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

FEW FLAMES BURN IN GERMANY 283same thing to his leader, Hitler. Now and then Hitler, sick of workingand eager for companionship, would appear in Munich; he would ragethrough the shabby party office above the Beobachter's printshop,keeping the employees away from their work with endless speeches.Max Amann, none too respectfully, would drive him back toBerchtesgaden, for 'the book has to come out in the fall, or else thebooksellers will cancel their orders.'And so here he was back in Berchtesgaden, writing, or dictating at thetypewriter either to Hess, or to his niece, Geli. Of course, it wasimpossible that the book should be what Amann wanted: a history of theunsuccessful putsch of 1923. Hitler lacked the narrative gift to tell thestory; but even if he had wanted to, he could not have spoken openly forfear of the Bavarian government and even more of the Reichswehr.Thus the book contained no sensational revelations. Publisher andpublic were both disappointed; but to Hitler even less than to most menwas it given to speak of himself with critical honesty.In course of writing, the book had grown beyond the original plan ofthe 'reckoning.' Hitler next wanted to call it 'Four and a Half Years ofStruggle Against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice.' From this ponderousphrase Amann gleaned a short, striking title: Mein Kampf ('MyStruggle').The first volume was published in June, 1925. It cost twelve marks(approximately three dollars), double the normal German book price.Amann claimed to have sold twenty-three thousand copies in the firstyear, but this is an extremely doubtful boast. Even Hitler's best friendssaid: Yes, he is an amazing speaker, probably a great leader, perhapseven a political genius — but it's a pity that he had to write this stupidbook. Mein Kampf does not effectively argue Hitler's cause, because theauthor does not dare to express his innermost thought: that he himself isthe greatest figure in history. The keynote of the book is the noisy stylewhich signifies: Be silent, you others, I alone am right; disappear, I amthe only one who matters. Trifles are said two or three times, adjectivespreferably doubled. A man is 'honorable and upright,' an oudook is'national and patriotic' In the first edition the first volume is writtenalmost in dialect, and the spelling is by no means above re-