Chapter 23 Chapter 3 "Delirious with Joy" (9)

The ideal-oriented youth of Vandervogel brought their lofty ideals to the trenches; now, as soldiers of the "Free Corps", they took these ideals to the streets of Germany. “This is a new generation, the commando fighters, the best of Central Europe,” wrote their poet laureate, Ernst Jung. "This is a new race, strong, intelligent, and full of purpose." They will be soldiers fighting to save Germany. "We must forge new forms with blood and seize power with an iron fist." Jung's remarks can be said to represent Hitler.The Red regime in Munich revived the hatred that had accumulated in Hitler's heart.Soon after Munich was liberated, an event occurred that would change Hitler's life and turn the course of world history around. On June 28, 1919, the victorious Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles, and the German government ratified its terms without much delay.Conditions are harsh.Germany was forced to take sole responsibility for causing the war and to pay for all losses caused by the war.Large swaths of the empire were taken away: Alsace-Lorraine fell to France, Malmedy to Belgium, most of Posen and West Prussia to Poland.Germany also lost her colonies.Danjik becomes a free state; Saarland, Schlewig and East Prussia will have referenda*?right.What's more, the Allies will occupy the Rhine River for at least 15 years, and a 30-mile wide area on the right bank of the Rhine River will be designated as a demilitarized zone.The treaty also stipulates that Germany shall not own submarines or military aircraft, and the number of troops is limited to 100,000.In this way, the humiliation suffered by Germany reached its climax.

This new force, the Wehrmacht, almost immediately began to exerciseA power that is far greater in its own right.In order to protect the troops from the influence of Bolshevism, they established a bureau to investigate subversive political activities in the troops and infiltrate workers' organizations.Among the men chosen by Captain Karl Mayer, who was in charge of the unit, was Hitler.Hitler would have been best suited for the job, but Mayer had picked him because of his "exemplary" record in wartime, and possibly out of pity. "When I first met him, he looked like a tired stray dog ​​looking for a master." Mel got the impression that Hitler was "ready to throw his fate into someone else's hands, as long as that person showed him kindness."He was "indifferent to the German people and their fate".

In fact, Hitler was in a state of simmering and confusion because of the contagion of revolution, and never before had he been more concerned about the fate of the country to which he had defected.Not long ago, he had been given a racist pamphlet—probably written by Eckart.It immediately reminded him of other similar pamphlets he had read in Vienna. "In this way, unconsciously, I found my own development unfolding before my eyes again." What he saw and heard on the streets of Munich activated his repressed hatred of the Jews.Everywhere the Jews were in power: first Eisner, then anarchists like Tolle, and finally Russian Reds like Levina.In Berlin it was Rosa Luxemburg; in Budapest it was Bela Kun; in Moscow it was Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev.What Hitler suspected was a conspiracy is now being realized.

Before taking office, Hitler and other political spies were sent to the University of Munich for specialized training.Among the political instructors are conservatives who are full of radical right knowledge like Karl Alexander and Professor von Müller. "For me," Hitler wrote, "the value of this matter is that I now have the opportunity to meet like-minded comrades with whom I can discuss the situation at length. We are all more or less convinced that the crime of 11 Neither the evil parties nor the Centers nor the Social Democrats can save Germany from future collapse, nor can the so-called 'bourgeois nationalist organisations', despite their best wishes, be able to respond to what has already happened. events to make up for it.”

During the war, Hitler had told WiesdenKirchner that in peacetime he would become a painter or enter politics; when his comrades asked him which political party he would like to join, he replied: "Neither." It was also the conclusion of those in other circles of trainees that only a new sport could satisfy their needs.They decided to call the organization the "Socialist Revolutionary Party" "because the social outlook of this new organization really wanted to be revolutionary." Lecturer Gottfried Feder, brother-in-law of Prof. von Müller, cheers on the movement.Feder is the founder of the "Battle League" organized to "break the slavery of interest". He is an engineer by profession, but he is actually an economist.He lectured on the speculative and economic nature of the stock exchange and loan capital to the students of the training course.For Hitler, this was a stimulating revelation. "After listening to Feder's first lecture, I thought I had found a way to build one of the main foundations of a new political party. Inspired by Feder's demand for an end to the slavery of interest, he revisited the Marxism, "for the first time really understood the content of the works of Karl Marx, a Jew, who worked hard all his life. "He finally understood Marx's "Das Kapital".

