Chapter 61 Chapter Ten "It's Like a Dream" (4)

The date for parliamentary elections is set for July 31.It was another whirlwind campaign and Hitler's second "flyover over Germany".Hitler leased a plane again and used the same pilot.Experience proved Hans Bauer to be an able pilot around the clock—they made several forced landings in storms and fog—and now Hitler refused to fly in a plane piloted by someone else.He also has a second chauffeur to drive for him—21-year-old Erich Kamka.Kamka waited for Hitler's plane in the west of Germany, Schleck waited in the east.In this general election, the two drivers ran a total of more than 50,000 kilometers, and most of them ran on dirt roads.Hitler treated Kamka like family.He was equally affectionate with Bauer.After a week of hard work, Hitler led the crowd to rest in Weimar.He took Bauer out for a walk in the park—not far from the Belvedere Hotel, where he lived.Hitler left the rest of his entourage behind and asked Bauer carefully for an hour about his experience as a fighter pilot during the war.After that, he ordered the local governor Saukel to pull the crowd into the city, and told him to find 15 girls to accompany the guests when drinking coffee in the afternoon.At this time, the news that Hitler was dining in the Belvedere restaurant had spread, so women in beautiful clothes came to peek at him in twos and threes.Hitler excitedly poked Bauer who was sitting on his right, "Look, there is a beautiful little girl over there with Bauer, she is a beauty!" Look at women up close. "You're right, Bauer," Hitler said jokingly.

Fifteen girls from the city arrived, but they all left their partners behind and stared at Hitler dumbly, making him very embarrassed.He then suggested that all go to the "Artists' Cafe".People lined up and boarded the car.Except for the head of state, everyone has at least one girl in their arms.However, after a while, the women of this cafe surrounded Hitler again.After a while of harassment, Hitler hurriedly ordered Hanf Stangl to play the piano.However, after only listening to two tunes, Hitler slipped away on the pretext of preparing tomorrow's speech. In the final fortnight of the election, Hitler gave speeches in fifty or so cities, stirring a frenzy wherever he went.Once, in Stralsund, he actually made about 10,000 listeners wait in the rain for 6 hours - it took time for Imber to find a place to land in the dark.One of the reasons why audiences listened to his tirade with rapt attention was the economic paralysis that had spread across the country.

Eleven-year-old Egon Hanfstagel once heard him speak to a large audience in a tent on the outskirts of Munich. "He mastered all the emotions of the people, and there was a frenzy among the masses." Among the audience were the poor and the rich; both professors and workers.At the beginning, everyone felt uncomfortable because of each other's presence, but after a while, everyone clapped wildly and shouted as a whole.Egon sees an ill-matched couple—a professor and a maid—leave the tent. "Among the wild cheers, they talked excitedly and affectionately. Adolf Hitler had this kind of power." Later, Egon was taken to the "brown building" by his father. "Okay, kid," said Hanfstangel. "Find a place to sit down, don't make trouble, find something to read." The correspondent handed Goebbels a bundle of typescripts. "A transcript of Hitler's speeches, just typed. The Fuehrer left the group and sat down at his desk. Goebbels stood behind him, watching him. They seemed to be reviewing the manuscript together for publication. Hitler was writing with a pencil. Marking, thinking to himself: 'That's good...that's powerful...that's got to be cut...' Less than an hour ago he gave one of the most emotional speeches of his career .He was preaching, he was pleading, he was raging, he was ranting. Right now, he's as calm and reasonable as any man I've ever met."

Anti-Semitism was not an issue in the election campaign.Hitler's hatred of the Jews is well known; however, many people ignore it - as long as Hitler keeps his prejudices on a reasonable level.Most Germans agree that too many Jews are lawyers.They also opposed the Jewish monopoly of department stores and the entertainment industry.After the war, Jews flooded in from the East, bringing with them Eastern Jewish clothing and customs.Many German Jews also complained about this.Among them, two prominent Jewish bankers have petitioned the new Secretary of Labor to stop Jewish immigration from the East, because their arrival will inevitably exacerbate potential anti-Semitism.Jews see themselves as Germans first and as Jews second.They have ties to the German economy and are willing to put up with the social prejudices that still exist.After all, even in enlightened Britain and America, Jews were kept out of the best clubs and hotels.Tolerance of National Socialism was not limited to German Jews.Not so long ago, a group of Palestinian extremists had declared that the Nazi movement, apart from Hitler's anti-Semitism, was acceptable and would save Germany from the fire.

