Chapter 17 Chapter 3 "Delirious with Joy" (3)

Hitler was taken to a field hospital.His injuries (for the first time) were not serious, but in the ward he suffered from a phobia that almost knocked him over.The thing is this: He was lying on the hospital bed, and suddenly heard a German woman, a nurse, talking to him. "This is the first time I've heard this sound in two years!" Soon, he boarded an ambulance train bound for Germany. "The closer the train that brought us home got closer to the border, the more disturbed each of us was." He finally saw the first German house—"Other high roofs and beautiful shutters showed that the motherland !"

He was admitted to an army hospital southwest of Berlin.After a career in the trenches, for him, the white hospital bed was a huge change. At the beginning, "we dare not lie on it."Slowly, he got used to this comfortable environment, but he didn't like the cynicism of some people.As soon as he could get up and move around, he was allowed to spend the weekend in Berlin.He saw hunger and "extreme poverty" and "rascals" mobilizing the people for peace. Two months later, he was discharged from the hospital.He was transferred to a supplementary battalion in Munich.According to, here he finally found the answer to why morale collapsed.

It's Jewish!They are the ones plotting in the rear to bring Germany down! "Nearly every clerk is a Jew, and almost every Jew is a clerk. It astonishes me how many warriors there are in these electorates, and I have to compare them with the meager number of representatives at the front." He was also convinced that "Jewish finance" had mastered German production. "This spider is slowly starting to suck the blood from the people's cells." At the front, his comrades never heard him say that.On the surface, he was no more anti-Semitic than others.Occasionally, he would say something innocuous, such as "If all the Jews were no smarter than Stan (telephone operator), there would be no trouble." When talking about Vienna and the omnipresent influence of the Jews, it is According to Wiesdenkirchner, Hitler did not bring any "maliciousness".In fact, Schmidt never heard him talk about the subject; neither did Lieutenant Weidmann (seriously, I don't believe that Hitler's hatred of the Jews arose then).

Hitler hated Munich.He felt that the atmosphere in the supplementary battalion was really abominable. No one respects the soldiers who come down from the front line.These people have no idea of ​​what Hitler suffered in the trenches.Eager to return to his own people, he wrote to Lieutenant Weidmann in January 1917 saying that he had "recovered and could serve again" and hoped to "return to the original regiment and the original comrades." On March 1, he returned to the Sixteenth Regiment and was warmly welcomed by the officers and soldiers.The pet dog "Little Fox" was ecstatic—"It got up towards me crazily." During dinner, the cook of the company cooked a special meal for him, including bread, jam and pastries.Hitler finally returned to his "home".That night, flashlight in hand, he cursed traitors at bayonets, and wandered around for hours—until someone threw a boot at him before he went back to his room to sleep.

A few days later, the whole regiment moved to the Arras region, preparing to launch another spring offensive.But Hitler still had time to paint, and he painted a lot of watercolors, all of which were battlefield scenes that were meaningful to him. (*In his unpublished diary, stage designer Gorton Kroeger stated that Hitler's wartime Rescued from starvation. He lived in Paris during World War II, and Hitler used to buy his paintings.) That Easter, his art turned to the masses.He painted the briquettes white with lime and placed the words "Happy Easter 1917" in the commander's garden.A few months later, the Sixteenth Regiment had a new commander, Major Freiher von Tubov.The new head of the regiment is a young man with vitality, and he will reorganize military discipline as soon as he takes office.He not only embarrassed the officers and soldiers, but also dared them to criticize their superiors.To dispel the sulking of frustration, Tubov went hunting, and Hitler was one of those who drove the beast out of the woods.In the forest immediately before the front, Hitler crawled around with a long stick in his hand for two hours, yelling and shouting, driving hares out of the forest for the commander to shoot (16 years later, Hitler sent the regiment promoted to general).

Despite his long service and bravery in battle, Hitler remained squad leader.One reason, according to Weidmann, was Hitler's "lack of leadership qualities."Another reason is his informality and sloppy behavior.His head was always tilted to his left shoulder, and he bowed his head when walking.Although he bathed whenever he could and called those comrades who did not bathe "living dung heaps," he himself disliked boots.He did not stand at attention when he saw the officer approaching.What's more, there was no legally lucrative position for a correspondent to be a sergeant.To be promoted, Hitler would have to relinquish his current post, and the regimental headquarters would lose one of its best correspondents.

In the summer of that year, the Sixteenth Regiment returned to the Belgian battlefield where it fought its first battle, preparing to participate in the third battle to capture Ypres.This campaign is still as fierce as the first. In mid-July, they were shelled by the enemy for ten consecutive days and nights.In the intervals between shelling, they heard the terrible sound of digging in the ground—the enemy was digging a tunnel.Overhead, the drone of the plane continued, followed by an explosion.In addition, they were constantly under the threat of poison gas, and soldiers sometimes had to wear gas masks for 24 hours in a row. On the last day of July, the Guardians faced another terror—tanks.Fortunately, the torrential rain turned no man's land into a quagmire, and all the tanks got stuck in it.

