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

THE REICHSTAG FIRE 563polls were manned only by National Socialists; occasionally the secretballot was discarded and voting took place publicly; and after thesecrecy of the mails and of telephone conversations had beensuspended, many people ceased to believe in the secret ballot evenwhere it was still observed.This was the political condition which the voter was called upon tojudge. Confused by an overpowering propaganda; stifling beneath thecrumbling ruins of a disintegrating state; grown distrustful of his ownability to shape a democratic world; moved by the will to greatnessapparent in the speeches and acts of the new men; face to face withtangible injustice, yet hour after hour lectured by his government on thenecessity for hard measures to avert the Communist blood-bath; and, ontop of all this, intimidated by threats — the German voter gave hisverdict on March 5, 1933. With 56.1 per cent of all the votes cast, herejected National Socialism and its methods.Under the normal conditions prevailing in earlier elections, this wouldhave been a great victory for Hitler. His party, which had been on asteep down grade since November 6, 1932, had mightily recovered,obtaining 17,200,000 votes, four million more than at its previous peak;this was 43.9 per cent of all votes cast, and National Socialism showeditself by far the strongest united mass-power in Germany. But greater,nevertheless, remained the multi-colored mass which, with all itscontradictions, was absolutely united in one point, its opposition toNational Socialism. It cast 20,400,000 votes against Hitler's 17,200,000.Of this opposing mass, 7,100,000 belonged to the Social Democrats;4,800,000 to the Communists, a fifth of whose former voters had beenfrightened away in these elections; 4,400,000 fell to the Catholic Center,a million to the related Bavarian People's Party; and, decisively,3,100,000 to the Red, White, and Black Fighting Front. The people whovoted for this last group wanted a conservative counterrevolutionarygovernment, perhaps a dictatorship; in no event did they want Hitler andGoring, and some, without inner enthusiasm voted for Hugenberg andPapen in the belief that these were the only men who might still be ableto do something against Hitler and Goring.