Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (159 page)

60 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2, 1, p. 264 (entry for 18 Oct. 1930). Quotations from Thomas Mann, “Deutsche Ansprache: Ein Appell an die Vernunft,” Berlin, 1930; reprinted in
idem
,
Gesammelte Werke in Einzelbänden: Von deutscher Republik
, Frankfurt am Main, 1984, pp. 294–314. See Thomas Mann,
Briefe III: 1924–1932
, selected and ed. Thomas Sprecher, Hans R. Vaget and Cornelia Bernini, Frankfurt am Main, 2011, p. 491 (dated 29 Oct. 1930) and commentary pp. 516–18. See also Klaus Harpprecht,
Thomas Mann: Eine Biographie
, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1995, pp. 664–7; Winkler,
Weimar
, p. 391; David Clay Large,
Where Ghosts Walked: Munich’s Road to the Third Reich
, New York and London, 1997, p. 222.

61 
Friedrich Meinecke, “Nationalsozialismus und Bürgertum,” in
Kölnische Zeitung
, 21 Dec. 1930; quoted in Kurt Sontheimer,
Antidemokratisches Denken in der Weimarer Republik: Die politischen Ideen des deutschen Nationalismus zwischen 1918 und 1933
, Munich, 1968 (student’s edition), pp. 293f.

62 
Sebastian Haffner,
Geschichte eines Deutschen: Die Erinnerungen 1914–1933
, Stuttgart and Munich, 2000, pp. 88f.

63 
Alongside Sontheimer’s classic study,
Antidemokratisches Denken
, see the concise and hard-hitting analysis in Wehler,
Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte
, pp. 486–93. See also Reinhard Mehring,
Carl Schmitt: Aufstieg und Fall. Eine Biographie
, Munich, 2009, pp. 247ff; Heimo Schwilk,
Ernst Jünger: Ein Jahrhundertleben
, Munich and Zurich, 2007, pp. 340ff.; André Schlüter,
Möller van den Bruck: Leben und Werk
, Cologne, Weimar and Vienna, 2010, pp. 287ff.; Detlef Felken,
Oswald Spengler: Konservativer Denker zwischen Kaiserreich und Diktatur
, Munich, 1988.

64 
Bernd Sösemann (ed.),
Theodor Wolff: Der Journalist. Berichte und Leitartikel
, Düsseldorf, 1993, p. 273 (dated 14 Sept. 1930).

65 
Ossietzky,
Sämtliche Schriften
, vol. 5, pp. 435f. (quotation on p. 435).

66 
Ossietzky, “Brüning darf nicht bleiben,” in ibid., pp. 450–4 (quotation on p. 453). See also Hans-Erich Kaminski, “Die Rechte soll regieren,” in
Die Weltbühne
, 23 Sept. 1930, pp. 470–3.

67 
Ossietzky,
Sämtliche Schriften
, vol. 5, pp. 447, 453, 455. Kurt Tucholsky ridiculed Hitler in similar fashion, calling him “an upstart Mongolian,” a “house painter” and a “man with a beery vocal organ.” Philipp W. Fabry,
Mutmassungen über Hitler: Urteile von Zeitgenossen
, Königstein im Taunus, 1979, p. 63. On
Die Weltbühne
’s underestimation of Hitler see Alexander Gallus,
Heimat “Weltbühne”: Eine Intellektuellengeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert
, Göttingen, 2012, p. 55.

68 
Ernst Toller, “Reichskanzler Hitler,” in
Die Weltbühne
, 7 Oct. 1930. See Richard Dove,
Ernst Toller: Ein Leben für Deutschland
, Göttingen, 1993, pp. 179f.

69 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 214; see Hans Frank,
Im Angesicht des Galgens: Deutung Hitlers und seiner Zeit auf Grund eigener Erlebnisse und Erkenntnisse
, Munich and Gräfelfing, 1953, pp. 84–6.

70 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 3, part 3, doc. 123, pp. 434–57 (quotations on pp. 434, 439, 438f., 440, 444, 445, 441).

71 
Richard Scheringer,
Das grosse Los: Unter Soldaten, Bauern und Rebellen
, Hamburg, 1959, p. 236; see Ralf Georg Reuth,
Goebbels
, Munich and Zurich, 1990, p. 176.

72 
Complete version of the memorandum in Robert W. Kempner (ed.),
Der verpasste Nazi-Stopp: Die NSDAP als staats- und republikfeindliche, hochverräterische Verbindung. Preußische Denkschrift von 1930
, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Vienna, 1983, pp. 17–135 (quotations on pp. 135, 117).

