Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (176 page)

80 
Rumbold to Foreign Secretary Simon, 12 April 1933; Becker,
Hitlers Machtergreifung
, p. 228. See Broszat,
Der Staat Hitlers
, p. 145; Frei,
Der Führerstaat
, p. 58.

81 
Klemperer,
Tagebücher 1933–1941
, p. 8 (entry for 10 March 1933).

82 
Diels,
Lucifer ante portas
, p. 255. On the SA violence after 5 March see Thamer,
Verführung und Gewalt
, pp. 264–6; Peter Longerich,
Die braunen Bataillone: Geschichte der SA
, Munich, 1989, pp. 168–71; Evans,
The Coming of the Third Reich
, pp. 346–8.

83 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 552 (entry for 8 March 1933). See Klemperer,
Tagebücher 1933–1941
, p. 9 (entry for 10 March 1933): “No one dares to say anything. Everyone’s afraid.”

84 
Heuss,
In der Defensive
, pp. 118f. (dated 14 March 1933).

85 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 219, 221.

86 
Hitler to Papen, 11 March 1933;
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 58, pp. 204–8. By contrast, immediately after 30 Jan. 1933, Hitler and Papen interacted “in a manner that could hardly have been more cordial.” Duesterberg’s memoirs, p. 197; BA Koblenz, N 1377/47.

87 
From recent literature see Robert Sigel, “Das KZ Dachau und die Konstituierung eines rechtsfreien Raumes als Ausgangspunkt des nationalsozialistischen Terrorsystems,” in Andreas Wirsching (ed.),
Das Jahr 1933: Die nationalsozialistische Machtergreifung und die deutsche Gesellschaft
, Göttingen, 2009, pp. 156–68; Ludwig Eiber, “Gewalt im KZ Dachau: Vom Anfang eines Terrorsystems,” in ibid., pp. 169–81. See also Wolfgang Benz and Barbara Diestel,
Der Ort des Terrors: Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager. Vol. 2: Frühe Lager
, Munich, 2005, pp. 233–74.

88 
Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, p. 431.

89 
Haffner,
Geschichte eines Deutschen
, p. 225.

90 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 134 (entry for 24 Feb. 1933).

91 
See Armin Nolzen, “Der ‘Führer’ und seine Partei,” in Dietmar Süss and Winfried Süss (eds),
Das “Dritte Reich”: Eine Einführung
, Munich, 2008, pp. 56f.

92 
Ebermayer,
Und heute gehört uns Deutschland
, p. 34 (dated 5 March 1933). See the report by the U.S. Consul General in Berlin, George S. Messersmith, 25 April 1933: “One of the most extraordinary features of the situation to an objective observer, is the fact that so many clear-thinking and really well-informed persons appear to have lost their balance and are actively approving of measures and policies which they previously condemned as fundamentally dangerous and unsound.” Frank Bajohr and Christoph Strupp (eds),
Fremde Blicke auf das “Dritte Reich”: Berichte ausländischer Diplomaten über Herrschaft und Gesellschaft in Deutschland 1933–1945
, Göttingen, 2011, pp. 369f. (quotation on p. 370).

93 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 223 (entry for 7 July 1933). See also Frank Bajohr, “Ämter, Pfründe, Korruption: Materielle Aspekte der nationalsozialististischen Machtergreifung,” in Wirsching (ed.),
Das Jahr 1933
, pp. 185–99.

94 
Bella Fromm,
Als Hitler mir die Hand küsste
, Berlin, 1993, p. 131 (dated 21 May 1933).

95 
Delmer,
Die Deutschen und ich
, p. 179.

96 
Antoni Graf Sobanski,
Nachrichten aus Berlin 1933–1936
, Berlin, 2007, p. 31.

97 
See
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 192, p. 658 (entry for 13 July 1933).

98 
Ibid., no. 56, p. 195n10 (entry for 11 March 1933). Goebbels commented: “A fantastic boost to our prestige!” Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 144 (entry for 12 March 1933).

