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

THE AGE OF GOLD 273cisely because he had not been chief in the lost war and because he hadnot staked life and death on his Kaiser. When Hitler crawled like aninvisible insect about the feet of the gigantic artificial figure and cried,unheard, that Hindenburg should be elected because 'in him our people'swill for liberty is coupled with the righteousness and honesty of thegreatest models in our history,' the masses instinctively knew better.They sensed that this square mustached face with its cold eyesrepresented much more the mediocrity than the greatness of Germanhistory; they knew almost with certainty that the warrior's brain theyhad admired was not behind it; that the first great victories were notHindenburg's accomplishment; but also they knew that he had not beento blame for the last defeats. He had sworn an oath to the Kaiser, butthen served the republic; the legend of loyalty that clung to him wasbased only on the fact that he remained stolid and untouched as a blockof concrete while everyone around him fell or fled.In 1925, when he was elected President, a new segment of historybegan for the German Army. But in the sentiment of the German voter itwas not militarism that triumphed, but bourgeoisism, law and order. Itwas basically the same bourgeois need of security that in Englandbrought Stanley Baldwin, in France Raymond Poin-care, to the helm,and that throve in the United States under Calvin Coolidge; this samespirit favored Mussolini in Italy, Pilsudski in Poland, and General Primode Rivera, then dictator of Spain. All the same it was a minority thatelected Hindenburg. He got 14,600,-000 votes; his democraticopponent, 13,700,000; the candidate of the Communists about2,000,000; Hindenburg would have been defeated if these two millionhad not been diverted from the democratic bloc. But for theCommunists, democracy remained the main enemy; and above all thedemocratic party of the workers, the Social Democracy.It was a prosperous time. Germany was making a mighty domesticeffort, overhauling her whole industry from top to bottom. The Germansstudied American production methods, introduced the conveyor belt,thus appreciably increasing their productive power. The Germanchemical industry, which had always been especially efficient, hadalready, during the World War, produced