![](clear.gif) ![](clear.gif) |
Part 8 - Art, culture and social innovations
Those engaging in this campaign of calumny are experts at attaining great results with crafty
little
tricks. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe know Adolf Hitler only as a monster
with
a
whip in his hand, a grimly scowling face and a great dark strand of hair across his forehead.
Anyone
who knows only this image must assume that what he is faced with is a bloodthirsty, bellicose
and
very unpleasant man who could very well be the instigator of heinous crimes.
I have already said that I knew Adolf Hitler since 1928, and between 1933 and 1935 I was
frequently
with him, sometimes every day, and usually quite privately, often from 9 pm to about 2 am. That
was
the quiet part of his day, which he liked to spend in the company of close friends. In 1936 and
1937
I only saw him infrequently, hardly ever in the time before the outbreak of the war, and not at all
anymore during wartime.
I can only state that I never once saw Hitler with a whip in his hand. As well, I never saw him
with
a strand of hair across his forehead, except perhaps accidentally in the course of a vigorous
speech.
His hair was without exception very neat, perfectly cut and combed. I
did - very rarely - see him scowl, understandably enough at times when he was angry about
something. When it happened in the presence of ladies, he would immediately apologize to them
afterwards.
One very pronounced characteristic of his, however, is never mentioned nowadays, and was not
very
well known even then: his striking sense of humour.
No-one knew Hitler as well as Dr. Goebbels did. Whenever he had to take an unpleasant bit of
news
to Hitler, he would always bring along a few really good jokes, which had the effect of soothing
and
very efficacious medicine on Hitler. It must also be said that Dr. Goebbels had a flair for telling
these
jokes.
Two years ago I was very surprised to read that the great comedian Karl Valentin was being
celebrated in Munich as "victim of Nazi persecution". I wrote the Valentin Society that Hitler
had
been a particularly enthusiastic fan of Valentin's and, in the small circle of his closest friends,
had
on
several occasions recited the most popular Valentin
skits - from memory, and very well at that. I think Hitler would have let Valentin get away with
anything and everything. The claim that he persecuted him politically is, in my opinion, an
outrageous
lie.
One of the descendants of the famous singer Leo Slezak - his son, I think - claimed after the war
that
Slezak had had to suffer terribly under Hitler. Even Margarete Slezak, doubtless a great artist,
had
had
a hard time of it during the Hitler regime, it was claimed. The fact is that Hitler numbered the
Slezaks
among his personal friends. I met Margarete dozens of times at Hitler's place, and in every
instance
the two of them had a good and cheerful time together; old Slezak himself was never anything
but
admired for his great voice, his acting talent and his humanity.
Hitler knew that Slezak's mother was one of the daughters of the banker Wertheim, in other
words,
of Jewish extraction. At age 59, Slezak gave up his position as singer with the State
Opera - expressly "on his own request", as he himself stated in the encyclopedia "Who's Who".
He
was brilliantly successful to the end, in America as well as especially at the Wagner and Mozart
Festivals in Bayreuth and Salzburg. After the war I repeatedly visited his daughter, Margarete
Slezak,
in her beautiful house in Egern on the Tegernsee; she was still a great follower of Hitler's, and
made
no secret of it.
In the course of the last twenty years, many well-known actors and actresses, especially those
coming
from the motion-picture industry, have written more or less political memoirs. I knew most of
them
personally, and so I know quite well what they thought of Hitler and Goebbels "in those days",
and
what they invented "afterwards" so as to ingratiate themselves with the regime of today just as
they
did very successfully back then with Hitler and the Reich Minister responsible for theatre and
film.
I was already familiar with the methods these people used, from what I had observed during the
1920s
and from 1930 to 1932. In their memoirs several of them seem to have confused their
experiences
in
the 1920s with those of the 1930s, for in my opinion they were treated far too well in the 1930s.
With
respect to several of the "ladies" from this field I can only say that their fawning was downright
shameless. Often we literally took to our heels when we saw them converging on the Ministry,
there
to gush once again most effusively about how enraptured they were with Hitler and Goebbels
and
what a
blessing National-Socialism was for the entire people.
But if Hitler wanted the German motion picture industry to become known and popular outside
Germany - for up until then it was quite unknown - then he had to come to an arrangement with
these
people. Their pushiness was not in itself reason enough to dispense with good actresses.
There were also modest and decent artists, however, who made great careers for themselves
even
if
they were politically, let's say, uncomfortable. I know of several brilliant actors who made no
secret
of the fact that they were Communists. They were among the most respected ones to the end,
their
views notwithstanding. Heinrich George, Eugen Klöpfer, Emil Jannings, Werner Kraus,
Mathias Wiemann, Gustav Gründgens, Alexander
Golling - apart from the singers, these were for the most part not National-Socialists, and some
of
them were even known as opponents.
Hitler and Goebbels were in full agreement: actors must not be assessed in political terms, else
real,
good theatre as such will
die out - and this, in turn, is something one cannot do to the people. The people come first! And
to
this
day I believe that that was the right attitude to take.
