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

264 DER FUEHRERest reproach against it is 'that economy, to be sure, nourishes a man, butcannot fill him with enthusiasm for dying.'Hitler's hatred of economy arises from the depths of his soul; but therewere practical reasons why he so publicly and furiously proclaimed it. 'Imyself most solemnly confess: I regret that German industry does notsupport us.' He reproached the German economic leaders, saying 'thatthese men who were so big support the Marxists out of cowardice' — hewas referring to the collaboration between industrials and tradeunionistsfirst begun by Hugo Stinnes — 'while they don't even knowtheir German national comrades.' The German 'national comrades' wereHitler's gauleiters, who dreamed of envelopes containing five hundredmarks 'for political purposes.' 'I would take every penny and everymillion without strings to it from a German,' Hitler assures us; yes, hewould not refuse 'to accept ten millions from a German.' But contrary toa widespread legend, this was out of the question from 1925 to 1929 —even later. The German economy did not raise up Hitler. He is nocreature of money; to be sure, he did approach big capital— though as ablackmailer, not as a lackey. But in that springtime of self-confidence,there was nothing to be had from capital by blackmail.These were the years of high living in the world, when all limits fell,when money again bought everything, when a bank account againmeant freedom, a safe-deposit box security, and a packet of stocksdomination. These were the years of blessed optimism, when CalvinCoolidge was President of the United States, when the magic ofprosperity seemed to deprive problems of their weight, and when thepoverty which unquestionably still existed was explained by critics asthe mere consequence of capitalist greed. It was the time when capitalistprosperity seemed so unquestioned that Russia-led Communismregarded as its closest and most intimate enemy, not the bourgeoisie, butmoderate Socialism. 'Fascism and Social Democracy are twin brothers,Social Democracy is only a wing of Fascism' — thus spoke Josef Stalinin 1924. It was about the time when the Bank of France was able tooverthrow a democratic government under Edouard Herriot; when inEngland a Socialist government under James Ramsay MacDonald aftersome months in