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

ADOLPHE LEGALITE 411freedom for propaganda; provided this were given him, he could easilybe held in check, if for no other reason, because he lived in constant fearof being deported if he broke the laws. 'I have sworn legality,' Hitleroften said, 'and Herr Stennes will not make a perjurer of me,' and theeternal fear of the Vienna vagabond trembled in his words.And so the men in the government let Rohm persuade them that Hitlerwas more harmless than he looked, and not quite right in the head toboot. Bruning talked with Hitler, and afterward each had the feeling thathe could swallow up the other. The gloomy, silent chancellor, a patriotas impassioned as Hitler, but shy and fearing his limitations, made aprofound impression on the volatile Fuhrer, and realized it; at times,perhaps, he thought he could lead Hitler. A formal understanding on thecourse to be taken was not possible, though Bruning himself had givenHitler the catchword that things could no longer go on as they were.Thus Hitler wormed his way into the state system and the calculationsand almost the confidence of those he intended to destroy — just byplaying the good boy. Amazing how comparatively easy this was. Henever won the confidence of the popular majority — never as long asthere were free elections in Germany; but the men of the ruling caste,whether they secretly admired or only just tolerated or openly detestedhim, began to take him for granted as an indispensable and very big cogin the machine. It was not only cold reasoning that led Hitler on thispromising and successful path; he followed some instinct of his naturethat forbade him to take unnecessary risks. With this strategy he wasalready one step ahead of events. The world was in a state ofrevolutionary disintegration that had its repercussions from the vastspaces of the 'declining west' to the petty misery of bankrupt Germancommunities. In the midst of this general decline there had to be therainbow of a new order, based on force and firmness; a promise to thebewildered millions who did not — as Stennes imagined — long formore disorder, but for peace at home and abroad. To be sure, chaos wasfor Hitler a 'necessity of fate,' or there would be no general longing forwhat he wanted to stand for; but certainly in his own private desire forpersonal safety he was a genuine interpreter of this longing. It was adesire for greatness and safety at the same time.