26. According to Wagner, Hitler had contemplated a partnership with Magda only after the death of Geli Raubal (who died in September) and his conversation with Magda took place on the way to the big SA demonstration in Braunschweig, which, however, occurred only in October 1931. Wagener, Hitler, 392ff. However, the Goebbels diaries make it clear that the Hitler-Goebbels arrangement was reached before Geli’s suicide. There had been speculation about a triangular Hitler-Goebbels-Magda relationship in the secondary literature before the publication of the complete version of the Goebbels diaries, for example in Klabunde, Goebbels, 238ff., and in Reimann, Dr. Joseph Goebbels.
27. TB, 5, 10, 15, and 26 October 1931.
28. TB, 20 September 1931.
29. Reuth, Goebbels, 206; Longerich, Geschichte der SA, 121f. Friedrich, Hauptstadt, 318ff.
30. TB, 18 September 1931.
31. See the reports of the VZ, 19–24 September 1931; TB, 18–26 September.
32. TB, 25 September 1931.
33. In the text, Helldorff.
34. TB, 27 September 1931.
35. TB, 30 September 1931.
36. TB, 8 and 9 November 1931; on the trial, see VZ, 8 and 9 October, 8 November 1931; Reuth, Goebbels, 207.
37. LA Berlin A Rep 358-01/20, vol. 3, Verdict, 9:2.32 LG III Berlin; TB, 23 January 1932; Goebbels, Vom Kaiserhof zur Reichskanzlei, 22 January 1932, where Goebbels made rather more of the scene; VZ, 17 and 24 December 1931, 23 and 26 January 1932; see also Reuth, Goebbels, 207.
38. The first mention of the planned meeting is in the 3 October 1931 entry in the TB.
39. TB, 5 October 1931.
40. TB, 12 October 1931; Pyta, Hindenburg, 631; Brüning, Memoiren, 391f.
41. Jones, “The Harzburg Rally of October 1931.”
42. Ursachen und Folgen, Michaelis and Schraepler (eds.), vol. 8, nos. 1784a and c; Politik und Wirtschaft in der Krise, 1930–1932, Maurer and Wengst (eds.), no. 341, report by Blank to Reusch, 12 October 1931 and VZ, 13 October 1931, “Die Front der Fronde, mit weiteren Einzelheiten zum Tagungsverlauf.”
43. Kopper, Hjalmar Schacht, 191ff.
44. TB, 19 October 1931.
45. TB, 19 October 1931; VZ, 19 October 1931 (E=Evening edition), “Braunschweiger Treffen.”
46. Der Angriff, 21 October 1931, also in Goebbels, Der Angriff, 211–12; TB, 20 October 1931.
47. TB, 25 October 1931.
48. TB, 30 and 31 October 1931.
49. TB, 1 November 1931.
50. TB, 8 November 1931.
51. TB, 1, 3, 23 and 26 October, 3 and 5 November 1931.
52. TB, 13 December 1931: “My sitting room and bedroom are very nice and have been prepared with a lot of loving care.” See also 16, 17, and 21 November 1931.
53. TB, 22 November 1931
54. TB, 29 November 1931.
55. TB, 11 December 1931.
56. TB, 14 December 1931.
57. TB, 18 and 19 December 1931; Die Rote Fahne, 18 December 1931, “Wir gratulieren Herr Goebbels!.”
58. TB, 20 December 1931; Reuth, Goebbels, 210f.; Meissner, First Lady, 110f.; Jungbluth, Die Quandts, 116ff. According to the privately published memoirs of Günther Quandt, which Jungbluth was able to look at, Quandt had known nothing about the wedding preparations of his ex-wife.
59. TB, 1 September 1931, concerning a conversation with Helldorf. The hitherto autonomous sub-group Greater-Berlin was amalgamated with the Gau storm Brandenburg. See also Engelbrechten, Armee, 190f.
60. TB, 9 December 1931.
61. Schulz, Brüning, 610ff.
62. TB, 9 December 1931.
63. TB, 1, 10, and 13 December 1931. The second ban was somewhat reduced: Der Angriff did not in fact come out between 10 and 14 December.
