Chapter 158 Chapter Twenty-Six With Family (1)

After arguing with Jodl and being traumatized, Hitler lived in seclusion in the bunker of "Wolf's Lair", lived and ate, and was alone.He was accompanied only by the wolfhound "Blondi".When the battle for Stalingrad reached its climax, the Führer returned to the "wolf's lair" and gradually abandoned life in solitary confinement.Sometimes he also invited one or two adjutants or visitors from Berlin to share his simple food.As the circle expanded, several secretaries and other selected members of the family were included.As a result, the place to eat was moved back to the public dining room.Military generals are still excluded; he still refuses to shake their hands during debriefings.As for them, they always felt unnatural in his presence; most of them thought he was a tyrant and a neurotic.

The Führer was courteous to his adjutants even when he was depressed.To the younger staff, such as Richard Schulz (formerly an adjutant to Ribbentrop), he was like an uncle.There was another side of Hitler that the Halders never knew.They didn't believe that Hitler himself could be kind to his servants, or genial to his chauffeur and secretary.Separation from the military has forced him to grow closer to these family members.Thus the new secretary, Traudell Hemps, had a special opportunity to get to know her Führer.She had come to Wolf's Lair early that winter, replacing the beautiful and passionate Gerda Dalanowski. "Dara"

After handing over the job to Elizabeth Arden, she married Hitler's Air Force liaison officer. Troudell Hemps, 22, is the granddaughter of a general.Both naive and impressionable.The first time she recorded the Führer's words, she seemed very nervous.Hitler comforted her like a child. "There is no need to be nervous," he said, "I make many more mistakes in dictation than you do." On January 3, 1943, Hitler summoned her again.Hitler asked her if she would be his permanent private secretary.The job was exciting and enjoyable, so she took it without hesitation.Soon, she got used to this strange world.Since there is no fixed job in the office and the working hours are not fixed, she also has a lot of time to wander in the snow-covered forest during the day.She especially enjoyed watching her new employer play his "Blondie."This big wolf dog can drill hoops, jump over 1.8-meter-high wooden walls, climb ladders, and beg for people on the top of ladders.If Hitler had found Traudl, he would have called her over, shook her hand, and asked her how she was doing.

At military briefings, the amiable Hitler doesn't exist.After the fall of Stalingrad, his attendance at situational analysis meetings was reduced to a minimum due to his frequent outbursts of anger.Since the attack on Moscow failed, Guderian has not seen the head of state.He noticed that although the head of state was not much older, he "gets angry easily, and I don't know what he will say or what decisions he will make." At meals, he could control himself and get on well with his family, but the quality of his conversations could have deteriorated. "After the Battle of Stalingrad," Miss Schroeder recalled, "Hitler stopped listening to music. Every night, we had to listen to him muttering to himself. His conversation at the dinner table was like his Like many gramophones, the content is the same: his early life in Vienna, the history of mankind, and the big universe and the small universe. No matter what topic, we know what he will say before he opens his mouth. As time goes by Over time, we were tired of hearing these conversations. But, he never mentioned world events and front-line matters: anything connected with war was taboo."

In Berlin, Goebbels declared three days of mourning for those killed at Stalingrad.During that time, all entertainment venues, including cinemas and theaters, are closed. He also prepared the people of the country to think that life in the future would be very difficult.On trains, on walls, in shop windows, on street signs—everywhere the slogan was plastered: "The wheels must turn in the direction of victory." All commands issued orders calling for the mobilization of all forces for victory. On the same day, an article titled "Do You Want Total War?" was published in Düsseldorf. In his speech, he announced Hitler's "Final Solution".He said that if the Russians were victorious, two thousand years of Western civilization would be in jeopardy, because this victory was won by international Jews.As soon as he finished speaking, there were chants of "hang them!" from the audience.Goebbels promised that they would "total and complete extermination and eradication of the Jewish race!" and take revenge!This again elicited wild shouts and wild laughter from the audience.

