February 20,
1938
My Deputies!
Men of the German Reichstag!
I know that you, and with you the German Volk,
expected to be called together for a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of
our take-over that you, as the duly elected representatives of the Reich, might
commemorate with me that so memory-laden beginning of a new historic departure
of our Volk.
The decision to convene the Reichstag today instead was made for two
reasons:
1. I held it to be fitting to make a number of personnel changes not prior
to, but after January 30; and
2. I felt it was necessary to bring about beforehand an urgently required
clarification regarding a certain aspect of our foreign relations.
For you all have good reason to expect that such a day will provide not
only a retrospective on the past, but also a glimpse into the future. Both of
these shall be the objective and the content of my speech to you today.
When, at noon of January 30 five years ago, Reich President and Field
Marshal von Hindenburg entrusted to me the chancellorship and hence the
leadership of the Reich, we National Socialists perceived this to constitute a
turning point for the fate of Germany.
The day I entered the building on the Wilhelmsplatz as the head of the largest opposition party and emerged as the Fuhrer and
Chancellor of the nation was a turning point in the history of our Volk, then,
now, and for all time to come.
When in a country hundreds of thousands of peasants are faced with the loss
of their buildings and land-when hundreds of thousands of industrial workers
lose their daily bread-when tens of thousands of companies are forced to close
their gates, and their staff and workers are dismissed-when an army of more
than six million unemployed, which is steadily increasing, weighs ever heavier
on the finances of the Reich, the Lander and the communities, and in spite of
this support can scarcely afford the bare necessities of life-when a spiritual
proletariat evolves for which the education they have enjoyed turns out to be
more a curse than a blessing when old, flourishing industrial cities decay, and
large sectors virtually begin to become extinct for lack of markets for their
products-when in others, the children do not have teeth at three or four years
old as a result of horrendous poverty and its ensuing undernourishment-when
neither bread nor milk can be procured for them-when the remark of a
hardhearted foe to the effect that twenty million people too many are living in our German
Volk is nearly proven true by the horrors of reality, then such a Volk will not
cry out for journalistic scribes or parliamentary gabblers; it will not cry out
for investigation committees, for international debates, for ridiculous
referenda, or for the shallow clichés of foreign and domestic socalled
“statesmen!” No! It cries out for the action that will bring salvation, beyond
talk and stupid newspaper articles. It has no interest in the literary
treatises of drawing-room-Bolshevist international correspondents; its interest
lies solely in the help which will jerk it back from the outermost edge! And
above all: he who feels himself called upon to take on the task of leading a
Volk in such an hour is not responsible to the laws of parliamentary procedure,
nor is he under obligation to a certain democratic standpoint; he is bound
exclusively to the mission assigned to him. And he who interferes with this
mission is an enemy of the people-regardless of whether he attempts to
interfere as a Bolshevist, a democrat, a revolutionary terrorist, or a
reactionary dreamer.
In such a time of crisis, he who lazily meanders across the land quoting
the Bible and spending the live-long day either doing nothing or criticizing
the actions of others, is not acting in the name of God; instead, it is he who
lends his prayer the most sacred form which connects a man to his God: labor!
And when today I account for myself before the German Volk, I can proudly and
openly face all those hundreds of thousands and millions who are forced to work
themselves to earn their daily bread in the city and the country.
In these past five years, I too have been a worker. Yet my personal
concerns were multiplied by the concern for the existence and the future of
sixty-eight million others. And just as these others rightly refuse to tolerate
that their work is disrupted by good-for-nothings or layabouts, I too refused
to tolerate that my work be obstructed by good-for-nothings, n’er-do-wells, or
malicious or lazy elements.