July 31 (although a newspaper in Vienna used "Long Live Schkelgruber" as the headline, and the issue number leaked Hitler's life experience), (*At the beginning of 1932, Austrian Chancellor Dolphus urged Vienna Sunday and Monday The editors of the newspaper set out to investigate Hitler's life experience. They found documents proving that Hitler's biological father was an illegitimate child, so they issued the above-mentioned special number, hoping to have an impact on the German elections) The Nazis won 13,702,779 votes, more than the two The two biggest competitors - the Social Democrats and the Communists - had a combined total of more than 500,000 votes.Encouraged by a victory of 37.3 percent of the total vote, Hitler proposed to the party that he run for chancellor.

Goering objected.So did Strassel, because in doing so, his policy of coalitions with other right parties to seize power would all be undermined.But Hitler, eager to take power, could not be persuaded.So they immediately sent a letter to Berlin to inform Schleicher of Hitler's request.The general didn't quite believe it, because he believed that Hindenburg would never have bestowed this honor on the former corporal.Holding the fantasy of making Hitler "change his mind and abandon his plan", he invited him to Mecklenburg for talks. On August 5, the two met at the Fürstenberg barracks near the capital.Hitler not only asked to be chancellor, but also to pass laws giving him the power to rule the country by order - in essence, to establish a dictatorship.The meeting was so successful that even Hitler believed that Hindenburg would change his mind.In addition to being elated, he suggested nailing a board on the wall to commemorate this historic meeting.

He brought his happiness back to Obersalzburg, but Goebbels was not impressed.He doubted they could have come to power so easily.He was intent on action, not ambiguous compromise, and his enthusiasm infected the Nazi bloc. "The whole party is ready to seize power," he wrote in his diary on August 8, "for which the SA has left their respective units." On August 10, when Hindenburg left his country house for Berlin , the capital is already in a state of semi-encirclement.In order to resolve this crisis, Papen offered to resign, but Hindenburg had no idea about Hitler's appointment as chancellor.The Austrian nouveau riche said by himself that he canceled all the promises he made to Schleicher; in addition, Hitler had no experience in governing the government, and he couldn't even control the hotheads in his own party.President Hindenburg even refused to invite Hitler to the meeting.

The next morning, August 13, Hitler checked into the Kaiserhof Hotel, which served as his Berlin headquarters.The phone in the living room was on almost all the time, making the place more like a battle command post.The revolving doors of the hotel never stopped, and the lobby was open.In the main building, in the emergency offices for the Führer's aides and staff, typewriters ticked away; representatives of local and foreign newspapers brought Hitler's chief press officer, Otto Dietrich, and Hanfu turned to Tanger, surrounded by water, and asked Hitler, a man of the world, to express his opinion.

At noon, Hitler met with Schleicher.Schleicher told him that Hindenburg had only promised him the post of deputy chancellor.Hitler was furious, accused Schleicher of not keeping his promise, and stormed out.Moments later, he came to Chancellor Papen's office and accused the government of tolerating the old regime.Papen was taken aback by Hitler's aggressive attitude. "The president is not going to make you chancellor," he said, "because he doesn't think he knows you well enough." Hitler didn't want to eat half a loaf of bread.He said he would do everything in his power to destroy the Marxist parties, but he couldn't do that unless he got power and got his own way.He went on to say that people cannot escape bloodshed.This is a lesson of history.After marching on Rome, did the King of Italy offer to make Mussolini Vice Chancellor?

After he left the Chancellery angrily, he went straight to Goebbels' apartment.Here, he was furious and listlessly waiting for Hindenburg to summon him.At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Papen's Secretary of State finally called.Hitler was only interested in one thing: Did Hindenburg make him Chancellor?The Secretary of State only replied that the President had something to say to the Führer.The meeting was held in the study of the Presidential Palace and was brief and formal.Hindenburg was determined not to appoint someone like Hitler to such an important post.However, he was willing to let him cooperate with Papen "to satisfy his patriotism again".He was careful to say that he welcomed the National Socialist Party into politics.Hitler responded equally politely that there was no doubt about it; as leader of the largest political party in the country, he insisted on forming a new cabinet with himself as chancellor.

