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

HINDENBURG'S STICK 457slcben, its president, pulled the political wires in Germany in 1932 -much as they may have desired to do so.To Schleicher this shrewd, wealthy, distinguished man, with thehighest connections, apparendy in good odor in Rome, was 'the Center,'just as Schleicher himself was 'the Reichswehr,' or Hitler was 'NationalSocialism' — for it was one of the weaknesses of this intriguer that heconsistently confused personalities with forces. Papen may havepersuaded him that he really was the Center, because he had bought oneof the Center's leading newspapers with his wife's money. Schleicher,on the other hand, had persuaded himself that he could win the NationalSocialists — and there it would be: the strong, 'authoritarian'government, based on a majority in parliament. This new form ofgovernment thought up by Schleicher was to be called 'the President'sGovernment.' The President should appoint as ministers men of his own— that is, Schleicher's— choice, and these men should make the laws;but the parliament would have to confirm, or at least tolerate, them. Thisstrange type of government hung legally by the fragile thread of a singlearticle of the constitution intended only for emergency; actually it couldgovern only as long as parliament itself refused to govern. FormerCaptain von Schleicher had gone a long way since 1918, when he hadconceived his master plan of the Free Corps; time had passed by, andthe nature of things had driven him — as this type is inevitably driven— to the plan of the Wise Men of Zion: dictatorship throughdemocracy.On April 22, Schleicher had a conversation with Rohm and CountHelldorf, R6hm's friend, who led the S.A. in Berlin. Schleicher told thetwo National Socialists that he disapproved the dissolution of the S.A.,but apparently the conversation had no re-sult. Next day, Goebbelswrote in his diary that Schleicher 'has his ideas about NationalSocialism. But of course he cannot understand us!'That was on April 22. On April 24, the masses of the Uprooted andDisinherited of all Germany arose and helped Schleicher'sunderstanding along. On this day, elections were held for many statediets. It was still these eighteen separate states, grown out of theinnumerable large and petty principalities, that controlled the