Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (153 page)

42 
Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 636, p. 1232.

43 
Rudolf Hess to Wilhelm Sievers, 11 May 1925; reprinted in Henrik Eberle (ed.),
Briefe an Hitler: Ein Volk schreibt seinem Führer. Unbekannte Dokumente aus Moskauer Archiven—zum ersten Mal veröffentlicht
, Bergisch-Gladbach, 2007, pp. 56f. In contrast, Hermann Fobke, another former Landsberg inmate, told an audience in Göttingen in Nov. 1924 “that today Hitler is still the committed anti-parliamentarian he always was.” BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/901.

44 
Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, doc. 20, pp. 77f. (quote on p. 78). Also in Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 647, pp. 1238f. On 19 June, after visiting Landsberg, Gottfried Feder wrote that Hitler was “depressed,” adding “he wants to withdraw entirely from the movement and has to work, that is, write to earn money.” G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 6 (entry for 19 June 1924); IfZ München, ED 874. In a letter to Albert Stier on 23 June 1924, Hitler reiterated his decision to resign the party leadership; Tyrell,
Führer befiehl
, doc. 28, p. 78; also in Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 649, pp. 1239f.

45 
Hermann Fobke to Ludolf Haase, 23 June 1924; Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, doc. 26, pp. 90–2 (quote on p. 91). See Rudolf Hess to Heinrich Heim, 16 July 1924. Hitler, wrote Hess, did not want to take responsibility “for what is happening on the outside without his knowledge and in part against his will.” On the other hand, according to Hess, Hitler was “convinced he could get everything back on track soon after he was freed.” BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 6/71.

46 
Quoted in Deuerlein,
Aufstieg
, pp. 235f.; see Emil Maurice to Adolf Schmalix, 19 July 1924; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/1267; Jablonsky,
The Nazi Party in Dissolution
, pp. 96–8.

47 
Deuerlein,
Aufstieg
, p. 236.

48 
Confidential report about the Weimar conference by Adalbert Volck, a lawyer from Lüneburg, 20 July 1924; Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, doc. 30, pp. 98–102 (quote on p. 101). See Jablonsky,
The Nazi Party in Dissolution
, pp. 103ff.

49 
G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 6 (entry for 14 Aug. 1924); IfZ München, ED 874. See Kershaw,
Hitler: Hubris
, p. 233f.; Horn,
Der Marsch zur Machtergreifung
, p. 192; Piper,
Rosenberg
, pp. 108f.

50 
Hermann Fobke to Adalbert Volck, 29 July 1924; Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, doc. 33, pp. 122–4 (quote on p. 123); see ibid., doc. 37, p. 133; doc. 51, p. 165 (“position of strict neutrality”).

51 
Hess,
Briefe
, p. 349 (dated 17 Aug. 1924).

52 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 166. See Hanfstaengl’s unpublished memoirs, p. 128: “His healthy political instincts told him to let the various groups fight it out and stay in the background himself for the time being.” BSB München, Nl Hanfstaengl Ana 405, Box 47.

53 
See Bullock,
Hitler
, pp. 126f.; Fest,
Hitler
, p. 316.

54 
Der Hitler-Prozess 1924
, ed. and annotated by Lothar Gruchmann and Reinhold Weber with Otto Gritschneder, part 1, Munich, 1997, p. 299. See Hitler’s letter to Adolf Vogl, 10 Jan. 1924: “I am expressing my resentment in what I’m writing to justify myself, the first part of which I hope will outlive the trial and me.” Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 604, p. 1060.

55 
Franz Hemmrich’s memoirs, p. 35; IfZ München, ED 153.

56 
See Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 21f.

57 
See Wolfgang Horn, “Ein unbekannter Aufsatz Hitlers aus dem Frühjahr 1924,” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 16 (1968), pp. 280–94. See Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 23–6.

58 
Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 636, pp. 1232f. On 12 May 1924, Hitler told something similar to a delegation of National Socialist deputies from Salzburg: “At the moment he was writing a book…in which he will settle the scores with the critics who emerged after 8 Nov.” Quoted in Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 34.

59 
See Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 38, 42–8 (on p. 39 see also the catalogue’s title page with a photograph of Hitler). See also Timothy W. Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life
, London, 2009, p. 66.

