considered as advantageous to Germany.

-They squander their energies in futile demonstrations against the whole

-world. These demonstrations are harmful to our interests and those who

-indulge in them forget the fundamental principle which is a preliminary

-condition of all success. What thou doest, do it thoroughly. Because we

-keep on howling against five or ten States we fail to concentrate all

-the forces of our national will and our physical strength for a blow at

-the heart of our bitterest enemy. And in this way we sacrifice the

-possibility of securing an alliance which would reinforce our strength

-for that decisive conflict.

-Here, too, there is a mission for National Socialism to fulfil. It must

-teach our people not to fix their attention on the little things but

-rather on the great things, not to exhaust their energies on secondary

-objects, and not to forget that the object we shall have to fight for

-one day is the bare existence of our people and that the sole enemy we

-shall have to strike at is that Power which is robbing us of this

-existence.

-It may be that we shall have many a heavy burden to bear. But this is by

-no means an excuse for refusing to listen to reason and raise

-nonsensical outcries against the rest of the world, instead of

-concentrating all our forces against the most deadly enemy.

-Moreover, the German people will have no moral right to complain of the

-manner in which the rest of the world acts towards them, as long as they

-themselves have not called to account those criminals who sold and

-betrayed their own country. We cannot hope to be taken very seriously if

-we indulge in long-range abuse and protests against England and Italy

-and then allow those scoundrels to circulate undisturbed in our own

-country who were in the pay of the enemy war propaganda, took the

-weapons out of our hands, broke the backbone of our resistance and

-bartered away the REICH for thirty pieces of silver.

-The enemy did only what was expected. And we ought to learn from the

-stand he took and the way he acted.

-Anyone who cannot rise to the level of this outlook must reflect that

-otherwise there would remain nothing else than to renounce the idea of

-adopting any policy of alliances for the future. For if we cannot form

-an alliance with England because she has robbed us of our colonies, or

-with Italy because she has taken possession of South Tyrol, or with

-Poland or Czechoslovakia, then there remains no other possibility of an

-alliance in Europe except with France which, inter alia, has robbed us

-of Alsace and Lorraine.

-There can scarcely be any doubt as to whether this last alternative

-would be advantageous to the interests of the German people. But if it

-be defended by somebody one is always doubtful whether that person be

-merely a simpleton or an astute rogue.

-As far as concerns the leaders in these activities, I think the latter

-hypothesis is true.

-A change in public feeling among those nations which have hitherto been

-enemies and whose true interests will correspond in the future with ours

-could be effected, as far as human calculation goes, if the internal

-strength of our State and our manifest determination to secure our own

-existence made it clear that we should be valuable allies. Moreover, it

-is necessary that our incompetent way of doing things and our criminal

-conduct in some matters should not furnish grounds which may be utilized

-for purposes of propaganda by those who would oppose our projects of

-establishing an alliance with one or other of our former enemies.

-The answer to the third question is still more difficult: Is it

-conceivable that they who represent the true interests of those nations

-which may possibly form an alliance with us could put their views into

-practice against the will of the Jew, who is the mortal enemy of

-national and independent popular States?

-For instance, could the motive-forces of Great Britain's traditional

-statesmanship smash the disastrous influence of the Jew, or could they

-not?

-This question, as I have already said, is very difficult to answer. The

-answer depends on so many factors that it is impossible to form a

-conclusive judgment. Anyhow, one thing is certain: The power of the

-Government in a given State and at a definite period may be so firmly

-established in the public estimation and so absolutely at the service of

-the country's interests that the forces of international Jewry could not

-possibly organize a real and effective obstruction against measures

-considered to be politically necessary.

-The fight which Fascist Italy waged against Jewry's three principal

-weapons, the profound reasons for which may not have been consciously

-understood (though I do not believe this myself) furnishes the best

-proof that the poison fangs of that Power which transcends all State

-boundaries are being drawn, even though in an indirect way. The

-prohibition of Freemasonry and secret societies, the suppression of the

-supernational Press and the definite abolition of Marxism, together with

-the steadily increasing consolidation of the Fascist concept of the

-State--all this will enable the Italian Government, in the course of

-some years, to advance more and more the interests of the Italian people

-without paying any attention to the hissing of the Jewish world-hydra.

-The English situation is not so favourable. In that country which has

-'the freest democracy' the Jew dictates his will, almost unrestrained

-but indirectly, through his influence on public opinion. And yet there

-is a perpetual struggle in England between those who are entrusted with

-the defence of State interests and the protagonists of Jewish

-world-dictatorship.

-After the War it became clear for the first time how sharp this contrast

-is, when British statesmanship took one stand on the Japanese problem

-and the Press took a different stand.

-Just after the War had ceased the old mutual antipathy between America

-and Japan began to reappear. Naturally the great European Powers could

-not remain indifferent to this new war menace. In England, despite the

-ties of kinship, there was a certain amount of jealousy and anxiety over

-the growing importance of the United States in all spheres of

-international economics and politics. What was formerly a colonial

-territory, the daughter of a great mother, seemed about to become the

-new mistress of the world. It is quite understandable that to-day

-England should re-examine her old alliances and that British

-statesmanship should look anxiously to the danger of a coming moment

-when the cry would no longer be: "Britain rules the waves", but rather:

-"The Seas belong to the United States".

-The gigantic North American State, with the enormous resources of its

-virgin soil, is much more invulnerable than the encircled German REICH.

-Should a day come when the die which will finally decide the destinies

-of the nations will have to be cast in that country, England would be

-doomed if she stood alone. Therefore she eagerly reaches out her hand to

-a member of the yellow race and enters an alliance which, from the

-racial point of view is perhaps unpardonable; but from the political

-viewpoint it represents the sole possibility of reinforcing Britain's

-world position in face of the strenuous developments taking place on the

-American continent.

-Despite the fact that they fought side by side on the European

-battlefields, the British Government did not decide to conclude an

-alliance with the Asiatic partner, yet the whole Jewish Press opposed

-the idea of a Japanese alliance.

-How can we explain the fact that up to 1918 the Jewish Press championed

-the policy of the British Government against the German REICH and then

-suddenly began to take its own way and showed itself disloyal to the

-Government?

-It was not in the interests of Great Britain to have Germany

-annihilated, but primarily a Jewish interest. And to-day the destruction

-of Japan would serve British political interests less than it would

-serve the far-reaching intentions of those who are leading the movement

-that hopes to establish a Jewish world-empire. While England is using

-all her endeavours to maintain her position in the world, the Jew is

-organizing his aggressive plans for the conquest of it.

-He already sees the present European States as pliant instruments in his

-hands, whether indirectly through the power of so-called Western

-Democracy or in the form of a direct domination through Russian

-Bolshevism. But it is not only the old world that he holds in his snare;

-for a like fate threatens the new world. Jews control the financial

-forces of America on the stock exchange. Year after year the Jew

-increases his hold on Labour in a nation of 120 million souls. But a

-very small section still remains quite independent and is thus the cause

-of chagrin to the Jew.

-The Jews show consummate skill in manipulating public opinion and using

-it as an instrument in fighting for their own future.

-The great leaders of Jewry are confident that the day is near at hand

-when the command given in the Old Testament will be carried out and the

-Jews will devour the other nations of the earth.

-Among this great mass of denationalized countries which have become

-Jewish colonies one independent State could bring about the ruin of the

-whole structure at the last moment. The reason for doing this would be

-that Bolshevism as a world-system cannot continue to exist unless it

-encompasses the whole earth. Should one State preserve its national

-strength and its national greatness the empire of the Jewish satrapy,

-like every other tyranny, would have to succumb to the force of the

-national idea.

-As a result of his millennial experience in accommodating himself to

-surrounding circumstances, the Jew knows very well that he can undermine

-the existence of European nations by a process of racial bastardization,

-but that he could hardly do the same to a national Asiatic State like

-Japan. To-day he can ape the ways of the German and the Englishman, the

-American and the Frenchman, but he has no means of approach to the

-yellow Asiatic. Therefore he seeks to destroy the Japanese national

-State by using other national States as his instruments, so that he may

-rid himself of a dangerous opponent before he takes over supreme control

-of the last national State and transforms that control into a tyranny

-for the oppression of the defenceless.

-He does not want to see a national Japanese State in existence when he

-founds his millennial empire of the future, and therefore he wants to

-destroy it before establishing his own dictatorship.

-And so he is busy to-day in stirring up antipathy towards Japan among

-the other nations, as he stirred it up against Germany. Thus it may

-happen that while British statesmanship is still endeavouring to ground

-its policy in the alliance with Japan, the Jewish Press in Great Britain

-may be at the same time leading a hostile movement against that ally and

-preparing for a war of destruction by pretending that it is for the

-triumph of democracy and at the same time raising the war-cry: Down with

-Japanese militarism and imperialism.

-Thus in England to-day the Jew opposes the policy of the State. And for

-this reason the struggle against the Jewish world-danger will one day

-begin also in that country.

-And here again the National Socialist Movement has a tremendous task

-before it.

-It must open the eyes of our people in regard to foreign nations and it

-must continually remind them of the real enemy who menaces the world

-to-day. In place of preaching hatred against Aryans from whom we may be

-separated on almost every other ground but with whom the bond of kindred

-blood and the main features of a common civilization unite us, we must

-devote ourselves to arousing general indignation against the maleficent

-enemy of humanity and the real author of all our sufferings.

-The National Socialist Movement must see to it that at least in our own

-country the mortal enemy is recognized and that the fight against him

-may be a beacon light pointing to a new and better period for other

-nations as well as showing the way of salvation for Aryan humanity in

-the struggle for its existence.

-Finally, may reason be our guide and will-power our strength. And may

-the sacred duty of directing our conduct as I have pointed out give us

-perseverance and tenacity; and may our faith be our supreme protection.

-CHAPTER XIV

-GERMANY'S POLICY IN EASTERN EUROPE

-There are two considerations which induce me to make a special analysis

-of Germany's position in regard to Russia. These are:

-(1) This may prove to be the most decisive point in determining

-Germany's foreign policy.

-(2) The problem which has to be solved in this connection is also a

-touchstone to test the political capacity of the young National

-Socialist Movement for clear thinking and acting along the right lines.

-I must confess that the second consideration has often been a source of

-great anxiety to me. The members of our movement are not recruited from

-circles which are habitually indifferent to public affairs, but mostly

-from among men who hold more or less extreme views. Such being the case,

-it is only natural that their understanding of foreign politics should

-suffer from the prejudice and inadequate knowledge of those circles to

-which they were formerly attached by political and ideological ties. And

-this is true not merely of the men who come to us from the Left. On the

-contrary, however subversive may have been the kind of teaching they

-formerly received in regard to these problems, in very many cases this

-was at least partly counterbalanced by the residue of sound and natural

-instincts which remained. In such cases it is only necessary to

-substitute a better teaching in place of the earlier influences, in

-order to transform the instinct of self-preservation and other sound

-instincts into valuable assets.

-On the other hand, it is much more difficult to impress definite

-political ideas on the minds of men whose earlier political education

-was not less nonsensical and illogical than that given to the partisans

-of the Left. These men have sacrificed the last residue of their natural

-instincts to the worship of some abstract and entirely objective theory.

-It is particularly difficult to induce these representatives of our

-so-called intellectual circles to take a realistic and logical view of

-their own interests and the interests of their nation in its relations

-with foreign countries. Their minds are overladen with a huge burden of

-prejudices and absurd ideas and they have lost or renounced every

-instinct of self-preservation. With those men also the National

-Socialist Movement has to fight a hard battle. And the struggle is all

-the harder because, though very often they are utterly incompetent, they

-are so self-conceited that, without the slightest justification, they

-look down with disdain on ordinary commonsense people. These arrogant

-snobs who pretend to know better than other people, are wholly incapable

-of calmly and coolly analysing a problem and weighing its pros and cons,

-which are the necessary preliminaries of any decision or action in the

-field of foreign politics.

