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

THE BEER HALL PUTSCH 205you've got to be born to it.' Here no doubt the Demon from the massesspeaks more democratically than his adversaries in their gold-braideduniforms — but he is only talking. For in the last analysis he is referringonly to himself; and what he has in mind is power:'My standpoint is that the bird must sing because he is a bird. And aman who is born for politics must engage in politics whether at freedomor in prison, whether he sits in a silken chair or must content himselfwith a hard bench. . . . The man who is born to be a dictator is notcompelled; he wills; he is not driven forward; he drives himselfforward; there is nothing immodest about this. Is it immodest for aworker to drive himself toward heavy labor? Is it presumptuous of aman with the high forehead of a thinker to ponder through the nights tillhe gives the world an invention? The man who feels called upon togovern a people has no right to say: If you want me or summon me, Iwill co-operate. No, it is his duty to step forward. . . .'In conclusion, he informed the judges that despite everything that hadhappened they must honor the future state power in him. Withunshakable confidence he explained that despite all the moods of thehistoric moment, despite the temporary reinforcement of the state,despite the apparent discomfiture of the Uprooted and Disinherited byrifle fire, the Reichswehr could not permanently reject an alliance witharmed bohemia. For on both sides there was the same human substance,the same ideology, the same attitude toward social affairs; the men onboth sides were and remained armed intellectuals. And if thereconciliation could be brought about in no other way, it would have tobe done by war, which Hitler declared to be inevitable, necessary, anaim ardently to be desired; with his unchanged manner of speech,expressing an unchanged conviction, he called this reconciling,liberating war, this war so ardently to be hoped for, the 'great divinejudgment' to come:'I believe that the hour will come when the masses, who today standon the street with our swastika banner, will unite with those who firedupon them. I believe that this blood will not always separate us. When Ilearned that it was the Green police which fired, I had the happy feelingthat at least it was not the Reichswehr which besmirched itself; theReichswehr stands as un-