60 
See Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 49; based on it, Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library
, p. 67. On the autobiographical sections of
Mein Kampf
see Othmar Plöckinger, “Frühe biographische Texte zu Hitler: Zur Bewertung der autobiographischen Texte in ‘
Mein Kampf
,’ ” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 58 (2010), pp. 112f. Plöckinger has shown that Hitler basically only recapitulated and embellished those details of his biography that were already known in ethnic-chauvinistic circles.

61 
Hess,
Briefe
, pp. 341f. (dated 29 June 1924). For more on this see Chapter 3, p. 56.

62 
Hess,
Briefe
, p. 346 (entry for 23 July 1923). The first sentence quoted, which is missing in the Wolf Rüdiger Hess edition, in BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 33.

63 
Otto Lurker,
Hitler hinter Festungsmauern: Ein Bild aus trüben Tagen
, Berlin, 1933, p. 56. For a critical perspective on this legend see Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 122. Also Florian Beierl and Othmar Plöckinger, “Neue Dokumente zu Hitlers Buch ‘Mein Kampf,’ ” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 57 (2009), pp. 261–95 (in particular pp. 273, 278f.).

64 
See the details provided by Ilse Hess on 28 Dec. 1952 and 29 June 1965 in Werner Maser,
Adolf Hitlers “Mein Kampf”: Geschichte, Auszüge, Kommentare
, 9th edition, Esslingen, 2001, p. 29. Further, Olaf Rose (ed.),
Julius Schaub: In Hitlers Schatten
, Stegen, 2005, p. 59. On Hitler’s working methods see Beierl and Plöckinger, “Neue Dokumente,” pp. 276ff. Both Rudolf Hess and prison guard Franz Hemmrich bear witness to Hitler setting out his initial thoughts by hand. Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 153; Franz Hemmrich’s memoirs, pp. 35f.; IfZ München, ED 153.

65 
Hess,
Briefe
, p. 347 (dated 24 July 1924). See also ibid., p. 349 (dated 17 Aug. 1924): “My daily routine begins as follows—at 5 a.m., I get up and make cups of tea for Hitler (who is writing his book) and myself.”

66 
Ibid., p. 347 (dated 4 Aug. 1924). In his letter to Heinrich Heim dated 16 July 1924 Hess announced that Hitler’s book should be appearing in the autumn. BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 6/71.

67 
Hermann Fobke to Eduard Heinze, a National Socialist in Stettin, 23 Aug. 1924; Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 55. See also Hermann Fobke to Adalbert Volck, 29 July 1924; Jochmann,
Nationalsozialismus und Revolution
, doc. 33, p. 124.

68 
Leybold’s report from 15 Sept. 1924; Deuerlein,
Aufstieg
, p. 238.

69 
See Anna Maria Sigmund,
Des Führers bester Freund: Adolf Hitler, seine Nichte Geli Raubal und der “Ehrenarier” Emil Maurice—eine Dreiecksbeziehung
, Munich, 2003, p. 71. In contrast, Franz Hemmrich (memoirs, p. 57) asserts that the Munich censors gave the manuscript of
Mein Kampf
back to Hitler; IfZ München, ED 153.

70 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, pp. 161f.

71 
On this see Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 67ff.

72 
Ibid., pp. 76–8, 86–9.

73 
Ibid., pp. 68, 71f., 85, 151. There is no evidence for the common claims that either Father Bernhard Stempfle, the editor in chief of the
Miesbacher Anzeiger
, or Hanfstaengl helped edit the manuscript. See ibid., pp. 129f., 133–41. Hanfstaengl’s unpublished memoirs, pp. 141f.; BSB München, Ana 405, Box 47. In early March 1925, Stolzing-Cerny gave Gottfried Feder page proofs of
Mein Kampf
with passages relating to Feder. “Quite wonderful,” he commented. G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 6 (entry for 5 March 1925); IfZ München, ED 74.

74 
See Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, p. 120: Also Wolfgang Martynkewicz,
Salon Deutschland: Geist und Macht 1900–1945
, Berlin, 2009, pp. 424f. (Letter from Elsa Bruckmann to her husband dated 26 Sept. 1924); Hitler,
Monologe
, p. 206 (dated 16/17 Jan. 1942).