One thing is for certain: politicians understand "theatre" better than actors understand politics.
And
no doubt that is how it has been at all times and in all nations.
![Hitler with Leni Riefenstahl](ahleni.jpg)
Hitler with filmmaker
Leni Riefenstahl
|
In any case, none of the actors as such had the slightest grounds for discontent. They were
extremely
successful, they were very popular not only at home but some of them even abroad, and theatre,
just
like the German movies, was more popular and respected than it has ever been again since.
German
movies did not
attain world-wide significance until Hitler's time. One of the last movies made in the Third
Reich,
"Kolberg", was still a big hit abroad many years after the war. But it was rarely shown in
Germany
during the war, and not at all afterwards!
German broadcasting gained such prestige in the world that Germany was given the
chairmanship
of the World Broadcasting Association. German symphony orchestras also enjoyed
unprecedented
international popularity.
German sports did not attain world-wide importance until Hitler's day, which was most evident
at
the
Berlin Olympics. German jurisprudence gained
such world-wide prestige under Hitler that a world conference of judges was moved to Germany.
The
Chairman of this conference, and host, so to speak, was Dr. Roland Freisler, who later was made
a
very particular target of by the slanderers of Germany and all things German.
German locomotives, German automobiles, German ships came to be greatly admired abroad,
and
bought, ie. ordered, worldwide. German physicians began to play a leading international role.
Foreign
experts came from all parts of the world to look at and copy Hitler's Autobahn
superhighways.
The organization of German agriculture, as well as the German solution to the problem of labour
unions - in the shape of the "German Labour Front" (DAF, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), which Hitler
himself was reluctant to
call "National-Socialist Labour Front" - soon also came to be internationally regarded as
exemplary.
After the war, when the Americans had the organization, structure and functional abilities
of the "National-Socialist People's Welfare Organization" (NSV) and the "Winter Relief
Organization" (WHW) explained to them, they
said - and I know this from eye-witnesses - that there was no other organization in the world as
efficient and outstanding as these.
![Hitler, by Arno Breker](ahbreker.jpg)
"Hitler"
by Arno Breker
|
I cannot conclude this list without mentioning Arno Breker, one of the greatest artists of that
epoch.
Wide sections
of the art-conscious population abroad practically idolized him, even though, as is commonly
known,
he was commissioned by Hitler personally, as were Count Plettenberg and Josef Thorak. Great
artists
from almost every country eagerly flocked to Germany.
And when Hitler then built up a fleet by means of which the German working man could see the
world and come to know and honour other peoples, thus building bridges of understanding from
one
person to
another - that was when he unconsciously touched a sore spot with his enemies and slanderers,
for
this was something that should not and must not be. The organization "Strength Through Joy"
(Kraft
durch Freude, KdF) was by far the greatest of all social measures introduced by the Third Reich.
It
alone was already a Revolution of the true form of
Socialism - independent of financial means. Time and again one could see thousands of men and
women from all social strata of the German nation visiting Madeira and other "paradises"
on earth - and that was a great innovation for all of mankind in those days!
The only institution with which the German Reich sorely failed to excite admiration was its
armed
forces, which, due to imposed necessity, were much too small for such a large and significant
nation.
The navy was in dire need of at least five times the existing number of submarines, at least ten
times
as many transport ships of all kinds, at least twice as many warships of various kinds, as well as
a
number of surprises.
The air force was in even worse a shape than the navy. In fact, it barely existed at all. At least
3,000
fighter planes of various kinds were needed.
To expand and train the army, navy and air force on such a scale was very costly and, according
to
the experts, would require five to eight years' time! Hitler was fully aware of all this, and so this
alone
means that it was completely out of the question for him to want war. Since the traitors also
knew
this, the matter of who started the war is quite clear, as is the fact that the entire campaign of
slander
and calumny was directed exclusively by those who wanted to eradicate "Made in Germany"
once
and
for all. Five to eight
years - that meant that the Reich could not be fully armed before 1946 at the earliest!
But Hitler not only needed time for the armed forces, he also needed a great deal more time for
the
internal consolidation of the Reich. In this context he wanted at least ten to twelve more
years - which means that the desired state of armament of the German armed forces would not
be
attained at any time prior to 1950! Hitler was of the opinion that at such a time there would no
longer
even be any danger of war, for he would surely have achieved an alliance with England long
before
that time, especially since he had renounced any and all colonial claims for the German Reich.
Who
else but him would have done any such thing back then?
Does anyone really believe that the German Reich could have concluded a naval treaty with
England,
treaties with Italy, Rumania and Japan, and even with the Soviet Union, if even one of the lies
being
spread around had been the truth? Never!
![Gott schütze Adolf Hitler! God save Adolf Hitler!](ahkirche.gif)
Banner on a church in the Sudetenland,
1938:
"Gott schütze Adolf Hitler"!
("God save Adolf Hitler"!)
