Hitler's Table Talk

A BEAUTIFUL CITY 679
his memoirs proves it; in them he strips himself naked before
the public. God help a nation that accepts the leadership of a
Thing like that!
307 1st September 1942, evening
Schirach and the charms of Vienna—Vienna before 1918
—and after—Vienna, Munich and Berlin—Churchill's
visit to Moscow—Goethe on smoking.
During the two years that he has been in Vienna, Schirach
has come more and more under the influence of the city. I
myself have never succumbed to the magic of Vienna, because
I have been adamantly true to my German sentiments.
Before 1914, Vienna was incredibly rich, and she was not
burdened with those puffed-up parvenus who were an ornament
of Berlin at the time. The Viennese cuisine was delightful;
at breakfast nothing was eaten, at mid-day the little
midinettes lunched off a cup of coffee and two croissants, and
the coffee in the little coffee-shops was as good as that in the
famous restaurants. For lunch, even in the fashionable places,
only soup, a main dish and dessert were served—there was never
an entrée. A menu in French was unknown. The first time I
came to Berlin, I was given a menu printed in French; the
same custom, I found, was followed up to 1933 in the Chancellery.
But I swiftly stopped that, when I got there.
After 1918 the average Viennese found himself reduced to
extreme poverty. But before the war it was wonderful; never
shall I forget the gracious spectacle of the Vienna Opera, the
women sparkling with diadems and fine clothes. In 1922 I was
again at the Opera—and what a difference! In the places of
the cultured society of old there now sat the Jewish riff-raff;
the women stretched out their hands to show off their jewellery
—a heart-rending sight! I never once saw the Imperial box
occupied. I suppose the Emperor Franz Josef was not
musical. I am an implacable enemy of the Habsburgs, but the
sight of this mob sprawling to the very edge of the Imperial
box was disgusting and repulsive, and it angered me immensely.
I returned to Vienna quite recently. This repellent mob has
now disappeared, but Vienna is an impoverished city. In the
old days it was quite a sight to see the handsome carriages