I had a right here to turn against anyone who, instead of doing his part,
regarded his mission as consisting solely in the critical observation and
appraisal of our work. Neither does faith relieve one of the obligation to fall
into line with the work of those who are accomplishing the salvation of a
nation. The fact that I had a right to protect my work and the work of all of
us from such public troublemakers is something I would now like to document in
the fruits of this work. They are undisputed, yet above all: they are all the
more remarkable because, in most cases, I did not have the models of past
achievements to rely upon as examples; I had only my own sound common sense and
the earnest desire to never capitulate before obstacles, but instead to spite
them with courage and bravery.
At this time I would also like to make another observation: if today
Germany has in fact been rescued economically, the German Volk owes this solely
to its own leadership and its own effort. Foreign countries have had no part in
this at all. With the exception of hate-filled rejection or a stupid knowall
manner, we are aware of nothing which could even be seen as a positive interest
for Germany, not to mention help.
[…]
Allow me now to give you a short excerpt from our economic life which
proves in plain figures whether and to what extent National Socialism has
solved these problems.
And when I now round out this picture of the upswing of German life which I
wish to show you, using only very few proofs and figures taken from the huge
number available, I can find no closing more splendid than the one illustrated
in our increasing number of births! In the year 1932, 970,000 children were
born. This figure was increasing annually and reached the mark of 1,270,000 in
1937. All told, since National Socialism took power, approximately 1,160,000
more children have been bestowed upon the German Volk! Not only are they a reason
for us to be proud of our German women; they are also a reason to be grateful
to our Providence. To enable the nation to accomplish its incomparable work in
peace, 1,160,000 young new Volksgenossen were bestowed upon it in the space of
five years, living proof of the tremendous work of the National Socialist
uplifting of our Volk and the blessing of our Lord God.
My Deputies! Men of the Reichstag! In this very brief excerpt, I have
attempted, by presenting stark and plain figures, to lay before you and the
German Volk documentary evidence for the work of construction, a work which is
unique in terms both of its dimensions and its effect. My entire staff and I
myself-and with us the entire German Volk-can be proud of five years in which
such gigantic achievements were accomplished in every area of our economic
life. How ridiculous, in comparison, is the criticism of all those who have
nothing to offer in the face of the National Socialist work of reconstruction
other than the mumbling (Gestammel) of their stupidity or their
spitefulness!
In the past few weeks, you have been hearing certain foreign journalists
with their, for us, simply incomprehensible talk, in which they claim-in
1938-that the influence of National Socialism has just spread to the Foreign
Office, or that at present there is a struggle going on between the Reichswehr-
the fact that, in the meantime, there is a German Wehrmacht is something these
miserable wretches (armselige Tropfe) have apparently missed out on- and
the Party, or that the National Socialist “wing” is about to draw the economy
into its sphere of influence, and more of the same nonsense. How little they
understand the essence of our National Socialist Revolution!
Thus within the space of but a few years, National Socialism has
compensated for what centuries before it had omitted, and put right what
countless generations before it had done wrong.
One of these accomplishments [of National Socialism] is above all the
formation of a leadership of the Volk and State that is as far removed from
parliamentary democracy as it is from a military dictatorship. In National
Socialism, the Volk has been given the leadership which, as a party, has not
only mobilized but also organized the nation, and organized it such that the
supremely natural principle of selection would appear to indicate that the
continued existence of a secure political leadership is guaranteed. And this is
perhaps one of the proudest chapters in the history of the past five years.
Contrary to what a small international scribe perhaps believes, National
Socialism did not conquer the Foreign Ministry in Germany on February 4; it has
possessed Germany in its entirety since that day I emerged from the building on
the Wilhelmsplatz five years ago as Reich is Chancellor, and possessed it
totally and without exception. There is not a single institution in this state
which is not National Socialist. [-] In terms of leadership, the greatest
safeguard of the National Socialist Revolution at home and abroad lies in the fact
that the National Socialist Party encompasses, in a comprehensive sense, the
Reich and all its facilities and institutions. The Reich’s protection against
the world, on the other hand, lies in the new National Socialist Wehrmacht.