73 
Quoted in Schulz,
Von Brüning zu Hitler
, p. 160.

74 
See Johannes Hürter,
Wilhelm Groener: Reichswehrminister am Ende der Weimarer Republik 1928–1932
, Munich, 1993, pp. 270, 284–92; Schulz,
Von Brüning zu Hitler
, pp. 157–60.

75 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2, 1, p. 327 (entry for 18 Jan. 1931).

76 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 385 (entry for 13 Oct. 1930).

77 
See Dirk Walter,
Antisemitische Kriminalität und Gewalt: Judenfeindschaft in der Weimarer Republik
, Bonn, 1999, pp. 209–11; Thomas Friedrich,
Die missbrauchte Hauptstadt: Hitler und Berlin
, Berlin, 2007, pp. 254–60. On 14 Oct. 1930, Thea Sternheim noted: “National Socialist rowdies have smashed the windows of downtown Jewish businesses as the inaugural act of the pogrom carefully prepared by their press.”
Tagebücher
, vol. 2, p. 299. See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 260 (entry for 14 Oct. 1930).

78 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 7, p. 19 (International News Service, 14 Oct. 1930); see also ibid., doc. 8, p. 22f. (
The Times
, 14 Oct. 1930).

79 
The transcript of the Reichstag session of 18 Oct. 1930 is reprinted in Klaus Schönhoven and Jochen Vogel (eds),
Frühe Warnungen vor dem Nationalsozialismus: Ein historisches Lesebuch
, Bonn, 1998, pp. 115–24 (quotation on p. 115).

80 
See Martin Döring,
“Parlamentarischer Arm der Bewegung”: Die Nationalsozialisten im Reichstag der Weimarer Republik
, Düsseldorf, 2001, pp. 271–6.

81 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 298, p. 301 (entries for 6 and 10 Dec. 1930). See Reuth,
Goebbels
, p. 182f.; Peter Longerich,
Joseph Goebbels: A Biography
, London, 2015, pp. 140f.; Friedrich,
Die missbrauchte Hauptstadt
, pp. 271–6. Thea Sternheim quoted the Jewish gallery owner and art dealer Alfred Flechtheim as saying: “You shouldn‘t provoke the people! Get rid of the film!” She commented: “If Jews are that cowardly, pogroms will happen.”
Tagebücher
, vol. 2, pp. 311f. (entry for 8 Dec. 1930).

82 
Quoted in Döring,
“Parlamentarischer Arm,
” p. 279.

83 
On the atmosphere of latent civil war during the final years of the Weimar Republic, see Dirk Blasius,
Weimars Ende: Bürgerkrieg und Politik 1930–1933
, Frankfurt am Main, 2008, pp. 22ff.; Andreas Wirsching,
Vom Weltkrieg zum Bürgerkrieg? Politischer Extremismus in Deutschland und Frankreich 1918–1933/39: Berlin und Paris in Vergleich
, Munich, 1999, pp. 575ff.

84 
See Peter Longerich,
Die braunen Bataillone: Geschichte der SA
, Munich, 1989, pp. 116ff.

85 
As in Hitler’s letter to Interior Minister Groener, 14 Nov. 1931; Adolf Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen—Februar 1925 bis Januar 1933: Vol. 4: Von der Reichstagswahl bis zur Reichspräsidentenwahl Oktober 1930–März 1932. Part 2: Juli 1931–Dezember 1931
, ed. Christian Hartmann, Munich, 1996, doc. 71, pp. 198–203 (quotation on p. 200). See also Hitler’s letter to Brüning of 13 Dec. 1931, in which he writes of “pure self-defence…against the terror of Communist murderers.” Ibid., doc. 94, p. 271.

86 
See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 230 (entry for 1 Sept. 1930): “At 2 a.m. a telegram from Berlin. SA stormed and destroyed headquarters.” On the first Stennes revolt see Longerich,
Die braunen Bataillone
, pp. 102–4;
idem
,
Goebbels
, pp. 134–7; Wirsching,
Vom Weltkrieg zum Bürgerkrieg?
, pp. 459f.

87 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 3, part 3, doc. 100, pp. 378f. (entry for 1 Sept. 1930).

88 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 231 (entry for 3 Sept. 1930).

89 
See Longerich,
Die braunen Bataillone
, pp. 81 ff., 115ff.

90 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 59, pp. 200f.

91 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 357 (entry for 4 March 1931). See ibid., p. 373 (entry for 28 March 1931: “Something foul in the SA again. Stennes isn’t letting up.”).

92 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 67, pp. 229f. (dated 7 March 1931).

93 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 377 (entry for 2 April 1931). Hitler’s order of 30 March 1931 in Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 72, pp. 236f.

