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

738 DER FUEHRERthe party. In the past, Hitler had often publicly declared to his S.A. menthat they should not think too much about the hardships of theirstruggle, for every minute at the front in the World War had been athousand times worse. Now, Hess's law proclaimed: The German people'owe the old fighters the same gratitude and recognition for their heroicachievements as they owe their fellow countrymen who sacrificed theirhealth and lives for the fatherland.'In the struggle against the reactionary conservatives and the monarchists,the S.A. was once again given a task. Goebbels, who, as late asNovember, had tried with anxious words to talk the revolutionaries outof their impatience, suddenly became bold and radical, and this wassurely not without Hitler's explicit approval. The S.A. with their greedygrumblings were right; he had often heard it said, he declared in anaddress to the S.A. Standarte VIII in Berlin, 'that old party comradesand S.A. men could not be used in government offices and departmentsbecause they had not taken any examinations. If so, I must say thatwhile the stay-at-homes passed their examinations, we saved the Reich'— that is to say, marched through the country as armed bohemians. 'Weconsider it intolerable,' he continued, 'that the Old Guard should silentlygive way after having conquered the Reich. ... It won't do to put our oldvanguard fighters in a lower category than the home-birds or to placethe home-birds above them.' 'The National Socialist struggle,' he said inanother speech, 'has been a socialist revolution; it has been therevolution of a workers' movement, and those who have made it musttoday also be its spokesmen.' The workers — he explicidy addressedthem — should trust the leaders of the revolution, because 'if theseleaders are now looking on and are not taking any steps against thereactionary machinations throughout the country, it is only in orderbetter to know the reactionaries.' Then Goebbels drew a truly Orientalpicture of whimsical government: 'If one wants to catch mice,' he said,'one does not strike at them constantly, but only from time to time, forotherwise they would creep into their holes. One strikes once, then onewaits for a while till the mice become insolent again, and when they feelsafe, one strikes them for the second time.' Fortunately, he thought, thepeople refused to have anything to do with these mice, rats, stay-athomes,and reactionaries.