Chapter 63 Chapter Ten "It's Like a Dream" (6)

Hitler's defeat was of little consolation to Papen, since he had far fewer votes in Reichstag.Putting aside his personal displeasure, he wrote to Hitler that the recent elections offered a new opportunity to unite Germany. "We must put aside the pain of the campaign and put first the national interest which you and I have both tried to serve." The memory of the August meeting was too painful; Hitler's answer was a letter of rebuke.On the grounds that the Führer's discussion would lead to misunderstanding, you rejected Papen's invitation to meet with him. After the last meeting, didn't you, Papen, publicly announce that I, Hitler, wanted to claim full power, but in fact I only wanted leadership?Besides, he is not prepared to "under any circumstances repeat the episode of August 13th"—didn't you, Papen, insist on sharing responsibility with Hindenburg? "Unfortunately, you were advised to take up your share of responsibilities, and you did not listen. I took my share. Instead, your Excellency, the Prime Minister, used deceit - disregarding my wishes and not listening to me explanation - successfully lured me into a private conversation with the President of the Reich...I don't want this trick to repeat itself."

After being reprimanded, Papen reported to Hindenburg on the afternoon of November 17.He said any coalition was impossible under his leadership.The president accepted his resignation, and the next day asked Huugenberg for Hitler's opinion as chancellor.Hugenberg no longer trusted the Führer. "I think it would be very difficult to hand over the leadership to him from the whole of his approach to political affairs. In any case, I have serious doubts about him." The Marshal again asked his adviser, Messner, to ask him , is it true that Hitler worked as a painter in Munich?Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the gray-haired Huugenberg. "My dear young friend, you speak my mind!" said he.Then he set out to perpetuate the myth to this day: "We can't let a painter sit in Bismarck's chair."

The next morning, at Hitler's insistence, the two spoke privately.The conversation started off badly.Hindenburg rebuked Hitler for saying that Nazi youths were doing whatever they wanted in East Prussia. "Not so long ago at Tannenberg they were shouting something like 'Wake up! Wake up!' But I wasn't sleeping!" Hitler explained that his men had no malice; The slogan "Wake up, Germany" is nothing more than that. About an hour later, Messner came in and the conversation became more verbal.Hitler refused to enter a non-party cabinet unless he became chancellor. "For the sake of the fatherland," he said, "our party must remain, that is to say, I must be chancellor." The Nazis, in conjunction with the Communists, staged a transport workers' strike in Berlin. Why? "Even if there was a check on my people," he explained bluntly, "strikes would break out and I would lose the support of the workers. It would not be in Germany's interest either."

Hindenburg, although he distrusted the "painter," tried his best to win his cooperation. "I can only repeat my request: help me." It was a public call to give his allegiance to himself. "I do appreciate the ideals that motivate you and your party, and I hope you and your party will participate in politics." However, he could not let Hitler become chancellor.Of course, if he had a majority, Hitler was free to set up his National Socialist government at will. Clenching his fists on his knees, Hitler shouted: "Mr. Field Marshal! It is logical to give me the power to negotiate with other parties, Mr. Field Marshal!" He could no longer hide his anger.

Hindenburg smiled sarcastically. 704 From a beggar to a head of state - Hitler was silent in the room all his life, and the atmosphere was very tense. "Monsieur Field Marshal," said Hitler finally, "you seem to think that I will be a dictatorship, but I have no intention of doing so. If you insist that I have a majority in the Reichstag, then I will introduce a bill to the Reichstag authorizing me to To deal with special and urgent matters." He can get Congress to pass a bill, and the problem can be solved. This, Hindenburg is unacceptable.Again he appealed to Hitler's sense of military duty and tried to settle the matter in private.He tried to impress him with the "old comradeship" that bound them together in wartime. "Half and half in this matter, so that you and I can work together." Hitler left, as uncompromising as before, but Hindenburg thought he had impressed the former corporal, and he told Meissner : "Okay, it seems that this Hitler has understood the truth bit by bit."

