Hitler's Table Talk

372 THE CHINESE-JAPANESE WAR
secrets for him—it's certain he won't go very far ! I can imagine
the number of sketches it took an artist as gifted as Menzel
before he set himself to paint the Flute Concert at Sans-Souci.
It would be good if artists to-day, like those of olden days,
had the training afforded by the Masters' studios and could
thus steep themselves in the great pictorial traditions. If, when
we look at the pictures of Rembrandt and Rubens, for example,
it is often difficult to make out what the Master
has painted himself and what is his pupils' share, that's due to
the fact that gradually the disciples themselves became masters.
What a disaster it was, the day when the State began to interfere
with the training of painters! As far as Germany is concerned,
I believe that two academies would suffice: in Düsseldorf
and Munich. Or perhaps three in all, if we add Vienna to
the list. Obviously there's no question, for the moment, of
abolishing any of our academies. But that doesn't prevent one
from regretting that the tradition of the studios has been lost.
If, after the war, I can realise my great building programme—
and I intend to devote thousands of millions to it—only genuine
artists will be called on to collaborate. The others may wait
until doomsday, even if they're equipped with the most brilliant
recommendations.
Numerous examples taken from history prove that woman—
however intelligent she may be—is not capable of dissociating
reason from feeling, in matters of a political nature. And the
formidable thing in this field is the hatred of which women are
capable. I've been told that after the occupation of the province
of Shanghai, the Japanese offered Chiang Kai-shek's Government
to withdraw their troops from Chinese territory, on condition:
(a) of being able to maintain a garrison in Shanghai's
international concession; (b] of obtaining advantageous terms
on the conclusion of a trade treaty. It seems that all the
generals approved of this proposal and encouraged Chiang
Kai-shek to accept it. But when Mme Chiang Kai-shek had
spoken—urged on by her measureless hatred of Japan—the
majority of the generals reversed their decisions, and thus it
was that Japan's offer, although a very generous one, was
rejected.