Party Comrades! At this time eighteen years ago, I first announced the
program of the Party.
Back then, in the time of utter German humiliation, of the greatest
impotence and unimaginable misery, I proclaimed the goal of the National
Socialist Party as being, among other things, the elimination of the mercenary
army forced upon us by the Treaty of Versailles, and the formation of a great,
strong German Volksheer.
It was as an unknown German soldier at the front that I put together this
bold program, fighting for it for fourteen years in opposition to a world of
domestic foes and foreign haters, and in the space of five years I have now
turned it into reality! I do not need to go into detail on this, the greatest
accomplishment of the new Reich. I only want to announce the following: The
German peace army has been assembled! A tremendous German Luftwaffe is
protecting our homeland! A new power at sea is protecting our shores! In the
midst of a gigantic increase in our general production, it has been possible to
build up an armament beyond compare! If it serves
as an inner comfort to the wise men abroad, then as far as we are concerned,
let them believe that there are God knows how many disputes between the
Wehrmacht and National Socialism in Germany. We would be the last to deprive
them of this type of inner self-satisfaction. Yet if they should ever come to
other conclusions beyond these, let them be told the following: In Germany
there is no such thing as the problem of the National Socialist State and the
National Socialist Party, nor of the National Socialist Party and the National
Socialist Wehrmacht. In this Reich, everyone who holds any type of responsible
position is a National Socialist! Every man wears the sovereign symbol of
National Socialism on his brow. Every
institution in the Reich is under the command of the supreme political
leadership, and all the institutions of this Reich are sworn to and united in
the will and the resolve to represent this National Socialist Germany and, if
necessary, to defend it to their last breath. May you not be persuaded to
believe otherwise by those elements who have already revealed themselves in
Germany to be the worst prophets. The Party is leading the Reich politically
and the Wehrmacht is defending this Reich militarily. Every institution in this
Reich has its appointed task, and there is no one in any responsible position
in this state who has any doubt that I am the authorized leader of this Reich
and that the nation has given me a mandate, by virtue of its trust, to
represent it at all times and at all places.
Just as the German Wehrmacht is dedicated to this National Socialist State
in blind faith and blind obedience, this National Socialist State and its
leading Party are likewise proud of and pleased with our Wehrmacht. In it we see
the crowning glory of a National Socialist education which captivates the
German man from youth onwards. What he learns in the political organizations
and in his political and spiritual attitude is supplemented here by the
training and education to become a soldier. In this hour I cannot help paying
tribute to those men who, as trustees of the Wehrmacht, the Army, the
Navy, and the Luftwaffe, have helped me to shape this magnificent instrument.
I was forced to respect the wish of Field Marshal von Blomberg that, upon
the completion of the first great phase of formation, his weakened health [!]
be spared, now that there have been so many aggravations in his private life.
However, at this time I would like to express my thanks and the thanks of
the German Volk for the so infinitely faithful and loyal work this soldier has
accomplished for the new Reich and its Wehrmacht. In history, this work will
never again be able to be divorced as such from the history of the founding of
this Reich. The same applies to the work and outstanding achievements of
Colonel General Fritsch. And of all those who, in an utterly noble spirit,
placed their positions at the disposal of younger political and military
personnel within the scope of the rejuvenation of our political and military
leadership corps.
We know what the 100,000-man army of the former Reichswehr accomplished in
the way of prerequisites for the so very swift rearmament of the German
Wehrmacht. Yet we also know that, to accomplish the new and tremendous tasks,
an ever-replenished stream of young men is required. And above all we know that
the tasks of the future will necessitate a stronger consolidation of the
political and military power of the Reich than was perhaps requisite in the
past. Therefore my decision, following Field Marshal von Blomberg’s retirement,
to exercise my power of command over the three branches of the Wehrmacht
first-hand and put the Wehrmacht Office, as the Highest Command of the
Wehrmacht, under my personal control, is one which I hope will enable us to
achieve within the shortest space of time that reinforcement of our military
instrument of power which the general circumstances of our time indicate to be
advisable today.
