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was a pure adventurer and nationalist. Hence for a while the partykept to its socialist trend. But Hitler was not too pleased with this.He was himself no socialist. And so, as he sought support from theconservative and military groups, he offered his definition of theword "socialist" as used in the party's name. "Whoever," he said inMem Kamþfy "is prepared to make the national cause his own tosuch an extent that he knows no higher ideal than the welfare ofthe nation, whoever in addition has understood our great nationalanthem, Deutschland, Deutschhnd, über dies to mean that nothingin the wide world surpasses this Germany, people and land, land andpeople—that man is called a socialist."In 1923 he was jailed for his part in his ill-starred beer-hallPutsch. He had plenty of time to think things over and to discussaffairs with fresh recruits. Otto Strasser says that when Hitleremerged from jail he was a changed man. Originally dedicated to theidea of violent revolution, he now determined to proceed by strictlylegal means. And then also he began to cultivate closer relations withconservative groups. Dissension began to boil up among his diversegroups of supporters. Otto Strasser asked him what he would doabout Krupp's if he attained power—would he leave it alone or not."Of course I should leave it alone," he replied. "Do you think I amcrazy enough to ruin Germany's greatest industry?" The word"socialist" in the party name made it possible for many old socialdemocrats to transfer their allegiance to Hitler without seeming tobetray too much their old cause. But now the Social Democrats wereno longer exercising so large a share in the government. Germanywas on the way back to prosperity. Hitler became aware that hemust find his strength somewhere else. Fellows like Feder and otherNazis in the Reichstag were offering bills about "the bond slaveryof interest," etc., but no one seemed to pay any attention to this.Indeed this is a remarkable feature of the whole course of thesedemocratic revolutionary movements. The items of the programseem to count little. The general promises and the party stratagemsand the show put on by the leaders count more. Giolitti said he owedit to Mussolini not to be too much concerned with the programs ofsuch leaders as with their tactics. Hitler found that the fight on theJews had brought him some very influential elements. Erika and132

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