-It is just this circle which is beginning to-day to divert our foreign

-policy into most disastrous directions and turn it away from the task of

-promoting the real interests of the nation. Seeing that they do this in

-order to serve their own fantastic ideologies, I feel myself obliged to

-take the greatest pains in laying before my own colleagues a clear

-exposition of the most important problem in our foreign policy, namely,

-our position in relation to Russia. I shall deal with it, as thoroughly

-as may be necessary to make it generally understood and as far as the

-limits of this book permit. Let me begin by laying down the following

-postulate:

-When we speak of foreign politics we understand that domain of

-government which has set before it the task of managing the affairs of a

-nation in its relations with the rest of the world. Now the guiding

-principles which must be followed in managing these affairs must be

-based on the definite facts that are at hand. Moreover, as National

-Socialists, we must lay down the following axiom regarding the manner in

-which the foreign policy of a People's State should be conducted:

-The foreign policy of a People's State must first of all bear in mind

-the duty of securing the existence of the race which is incorporated in

-this State. And this must be done by establishing a healthy and natural

-proportion between the number and growth of the population on the one

-hand and the extent and resources of the territory they inhabit, on the

-other. That balance must be such that it accords with the vital

-necessities of the people.

-What I call a HEALTHY proportion is that in which the support of a

-people is guaranteed by the resources of its own soil and sub-soil. Any

-situation which falls short of this condition is none the less unhealthy

-even though it may endure for centuries or even a thousand years. Sooner

-or later, this lack of proportion must of necessity lead to the decline

-or even annihilation of the people concerned.

-Only a sufficiently large space on this earth can assure the independent

-existence of a people.

-The extent of the territorial expansion that may be necessary for the

-settlement of the national population must not be estimated by present

-exigencies nor even by the magnitude of its agricultural productivity in

-relation to the number of the population. In the first volume of this

-book, under the heading "Germany's Policy of Alliances before the War,"

-I have already explained that the geometrical dimensions of a State are

-of importance not only as the source of the nation's foodstuffs and raw

-materials, but also from the political and military standpoints. Once a

-people is assured of being able to maintain itself from the resources of

-the national territory, it must think of how this national territory can

-be defended. National security depends on the political strength of a

-State, and this strength, in its turn, depends on the military

-possibilities inherent in the geographical situation.

-Thus the German nation could assure its own future only by being a World

-Power. For nearly two thousand years the defence of our national

-interests was a matter of world history, as can be seen from our more or

-less successful activities in the field of foreign politics. We

-ourselves have been witnesses to this, seeing that the gigantic struggle

-that went on from 1914 to 1918 was only the struggle of the German

-people for their existence on this earth, and it was carried out in such

-a way that it has become known in history as the World War.

-When Germany entered this struggle it was presumed that she was a World

-Power. I say PRESUMED, because in reality she was no such thing. In

-1914, if there had been a different proportion between the German

-population and its territorial area, Germany would have been really a

-World Power and, if we leave other factors out of count, the War would

-have ended in our favour.

-It is not my task nor my intention here to discuss what would have

-happened if certain conditions had been fulfilled. But I feel it

-absolutely incumbent on me to show the present conditions in their bare

-and unadorned reality, insisting on the weakness inherent in them, so

-that at least in the ranks of the National Socialist Movement they

-should receive the necessary recognition.

-Germany is not at all a World Power to-day. Even though our present

-military weakness could be overcome, we still would have no claim to be

-called a World Power. What importance on earth has a State in which the

-proportion between the size of the population and the territorial area

-is so miserable as in the present German REICH? At an epoch in which the

-world is being gradually portioned out among States many of whom almost

-embrace whole continents one cannot speak of a World Power in the case

-of a State whose political motherland is confined to a territorial area

-of barely five-hundred-thousand square kilometres.

-Looked at purely from the territorial point of view, the area comprised

-in the German REICH is insignificant in comparison with the other States

-that are called World Powers. England must not be cited here as an

-example to contradict this statement; for the English motherland is in

-reality the great metropolis of the British World Empire, which owns

-almost a fourth of the earth's surface. Next to this we must consider

-the American Union as one of the foremost among the colossal States,

-also Russia and China. These are enormous spaces, some of which are more

-than ten times greater in territorial extent than the present German

-REICH. France must also be ranked among these colossal States. Not only

-because she is adding to the strength of her army in a constantly

-increasing measure by recruiting coloured troops from the population of

-her gigantic empire, but also because France is racially becoming more

-and more negroid, so much so that now one can actually speak of the

-creation of an African State on European soil. The contemporary colonial

-policy of France cannot be compared with that of Germany in the past. If

-France develops along the lines it has taken in our day, and should that

-development continue for the next three hundred years, all traces of

-French blood will finally be submerged in the formation of a

-Euro-African Mulatto State. This would represent a formidable and

-compact colonial territory stretching from the Rhine to the Congo,

-inhabited by an inferior race which had developed through a slow and

-steady process of bastardization.

-That process distinguishes French colonial policy from the policy

-followed by the old Germany.

-The former German colonial policy was carried out by half-measures, as

-was almost everything they did at that time. They did not gain an

-expanse of territory for the settlement of German nationals nor did they

-attempt to reinforce the power of the REICH through the enlistment of

-black troops, which would have been a criminal undertaking. The Askari

-in German East Africa represented a small and hesitant step along this

-road; but in reality they served only for the defence of the colony

-itself. The idea of importing black troops to a European theatre of

-war--apart entirely from the practical impossibility of this in the

-World War--was never entertained as a proposal to be carried out under

-favourable circumstances; whereas, on the contrary, the French always

-looked on such an idea as fundamental in their colonial activities.

-Thus we find in the world to-day not only a number of States that are

-much greater than the German in the mere numerical size of their

-populations, but also possess a greater support for their political

-power. The proportion between the territorial dimensions of the German

-REICH and the numerical size of its population was never so unfavourable

-in comparison with the other world States as at the beginning of our

-history two thousand years ago and again to-day. At the former juncture

-we were a young people and we stormed a world which was made up of great

-States that were already in a decadent condition, of which the last

-giant was Rome, to whose overthrow we contributed. To-day we find

-ourselves in a world of great and powerful States, among which the

-importance of our own REICH is constantly declining more and more.

-We must always face this bitter truth with clear and calm minds. We must

-study the area and population of the German REICH in relation to the

-other States and compare them down through the centuries. Then we shall

-find that, as I have said, Germany is not a World Power whether its

-military strength be great or not.

-There is no proportion between our position and that of the other States

-throughout the world. And this lack of proportion is to be attributed to

-the fact that our foreign policy never had a definite aim to attain, and

-also to the fact that we lost every sound impulse and instinct for

-self-preservation.

-If the historians who are to write our national history at some future

-date are to give the National Socialist Movement the credit of having

-devoted itself to a sacred duty in the service of our people, this

-movement will have to recognize the real truth of our situation in

-regard to the rest of the world. However painful this recognition may

-be, the movement must draw courage from it and a sense of practical

-realities in fighting against the aimlessness and incompetence which has

-hitherto been shown by our people in the conduct of their foreign

-policy. Without respect for 'tradition,' and without any preconceived

-notions, the movement must find the courage to organize our national

-forces and set them on the path which will lead them away from that

-territorial restriction which is the bane of our national life to-day,

-and win new territory for them. Thus the movement will save the German

-people from the danger of perishing or of being slaves in the service of

-any other people.

-Our movement must seek to abolish the present disastrous proportion

-between our population and the area of our national territory,

-considering national territory as the source of our maintenance or as a

-basis of political power. And it ought to strive to abolish the contrast

-between past history and the hopelessly powerless situation in which we

-are to-day. In striving for this it must bear in mind the fact that we

-are members of the highest species of humanity on this earth, that we

-have a correspondingly high duty, and that we shall fulfil this duty

-only if we inspire the German people with the racial idea, so that they

-will occupy themselves not merely with the breeding of good dogs and

-horses and cats, but also care for the purity of their own blood.

-When I say that the foreign policy hitherto followed by Germany has been

-without aim and ineffectual, the proof of my statement will be found in

-the actual failures of this policy. Were our people intellectually

-backward, or if they lacked courage, the final results of their efforts

-could not have been worse than what we see to-day. What happened during

-the last decades before the War does not permit of any illusions on this

-point; because we must not measure the strength of a State taken by

-itself, but in comparison with other States. Now, this comparison shows

-that the other States increased their strength in such a measure that

-not only did it balance that of Germany but turned out in the end to be

-greater; so that, contrary to appearances, when compared with the other

-States Germany declined more and more in power until there was a large

-margin in her disfavour. Yes, even in the size of our population we

-remained far behind, and kept on losing ground. Though it is true that

-the courage of our people was not surpassed by that of any other in the

-world and that they poured out more blood than any other nation in

-defence of their existence, their failure was due only to the erroneous

-way in which that courage was turned to practical purposes.

-In this connection, if we examine the chain of political vicissitudes

-through which our people have passed during more than a thousand years,

-recalling the innumerable struggles and wars and scrutinizing it all in

-the light of the results that are before our eyes to-day, we must

-confess that from the ocean of blood only three phenomena have emerged

-which we must consider as lasting fruits of political happenings

-definitely determined by our foreign policy.

-(1) The colonization of the Eastern Mark, which was mostly the work of

-the Bajuvari.

-(2) The conquest and settlement of the territory east of the Elbe.

-(3) The organization of the Brandenburg-Prussian State, which was the

-work of the Hohenzollerns and which became the model for the

-crystallization of a new REICH.

-An instructive lesson for the future.

-These first two great successes of our foreign policy turned out to be

-the most enduring. Without them our people would play no role in the

-world to-day. These achievements were the first and unfortunately the

-only successful attempts to establish a harmony between our increasing

-population and the territory from which it drew its livelihood. And we

-must look upon it as of really fatal import that our German historians

-have never correctly appreciated these formidable facts which were so

-full of importance for the following generations. In contradistinction

-to this, they wrote panegyrics on many other things, fantastic heroism,

-innumerable adventures and wars, without understanding that these latter

-had no significance whatsoever for the main line of our national

-development.

-The third great success achieved by our political activity was the

-establishment of the Prussian State and the development of a particular

-State concept which grew out of this. To the same source we are to

-attribute the organization of the instinct of national self-preservation

-and self-defence in the German Army, an achievement which suited the

-modern world. The transformation of the idea of self-defence on the part

-of the individual into the duty of national defence is derived from the

-Prussian State and the new statal concept which it introduced. It would

-be impossible to over-estimate the importance of this historical

-process. Disrupted by excessive individualism, the German nation became

-disciplined under the organization of the Prussian Army and in this way

-recovered at least some of the capacity to form a national community,

-which in the case of other people had originally arisen through the

-constructive urge of the herd instinct. Consequently the abolition of

-compulsory national military service--which may have no meaning for

-dozens of other nations--had fatal consequences for us. Ten generations

-of Germans left without the corrective and educative effect of military

-training and delivered over to the evil effects of those dissensions and

-divisions the roots of which lie in their blood and display their force

-also in a disunity of world-outlook--these ten generations would be

-sufficient to allow our people to lose the last relics of an independent

-existence on this earth.

-The German spirit could then make its contribution to civilization only

-through individuals living under the rule of foreign nations and the

-origin of those individuals would remain unknown. They would remain as

-the fertilizing manure of civilization, until the last residue of

-Nordic-Aryan blood would become corrupted or drained out.

-It is a remarkable fact that the real political successes achieved by

-our people during their millennial struggles are better appreciated and

-understood among our adversaries than among ourselves. Even still to-day

-we grow enthusiastic about a heroism which robbed our people of millions

-of their best racial stock and turned out completely fruitless in the

-end.

-The distinction between the real political successes which our people

-achieved in the course of their long history and the futile ends for

-which the blood of the nation has been shed is of supreme importance for

-the determination of our policy now and in the future.

