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

THE BLOOD PURGE 751opportunity to case the sufferings of the German Jews. There is nodoubt that Mussolini, older, successful for a longer time, and outwardlystill more powerful than Hitler, told him what he disliked in the newGermany. The maxim that a great usurper must trample even upon hisfriends probably was invoked. In his autobiography, the Italian dictatorhad written that 'normally, a revolutionary movement can be channeledinto legality only by means of forceful measures, directed, if necessary,against the personnel of the movement. ... At certain historical hours,the sacrifice of those who were the deserving lieutenants of yesterdaymight become indispensable for the supreme interest of tomorrow.'Hitler left Italy with the feeling that he had seen his rival at the climaxof his power, but that his rival had seen him as a beginner entangled inthe most inextricable difficulties, whose enemies were still too strongand whose own friends were disloyal to him. As though to confirm thisimpression, upon his return from Italy, on June 17, he was given the textof a speech in which von Papen, on the same day, had unsparinglyattacked the National Socialist regime before an audience of professorsand students at the University of Marburg; von Papen made only slightefforts to present his speech as a friendly criticism. The campaignagainst the 'Heaters' had taken on repulsive forms and filled manypeople with indignation; at times it degenerated into murderouspropaganda against the two Christian churches. The man largelyresponsible for this was Alfred Rosenberg whom Hitler hadcommissioned (on January 31) 'to supervise all the spiritual andphilosophic training and education of the party,' in order to compensatehim for his political disappointments. Now National Socialistphilosophy was being forcibly hammered into the minds of the younggeneration. At the universities, young S.A. or S.S. men gave so-calledlectures on philosophy (Weltanschanung) which the students were compelledto attend. Doors were locked, nobody could leave the room; thenthe youthful teachers, who were often completely uneducated,demanded that the students memorize bloody gibberish such as thefollowing verses:Wetzt die langen Messer an dem Buergersteig, dass sie besser flutschenin der Pfaffen Leib!..,