HITLER

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 62, Issue 4429, 23 May 1941, Page 6

HITLER

“THE ONE AND ONLY-’’ ONE MAN RULES GERM9NY. (By Joseph C. Harsch. —Published by Arrangement with the Christian Science Monitor.) BOSTON, 14th March. One man runs the show in Nazi Germany. That man is Reichsfuehrer Hitler. A lot of amusing stories have been written about fake Hitlers, doubles, and powers behind the throne. Imposing theories have been widely aired to the effect that concealed political forces are the real authority in Germany and Herr Hitler only a “ front.’’ The only fact in any of these is that at the beginning of the Nazi regime some foolish elements in Germany thought they could use Herr Hitler as a “front’’ and wield the real power behind him. But these have long ince passed through the wringer of cold disillusionment. It is perfectly possible that there may be someone looking like Reichsfuehrer Hitler who occasionally rides round in an open car and takes a salute or two for him. But even this is unlikely. And there can be no reasonable doubt that the man whom I have seen on a dozen occasions in Berlin since the war began, making speeches, presiding at the signature

(of treaties, or receiving the diplomatic corps, is Adolf Hitler. More than that, Adolf Hitler is the Nazi regime in Germany. It could not exist in its present form without him any more than the Napoleonic Empire could have existed without Napoleon or the New Deal in Wash- ; ington could exist without Franklin J Delano Roosevelt. If Herr Hitler were to depart from the European scene it would not necessarily mean a sharp break with the Nazi regime. It could be continued in a transition stage until something different led by other men with different ideas replaced it. The secondary ranks of the Nazi hierarchy would probably manage to remain in control for a time by reconciling their internal differences foi the sake of theii- new wealth, positions, and privileges. One other high Nazi leader is important and has influence which he holds in his own right—Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering. But he alone of all the lesser officials of party or Government enjoys what can really be called popularity or a public following. He does enjoy extraordinary popularity. His earthiness has a deep ■ appeal to the average German. His I lusty good humour, his child-like joy i in uniforms and trinkets, his famed ! prowess at the banqueting board proi bably have the same appeal to the, ! average German that the similar qua- ! lities of Henry VIII. had to the man i of Tudor England. CHEERS FOR “HERMANN.” i They can understand Hermann

Goering. He does all the things that they would like to do. His fantastic -estate of Karenhalle is the average German’s dream of earthly paradise. When he passes down the street in a parade, waving his marshal’s baton with a jovial grin, they cheer for him as they Ho for ho one else—-not ever for Herr Hitler. What they shout then is “ Hermann ! < Hermann ! ” with a tone of affection and admiration. Herr Hitler gets none of that tone of affection in cheers. His qualities are too. mystic. He represents something Germans follow, something which answers a yearning in them for leadership and authority, but not anything they can understand as ordinary human beings. His very authority over them derives from the fact that he is different from them, remote and semi-unreal. Because they can’t understand him, they are prepared to believe that he possesses supernatural powers and therefore are willing to follow his leadership where their own judgment tells them it is wrong or dangerous to go. The . cheer he gets is a guttural “ Heil I ” which has the terrifying bark of angry wolves. The Reichsmarshal enjoys sufficient public support to be able to take over Germany and rule it if anything happened to .Herr Hitler—so far as the public is concerned. The only question is whether he could get enough of the different rival elements of the party together behind him. If he could, the result would be very different from Herr Hitler’s Reich. There would be even greater emphasis on militarism, blood, and conquest.

He is the Vandal chief who could “ sack Rome ” with utter complacency. He would lack Herr Hitler’s fine distinction between destroying most of the city of Rouen but meticulosuly leaving the cathedral untouched. GOERING’S INTERESTS. But his interest in Nazism, is onlyin that part of it which makes Germany into a vast, integrated industrial machine for the production of military power. Racialism means nothing to him. When protests were made to him that one of his highest and ablest air officers was half Jew he is reported to have said, “ I will decide who is ‘ Aryan ’ in the Air Force.” That particular officer now carries a marshal’s baton. The slogan “ Earth and Blood,” which is- the basis of the Nazi idea, would cease to have much meaning in a Goering Reich. Nor, although the Reichsmarshal more nearly resembles one of the pagan German gods of Valhalla than any other Nazi leader, would he have any serious interest in the revival of Germanic paganism. He simply would not care about such impractical things. It would be a different, less revolutionary, although no less militant or dangerous a German Reich under Hermann Goering. From, the point of view of history or the future of Germany, there is really .no other Nazi or Government official of major political importance. The rest are the technicians, the henchmen, or the hangers-on of a political machine. Many have ambition, and would like to think that they are in the line of succession. But there isn’t one among them who has any large popular following in his own right. What importance they have as individuals derives from Herr Hitler. Their power is delegated by Herr Hitler, and their prominence is reflected from Herr Hitler.

