Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (168 page)

284 
Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, pp. 419f.

285 
Heuss,
Bürger der Weimarer Republik,
p. 536 (dated 29 Dec. 1932). On Bosch’s position at the end of 1932 see Joachim Scholtyseck,
Robert Bosch und der liberale Widerstand gegen Hitler 1933 bis 1945
, Munich, 1999, p. 113.

286 
Carl von Ossietzky, “Wintermärchen,”
Die Weltbühne
, 3 Jan. 1933; in
idem
,
Sämtliche Schriften. Vol. 6: 1931–1933
, eds Gerhard Kraiker, Günther Nickel, Renke Siems and Elke Suhr, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1994, pp. 437–43 (quotations on pp. 437, 440).

287 
Ernst Deuerlein (ed.),
Der Aufstieg der NSDAP in Augenzeugenberichten
, Munich, 2nd edition, 1976, p. 411.

288 
Quoted in Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, p. 29.

12
Month of Destiny: January 1933

1 
Heinrich Brüning,
Memoiren 1918–1934
, Stuttgart, 1970, p. 648. Albert Speer also said that in the winter of 1933–34 Hitler repeatedly talked of having been faced with “very difficult situations, which he had always escaped due to a favourable turn of events.” Albert Speer,
Erinnerungen: Mit einem Essay von Jochen Thies
, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin, 1993, p. 54.

2 
Brigitte Hamann,
Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth
, Munich and Zurich, 2002, pp. 229f.

3 
See
Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Part 1: Aufzeichnungen 1923–1941
, ed. Elke Fröhlich, Munich, 1998, vol. 2/3, p. 93 (entry for 30 Dec. 1932).

4 
Ibid., p. 94 (entry for 31 Dec. 1932).

5 
Adolf Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen—Februar 1925 bis Januar 1933. Vol. 5: Von der Reichspräsidentenwahl bis zur Machtergreifung April 1932–Januar 1933. Part 2: Oktober 1932–Januar 1933
, eds Klaus A. Lankheit and Christian Hartmann, Munich, 1998, doc. 107, pp. 297–311 (quotations on pp. 298, 299, 310f.).

6 
Leopold Schwarzschild,
Chronik eines Untergangs: Deutschland 1924–1939
, ed. Andreas P. Wesemann, Vienna, 2005, p. 243. See Schwerin von Krosigk to Holm Eggers, 21 Aug. 1974, who wrote that “the influence Papen had exercised over the old gentleman” had been decisive: “In a sense, he guaranteed that the matter would turn out well.” BA Koblenz, N 1276/42.

7 
Konrad Heiden,
Adolf Hitler: Das Zeitalter der Verantwortungslosigkeit. Eine Biographie
, Zurich, 1936, p. 315.

8 
See Wolfram Pyta,
Hindenburg: Herrschaft zwischen Hohenzollern und Hitler
, Munich, 2007, p. 791. For an example of the earlier depiction of Hindenburg see Joachim Fest,
Hitler: Eine Biographie
, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Vienna, 1973, p. 502; in Fest’s view, Hindenburg was “exhausted, confused and not always capable of maintaining an overview.”

9 
Karl-Dietrich Bracher,
Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik: Eine Studie zum Problem des Machtverfalls in der Demokratie
, Villingen, 1955, p. 691.

10 
Keppler to Schröder, 19 Dec. 1932; Eberhard Czichon,
Wer verhalf Hitler zur Macht? Zum Anteil der deutschen Industrie an der Zerstörung der Weimarer Republik
, Cologne, 1967, pp. 74–6 (quotation on p. 75). On the circumstances surrounding the meeting see also the transcript of Kurt von Schröder’s questioning on 18 June 1947; IfZ München, ZS 557.

11 
Heinrich Muth, “Das ‘Kölner Gespräch’ am 4. Januar 1933,” in
Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht
, 37 (1986), pp. 463–80, 529–41 (quotation on p. 531).

12 
Keppler to Schröder, 26 Dec. 1932; Czichon,
Wer verhalf Hitler zur Macht?
pp. 76f. See also Franz von Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, Munich, 1952, p. 254.

13 
On Hitler’s and Papen’s motives, see Henry A. Turner,
Thirty Days to Power: January 1933
, London, 1996, pp. 42f.

14 
On the conspiratorial circumstances surrounding the meeting see Otto Dietrich,
Mit Hitler in die Macht: Persönliche Erlebnisse mit meinem Führer
, 2nd edition, Munich, 1934, pp. 169f.; Turner,
Thirty Days to Power,
p. 38.

