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

FEW FLAMES BURN IN GERMANY 295riors and five homosexuals. Alfred Baumler, the National. Socialistphilosopher, whom his comrades in 1933 at once made a professor atthe University of Berlin, wrote a whole book about the 'heroic youngman': 'Everywhere the relation between man and man is degenerating,'he lamented . . . 'there is no place where man stands beside man, wheremen come together, the young with the young or the young with theirelders, for no other purpose than because it must be so . . . The modernworld is a world without friendship . . .' With the pervert's arrogance, hewent on: 'The contest for a woman has the peculiarity that bothcontestants are always defeated, for the victor like the vanquished loseshis time. Weak natures . . . are ruined in erotic relationships . . .' Andthen he gave expression to the idea whereon this whole group basedtheir special pride: 'The friendship relation has a connection with thestate, the erotic relation has not . . . Because the German is essentially awarlike nature, because he is a man, because he is born for friendship —democracy, which, in its ultimate consequence, leads to the right ofwomen to judge over men, can never thrive in Germany.'Here we intend no moral judgment. Yet assuredly the pressure ofpublic censure has distorted more characters, weakened more moralresistance, created more dishonesty toward oneself and others amongmodern homosexuals than among other people. Lieutenant Rossbach'stroop, roaring, brawling, carousing, smashing windows, shedding blood,and nevertheless seeking the light of freedom, was especially proud tobe 'different from the others.' Heines had belonged to it before joiningHitler; then Rossbach and Heines had formed a center with Rohm; it ledthe S.A. while Hitler was under arrest. According to his ownindications, Rohm was perverted by the other two. In 1924, his suitcaseand papers were stolen from him in the lowest Berlin surroundings, andthus his private life became known to the police. After his break withHitler, he was destitute; he peddled books, and for a long time lived as aguest of wealthy homosexual friends. In Berlin for a time he frequentedthe homosexual dregs; he admitted that he had moved in circles wherethe good citizen blushes and shudders.'Hitler had erroneously been counted among these men. But he