Requests to make Hitler Chancellor kept coming to Hindenburg.Two days later, he felt the need to see him again.This time, Hitler came with a carefully prepared statement.The statement said that the parliamentary system had failed and it could no longer express the will of the people.Only the National Socialists can stop communism.The statement asked Hindenburg to appoint him Chancellor of the Cabinet. The Hindenburg was building again, and Hitler needed a majority in Reichstag to become chancellor.Hitler's response was lukewarm.The 10-minute meeting ended with the president again putting forward friendship as the most important thing.

In the days that followed, Hitler and Messner exchanged lengthy letters, but attempts to reach an agreement were in vain, as Hitler repeatedly insisted on becoming Chancellor with full powers like Papen.The standoff caught the attention of a group of influential business leaders who decided to put direct pressure on Field Marshal Hindenburg.These prominent figures have traditionally been patrons of the National Socialist Party.They felt that after the National Socialist Party came to power, they could influence economic policy.For example, Hitler assured I. G. Farben that his government would support him in producing synthetic kerosene.Earlier that year, in a secret speech to what Kaiserhof had always dubbed the "Friends' Society," he had promised to abolish all trade unions and other political parties.

At the end of November, 39 business figures (including Hegalmar Sahit, ex-Prime Minister Cournot, and industrial tycoons like Krupp, Siemens, Diessen, Bosch, Holman and Hoegler) Jointly sent a letter to the President, requesting him to appoint Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.These pragmatists bet on the Nazi Party.They firmly believed that Hitler's socialism was a hoax, and that once in power he would become a tool of capitalism (*At this time, Hitler was not yet a major figure benefiting from German industry, "after scrutinizing the facts", H. E. Turner wrote, "We must admit that the vast majority of financial subsidies in German industry were directed against the Nazis." The Nazi party's financial revenue was mainly based on party dues).

The institutions of parliamentary government brought about political stagnation in Germany.Hindenburg found that he could not form a new cabinet that could cooperate with the gridlocked Congress. "I am ready to step down at any moment," he complained to the chairman of the Center Party, who urged Hindenburg to abandon Papen, and whose demeanor pleased Hindenburg. "If I don't have the confidence I deserve at home and abroad, I never want to impose myself on Germany; I am very proud of this." Papen and the new Defense Minister Schleicher were summoned to his office.They arrived at about 6 pm, and together with Meissner and Oskar von Hindenburg, sat in a semicircle in front of the presidential desk.Papen pointed out that Hitler was only willing to take responsibility if he became chancellor; he suggested that his government should remain in power for the time being.He understands that he will not have the support of Congress and must therefore suspend Congress for a period of time.This procedure would implicate the President in violation of the Constitution, but the seriousness of the situation justifies this action.If the police cannot maintain order, the Army will step in.

"A lot can be done with a bayonet," said Schleicher bitterly, "but there is one thing you can't do -- ride on their heads for a long time." The Minister of Defense said that Papen's plan is not going to work.He proposed a plan: to replace Papen by himself as chancellor.This move would split the Nazis in two, and he would gain a majority in Reichstag.He would put Gregor Strassel and a henchman or two in the new government, which would give him 60 votes for the Nazi delegates.Social Democrats and other bourgeois parties will also support it. For several weeks, Papen noted, Schleicher was "less frank and open-minded than before" and their relationship "had become noticeably colder."Even so, he was dumbfounded that the general who had helped him in office proposed to let him step down.Schleicher has always supported the policies implemented by Papen, and some policies were proposed by him.Papen ruefully argued that his secretary of defense's plan meant abandoning the president's long-term plan to improve relations between the administration and Congress.

