Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (165 page)

79 
See Hürter,
Wilhelm Groener
, pp. 345f.; Winkler,
Weimar
, p. 455; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 688.

80 
See Pyta,
Hindenburg
, pp. 688f.; Hürter,
Wilhelm Groener
, pp. 344, 348; Martin Broszat,
Die Machtergreifung: Der Aufstieg der NSDAP und die Zerstörung der Weimarer Republik
, Munich, 1984, p. 140. On Schleicher’s loss of support for Groener, see Brüning,
Memoiren
, p. 547; Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 118 (dated 11 April 1932). Brüning saw Schleicher’s manoeuvring as “a horrible violation of the trust of his superior Groener.”

81 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 271 (entry for 29 April 1932), p. 274 (entry for 5 May 1932), p. 276 (entry for 9 May 1932).

82 
Ibid., p. 276 (entry for 9 May 1932).

83 
See Brüning,
Memoiren
, p. 586; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 694.

84 
Theodor Heuss to Reinhold Meier, 14 May 1932; Theodor Heuss,
Bürger der Weimarer Republik: Briefe 1918–1933
, ed. Michael Dorrmann, Munich, 2008, p. 465. See Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 120 (dated 10 May 1932); Brüning,
Memoiren
, p. 587.

85 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 279 (entry for 12 May 1932).

86 
See Hürter,
Wilhelm Groener
, p. 351.

87 
Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 123 (dated 15 May 1932).

88 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, pp. 281, 283, 284, 285.

89 
Ibid., p. 288 (entry for 25 May 1932).

90 
Note by Meissner dated 14 June 1932; Walther Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat: Aus den Papieren des Generalfeldmarschalls und Reichspräsidenten von 1878 bis 1934
, Göttingen, 1966, pp. 327f.; see also Otto Meissner,
Staatssekretär unter Ebert, Hindenburg, Hitler
, Hamburg, 1950, pp. 223f.; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 695; Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 467f.

91 
Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 126 (dated 26 May 1932). See Meissner’s note of 14 June 1932; Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat
, p. 328.

92 
Note by Meissner dated 14 June 1932; Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat
, p. 329. See Pyta,
Hindenburg
, pp. 696f.

93 
See Brüning,
Memoiren
, pp. 601f.; Meissner,
Staatssekretär
, pp. 226f.

94 
Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 129 (dated 29 May 1932).

95 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 293 (entry for 31 May 1932).

96 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 427 (entry for 30 May 1932).

97 
Winkler,
Weimar
, p. 472.

98 
See memorandum from Meissner dated 30 May 1932; Thilo Vogelsang,
Reichswehr, Staat und NSDAP: Beiträge zur deutschen Geschichte 1930–1932
, Stuttgart, 1962, pp. 458f.

99 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 293 (entry for 30 May 1932).

100 
Falter
et al.
,
Wahlen und Abstimmungen
, pp. 100, 98.

101 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 297 (entry for 6 June 1932). See ibid., p. 308 (entry for 24 June 1932): “We have to divorce ourselves from the Papen cabinet and go into the campaign free and unattached.” In late June 1932, in a conversation with the editor-in-chief of the
Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung
, Eugen Mündler, Gregor Strasser voiced his concern that “the Nazis could be blamed for the mistakes of the Papen cabinet and suffer during the campaign.” Mündler to Justice Minister Franz Gürtner, 21 June 1932; BA Koblenz, N 1530/22.

102 
Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk in a letter dated 12 Feb. 1971; BA Koblenz, N 1276/23. See Joachim Petzold,
Franz von Papen: Ein deutsches Verhängnis
, Munich and Berlin, 1995, p. 63. When asked by a journalist on 30 May, “Who will you appoint as chancellor, General?” Schleicher supposedly answered, “I’ve got someone fine in mind—you’ll be amazed.”

103 
See Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 479f.; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, pp. 706–8; Petzold,
Franz von Papen
, pp. 66f.

104 
Franz von Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, Munich, 1952, p. 195. On the date see Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 294 (entry for 1 June 1932).