64. Reuth, Goebbels, 212f.; Schulz, Brüning, 704ff.
65. The exploratory discussions were undertaken by Groener, Schleicher, and Meissner. Pyta, Hindenburg, 649f.; there are numerous details in the Brüning memoirs, 468f., 495ff. Meissner had already been putting out feelers to Göring in December. Akten der Reichskanzlei. Die Kabinette Brüning I und II, Koops (ed.), no. 599, Vermerk Meissner über den Empfang Görings beim Reichspräsidenten am 11. Dezember 1931; see Pyta, Hindenburg, 649.
66. Kabinette Brüning I und II, no. 617: Vermerk Pünder über Besprechung des Reichspräsidenten mit dem Reichskanzler, 5 January 1932.
67. Kabinette Brüning I und II, no. 626, Vermerk StSekr Pünder über die Wahl des Reichspräsidenten: 8, 10, and 13 January 1932. Brüning, Memoiren, 501, on 6 January 1932. See also Pyta, Hindenburg, 653f.
68. Kabinette Brüning I und II, no. 623, Hitler to reich chancellor, 12 January 1932 concerning a conversation with Groener on 6 January 1932 as well as a memorandum for the president, published in Poetsch-Heffter, “Vom Staatsleben unter der Weimarer Verfassung,” 102ff. (VB, 19 January 1932) and in: RSA IV/3, doc. 8, 15 January 1932; statement by Brüning of 22 January 1932 (Kabinette Brüning I und II, no. 642); Hitler’s reply, 25 January 1932, published in Poetsch-Heffter, “Vom Staatsleben,” 108ff. (VB, 29 January 1932).
69. TB, 6–11 January 1932.
70. See Goebbels, TB, 13 January 1932. The German Nationalist politician, Reinhold Quaatz, who was well-informed about the conversation, noted in his diary on 14 January about Hitler: “Driven by growing discontent in his party, he wanted to get out of Brüning’s clutches and on Monday evening suddenly, using very inadequate means, tried to force Hindenburg to dismiss Brüning. At the same time, he wanted to appear to the outside world as the one at the center of events and to discredit Hugenberg. Result: complete failure.” Weiss and Hoser (eds.), Die Deutschnationalen und die Zerstörung der Weimarer Republik, 168ff.
71. TB, 20 January 1932.
72. See also TB, 20 January 1932.
73. TB, 20 January 1932.
74. TB, 23 January 1932.
75. TB, 28 January 1932.
76. Goebbels discussed the matter intensively with Hitler during a visit to Munich and during a visit by Hitler to Berlin: TB, 3 and 10 February 1932.
77. TB, 23 February 1932; Der Angriff, 23 February 1932, “Schluß jetzt! Deutschland wählt Hitler!” (headline); VZ, 23 February 1932 (M=Morning edition), “Hitler und Duesterberg proklamiert.”
78. TB, 22 February 1932.
79. Verhandlungen Reichstag, V. LP, vol. 446, 2252.
80. Verhandlungen Reichstag, V. LP, vol. 446, 2254.
81. Verhandlungen Reichstag, V. LP, vol. 446, 2346ff., 2353. See also TB, 26 February 1926.
82. TB, 20 January 1931; Paul, Aufstand, 74.
83. TB, 1 March 1932.
84. TB, 1 and 5 March; see Reuth, Goebbels, 215f.
85. BAB, NS 26/287, NSDAP Reich propaganda headquarters memorandum of 13 March 1932.
86. Paul, Aufstand, 95ff., 248ff.
87. TB, 27 February 1932; Engelbrechten, Armee, 207.
88. Der Angriff, 31 March, 1 and 4 April (quotation) 1932.
89. TB, 2–5 March 1932.
90. Excerpts from it appeared in the Münchner Post of 9 March 1932, which was also a Social Democratic paper; TB, 6 March 1932.
