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

THE REICHSTAG FIRE 547Social Democratic trade unions, in a speech on February 12. 'Messrs.Hugenberg and Papen have scarcely mentioned the name of their Leaderin the cabinet. Here there are gaping contradictions which promisevictory for our struggle' — he meant the struggle by means of ballots.And he was not the only one to deceive himself. Adam Stegerwald, theleader of the Catholic workers, proclaimed in his newspaper: 'Hitler willbe the prisoner of Hugenberg, Papen, and the big agricultural interests.'Ten days after Hitler had become Chancellor, a widely read liberalpublicist wrote:We shall find that in important matters the practical influence of thethree Hitlerians in this cabinet ends exactly where their colleagues in thecabinet want it to end. They have less than thirty per cent of the votes inthis cabinet. And as for independent action, the Ministry of the Interioris so hemmed in by its own character, the Chancellor so hemmed in byspecial regulations, that they, too, will hardly be in a position to doanything but what the feudal camp allows them. Even clearer is thedistribution of posts in Prussia. There are no longer any independentministers there, the 'commissar ministers' are employees of thecommissar whose will they have to carry out. The commissariat,however, has been taken away from the Chancellor [Hitler] andtransferred to the Vice-Chancellor [Papen]. Minister of the InteriorGoring and Minister of Education Rust are mere officials subordinate toHerr von Papen. And so the first thing to be noted is that for the presentthe 'national union' means the least possible freedom of action for thenew partners [National Socialists] and a maximum of influence for theold, entrenched interests.It was neither the first nor the last time that the belief in the weakness ofNational Socialism fatally misled its adversaries.The National Socialists, on the contrary, worked in the belief thattheir enemies were incredibly strong. The specter of Rhenish secessionenabled them to win their first position of power. Since the Reichswehrcould not enter the Rhineland, a substitute army had to be created.Blomberg agreed and Papen could venture no opposition when Goringat one stroke deposed the police presidents, first throughout theRhineland, then elsewhere, and replaced them by S.A. leaders, or,occasionally, by former officers who were