There is one promise I would like to make before the German Volk today as
its elected Fuhrer: as much as we are attached to peace, we are just as
attached to our honor and the inalienable rights of our Volk. As much as I
advocate peace, I will just as strongly ensure that never again will that
instrument of our Volk be weakened or much less taken away which, in my
opinion, is the only means which can most safely and successfully preserve the
peace in these so troubled times! And as much as I can convey to the world the
promise of the German Volk’s sincere and deep love for peace, 1 am just as
determined not to leave any doubt that this love of peace has nothing to do
with either limp surrender or dishonorable cowardice.
If ever the international smear campaign and well-poisoning should attempt
to disrupt the peace of our Reich, steel and iron shall stand up for the German
Volk and the German homeland. And then the world will instantly (blitzschnell)
see how very much this Reich-Volk, Party, and Wehrmacht-is filled with one
spirit and zealously fanaticized in one will. In other respects, it is not my
intention to take a special stand for the honorable German Officers’ Corps
against the slander of a certain international journalism. Moreover, there is
no reason to do so. For journalists happen to be divided into two different
types of people: those who love the truth, and on the other hand hypocritical,
inferior swindlers, traitors to the peoples, and warmongers. But there is only one
type of German officer!
Our reason for not being in the League of Nations lies in our belief that
it is not an institution of justice, but more an institution for the defense of
the injustice of Versailles. [-] Were the League of Nations to last for one
hundred years, this would lead- because it is obviously incapable of grasping
historic or economic necessities and of meeting the resultant demands; and
conversely because the interests of the peoples, as far as concerns their
existence or non-existence, are ultimately stronger than formal
considerations-to a strange situation in the world.
For in the year 2036, new nations might very easily have been established
or others become things of the past without Geneva having been capable of
registering this new state of affairs.
Germany was once forced, by virtue of its membership in the League of
Nations, to take part in one such unreasonable action. In what threatened to
become the second such case, it was able, as a result of its withdrawal from
the League-thanks and praise be to God-to act in accordance with reason and
fairness. However, gentlemen, today I wish to inform you that I have now
resolved to make the necessary correction dictated by history in the first case
as well. Germany will recognize Manchukuo. I have decided to take this step in
order to here, too, draw the final line between a policy of the fantastically
inconceivable and one of sober respect for the facts of reality.
Hence, in Summary I would like to declare once more that Germany-and above
all following Italy’s withdrawal from the League of Nations-has no further
intention whatsoever to ever return to this institution.
We perceive Bolshevism, even more than in the past, as the incarnation of
the human drive for destruction.
[…]
Since Great Britain quite frequently proclaims through the mouthpieces of
its responsible statesmen that it is interested in maintaining the status quo
in the world, then this should also apply there.
Every Bolshevization of a European country constitutes a change in this
status quo. For these Bolshevized territories are then no longer autocratic
states with a national life of their own, but sections in the Muscovite Center
of Revolution. I am aware that Mr. Eden does not share this view. Mr. Stalin
shares it, and openly admits it, and in my opinion, at present Mr. Stalin is
personally a more reliable expert on and interpreter of Bolshevist ideas and
intentions than a British minister!
No matter when and no matter how the events in the Far East come to their
ultimate conclusion, in its position of defense against Communism, Germany will
always regard and value Japan as a safeguarding factor-namely, in safeguarding
human civilization. [-] The friendship between Germany and Italy has gradually
evolved for certain reasons to become a factor serving to stabilize European
peace. The relations of both states to Japan comprises the largest obstacle by
far to a further penetration of Russian Bolshevist violence.