This is even true of Joseph Goebbels, whose extraordinary skill as a moulder of public opinion is fully recognised throughout Germany and whose powerful intellect provides the rationalisation necessary to keep Nazism palatable and war-time privations endurable. There is something almost pathetic about the inability of this man, who more than any other “ sold ” Nazism to the German people, to acquire any real popular following. He is indispensable to the regime, but unloved among his colleagues and by the public.

It is even more true of Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who paved the way for the war by beguiling the “ appeasers ” of London until the. German Array was ready to strike, and then .concluding a pact with Communist Russia. His cynicism has been—at least up to now—a diplomatic asset to Hitler, but his self-conscious theatricalism and his pompousness deprive him also of friends either in the Nazi hierarchy or public folldwing. Heinrich Himmler, head of the dreaded Gestapo, is unquestionably a mpst efficient police chief, according to entirely technical standards. But no police chief acquires an affectionate or even admiring following among the people he controls when the Gestapo and concentration camps are his tools of trade. Dr Robert Ley, head of the German Labour Front and of the Nazi Party machine, is a lesser Hermann Goering in his earthiness, and does enjoy some small popularity among the workers for whom he has provided paid vacations on “ Work Through Joy ” ships or in labour resorts. But he ranks among the lesser luminaries of the regime, and would never be taken seriously as a contender for top honours. THE CASE OF HESSThe most likely compromise successor to Hen- Hitler would be Rudolf Hess, who has the title of Deputy Fuehrer. He is unusual among the group for his lack of personal ambition. He owes his position primarily to unswerving loyalty to Herr Hitler. ' EARLY AIDES PUSHED ASIDE. As for the others, of the early Nazis who enjoyed some popular following in their own right, almost al) have now gone the way of Ernest Rohm, or simply been pushed asideJulius Streicher, Gauleiter of Franconia, horse-.whip terrorise!- of the “Sturmer,” leading anti-Semitic publication, was the last of any importance. His present fate is shrouded in uncertainty. The men of the Streicher type have been replaced by party men who have proved technical ability, or by plain technicians with no party position or influence who were elevated exclusively because of competence to do a particular job. Dr > Fritz Todt, outstanding'engineer, who built the great system, of German automobile highways and the Siegfried Line, and today controls German arms production, is typical of this group that Takes its orders from Herr Hitler and does whatever is required, but has no influence on policy. Only Goering,

Goebbels, Hess, Ribbentrop, Himmler, and Ley are consulted in policy decisions. HITLER MAKES THE DECISIONS. But while the top six are consulted on high policy, and while each of the six has considerable freedom of action in his own particular field, the major decisions are invariably made by Herr Hitler himself. The Fuehrer has a personal staff of his own in the huge new Reichs Chancellery, which is often more important than the Ministries. This holds true in military matters. The High Command under General Wilhelm Keitel works out detailed plans for every conceivable type of operation. But it is Herr Hitler, with the aid of his private military staff, who makes the decision between various possible plans. The operating organisation of the High Command may not know what plan will be followed until, the last moment necessary to put it into motion. Here lies the explanation of the secrecy with which Herr Hitler has been able to cloak his future military movements. Preparations are ’always under way for different operations. But if a British agent learned that a certain operation was being prepared it 'would do him little good. An invasion of England is being prepared right now. So is an invasion of Russia. So is an attack on the Suez Canal -and a major movement into Africa across Italy from Tripoli. But it is obvious that only one of these three will be used at one time. The chances are that General Keitel, Field-Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, commander-in-chief of the Army, and Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, chief of the Navy, are as much in the dark to-day as you or I on the question of where Germany’s armed might will strike its major blow this year. Even Reichsmarshal Goering may not know, although he would be consulted- on the final decision. In military matters Herr Hitler’s personal division extends down into questions of tactics as well as of grand strategy. He not only decides where and when a m'ajor drive shall be launched, but also the important details as it progresses. The concentration of power in Herr Hitler’s personal hands and the rise of able technicians to high administrative position is the important trend of the war phase of Nazism. It is an essential ingredient in the war power of the Hitlei- Reich. It also has interesting implications for the future. The more power is concentrated into one hand, the greater the insecurity of continuity of a regime.