After a lecture, Professor von Miller found a group of people having a lively discussion. "People seem to be possessed. It turned out that there was someone talking loudly in a deep guttural voice, and the more he talked, the more he talked. I have a strange feeling that the excitement of these people is caused by his talking. What I saw was a pale face. A small face. He has unkempt military hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a fanatical gleam in his big blue eyes." "Did you know that one of your students is a natural orator?" Professor Miller asked Captain Mel, pointing to the pale soldier."Hitler, come here," Meier called, and Hitler walked "clumsily" with a sort of defiant embarrassment.Because of his gift for oratory, he was finally assigned as a trainer in a regiment in Munich. "I set to work with the utmost enthusiasm and love, because suddenly I had the opportunity to speak to large audiences, and what I had always assumed, purely by feeling and not by perception, was now confirmed: I could 'speak'. ” With each speech, Hitler became more and more confident that his voice had developed to such an extent that his speech could be heard clearly from any corner of the barracks.

His social life was not so successful, since many of those with whom he was friendly at first considered him a spy.There was a short soldier named Thière who openly despised the advanced.Hitler followed closely and chased into the street, constantly explaining the real mission of the German state.His words were suddenly interrupted: "Tell me," said Thière, "did they pour into your head and you forgot to flush?" According to an eyewitness, "this long-distance speaker, startled, He glared at him and walked away without a word." Hitler couldn't even get along with the two spies who lived in the same room.They complained to Captain Mel about his "physical habits."In addition, "he talked in his sleep and sleepwalked, which was very annoying." So he moved into a small room on the second floor.It was originally a small warehouse, the windows were all bolted up, but Hitler "seemed happy to have a hut".

In spite of Hitler's shortcomings in one way or another in social affairs, Captain Meyer still valued his oratorical ability very much, and sent him to perform a special mission outside Munich; ——Residing in the Letzfeld prisoner-of-war camp , German prisoners of war who were sent home, because they showed Spartacus views, organized a "education group" in order to transform them into anti-socialist patriots. On July 12, the propaganda team set off from Munich. Five days later, Hitler himself received a practical political education.The repatriated prisoners of war were full of anger and spoke harshly.Deceived of their youth and hopes, they were forced to live like cattle in the trenches, only to return disorganized and hungry.Hitler spoke eloquently to them of the "Disgrace of Versailles," "November Sinners," and the "Jewish-Marxist World Conspiracy," directing their hatred toward these targets.Hitler's enthusiasm for this work is mentioned in a series of commendation reports. "Herr Hitler, if I may say so," remarked one observer, "was a natural orator of the people. With his zeal and charm, he kept the audience engaged and convinced of what he said."

On his return to Munich, he also assisted with oratory in the barracks.Another of his assignments was to investigate some 50 radical groups that had recently sprung up in Munich.These include racists, communists, fierce nationalists, anarchists and ultra-patriotic; ” and a series of political factions. Early that fall, Hitler attended a meeting of a small political group calling itself the "German Workers' Party."Although during the discussion, according to one of the 24 people who attended the meeting, he made a speech and "speaked very well," his impression of that night's meeting was weak, and he did not mention it in a book.The party was created earlier that year by Anton Drexler, a craftsman at the Munich railway factory.It is doubtful whether Hitler bothered to investigate this point.The party's program was a strange combination of socialism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism, and the party itself was clothed in a mysterious cloak, which seemed to consist of only a small group of so-called "workers' political groups"-the It was the idea of ​​Rudolf Fleicher von Seibordendorff.Seibodendorff himself was a mysterious figure, short and stout, with protruding eyes, "a painter rather than a pedant; more of a luxury than a Platonist"; Do not show it publicly."