I am also no longer prepared to sit idle and tolerate that unrestrained
method of constantly denigrating and insulting our country and our Volk. From
now on we will respond, and respond with National Socialist thoroughness. What
has been strewn about only these past few weeks in the way of altogether crazy,
stupid and reckless allegations about Germany is simply outrageous. What can
one possibly say, when Reuters invents attacks on my life, and English
newspapers talk about huge waves of arrests in Germany, about the closing of
the German borders to Switzerland, Belgium, France, etc.; when yet other
newspapers report that the Crown Prince has fled Germany, or that a military
putsch has taken place in Germany; that German generals have been taken
prisoner, and on the other hand that German generals have stationed themselves
with their regiments in front of the Reich Chancellery; that a quarrel has
broken out between Himmler and Goring on the Jewish question, and as a result I
am in a difficult predicament; that a German general has established contact
with Daladier via intermediaries; that a regiment has mutinied in Stolp; that
2,000 officers have been dismissed from the army; that the entire German
industrial sector has just received orders to mobilize for war; that there are
extremely strong differences between the Government and private industry; that
twenty German officers and three generals have fled to Salzburg; that fourteen
generals have fled to Prague with Ludendorff’s corpse; and that I have
completely lost my voice, and the resourceful Dr. Goebbels is presently on the
lookout for a man capable of imitating my voice to allow me to speak from
gramophone records from now on. I take it that tomorrow this journalistic
zealot of truth will either contest that I am really here today or claim that I
had only made gestures, while behind me the Reich Minister of Propaganda ran
the gramophone.
In a recent speech, Mr. Eden waxed eloquently on the various liberties in
his country. However, one particular liberty was left out: the liberty of
journalists to insult and slander other peoples, their institutions, men and
governments without reprimand or restriction! One thing which increased-if this
is even possible-our liking for Italy is the fact that there, the leadership of
state and the policies of the press go hand in hand, instead of letting the
leadership of state talk about understanding while the press is launching a
smear campaign in the other direction! This chapter on the disruption of
international relations should also include the audacity to write letters to a
foreign head of state with the request for information on court judgments. I recommend that the deputies of the British House of Commons concern
themselves with the verdicts of British courts-martial in Jerusalem instead of
with the judgments of German people’s courts. While we might be able to
understand an interest in German traitors, it does not help to improve the
relations between England and Germany.
Furthermore, let no one delude himself that he might be able to influence
German courts or the German penal system by such tactless meddling. In any
case, I will not allow deputies of the German Reichstag to worry themselves with
the affairs of British justice. The interests of the British world empire are
certainly quite extensive, and we recognize them as such. But as regards the
concerns of the German Volk and Reich, the German Reichstag and I myself as the
delegate of the Reichstag decide, and not a delegation of English
letterwriters.
I think it would be a commendable deed were one able to internationally
outlaw not only the dropping of toxic, incendiary, and explosive bombs on the
civilian population, but above all to ban the distribution of newspapers which
have a worse effect on the relations between the states than toxic or
incendiary bombs could ever have.
Since this international smear campaign of the press must naturally be
interpreted not as a reconciling element, but as one presenting a threat to
international peace, I have resolved to undertake the reinforcements of the
German Wehrmacht which will lend us the certainty that this wild threat of war
against Germany will not one day be transformed into a bloody reality.
These measures have been in progress since February 4 of this year and will
he continued with speed and determination.
