Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (181 page)

63 
Adolf Hitler,
Mein Kampf. Vol. 1: Eine Abrechnung
, 7th edition, Munich, 1933, p. 3.

64 
Cabinet meeting on 26 May 1933;
Die Regierung Hitler
, part 1, vol. 1, no. 142, p. 493. See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 194 (entry for 27 May 1933): “1,000 marks set as fee for a visa. That will topple Dollfuss.”

65 
See Jacobsen,
Nationalsozialistische Aussenpolitik
, pp. 406–8; Hildebrand,
Das vergangene Reich
, p. 594; Schmidt,
Die Aussenpolitik des Dritten Reiches
, p. 163. On “Austro-Fascism” see Ernst Hanisch,
Der lange Schatten des Staates: Österreichische Gesellschaftsgeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert
, Vienna, 1994, pp. 310–15.

66 
Heinrich Hoffmann,
Hitler wie ich ihn sah: Aufzeichnungen seines Leibfotographen
, Munich and Berlin, 1974, p. 61. A collection of newspaper cuttings on Hitler’s visit to Venice, with countless press photographs, in BA Koblenz, N 1310/56.

67 
Walter Rauscher,
Hitler und Mussolini: Macht, Krieg und Terror
, Graz, Vienna and Cologne, 2001, pp. 213f.; see also Gianluca Falanga,
Mussolinis Vorposten in Hitlers Reich: Italiens Politik in Berlin 1933–1945
, Berlin, 2008, pp. 46f.

68 
See Kurt Bauer,
Elementar-Ereignis: Die österreichischen Nationalsozialisten und der Juli-Putsch
1934
, Vienna, 2003.

69 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 83 (entry for 24 July 1934). See Peter Longerich,
Joseph Goebbels: A Biography
, London, 2015, p. 268; Kurt Bauer, “Hitler und der Juliputsch 1934 in Österreich: Eine Fallstudie zur nationalsozialistischen Aussenpolitik in der Frühphase des Regimes,” in
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte
, 59 (2011), pp. 193–227 (particularly pp. 208–13).

70 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 84 (entry for 26 July 1934).

71 
Friedelind Wagner,
Nacht über Bayreuth
, 3rd edition, Cologne, 1997, pp. 159f.; see Brigitte Hamann,
Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth
, Munich and Zurich, 2002, p. 286.

72 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 84 (entry for 26 July 1934).

73 
Franz von Papen,
Der Wahrheit eine Gasse
, Munich, 1952, p. 379f.

74 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 85 (entry for 28 July 1934).

75 
Rauscher,
Hitler und Mussolini
, p. 214.

76 
Jens Petersen,
Hitler–Mussolini: Die Entstehung der Achse Berlin–Rom 1933–1936
, Tübingen, 1973, p. 370. See Falanga,
Mussolinis Vorposten
, pp. 50f.

77 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 86 (entry for 30 July 1934).

78 
Colonel General Beck’s notes on a statement by Bülow on foreign policy, 30 July 1934; reprinted in Klaus-Jürgen Müller,
Armee und Drittes Reich 1933–1939: Darstellung und Dokumente
, Paderborn, 1987, pp. 280f.; see also Klaus-Jürgen Müller,
Generaloberst Ludwig Beck: Eine Biographie
, Paderborn, 2008, pp. 145f.

79 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 145 (entry for 30 Nov. 1934), p. 164 (entry for 6 Jan. 1935).

80 
Die Regierung Hitler
, vol. 2, part 1, no. 33, pp. 135f. (dated 1 Nov. 1934).

81 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 85 (entry for 28 July 1934).

82 
Ulrich von Hassell,
Römische Tagebücher und Briefe 1932–1938
, ed. Ulrich Schlie, Munich, 2004, p. 118 (dated 17 Jan. 1936).

83 
See Patrick von zur Mühlen, “
Schlagt Hitler an der Saar!”: Abstimmungskampf, Emigration und Widerstand im Saargebiet 1933–1945
, Bonn, 1979; Gerhard Paul,
“Deutsche Mutter—heim zu Dir!”: Warum es misslang, Hitler an der Saar zu schlagen. Der Saarkampf 1933 bis 1945
, Cologne, 1984.

