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

THE RACE WITH CATASTROPHE 487prise by an artificial state credit, not intimidated by the whisperingabout 'inflation.' A state 'tax certificate' was devised, which could beused for the payment of future taxes; such certificates, to a total value ofseven hundred million marks, were distributed — as a loan — toconcerns that engaged new workers, and an additional eight hundredmillion marks were kept in reserve. For every worker hired, theemployer received four hundred marks in the form of tax certificates,and in this way Papen hoped to employ a million and three quartersworkers. Finally Papen, with a light heart, dared to do something whichno man in his place before or after him did, at least not in this harsh andone-sided way: he permitted every employer who hired unemployedworkers, to reduce, as a reward, the wages stipulated in the unioncontracts and hitherto sanctioned by a state law.This 'experiment Papen' was jubilantly hailed by the employers andtheir political representatives: Hugenberg's German Nationalists; it wasgrimly rejected by almost everybody else, by the trade unions and thepolitical parties of the workers, Social Democrats and Communists; bythe Center with its big workers' following; by me National Socialistswho would have condemned anything that came from Papen; and finally— and this was decisive — by the Reichswehr, which had struggledduring twelve years for the work-ingman's sympathy. The result was anestrangement between Papen and Schleicher.But there was one friend who stuck to Papen: old Hindenburghimself. In his eyes Papen was the first chancellor who, for many years,in a difficult situation dared to act and did not lose precious time bythinking things over too thoroughly; this appealed to Hin-denburg'ssoldierly mentality. In his way Papen was more of a soldier thanSchleicher, the intriguer and diplomatist with his brilliant skill whosometimes saw difficulties which did not exist at all, only because hefound his pleasure in overcoming them by ruse and scheming. Hisundeniable successes had taken Hindenburg in for a long time; headmired the way the younger man led and fooled the parliamentarians,and got from them what he wanted for the army without allowing themto stick their noses too deep into the Reichswehr business. But thesoldier Schleicher had got