In a letter the next day to his wife (whom he called "dearest wimpy girl"), Bowman stressed the seriousness of the military situation. "If the war situation worsens, now or later, it is better for you to move to the West, because you must do everything in your power to keep your - our - children out of danger. They will inherit the future business .” On the 18th, at a meeting in the Gymnasium, Goebbels raised the proposition of total war again in a speech to a selected and loyal audience of party members.Every detail of this conference is like acting.For visual effect, the audience wears civilian clothes instead of uniforms.They sang, or shouted their agreement, or praised together, and they all cooperated very well.Goebbels on the podium is more like acting than lecturing.What he said was not as important as his technique.He used his oratorical stunts to drive the audience to a frenzy.When he asked, do you want total war?Are you going to fight, if necessary, a fuller and more complete war than is conceivable today? In other words, anyone who harms the war effort will lose his head," the audience roared in agreement. "What a stupid moment!" he later said viciously to his entourage. "If I let these people jump from the fourth floor of Columbus Tower, they would certainly jump!"

Enthusiastic about total war, Goebbels took the initiative to organize a special operations committee, composed of the highest ranks of the party. In early March, he personally went to Obersalzburg to meet Goering for help.Things would be out of Hitler's control, he said; he had aged fifteen years since the war broke out; it was tragic that he lived such an unhealthy life in reclusive life.Therefore, it is very important for them to change the current lack of leadership in both domestic and foreign policies. "We don't want to bother the Führer with everything." He tried his best to convince Goering that political battles must be fought in wars, and the political leadership of the empire must be in the hands of the Imperial Council of Ministers of Defense.The Council of Ministers should be a ruthless group of people willing to win at any cost.

Goebbels reassured Goering that they were acting on Hitler's behalf. "Our purpose is nothing more than to support each other and build a strong leadership group around the head of state. For example, if a matter is proposed to the head of state from various angles, the head of state will sometimes waver when making a decision. .Sometimes the way he reacts to people is not right. That's where he needs help." Göring promised to do his best to bring Himmler in.Goebbels revealed that he had won over important officials such as Funk, Ley, and Speer, and they were extremely loyal to the Führer. "It goes without saying that this cause is greater than any of us. The people who helped the Führer win the revolution should now help him win the war. They were not bureaucrats then, nor should they become bureaucrats now. "

Göring never considered the question of approaching the Minister of the Air Force Armed Forces, Field Marshal Milch.In addition to saying that he was not qualified to be a member of the National Socialist Party, he also publicly opposed Field Marshal Goering.During a private meal with the Führer a few days after the Goering-Goebbels plot, Milch suggested that Goering be removed because he suspected that Goering was taking drugs.He also dared to tell Hitler to Hitler's face - Goebbels' latest joke: After the two ascended to heaven, St. Peter made Goering run to the distant cloud and come back again, as punishment for his constant lying .St. Peter then looked here and there, looking for Goebbels. "Where's that little guy with the clubfoot?" he asked. "Ah," explained an angel, "he went back to the world to get his motorcycle."

After dinner Milch said he had many suggestions and hoped the Führer would not be offended by his frankness.First, he urged the Führer to abandon his plan to attack Kursk and switch from counter-offensive to defensive.With the army weak and supplies meager, the front had to be shortened. "You can't convince me," Hitler said mildly, hitting a dot on the ink pad.Milch's answer was equally crisp: Hitler should cancel the daily seminars and appoint a new chief of staff—for example, Manstein. "Give him control of all fronts, don't just give him one area. It's all under your command. You are still the Supreme Commander, and he is your assistant." Hitler did not say anything, and made a mark with a pencil —Milch thought it was neuroticism.The marshal talked for another hour, making many equally sharp suggestions.Finally, he made the most unpalatable proposal, "My Führer," he said, "Stalingrad is the most serious crisis for the Reich and the Army. You have to take Germany out of the war immediately. I offer you Guaranteed, many agree with me, there is still time. You must act now, not formalities. Act now - that is the first priority!"

It's past midnight.Milch was tired and frightened, dripping with sweat.He apologized to the Führer for asking 20 questions.Hitler glanced at the mark on the printing pad. "You asked 24 questions, not 20," he said.He was neither sad nor angry. "Thank you for telling me all this. No one has ever told me in such detail."