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

196 DER FUEHRERber mist, Rudolf Hess was racing through the mountains with his twovictims; more and more in sorrowful doubt whether this was the rightthing to do.The mass of hostages had been corralled in the Burgerbrau. Goringmade them join the marching columns, which in the course of themorning gathered in front of the building. He commanded one of hislieutenants, a certain Knoblauch, to keep a sharp eye on the prisonersduring the march, as their life was a pledge for the safety of the wholeventure. Knoblauch promised the prisoners that if anything happened tothe column, he would have their skulls bashed in with rifle butts.Meanwhile, Goring and Ulrich Graf left the Burgerbrau and went a fewhundred yards toward the center of the city from which the rebels wereseparated by the Isar River. The bridge was closed by heavily armedpolice. Goring, magnificent in his black cap and black leather coat,beribboned and bemedaled, stepped up to the commanding officer, puthis hand to his cap and said: 'Herr Kamerad, we are marching, and Iwant to tell you this: the first dead man in our ranks means the immediatedeath of all the hostages.' Ulrich Graf has given us a faithfulpicture of the whole scene. How terrible, the officer moaned, that theyshould begin shooting at one another. Only a little while before he andhis comrades had fought shoulder to shoulder with Goring's men, and hecouldn't see why they had suddenly become enemies. That, Goringreplied coldly, was something he could ask von Lossow and Seisser.After much sighing on both sides the conversation ended with thefollowing proposal from the police officer: 'Very well, Herr Kamerad, ifI receive orders to move against you, I will inform you in time for youand your people to take the necessary defensive measures ... or towithdraw if you wish to.'At eleven o'clock the storm columns started toward the bridge. Thehostages, awaiting death, stood in their ranks. Hitler passed and his eyesfell on the unfortunates. He gave orders to leave them behind — 'Iwanted no martyrs,' he said later. The putsch was three quarters lost anda massacre of these defenseless men might have cost the leaders theirheads. Hitler's courage and spirit of initiative sank from hour to hour.He let himself be driven, and Ludendorff did the driving.