75 
Hess,
Briefe
, p. 370 (dated 24 Oct. 1926). Among other things, Hess now also put together the running heads, as Stolzing-Cerny had got things “terribly wrong” in the first volume. Hess to his father Fritz Hess, 24 Oct. 1926; BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 36.

76 
Ibid., p. 346 (dated 23 July 1924). See ibid., p. 349 (dated 17 Aug. 1924): “Its publication will be a severe blow for his enemies.”

77 
For the figures see Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 177–82.

78 
Rudolf Hess to his father Fritz Hess, 19 April 1933; BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 51. The time-consuming corrections to the “people’s edition” were made by Rudolf and Ilse Hess. See Rudolf Hess to his parents, 16 April 1930; BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 45. On what follows see Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches
, pp. 182–8, 407–13, 432–40.

79 
Frank,
Im Angesicht des Galgens
, p. 46. See also Otto Wagener,
Hitler aus nächster Nähe: Aufzeichnungen eines Vertrauten 1929–1932
, ed. Henry A. Turner, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Vienna, 1978, p. 415.

80 
See Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library
, p. 77f. For example, Emil Maurice received the tenth copy of the luxury edition of 1925, limited to 500 copies, with the dedication: “For my loyal and upstanding shield bearer.” Sigmund,
Des Führers bester Freund
, pp. 72f. (see p. 73 for the facsimile of the dedication). During the 1925 Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Hitler also presented Winifred Wagner with a freshly printed, personally dedicated copy of the first volume. See Brigitte Hamann,
Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth
, Munich and Zurich, 2002, p. 142.

81 
Hitler,
Mein Kampf. Vol. 1: Eine Abrechnung
, 7th edition, Munich, 1933, pp. 231f.

82 
On the style of the book, see Fest,
Hitler
, pp. 291–3. The cultured Fest does not conceal his contempt for the “half-educated” Hitler. In a similar vein, see Bullock,
Hitler
, p. 122; Ralf Georg Reuth,
Hitler: Eine Biographie
, Munich and Zurich, 2003, p. 172. According to Hess, Hitler remarked in Landsberg: “Nobody should write in German unless he has read Schopenhauer, with his beautifully clear style.” BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 33. There is no evidence of a “clear style” in
Mein Kampf
, however.

83 
Lurker,
Hitler hinter Festungsmauern
, p. 52; Franz Hemmrich’s (memoirs, p. 28) wrote that Hitler’s cell increasingly came to resemble a “small study.” IfZ München, ED 153. In November 1937, Rudolph Schüssler claimed that in 1924 he had delivered “the most significant material from the Sternecker period,” which formed the basis of
Mein Kampf
, in two large packages to Landsberg. See Ernst Schulte-Strathaus, Central Party Archive employee, to staff director Martin Bormann, 27 Nov. 1937; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 10/55.

84 
Otto Strasser,
Hitler und ich
, Konstanz, 1948, p. 78. See Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library
, p 69. The Bruckmanns sent the Chamberlain books to the prison, see Martynkewicz,
Salon Deutschland
, p. 410. On the influence of Paul de Lagarde on Hitler see Ulrich Sieg, “Ein Prophet nationaler Religion: Paul de Lagarde und die völkische Bewegung,” in Friedrich Wilhelm Graf (ed.),
Intellektuellen-Götter
, Munich, 2009, pp. 1–19.

85 
See Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library
, pp. 66–71 (quote on p. 71). On Ford also see Reuth,
Hitler
, pp. 174f.

86 
See Timothy Ryback,
Hitlers Bücher: Seine Bibliothek—sein Denken
, Cologne, 2010, pp. 126–49 (chapter not included in the earlier English and American editions). That Hitler had read the work of Madison Grant is confirmed by his speech in Zirkus Krone on 6 April 1927; Adolf Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen—Februar 1925 bis Januar 1933. Vol. 2: Vom Weimarer Parteitag bis zur Reichstagswahl Juli 1926–Mai 1928. Part 1: Juli 1926–Juli 1927
, ed. and annotated Bärbel Dusik, Munich, London, New York and Paris, 1992, no. 99, p. 236.

87 
See Ryback,
Hitler’s Private Library
, p. 114f; Wagener,
Hitler aus nächster Nähe
, p. 149. For a selection of Hitler’s reading see Chapter 2, p. 32.