The strong yearning for true neutrality which we have been able to observe
in a number of European states fills us with deep and sincere satisfaction. We
believe that we can interpret this as a sign of increasing reconciliation and
hence increasing security. Yet on the other hand, we are also aware of the
painful consequences of the confusion introduced to the European map and the economic
and political constellation of the peoples by the insane act of Versailles. Two
of the states at our borders alone encompass a mass of over ten million
Germans. Until 1866, they were still united with the German race as a whole in
a political federation. Until 1918, they fought shoulder to shoulder with the
soldiers of the German Empire in the Great War. Against their own free will,
they were prevented from uniting with the Reich by virtue of the peace
treaties. This is painful enough in and of itself. Yet let there be no doubt in
our minds about one thing. The separation from the Reich under public law must
not lead to a situation in which the races are deprived of rights; in other
words, the general rights of volkisch self-determination-which, incidentally,
were solemnly guaranteed to us in Wilson’s Fourteen Points as a prerequisite
for the Armistice-cannot simply be ignored because this is a case concerning
Germans! In the long run, it is unbearable for a world power to know that there
arc Volksgenossen at its side being constantly subjected to the most severe
suffering because of their sympathy or affiliation with their race, its fate,
and its world view! We well know that it is scarcely possible to establish
borders in Europe which will satisfy everyone. Hence it would be all the more
important to avoid unnecessarily tormenting national minorities in order not to
add to the pain of political separation the further pain of persecution for
belonging to a certain Volkstum. The fact that it is possible, given good
intentions, to find ways to achieve a balance or lessen the tension, has been
proven.
Yet he who wields force in attempting to prevent a balance from being
achieved in Europe in that the tensions are lessened will at some point inevitably call violence into play between the peoples.
It cannot be denied that, as long as Germany was powerless and defenseless, it
had no choice but to tolerate this unremitting prosecution of German beings at
its borders. However, just as England looks after its interests in every corner
of the earth, modern Germany, too, shall know how to look after and protect
its-albeit much more limited-interests. And these interests of the German Reich
include protecting those German Volksgenossen who are not, of their own power, in
a position to secure for themselves on our borders the right to general human,
political, and weltatnschaulich freedom! In the fifth year following the
first great foreign policy agreement of the Reich, it fills us with true
satisfaction to be able to say that, particularly as regards our relations with
the state with which we would perhaps have the greatest differences, not only
have tensions lessened; moreover, in the course of these past years, an ever
friendlier rapprochement has come about. I well know that this was due first
and foremost to the fact that, at the time, Warsaw did not have a Western
parliamentarianism but a Polish Marshal who, being an outstanding figure,
sensed how very significant a lessening of German-Polish tensions was for Europe.
The work of that time, which many questioned, has proven itself in the interim;
and I may well say that, when the League of Nations finally abandoned its
unremitting attempts to cause disruption in Danzig and furthermore appointed a
new commissioner who was a man of personal
stature, this very spot that presented the greatest threat to European peace
lost its dangerous significance.
The Polish nation respects the national conditions in this state, and this
city and Germany both respect Polish rights. Hence it was possible to pave the
way for an understanding which, starting with Danzig, has been capable of
completely removing the poison from the relationship between Germany and
Poland, transforming it into one of truly friendly cooperation-despite the attempts
of troublemakers here and there.
I am pleased to be able to tell you, gentlemen, that within the past few
days a further settlement has been reached with the country with which we have
a special affinity for various reasons. Not only is it the same Volk; it also
has a long, kindred history and a shared culture which link the Reich and
German-Austria.
The difficulties arising in connection with the execution of the July 11
agreement necessitated that the attempt be made to do away with misunderstandings
and obstacles to a final reconciliation. For it was obvious that a situation
that had become intolerable in and of itself would one day, with or without
premeditation, be capable of evolving into a very grave catastrophe. It is
usually no longer within the power of human beings to bring the wheels of
fortune to a halt once they have been put in motion by neglect or lack of
circumspection! I am happy to be able to note that these ideas also coincided
with the views of the Austrian Chancellor, whom I had invited to see me. The
idea and intention were to bring about a lessening of the tensions in our
relations by granting to that part of the German-Austrian Volk which is
National Socialist in terms of its views and Weltanschauung those rights within
the limits of the law which are the same as those to which other citizens are
entitled.