-We, National Socialists, must never allow ourselves to re-echo the

-hurrah patriotism of our contemporary bourgeois circles. It would be a

-fatal danger for us to look on the immediate developments before the War

-as constituting a precedent which we should be obliged to take into

-account, even though only to the very smallest degree, in choosing our

-own way. We can recognize no obligation devolving on us which may have

-its historical roots in any part of the nineteenth century. In

-contradistinction to the policy of those who represented that period, we

-must take our stand on the principles already mentioned in regard to

-foreign policy: namely, the necessity of bringing our territorial area

-into just proportion with the number of our population. From the past we

-can learn only one lesson. And this is that the aim which is to be

-pursued in our political conduct must be twofold: namely (1) the

-acquisition of territory as the objective of our foreign policy and (2)

-the establishment of a new and uniform foundation as the objective of

-our political activities at home, in accordance with our doctrine of

-nationhood.

-I shall briefly deal with the question of how far our territorial aims

-are justified according to ethical and moral principles. This is all the

-more necessary here because, in our so-called nationalist circles, there

-are all kinds of plausible phrase-mongers who try to persuade the German

-people that the great aim of their foreign policy ought to be to right

-the wrongs of 1918, while at the same time they consider it incumbent on

-them to assure the whole world of the brotherly spirit and sympathy of

-the German people towards all other nations.

-In regard to this point I should like to make the following statement:

-To demand that the 1914 frontiers should be restored is a glaring

-political absurdity that is fraught with such consequences as to make

-the claim itself appear criminal. The confines of the REICH as they

-existed in 1914 were thoroughly illogical; because they were not really

-complete, in the sense of including all the members of the German

-nation. Nor were they reasonable, in view of the geographical exigencies

-of military defence. They were not the consequence of a political plan

-which had been well considered and carried out. But they were temporary

-frontiers established in virtue of a political struggle that had not

-been brought to a finish; and indeed they were partly the chance result

-of circumstances. One would have just as good a right, and in many cases

-a better right, to choose some other outstanding year than 1914 in the

-course of our history and demand that the objective of our foreign

-policy should be the re-establishment of the conditions then existing.

-The demands I have mentioned are quite characteristic of our bourgeois

-compatriots, who in such matters take no political thought of the

-future, They live only in the past and indeed only in the immediate

-past; for their retrospect does not go back beyond their own times. The

-law of inertia binds them to the present order of things, leading them

-to oppose every attempt to change this. Their opposition, however, never

-passes over into any kind of active defence. It is only mere passive

-obstinacy. Therefore, we must regard it as quite natural that the

-political horizon of such people should not reach beyond 1914. In

-proclaiming that the aim of their political activities is to have the

-frontiers of that time restored, they only help to close up the rifts

-that are already becoming apparent in the league which our enemies have

-formed against us. Only on these grounds can we explain the fact that

-eight years after a world conflagration in which a number of Allied

-belligerents had aspirations and aims that were partly in conflict with

-one another, the coalition of the victors still remains more or less

-solid.

-Each of those States in its turn profited by the German collapse. In the

-fear which they all felt before the proof of strength that we had given,

-the Great Powers maintained a mutual silence about their individual

-feelings of envy and enmity towards one another. They felt that the best

-guarantee against a resurgence of our strength in the future would be to

-break up and dismember our REICH as thoroughly as possible. A bad

-conscience and fear of the strength of our people made up the durable

-cement which has held the members of that league together, even up to

-the present moment.

-And our conduct does not tend to change this state of affairs. Inasmuch

-as our bourgeoisie sets up the restoration of the 1914 frontiers as the

-aim of Germany's political programme, each member of the enemy coalition

-who otherwise might be inclined to withdraw from the combination sticks

-to it, out of fear lest he might be attacked by us if he isolated

-himself and in that case would not have the support of his allies. Each

-individual State feels itself aimed at and threatened by this programme.

-And the programme is absurd, for the following two reasons:

-(1) Because there are no available means of extricating it from the

-twilight atmosphere of political soirees and transforming it into

-reality.

-(2) Even if it could be really carried into effect the result would be

-so miserable that, surely to God, it would not be worth while to risk

-the blood of our people once again for such a purpose.

-For there can be scarcely any doubt whatsoever that only through

-bloodshed could we achieve the restoration of the 1914 frontiers. One

-must have the simple mind of a child to believe that the revision of the

-Versailles Treaty can be obtained by indirect means and by beseeching

-the clemency of the victors; without taking into account the fact that

-for this we should need somebody who had the character of a

-Talleyrand, and there is no Talleyrand among us. Fifty percent of our

-politicians consists of artful dodgers who have no character and are

-quite hostile to the sympathies of our people, while the other fifty per

-cent is made up of well-meaning, harmless, and complaisant incompetents.

-Times have changed since the Congress of Vienna. It is no longer princes

-or their courtesans who contend and bargain about State frontiers, but

-the inexorable cosmopolitan Jew who is fighting for his own dominion

-over the nations. The sword is the only means whereby a nation can

-thrust that clutch from its throat. Only when national sentiment is

-organized and concentrated into an effective force can it defy that

-international menace which tends towards an enslavement of the nations.

-But this road is and will always be marked with bloodshed.

-If we are once convinced that the future of Germany calls for the

-sacrifice, in one way or another, of all that we have and are, then we

-must set aside considerations of political prudence and devote ourselves

-wholly to the struggle for a future that will be worthy of our country.

-For the future of the German nation the 1914 frontiers are of no

-significance. They did not serve to protect us in the past, nor do they

-offer any guarantee for our defence in the future. With these frontiers

-the German people cannot maintain themselves as a compact unit, nor can

-they be assured of their maintenance. From the military viewpoint these

-frontiers are not advantageous or even such as not to cause anxiety. And

-while we are bound to such frontiers it will not be possible for us to

-improve our present position in relation to the other World Powers, or

-rather in relation to the real World Powers. We shall not lessen the

-discrepancy between our territory and that of Great Britain, nor shall

-we reach the magnitude of the United States of America. Not only that,

-but we cannot substantially lessen the importance of France in

-international politics.

-One thing alone is certain: The attempt to restore the frontiers of

-1914, even if it turned out successful, would demand so much bloodshed

-on the part of our people that no future sacrifice would be possible to

-carry out effectively such measures as would be necessary to assure the

-future existence of the nation. On the contrary, under the intoxication

-of such a superficial success further aims would be renounced, all the

-more so because the so-called 'national honour' would seem to be

-revindicated and new ports would be opened, at least for a certain time,

-to our commercial development.

-Against all this we, National Socialists, must stick firmly to the aim

-that we have set for our foreign policy; namely, that the German people

-must be assured the territorial area which is necessary for it to exist

-on this earth. And only for such action as is undertaken to secure those

-ends can it be lawful in the eyes of God and our German posterity to

-allow the blood of our people to be shed once again. Before God, because

-we are sent into this world with the commission to struggle for our

-daily bread, as creatures to whom nothing is donated and who must be

-able to win and hold their position as lords of the earth only through

-their own intelligence and courage. And this justification must be

-established also before our German posterity, on the grounds that for

-each one who has shed his blood the life of a thousand others will be

-guaranteed to posterity. The territory on which one day our German

-peasants will be able to bring forth and nourish their sturdy sons will

-justify the blood of the sons of the peasants that has to be shed

-to-day. And the statesmen who will have decreed this sacrifice may be

-persecuted by their contemporaries, but posterity will absolve them from

-all guilt for having demanded this offering from their people.

-Here I must protest as sharply as possible against those nationalist

-scribes who pretend that such territorial extension would be a

-"violation of the sacred rights of man" and accordingly pour out their

-literary effusions against it. One never knows what are the hidden

-forces behind the activities of such persons. But it is certain that the

-confusion which they provoke suits the game our enemies are playing

-against our nation and is in accordance with their wishes. By taking

-such an attitude these scribes contribute criminally to weaken from the

-inside and to destroy the will of our people to promote their own vital

-interests by the only effective means that can be used for that purpose.

-For no nation on earth possesses a square yard of ground and soil by

-decree of a higher Will and in virtue of a higher Right. The German

-frontiers are the outcome of chance, and are only temporary frontiers

-that have been established as the result of political struggles which

-took place at various times. The same is also true of the frontiers

-which demarcate the territories on which other nations live. And just as

-only an imbecile could look on the physical geography of the globe as

-fixed and unchangeable--for in reality it represents a definite stage in

-a given evolutionary epoch which is due to the formidable forces of

-Nature and may be altered to-morrow by more powerful forces of

-destruction and change--so, too, in the lives of the nations the

-confines which are necessary for their sustenance are subject to change.

-State frontiers are established by human beings and may be changed by

-human beings.

-The fact that a nation has acquired an enormous territorial area is no

-reason why it should hold that territory perpetually. At most, the

-possession of such territory is a proof of the strength of the conqueror

-and the weakness of those who submit to him. And in this strength alone

-lives the right of possession. If the German people are imprisoned

-within an impossible territorial area and for that reason are face to

-face with a miserable future, this is not by the command of Destiny, and

-the refusal to accept such a situation is by no means a violation of

-Destiny's laws. For just as no Higher Power has promised more territory

-to other nations than to the German, so it cannot be blamed for an

-unjust distribution of the soil. The soil on which we now live was not a

-gift bestowed by Heaven on our forefathers. But they had to conquer it

-by risking their lives. So also in the future our people will not obtain

-territory, and therewith the means of existence, as a favour from any

-other people, but will have to win it by the power of a triumphant

-sword.

-To-day we are all convinced of the necessity of regulating our situation

-in regard to France; but our success here will be ineffective in its

-broad results if the general aims of our foreign policy will have to

-stop at that. It can have significance for us only if it serves to cover

-our flank in the struggle for that extension of territory which is

-necessary for the existence of our people in Europe. For colonial

-acquisitions will not solve that question. It can be solved only by the

-winning of such territory for the settlement of our people as will

-extend the area of the motherland and thereby will not only keep the new

-settlers in the closest communion with the land of their origin, but

-will guarantee to this territorial ensemble the advantages which arise

-from the fact that in their expansion over greater territory the people

-remain united as a political unit.

-The National Movement must not be the advocate for other nations, but

-the protagonist for its own nation. Otherwise it would be something

-superfluous and, above all, it would have no right to clamour against

-the action of the past; for then it would be repeating the action of the

-past. The old German policy suffered from the mistake of having been

-determined by dynastic considerations. The new German policy must not

-follow the sentimentality of cosmopolitan patriotism. Above all, we must

-not form a police guard for the famous 'poor small nations'; but we must

-be the soldiers of the German nation.

-We National Socialists have to go still further. The right to territory

-may become a duty when a great nation seems destined to go under unless

-its territory be extended. And that is particularly true when the nation

-in question is not some little group of negro people but the Germanic

-mother of all the life which has given cultural shape to the modern

-world. Germany will either become a World Power or will not continue to

-exist at all. But in order to become a World Power it needs that

-territorial magnitude which gives it the necessary importance to-day and

-assures the existence of its citizens.

-Therefore we National Socialists have purposely drawn a line through the

-line of conduct followed by pre-War Germany in foreign policy. We put an

-end to the perpetual Germanic march towards the South and West of Europe

-and turn our eyes towards the lands of the East. We finally put a stop

-to the colonial and trade policy of pre-War times and pass over to the

-territorial policy of the future.

-But when we speak of new territory in Europe to-day we must principally

-think of Russia and the border States subject to her.

-Destiny itself seems to wish to point out the way for us here. In

-delivering Russia over to Bolshevism, Fate robbed the Russian people of

-that intellectual class which had once created the Russian State and

-were the guarantee of its existence. For the Russian State was not

-organized by the constructive political talent of the Slav element in

-Russia, but was much more a marvellous exemplification of the capacity

-for State-building possessed by the Germanic element in a race of

-inferior worth. Thus were many powerful Empires created all over the

-earth. More often than once inferior races with Germanic organizers and

-rulers as their leaders became formidable States and continued to exist

-as long as the racial nucleus remained which had originally created each

-respective State. For centuries Russia owed the source of its livelihood

-as a State to the Germanic nucleus of its governing class. But this

-nucleus is now almost wholly broken up and abolished. The Jew has taken

-its place. Just as it is impossible for the Russian to shake off the

-Jewish yoke by exerting his own powers, so, too, it is impossible for

-the Jew to keep this formidable State in existence for any long period

-of time. He himself is by no means an organizing element, but rather a

-ferment of decomposition. This colossal Empire in the East is ripe for

-dissolution. And the end of the Jewish domination in Russia will also be

-the end of Russia as a State. We are chosen by Destiny to be the

-witnesses of a catastrophe which will afford the strongest confirmation

-of the nationalist theory of race.

