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      Worm in the Apple German Traitors and Other Influences That Pushed the World Into War: The little-known story of the men who destroyed Adolf Hitler's Germany Friedrich Lenz 1. Preface July 20, 1944 has gone down in history as a day of great significance. But nothing would be more wrong than to accord the events of this single day a historical importance out of proportion to their strictly symbolic significance. The events in question represent but one act of the great tragedy of German history from 1933 to 1945. "How much longer will it take? When will thunder and lightning finally strike?" fretted the co-conspirators of H. B. Gisevius, one of the foremost participants of July 20. Now they had it, that lightning bolt that was to strike Hitler down, free Germany of a 'monster' and all its woes and bring them to power, as well as the thunderclap which, however, while dealing Germany the final blow, cost many of them their lives as well. But the 'lightning bolt' had flashed too briefly for the German people to discern the real background and consequences of this act. The truth itself took years to surface from among the tangle of propaganda lies. Only now has it become possible to extract some coherence from the jumble of all the publications that have come out in recent years. It is the purpose of this booklet to show the broad masses of our nation, who have neither the opportunity nor the time for historical research of their own, the true backdrop of this act as succinctly as possible, so that they will be in a position, in the interests of Germany's future, to draw the necessary political conclusions. The people need to know who concocted the storm of which that thunder and lightning was part, and why it brought about Germany's misfortune. The urgent need for education on this point is proven by the fact that only recently two persons holding positions of great state responsibility made comments which evinced not only a considerable lack of objectivity, but an even greater lack of historical awareness. Clarification is especially important also because we are presently faced with decisions of momentous significance, and are to be led to board the wrong train of fate, whose destination signs have been falsified by persons both malicious and incompetent, so that we cannot help but be misled.
I have not written for the deceased Hitler, but rather for that Germany that voted for him and gave him its support time and again, for that Germany that now bears, and is supposed to continue to bear, the consequences of a completely false assessment of its and our intentions. The way in which Hitler himself is regarded will change with time, as surely as the view taken of Napoleon has changed. Nobody in all the world will be able to prevent that. It will turn out that the path of truth cannot be barred. To quote Houston Stewart Chamberlain: "In actual fact, truth stands radiant and undisguised, only the veil before our eyes obscures it. We only need to brush away the haze, then we see the truth, and the madness vanishes." But anyone who has seen the truth will draw the necessary conclusions and no longer board the wrong train. May their numbers be great, for the good of Germany! In closing I will quote a well-known member of the 'Resistance': "In time, the position which our sorely afflicted, beloved Germany will take with respect to the actions of the unlawfuls will be of decisive importance to the view the world will take of her."
Friedrich Lenz
Heidelberg, November 9, 1952
  
Worm in the Apple German Traitors and Other Influences That Pushed the World Into War: The little-known story of the men who destroyed Adolf Hitler's Germany |
I am aware that my opinion contrasts sharply with those who
are currently popular. Nevertheless I claim for my motivations exactly that maxim expressed by
Karl Goerdeler, one of the leaders of the Resistance: "Despite the smoke screen of propaganda,
the
German people must be told the truth, and nothing but the truth." I have written in a way that
everyone can understand. I deliberately quoted a great deal from political writings and as little as
possible from National Socialist texts.