Hindenburg was exhausted by the almost uninterrupted discussion that had begun in the morning.He sat without saying a word until the debate was over.After that, he got up and said to Papen: "Mr. Prime Minister, I want you to start discussing the establishment of a new government immediately, and I will let the new government carry out your plan." Schleicher was dumbfounded.Leaving the Oval Office with Papen, Papen advised him to stay in office for several months while the Constitution was amended and peace restored to Congress. "At that time, I will resign and you will take over the government. Then you will have the hope that everything will go well from the beginning." Schleicher retorted icily, as Luther had left the Worms: (At the Dietoeworms in 1521, Martin Luther was Sentenced as a heretic——Annotation] "Little monk, little monk, you have chosen a dangerous road." At a cabinet meeting the next day, the matter became painfully public.After Papen introduced the meeting with the president last night, he called Schleicher and got up.Schleicher stood up and declared that a new government under Papen would inevitably lead to chaos throughout the country.Neither the police nor the army can maintain law and order in the event of a civil war.After studying the matter, the General Staff concluded that local forces like the police and emergency technical units had been infiltrated by the Nazis and that the Army could not contain the Hitler uprising, he said. With no ministers disputing the Army estimates, Papen hurried into the Oval Office.Hindenburg, exhausted by the events of the day, let Papen complain without saying a word. "Dear Papen," Hindenburg's voice had lost his earlier sense of confidence. "If I changed my mind now, you'd call me a bum. But I'm too old and at the end of my life to take responsibility for the Civil War. We'll have to let Mr. Schleicher go in the name of God." Take your chances." Holding on to his crutches, Hindenburg got up slowly and walked up to Papen, shaking hands with him.Papen was moved to see "two great tears" rolling down the old man's cheeks.Hours later, he sent Papen a photograph as a farewell gift.The photo reads: "I have a comrade!" - the title of a famous military song. When Schleicher came to the president and the president asked him to form a new government, he protested: "I am the last horse in your stable and should be kept." Hindenburg threatened to resign himself, and Schleicher This is the only way to accept the assignment.That's what he said, maybe he was really reluctant.He smiled flatly, congratulated, and made a quote—this time in Latin: "We the dying salute you!" Thus, on December 2, 1932, Kurt von Schleicher became the first general to be appointed chancellor since Bismarck was replaced in 1890.His first act was to invite Gregor Strassel into his home (they had met at the residence of a dentist) and ask him to serve as Deputy Chancellor and Chancellor of Prussia.The offer forced Strassel's interest, but his loyalty to Hitler.So, he said, he would discuss it with his boss.What he didn't mention was that there was a protective circle around the Führer, and the people in the circle were all sycophants and sycophants who controlled the Führer, and this protective circle had already heard about this issue.Not long ago, he complained to Frank: "Hindenburg is a respected old man, and he sincerely let him serve in the government. But Loangrin——Hitler is surrounded by a group of guys who are watching. Frank , I see things badly: Göring is a ruthless selfish fellow, he doesn't care about German affairs if he becomes something. Goebbels is a lame devil and double-faced. Roehm is a stupid pig. This The Führer's old 'Guards'. Terrible!" The secret of the Schleicher-Strassell meeting was learned by people in Papen's office.He leaked it to a journalist, who told Hanf Stangl, who told Hitler.In this way, Papen - or Papen's accomplices - retaliated against Schleicher in his own way.However, it was Strassel who suffered first.He had dealt faithfully with Schleicher on behalf of the Führer, convinced that the best way to keep the party from splitting up was to take power immediately - even at the cost of a coalition government. Hitler already had suspicions about Strasser, which Goebbels had instigated.Hitler understandably saw the matter as a betrayal; more moderate advisers were inclined to consider Schleicher's latest proposal to have the Führer as Deputy Chancellor. On December 15, the party held a leadership meeting in Kaiserhof.At this stormy meeting, Strassel implored the Führer to accept the post.However, Goebbels and Goering strongly opposed the deal, and Hitler agreed with them.Strassel warned that if the National Socialists did not support it, Schleicher would dissolve the