"No!" cried Hindenburg, "neither before God nor before conscience and country," he could not afford "to put all the power of government in the hands of one party."Hitler regretted having no choice. "Then, you want to be the opposition?" "I have no choice," said the head of state. Hindenburg was moved and complained about the recent friction between the Nazis and the police.He said the events had reinforced his conviction that there were people in the National Socialist Party beyond his control.However, he was ready to admit Hitler into the coalition government.Then he reprimanded Hitler—a reprimand from the Field Marshal to the corporal. "I must draw your attention to the fact that you are a warrior in the opposition, and don't forget your duty and responsibility to your country. I have no doubts about your love of your country. But if, as the stormtroopers did before, you do something terrorism or violence, then I will use harsh measures." Stern as this was said, it was tempered by something Hindenburg said at the end of the interview.He said: "You and I are both old soldiers, and we hope to work together, because our paths may cross again. Therefore, I extend a comrade-in-arms to you." The old marshal's personality made Hitler ashamed; As soon as the door was closed, he turned his anger on Papen again. Today's humiliation was completely caused by Papen.Hitler warned that the result of all this might lead to the downfall of the president, and that Hitler would not be held responsible for what happened thereafter. When Hitler returned to Goebbels' apartment, Hanfstangl found him "pale, almost silent, and for a while in a bad mood."Then, strangely, he pulled himself together suddenly and began to weigh whether to accept the position of deputy prime minister. "Working with Papen was nice in a way. I can imagine that. He was a soldier in wartime, and a rather reckless guy." He mused. It seemed that Prime Minister Papen seemed like a real Comrade. "Please note, if he is willing to continue to spend his time in the prime minister's office with his wife and really hand over the power to me, then I don't mind." In the streets, newsboys shouted the headlines outside the papers: "The Terrible Conceit - Hitler's Self-Essays - Hitler Rebuked by the Reich President".Hitler demanded full powers, the newspaper said—according to the communiqué issued after the meeting.The bulletin was published so quickly, it must have been prepared long ago.The move angered Hitler and broke the spell that Hindenburg had cast on him.He felt he had been "cheated" by the military and politicians.A rival biographer agrees. "The National Socialist has entered the antechamber of power," wrote Rudolf Alden, "who is engaged in political negotiations, is treated with contempt for peace*, and is treated with arrogance, if in the end he cannot , their anger is justified. Although many doors are open to them, although many people shake their hands, they are not received by 'respected people'. These 'respected people' do not want to use them them." Schleicher was almost equally stunned by Papen's communiqué, for he still believed that the best solution would be to bring the Nazis into power.He quickly sent a message to the head of state that there was still a chance of signing an agreement.He also requested a meeting with the head of state.Hitler flatly refused to meet with him, a move that shocked the otherwise unflappable general.That night, a friend noticed that Schleicher was pale, restless and incoherent.His words were finally understood."The decision was right. Power cannot be handed over to Adolf Hitler," he said. All over the city, the SA had already been gnashing their teeth, but the party had been standing still for a long time; now they could no longer hold back, clamoring for immediate action.At this point, Hitler had come to his senses and regained his composure.He summoned the S.A. commanders to Goebbels' apartment, arguing that now was not the time to seize power, and that an uprising would end in disaster.They actually accepted Hitler's views, which shows the charm of Hitler.All troops are given two weeks' leave. Later that day, Hitler headed south, back to Obersalzburg.Schreck drove in the dark, along the winding road; Hitler said nothing.Later, Hanfstangel heard him say to himself: "We'll see, maybe it's better this way." And flew away." After all, the head of state is more shrewd and calm than his subordinates, and from time to time he used words such as "The cause we started can only be completed by ourselves", "I would rather besiege a fort than be its prisoner", "In the future we will Say, things should be done like this" to encourage subordinates.This may be because, while others only look at the present, he looks to the future.The gamble of bluffing against Hindenburg had failed, but Hitler was convinced that fate would see him through.