Hitler's Table Talk

ACTION AGAINST TRADE UNIONS 137
this moment that a policeman confided to me: "You can't
imagine how we suffer under the domination of these dogs. If
only we'd known that you'd settle their hash like that!" I told
him that this was the special treatment we reserved for the
rabble.
Next day, all the talk was of "Bavarian gangsters" who had
broken into the town. Leaflets were distributed in the street,
inviting the population to a counter-manifestation. At the
hour stated, we were on the scene. We saw about a hundred and
fifty Reds assembling, but at sight of us they took flight. We then
went, in procession, to the Citadel, and came down again from
it. I'd ordered my men to strike down the first man who
hesitated. After our return, we were greeted with cheers from
all the windows. The bourgeoisie had regained courage. That
evening at the Hof bräuhaus, the citizens were rejoicing at the
thought that the devil's fangs had been drawn.
Jürgen von Ramin was there. I said to him: "That's typical
of your bourgeois world. Cowards at the moment of danger,
boasters afterwards." "We fight with the weapons of the spirit,"
he replied. "They'll do you a lot of good, your spiritual
weapons," Dietrich said with a shout of laughter. "Excuse me,"
Ramin replied, "you forget that I'm a descendant of Bismarck."
On which I observed that one couldn't blame Bismarck for
having such a scion.
For our return to Munich, the Railwaymen's Trade Union
told us that it refused to give us transport. "Very well," I said
to their delegates, "I'll start by taking you as hostages, and I'll
have a round-up of all your people who fall into our hands. I
have locomotive-drivers amongst my men; they'll drive us.
And I'll take you all on board with us. If anything at all
happens, you'll accompany us into the Other World!" Thereupon
I had them all rounded up, and half an hour later the
"proletariat" decided to let us go.
At that date, it was indispensable to act without hesitations.
It was the beginning of a new era.
At Munich an action was brought against us on the pretext
that at Coburg we had severely wounded a number of manifesters.
It was even said that we had used machine-guns.
In reality, somebody had confused a music-stand with a