84 
See Stöver,
Volksgemeinschaft im Dritten Reich
, pp. 179f.;
Deutschland-Berichte der Sopade
, 2 (1935), p. 151.

85 
Klaus Mann,
Tagebücher 1934 bis 1935
, ed. Joachim Heimannsberg, Peter Laemmle and Winfried F. Schoeller, Munich, 1989, p. 92 (entry for 15 Jan. 1935). On Golo Mann’s disappointment see Tilmann Lahme,
Golo Mann: Biographie
, Frankfurt am Main, 2009, pp. 114f. Count Harry Kessler noted: “A very surprising result and a great triumph for Hitler, whose position is much stronger both domestically and abroad.”
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 629 (entry for 15 Jan. 1935).

86 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 168 (entry for 16 Jan. 1935).

87 
Cabinet meeting on 24 Jan. 1935;
Die Regierung Hitler
, vol. 2, part 1, no. 84, p. 322.

88 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 484–8 (quotation on p. 485).

89 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 193 (entry for 2 March 1935).

90 
Ibid., p. 171 (entry for 22 Jan. 1935).

91 
See François-Poncet,
Als Botschafter in Berlin
, pp. 228f.; Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 481f.; Heinz Höhne,
Die Zeit der Illusionen: Hitler und die Anfänge des Dritten Reiches 1933–1936
, Düsseldorf, Vienna and New York, 1991, pp. 295f.

92 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 194 (entry for 6 March 1935). See ibid., p. 197 (entry for 10 March 1935): “The English have lost out. Revenge for the white paper. Cheers, Sir John Simon!”

93 
See Höhne,
Zeit der Illusionen
, p. 298; Schmidt,
Die Aussenpolitik des Dritten Reiches
, p. 169; Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 199 (entry for 14 March 1935): “Göring interview. Official announcement about our air forces…It’s out in the open now, and the sky won’t fall in.”

94 
François-Poncet,
Als Botschafter in Berlin
, p. 232.

95 
See Müller,
Generaloberst Ludwig Beck
, pp. 202–5; Ian Kershaw,
Hitler 1889–1936: Hubris
, London, 1998, pp. 548f.

96 
See Friedrich Hossbach,
Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler 1934–1938
, 2nd revised edition, Göttingen, 1965, pp. 81–3.

97 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 491–5 (quotation on p. 494).

98 
See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 201 (entry for 18 March 1935): “The Führer battled Blomberg over the number of divisions. He got his way: thirty-six.” In August 1942 Hitler recalled: “That was a battle I had with good old Fritsch the day universal conscription was re-introduced. Thirty-six divisions were drawn up!” Adolf Hitler,
Monologe im Führerhauptquartier 1941–1944: Die Aufzeichnungen Heinrich Heims
, ed. Werner Jochmann, Hamburg, 1980, p. 343, dated 16 Aug. 1942. Hitler likely confused Fritsch with Blomberg here.

99 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 201 (entry for 18 March 1935). See Wilhelm Brückner’s notebook dated 16 March 1935: “1.30 cabinet meeting. Universal conscription announced.” BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/1209. No minutes of the cabinet meeting seem to have been produced—at least there are none included in
Akten der Reichskanzlei: Die Regierung Hitler
, vol. 2, part 1.

100 
François-Poncet,
Als Botschafter in Berlin
, p. 234.

101 
Quoted in Richard J. Evans,
The Third Reich in Power 1933–1939
, London, 2005, p. 627. On 15 April 1935, a confectioner from Düsseldorf wrote to Hitler: “This hour has brought a lot of joy to us as former frontline soldiers. It touched every true German soldier’s heart.” BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 51/75.

102 
Deutschland-Berichte der Sopade
, 2 (1935), p. 279; see Ian Kershaw,
The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in the Third Reich
, Oxford, 1987, pp. 71. See also the report by the American consul general in Stuttgart, Samuel W. Honacker, dated 3 May 1935, stating that the re-introduction of compulsory military service was “enthusiastically received by the overwhelming part of the population.” Bajohr and Strupp (eds),
Fremde Blicke auf das “Dritte Reich,
” p. 426.

103 
See Joachim Fest,
Hitler: Eine Biographie
, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Vienna, 1973, p. 637; Kershaw,
Hitler: Hubris
, pp. 693f.; William S. Shirer,
Berliner Tagebuch: Aufzeichnungen 1934–41
, transcribed and ed. Jürgen Schebera, Leipzig and Weimar, 1991, pp. 35f. (entry for 17 March 1935).