-But it is our task, and it is the mission of the National Socialist

-Movement, to develop in our people that political mentality which will

-enable them to realize that the aim which they must set to themselves

-for the fulfilment of their future must not be some wildly enthusiastic

-adventure in the footsteps of Alexander the Great but industrious labour

-with the German plough, for which the German sword will provide the

-soil.

-That the Jew should declare himself bitterly hostile to such a policy is

-only quite natural. For the Jews know better than any others what the

-adoption of this line of conduct must mean for their own future. That

-fact alone ought to teach all genuine nationalists that this new

-orientation is the right and just one. But, unfortunately, the opposite

-is the case. Not only among the members of the German-National Party but

-also in purely nationalist circles violent opposition is raised against

-this Eastern policy. And in connection with that opposition, as in all

-such cases, the authority of great names is appealed to. The spirit of

-Bismarck is evoked in defence of a policy which is as stupid as it is

-impossible, and is in the highest degree detrimental to the interests of

-the German people. They say that Bismarck laid great importance on the

-value of good relations with Russia. To a certain extent, that is true.

-But they quite forget to add that he laid equal stress on the importance

-of good relations with Italy, for example. Indeed, the same Herr von

-Bismarck once concluded an alliance with Italy so that he might more

-easily settle accounts with Austria. Why is not this policy now

-advocated? They will reply that the Italy of to-day is not the Italy of

-that time. Good. But then, honourable sirs, permit me to remind you that

-the Russia of to-day is no longer the Russia of that time. Bismarck

-never laid down a policy which would be permanently binding under all

-circumstances and should be adhered to on principle. He was too much the

-master of the moment to burden himself with that kind of obligation.

-Therefore, the question ought not to be what Bismarck then did, but

-rather what he would do to-day. And that question is very easy to

-answer. His political sagacity would never allow him to ally himself

-with a State that is doomed to disappear.

-Moreover, Bismarck looked upon the colonial and trade policy of his time

-with mixed feelings, because what he most desired was to assure the best

-possibilities of consolidating and internally strengthening the state

-system which he himself had created. That was the sole ground on which

-he then welcomed the Russian defence in his rear, so as to give him a

-free hand for his activities in the West. But what was advantageous then

-to Germany would now be detrimental.

-As early as 1920-21, when the young movement began slowly to appear on

-the political horizon and movements for the liberation of the German

-nation were formed here and there, the Party was approached from various

-quarters in an attempt to bring it into definite connection with the

-liberationist movements in other countries. This was in line with the

-plans of the 'League of Oppressed Nations', which had been advertised in

-many quarters and was composed principally of representatives of some of

-the Balkan States and also of Egypt and India. These always impressed me

-as charlatans who gave themselves big airs but had no real background at

-all. Not a few Germans, however, especially in the nationalist camp,

-allowed themselves to be taken in by these pompous Orientals, and in the

-person of some wandering Indian or Egyptian student they believed at

-once that they were face to face with a 'representative' of India or

-Egypt. They did not realize that in most cases they were dealing with

-persons who had no backing whatsoever, who were not authorized by

-anybody to conclude any sort of agreement whatsoever; so that the

-practical result of every negotiation with such individuals was negative

-and the time spent in such dealings had to be reckoned as utterly lost.

-I was always on my guard against these attempts. Not only that I had

-something better to do than to waste weeks in such sterile

-'discussions', but also because I believed that even if one were dealing

-with genuine representatives that whole affair would be bound to turn

-out futile, if not positively harmful.

-In peace-time it was already lamentable enough that the policy of

-alliances, because it had no active and aggressive aims in view, ended

-in a defensive association with antiquated States that had been

-pensioned off by the history of the world. The alliance with Austria, as

-well as that with Turkey, was not much to be joyful about. While the

-great military and industrial States of the earth had come together in a

-league for purposes of active aggression, a few old and effete States

-were collected, and with this antique bric-�-brac an attempt was made to

-face an active world coalition. Germany had to pay dearly for that

-mistaken foreign policy and yet not dearly enough to prevent our

-incorrigible visionaries from falling back into the same error again.

-For the attempt to make possible the disarmament of the all-powerful

-victorious States through a 'League of Oppressed Nations' is not only

-ridiculous but disastrous. It is disastrous because in that way the

-German people are again being diverted from real possibilities, which

-they abandon for the sake of fruitless hopes and illusions. In reality

-the German of to-day is like a drowning man that clutches at any straw

-which may float beside him. And one finds people doing this who are

-otherwise highly educated. Wherever some will-o'-the-wisp of a fantastic

-hope appears these people set off immediately to chase it. Let this be a

-League of Oppressed Nations, a League of Nations, or some other

-fantastic invention, thousands of ingenuous souls will always be found

-to believe in it.

-I remember well the childish and incomprehensible hopes which arose

-suddenly in nationalist circles in the years 1920-21 to the effect that

-England was just nearing its downfall in India. A few Asiatic

-mountebanks, who put themselves forward as "the champions of Indian

-Freedom", then began to peregrinate throughout Europe and succeeded in

-inspiring otherwise quite reasonable people with the fixed notion that

-the British World Empire, which had its pivot in India, was just about

-to collapse there. They never realized that their own wish was the

-father of all these ideas. Nor did they stop to think how absurd their

-wishes were. For inasmuch as they expected the end of the British Empire

-and of England's power to follow the collapse of its dominion over

-India, they themselves admitted that India was of the most outstanding

-importance for England.

-Now in all likelihood the deep mysteries of this most important problem

-must have been known not only to the German-National prophets but also

-to those who had the direction of British history in their hands. It is

-right down puerile to suppose that in England itself the importance of

-India for the British Empire was not adequately appreciated. And it is a

-proof of having learned nothing from the world war and of thoroughly

-misunderstanding or knowing nothing about Anglo-Saxon determination,

-when they imagine that England could lose India without first having put

-forth the last ounce of her strength in the struggle to hold it.

-Moreover, it shows how complete is the ignorance prevailing in Germany

-as to the manner in which the spirit of England permeates and

-administers her Empire. England will never lose India unless she admits

-racial disruption in the machinery of her administration (which at

-present is entirely out of the question in India) or unless she is

-overcome by the sword of some powerful enemy. But Indian risings will

-never bring this about. We Germans have had sufficient experience to

-know how hard it is to coerce England. And, apart from all this, I as a

-German would far rather see India under British domination than under

-that of any other nation.

-The hopes of an epic rising in Egypt were just as chimerical. The 'Holy

-War' may bring the pleasing illusion to our German nincompoops that

-others are now ready to shed their blood for them. Indeed, this cowardly

-speculation is almost always the father of such hopes. But in reality

-the illusion would soon be brought to an end under the fusillade from a

-few companies of British machine-guns and a hail of British bombs.

-A coalition of cripples cannot attack a powerful State which is

-determined, if necessary, to shed the last drop of its blood to maintain

-its existence. To me, as a nationalist who appreciates the worth of the

-racial basis of humanity, I must recognize the racial inferiority of the

-so-called 'Oppressed Nations', and that is enough to prevent me from

-linking the destiny of my people with the destiny of those inferior

-races.

-To-day we must take up the same sort of attitude also towards Russia.

-The Russia of to-day, deprived of its Germanic ruling class, is not a

-possible ally in the struggle for German liberty, setting aside entirely

-the inner designs of its new rulers. From the purely military viewpoint

-a Russo-German coalition waging war against Western Europe, and probably

-against the whole world on that account, would be catastrophic for us.

-The struggle would have to be fought out, not on Russian but on German

-territory, without Germany being able to receive from Russia the

-slightest effective support. The means of power at the disposal of the

-present German REICH are so miserable and so inadequate to the waging of

-a foreign war that it would be impossible to defend our frontiers

-against Western Europe, England included. And the industrial area of

-Germany would have to be abandoned undefended to the concentrated attack

-of our adversaries. It must be added that between Germany and Russia

-there is the Polish State, completely in the hands of the French. In

-case Germany and Russia together should wage war against Western Europe,

-Russia would have to overthrow Poland before the first Russian soldier

-could arrive on the German front. But it is not so much a question of

-soldiers as of technical equipment. In this regard we should have our

-situation in the world war repeated, but in a more terrible manner. At

-that time German industry had to be drained to help our glorious allies,

-and from the technical side Germany had to carry on the war almost

-alone. In this new hypothetical war Russia, as a technical factor, would

-count for nothing. We should have practically nothing to oppose to the

-general motorization of the world, which in the next war will make its

-appearance in an overwhelming and decisive form. In this important field

-Germany has not only shamefully lagged behind, but with the little it

-has it would have to reinforce Russia, which at the present moment does

-not possess a single factory capable of producing a motor gun-wagon.

-Under such conditions the presupposed coming struggle would assume the

-character of sheer slaughter. The German youth would have to shed more

-of its blood than it did even in the world war; for, as always, the

-honour of fighting will fall on us alone, and the result would be an

-inevitable catastrophe. But even admitting that a miracle were produced

-and that this war did not end in the total annihilation of Germany, the

-final result would be that the German nation would be bled white, and,

-surrounded by great military States, its real situation would be in no

-way ameliorated.

-It is useless to object here that in case of an alliance with Russia we

-should not think of an immediate war or that, anyhow, we should have

-means of making thorough preparations for war. No. An alliance which is

-not for the purpose of waging war has no meaning and no value. Even

-though at the moment when an alliance is concluded the prospect of war

-is a distant one, still the idea of the situation developing towards war

-is the profound reason for entering into an alliance. It is out of the

-question to think that the other Powers would be deceived as to the

-purpose of such an alliance. A Russo-German coalition would remain

-either a matter of so much paper--and in this case it would have no

-meaning for us--or the letter of the treaty would be put into practice

-visibly, and in that case the rest of the world would be warned. It

-would be childish to think that in such circumstances England and France

-would wait for ten years to give the Russo-German alliance time to

-complete its technical preparations. No. The storm would break over

-Germany immediately.

-Therefore the fact of forming an alliance with Russia would be the

-signal for a new war. And the result of that would be the end of

-Germany.

-To these considerations the following must be added:

-(1) Those who are in power in Russia to-day have no idea of forming an

-honourable alliance or of remaining true to it, if they did.

-It must never be forgotten that the present rulers of Russia are

-blood-stained criminals, that here we have the dregs of humanity which,

-favoured by the circumstances of a tragic moment, overran a great State,

-degraded and extirpated millions of educated people out of sheer

-blood-lust, and that now for nearly ten years they have ruled with such

-a savage tyranny as was never known before. It must not be forgotten

-that these rulers belong to a people in whom the most bestial cruelty is

-allied with a capacity for artful mendacity and believes itself to-day

-more than ever called to impose its sanguinary despotism on the rest of

-the world. It must not be forgotten that the international Jew, who is

-to-day the absolute master of Russia, does not look upon Germany as an

-ally but as a State condemned to the same doom as Russia. One does not

-form an alliance with a partner whose only aim is the destruction of his

-fellow-partner. Above all, one does not enter into alliances with people

-for whom no treaty is sacred; because they do not move about this earth

-as men of honour and sincerity but as the representatives of lies and

-deception, thievery and plunder and robbery. The man who thinks that he

-can bind himself by treaty with parasites is like the tree that believes

-it can form a profitable bargain with the ivy that surrounds it.