In August, the wounded Sixteenth Regiment withdrew from the battlefield and was transferred to Alsace to rest.At this time, Hitler twice suffered heavy losses.A railway official, fascinated by the antics of the "little fox", offered Hitler 200 marks for his pet dog. "I won't sell it if you offer 200,000!" Hitler replied angrily.Unexpectedly, when the troops got off the train, Hitler couldn't find the "little fox".The troops set off, and he had to keep up with them. "I'm desperate. The pig who stole my dog ​​doesn't understand what his actions mean to me." About the same time, another "pig" opened his backpack with a gun and stole Cases for sketches, oils and watercolors.Twice insulted and traumatized—the first by a railroad slacker, the second by a rookie (at the front, where soldiers steal from each other)—he put the material away.

In early October of that year, Schmidt finally persuaded Hitler to take an 18-day vacation.This is the first vacation since the war.Their destination was Dresden - where Schmidt's sister lived - but they stopped in Brussels, Cologne and Leipzig to see the sights.Hitler especially admired Leipzig.It is here that Martin Luther preached for the first time in St. Dumas Church—that is, in this church, Bach played the organ for 27 years and was buried here after his death; Gunner was baptized.But what impressed him the most was the 300-foot "Battle of the Nations" monument.The monument, dedicated to those who died in the War of 1813, looks more like a fort than an altar. "This monument has nothing to do with art," he commented, "let it be large and beautiful." In Dresden, they visited famous buildings and various galleries, including the famous Zwinger Art gallery included.He had been eager to go to the theatre, and after looking at the program—no Wagner, apparently—had declared that there was nothing worth seeing.Later, he went to Berlin alone, where he stayed for a few days at the home of a front-line fighter. "This is a wonderful city," he wrote in a letter to Schmidt, "a true world capital. The traffic is still heavy. I am out almost all day. Finally, I have the opportunity to visit the various museums in more detail. .In short, everything."

Before the end of that year, there were not many combat missions of the Sixteenth Regiment, so Hitler had plenty of time to study.He dismissed novels and magazines and devoted all his energy to studying history and philosophy. "The war forced people to think deeply about human nature," and later, he told Han*? ·Frank said: "On the various problems of life, four years of war is equal to thirty years of college training. I hate nothing more than gossiping about literature. If one wants to care about the fate of mankind, one can only read Homer's Works and Gospel writings. In the latter part of the war, I read Schopenhauer's works and studied them over and over again (the selection of Schopenhauer's works he kept was broken). After that, even if Jesus was a real Soldier, I am free to act without the teachings of the Gospel. But it is not a good recipe for the front line to change the right cheek after being hit on the left cheek."