104 
François-Poncet,
Als Botschafter in Berlin
, p. 235. See also Thomas Mann,
Tagebücher 1935–1936
, ed. Peter de Mendelssohn, Frankfurt am Main, 1978, p. 59 (entry for 17 March 1935) “The challenge is brutal. But it’s too late. We’ve already allowed too much to happen.”

105 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 200 (entry for 16 March 1935), pp. 201–2 (entry for 18 March 1935), p. 202 (entry for 20 March 1935) “I believe we’ll survive,” Hitler remarked to Alfred Rosenberg around this time. Hans-Günther Seraphim (ed.),
Das politische Tagebuch Alfred Rosenbergs aus den Jahren 1934/35 und 1939/40
, Göttingen, 1956, p. 76.

106 
Shirer,
Berliner Tagebuch
, p. 35 (entry for 16 March 1935). See Klemperer,
Tagebücher 1933–1941
, p. 190 (entry for 23 March 1935): “Hitler has declared the reintroduction of universal conscription. Abroad there have been some half-hearted protests, but people have swallowed this fait accompli. The result: Hitler’s regime is more stable than ever.”

107 
Quoted in Petersen,
Hitler–Mussolini
, p. 400; see also Falanga,
Mussolinis Vorposten
, p. 57.

108 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 218 (entry for 15 April 1935). See ibid., p. 219 (entry for 17 April 1935): “The only answer is to arm ourselves and act like good sports.”

109 
All quotations in Paul Schmidt,
Statist auf diplomatischer Bühne 1923–45: Erlebnisse des Chefdolmetschers im Auswärtigen Amt mit den Staatsmännern Europas
, Bonn, 1950, pp. 293–303. On the talks in Berlin on 25/26 March 1935 see also Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, pp. 206–8 (entries for 26 and 28 March 1935). From the British perspective, see Eden,
Angesichts der Diktatoren
, pp. 167–76. In contrast to the spring of 1934, Hitler made a negative impression on Eden, who found him more authoritarian and less eager to please (p. 168). Hitler gave a full report on the talks to his cabinet on 29 March 1935;
Die Regierung Hitler
, vol. 2, part 1, no. 132, p. 490.

110 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 208 (entry for 28 March 1935).

111 
Ibid., p. 211 (entry for 3 April 1935), p. 212 (entry for 5 April 1935).

112 
Ibid., p. 226 (entry for 5 May 1935).

113 
Ibid., p. 235 (entry for 21 May 1935). See ibid., p. 227 (entry for 5 May 1935), p. 229 (entry for 9 May 1935), p. 230 (entry for 11 May 1935), p. 231 (entry for 13 May 1935), p. 232 (entry for 15 May 1935), p. 233 (entry for 19 May 1935).

114 
Shirer,
Berliner Tagebuch
, p. 42 (entry for 21 May 1935). See Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 236 (entry for 23 May 1935): “The Führer was in top form.”

115 
Domarus,
Hitler
, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 505–14 (quotations on pp. 506, 507, 511, 512, 513).

116 
Hildebrand,
Das vergangene Reich
, p. 599.

117 
Kershaw,
Der Hitler-Mythos
, pp. 125f.

118 
Kessler,
Das Tagebuch
, vol. 9, p. 640 (entry for 25 May 1935). See ibid., p. 640 (entry for 26 May 1935): “You can’t deny that Hitler showed nerve and leadership ability here.”

119 
Hassell,
Römische Tagebücher und Briefe
, p. 127.

120 
Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 2/3, p. 359 (entry for 20 Jan. 1934).

121 
On the British–German talks see Schmidt,
Als Statist
, pp. 311–15 (quotations on pp. 311, 312); see also Joachim von Ribbentrop,
Zwischen London und Moskau: Erinnerungen und letzte Aufzeichnungen
, ed. Annelies von Ribbentrop, Leoni am Starnberger See, 1961, pp. 61–3.

122 
Ribbentrop,
Zwischen London und Moskau
, p. 64. See also Goebbels,
Tagebücher
, part 1, vol. 3/1, p. 249 (entry for 19 June 1935): “The Führer is completely happy. Huge success for Ribbentrop and all of us.”