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

DEFEAT 445with antediluvian custom, maintained in Berlin. By becoming anofficial, Hitler automatically became a subject of Braunschweig, hencea citizen of the German Reich; a living symbol of Austria's 'Home to theReich' sentiments; a foreign-born German fighting to become President.The new citizen traveled day and night and spoke to crowds ofsometimes a hundred thousand. Many people were puzzled by the factthat millions followed him, although almost the whole big press wasgrimly against him. Bruning carried on a similar campaign forHindenburg; the old man himself spoke only a few sentences of which arecording was made to be played over the radio. The record made arobust impression with its gruff words: 'Anyone who doesn't want tovote for me doesn't have to.'A large part of German capital financed Hindenburg's electioncampaign and thus refuted the legend that German capital, acting as abody, has brought Hitler to power. The three most important Germanindustrialists — Carl Friedrich von Siemens, who controlled the electricpower industry; Carl Duisberg and Carl Bosch, leaders of the chemicalindustry — belonged to the Hindenburg Committee, not to mention thebankers who came out almost unanimously for the Marshal-President.The organizer of the Hindenburg Committee was a young politician,extremely talented and ambitious, but up to that time relativelyunknown: this was Gunther Gereke, Reichstag deputy, officer, jurist,and landowner. Gereke put aside a part of the money collected by theCommittee, and later, when summoned into court, refused to say whathad become of it. It is improbable that he used it for private purposes,but there is reason to believe that Oskar von Hindenburg used themoney for purposes which, to put it mildly, had little to do with thepolitical functions of the Hindenburg Committee.Yet Hindenburg was not the candidate of German capital; aconsiderable part of Germany's political funds were at the disposal ofHugenberg and Duesterberg, and Hitler had his Kirdorfs and Thyssens,who had not abandoned him. The powers of German finance created nounited front in this campaign. But one group of citizens was solidlybehind Hindenburg, and these were the partisans of democracy. Sincethe beginning of the year, these elements