The Fuhrer PDF
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I A KONRAD Heiden "Incomparably the most brilliant and / prehensive treatise yet written about the master of the Third Reich." j j NewYorkTimes Book Review(front page) , ! 11roflulition bv w ./ f The Ftihrer The Fiihrer KONRAD HEIDEN TRANSLAT DM1 I K \ I I' H \l A N II E I \l ALLSTON BRANCH UBRARY & Carroll GrafPublishers, Inc. NEWYORK AL BR DD247 H5 H344 1999x Carroll ex (irafPublishers, Inc. 19West 21st Street NewYork NY 100104805 FineUSedition 1944 & FirstCarroll Grafedition 1 Copyright© Konrad leiden 1944 I All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication maybe reproduced in anyform orby any means withoutthe priorpermission ofthe publisher ISBN0-7867-0683-X Printed and bound in the I ( PREFACE Itistwenty-three years nowsince I first attended aNational Socialist meeting,saw(withoutparticularenjoyment)HerrHitleratcloserange, andlistenedtothefloodofnonsense-orsoitthenseemedtome-that hewasspouting. Itwasonlygraduallythattheeffectsofthesespeeches made me realize that behind all the nonsense there was unrivaled political cunning. In 1923, as the leader of a small democratic organization in the University of Munich, I tried, with all the earnestness of youth, and withcompletelackofsuccess, toannihilate Hitlerby meansofprotest parades, mass meetings, and giant posters. And so I am entitled tocall myselftheoldest-oroneoftheoldest-anti-Nazis now intheUnited States,fortherecannotbemanyinthiscountrywhocameintoconflict with AdolfHitlerand his handful offollowers at so early adate. Thosewhoexperience history and haveashare in its makingrarely see the enduring threads but only the whirl of exciting and quickly forgotten details. In 1920, and the years following, my friends and I certainlydidnotviewourmodestfist-fightsandotherencounterswith theNationalSocialistsasanattempttoputaprematureendtothecareer ofthe modern Genghis Khan, and I would have jeered atanyone who had prophesied that this was the beginning of a new epoch in world history. The narrative that follows is based partly on my own observations and experiences then and in later years. However, even the most inti- mate episodes and reports of private conversations are grounded on documentary evidenceoron statements ofindividuals who seemed to me thoroughly reliable. Thisbookowesmuchtothatuniquecollection,theHooverLibrary at Stanford University, California. I want to thank Professor Ralph H. Lutz for his permission to use this treasure of documents about recent European history, and Miss Nina Almond, Librarian, and Mr. PhilipT McLean, Reference Librarian,forthefriendlyhelptheygave meineveryway. I amindebted,too,tothelibraryoftheUniversityof CaliforniaatBerkeley,andtothevaluableprivatelibraryofmyfriends Muriel andJosephButtinger, New York. The share thepublishing firm of Houghton Mifflin Company [the originalpublishers] hadinthe makingofthis bookseems to melarger than usual. I cannot leave unmentioned the amount of help, advice, hardwork,time,andpatienceRobertN. Linscott,asaneditor,gaveto the job; it was a most decisive contribution. Miss Constance Purtell wasveryhelpfulwithrevisingandlast-hourtranslating. RalphManheimenteredthearmybeforehecouldfinishhistransla- tion.Thelastchapterandpartofthechapterbeforethe last havebeen translatedbyNorbertGuterman. K.H. CONTENTS Introduction by Richard Overy 5 I. The Protocols oftheWiseMen ofZion 9 II. The Armed Intellectuals 23 III. 'He Is BothTerrible and Banal' 36 IV. Hitler Finds His Home 68 V. The Burning Heavens are Reflected in a Mud Puddle 76 VI. 'Aryans ofAll Nations, Unite' 87 VII. The Death ofMoney 106 VIII. War in the Ruhr 126 IX. The Beer Hall Putsch 150 X. Interlude 170 XI. The AgeofGold 200 XII. 'Few Flames Burn in Germany' 222 XIII. 'The Uprooted and Disinherited' 247 XIV. FirstTriumph 262 XV. 'The UnhappiestofAll Men' 283 XVI. 'Adolphe Legalite' 309 XVII. 'Now I HaveTheminMyPocket!' 327 XVIII. Defeat 343 XIX. Hindenburg's Stick 358 XX. TheRacewithCatastrophe 382 4°2 XXI. Chancellorat Last XXII. TheReichstagFire *l6 XXIII. Coup d'Etatby Installments 454 XXIV. Conquestby Peace 47* XXV. HitlerversusNational Socialism 49* XXVI. OtherPeople's Money J ' XXVII. Trance Is to Blame' 527 XXVIII. TheBlood Purge ^6l Index 6°4
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