-(2) The menace to which Russia once succumbed is hanging steadily over

-Germany. Only a bourgeois simpleton could imagine that Bolshevism can be

-tamed. In his superficial way of thinking he does not suspect that here

-we are dealing with a phenomenon that is due to an urge of the blood:

-namely, the aspiration of the Jewish people to become the despots of the

-world. That aspiration is quite as natural as the impulse of the

-Anglo-Saxon to sit in the seats of rulership all over the earth. And as

-the Anglo-Saxon chooses his own way of reaching those ends and fights

-for them with his characteristic weapons, so also does the Jew. The Jew

-wriggles his way in among the body of the nations and bores them hollow

-from inside. The weapons with which he works are lies and calumny,

-poisonous infection and disintegration, until he has ruined his hated

-adversary. In Russian Bolshevism we ought to recognize the kind of

-attempt which is being made by the Jew in the twentieth century to

-secure dominion over the world. In other epochs he worked towards the

-same goal but with different, though at bottom similar, means. The kind

-of effort which the Jew puts forth springs from the deepest roots in the

-nature of his being. A people does not of itself renounce the impulse to

-increase its stock and power. Only external circumstances or senile

-impotence can force them to renounce this urge. In the same way the Jew

-will never spontaneously give up his march towards the goal of world

-dictatorship or repress his external urge. He can be thrown back on his

-road only by forces that are exterior to him, for his instinct towards

-world domination will die out only with himself. The impotence of

-nations and their extinction through senility can come only when their

-blood has remained no longer pure. And the Jewish people preserve the

-purity of their blood better than any other nation on earth. Therefore

-the Jew follows his destined road until he is opposed by a force

-superior to him. And then a desperate struggle takes place to send back

-to Lucifer him who would assault the heavens.

-To-day Germany is the next battlefield for Russian Bolshevism. All the

-force of a fresh missionary idea is needed to raise up our nation once

-more, to rescue it from the coils of the international serpent and stop

-the process of corruption which is taking place in the internal

-constitution of our blood; so that the forces of our nation, once

-liberated, may be employed to preserve our nationality and prevent the

-repetition of the recent catastrophe from taking place even in the most

-distant future. If this be the goal we set to ourselves it would be

-folly to ally ourselves with a country whose master is the mortal enemy

-of our future. How can we release our people from this poisonous grip if

-we accept the same grip ourselves? How can we teach the German worker

-that Bolshevism is an infamous crime against humanity if we ally

-ourselves with this infernal abortion and recognize its existence as

-legitimate. With what right shall we condemn the members of the broad

-masses whose sympathies lie with a certain WELTANSCHAUUNG if the rulers

-of our State choose the representatives of that WELTANSCHAUUNG as their

-allies? The struggle against the Jewish Bolshevization of the world

-demands that we should declare our position towards Soviet Russia. We

-cannot cast out the Devil through Beelzebub. If nationalist circles

-to-day grow enthusiastic about the idea of an alliance with Bolshevism,

-then let them look around only in Germany and recognize from what

-quarter they are being supported. Do these nationalists believe that a

-policy which is recommended and acclaimed by the Marxist international

-Press can be beneficial for the German people? Since when has the Jew

-acted as shield-bearer for the militant nationalist?

-One special reproach which could be made against the old German REICH

-with regard to its policy of alliances was that it spoiled its relations

-towards all others by continually swinging now this way and now that way

-and by its weakness in trying to preserve world peace at all costs. But

-one reproach which cannot be made against it is that it did not continue

-to maintain good relations with Russia.

-I admit frankly that before the War I thought it would have been better

-if Germany had abandoned her senseless colonial policy and her naval

-policy and had joined England in an alliance against Russia, therewith

-renouncing her weak world policy for a determined European policy, with

-the idea of acquiring new territory on the Continent. I do not forget

-the constant insolent threats which Pan-Slavist Russia made against

-Germany. I do not forget the continual trial mobilizations, the sole

-object of which was to irritate Germany. I cannot forget the tone of

-public opinion in Russia which in pre-War days excelled itself in

-hate-inspired outbursts against our nation and REICH. Nor can I forget

-the big Russian Press which was always more favourable to France than to

-us.

-But, in spite of everything, there was still a second way possible

-before the War. We might have won the support of Russia and turned

-against England. Circumstances are entirely different to-day. If, before

-the War, throwing all sentiment to the winds, we could have marched by

-the side of Russia, that is no longer possible for us to-day. Since then

-the hand of the world-clock has moved forward. The hour has struck and

-struck loudly, when the destiny of our people must be decided one way or

-another.

-The present consolidation of the great States of the world is the last

-warning signal for us to look to ourselves and bring our people back

-from their land of visions to the land of hard truth and point the way

-into the future, on which alone the old REICH can march triumphantly

-once again.

-If, in view of this great and most important task placed before it, the

-National Socialist Movement sets aside all illusions and takes reason as

-its sole effective guide the catastrophe of 1918 may turn out to be an

-infinite blessing for the future of our nation. From the lesson of that

-collapse it may formulate an entirely new orientation for the conduct of

-its foreign policy. Internally reinforced through its new

-WELTANSCHAUUNG, the German nation may reach a final stabilization of

-its policy towards the outside world. It may end by gaining what England

-has, what even Russia had, and what France again and again utilized as

-the ultimate grounds on which she was able to base correct decisions for

-her own interests: namely, A Political Testament. Political Testament of

-the German Nation ought to lay down the following rules, which will be

-always valid for its conduct towards the outside world:

-Never permit two Continental Powers to arise in Europe. Should any

-attempt be made to organize a second military Power on the German

-frontier by the creation of a State which may become a Military Power,

-with the prospect of an aggression against Germany in view, such an

-event confers on Germany not only the right but the duty to prevent by

-every means, including military means, the creation of such a State and

-to crush it if created. See to it that the strength of our nation does

-not rest on colonial foundations but on those of our own native

-territory in Europe. Never consider the REICH secure unless, for

-centuries to come, it is in a position to give every descendant of our

-race a piece of ground and soil that he can call his own. Never forget

-that the most sacred of all rights in this world is man's right to the

-earth which he wishes to cultivate for himself and that the holiest of

-all sacrifices is that of the blood poured out for it.

-I should not like to close this chapter without referring once again to

-the one sole possibility of alliances that exists for us in Europe at

-the present moment. In speaking of the German alliance problem in the

-present chapter I mentioned England and Italy as the only countries with

-which it would be worth while for us to strive to form a close alliance

-and that this alliance would be advantageous. I should like here to

-underline again the military importance of such an alliance.

-The military consequences of forming this alliance would be the direct

-opposite of the consequences of an alliance with Russia. Most important

-of all is the fact that a RAPPROCHEMENT with England and Italy would in

-no way involve a danger of war. The only Power that could oppose such an

-arrangement would be France; and France would not be in a position to

-make war. But the alliance should allow to Germany the possibility of

-making those preparations in all tranquillity which, within the

-framework of such a coalition, might in one way or another be requisite

-in view of a regulation of accounts with France. For the full

-significance of such an alliance lies in the fact that on its conclusion

-Germany would no longer be subject to the threat of a sudden invasion.

-The coalition against her would disappear automatically; that is to say,

-the Entente which brought such disaster to us. Thus France, the mortal

-enemy of our people, would be isolated. And even though at first this

-success would have only a moral effect, it would be sufficient to give

-Germany such liberty of action as we cannot now imagine. For the new

-Anglo-German-Italian alliance would hold the political initiative and no

-longer France.

-A further success would be that at one stroke Germany would be delivered

-from her unfavourable strategical situation. On the one side her flank

-would be strongly protected; and, on the other, the assurance of being

-able to import her foodstuffs and raw materials would be a beneficial

-result of this new alignment of States. But almost of greater importance

-would be the fact that this new League would include States that possess

-technical qualities which mutually supplement each other. For the first

-time Germany would have allies who would not be as vampires on her

-economic body but would contribute their part to complete our technical

-equipment. And we must not forget a final fact: namely, that in this

-case we should not have allies resembling Turkey and Russia to-day. The

-greatest World Power on this earth and a young national State would

-supply far other elements for a struggle in Europe than the putrescent

-carcasses of the States with which Germany was allied in the last war.

-As I have already said, great difficulties would naturally be made to

-hinder the conclusion of such an alliance. But was not the formation of

-the Entente somewhat more difficult? Where King Edward VII succeeded

-partly against interests that were of their nature opposed to his work

-we must and will succeed, if the recognition of the necessity of such a

-development so inspires us that we shall be able to act with skill and

-conquer our own feelings in carrying the policy through. This will be

-possible when, incited to action by the miseries of our situation, we

-shall adopt a definite purpose and follow it out systematically instead

-of the defective foreign policy of the last decades, which never had a

-fixed purpose in view.

-The future goal of our foreign policy ought not to involve an

-orientation to the East or the West, but it ought to be an Eastern

-policy which will have in view the acquisition of such territory as is

-necessary for our German people. To carry out this policy we need that

-force which the mortal enemy of our nation, France, now deprives us of

-by holding us in her grip and pitilessly robbing us of our strength.

-Therefore we must stop at no sacrifice in our effort to destroy the

-French striving towards hegemony over Europe. As our natural ally to-day

-we have every Power on the Continent that feels France's lust for

-hegemony in Europe unbearable. No attempt to approach those Powers ought

-to appear too difficult for us, and no sacrifice should be considered

-too heavy, if the final outcome would be to make it possible for us to

-overthrow our bitterest enemy. The minor wounds will be cured by the

-beneficent influence of time, once the ground wounds have been

-cauterized and closed.

-Naturally the internal enemies of our people will howl with rage. But

-this will not succeed in forcing us as National Socialists to cease our

-preaching in favour of that which our most profound conviction tells us

-to be necessary. We must oppose the current of public opinion which will

-be driven mad by Jewish cunning in exploiting our German

-thoughtlessness. The waves of this public opinion often rage and roar

-against us; but the man who swims with the current attracts less

-attention than he who buffets it. To-day we are but a rock in the river.

-In a few years Fate may raise us up as a dam against which the general

-current will be broken, only to flow forward in a new bed. Therefore it

-is necessary that in the eyes of the rest of the world our movement

-should be recognized as representing a definite and determined political

-programme. We ought to bear on our visors the distinguishing sign of

-that task which Heaven expects us to fulfil.

-When we ourselves are fully aware of the ineluctable necessity which

-determines our external policy this knowledge will fill us with the grit

-which we need in order to stand up with equanimity under the bombardment

-launched against us by the enemy Press and to hold firm when some

-insinuating voice whispers that we ought to give ground here and there

-in order not to have all against us and that we might sometimes howl

-with the wolves.

-CHAPTER XV

-THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE

-After we had laid down our arms, in November 1918, a policy was adopted

-which in all human probability was bound to lead gradually to our

-complete subjugation. Analogous examples from history show that those

-nations which lay down their arms without being absolutely forced to do

-so subsequently prefer to submit to the greatest humiliations and

-exactions rather than try to change their fate by resorting to arms

-again.

-That is intelligible on purely human grounds. A shrewd conqueror will

-always enforce his exactions on the conquered only by stages, as far as

-that is possible. Then he may expect that a people who have lost all

-strength of character--which is always the case with every nation that

-voluntarily submits to the threats of an opponent--will not find in any

-of these acts of oppression, if one be enforced apart from the other,

-sufficient grounds for taking up arms again. The more numerous the

-extortions thus passively accepted so much the less will resistance

-appear justified in the eyes of other people, if the vanquished nation

-should end by revolting against the last act of oppression in a long

-series. And that is specially so if the nation has already patiently and

-silently accepted impositions which were much more exacting.

-The fall of Carthage is a terrible example of the slow agony of a people

-which ended in destruction and which was the fault of the people

-themselves.

-In his THREE ARTICLES OF FAITH Clausewitz expressed this idea admirably

-and gave it a definite form when he said: "The stigma of shame incurred

-by a cowardly submission can never be effaced. The drop of poison which

-thus enters the blood of a nation will be transmitted to posterity. It

-will undermine and paralyse the strength of later generations." But, on

-the contrary, he added: "Even the loss of its liberty after a sanguinary

-and honourable struggle assures the resurgence of the nation and is the

-vital nucleus from which one day a new tree can draw firm roots."

