rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich-william-shirer-pdf

502 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICHChief did not even acknowledge it. Next, Gisevius says, Beck had a long talkwith Haider, who agreed with him that a big war would be the ruin of Germanybut thought ”Hitler would never permit a world war” and that therefore therewas no need at the moment to try to overthrow him. 622On August 14, Hassell dined alone with Beck, and recorded their feeling offrustration in his diary.Beck [is] a most cultured, attractive and intelligent man. Unfortunately,he has a very low opinion of the leading people in the Army.For that reason he could see no place there where we could gaina foothold. He is firmly convinced of the vicious character of thepolicies of the Third Reich. 623The convictions of Beck – and of the others around him – were high andnoble, but as Adolf Hitler prepared to hurl Germany into war not one of theseestimable Germans did anything to halt him. The task was obviously difficultand perhaps, at this late hour, impossible to fulfill. But they did not evenattempt it.General Thomas, perhaps, tried. Following up his memorandum to Keitelwhich he had personally read to the OKW Chief at the middle of August, ∗ hecalled on him again on Sunday, August 27, and, according to his own account,”handed him graphically illustrated statistical evidence . . . [which] demonstratedclearly the tremendous military-economic superiority of the WesternPowers and the tribulation we would face.” Keitel, with unaccustomed courage,showed the material to Hitler, who replied that he did not share GeneralThomas’ ”anxiety over the danger of a world war, especially since he had nowgot the Soviet Union on his side.” 624Thus ended the attempts of the ”conspirators” to prevent Hitler from launchingWorld War II, except for the feeble last-minute efforts of Dr. Schacht, ofwhich the canny financier made much in his own defense at the Nuremberg trial.On his return from India in August he wrote letters to Hitler, Goering andRibbentrop – at the fateful moment none of the opposition leaders seem to havegone beyond writing letters and memoranda – but, to his ”very great surprise,”as he said later, received no replies. Next he decided to go to Zossen, a few milessoutheast of Berlin, where the Army High Command had set up headquartersfor the Polish campaign, and personally confront General von Brauchitsch. Totell him what? On the witness stand at Nuremberg Schacht explained that heintended to tell the Army chief that it would be unconstitutional for Germanyto go to war without the approval of the Reichstag! It was therefore the dutyof the Army Commander in Chief to respect his oath to the constitution!Alas, Dr. Schacht never got to see Brauchitsch. He was warned by Canaristhat if he came to Zossen the Army commander ”would probably haveus arrested immediately” – a fate that did not seem attractive to this formersupporter of Hitler. 625 But the real reason Schacht did not go to Zossenon his ridiculous errand (it would have been child’s play for Hitler to get therubber-stamp Reichstag to approve his war had he wanted to bother with sucha formality) was stated by Gisevius when he took the witness stand on behalfof Schacht at Nuremberg. It seems that Schacht planned to go to Zossen onAugust 25 and called off the trip when Hitler on that evening called off the∗ See above, p. 463.