99 
Ebermayer,
Denn heute gehört uns Deutschland
, p. 75 (dated 9 May 1933). See ibid., p. 86 (dated 16 May 1933). In May 1933, when Ebermayer’s books were banned, everyone distanced themselves from him as if he were “a leper.” “It’s incomprehensible how cowardly people are,” Ebermayer complained.

100 
See Haffner,
Geschichte eines Deutschen
, pp. 197–204.

101 
See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 148 (entry for 17 March 1933): “Discussed the plan for 21 March. It will be huge”; p. 149 (entry for 18 March 1933): “The entire Potsdam celebration is ready. It will be huge and classic.”

102 
On the following see Klaus Scheel,
Der Tag von Potsdam
, Berlin, 1993; Hoegen,
Der Held von Tannenberg
, pp. 384–93; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, pp. 820–4.

103 
See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 152 (entry for 21 March 1933).

104 
François-Poncet,
Als Botschafter in Berlin
, p. 108.

105 
See Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 822.

106 
Reprinted in Walther Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat: Aus den Papieren des Generalfeldmarschalls und Reichspräsidenten von 1878 bis 1934
, Göttingen, 1966, p. 374. Goebbels commented: “The old man is like a stone memorial. He read out his message. Succinctly and imperiously.”
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 153 (entry for 23 March 1933).

107 
Heuss,
In der Defensive
, p. 126 (dated 22 March 1933).

108 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 226–8.

109 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 153 (entry for 23 March 1933).

110 
Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 824. Heinrich Brüning (
Memoiren 1918–1934
, Stuttgart, 1970, p. 657) also recalled that Hindenburg occasionally wiped a tear from his eye with his brown gloves.”

111 
Kalshoven,
Ich denk so viel an Euch
, pp. 182f. (dated 22 March 1933).

112 
Ebermayer,
Und heute gehört uns Deutschland
, pp. 46f. (dated 21 March 1933). See Duesterberg’s memoirs, p. 205: “Even otherwise clear-eyed people were swept away, intoxicated.” BA Koblenz, N 1377/47.

113 
Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 824. See also Wolfram Pyta, “Geteiltes Charisma: Hindenburg, Hitler und die deutsche Gesellschaft im Jahre 1933,” in Wirsching (ed.),
Das Jahr 1933
, pp. 47–69 (at p. 54).

114 
Schirach,
Ich glaubte an Hitler
, p. 168. See also Hans Frank,
Im Angesicht des Galgens: Deutung Hitlers und seiner Zeit auf Grund eigener Erlebnisse und Erkenntnisse
, Munich and Gräfelfing, 1953, p. 129, who quoted Hitler saying on 30 Jan. 1933 that he hoped he would be able to “win over” Hindenburg.

115 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 131 (entry for 17 Feb. 1933). See Brüning,
Memoiren
, p. 650, who wrote that by mid-February 1933 the news from the Hindenburg residence was that “the Reich President’s previous rejection of Hitler had turned into incipient fondness.” On 12 March 1933, Hindenburg wrote to his daughter: “The patriotic upswing is pleasing. May God preserve our unity.” Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 808.

116 
Hitlers Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier
, ed. Henry Picker, Stuttgart, 1976, p. 328 (dated 21 May 1942). On the change in the relationship between Hitler and Hindenburg see also Otto Dietrich,
12 Jahre mit Hitler
, Munich, 1955, p. 41; Friedrich Hossbach,
Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler 1934–1938
, 2nd revised edition, Göttingen, 1965, p. 12; Schwerin von Krosigk, in his essay on Hitler’s personality (
c
.1945) wrote that Hitler and Hindenburg had initially treated one another with “great reserve,” but that “a relationship of great mutual respect and deep trust” had grown over the course of one-and-a-half years of working together. IfZ München, ZS 145, vol. 5.

117 
Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, pp. 295, 309.

118 
Meissner’s minutes on Schäffer’s meeting with the Reich president, 17 Feb. 1933;
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 23, pp. 87–90 (quotations on p. 89). Meissner sent his minutes to State Secretary Lammers in the Reich Chancellory with the message: “I allow myself…to emphasise that the Reich president defended the Reich chancellor against certain contentions made by State Secretary Schäffer with great warmth and vigour.” Ibid., p. 87n1. In a letter to Reichstag Deputy Ritter von Lex on 15 March 1933, Schäffer denied—“categorically on my word of honour”—having made derogatory remarks about Hitler during the audience with Hindenburg on 17 Feb. He also pointed out that as early as Nov. 1932 he had offered “a very positive personal opinion of the Reich chancellor.” Ritter von Lex passed the letter to Hitler on that very day. BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 1/123.