-Naturally a nation which has lost all sense of honour and all strength

-of character will not feel the force of such a doctrine. But any nation

-that takes it to heart will never fall very low. Only those who forget

-it or do not wish to acknowledge it will collapse. Hence those

-responsible for a cowardly submission cannot be expected suddenly to

-take thought with themselves, for the purpose of changing their former

-conduct and directing it in the way pointed out by human reason and

-experience. On the contrary, they will repudiate such a doctrine, until

-the people either become permanently habituated to the yoke of slavery

-or the better elements of the nation push their way into the foreground

-and forcibly take power away from the hands of an infamous and corrupt

-regime. In the first case those who hold power will be pleased with the

-state of affairs, because the conquerors often entrust them with the

-task of supervising the slaves. And these utterly characterless beings

-then exercise that power to the detriment of their own people, more

-cruelly than the most cruel-hearted stranger that might be nominated by

-the enemy himself.

-The events which happened subsequent to 1918 in Germany prove how the

-hope of securing the clemency of the victor by making a voluntary

-submission had the most disastrous influence on the political views and

-conduct of the broad masses. I say the broad masses explicitly, because

-I cannot persuade myself that the things which were done or left undone

-by the leaders of the people are to be attributed to a similar

-disastrous illusion. Seeing that the direction of our historical destiny

-after the war was now openly controlled by the Jews, it is impossible to

-admit that a defective knowledge of the state of affairs was the sole

-cause of our misfortunes. On the contrary, the conclusion that must be

-drawn from the facts is that our people were intentionally driven to

-ruin. If we examine it from this point of view we shall find that the

-direction of the nation's foreign policy was not so foolish as it

-appeared; for on scrutinizing the matter closely we see clearly that

-this conduct was a procedure which had been calmly calculated, shrewdly

-defined and logically carried out in the service of the Jewish idea and

-the Jewish endeavour to secure the mastery of the world.

-From 1806 to 1813 Prussia was in a state of collapse. But that period

-sufficed to renew the vital energies of the nation and inspire it once

-more with a resolute determination to fight. An equal period of time has

-passed over our heads from 1918 until to-day, and no advantage has been

-derived from it. On the contrary, the vital strength of our State has

-been steadily sapped.

-Seven years after November 1918 the Locarno Treaty was signed.

-Thus the development which took place was what I have indicated above.

-Once the shameful Armistice had been signed our people were unable to

-pluck up sufficient courage and energy to call a halt suddenly to the

-conduct of our adversary as the oppressive measures were being

-constantly renewed. The enemy was too shrewd to put forward all his

-demands at once. He confined his duress always to those exactions which,

-in his opinion and that of our German Government, could be submitted to

-for the moment: so that in this way they did not risk causing an

-explosion of public feeling. But according as the single impositions

-were increasingly subscribed to and tolerated it appeared less

-justifiable to do now in the case of one sole imposition or act of

-duress what had not been previously done in the case of so many others,

-namely, to oppose it. That is the 'drop of poison' of which Clausewitz

-speaks. Once this lack of character is manifested the resultant

-condition becomes steadily aggravated and weighs like an evil

-inheritance on all future decisions. It may become as a leaden weight

-around the nation's neck, which cannot be shaken off but which forces it

-to drag out its existence in slavery.

-Thus, in Germany, edicts for disarmament and oppression and economic

-plunder followed one after the other, making us politically helpless.

-The result of all this was to create that mood which made so many look

-upon the Dawes Plan as a blessing and the Locarno Treaty as a success.

-From a higher point of view we may speak of one sole blessing in the

-midst of so much misery. This blessing is that, though men may be

-fooled, Heaven can't be bribed. For Heaven withheld its blessing. Since

-that time Misery and Anxiety have been the constant companions of our

-people, and Distress is the one Ally that has remained loyal to us. In

-this case also Destiny has made no exceptions. It has given us our

-deserts. Since we did not know how to value honour any more, it has

-taught us to value the liberty to seek for bread. Now that the nation

-has learned to cry for bread, it may one day learn to pray for freedom.

-The collapse of our nation in the years following 1918 was bitter and

-manifest. And yet that was the time chosen to persecute us in the most

-malicious way our enemies could devise, so that what happened afterwards

-could have been foretold by anybody then. The government to which our

-people submitted was as hopelessly incompetent as it was conceited, and

-this was especially shown in repudiating those who gave any warning that

-disturbed or displeased. Then we saw--and to-day also--the greatest

-parliamentary nincompoops, really common saddlers and glove-makers--not

-merely by trade, for that would signify very little--suddenly raised to

-the rank of statesmen and sermonizing to humble mortals from that

-pedestal. It did not matter, and it still does not matter, that such a

-'statesman', after having displayed his talents for six months or so as

-a mere windbag, is shown up for what he is and becomes the object of

-public raillery and sarcasm. It does not matter that he has given the

-most evident proof of complete incompetency. No. That does not matter at

-all. On the contrary, the less real service the parliamentary statesmen

-of this Republic render the country, the more savagely they persecute

-all who expect that parliamentary deputies should show some positive

-results of their activities. And they persecute everybody who dares to

-point to the failure of these activities and predict similar failures

-for the future. If one finally succeeds in nailing down one of these

-parliamentarians to hard facts, so that this political artist can no

-longer deny the real failure of his whole action and its results, then

-he will find thousands of grounds for excuse, but will in no way admit

-that he himself is the chief cause of the evil.

-In the winter of 1922-23, at the latest, it ought to have been generally

-recognized that, even after the conclusion of peace, France was still

-endeavouring with iron consistency to attain those ends which had been

-originally envisaged as the final purpose of the War. For nobody could

-think of believing that for four and a half years France continued to

-pour out the not abundant supply of her national blood in the most

-decisive struggle throughout all her history in order subsequently to

-obtain compensation through reparations for the damages sustained. Even

-Alsace and Lorraine, taken by themselves, would not account for the

-energy with which the French conducted the War, if Alsace-Lorraine were

-not already considered as a part of the really vast programme which

-French foreign policy had envisaged for the future. The aim of that

-programme was: Disintegration of Germany into a collection of small

-states. It was for this that Chauvinist France waged war; and in doing

-so she was in reality selling her people to be the serfs of the

-international Jew.

-French war aims would have been obtained through the World War if, as

-was originally hoped in Paris, the struggle had been carried out on

-German soil. Let us imagine the bloody battles of the World War not as

-having taken place on the Somme, in Flanders, in Artois, in front of

-Warsaw, Nizhni-Novogorod, Kowno, and Riga but in Germany, in the Ruhr or

-on the Maine, on the Elbe, in front of Hanover, Leipzig, N�rnberg, etc.

-If such happened, then we must admit that the destruction of Germany

-might have been accomplished. It is very much open to question if our

-young federal State could have borne the hard struggle for four and a

-half years, as it was borne by a France that had been centralized for

-centuries, with the whole national imagination focused on Paris. If this

-titanic conflict between the nations developed outside the frontiers of

-our fatherland, not only is all the merit due to the immortal service

-rendered by our old army but it was also very fortunate for the future

-of Germany. I am fully convinced that if things had taken a different

-course there would no longer be a German REICH to-day but only 'German

-States'. And that is the only reason why the blood which was shed by our

-friends and brothers in the War was at least not shed in vain.

-The course which events took was otherwise. In November 1918 Germany did

-indeed collapse with lightning suddenness. But when the catastrophe took

-place at home the armies under the Commander-in-Chief were still deep in

-the enemy's country. At that time France's first preoccupation was not

-the dismemberment of Germany but the problem of how to get the German

-armies out of France and Belgium as quickly as possible. And so, in

-order to put an end to the War, the first thing that had to be done by

-the Paris Government was to disarm the German armies and push them back

-into Germany if possible. Until this was done the French could not

-devote their attention to carrying out their own particular and original

-war aims. As far as concerned England, the War was really won when

-Germany was destroyed as a colonial and commercial Power and was reduced

-to the rank of a second-class State. It was not in England's interest to

-wipe out the German State altogether. In fact, on many grounds it was

-desirable for her to have a future rival against France in Europe.

-Therefore French policy was forced to carry on by peaceful means the

-work for which the War had opened the way; and Clemenceau's statement,

-that for him Peace was merely a continuation of the War, thus acquired

-an enhanced significance.

-Persistently and on every opportunity that arose, the effort to

-dislocate the framework of the REICH was to have been carried on. By

-perpetually sending new notes that demanded disarmament, on the one

-hand, and by the imposition of economic levies which, on the other hand,

-could be carried out as the process of disarmament progressed, it was

-hoped in Paris that the framework of the REICH would gradually fall to

-pieces. The more the Germans lost their sense of national honour the

-more could economic pressure and continued economic distress be

-effective as factors of political destruction. Such a policy of

-political oppression and economic exploitation, carried out for ten or

-twenty years, must in the long run steadily ruin the most compact

-national body and, under certain circumstances, dismember it. Then the

-French war aims would have been definitely attained.

-By the winter of 1922-23 the intentions of the French must already have

-been known for a long time back. There remained only two possible ways

-of confronting the situation. If the German national body showed itself

-sufficiently tough-skinned, it might gradually blunt the will of the

-French or it might do--once and for all--what was bound to become

-inevitable one day: that is to say, under the provocation of some

-particularly brutal act of oppression it could put the helm of the

-German ship of state to roundabout and ram the enemy. That would

-naturally involve a life-and-death-struggle. And the prospect of coming

-through the struggle alive depended on whether France could be so far

-isolated that in this second battle Germany would not have to fight

-against the whole world but in defence of Germany against a France that

-was persistently disturbing the peace of the world.

-I insist on this point, and I am profoundly convinced of it, namely,

-that this second alternative will one day be chosen and will have to be

-chosen and carried out in one way or another. I shall never believe that

-France will of herself alter her intentions towards us, because, in the

-last analysis, they are only the expression of the French instinct for

-self-preservation. Were I a Frenchman and were the greatness of France

-so dear to me as that of Germany actually is, in the final reckoning I

-could not and would not act otherwise than a Clemenceau. The French

-nation, which is slowly dying out, not so much through depopulation as

-through the progressive disappearance of the best elements of the race,

-can continue to play an important role in the world only if Germany be

-destroyed. French policy may make a thousand detours on the march

-towards its fixed goal, but the destruction of Germany is the end which

-it always has in view as the fulfilment of the most profound yearning

-and ultimate intentions of the French. Now it is a mistake to believe

-that if the will on one side should remain only PASSIVE and intent on

-its own self-preservation it can hold out permanently against another

-will which is not less forceful but is ACTIVE. As long as the eternal

-conflict between France and Germany is waged only in the form of a

-German defence against the French attack, that conflict can never be

-decided; and from century to century Germany will lose one position

-after another. If we study the changes that have taken place, from the

-twelfth century up to our day, in the frontiers within which the German

-language is spoken, we can hardly hope for a successful issue to result

-from the acceptance and development of a line of conduct which has

-hitherto been so detrimental for us.

-Only when the Germans have taken all this fully into account will they

-cease from allowing the national will-to-life to wear itself out in

-merely passive defence, but they will rally together for a last decisive

-contest with France. And in this contest the essential objective of the

-German nation will be fought for. Only then will it be possible to put

-an end to the eternal Franco-German conflict which has hitherto proved

-so sterile. Of course it is here presumed that Germany sees in the

-suppression of France nothing more than a means which will make it

-possible for our people finally to expand in another quarter. To-day

-there are eighty million Germans in Europe. And our foreign policy will

-be recognized as rightly conducted only when, after barely a hundred

-years, there will be 250 million Germans living on this Continent, not

-packed together as the coolies in the factories of another Continent but

-as tillers of the soil and workers whose labour will be a mutual

-assurance for their existence.

-In December 1922 the situation between Germany and France assumed a

-particularly threatening aspect. France had new and vast oppressive

-measures in view and needed sanctions for her conduct. Political

-pressure had to precede the economic plunder, and the French believed

-that only by making a violent attack against the central nervous system

-of German life would they be able to make our 'recalcitrant' people bow

-to their galling yoke. By the occupation of the Ruhr District, it was

-hoped in France that not only would the moral backbone of Germany be

-broken finally but that we should be reduced to such a grave economic

-condition that we should be forced, for weal or woe, to subscribe to the

-heaviest possible obligations.

-It was a question of bending and breaking Germany. At first Germany bent

-and subsequently broke in pieces completely.

