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   Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume Two, Chapter XIV

                                                  [Page 740]
                                                            
B. PRIOR TO 1933, SCHACHT ACCEPTED THE NAZI PROGRAM AND
HELPED HITLER TO POWER.

Schacht met Goering for the first time in December 1930, and
Hitler early in January 1931, at Goering's house. He thought
that Hitler was "full of will and spirit" and a man "with
whom one could cooperate". Thereafter, he actively supported
Hitler's accession to power (725-PS; 3729-PS).

Schacht's belief in the Nazi program and his undivided
loyalty to Hitler are revealed in his letter to Hitler dated
29 August 1932 wherein he pledged continued support to
Hitler after the latter's poor showing in the July 1932
elections and proferred advice concerning electioneering
tactics. The letter includes the following statements, inter

     "But what you could perhaps do with in these days is a
     word of most sincere sympathy. Your movement is carried
     internally by so strong a truth and necessity that
     victory in one form or another cannot elude you for
     long. ***"
     
                           *******
     
     "Wherever my work may take me in the near future even
     if you should see me one day within the fortress -- you
     can always count on me as your reliable assistant." (EC-
     457).

Subsequently, on 12 November 1932, he again wrote to Hitler,
congratulating him upon his firm attitude and stating:

     "I have no doubt that the present development of things
     
                                                  [Page 741]
                                                            
     can only lead to your becoming chancellor. *** I am
     quite confident that the present system is certainly
     doomed to disintegration." (EC-456)

The fact that Schacht was in complete accord with Hitler's
program is further shown by the following entry of 21
November 1932, in Goebbels'

     "In a conversation with Dr. Schacht, I assured myself
     that he absolutely represents our point of view. He is
     one of the few who accepts the Fuehrer's position
     entirely." (2409-PS).

Schacht has himself confirmed the correctness of Goebbels'
statement (3729-PS).

But Schacht's contribution to Hitler before his accession to
power did not consist merely of comforting him, giving
advice, and expressing agreement with the Nazi program. He
was an active participant in Hitler's vigorous campaign to
take over the German state. Thus, he openly lent the
prestige of his name, which was widely known in banking,
financial, and business circles, to Hitler's cause (3729-
PS). He actively undertook to induce business leaders to
support Hitler. In his letter to Hitler 12 November 1932, he
wrote that:

     "It seems as if our attempt to collect a number of
     signatures from business circles for this purpose (your
     becoming Chancellor) was not altogether in vain ***."
     (EC-456)

He organized the financial means for the decisive March 1933
election, at a meeting of Hitler with a group of German
industrialists in Berlin. At this meeting, Hitler bluntly
announced his plans to destroy the parliamentary system in
Germany, to crush all internal opposition by force, to
restore the power of the Wehrmacht, and to gain his
objectives outside of Germany by the use of force. On this
occasion, Schacht collected a campaign fund of several
million Marks for Hitler's use (D-203; EC49).

In an eulogy of Schacht on the occasion of his sixtieth
birthday, the Voelkischer Beobachter, Hitler's official
organ, aptly described Schacht's activity in the period
before the 1933 election as follows:

     "In this critical period, Schacht never failed to point
     at Adolf Hitler as the only possible leader of the
     Reich."

     "The name of Dr. Schacht will remain linked with the
     transition of the German economy to the new National
     Socialist methods" (EC-499)
     

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