In this context, a great pacification shall come about in the form of a
general amnesty and a better understanding between the two states, prompted by
closer amicable relations in the various sectors of political, personal and
concrete economic cooperation-all of which is a supplement to the agreement of
July 11. At this time, I would like to express before the German Volk my
sincere gratitude to the Austrian Chancellor for the great consideration and
warm-hearted readiness with which he accepted my invitation and endeavored,
with me, to find a solution doing equal justice to the interests of both
countries and the interests of the German race as a whole, that German race whose
sons we all are, no matter where the cradle of our homeland stood. I believe
that we have thereby also made a contribution to European peace.
The most conclusive proof for the accuracy of this assertion lies in the
outraged anger of those democratic world citizens who, although they are always
talking about peace, never miss an opportunity to agitate for war. They are
infuriated and incensed by this act of reconciliation. Hence one has every
reason to assume that it is good and right.
Perhaps this example may serve to bring about a gradual lessening of
tension in Europe on a larger scale. Germany in any case, supported by its
friendships, will do everything to preserve that possession which constitutes
the prerequisite for the tasks we envision for the future: peace.
My Party Comrades, I may assure you here once more that our relations with
the other European and nonEuropean states are either good and normal or very
friendly. I need only draw attention to our altogether warm friendship with,
for instance, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and many other states. Our foreign
trade balance has given you a vivid picture of the magnitude of our economic
cooperation with other peoples. The main emphasis lies on our cooperation with
the two major powers which, like Germany, have
recognized Bolshevism to be a world menace and are thus resolved to counter the
Comintern movement with a united defense. It is my utmost desire that this
cooperation with Italy and Japan may grow ever more intense. In other respects,
we gladly welcome any lessening of tension that can be brought about in the
general political situation.
For no matter how great the achievements of our Volk, we have no doubt that
the positive effects for the well-being of all might be increased if international
cooperation could be intensified. With every shred of its being, the German
Volk is not a warlike, but a soldierly Volk; i.e. it does not desire war, yet
it does not fear it, either. It loves peace, but it equally cherishes its honor
and its liberty. Fifteen terrible years which lie behind us are both a warning
and a lesson which, in my opinion, the German nation will forever heed and
never again forget.
My Party Comrades! Deputies! Men of the Reichstag! It is to you who once
established for me the foundation for my work by ratifying the Enabling Act, that I have accounted for five historic years in the life of the German
Volk. I cannot conclude without having assured you of how great my confidence
is in the future of the Volk and Reich we all so dearly love.
What once moved me as an unknown soldier to take up the battle for the
German resurrection was, at the very bottom, faith in the German Volk. A faith
not in its institutions, nor in its societal order and social classes, in its
parties, in its governmental or political power, but a faith in the eternal
inner values of this Volk. And above all, a faith in those millions of
individual men and women who-just as I was in the past-are merely nameless
pillars upon which rests the community of our life and Volk. It was for it,
too, that I endeavored to build up this new Reich. For this Reich shall belong
neither to a certain class, nor to a certain rank: it shall be the sole
property of the German Volk. The Reich shall help it to more easily find its life-path
on this earth and enable it to make its existence more pleasant. What I
summoned to life during this time does not claim to be an end in itself.
Nothing is or ever will be immortal. What remains for us is the body of flesh
and blood called the German Volk. The Party, the State, the Wehrmacht, and the
economy are all institutions and functions which are valuable only as being a
means to an end.
In the eyes of history, they will be judged on the basis of the services
they performed toward this goal.
Yet their goal is always the Volk. They are short-lived phenomena compared
to those which alone are everlasting. To serve these latter with all my might
has been and continues to be my life’s good fortune. To me, it is a pleasurable
duty to thank the many outstanding members of my staff without whom this work
could never have been accomplished. In this hour I would like only to ask the
Lord God that, in the years to come as well, He might bestow His blessings upon
our work and our actions, our insight and our resolve; that He might allow us
to find the straight and narrow path which He, in His wisdom, has assigned to
the German Volk; and that He might always grant us the courage to do what is
right and never to falter or retreat from any form of force or danger.
Long live the National Socialist Movement, long live the National Socialist
Army, long live our German Reich!
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