Chapter 84 Chapter Fourteen "Bringing the Guarantee of a Sleepwalker" (1)

1936.3-1937.1 When German troops rolled into the Rhineland on Saturday, March 7, 1936, London did not seriously consider taking action.From Berlin, François Bence urged (Britain) to take "drastic action".Perhaps this aroused the spirit of resistance in the French government, which urged the General Staff to act.Like all such people, they are reserved almost to the point of timidity.General Gamelin warned, "A war operation, however limited, carries with it unforeseen dangers. No sudden action can be taken without a general call for war." He agreed to send thirteen divisions to the Maginot Line.

It was a timid gesture, but it terrified Kammering's Berlin counterpart.On Sunday morning, General Blomberg implored Hitler to withdraw at least from Aachen, Trier and Saarbrücken as well.He said that if France attacked, Germany would have to retreat without a fight, which would be a major moral and military defeat.Despite his worries, Hitler remained motionless.He told Blomberg to wait and withdraw the troops tomorrow if necessary.Despite a strongly disapproving radio speech by the French chancellor, Hitler remained unmoved.The French Prime Minister said: As long as Strasbourg is still threatened by German guns, France will never negotiate.

On Monday, 25,000 German troops marched into the Rhineland.Priests waved censers to bless them.Although the French were only talking, Hitler was already anxious.He later admitted that ten years of such pressure was too much for him.Forty-eight hours after the Germans rolled into the Rhineland, he told his interpreter, "This is the most nerve-wracking moment of my life." If France retaliated, "We'd have to retreat with our tails between our legs because we were short of troops." , can't do even a little resistance."He proudly inspected the occupied area, and nothing happened.On the special train home, Hitler was in a good mood. "My God, it's reassuring that things are going so well!" he said, bragging again: "Yes, the world belongs to the wise and brave. God bless him." He ordered Wagner's record "Parcifer Er, listened and said that his belief was established after being influenced by this opera.His point is: If Britain and France form a solid front, Germany will surrender without a fight.We cannot accept the estimates of a demented dictator.

Strangely, this feeling of despair was suppressed on the next day, March 12.On this day, the League of Nations held a meeting in London and unanimously passed a resolution condemning Germany for violating the treaty. Three military attaches panicked and sent telegrams to Berlin.Blomberg hurriedly took the telegram to the head of state.The Führer stuffed the telegram into his pocket without even reading it.Blomberg begged the Fuhrer for a compromise, but he flatly refused, and rudely told Blomberg that he was not allowed to interfere in political affairs in the future.Policy, he said, emanated from the Reich Chancellery, not from the War Ministry.His foreign minister was more belligerent than his generals.Bull Wright is against any compromise.He warned the Führer to wait patiently and to see how foreign officials react before withdrawing troops from the Rhineland.

The Führer heeded the advice of the Foreign Minister.Then, Hitler told a crowd in Munich, "I take the pledge of a sleepwalker and do God's will." A few hours later, Ribbentrop came from London to say that the crisis was over, and Eden seemed only concerned with Interested in negotiating. The head of state was overjoyed.At that time, what would happen if someone else was the leader of Germany?Later, the Führer boasted to his confidants: "Whoever you can tell, he will be scared out of his wits. I have no choice but to lie. Because I am calm and unwavering, we are saved. I threatened that unless the situation Relief within 24 hours, otherwise, I will send another six divisions to the Rhineland. In fact, I only have four brigades."

With the weakest link in hand, Hitler succeeded in blackmailing Britain and France.This proves that international condemnation with empty words is useless without the backing of force.At the same time, he also felt that his political instincts were sounder than those of other generals.It was a victory of profound significance, and one that strengthened his sense of trust in his own destiny.He had discovered how far a man of strong will and courage in the use of force could go against an opponent whose souls frightened away at the mere thought of another world war. Hitler also cunningly used events in the Rhineland to serve his further consolidation of power at home.He dissolved Congress and referred the policy to a referendum.This referendum is not a general election, but a victory parade that shuttles through the cities with the "Hindenburg" light balloon (painted with swastikas) as a cover. "I did not usurp power." He said to the crowd in Karlsruhe: "I act according to my conscience, and I also care about the people."I understand that I must preserve the honor of my people and lead them back to their honored place in the world.If, because of me, the people of my country again suffer unnecessary sorrow and suffering, then I pray to Almighty God to punish me. "

On March 29, 98.8 percent of the voters voted for Hitler without firing a single shot. In the world, no head of state is so popular with the masses.Plus, in a little over three years, he has turned a begging nation into a challenger.Nowhere has this rise in status been recognized more than in Great Britain.Dumas Jones, a well-connected Welsh figure, came to Germany as an unofficial ambassador.His first stop was Durham, where Ribbentrop, well aware of his close ties to Baldwin, urged him to mediate with the prime minister. "I want Mr. Baldwin to meet Hitler." According to Ribbentrop quoted in Jones's diary: "He was not a dictator in the conversation. He was very much like Mr. Baldwin. What we have to discuss will determine The fate of generations... Herr Baldwin should have heard Hitler's point of view with his own ears, not through an intermediary. Hitler would have spoken to him with absolute impartiality." Ribbentrop tried to put the Führer's words into words: "He A conservative at heart, living the simple life of a painter, fond of music and painting." Ribbentrop said: "In terms of foreign policy, only Hitler listened to von Ribbentrop's advice."

