Office of Strategic Services HITLER by Konrad Heiden
In the life history of Adolf Hitler no mention is ever made of the
grandparents on his father's side; the details invariably refer only
to his mother's relations. There are many things to suggest that
Adolf Hitler's grandfather was not Johann Georg Hiedler, but an
unknown one.
(Hitler - Heiden-p. 8)
Alois Hitler has been described as a stern, correct, industrious,
punctual, and clear-headed man; in many things, the exact
opposite of his son. In his struggle to attain the dignity of an
official is expressed the yearning and the fear of life of that
huge section of the population which was later to support
National Socialism. Alois Hitler, with his longing for rank
and an assured livelihood [unreadable] part of the Hitler
movement.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 8)
His father wanted him to study. He was to be a higher-grade
civil servant. Adolf did not want this. "I felt sick and bored
at the thought of having one day to sit in an office, deprived
of freedom, no longer master of my own time, but forced to
expend the energies of a lifetime in filling up forms." This
horror of regular work remained with him. But he never
ventured to oppose his father openly: II could be rather
reserved about my private views; there was no need to
contradict at once every time. My own firm determination
never to become an official sufficed to reassure me inwardly."
(Hitler-Heiden-p, 11)
...Of course, I always got the worst of it in such arguments;
since the old gentleman proceeded to exert his authority
unsparingly; so in future I held my tongue" --opposition
cringed once more before the paternal stick -- but I put my
threat into practice."
(Hitler-Heiden -p. 11)
"...What I enjoyed, I learned--above all, anything which,
in my opinion, might be of use to me later, when I was a
painter. Anything which seemed to me meaningless from this
point of view or which otherwise did not attract me I
sabotaged completely."
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 11-12)
Meanwhile his performance at school became worse and
worse, and the conflict with his father more and more
acute. Alois Hitler had a stroke when his son was twelve
years of age. His most fervent desire--namely, to procure
his son a means of livelihood which would safeguard him
from the hardships of his own career--certainly did not
at that time seem likely to be granted. Alois Hitler dies
full of doubts as to his son's future.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 12)
Hitler did not, however, pass his final examination. Whether
he failed or whether he never took it he does not make clear.
He only admits that he had to atone later for "what I had
hitherto neglected at the Realschule out of defiance." For
five years he lived with his mother, who, to judge by the
portraits of her, was a beautiful and lovable woman;
according to his own testimony, he was very fond of her
and wore her picture on his breast in the field.
The mother spoilt her scapegrace son; for five years he
lounged about the house idly and aimlessly as a "mother's
pet" in "soft down" and the "hollowness of an easy life,"
frittering and dreaming away his youthful existence.
(Hitler-Heiden-p, 13)
...Among these dregs of society he learned to know the
people as a factor in politics; on this human refuse a
precocious youth formed his lasting conceptions of the
value of humanity and the folly of the masses.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 16)
Hanisch describes the young Hitler as unpractical and
with a distaste for work; he found an opportunity to earn
money only when some other person helped him; thus the
young man was, to a great extent, himself to blame for
his material distress.
Hanisch relates that whenever the young Adolf had earned
a few kronen, he gave up work, seated himself in a cheap
cafe, and regaled the guests with political harangues. He
had a talent for lecturing, however, and they were content
to listen.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 16)
Shrewd sentences, especially for an orator. But also telltale,
especially for a prophet. This is perhaps the most illuminating
passage that Hitler has ever written about himself. It reveals
the fanatical narrow-mindedness of a man who only wants to
learn what he already knows, only courts the pleasant sensation
of being in the right.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 18)
But the most important thing that Hitler perceived in Lueger, the
never-to-be-forgotten lesson he learned from him, was this:
"In the same way he was disposed to make use of any available
means of power to secure the favor of any existing powerful
institutions, in order that he might derive from these old
sources of strength the greatest possible advantage for his
own movement."
Gaining over of classes whose existence is threatened! Secure
the favor of any existing powerful institutions!
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 22)
"My inward aversion to the Hapsburg state grew more and
more during those years.
"The conviction gained ground in me that this form of State
could only bring disaster to the German nationality.
"The racial conglomeration which ruled the Imperial capital
was repugnant to me. Equally repugnant was the whole national
hotchpotch of Czechs, Hungarians, Ruthenians, Serbs, Croat,
etc.--and in the midst of it all that eternal split fungus of
humanity, Jews and again Jews.
"The huge city seemed to me the embodiment of incest."
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 23)
"The struggle of the year 1914 was, forsooth, not forced on
the masses, but desired by the whole people." Desired by the
whole people? No, but by a class, which might be termed the
Hitler class: "To myself those hours came like a redemption
from the vexatious experiences of my youth. Even to this day
I am not ashamed to say that, in a transport of enthusiasm, I
sank down on my knees and thanked heaven from an overflowing
heart..."
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 26)
The editor of the History of the List Regiment, D. Fridolin
[unreadable]., says in reference to this: "Since 1915 the
statement had been repeated in almost every published work
on the subject that the List men sang the Deutschland song
during the attack on Ypres. This is a historical error. The List
men sang the defiant old German song: Die Wacht am Rhein."
(Hitler-Heiden-p.27)
...his captain said: "I'll never make that hysterical fellow
an officer!"
Subordination he took seriously down to the smallest details:
"To respect one's superior officers, never to contradict, to
submit blindly"--that is his ideal, as he declared before...
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 29)
His failure in personal intercourse misled him more and
more into contempt for his fellow-men. This contempt
increased in proportion as he discovered how amenable
these men were to simple tricks. He observed the effect
of broadsheets which the enemy smuggled in among the
German troops; and at the same time he observed the
ineffectiveness of Germany's own propaganda among her
own people;
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 31)
One of the earliest National Socialists, Dr. Georg [unreadable]
declared: "Hitler is the opposite of a man of brains. He is a
man of heart, a man of blood, a babbler of dreams."
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 37)
The great modern mass-parties, first and foremost the
Fascist, have rediscovered an old historical truth which
seemed long since buried: that men often and masses almost
always pay service not to their interests but to their illusions.
This fact is something greater and mightier than mere folly
or deception; it is based on the human craving for devotion
and self-sacrifice, which play as big a part in history as
hunger and love. Hitler is not lying when he proudly declares
that he has demanded nothing but sacrifices from his adherents.
(Hitler-Heiden-p. 41)
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
[
Index |
Next ]
Home ·
Site Map ·
What's New? ·
Search
Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.
Hitler Source Book
Hitler
by Konrad Heiden
(Part 1 of 4)