15 
On the course and content of the conversation see the affidavit by Kurt von Schröder dated 21 July 1947; Czichon,
Wer verhalf Hitler zur Macht?
, pp. 77–9 (quotation on p. 78); Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, pp. 255f.; Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, pp. 44f.; Joachim Petzold,
Franz von Papen: Ein deutsches Verhängnis
, Munich and Berlin, 1995, pp. 138–40. For a critical perspective on the sources see Muth, “Das ‘Kölner Gespräch,’ ” pp. 533–6.

16 
Keppler to Schröder, 6 Jan. 1933; Schacht to Schröder, 6 Jan. 1933; Czichon,
Wer verhalf Hitler zur Macht?
, pp. 79f.

17 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 103 (entry for 10 Jan. 1933).

18 
See Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, p. 47; see also Papen’s letter to Ferdinand von Bredow dated 31 Oct. 1933; Irene Strenge,
Ferdinand von Bredow: Notizen vom 20. 2. 1933 bis 31. 12. 1933.
Tägliche Aufzeichnungen vom 1. 1. 1934 bis 28. 6. 1934, Berlin, 2009, p. 175n1 (entry for 23 Oct. 1933).

19 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 2, doc. 116, p. 332n1. Further press commentary in n2.

20 
Ibid., doc. 116, p. 332.

21 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 100 (entry for 7 Jan. 1933). See also ibid., p. 101 (entry for 8 Jan. 1933): “The press is still buzzing with [the news of] the Hitler–Papen meeting.” For the reporting of the
Tägliche Rundschau
, see Petzold,
Franz von Papen
, pp. 140–2.

22 
Quoted in Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, p. 50.

23 
See ibid., p. 71; Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, pp. 255, 260f. During a conversation with BVP Chairman Schäffer on 10 Jan. 1933, Schleicher was “quite dismayed” at the meeting between Papen and Hitler, who was “obviously trying to get access to the old man, even though the latter can’t stand him.” Schäffer’s diary dated 10 Jan. 1933; quoted in Astrid Pufendorf,
Die Plancks: Eine Familie zwischen Patriotimus und Widerstand
, Berlin, 2006, p. 305.

24 
Otto Meissner,
Staatssekretär unter Ebert, Hindenburg, Hitler
, Hamburg, 1950, p. 261.

25 
See Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 780.

26 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 103 (entry for 10 Jan. 1933).

27 
Akten der Reichskanzlei: Weimarer Republik. Das Kabinett von Schleicher 3. Dezember 1932 bis 20. Januar 1933
, ed. Anton Golecki, Boppard am Rhein, 1986, no. 25, pp. 101–17 (quotations on pp. 109, 106). See Henry A. Turner,
Die Grossunternehmer und der Aufstieg Hitlers
, Berlin, 1986 pp. 370f.; Heinrich August Winkler,
Weimar 1918–1933: Die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie
, Munich, 1993, pp. 562f. On 21 Dec. 1932, Hugenberg informed Schleicher about “the concerns…we have in relation to the great economic challenges of the moment and the danger of slipping back into parliamentary procedure.” BA Koblenz, N 1231/38.

28 
See Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, p. 83; Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 558f.

29 
See Meissner,
Staatssekretär
, pp. 251f.; Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 569f. In a cabinet meeting on 16 Jan. 1933 Schleicher expressed his doubts as to whether Strasser “would bring many followers with him.”
Das Kabinett von Schleicher
, no. 56, p. 233.

30 
Das Kabinett von Schleicher
, no. 50, pp. 206–8; no. 51, pp. 208–14. See Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, p. 261 (dated 12 Jan. 1933): “As we’re hearing, the presentations of the National Board of the Reich Landowners’ Association, when they were received by Hindenburg yesterday, made a deep impression upon him.”

31 
Das Kabinett von Schleicher
, no. 51, p. 214n16. See Bernd Hoppe, “Von Schleicher zu Hitler: Dokumente zum Konflikt zwischen dem Reichslandbund und der Regierung Schleicher in den letzten Wochen der Weimarer Republik,” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 45 (1997), pp. 629–57; Stephanie Merkenich,
Grüne Front gegen Weimar: Reichsland-Bund und agrarischer Lobbyismus 1918–1933
, Düsseldorf, 1998, pp. 316f.

32 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 106 (entry for 15 Jan. 1933);
idem
,
Vom Kaiserhof zur Reichskanzlei
, Munich, 1934, p. 241.

