Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

168 DER FUEHRERNational Socialist storm sections, the Free Corps of Ehrhardt, Rossbach,etc., and other 'defense leagues.' The Socialist leaders could nothave failed to realize that they were arming and nourishing themurderers of the republic. But they thought it their patriotic duty todefend the country's borders. Also they believed that the centralReichswehr command in Berlin, by paying and arming the 'black'soldiers, might 'tie them to the crib' and thus render them harmless.Hitler saw things in the same light, and he was embittered. Rohm —sometimes acting behind Lossow's back — calmly carried on the tradehe knew so well: he amassed more and more weapons for Hitler's S.A.and raised their numbers, toward autumn, 1923, to some fifteenthousand. He thought that he was furnishing his friend with a wonderfulimplement of civil war. But Hitler recognized that his entanglement inthe new army was destroying his political freedom, putting him backwhere he was before: a mere tool of the Reichswehr — yet of aReichswehr that was cooled and strangely transformed.There were bitter scenes, for Rohm did not understand this. Thus farthe National Socialist storm troops had had their own arms, their ownmachine guns, and even a few cannon. In form, to be sure, theseimplements of murder had always belonged to the Reichswehr, but theReichswehr, unable to store them in its own barracks for fear of theAllied control commission, had been glad to give the precious weaponsto the political leagues for safe-keeping and maintenance; in fact, theleagues had been created more or less for this purpose. Little by little,they had come to regard the arms as their own property. And now camethe great blow. After the outbreak of the battle of the Ruhr, the Reichhad half-broken off diplomatic relations with France. In January, 1923,a control commission barely escaped murder by National Socialists inMunich, and after that the commissions ceased to function. TheReichswehr in Bavaria had no more need to hide its arms. And so theleagues were obliged to return the precious guaranty of their power, thearms with which they wanted to overthrow the republic. They receivedpromises that the arms would be returned any time they asked for them— but these were mere promises.