-Through the occupation of the Ruhr, Fate once more reached out its hand

-to the German people and bade them arise. For what at first appeared as

-a heavy stroke of misfortune was found, on closer examination, to

-contain extremely encouraging possibilities of bringing Germany's

-sufferings to an end.

-As regards foreign politics, the action of France in occupying the Ruhr

-really estranged England for the first time in quite a profound way.

-Indeed it estranged not merely British diplomatic circles, which had

-concluded the French alliance and had upheld it from motives of calm and

-objective calculation, but it also estranged large sections of the

-English nation. The English business world in particular scarcely

-concealed the displeasure it felt at this incredible forward step in

-strengthening the power of France on the Continent. From the military

-standpoint alone France now assumed a position in Europe such as Germany

-herself had not held previously. Moreover, France thus obtained control

-over economic resources which practically gave her a monopoly that

-consolidated her political and commercial strength against all

-competition. The most important iron and coal mines of Europe were now

-united in the hand of one nation which, in contrast to Germany, had

-hitherto defended her vital interests in an active and resolute fashion

-and whose military efficiency in the Great War was still fresh in the

-memories of the whole world. The French occupation of the Ruhr coal

-field deprived England of all the successes she had gained in the War.

-And the victors were now Marshal Foch and the France he represented, no

-longer the calm and painstaking British statesmen.

-In Italy also the attitude towards France, which had not been very

-favourable since the end of the War, now became positively hostile. The

-great historic moment had come when the Allies of yesterday might become

-the enemies of to-morrow. If things happened otherwise and if the Allies

-did not suddenly come into conflict with one another, as in the Second

-Balkan War, that was due to the fact that Germany had no Enver Pasha but

-merely a Cuno as Chancellor of the REICH.

-Nevertheless, the French invasion of the Ruhr opened up great

-possibilities for the future not only in Germany's foreign politics but

-also in her internal politics. A considerable section of our people who,

-thanks to the persistent influence of a mendacious Press, had looked

-upon France as the champion of progress and liberty, were suddenly cured

-of this illusion. In 1914 the dream of international solidarity suddenly

-vanished from the brain of our German working class. They were brought

-back into the world of everlasting struggle, where one creature feeds on

-the other and where the death of the weaker implies the life of the

-stronger. The same thing happened in the spring of 1923.

-When the French put their threats into effect and penetrated, at first

-hesitatingly and cautiously, into the coal-basin of Lower Germany the

-hour of destiny had struck for Germany. It was a great and decisive

-moment. If at that moment our people had changed not only their frame of

-mind but also their conduct the German Ruhr District could have been

-made for France what Moscow turned out to be for Napoleon. Indeed, there

-were only two possibilities: either to leave this move also to take its

-course and do nothing or to turn to the German people in that region of

-sweltering forges and flaming furnaces. An effort might have been made

-to set their wills afire with determination to put an end to this

-persistent disgrace and to face a momentary terror rather than submit to

-a terror that was endless.

-Cuno, who was then Chancellor of the REICH, can claim the immortal merit

-of having discovered a third way; and our German bourgeois political

-parties merit the still more glorious honour of having admired him and

-collaborated with him.

-Here I shall deal with the second way as briefly as possible.

-By occupying the Ruhr France committed a glaring violation of the

-Versailles Treaty. Her action brought her into conflict with several of

-the guarantor Powers, especially with England and Italy. She could no

-longer hope that those States would back her up in her egotistic act of

-brigandage. She could count only on her own forces to reap anything like

-a positive result from that adventure, for such it was at the start. For

-a German National Government there was only one possible way left open.

-And this was the way which honour prescribed. Certainly at the beginning

-we could not have opposed France with an active armed resistance. But it

-should have been clearly recognized that any negotiations which did not

-have the argument of force to back them up would turn out futile and

-ridiculous. If it were not possible to organize an active resistance,

-then it was absurd to take up the standpoint: "We shall not enter into

-any negotiations." But it was still more absurd finally to enter into

-negotiations without having organized the necessary force as a support.

-Not that it was possible for us by military means to prevent the

-occupation of the Ruhr. Only a madman could have recommended such a

-decision. But under the impression produced by the action which France

-had taken, and during the time that it was being carried out, measures

-could have been, and should have been, undertaken without any regard to

-the Versailles Treaty, which France herself had violated, to provide

-those military resources which would serve as a collateral argument to

-back up the negotiations later on. For it was quite clear from the

-beginning that the fate of this district occupied by the French would

-one day be decided at some conference table or other. But it also must

-have been quite to everybody that even the best negotiators could have

-little success as long as the ground on which they themselves stood and

-the chair on which they sat were not under the armed protection of their

-own people. A weak pigmy cannot contend against athletes, and a

-negotiator without any armed defence at his back must always bow in

-obeisance when a Brennus throws the sword into the scales on the enemy's

-side, unless an equally strong sword can be thrown into the scales at

-the other end and thus maintain the balance. It was really distressing

-to have to observe the comedy of negotiations which, ever since 1918,

-regularly preceded each arbitrary dictate that the enemy imposed upon

-us. We offered a sorry spectacle to the eyes of the whole world when we

-were invited, for the sake of derision, to attend conference tables

-simply to be presented with decisions and programmes which had already

-been drawn up and passed a long time before, and which we were permitted

-to discuss, but from the beginning had to be considered as unalterable.

-It is true that in scarcely a single instance were our negotiators men

-of more than mediocre abilities. For the most part they justified only

-too well the insolent observation made by Lloyd George when he

-sarcastically remarked, in the presence of a former Chancellor of the

-REICH, Herr Simon, that the Germans were not able to choose men of

-intelligence as their leaders and representatives. But in face of the

-resolute determination and the power which the enemy held in his hands,

-on the one side, and the lamentable impotence of Germany on the other,

-even a body of geniuses could have obtained only very little for

-Germany.

-In the spring of 1923, however, anyone who might have thought of seizing

-the opportunity of the French invasion of the Ruhr to reconstruct the

-military power of Germany would first have had to restore to the nation

-its moral weapons, to reinforce its will-power, and to extirpate those

-who had destroyed this most valuable element of national strength.

-Just as in 1918 we had to pay with our blood for the failure to crush

-the Marxist serpent underfoot once and for all in 1914 and 1915, now we

-have to suffer retribution for the fact that in the spring of 1923 we

-did not seize the opportunity then offered us for finally wiping out the

-handiwork done by the Marxists who betrayed their country and were

-responsible for the murder of our people.

-Any idea of opposing French aggression with an efficacious resistance

-was only pure folly as long as the fight had not been taken up against

-those forces which, five years previously, had broken the German

-resistance on the battlefields by the influences which they exercised at

-home. Only bourgeois minds could have arrived at the incredible belief

-that Marxism had probably become quite a different thing now and that

-the CANAILLE of ringleaders in 1918, who callously used the bodies of

-our two million dead as stepping-stones on which they climbed into the

-various Government positions, would now, in the year 1923, suddenly show

-themselves ready to pay their tribute to the national conscience. It was

-veritably a piece of incredible folly to expect that those traitors

-would suddenly appear as the champions of German freedom. They had no

-intention of doing it. Just as a hyena will not leave its carrion, a

-Marxist will not give up indulging in the betrayal of his country. It is

-out of the question to put forward the stupid retort here, that so many

-of the workers gave their blood for Germany. German workers, yes, but no

-longer international Marxists. If the German working class, in 1914,

-consisted of real Marxists the War would have ended within three weeks.

-Germany would have collapsed before the first soldier had put a foot

-beyond the frontiers. No. The fact that the German people carried on the

-War proved that the Marxist folly had not yet been able to penetrate

-deeply. But as the War was prolonged German soldiers and workers

-gradually fell back into the hands of the Marxist leaders, and the

-number of those who thus relapsed became lost to their country. At the

-beginning of the War, or even during the War, if twelve or fifteen

-thousand of these Jews who were corrupting the nation had been forced to

-submit to poison-gas, just as hundreds of thousands of our best German

-workers from every social stratum and from every trade and calling had

-to face it in the field, then the millions of sacrifices made at the

-front would not have been in vain. On the contrary: If twelve thousand

-of these malefactors had been eliminated in proper time probably the

-lives of a million decent men, who would be of value to Germany in the

-future, might have been saved. But it was in accordance with bourgeois

-'statesmanship' to hand over, without the twitch of an eyelid, millions

-of human beings to be slaughtered on the battlefields, while they looked

-upon ten or twelve thousand public traitors, profiteers, usurers and

-swindlers, as the dearest and most sacred national treasure and

-proclaimed their persons to be inviolable. Indeed it would be hard to

-say what is the most outstanding feature of these bourgeois circles:

-mental debility, moral weakness and cowardice, or a mere down-at-heel

-mentality. It is a class that is certainly doomed to go under but,

-unhappily, it drags down the whole nation with it into the abyss.

-The situation in 1923 was quite similar to that of 1918. No matter what

-form of resistance was decided upon, the first prerequisite for taking

-action was the elimination of the Marxist poison from the body of the

-nation. And I was convinced that the first task then of a really

-National Government was to seek and find those forces that were

-determined to wage a war of destruction against Marxism and to give

-these forces a free hand. It was their duty not to bow down before the

-fetish of 'order and tranquillity' at a moment when the enemy from

-outside was dealing the Fatherland a death-blow and when high treason

-was lurking behind every street corner at home. No. A really National

-Government ought then to have welcomed disorder and unrest if this

-turmoil would afford an opportunity of finally settling with the

-Marxists, who are the mortal enemies of our people. If this precaution

-were neglected, then it was sheer folly to think of resisting, no matter

-what form that resistance might take.

-Of course, such a settlement of accounts with the Marxists as would be

-of real historical importance could not be effected along lines laid

-down by some secret council or according to some plan concocted by the

-shrivelled mind of some cabinet minister. It would have to be in

-accordance with the eternal laws of life on this Earth which are and

-will remain those of a ceaseless struggle for existence. It must always

-be remembered that in many instances a hardy and healthy nation has

-emerged from the ordeal of the most bloody civil wars, while from peace

-conditions which had been artificially maintained there often resulted a

-state of national putrescence that reeked to the skies. The fate of a

-nation cannot be changed in kid gloves. And so in the year 1923 brutal

-action should have been taken to stamp out the vipers that battened on

-the body of the nation. If this were done, then the first prerequisite

-for an active opposition would have been fulfilled.

-At that time I often talked myself hoarse in trying to make it clear, at

-least to the so-called national circles, what was then at stake and that

-by repeating the errors committed in 1914 and the following years we

-must necessarily come to the same kind of catastrophe as in 1918. I

-frequently implored of them to let Fate have a free hand and to make it

-possible for our Movement to settle with the Marxists. But I preached to

-deaf ears. They all thought they knew better, including the Chief of the

-Defence Force, until finally they found themselves forced to subscribe

-to the vilest capitulation that history records.

-I then became profoundly convinced that the German bourgeoisie had come

-to the end of its mission and was not capable of fulfilling any further

-function. And then also I recognized the fact that all the bourgeois

-parties had been fighting Marxism merely from the spirit of competition

-without sincerely wishing to destroy it. For a long time they had been

-accustomed to assist in the destruction of their country, and their one

-great care was to secure good seats at the funeral banquet. It was for

-this alone that they kept on 'fighting'.

-At that time--I admit it openly--I conceived a profound admiration for

-the great man beyond the Alps, whose ardent love for his people inspired

-him not to bargain with Italy's internal enemies but to use all possible

-ways and means in an effort to wipe them out. What places Mussolini in

-the ranks of the world's great men is his decision not to share Italy

-with the Marxists but to redeem his country from Marxism by destroying

-internationalism.

-What miserable pigmies our sham statesmen in Germany appear by

-comparison with him. And how nauseating it is to witness the conceit and

-effrontery of these nonentities in criticizing a man who is a thousand

-times greater than them. And how painful it is to think that this takes

-place in a country which could point to a Bismarck as its leader as

-recently as fifty years ago.