Photo credit: Federal Archives, Koblenz
|
Does anyone believe that the two major Churches prayed for Hitler and his government for
twelve
whole years - and not only within Germany! - because deep down they really believed that he
and
his
government were diabolical? I think this theory may safely be dismissed as out of the
question.
From 1932 on I was personally acquainted with the papal nuncio Orsenigo, who for many years
was
a most respected ambassador of the Holy See to Berlin. Whenever he spoke about Hitler it was
always
in an appreciative, sometimes even an admiring vein. I never once knew him to voice anything
negative. I was also well acquainted with Ambassadors Alfieri (Italy) and Frölicher
(Switzerland), the Irish Ambassador, who remained supportive to the very end, as well as the
Ambassadors of Japan (Oshima), Spain, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
It goes without saying that all these gentlemen listened to foreign radio broadcasts as well as to
the
German ones, in order to compare them. That was their privilege. In this way they regularly
learned
what new accusations the slanderers aimed at Germany. It was their right to demand pertinent
information from the governments they were accredited to, and so they were
always well-informed. They were also free to send informed members of their staff back to their
countries of origin, for purposes of reporting there.
Not one of the many foreign diplomats whom I met in Berlin in the course of more than ten
years
considered Hitler's regime to be "criminal". They voiced criticism wherever they felt that
something
needed to be
remedied - and it was their right as well as their duty to do so. But all of them without exception
admired the German national community as Hitler's greatest achievement. All of them
acknowledged
that Hitler preserved not only Germany but all of Europe from Communism. And many of them
admired Hitler as a very brilliant man whose existence was a blessing, and not only for
Germany.
I particularly remember the English diplomat Sir Ivon Kirkpatrick. We were personal friends of
his
and his family's. Once he even attended a meeting of the NSDAP which was being held in the
Reddest part of Berlin, and at which I was the sole speaker. When he congratulated me
afterwards,
he remarked that it was a great pity that only very few of the foreigners who came to Germany so
full
of curiosity had the chance to witness such a meeting. It was only at this meeting, he said, that he
had
fully realized that what was happening in Germany was a primarily Socialist revolution
which - adapted, of course, to reflect individual situations - could be of immense benefit to all
nations!
On the occasion of a party which Kirkpatrick gave at his home for his friends, he took me aside
to
ask
me to tell my Minister in his name the next day (which was the day before Dr. Goebbels left for
Egypt) that when he was in Egypt he should bear in mind that a very brilliant statesman had
already
been known to fail disastrously when he followed up on his war in Egypt by also invading
Russia!
I passed this message on to Dr.
Goebbels - he did not answer, but I will never forget the way he looked at me.
No doubt Kirkpatrick meant well. After the war he served as a high-ranking Commissioner of
the
Queen in
the British-occupied part of the Reich. During Kirkpatrick's time in Berlin, the British
Ambassador
was Henderson. Unlike me, Hitler considered him a friend.
![Nevile Henderson](nhenderson.jpg)
Nevile Henderson
|
One evening when we were at the home of Chief of Staff Lutze, the host's dachshund walked
past
us,
and Henderson said: "You see, my dear Prince, this animal has typically German
characteristics - a big mouth and a long tail." I answered: "And as far as I am aware, the dog
typical
for England is the
bulldog - he bites from below, Your Excellency."
I only mention these two brief episodes because I witnessed them myself and because they
showed
me how fundamentally different were the attitudes of those two Englishmen, who were both
with
the
British Embassy at that time and who both played significant parts afterwards.
I especially liked to visit Ambassador Fran‡ois Poncet at the French Embassy. Hitler regarded
him
as a "particularly intelligent and tactful man". From many private remarks I had gathered the
impression that Fran‡ois Poncet was more kindly disposed towards the Germans than von
Ribbentrop
would have liked. Ribbentrop banked on Henderson. History has proven that the exact opposite
would
have been correct. But I could not possibly have interfered, especially since
in 1929-30 Alfred Rosenberg had brought about my expulsion from the Party - and Hitler's
signature
had been forged towards this
end - because Baron Lersner and I had suggested to Hitler that he should review his position
towards
France and try to obtain an alliance with the French. Hitler acted on this suggestion, and
Rosenberg
told him that Baron Lersner was not fully Aryan. Rosenberg's outrageous behaviour did not come
to
light until 1936, when Hitler declared that he had never heard of my being expelled from the
Party,
and after all, if he had known, he would not have continued to confide in me for years
afterwards.
I only mention this because it shows how many dangers to Hitler and his struggle lurked within
the
Party's leadership, and that it is insane to call him a dictator. If only he had been one, probably
everything would have turned out fine, especially since he never intended to remain in the Party
vanguard forever. I repeatedly heard him say, "As soon as I have finished laying the foundations
of
the Reich, I am going to step down and devote myself to the elaboration of our ideology." This is
yet
another factor which shows that he never wanted a war.
![previous page](ahdiktatorprev.gif) ![table of contents](ahdiktatortoc.gif)
Was Hitler Really a Dictator?
|
|