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

518 DER FUEHRERpatiently for several hours, though he himself did not say much and maynot have been very convinced by the man and his plans.'We shall not enter into any more negotiations until we have won,'wrote Goebbels about this time in his diary. In the tiny state of Lippe-Detmold in Northwest Germany, a new diet was to be elected onJanuary 15. Hitler decided to fight for Lippe as though it were Germany,at any price to squeeze a success out of this little state. Baron vonOeynhausen, a supporter, granted him the use of an isolated castle in themidst of a lake as headquarters. Hitler traveled around the few squaremiles of Lippe for ten days, spoke in villages to audiences of a fewhundred peasants at most — he who for years had been addressing tensof thousands. This condescension on the part of the famous figure of thetime greatly flattered the peasants of Lippe, though, of course, it was aquestionable expenditure of Hitler's popularity, like cutting down aforest for the sake of a bird's nest. In this election, the whole vanishingstrength of the movement, its remnant of respect and terror, was stakedon a fight for ninety thousand votes.The ultimate aim of all these struggles was only to seem strong for amoment, in order to obtain a better peace. There was one member ofHitler's political family, little noticed then, who never wearied ofdescribing to anyone willing to listen the quietness, gentleness,moderation, legality of a future National Socialist government. Theradicalism ascribed to the movement had long been discarded, hemaintained; the movement did not give free rein to its radical elements,but held them in check; he pointed out that the Leader had virtuallystopped mentioning the Jewish question in his speeches; for practicalpurposes, the movement had outgrown the anti-Semitism of its earlydays. And a number of Jewish businessmen were impressed to hear thisfrom Hitler's associate and translator, Joachim Ribbentrop, by adoptionvon Ribbentrop.Ribbentrop, former officer, since the war a good friend of Papen,since 1931 a supporter of Hitler, for whom he often translated Englishnewspaper articles, was made by nature and conviction to be themessenger of peace between the two. Why Papen desired this peace isnot the riddle which sensationalists have tried to solve by suchexplanations as envy of Schleicher, desire to avenge himself