105 
Akten der Reichskanzlei: Weimarer Republik. Das Kabinett von Papen 1. Juni bis 3. Dezember 1932. Vol. 1: Juni bis September 1932
, ed. Karl-Heinz Minuth, Boppard am Rhein, 1989, no. 18, pp. 54 and 55n10.

106 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 446 (entry for 21 June 1932), pp. 461f. (entry for 12 July 1932).

107 
Ibid., p. 465 (entry for 18 July 1932), See Léon Schirmann,
Altonaer Blutsonntag 17. Juli 1932: Dichtungen und Wahrheit
, Hamburg, 1994.

108 
Papen to Kerrl, 6 June 1932;
Das Kabinett von Papen
, vol. 1, no. 10, pp. 22f.

109 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 297 (entry for 6 June 1932). See ibid., p. 298 (entry for 7 June 1932): “We’ll stay in opposition until we achieve total power. I talked to Hitler on the phone, and he shares my opinion entirely.”

110 
Cabinet meeting of 11 July 1932;
Das Kabinett von Papen
, vol. 1, no. 57, pp. 204–8 (quotations on pp. 205, 207).

111 
See cabinet meeting of 16 July 1932; ibid., no. 63, p. 240.

112 
Notes by Hirtsiefer and Severing dated 20 July 1932; ibid., no. 69b, pp. 259–62 (quotation on p. 260).

113 
Prussian Government to the Reich Chancellor, 20 July 1932; ibid., no. 71, pp. 263f.

114 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 324 (entry for 21 July 1932).

115 
See Peter Lessmann,
Die preussische Schutzpolizei in der Weimarer Republik: Streifendienst und Strassenkampf
, Düsseldorf, 1989, pp. 367–70.

116 
Quoted in Winkler,
Der Weg in die Katastrophe
, p. 671.

117 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 324 (entry for 20 July 1932).

118 
Karl-Dietrich Bracher,
Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik: Eine Studie zum Problem des Machtverfalls in der Demokratie
, Villingen, 1955, p. 390.

119 
See Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 529f.

120 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 1, doc. 84, p. 156.

121 
Paul,
Aufstand der Bilder
, pp. 100f.

122 
Text in Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 1, doc. 109, pp. 216–19. On sales see ibid., p. 216n1.

123 
See ibid., doc. 122, p. 241n1; Dietrich,
Mit Hitler in die Macht
, pp. 109f.; Baur,
Ich flog Mächtige der Erde
, p. 88.

124 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 1, doc. 126, p. 246n1.

125 
Ibid., doc. 141, p. 268n4.

126 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Braunem und Weissem Haus
, pp. 266f.; Hanfstaengl’s unpublished memoirs, p. 216; BSB München, Nl Hanfstaengl Ana 405, Box 47. See also Dietrich,
Mit Hitler in die Macht
, pp. 74f.: “From car to aeroplane, from aeroplane to car, from car into hotel…And repeat day after day.”

127 
Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 1, doc. 148, p. 276; see ibid., doc. 129, p. 249 (dated 21 July 1932, Göttingen): “I can only say that, yes, it is my life’s goal to destroy and eliminate these 30 parties”; doc. 151, p. 278 (dated 28 July 1932, Aachen); doc. 158, p. 285 (dated 29 July 1932, Radolfzell); doc. 159, p. 289 (dated 30 July 1932, Kempten).

128 
Quotations in ibid., doc. 112, pp. 224f. (dated 15 July 1932, Tilsit); doc. 113, p. 230 (dated 15 July 1932, Gumbinnen); doc. 118, p. 234 (dated 17 July 1932, Königsberg); doc. 121, p. 239 (dated 19 July 1932, Cottbus).