119 
Hitlers Tischgespräche
, p. 329 (dated 21 May 1942).

120 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 153 (entry for 23 March 1933).

121 
Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 825. In a handwritten note on 30 Jan. 1934 Hindenburg expressed to Hitler his “sincere respect for your passionate work and your great achievements.” Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro no. 207 dated 30 Jan. 1934; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, R 43 II/959.

122 
Pyta, “Geteiltes Charisma,” p. 61.

123 
Thamer,
Verführung und Gewalt
, p. 272.

124 
Cabinet meeting on 15 March 1933;
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 60, pp. 212–17 (quotations on pp. 214, 216).

125 
Cabinet meeting on 20 March 1933; ibid., no. 68, pp. 238–40. See Thamer,
Verführung und Gewalt
, pp. 274f.; Frei,
Der Führerstaat
, pp. 61f.

126 
Text in Rudolf Morsey (ed.),
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz” vom 24. März 1933: Quellen zur Geschichte und Interpretation des “Gesetzes zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich,
” new revised and expanded edition, Düsseldorf, 2010, no. 34, pp. 70f.

127 
Wilhelm Hoegner,
Der schwierige Aussenseiter: Erinnerungen eines Abgeordneten, Emigranten und Ministerpräsidenten
, Munich, 1959, p. 92.

128 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 229–37; excerpts in Morsey,
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz,
” no. 28, pp. 50–6.

129 
See Carl Severing,
Mein Lebensweg: Vol. 2
, Cologne, 1950, pp. 384f.

130 
Morsey,
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz,
” pp. 43, 57, 82. See Brüning,
Memoiren
, pp. 656, 658f.; see also Josef Becker, “Zentrum und Ermächtigungsgesetz,” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 9 (1961), pp. 195–210.

131 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 239–41; excerpts in Morsey,
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz,
” no. 30, pp. 58–60.

132 
See Friedrich Stampfer,
Erfahrungen und Erkenntnisse
, Cologne, 1957, p. 268; Fest,
Hitler
, p. 562; Winkler,
Der Weg in die Katastrophe
, p. 905.

133 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 154 (entry for 25 March 1933).

134 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 1, p. 242–6; excerpts in Morsey,
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz,
” no. 30, pp. 60–3.

135 
See Morsey,
Das “Ermächtigungsgesetz,
” no. 30, pp. 63–6.

136 
Frei,
Der Führerstaat
, p. 61.

137 
Cabinet meeting on 24 March 1933;
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 72, p. 248.

138 
See Thamer,
Verführung und Gewalt
, pp. 279–82; Broszat,
Der Staat Hitlers
, p. 117; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 826.

139 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 154 (entry for 25 March 1933). See Schwerin von Krosigk to Lutz Böhme, 8 May 1975: “The law was one step, but probably also the most important on the path of legality, towards converting political power into the absolute rule of a
single
man.” BA Koblenz, N 1276/42.

140 
See Saul Friedländer,
Das Dritte Reich und die Juden: Die Jahre der Verfolgung 1933–1939
, Munich, 1998, vol. 1, pp. 30f.; Peter Longerich,
Politik der Vernichtung: Eine Gesamtdarstellung der nationalsozialistischen Judenverfolgung
, Munich and Zurich, 1998, pp. 26–30; Michael Wildt,
Volksgemeinschaft als Selbstermächtigung: Gewalt gegen Juden in der deutschen Provinz 1919 bis 1939
, Hamburg, 2007, pp. 107ff., 115ff. See also the documents in Otto Dov Kulka and Eberhard Jäckel (eds),
Die Juden in den geheimen Stimmungsberichten 1933–1945
, Düsseldorf, 2004, doc. 1–6, pp. 45–9.