That winter, like the previous Western Front, the soldiers fighting on the front line were extremely difficult.Supplies were scarcer than ever before, and soldiers were forced to eat dogs and cats.Hitler's companions recalled that he preferred cat meat to dog and cat (perhaps because of the "little foxes"), and that when food was available, his favorite food was toast spread with honey or jam.Once, he found a large pit of bread slices, and in order to satisfy his rumbling stomach, he took them out methodically, and cleverly took them out one by one from the bottom.He shared this special income with his companions. After they exchanged slices of bread for some sugar, they made the front-style Austrian dessert "Schmarren". In China, ordinary people are also forced to eat dogs and cats (“roof rabbits”) to satisfy their hunger.Bread was made from sawdust and potato chips, and milk was scarcely available anywhere.Germany's allies also suffered.In Vienna, due to food shortages, the Austrian government was forced to ask Berlin for food.Strikes broke out periodically in Budapest and Vienna, not only because of hunger but also because of the failed peace talks between Germany and the new Bolshevik government in Russia.The wave of strikes spread to Germany itself, which had been effectively ruled by a military dictatorship for months. On January 28, 1918, workers across Germany went on a general strike.The main purpose of the strike was to demand peace, but it also insisted on sending workers' representatives to participate in negotiations with the allies, increasing food rations, abolishing military control laws, and establishing a democratic government throughout Germany.In Munich and Nuremberg, only a few thousand workers took to the streets to petition for immediate peace without any additional conditions, but in Berlin, 400,000 workers walked out of the factories to demand the formation of strike committees.Although the striking workers were driven back to the factories within a week, the spirit of rebellion was pervasive in the capital, and it seemed only a matter of time before a full-blown revolution broke out. When news of the general strike reached the front, soldiers had mixed reactions.Many soldiers were as war-weary as the civilians in the rear, but many felt betrayed by their own countrymen.Hitler called it "the greatest deception of the whole war".He's crazy about those slackers and reds. "The family doesn't want to win, why is the army still fighting? What is the huge sacrifice and peace for? The soldier wants to win the war, but the family is going on strike to oppose it!" On March 3, Berlin finally succeeded in peace talks with Soviet Russia in Brest Litovsk.But the conditions imposed on the young Soviet government were so severe that German leftists declared that the real purpose of the peace treaty was to destroy the Russian Revolution.The news of the Bolsheviks' surrender convinced soldiers like Hitler that Germany would surely win.More than at any time in the past, total victory now looks within reach.General Headquarters ordered a massive counteroffensive, to which most troops responded faithfully, if not aggressively.In the months that followed, Hitler's Sixteenth Regiment took part in the various stages of Ludendorff's great spring offensive: at Somme, at the En, and finally at Marna, Hitler's fighting spirit was even higher than before. In June, at the front, Hitler saw something that looked like a French helmet in a trench.He climbed forward and found that it was four French Qiuba.Hitler drew his pistol—the signalmen had replaced their rifles for pistols in normal times—and shouted at them in German as if he had a company.He personally handed over 4 prisoners of war to Colonel von Tubov and was commended.Tubov recalled: "There is nothing that will prevent him from performing the most difficult, arduous, and dangerous tasks. For the motherland and others, he is always ready to sacrifice his life and peace." On August 4, Hitler was awarded the first degree An Iron Cross, but this is for prior achievement, not meritorious service.The commendation order only said: "In recognition of *? Personal bravery and various merits." (*In addition to this medal and the Iron Cross 2nd Class in 1914, Hitler also received the following medals: September 1917 On the 17th, he was awarded a third-class military iron cross medal, plus a sword; on May 9, 1918, he was awarded a regimental medal for his extraordinary bravery in combat; on May 18, 1918, he was awarded a wounded medal; on August 25, 1918 A Service Medal, Third Class.) The medal was handed out by the Battalion Adjutant, Captain Hugo Gutmann, a Jew, who had nominated him for the honor. By this time it was clear that the mighty Ludendorff offensive, which had nearly reached the Eiffel Tower, had failed miserably.The defeat on the Western Front came as a shock, especially after the historic victories on the Western Front, where vast territories including the Caucasus had been conquered.As a result, morale plummeted, even among veterans.The order of the soldiers in the troop and leave vehicles was so chaotic that the officers had to shoot out of the windows.At each station, soldiers scattered and fled.Officers trying to maintain military discipline were attacked with stones and grenades.Revolutionary slogans such as "We don't fight for German honor, we fight for millionaires" were written in chalk on both sides of the train. On the fourth day after Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross, the Allied forces launched a counter-offensive in the fog near Amiens and broke through the German lines.Ludendorff sent a staff officer to the front and immediately sent reserves to the breached areas.As reinforcements moved forward, retreating soldiers yelled at them: "Liars! You are prolonging the war!" Ludendorff wrote that it was "a bad day for the German army in this war!" The Kaiser responded sadly and calmly, saying: "We can only draw one conclusion: we are at the end of our rope. The war must end ’” A few days later, Ludendorff and Hindenburg confer with Wilhelm at the spa.When the Kaiser ordered the foreign ministers to start peace talks, Hindenburg protested that the Germans were still occupying large swathes of enemy territory; Ludendorff passionately declared that discipline must be strengthened at home and that there should be "forced conscription among the Jewish youth, because Not many of them have enlisted so far." With an insurrection at home and a crumbling front, Hitler was more arguing and talking about how the Reds were cheating.Yet Hitler's voice was drowned out by the grumbling of the reserves.At such moments, according to Schmidt, Hitler "became furious and used to shout that the war was lost at the hands of the pacifists and retreaters." Folly; he was attacked by Hitler.The two fought, and in the end, after much punishment, Hitler defeated his opponent.From then on, Schmidt recalled, "the newcomers despised him, but we old comrades liked him even more." For four years, the dehumanizing positional warfare, as it had happened to many German patriots, made Hitler hate those domestic pacifists and draft dodgers who "stabbed the fatherland in the back".He, and those like him, were full of blood and vowed to avenge this betrayal, from which the politics of the future arose. The Hitler of 1914 was by no means a sleepy volunteer soldier. Four years of life in the field gave him a sense of belonging and confidence to a certain extent.He fought for Germany and was a real German.He had been forced to support himself aboveboard, and had grown up with a sense of pride in himself.When he joined the army, he was still an immature youth, and despite 24 years of hard life in Vienna, he was still very naive; now, he is a mature person, ready to fight for a mature person's place in the world. In early September, the Sixteenth Regiment returned to Flanders.Since it is a reserve force, soldiers are allowed to take vacations.He returned to Berlin with a companion named Arendt.In the capital, growing discontent must have disgusted him.He also stayed for a few days at his hometown in Hippitale.A few weeks after his return, the Sixteenth marched for the third time below Ypres, and for the third time haunted the fields and mountains near Cominnes. On October 14, near the village of Wilwick, Hitler was attacked by poison gas and lost his eyesight. Soon, his eyesight was restored.But when he heard the news of Germany's imminent surrender on November 9, his sight was lost.For the next few days, he heard many voices and saw visions.