33 
See Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, pp. 112f; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 770.

34 
Das Kabinett von Schleicher
, no. 56, p. 234n15; ibid., no. 25, p. 103.

35 
Statement from the DNVP Reichstag faction dated 21 Jan. 1933 (with Hugenberg’s handwritten draft) in BA Koblenz, N 1231/38. In mid-December 1932, the conservative nationalist politician and agricultural estate owner Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin called for a war against the government, proclaiming “Schleicher must go in favour of an authoritarian state leadership.” The cabinet was only presidential in name, Kleist-Schmenzin sneered, since “in reality Schleicher was dependent on parties and groups and changed his policies if he met any opposition from them.” BA Koblenz, N 1231/37.

36 
See Wolfgang Michalka, “Joachim von Ribbentrop: Vom Spirituosenhändler zum Aussenminister,” in Ronald Smelser and Rainer Zitelmann (eds),
Die Braune Elite: 22 biographische Skizzen
, Darmstadt, 1989, pp. 201–11. On the meeting of 10/11 Jan. 1933, see Joachim von Ribbentrop,
Zwischen London und Moskau: Erinnerungen und letzte Aufzeichnungen
, ed. Annelies von Ribbentrop, Leoni am Starnberger See, 1961, pp. 36–8. On Hitler’s visit to the opera, see Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 2, doc. 126, p. 346. See also Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 103 (entry for 11 Jan. 1933): “Hitler intends to talk to Papen late this evening. On tenterhooks.” When interrogated on 11 Sept. 1946, Ribbentrop testified that Wilhelm Keppler had asked him to make his house in the Berlin district of Dahlem available for Papen and Hitler’s talks; IfZ München, ZS 1357.

37 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 105 (entry for 13 Jan. 1933); Ribbentrop,
Zwischen London und Moskau
, p. 38.

38 
Quoted in Jutta Ciolek-Kümper,
Wahlkampf in Lippe: Die Wahlkampfpropaganda der NSDAP zur Landtagswahl am 15. Januar 1933
, Munich, 1976, p. 153. See also
Hitlers Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier
, ed. Henry Picker, Stuttgart, 1976, p. 325 (dated 21 May 1942): “He campaigned in the Lippe election with particular energy and using every ounce of his personality.”

39 
Ciolek-Kümper,
Wahlkampf in Lippe
, p. 147.

40 
See ibid., pp. 164f.

41 
Quotations in Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 2, doc. 114, p. 328 (dated 4 Jan. 1933, Bösingfeld), doc. 125, p. 344 (dated 9 Jan. 1933, Lage), doc. 127, p. 350 (dated 11 Jan. 1933, Lemgo), doc. 120, p. 377 (dated 6 Jan. 1933, Horn), doc. 117, p. 333 (dated 5 Jan. 1933, Leopoldshöhe).

42 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 105 (entry for 13 Jan. 1933).

43 
Dietrich,
Mit Hitler in die Macht
, p. 176. On the occasion of Grevenburg’s 400th anniversary during New Year 1937/38, Baron von Oeynhausen had a plaque mounted in the inner courtyard. As he wrote to Hitler, it was intended to recall that the Führer had “honoured” Grevenburg by residing there and “organising and leading the campaign that culminated with victory in Lippe on 15 Jan. and the historical turning point for Germany’s destiny on 30 Jan.” Baron von Oeynhausen to Hitler, 15 Dec. 1937. Wiedemann responded in Hitler’s name on 27 Dec. 1937; BA Koblenz, N 1720/8.

44 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 105 (entry for 13 Jan. 1933). See ibid., p. 98 (entry for 4 Jan. 1933); p. 99 (entry for 5 Jan. 1933); pp. 105f. (entry for 14 Jan. 1933): “Speaking of Strasser. He’s about to betray us to Schleicher…A base plot”; p. 106 (entry for 15 Jan. 1933): “Strasser wants to join the cabinet as vice-chancellor! Traitor!”

45 
See Ernst Deuerlein (ed.),
Der Aufstieg der NSDAP in Augenzeugenberichten
, Munich, 2nd edition, 1976, p. 415.

46 
Quoted in Ciolek-Kümper,
Wahlkampf in Lippe
, p. 273.

47 
Quoted in Turner,
Thirty Days to Power
, p. 65.

48 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 107 (entry for 16 Jan. 1933).

49 
Quoted in Ciolek-Kümper,
Wahlkampf in Lippe
, pp. 279f.