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

THE BLOOD PURGE 759Christ. In his own lifetime he had become a faith and comfort formillions; they demanded greatness, and he was this greatness. This wasnot just a fantasy of his: the forest of raised hands, the endless sea ofecstatic faces, had confirmed its reality a hundred times.This piece of divine will staring at the blazing swastika from theterrace at Godesberg was now doomed to do something horrible becausehe had for months neglected to do what was necessary. Accustomed toconsidering himself extraordinary, Hitler interpreted contradiction, letalone resistance, as a sign of depravity which had only itself to blame ifit was destroyed on the spot; and everything he did was right, becausethe faith of millions could not be mistaken. Once a foreign diplomatasked Goring for a favor to which Hitler might have objected, and thegreat man hesitated. The foreigner asked: 'Are you really afraid of him?'Goring thought for a while and said: 'Yes, I think so. . ..You don't knowhim!'Soon after midnight new reports arrived from Berlin about thedisquieting state of alarm in the S.A. A similar report came in fromMunich; Hitler should have been struck by the fact that the states ofalarm in the two cities were separated by several hours and that noreports of this kind had come from other cities. Had he seen at thismoment what was going on in Wiessee, he would have been forced todoubt that Rohm had planned and prepared a centrally directed rebellionof the S.A. Rohm was still in his sanatorium, without troops, almostwithout arms; he expected Hitler's visit the following day. A banquethad been ordered in the Munich hotel, the Four Seasons, and avegetarian menu for Hitler had not been forgotten; on this occasionRohm intended to present Hitler with his bookplate. To an industrialistwhom he consulted on economic questions and who came to see himthat day — Friday — he said good-naturedly: 'Why don't you stay untiltomorrow, the chief is coming, too.' The industrialist did not stay, whichwas perhaps lucky for him.For the day after the leaders' conference, a Sunday, Heines hadreserved a steamship for an excursion on the Ammersee, a lake betweenMunich and Wiessee; Hitler was to spend a few pleasant hours thereamidst his faithful. It was possible that during this trip,