Reichstag.However, Hitler, stung by Strassel's "betrayal", refused to discuss the matter further. Two days later, Strassel met Hitler again at the Kaiserhof.This time, Hitler publicly accused Strassel of betrayal.Strassel allegedly replied: "For treason, Herr Hitler, I am no more qualified than any other voluntary courier. My plan is to prevent, not to make the party worse." In a rage Strassel couldn't find the right words, turned around and slammed the door, got into a taxi, and rushed back to the Excelsior Hotel.After returning to the room, he complained alone.The next day, December 8, he wrote to Hitler resigning from all positions in the party on the grounds that the Führer no longer trusted him.In the letter, he did not call for open rebellion, but urged all party officials to stick to their posts.Strassel couldn't deliver the letter to Hitler in person, so he mailed it and waited by the telephone. In Goebbels' words, the letter fell on Kaiserhof "like a bomb".Hitler was shocked and didn't know what to do for a while.It was not easy for him to pick up the phone and plead with Strassel.To be sure, Strassel is leaving the door open for negotiations, but he is unwilling to surrender either his seat in Congress or his party membership.Since there was no news from Kaiserhof, envoy Strassel packed up his luggage and walked to the train station.After drinking beer with friends, he boarded the night train and headed for Munich. That night, Hitler stayed at Goebbels' home. "Do we want to be happy or not? Come on," Goebbels wrote in his diary. "We are all depressed, and the main reason is that the party is falling apart and all past work is wasted." Two o'clock in the morning , Robert Wray called to say that there was marked wavering and uneasiness among party figures.He urged the Führer to return to Kaiserhof immediately.Hitler immediately rushed back.But when the morning papers arrived, there was a fire in the party office—there were headlines about Strassel's resignation!Hitler firmly believed that the news was leaked by Strassel to the "Jewish newspaper".He stammered angrily that Grigor had "stabbed him in the back five minutes before the final victory."Then, with tears in his eyes, he fell silent. "Such a despicable act escaped us all," Goebbels wrote, "betrayal! treachery! treachery! . . Stand still and say, 'If the party splits, I'll kill everything with a pistol in 3 minutes!'” Later it was suggested that the wisest course of action for the time being was to summon Strassel and put the quarrel to rest.So Hitler ordered his driver, Schreck, to bring Strassel immediately "at any cost."However, by this time he was already in his apartment in Munich.He hastily packed up his luggage and went to Italy for vacation.At that time, a friend came to visit, and he said firmly to his friend: "I am a person who has been marked with death." He warned his friend not to come to his apartment again, "No matter what happens, you must Mark my words: From now on Germany will fall into the hands of an Austrian, a born liar, a former officer, a degenerate, a deformity. I tell you, the worst is the last. He is a devil in human skin." Although it was at least the second time that Strassel used such words to condemn Hitler among the inner circle, he still respected the Führer.Not long ago, he had said to Luxembourg: "I was born Hitler, I fought for him; I hope to die one day as one of him." On the same day, party leaders and local cadres gathered in the mansion of the president of Congress to denounce Strassel.Still emotional, Hitler sobbed that Strassel's betrayal had shocked him.According to Goebbels, the participants "spontaneously cheered the leader. Everyone shook his hand and pledged to fight to the end and, whatever happened, never give up their great ideals. Strassel was completely isolated, become one of the dead." Strassel's drastic action was not rebellion.He only tried to free the Führer from people like Goebbels.He did not represent any faction, and no important party members were forgotten with him; there was no need for a purge.Hitler only announced that Strassel had gone on sick leave for a period of three weeks, which was approved.But once the party members learned that the Führer no longer trusted Strassel, they no longer trusted him either. Even so, Hitler still mourned the loss of the pillar and tried to erase Strassel from his memory. In mid-December, he issued two lengthy memorandums delegating the latter's administration.Never again will he allow an individual to wield such enormous power within the party.Most of Strassel's power fell into the hands of Hess, because Hess "was most familiar with [Hitler's] basic ideas . . . and intentions." Although the head of state has regained control of the party, the majority of party members