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

564 DER FUEHRERWith the votes of the Black, White, and Red Fighting Front, the Hitlergovernment had a bare majority of a little over fifty-one per cent in theReichstag. In itself it was a feeble majority, lacking the constitutionalpower to undertake profound changes in the form of government. WithHugenberg and Papen, Hitler could just fulfill Hindenburg's order tobring him a democratic majority in the Reichstag; but this was nomajority sufficient to sanction dictatorship— which meant change of theconstitution.If only the figures were taken into account, Hugenberg and Papencould have cheated Hitler of his success; but if the political conditionswere considered, they could not. On the day after the elections, Papenexpressed the thanks and admiration of the cabinet to the Chancellor.There was already ample ground to distrust the assurances given byHitler when the government had been formed; but both partners wouldhave been lost if they had separated. As Hitler had said during theelection campaign, 'Against National Socialism there are only negativemajorities in Germany'; this state of affairs, under which Germanpolitics had suffered for two years, had not changed: the majority didnot want Hitler, but it wanted nothing else; there was no united will toconfront the united will of the National Socialists.Consequently, the S.A. met slight resistance when on March 6 itbegan to flood the main streets, to invade public buildings, even tooccupy factories and business houses. Goring, Papen's 'subordinate,'wired his own subordinates in the provinces not to resist the encroachmentsof the S.A.; above all, they must do nothing to prevent theS.A. from raising the swastika flag on public buildings. The best thatPapen could obtain from his 'subordinate' was that he also tolerated thehoisting of the old reactionary black, white, and red flag; the Stahlhelm,panting along wearily in the wake of the S.A., was permitted to golooking for empty flagpoles on which to raise its black, white, and redrags — 'the typical battle-followers,' wrote Goebbels, 'who are always tobe found when the danger is past.' And so the revolution by permissionof the Herr President fluttered from the flagpoles of Prussia. The 'best ofthe nation' lost all restraint; they broke into private homes, draggedpolitical enemies away, shot them, beat them to death orunconsciousness;