‘So this, I believe, can be our message to other peoples on this great day. You do not have to be afraid that we want anything of you. We are proud enough to confess that we already own a treasure, one you definitely could not give us: our people. I could, as Führer, think of no more glorious, no prouder task in this world than to serve this people. One might give me continents, but I would rather be the poorest citizen among this people. And with this people we must and shall succeed in achieving the tasks that are still to come.
‘What we want lies clear before us: not war and not strife. Just as we have established peace within our own people, so we want nothing more than peace with the world. For we know that our great work can succeed only in a time of peace. But just as we have never sacrificed honor in our relations with the German people, so will we never surrender the honor of the German people in our dealings with the world.’
Heinz Schleiffer felt pride well up and fill his being. A feeling came over him, unlike any other he had ever known. He belonged somewhere. He belonged to something bigger than his beer truck or his pissant son. He belonged to something great and eternal, a great movement, a proud nation.
Many, maybe even most, ordinary Germans – listening to the speech on the radio, or even just going about their business – felt something like what Heinz felt. Their lives, their work, their families had significance again. They were once again part of a great culture and a great nation. The Nazis, whatever else you could say about them, had made life worth living again. Even the fact that while the Nürnberg celebration was going on, the Reichstag had adopted the new Race Laws stripping German Jews of their citizenship, while not unknown to Germany’s ordinary citizens, did not get in the way of their happiness. After all, only the Jews were affected. Not them, not the real Germans.
We humans seem to have a natural inclination toward normalization. We get used to whatever conditions may come along. We can fit even dire circumstances into our daily lives, once we get used to them. It shouldn’t be surprising therefore that, when tyranny and fear became the norm in Germany, when criminal behavior became acceptable, and simple humanity became dangerous, most ordinary Germans went on with their lives as though these changes and the curtailment of rights and freedom did not matter all that much. If people even knew about these changes, it was from the newspaper and not from their own experience. And what was in the paper might be a lie. The Führer said it was a lie. And even if it wasn’t a lie, well, then at least it had happened somewhere else, in someone else’s life.
Ordinary Germans could carry on with their lives despite ‘Blood Flag Baptisms’ and other such colorful nonsense. They told themselves and each other, ‘Well, yes, all this has its ridiculous side, and, yes, its awful aspects too. I mean the race laws go too far. Yes, the Führer’s methods are hard, even cruel. But maybe he has no choice, like he says; maybe he has to strike with an iron fist. Did you ever think of that, how hard his task has been?’
On March 2, 1936, Hitler ordered a small contingent of German troops to cross the Rhine River and occupy the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland. He did this, of course, in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and against the advice of his generals. General von Blomberg was certain they would be forced by the French and English to beat a quick retreat.
Instead, nothing happened. The Germans retook their land without any opposition. ‘There, you see? If he hadn’t just marched into the Rhineland, if he hadn’t started building up an army and navy again, even when the French and British fuss and fume about it, where would Germany be? Still in the doldrums, still a defeated third-rate power, that’s where.’ But thanks to the Führer, every red-blooded true German could feel pride again, could walk with his head held high.
Thanks to the Führer’s bold military and industrial initiatives, Germany’s prosperity was on the rise, its economy was getting stronger all the time, while the French and British and Americans were still struggling to come out of the Great Depression. In the German Reich food was plentiful and affordable again, hunger was banished. People had homes, they had jobs again and were paid a livable wage. They could enjoy life again too. How long it had been! They went to movies and concerts, visited nightclubs and cabarets, sang in choirs, exercised at the gym, played soccer with their friends, shopped, had neighbors in for dinner. And, at the same time, they were part of something larger than themselves.
Thanks to the Führer, and to no one else, you could have a satisfying life. ‘Keep your mouth shut, your nose clean, and your head down, and you’ll be fine. Life goes on. And we have to go on too, don’t we? For the sake of our children, for the sake of our parents.’
The Second Report
Willi listened to Hitler’s speeches when they were broadcast and read the newspaper accounts of the rallies. His and Lola’s safety depended on their knowing what was going on. Something like the retaking of the Rhineland could embolden Hitler to accelerate his aggression. The new Nürnberg Race Laws could cause the police to modify their procedures and their focus and, by the same token, could cause Willi to curtail certain activities, to lie low, to avoid some contacts and risk others. A speech like the Nürnberg speech would almost certainly reinvigorate Hitler’s followers. Especially someone like Heinz Schleiffer, who was part of the flotsam and jetsam, swept