are still uneasy and demoralized.Their political future is bleak. "It is difficult to keep the SA and party cadres on a clear course," Goebbels wrote in his diary on December 15.In his diary entry on December 24, he added: "I sit here alone, worrying about everything. A difficult past, a dark future. Hopelessness and terrible loneliness bewilder me. All hope and possibility have vanished .” Hitler also fell into depression.His depression, no doubt, was exacerbated by the usual Christmas depression (Hitler later told his servants that he could not do Christmas decorations like the Romans. His mother, he explained, was keeping the lights on died near the Christmas tree). "I have lost all hope," he wrote in a letter to Mrs. Wagner thanking her for her Christmas present. "My dreams will never come true." , "You know what I'll do when I find out that it's all lost. I've always been determined to do this. Failure, I can't take it. I'll keep my word and kill this life with a bullet." His enemies, thinking he had lied to themselves, were celebrating his political death. "Hitler is finished—not as an agitator or an aggressive minority leader, but as a would-be dictator." In an eleven-page report to President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, William B. "Hitler's influence was rapidly waning, and the government no longer feared the growth of the Nazi movement," Ritter wrote. At the same time, Hitler again turned to Hanussen, according to Mehren Scheinhausen.The famous astrologer had his fortune told, and it was accurate.He predicted that although Hitler's horoscope will be favorable to Hitler in the near future, his official career will still be hindered if he wants to take power.According to reports, Hanussen once told Hitler that there was only one thing that could get him out of trouble, and that was the Datura flower (with a human-shaped root), which was found in the yard of a butcher's house in the town where Hitler was born. It can only be found by the brilliance of the full moon.Hanussen volunteered himself for this peculiar task.It is said that he returned to the Waschenfeld Hall in Obersalzburg on New Year's Day 1933 to report to the Führer.At the ceremony, he presented the mandala flower and a poem to Hitler.The poem predicts that Hitler will come to power on January 30. Poetry goes: "The way to the goal is not clear, The right assistants are yet to be concentrated, There is a saying that within three days, from the Three Kingdoms, With the bank, everything is flexible! On the day before the end of the month, Junding achieves the goal - the turning point of Jun, Don't rely on the eagle to pass the way, Only rely on termites to open the way! The leaves are falling, the rotten leaves are falling, The girder is about to fall, and the creak can be heard! " If Hitler believed the prophecy—it was published in the newspapers and ridiculed—he was not the first European celebrity to take it seriously.The astrologer Louis Golick had told Pope Leo V that he would ascend to the Pope; Nostradamus had accurately predicted the death of Henry I; Ke once convinced Napoleon that he would be emperor.In any case, the third and fourth lines of Hanussen's prophetic poem must have surprised the Führer - because he had just accepted the invitation to secretly meet with former Chancellor von Papen within three days at the banker Kurt von Schloe The family of the Baron de Germany - Schroeder was one of 39 people who asked Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor.The logical explanation for the clarity of the foresight is that Hanussen was (as his more cynical contemporaries believed) a clever liar.His predictions are based on information received from reliable sources.Note that "via bank" is a literal translation of "DurchdieBank".This is also an idiom, meaning "overall", so this line can be understood as: "Everything will be completely changed."Perhaps the cunning Hanussen deliberately chose this vague idiom to cover several possibilities. That night, Hitler participated in a "poetry meeting" in Munich, accompanied by the Hess couple and E. Braun.Afterwards, they drank coffee at Hanfstangel's house. "Hitler was very amiable," writes Hanf Stangl, "reminding us of the first time we met him in the 1920s. The orchestra leader that night was Hans Knabertsbusch. Hitler didn't like that Rhythm and narration, constant commentary. He did comment well, and he could hum or whistle many passages (he also knew the lyrics backwards) to show what they meant." The Führer recalled with fascination past.Later, before leaving the theater, I signed the guest book and wrote the date solemnly.Afterwards, he looked up at Hanfstangel, suppressed his excitement and said, "This year belongs to us. I will promise you this in my letter!"