The Proud Shall Stumble
Page 48
Hans sat back, wonder flooding his mind. He thought he saw exactly where Adolf was going with this, and once again he was awestruck at the man’s oratorical genius. He leaned in close to Emilee. “He’s not talking about creating a catastrophic disaster,” he whispered. “He’s talking about capitalizing on the one we already have.”
Emilee’s frown creased her brow. “What in the world are you talking about? This sounds horrible to me.”
Surprised, Hans started to explain, but Adolf was speaking again. “If we are ever to come to power in the Fatherland, what we need is not just any run-of-the-mill disaster. We need one of catastrophic proportions. Shall I describe it to you? We got a glimpse of it back in 1923 when men walked around with billions of marks in their pockets as they starved to death. But that was just a beginning. What we need is economic failure on a global scale. We need stock markets around the world to totally collapse. We need thousands of banks in America to close their doors, for when they do, they will demand repayment of Germany’s debts to them, and then our banks will fail as well. We need to see the fat cats who made millions during the speculation bubble jumping to their deaths out of the windows of their high-rise offices. We need to see factories closing and grocery stores shuttered. We need to see unemployment at fifty percent or higher. Then, and only then, will the people finally be ready to listen to the one voice that can save them, the one political party that can bring order to the chaos.”
Hitler licked his lips and gave the crowd a wolfish smile that was almost chilling. “This is the Goddess of Distress in all of her glory, and she works directly to our advantage. When our citizens are once again starving and in utter despair, then, and only then, can the Nazi phoenix rise from the ashes of its defeat and save the Fatherland and its people.”
All around the room, people were leaping to their feet, applauding wildly, whistling, shouting, stomping.
“When that day comes,” Hitler continued, “as it surely will come, then the people will look to the swastika to lead them out of hell and into a new and lasting paradise to last a thousand years. Then and only then will they say, ‘You are the National Socialists, and you are our only salvation.’”
He stepped back, letting the group thunder out their approval. After almost a minute of deafening roar, Hitler raised his arms high, and the noise gradually died. The people sat down again. “Well, my friends,” Hitler said solemnly, “the miracle Rudolf Hess spoke of is happening right now in America, and it is spreading out like a tidal wave that will engulf the rest of the world.” He slammed his fist against the lectern as his voice rose to a shriek. “And I say, my friends, let us thank whatever gods may be that they have heard our prayers and that we have our catastrophe! It’s happening in America, and they are calling it ‘BLACK TUESDAY.’”
Hitler snapped to attention, stabbing his arm in the air. “And I say, hallelujah! Let it come! Sieg Heil! Hail victory!”
In one instant every person in the room, save for one, was on his or her feet, right arms raised in salute. They shouted at the top of their lungs as they roared back at him, “Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!”
The one person who was not on her feet was Emilee Fromme Eckhardt. Just as she had started to stand, a chill like an Arctic blast had swept through her body. A sense of darkness descended on her, and she was filled with a premonition of grave danger. Dazed, confused, frightened, she sank slowly back into her seat. What is happening? Emilee looked up. Hans wasn’t even aware that she was not standing beside him. She looked around. No one else was looking at her either.
Shivering violently, Emilee closed her eyes and hugged herself tightly as the chorus of Sieg Heil shook the rafters of the Bürgerbräukeller over and over and over.
Chapter Notes
The part of Hitler’s speech where he talks about needing to take the party in a new direction comes from the writings of Karl Lüdecke (see Rise and Fall, 119). The idea for his “catastrophe” speech was drawn from some well-known quotes of Hitler’s—one on the “Goddess of Distress” and two on the power of propaganda to move people to action. I have amended them slightly to sound less formal than they do in their written form.
A recognized scholar of Nazi Germany provided the context for some of Hitler’s statements: “The situation [in 1928 and ’29] looked bad for any further success of the Party. . . . Without a miracle, Hitler’s brand of political philosophy had little attraction to the masses of the German people who, like others in the world, yearned for peace and economic contentment, and the [National Socialist] party was on its way to extinction. Unfortunately, however, he got the miracle of his dreams when the stock market on New York’s Wall Street collapsed on October 29, 1929. . . . The Depression was the answer to Nazi prayers, for it was only out of political anarchy, despair, economic distress, and social ashes, that the Nazi phoenix of messianic hope could rise again” (Spencer, World without Civilization, 202–3; emphasis in original).
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