Berlin, May 1,
1939
The foundations for the life of a people are not to be
found in doctrines and theories, but in its Lebensraum, in what the earth
affords it for sustenance.
Hence,
Lebensraum cannot be regarded separately from the Lebenshohe (peak of
life) of a Volk. And this Lebensraum is not enough by itself-and this also is a
truly revolutionary realization-it must be complemented by a Volk’s diligence,
its energy, and its ability to manage to get the most out of its Lebensraum.
And a still greater insight: this necessitates a Volksgemeinschaft, even if
blood alone is insufficient for this. My Volksgenossen! No leader can command
greater strength than that accorded to him by his followers. What am I without
you?! If you refuse me your unanimous solidarity, what am I to do?! I am only
one man. I can possess the greatest good-will possible-my will is of no greater
worth to you than your will is worth to me!
How
petty are all other vain differences in our lives in view of this! How easily
is the individual deceived by vanity and notions of his own supreme importance,
my Volksgenossen! One man thinks a great deal of himself for one reason,
another for another reason. One prides himself on being ten centimeters taller
than the other, yet another is happy simply because he considers himself better
looking than the first. Yet another man thinks he looks even better because his
ancestors already looked better-nothing is proven, of course. Yet another man
holds himself to have an advantage because momentarily his purse is fuller than
that of another. I say “momentarily” for experience has shown this phenomenon
to mostly be short-lived.
Another
man yet says: “I have graduated from more classes than you have.
Do
you have degrees like those I have?”-“No.”-“Therefore I am worth more than you.
My degrees prove this conclusively.” So the story goes. So many men have
extremely important degrees furnishing the basis for their own personal brand
of arrogance.
How
ludicrous is all this in view of the common fate we all share and which hangs
so compellingly above all our heads! It is void of any significance before the
one truth that all of us either unite in our struggle to survive or perish together.
This applies just as much to the man with the so-called fatter purse as it does
to the man with an older family name and his ancestors, and the man with the
allegedly more thorough education. For better or for worse, we all depend on
one another.
And
to any man who fails to grasp this-I have no idea where he might be hiding
out-the attitude of the outside world toward us should serve as ample proof.
How do these people behave towards us? What can we expect of them? Are these
not once again the very same advocates of a strategy of encirclement, the very
same people who knew nothing but hatred in the year 1914? Yes, indeed, it is
once more the same clique of warmongers which haunted us back then already.
What can we expect of them, my Volksgenossen? I believe it is essential that
all Germans throw overboard these ridiculous prejudices insofar as remnants of
them exist yet today. It is imperative that we move closer together in the
conviction that together and united we can face off any danger. United we
stand, divided we fall.
Hence
we wish to educate our Volk in this spirit. And if one of those stubborn old
heads is driving me to despair, then all I need to do is look at his son to
regain hope. Even if all hope is lost with some of these old troublemakers (alte
Stankerer), the youth has already outgrown them-praise the Lord! This youth
represents a new breed of man, the type we hope to introduce to the future.
We
are doing everything that can be done in this educational undertaking.
True,
at times, we do overlook the so-called freedom of the individual in the
process. I can easily imagine one man or another saying: “It is beyond me why
my son should have to serve with the labor service just now. He was born for
something greater than that. Why should he now be running around with a spade
in his hand? Would it not be better if he exercised the powers of his intellect
instead?” For goodness sake, what is it precisely you understand as
“intellect,” my dear friend?! If your boy spends six months in the West
wielding his spade for the sake of Germany, it may well be that he is doing
Germany a greater service than your “intellect” could in a lifetime. And, above
all: he has contributed to the overcoming of the worst form of “intellectual”
confusion possible, namely, the inner fractures within a Volk. Of course, we
cannot simply say: “Oh, if he does not want to, he need not work.” Do you truly
believe that work at a chemical factory in one of the democracies is something
so infinitely more delightful? Do not come up to tell me: “Oh, truly, this is
the magic of work which smells so enticingly.” Assuredly not! It stinks, my
dear gentlemen! But a few hundred thousands of workers simply have to take this
on themselves and take it on themselves they do. Therefore, another can
assuredly take on himself to pick up the spade. And he will pick up this spade.
And
this brings up the problematic topic of liberty. Liberty? Insofar as the interests of the
Volksgemeinschaft permit the exercise of liberty by the individual, he shall be
granted this liberty. The liberty of the individual ends where it starts to
harm the interests of the collective. In this case the liberty of the Volk
takes precedence over the liberty of the individual.
By
the way, in no other state is intellectual work as highly esteemed as in ours.
I believe this is evident already in its leadership. In Germany, we
pride ourselves in having men head our state who can well withstand any type of
“intellectual” comparison to the representatives of any other state. Above the
liberty of the individual, however, there stands the liberty of our Volk. The
liberty of the Reich takes precedence over both.
The
commandment of the hour is the securing of German Lebensraum.
There
is no need for me to stress that we love peace above all. I know that a certain
international clique of journalists is spreading lies about us on a daily
basis, placing us under suspicion and committing libel against us. This does
not surprise me in the least. I know these creatures from back in the old days.
They, too, are export articles for which the German nation has no use. In the
American Union, a veritable campaign for boycotts against our German exports
has been organized. It would have been more intelligent, so I believe, had they
imported German goods instead of the most inferior German subjects.