94 
Quoted in Kershaw,
Hitler: Hubris
, p. 349.

95 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 79, pp. 246–8 (quotation on p. 247).

96 
Ibid., doc. 80, pp. 248–58 (quotations on pp. 254, 255, 256, 258). In an angry letter of 13 April 1931 to Julius Friedrich Lehmann, the Pan-Germanic League’s main publisher, Hitler complained about the reporting on the Stennes affair in the
Deutsche Zeitung
newspaper, which he accused of maliciously taking up a position against him. Not even the “Jewish press,” fumed Hitler, had behaved “so disgracefully” in this case (ibid., doc. 93, pp. 290–2). On 21 April 1931, the chairman of the Pan-Germanic League, Heinrich Class, sent Hugenberg a copy of the letter, which, as he noted showed “the putative saviour of Germany at the apex of megalomania, hotheadedness, impoliteness and lack of judgement.” Class asked: “What will become of this?” BA Koblenz, N 1231/36.

97 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 387 (entry for 17 April 1930).

98 
Deuerlein,
Aufstieg
, pp. 345, 366. See also Hess,
Briefe
, p. 406 (dated 24 Oct. 1930).

99 
See Andreas Heusler,
Das Braune Haus: Wie München zur “Hauptstadt der Bewegung” wurde
, Munich, 2008, pp. 132–8; Hitler’s call to members of 26 May 1930 in Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 3, part 3, doc. 50, pp. 207–9.

100 
Timo Nüsslein,
Paul Ludwig Troost, 1878–1934
, Vienna, Cologne and Weimar, 2012, pp. 69f. On the relationship between Hitler and Troost see ibid., pp. 66–76.

101 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 202 (entry for 20 July 1930), p. 280 (entry for 12 Nov. 1930), p. 353 (entry for 26 Feb. 1931). See Nüsslein,
Paul Ludwig Troost
, pp. 103f.; Heusler,
Das Braune Haus
, pp. 142f.

102 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 4, part 1, doc. 61 (dated 21 Feb. 1931), pp. 206–18 (quotation on p. 214).

103 
Hess,
Briefe
, pp. 408f. (dated 10 March 1930). On the renovations see Nüsslein,
Paul Ludwig Troost
, pp. 82–7; Heusler,
Das Braune Haus
, pp. 146f.

104 
Frank,
Im Angesicht des Galgens
, pp. 93f.; see also Heusler,
Das Braune Haus
, pp. 159f. In an interview dated 13 March 1964, vol. 2, Hermann Esser said that more or less all meetings in the Brown House were carried out standing; BayHStA München, Nl Esser. In his testimony from July 1968, Stennes confirmed that part of Hitler’s nature was “to plan things such that no one knows which direction he’s headed in and only he himself was acquainted with all his contacts.” IfZ München, ZS 1147. On the furnishing of Hitler’s office see Birgit Schwarz,
Geniewahn: Hitler und die Kunst
, Vienna, Cologne and Weimar, 2009, pp. 118f.

105 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/1, p. 163 (entry for 24 May 1930), p. 353 (entry for 26 Feb. 1931). See also ibid., p. 202 (entry for 20 July 1930): “Horrible middle-of-the-road cretins”; p. 371 (25 March 1931): “Horrible to see him mingling with these philistines”; p. 394 (28 April 1931): “The people surrounding Hitler. Gruesome!”; p. 153 (12 May 1930): “The most primitive company.”

106 
See Stefan Krings,
Hitlers Pressechef Otto Dietrich 1897–1952: Eine Biographie
, Göttingen, 2010, pp. 103–5.

107 
Heusler,
Das Braune Haus
, pp. 156f.

108 
Erich Mühsam, “Jedem das Seine,” in
Die Welt am Montag
, 1 June 1931; reprinted in
idem
,
Ein Lesebuch: Sich fügen heisst lügen
, ed. Marlies Fritzen, Göttingen, 2003, pp. 244f.

109 
See Hans Otto Eglau,
Fritz Thyssen: Hitlers Gönner und Geisel
, Berlin, 2003, pp. 127f.

110 
See ibid., pp. 87, 96, 105, 108, 117, 122–7; Henry A. Turner,
Die Grossunternehmer und der Aufstieg Hitlers
, Berlin, 1986, pp. 177, 180, 184f. In a letter of 30 Dec. 1931, Thyssen informed Hugenberg that he was “friends with Göring.” BA Koblenz, N 1231/39. On Göring’s role as Hitler’s representative in Berlin, see the transcript of his testimony from 20 July 1945: “The Führer entrusted me with this office because back then I was the only one in the party with enough contacts to represent the party in society.” IfZ München, ZS 428.