Like Hitler, he believed that there would be a Germanic wave in the future, so he spent a lot of energy in establishing the Bavarian branch of the "Germanic Order".Members were strictly limited to Germans, and must be able to prove the "purity of blood" of three generations; each member was required to pledge to actively participate in the "struggle against internationalism and the Jewish nation".The wave of revolution across the country compelled Sebdendorfer to label his organization the innocent name "Turihui" as a cover.By this time he had decided to put into effect what he had long desired: to attract the workers to his side of the "people's" cause (*Volkisch-word is difficult to translate into an equivalent. Literally, it is "People's", but it also has a racist flavor. If it is translated as "racist", its meaning of "people's nationalism" will be lost. Therefore, VoClkisch is used throughout this book).He instructed a Touri member, a sports columnist through and through, to set up a "workers' political group."

This man brought in Anton Drexler (who had organized a figurehead group of workers for "a good peace" called the "Free Labor Committee"), and the two merged to form a new political organization. The preparatory meeting of the "German Workers' Party" was held at the beginning of January of that year in a small restaurant ("Fursteinfelde Hof").About twenty-four or five people attended the meeting, most of whom were railway workers at Drexler's factory.Drexler succinctly articulated to the congregation the party's dual goals: to end class struggle and liberate workers from Marx's internationalism; and to make the upper classes understand their responsibilities to workers.What they really needed, Drexler said, was "to accept German rule."Drexler suggested calling the group the "National Socialist Party of Germany" (the same name as a party founded a year earlier in Bohemia with roughly the same goals. Incidentally, the party micro is the swastika), but It was objected that the term "socialism" would be misunderstood. Drexler spent sleepless nights drafting the party platform.Skilled workers must not think of themselves as proletarians, but as middle-class citizens.The middle class, for its part, must be expanded and strengthened "at the expense of big capitalism".The platform also carefully declared anti-Semitism: "The state should not support religious education that is contrary to German moral and ethical standards", let alone tolerate it in fact.Two weeks later, the inaugural meeting was held at the headquarters of the Turi Society.The languid sports columnist Carl Halsher was elected chairman, with Drexler as his deputy. It's hardly a political party, since it doesn't have much to offer except a committee of six. "Because of the Red threat, our meetings were held in secret," Drexler (by this time a serious, unknown, and sickly man) recalled: "We had no How much can be done. I wrote my thoughts in a booklet called "My Political Awakening". It was selected from the diary of a worker." His dream was to find a man who was both energetic and Daredevil, take some lessons from its pamphlet, "and find the driving force for us. Anyway, it takes a great character, a man of strong conviction, a one-eyed man, a man of absolute fearlessness, a man who can act on it character." On September 12, Major Hier sent him to another meeting of the small "Workers' Party".If ever there was a "one-eyed man" with strong convictions, Hitler was one.At dusk that night, Hitler stepped into a small cafe on Herrenstrasse, the Café Sternakabrau.There are already about 40 workers inside. The speaker was originally scheduled to be the poet Eckart.He was absent due to illness, and the speaker was replaced by the economist Feder. His topic was "How and by what means can capitalism be eliminated?" Because he had listened to Feder's lectures during his training, Hitler was able to concentrate on listening.His impression was neither good nor bad.Apparently, this is just another group that "emerges from the ground and disappears quickly".It couldn't be more obvious that his founders didn't know how to turn his club into a real political party.The evening's meeting bored him; as soon as Feder finished speaking, Hitler relaxed.As soon as the free discussion was announced, Hitler was about to leave the meeting, but something "driven" him to stay.Minutes later, Hitler was berating a professor for advocating the secession of Bavaria from Prussia.Hitler spoke for 15 minutes with capable eloquence and incisive arguments, causing the professor "...to leave the hall like a dog in water before I finished speaking." Hitler's speech and its logic made a deep impression on Drexler.He whispered to his secretary: "This man has talent, he can use it!" He found Hitler and introduced himself.But Hitler didn't even remember the name of this unremarkable gentleman with glasses.Like a religious fanatic, he forced his pamphlet, a 40-page book with a pink cover, into Hitler's hands, muttering, "You must read it carefully, please come again." and so on. When Hitler returned to his cell on the second floor of the barracks, suffering from insomnia as usual, he began to sprinkle bread crumbs and leftovers on the floor - to feed the mice.He had made it a habit, before dawn, to "watch these little things go round and round the good food. I