"How about the General Staff?" Jones asked. "In the Reich government, the Junkers no longer matter." The Foreign Minister replied: "The reconscription was not a decision of the troops, but of Hitler himself. The basic idea of ​​National Socialism was not to conquer or rule others, but to It is to be self-reliant." The next morning, May 17, they flew to Berlin to meet Hitler, accompanied by the interpreter Schmidt.At noon on Sunday, the four met in the spacious living room of Hitler's apartment.The living room, Jones felt, was unmistakably Victorian. "We really feel like we are in Thales Park in Glasgow, like in a merchant's living room in 1880." Jones said that Baldwin hopes to cooperate with Germany, but "there is a long way to go."Although Italy's recent victory in Ethiopia shocked many supporters of the League of Nations, many Britons believed in the League of Nations.

Hitler replied that it was obvious that the British were also divided between those who advocated the strengthening of the present League of Nations and those who advocated its transformation into a conservative organization.He himself favored the latter policy and opposed the assumption of unspecified obligations, which were unattainable.The lesson of the Ethiopian incident is that problems may be better resolved without an international organization.He said: "The role of the League of Nations is to give hope to Ethiopians, to deceive other countries, as if something effective is being done in Geneva, and at the same time let Italy 'fly away'." This statement can be described as his own in the Rhineland. gambling.However, if Jones saw through this, he did not record it in his diary.The one-and-a-half-hour meeting ended with nothing more than an exchange of confidence. "I pointed out that Mr. Baldwin, a shy and modest statesman, was quite surprised at being Prime Minister. To this day, he has not really suppressed his shock. When this sentence was translated, the Führer blurted out:' So do I'".

This was a particularly uncomfortable moment for Hitler.His driver, Schreck, died in a car accident not long ago, and he himself suffered from insomnia.A few days after his meeting with Jones, he complained to Dr. Brandt of ringing in his left ear, which had a high pitched, metallic sound.Brandt told him to take a short walk before bed, wash his feet alternately with hot and cold water, and then take a few light doses of sleeping pills.The Führer did take sleeping pills.In the new Chancellery, which was built to his own design, the Führer obeyed stricter rules of life.At night, he locked himself in the simple bedroom.The only decoration in the room was an oil portrait of his mother—painted from an old photograph; a bedside table stood to the right of the bed.He had instructed one of his valets, Carl Clauser, that no matter where he slept, there must be a table for him in the same place at the head of the bed.In the morning, he insisted on shaving himself and dressing without the help of servants. He only went out of the room after putting on his coat. After saying hello to Clauser, he went into the study for breakfast.His breakfast usually consists of two cups of milk, about ten biscuits and a few semi-sweet and non-sweet chocolates.He usually eats breakfast standing up, and while eating, he reads the materials sent by the Information Bureau.He usually only takes five minutes to eat breakfast, and then goes straight to the office.

On these busy days, almost his only entertainment is watching movies in the spacious living room every night.Crouse would usually give him a list of five or six films from which he would choose.If a movie bored him, he'd yell "crap," and ask for another one.His favorite actress is Greta Garbo.According to Sir Ivana Kirkpatrick, one of his "favorite films is "The Life of a Bengal Lancer," which he has seen three times. He likes this film because It shows how a few Englishmen enslave a country. That's what a good people should do. So it became a must-see for the SS." He prefers French films because, he says, they Faithfully records the life of the petty bourgeoisie. "It's a pity that it can't be shown to the public," he told Friedrin Wagner, who inspected all uncut films in Goebbels' office. As Hitler's health showed no signs of improvement, Brandt advised him to rest for a period of time, preferably to Berchtesgaden, where he could sleep well.He took Brandt's advice.In the next few months, he lived as much as possible in the Washenfeld apartment.That summer, he participated in the Wagner Festival again.Since Unity Mifort and her sister Diana were also there, Frau Wagner invited them to lunch, to Hitler's delight. "You know, Unity's living expenses are only about a hundred marks a month." According to Friedling Wagner, Hitler once said: "Her parents cut off her sources of support and tried to force her to return to England. She I went back once or twice, and escaped every time." On the evening of July 22, the sudden visit of two Germans who lived abroad and belonged to organizations outside the Nazi Party circle disturbed Bai Wright's pastoral life.When visiting, they brought a letter from a Spanish general named Franco.This person is the leader of the rebel army against the Republican government, and urgently needs an airplane to transport troops to Africa to oppose the "Red Army".Hitler immediately summoned Goering—he happened to be in Berrett for the celebration.Goering urged Hitler to support Franco for two reasons: to prevent the spread of communism and to "strengthen my young air force".Hitler sent part of the transport fleet, and also sent a lot of fighters, bombers, and anti-aircraft machine guns for experiments-that's all.Prolonging the Spanish Civil War would not only benefit Germany, but also prevent Mussolini - who had already supported Franco heavily - from establishing further relations with France and Britain, an isolated Mussolini who would inevitably turn to Germany. Ribbentrop warned Hitler not to meddle in Spanish events.There is no laurels to be won there, and he is also afraid of "complicating the relationship with Britain again, because Britain will definitely not be happy about Germany's intervention."Hitler argued that, as a National Socialist, it was his duty to aid Franco.If Spain became a communist country (already ruled by the left), France would inevitably be Bolshevisted. "If caught between the powerful Soviet bloc in the East and the Franco-Spanish bloc in the West, we would be ready to be caught if the Soviets attacked."