129 
Ibid., doc. 112, p. 227.

130 
Ibid., doc. 123, p. 244.

131 
Ibid., doc. 111, p. 222 (dated 15 July 1932).

132 
Ibid., doc. 163, p. 294 (dated 31 July/1 Aug. 1932).

133 
Die Deutschnationalen und die Zerstörung der Weimarer Republik: Aus dem Tagebuch von Reinhold Quaatz 1928–1933
, ed. Hermann Weiss and Paul Hoser, Munich, 1989, p. 199 (entry for 1 Aug. 1932). On the result for 31 July 1932, see Falter
et al.
,
Wahlen und Abstimungen
, pp. 41, 44.

134 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 479 (entry for 31 July 1932).

135 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 330 (entry for 1 Aug. 1932). See ibid., p. 331 (entry for 2 Aug. 1932): “We must gain power. And rule, show what we can do…Tolerating another government is deadly. Hitler sees things this way too.”

136 
Ibid., p. 332 (entry for 3 Aug. 1932).

137 
Ibid., p. 332 (entry for 4 Aug. 1932).

138 
Ibid., p. 333 (entry for 5 Aug. 1932). Baldur von Schirach (
Ich glaubte an Hitler
, Hamburg, 1967, p. 136) quoted Hitler as saying: “I want total power, now or never.”

139 
According to a draft letter by Schleicher to the
Vossische Zeitung
dated 30 Jan. 1934; Thilo Vogelsang, “Zur Politik Schleichers gegenüber der NSDAP 1932,” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 6 (1958), pp. 86–118 (quotation on p. 89).

140 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 334 (entry for 7 Aug. 1932).

141 
Ibid., p. 337 (entry for 11 Aug. 1932).

142 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 488 (entry for 10 Aug. 1932).

143 
Ibid., p. 488 (entry for 11 Aug. 1932).

144 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 338 (entry for 12 Aug. 1932).

145 
Notes by Meissner dated 11 Aug. 1932; Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat
, pp. 335–8 (quotation on p. 336).

146 
Quoted in Pyta,
Hindenburg
, p. 717.

147 
Cabinet meeting on 10 Aug. 1932;
Das Kabinett von Papen
, vol. 1, no. 99, pp. 377–86 (quotations on pp. 379, 385f.).

148 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 339 (entry for 13 Aug. 1932).

149 
See Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 139 (dated 13 Aug. 1932).

150 
On the course of the conversation see Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, pp. 222f. (quotations on p. 223); Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 340: Schleicher and Papen whispered in Hitler’s ear “as though he were a sick horse,” trying to get him to accept the vice-chancellorship. “They’re trying to wear us down,” Goebbels wrote. “That’s out of the question. Hitler is refusing…Papen wants to inform Hindenburg.” See also Pünder,
Politik in der Reichskanzlei
, p. 139 (dated 13 Aug. 1932).

151 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 340 (entry for 14 Aug. 1932).

152 
Memorandum from Meissner dated 13 Aug. 1932; first printed in Vogelsang,
Reichswehr, NSDAP und Staat
, pp. 479f.; also in Hubatsch,
Hindenburg und der Staat
, pp. 338f.;
Das Kabinett von Papen
, vol. 1, no. 101, pp. 391f. According to Meissner’s notes entitled “Hitlers Aufstieg zur Macht und seine Regierungszeit 1932–1935” (undated, post 1945), Hindenburg declared at the end of this conversation that he now had a better opinion of Hitler: “He’s fiery and passionate, but he’s a patriotic man with big plans and the best intentions.” IfZ München, ZS 1726. See also Meissner,
Staatssekretär
, pp. 239–41; Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 510f.; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, pp. 719f.

153 
This was also Goebbels’s opinion,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/2, p. 340 (entry for 14 Aug. 1932): “Hitler has been lured into a trap with Hindenburg.”

154 
Minutes of the talks dated 13 Aug. 1932, signed by Hitler, Frick and Röhm; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 51/222; reprinted in
Das Kabinett von Papen
, vol. 1, no. 102, pp. 393–6 (quotation on p. 395). Also in Hitler,
Reden, Schriften, Anordnungen
, vol. 5, part 1, doc. 167, pp. 300–2.