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130 10 hitler’s germany The “small town” Hitler, whom I had talked with in Munich in 1922, was now absolute ruler of sixty million Germans, a people as gifted scientifically, industrially, and militarily as any on the globe. —Truman Smith, on the Hitler of 1935 Smith had thought through Hitler’s influence and Germany’s future in his 1924 article, “The German Fascisti,” which remained unpublished until 1984. In it he warned that “critics and scoffers” who proclaimed Hitler’s doctrines as artificial “bunkum” “may well be too optimistic.” He concluded, “The probability of a patriotic, nationalistic Germany of the future must still be faced by every thinking foreigner, European or American.”1 Later, as a student at the Army War College, Smith’s 1933 paper “Hitler and Germany” was again right on the mark regarding key issues: the dictator’s consolidation of power at home before undertaking military action; Hitler’s irrevocable decision to deny Jews property and status as Germans; and the Nazi movement’s being a grab bag of inconsistencies designed to appeal to all components of German society. While in Hawaii from 1933 to 1935, Truman’s attention was dedicated to his soldiers and to enjoying two bucolic years in paradise with Kay. But neither the world outside nor Germany held still. Franz von Papen was neither the first nor the last to underestimate Hitler. The speed with which Hitler consolidated power, as well as his sheer audacity, stunned his enemies and energized his supporters. He also won over many who, even if generally indifferent to politics, were tired of the years of defeat and drift and were ready to take a chance on a leader who exuded a sense of purpose and appealed to pride in being German. He was unscrupulous in his readiness to seize every opportunity to enhance his position and to destroy—not defeat—his enemies—not opponents. He moved swiftly, making assurances of noninterference to the Reichswehr hitler’s germany 131 while installing Hermann Goering as Prussian Minister of the Interior , giving Goering control of the police, who were directed to cooperate with the SA, the SS, and Stahlhelm (a veterans’ organization ) to combat the Left. He was not subtle. Hitler’s order to the police was to shoot first and ask questions later: “Every official must bear in mind that failure to act will be regarded more seriously than an error due to taking action.”2 If that was not clear enough, this was: “I am not concerned with both sides. I see only those who are for National Socialism and those who are against it, and I know how to deal with the latter.”3 The fox was guarding the henhouse. The men with the guns were with Hitler. He exploited the 1933 Reichstag fire—the cause of which is still debated, though it is likely that an SA/SS Sondergruppe did the deed—by blaming the communists, arresting 4,000 Communist officials, and getting President Hindenburg to sign an emergency decree passed by the Reichstag, the Enabling Act, on 23 March 1933, that effectively suspended the basic rights of citizens for the duration of the emergency. The temporary measure became a permanent part of Nazi rule. The SPD, casting the only nay votes against the Enabling Act, might as well have posted a sign saying, “Out of Business until 1949.” The National Socialist Party was declared Germany’s only political party on 14 July 1933. Hitler’s dictatorship was established in less than six months. Hitler touched all bases—courting labor, agriculture, industry, women, youth, veterans, the military—and made brilliant use of radio and film to win mass support by underlining his very real accomplishments. Strikes were prohibited, for example; but so were lockouts. More significantly, the new regime eliminated unemployment , chiefly by opening labor camps and performing visible public works. The Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) social program provided worker vacations and entertainment. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations on 14 October 1933, an action validated by the German people in the (unopposed) Reichstag election of 12 November 1933, as 92 percent voted for the Nazi list of candidates and 93 percent approved of the government’s decision to leave the League. On 7 April 1933, Hitler promulgated a “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service,” which effectively purged Jews, SPD members, and enemies of the Nazis from the civil service. The Reichstag, singing the Nazi tune, became, as Gordon Craig...

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