Well,
at least, we can rejoice in having rid ourselves of these. How the people there
will handle them, that is truly their problem. We shall see to it that these
subjects do not pose an actual threat to us. I have taken the necessary
precautions. I still recall vividly my political “friends” from the days before
our rise to power. These fellows always insisted they knew no Fatherland. And,
indeed, this is true as they are Jews and have nothing to do with us. These
fellows now are reaffirming their attitudes and their pledges of old: they have
launched a campaign of hatred against Germany which they pursue with all
their might.
And
I? I arm with all my might! I love peace; my work perhaps best attests to this.
And in this I differ from these warmongers. What is it I have wrought and what
is it these elements are undertaking? There is a great Volk here for which I
bear responsibility. I am attempting to make this Volk both great and happy.
Enormous projects are being undertaken here: new industries are being born;
enormous buildings are undergoing construction. They are to serve the uplifting
of the Volk and to bear witness to our culture-not only here in Berlin, but also in a
multitude of other German cities. The things we have created in the course of
these years! The countless projects we have begun in these years! And so many
of them will take ten to twenty years to be completed! Therefore, I have cause
aplenty to desire peace. Yet, these warmongers need no peace. They neither
advance peace nor do they labor for it.
There
is no need for me to name names in this context. They are unknown international
scribblers. They are ever so clever! They are truly omniscient.
There
is only one thing that they failed to foresee, namely, my rise to power.
Even
in January 1933, they could simply not believe it. They also failed to foresee
that I was going to remain in power. Even in February 1934, they could simply
not believe it. They failed to foresee that I was going to liberate Germany. Even
in 1935 and 1936, they could simply not believe it. They failed to foresee that
I was going to liberate our German Volksgenossen and to return them home. Even
in 1937 and 1938, they could simply not believe it. They failed to foresee that
I was determined to liberate and return home the rest of them, too. Even in
February of this year, they could simply not believe it. They failed to foresee
that I was going to eliminate the unemployment afflicting seven million. Even
two, three years ago, they could simply not believe it. They failed to foresee
that I was going to implement the Four-Year Plan in Germany with success. This they
simply could not believe either. They foresaw nothing! And they know nothing
even today! These people have always been parasites. Lately I do not know, but
I have the feeling sometimes that they are a kind of cerebral parasite. They
know only too well what is happening in my brain, for instance. Whatever I say
today, as I stand before you, they knew of it yesterday already. And even if I
myself did not know of it yesterday-they did, these most excellent receptacles
of wisdom!
Actually, these creatures know everything. And, even if facts prove
their pronouncements blatant lies, they have the nerve to come up with new
pronouncements immediately. This is an old Jewish trick. It keeps the people
from having time for reflection. Should people truly reflect on all these
various prophecies, compare them to reality, then these scribblers would not
get a penny for their false reports. Therefore their tactic and trick is, once
one prophecy has been disproved, to come up with three new ones in its stead.
And so they keep on lying, according to a type of snowball-tactics, from
today until tomorrow, from tomorrow until the next day.
The
current version of this is the claim that 20,000 Germans have failed to land in
Morocco, although their imminent arrival had been reported earlier.
Instead
of landing in Morocco, they
have landed in Liberia.
Considering the initial report’s assertion that these landings were supposed to
be carried out by the Luftwaffe, it seems as though these planes have been
floating about in midair ever since and have now unwittingly gone down over Liberia. Should
no German be found in all of Liberia
eight days hence, they will no doubt maintain: “It was not Liberia, after all, but Madagascar
where they were heading.” And if this turns out to be wrong also-well, then it
must have been another place-I already have enumerated all the locations
allegedly threatened by us before the Reichstag.
The
warmongers who do not do anything and, in any event, cannot step before the
world to say: “I have created this or that!”-they are the men who are
attempting to plunge the rest of the world into disaster once again. And you
will understand, that I cannot possibly rely on assertions or declarations by
people who themselves are paid servants of these warmongers. No, indeed, I rely
exclusively on my German Volk-on you! Better safe than sorry. A declaration by
the League of Nations is all very well, but I prefer our freedom to be
guaranteed by the far more reliable fortifications protecting Germany in the
West. And this, too, is the product of the diligent work wrought by Germans
just as the inner attitude of our Volk is the product of the diligence and work
of millions of its most active members. There is the German peasant who,
loyally and bravely, assures bread for us by plowing his acres diligently and
honestly. There is the German worker who, loyally and bravely, goes to work at
the factory to assure other consumer goods for us earnestly and honestly. This
is the basis of our existence.
As
we reflect on the immense work done within these past six years, then I do
believe we have a right to appoint a day once a year on which we shall join
together to celebrate what we call the German Volksgemeinschaft. For this
conveys the meaning of the First of May: a day to celebrate the work of Germans
in the cities and in the countryside; a day to celebrate the creative man; a
day to celebrate our Volksgemeinschaft. My Movement vouches for the proper
education of our Volk! The German Wehrmacht vouches for its brave defense! And,
all of you whom I greet at this moment, you millions of Germans in the cities
and in the countryside, you who constitute the German Volksgemeinschaft, you
are the guarantors that it shall never again fall apart internally! To our
Greater German Reich and to our Volk, in East and West, and in North and South:
Sieg Heil!
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