-The attitude adopted by the bourgeoisie in 1923 and the way in which

-they dealt kindly with Marxism decided from the outset the fate of any

-attempt at active resistance in the Ruhr. With that deadly enemy in our

-own ranks it was sheer folly to think of fighting France. The most that

-could then be done was to stage a sham fight in order to satisfy the

-German national element to some extent, to tranquillize the 'boiling

-state of the public mind', or dope it, which was what was really

-intended. Had they really believed in what they did, they ought to have

-recognized that the strength of a nation lies, first of all, not in its

-arms but in its will, and that before conquering the external enemy the

-enemy at home would have to be eliminated. If not, then disaster must

-result if victory be not achieved on the very first day of the fight.

-The shadow of one defeat is sufficient to break up the resistance of a

-nation that has not been liberated from its internal enemies, and give

-the adversary a decisive victory.

-In the spring of 1923 all this might have been predicted. It is useless

-to ask whether it was then possible to count on a military success

-against France. For if the result of the German action in regard to the

-French invasion of the Ruhr had been only the destruction of Marxism at

-home, success would have been on our side. Once liberated from the

-deadly enemies of her present and future existence, Germany would

-possess forces which no power in the world could strangle again. On the

-day when Marxism is broken in Germany the chains that bind Germany will

-be smashed for ever. For never in our history have we been conquered by

-the strength of our outside enemies but only through our own failings

-and the enemy in our own camp.

-Since it was not able to decide on such heroic action at that time, the

-Government could have chosen the first way: namely, to allow things to

-take their course and do nothing at all.

-But at that great moment Heaven made Germany a present of a great man.

-This was Herr Cuno. He was neither a statesman nor a politician by

-profession, still less a politician by birth. But he belonged to that

-type of politician who is merely used for liGYMNASIUMating some definite

-question. Apart from that, he had business experience. It was a curse

-for Germany that, in the practice of politics, this business man looked

-upon politics also as a business undertaking and regulated his conduct

-accordingly.

-"France occupies the Ruhr. What is there in the Ruhr? Coal. And so

-France occupies the Ruhr for the sake of its coal?" What could come more

-naturally to the mind of Herr Cuno than the idea of a strike, which

-would prevent the French from obtaining any coal? And therefore, in the

-opinion of Herr Cuno, one day or other they would certainly have to get

-out of the Ruhr again if the occupation did not prove to be a paying

-business. Such were approximately the lines along which that OUTSTANDING

-NATIONAL STATESMAN reasoned. At Stuttgart and other places he spoke to

-'his people' and this people became lost in admiration for him. Of

-course they needed the Marxists for the strike, because the workers

-would have to be the first to go on strike. Now, in the brain of a

-bourgeois statesman such as Cuno, a Marxist and a worker are one and the

-same thing. Therefore it was necessary to bring the worker into line

-with all the other Germans in a united front. One should have seen how

-the countenances of these party politicians beamed with the light of

-their moth-eaten bourgeois culture when the great genius spoke the word

-of revelation to them. Here was a nationalist and also a man of genius.

-At last they had discovered what they had so long sought. For now the

-abyss between Marxism and themselves could be bridged over. And thus it

-became possible for the pseudo-nationalist to ape the German manner and

-adopt nationalist phraseology in reaching out the ingenuous hand of

-friendship to the internationalist traitors of their country. The

-traitor readily grasped that hand, because, just as Herr Cuno had need

-of the Marxist chiefs for his 'united front', the Marxist chiefs needed

-Herr Cuno's money. So that both parties mutually benefited by the

-transaction. Cuno obtained his united front, constituted of nationalist

-charlatans and international swindlers. And now, with the help of the

-money paid to them by the State, these people were able to pursue their

-glorious mission, which was to destroy the national economic system. It

-was an immortal thought, that of saving a nation by means of a general

-strike in which the strikers were paid by the State. It was a command

-that could be enthusiastically obeyed by the most indifferent of

-loafers.

-Everybody knows that prayers will not make a nation free. But that it is

-possible to liberate a nation by giving up work has yet to be proved by

-historical experience. Instead of promoting a paid general strike at

-that time, and making this the basis of his 'united front', if Herr Cuno

-had demanded two hours more work from every German, then the swindle of

-the 'united front' would have been disposed of within three days.

-Nations do not obtain their freedom by refusing to work but by making

-sacrifices.

-Anyhow, the so-called passive resistance could not last long. Nobody but

-a man entirely ignorant of war could imagine that an army of occupation

-might be frightened and driven out by such ridiculous means. And yet

-this could have been the only purpose of an action for which the country

-had to pay out milliards and which contributed seriously to devaluate

-the national currency.

-Of course the French were able to make themselves almost at home in the

-Ruhr basin the moment they saw that such ridiculous measures were being

-adopted against them. They had received the prescription directly from

-ourselves of the best way to bring a recalcitrant civil population to a

-sense of reason if its conduct implied a serious danger for the

-officials which the army of occupation had placed in authority. Nine

-years previously we wiped out with lightning rapidity bands of Belgian

-FRANCS-TIREURS and made the civil population clearly understand the

-seriousness of the situation, when the activities of these bands

-threatened grave danger for the German army. In like manner if the

-passive resistance of the Ruhr became really dangerous for the French,

-the armies of occupation would have needed no more than eight days to

-bring the whole piece of childish nonsense to a gruesome end. For we

-must always go back to the original question in all this business: What

-were we to do if the passive resistance came to the point where it

-really got on the nerves of our opponents and they proceeded to suppress

-it with force and bloodshed? Would we still continue to resist? If so,

-then, for weal or woe, we would have to submit to a severe and bloody

-persecution. And in that case we should be faced with the same situation

-as would have faced us in the case of an active resistance. In other

-words, we should have to fight. Therefore the so-called passive

-resistance would be logical only if supported by the determination to

-come out and wage an open fight in case of necessity or adopt a kind of

-guerilla warfare. Generally speaking, one undertakes such a struggle

-when there is a possibility of success. The moment a besieged fortress

-is taken by assault there is no practical alternative left to the

-defenders except to surrender, if instead of probable death they are

-assured that their lives will be spared. Let the garrison of a citadel

-which has been completely encircled by the enemy once lose all hope of

-being delivered by their friends, then the strength of the defence

-collapses totally.

-That is why passive resistance in the Ruhr, when one considers the final

-consequences which it might and must necessarily have if it were to turn

-out really successful, had no practical meaning unless an active front

-had been organized to support it. Then one might have demanded immense

-efforts from our people. If each of these Westphalians in the Ruhr could

-have been assured that the home country had mobilized an army of eighty

-or a hundred divisions to support them, the French would have found

-themselves treading on thorns. Surely a greater number of courageous men

-could be found to sacrifice themselves for a successful enterprise than

-for an enterprise that was manifestly futile.

-This was the classic occasion that induced us National Socialists to

-take up a resolute stand against the so-called national word of command.

-And that is what we did. During those months I was attacked by people

-whose patriotism was a mixture of stupidity and humbug and who took part

-in the general hue and cry because of the pleasant sensation they felt

-at being suddenly enabled to show themselves as nationalists, without

-running any danger thereby. In my estimation, this despicable 'united

-front' was one of the most ridiculous things that could be imagined. And

-events proved that I was right.

-As soon as the Trades Unions had nearly filled their treasuries with

-Cuno's contributions, and the moment had come when it would be necessary

-to transform the passive resistance from a mere inert defence into

-active aggression, the Red hyenas suddenly broke out of the national

-sheepfold and returned to be what they always had been. Without sounding

-any drums or trumpets, Herr Cuno returned to his ships. Germany was

-richer by one experience and poorer by the loss of one great hope.

-Up to midsummer of that year several officers, who certainly were not

-the least brave and honourable of their kind, had not really believed

-that the course of things could take a turn that was so humiliating.

-They had all hoped that--if not openly, then at least secretly--the

-necessary measures would be taken to make this insolent French invasion

-a turning-point in German history. In our ranks also there were many who

-counted at least on the intervention of the REICHSWEHR. That conviction

-was so ardent that it decisively influenced the conduct and especially

-the training of innumerable young men.

-But when the disgraceful collapse set in and the most humiliating kind

-of capitulation was made, indignation against such a betrayal of our

-unhappy country broke out into a blaze. Millions of German money had

-been spent in vain and thousands of young Germans had been sacrificed,

-who were foolish enough to trust in the promises made by the rulers of

-the REICH. Millions of people now became clearly convinced that Germany

-could be saved only if the whole prevailing system were destroyed root

-and branch.

-There never had been a more propitious moment for such a solution. On

-the one side an act of high treason had been committed against the

-country, openly and shamelessly. On the other side a nation found itself

-delivered over to die slowly of hunger. Since the State itself had

-trodden down all the precepts of faith and loyalty, made a mockery of

-the rights of its citizens, rendered the sacrifices of millions of its

-most loyal sons fruitless and robbed other millions of their last penny,

-such a State could no longer expect anything but hatred from its

-subjects. This hatred against those who had ruined the people and the

-country was bound to find an outlet in one form or another. In this

-connection I shall quote here the concluding sentence of a speech which

-I delivered at the great court trial that took place in the spring of

-1924.

-"The judges of this State may tranquilly condemn us for our conduct at

-that time, but History, the goddess of a higher truth and a better legal

-code, will smile as she tears up this verdict and will acquit us all of

-the crime for which this verdict demands punishment."

-But History will then also summon before its own tribunal those who,

-invested with power to-day, have trampled on law and justice, condemning

-our people to misery and ruin, and who, in the hour of their country's

-misfortune, took more account of their own ego than of the life of the

-community.

-Here I shall not relate the course of events which led to November 8th,

-1923, and closed with that date. I shall not do so because I cannot see

-that this would serve any beneficial purpose in the future and also

-because no good could come of opening old sores that have been just only

-closed. Moreover, it would be out of place to talk about the guilt of

-men who perhaps in the depths of their hearts have as much love for

-their people as I myself, and who merely did not follow the same road as

-I took or failed to recognize it as the right one to take.

-In the face of the great misfortune which has befallen our fatherland

-and affects all us, I must abstain from offending and perhaps disuniting

-those men who must at some future date form one great united front which

-will be made up of true and loyal Germans and which will have to

-withstand the common front presented by the enemy of our people. For I

-know that a time will come when those who then treated us as enemies

-will venerate the men who trod the bitter way of death for the sake of

-their people.

-I have dedicated the first volume of this book to our eighteen fallen

-heroes. Here at the end of this second volume let me again bring those

-men to the memory of the adherents and champions of our ideals, as

-heroes who, in the full consciousness of what they were doing,

-sacrificed their lives for us all. We must never fail to recall those

-names in order to encourage the weak and wavering among us when duty

-calls, that duty which they fulfilled with absolute faith, even to its

-extreme consequences. Together with those, and as one of the best of

-all, I should like to mention the name of a man who devoted his life to

-reawakening his and our people, through his writing and his ideas and

-finally through positive action. I mean: Dietrich Eckart.

-EPILOGUE

-On November 9th, 1923, four and a half years after its foundation, the

-German National Socialist Labour Party was dissolved and forbidden

-throughout the whole of the REICH. To-day, in November 1926, it is again

-established throughout the REICH, enjoying full liberty, stronger and

-internally more compact than ever before.

-All persecutions of the Movement and the individuals at its head, all

-the imputations and calumnies, have not been able to prevail against it.

-Thanks to the justice of its ideas, the integrity of its intentions and

-the spirit of self-denial that animates its members, it has overcome all

-oppression and increased its strength through the ordeal. If, in our

-contemporary world of parliamentary corruption, our Movement remains

-always conscious of the profound nature of its struggle and feels that

-it personifies the values of individual personality and race, and orders

-its action accordingly--then it may count with mathematical certainty on

-achieving victory some day in the future. And Germany must necessarily

-win the position which belongs to it on this Earth if it is led and

-organized according to these principles.

-A State which, in an epoch of racial adulteration, devotes itself to the

-duty of preserving the best elements of its racial stock must one day

-become ruler of the Earth.

-The adherents of our Movements must always remember this, whenever they

-may have misgivings lest the greatness of the sacrifices demanded of

-them may not be justified by the possibilities of success.

-THE END