have been through much poverty in my life, and I can well imagine what hunger is like, so I can also experience the joy of these little things.” At around 5:00 that morning, his eyes were still wide open.Lying on the cot, he watched the mouse's antics and thought of the pamphlet Drexler had forced upon him.Hitler himself found it strange: he was hooked on the first page. "I unconsciously found that my own development was unfolding before my eyes." The next day, the thoughts and sentences in the book kept breaking into his mind. The terms "National Socialism" and "New World Order" and their predictions that the new party was bound to attract not only the disenchanted and dispossessed workers but also civil servants and the lower middle classes, He can't forget it for a long time. However, his interest soon faded.Later, he was surprised to receive a postcard informing him that he had been accepted as a member of the "German Workers' Party".He has been invited to sit on the committee which will meet next Wednesday.Because he wanted to form a party of his own, and had no intention of joining any existing party, he planned to make an angry refusal.But, "out of curiosity," he decided to go and see the odd group again. The meeting took place in another low-class café (Altus Rosenbad) on Herrenstrasse.Through the dimly lit and empty restaurant, Hitler came to the back and found four people sitting around a table.One of them was the author of the pamphlet.Drexler welcomed him warmly and congratulated him on becoming a member of the "German Workers' Party" ("Now we have an Austrian with a big mouth!" he once told a member).Drexler explained that they were expecting Mr. Halley, the chairman of the national organization. The Sports Writer is finally here.He was born with coiled legs and was ugly and ill-dressed.At the meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting were read out first; then the accountant reported that there were only 7 marks and 50 Finnicks on hand.Letters were read and lengthy discussions took place.It was worse than Hitler imagined. "Terrible, terrible! This is the worst of club life! Do I want to join this organization?" When discussing the issue of new party members, Hitler raised many questions from the perspective of the reality of the party organization.He found that the party had no program, no leaflets, not even a rubber stamp, but only good wishes.He quickly glanced at several committee members.They have countless hearts and fuzzy thinking. Displeased by what he saw, he was still undecided whether to attend.It's the "biggest problem" in his life.For the next two days, he kept fighting inside.Reason told him to refuse, but emotion made him accept.He had vowed to enter politics, and this ridiculous group had one great advantage—it had not yet "coagulated into 'an organization' which gave individuals the opportunity to exercise their individual activities".Since it is small, he can control it as he wants. Hitler reported what he had found to Captain Mel.Captain Mel in turn relayed the situation to a group of senior military officers and capitalists who met once a week at the Four Seasons to discuss ways of rebuilding Germany's military might.They concluded that the goal could only be achieved with the support of German workers.The little "German Workers' Party" can be used as a start.According to Captain Meier, General Ludendorff appeared in Meier's office one day and demanded that Hitler be allowed to join the Workers' Party and assist in its formation. It was illegal for members of the Forces Nouvelles to join a political party.But "in order to please Ludendorff (his wishes were still respected in the army), I ordered Hitler to join the Workers' Party and to help it grow. For this, he initially received 20 per week equivalent to the present devalued Golden Mark".So, in a sense, Hitler was ordered to do what he had decided to do.He became a member of the "German Workers' Party", registered and received a party card. At the same time that Hitler devoted himself to politics, he also made significant progress in his thinking-this was also the result of an order from Captain Mehr.Hitler was ordered to answer a letter from a trainee in the Education Department asking if there was any information available on the subject of the Jewish threat.Four days after the Sternakabrau meeting, Hitler came up with a lengthy answer.The answer reveals the astonishing progress Hitler made on the Jewish question.It is full of attacks on the Jews - which will be familiar to everyone later: "It penetrates democracy and sucks the conscience of the masses; it crawls over the dignity of the people, but only knows the dignity of money. . . . The result of its activities is that everyone suffers from racial consumption." He concluded that an anti-Semitic program must begin by legally depriving Jews of certain privileges on the grounds that they were a foreign race. "However, there can be no doubt that the ultimate goal is the unwavering extermination of the Jewish Ent eernung" (Ent eernung can be translated as "eradicating", meaning expulsion from Germany, but more likely "cutting off"). ", that is to say, get rid of the Jewish nation). It was the first known political document of Hitler, and the first time he succeeded in turning his hatred of the Jews into an actual political program.