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

Chapter XIII'THE UPROOTED ANDDISINHERITED'DEATH IS THE FINAL GOAL OF THE SCIENTIFICALLY drillednation. The task of the leaders becomes easy when the followers areready to die.This was the philosophical issue about which Germany's militaryleaders endlessly pondered after their lost war. No doubt, Hitler, too, inhis way, belonged to these leaders, although the professionals in thosedays would not have admitted it; and in creating his elite formations hetried to solve the puzzle in a practical way. But the answer he found indoing so did not satisfy the men who, for the time being, still feltresponsible for what might happen to Germany in the next war.'To what success,' wrote General Hans von Seeckt, referring to WorldWar I, 'did this general mobilization, this giant mustering of armieslead?' Seeckt, the creator of the new Reichswehr, spoke here of thetwenty million-odd men who had lain in the trenches all over Europe, athird of whom had never returned, and another third of whom, crippled,with health impaired for life, embittered, never readapted themselves topeace and home. Despite all their exertions, Seeckt went on, 'the war didnot end for the Allies with complete annihilation of the enemy on thebattlefield. ... Is the victor pleased with his success? Do the results ofthe war stand in any proportion to the sacrifices in national strength?'This is the pro-