91. TB, 7 March 1932.
92. TB, 8 and 10 March 1932.
93. TB, 17 March 1932; Hitler expressed the same view a few days later to Goebbels (28 March 1932).
94. TB, 14 March 1932; see also Reuth, Goebbels, 216f.
95. TB, 16 March 1932.
96. TB, 16 March 1932.
97. TB, 16 and 17 March 1932; VZ, 16 March 1932, “Hitler also had to make a statement to the Investigating Committee of the Thuringian parliament, which was investigating Frick’s failed attempt to gain German citizenship for Hitler by appointing him as a civil servant.”
98. TB, 19 March 1932. Also 23 March 1932: “It’s difficult to work with him. Too unpredictable. Big plans but can be implemented only with difficulty and against opposition.”
99. TB, 20 March 1932.
100. TB, 29 March 1932.
101. However, Hitler’s “flight over Germany” receive
d barely a mention in Goebbels’s diaries (there was only the entry for 6 April 1932), while in his 1933 “Kaiserfhof” edition he emphasizes it as a “decisive innovation”: 18 March, 5 and 7 April 1932. On the “flight over Germany,” see also Reuth, Goebbels, 217f. On the flight, see the reports in Der Angriff, which reported it between 2 and 7 April as headline news.
102. TB, 5 April 1932. On the lifting of the ban on demonstrations, see 2 April 1932.
103. TB, 6, 7, 9, and 10 April 1932.
104. Pamphlet “Wenn Hindenburg gewählt wird, dann […]. Ja, was dann?.” On the election campaign, see BAB, NS 26/290, in particular the guidelines signed by Goebbels and issued to the Gau headquarters for the second campaign as well as the draft leaflets (sent on the same day) and the circular of 7 April 1932.
105. Schulz, Brüning, 758.
106. TB, 16 and 18 March 1932; VZ, 18 March 1932, “Goebbels bei einer anständigen Handlung ertappt”; Der Angriff, 17 March 1932, interview with Dr. Goebbels.
107. Engelbrechten, Armee, 212.
108. TB, 24 March 1932.
109. TB, 8 April 1932.
110. TB, 11 April 1932; see Reuth, Goebbels, 218.
111. Thus for the “Kaiserhof” version of his diary, which he published in 1933, he cut the passages in which he had criticized Hitler’s irregular working methods, replacing sections dealing with the situation before Hitler’s decision to run, when he was still uncertain about his candidature, with various passages praising Hitler’s leadership qualities. TB, 19 and 23 March; Kaiserhof, 4 and 10 February, 18 and 22 March 1931. He omitted Hitler’s surprise at his defeat in the first round (TB, 14 March, Kaiserhof, 13 March 1931), and turned the criticism expressed by leading Party members of his own propaganda into “enthusiasm” (Kaiserhof, 19 March 1931) and gave great weight to the “flight over Germany” (see note 101).
112. TB, 15 April 1932. There are already references to the impending ban on 12 and 13 April 1932. For examples of disguise in the form of associations, underground organizations, and continuation of SA duties, see Engelbrechten, Armee, 216ff.; Reuth, Goebbels, 218.
113. TB, 25 April 1932; see also Reuth, Goebbels, 220f.
114. TB, 15 April 1932, concerning a conversation with Hitler: “Personnel issues relating to Prussia: Strasser Prime Minister, Göring Interior and Darré Agriculture. Strasser? Göring? Him to compensate him for not getting the Reichswehr. I’m getting indoctrination [Volkserziehung] for the Reich. That’s my field and I’m looking forward to it. Helldorff [correct spelling: Helldorf] Berlin Police President. Schultz [correct spelling: Schulz] Minister for Labor Service.” TB, 24 April 1943 (concerning 20 April.): “Helldorff: He’s been to see Schl. […] Is only acceptable for us for the R, if the Prussian IM has an incumbent who knows what he’s doing. Str. and Gör. are completely out of the running. Helld.’s very eager to have me. I object. That’s not my kind of position. They’ll have to drag me to do it if they want me.” TB, 24 April 1932 (concerning 22 April): “Röhm and Helldorf come and see me. Röhm moans a lot about Strasser and Schultz [correct spelling: Schulz]. […] Göring too crude and boastful […] Göring is to be Prime Minister, me IM. I agree. But the others will have to manage it.” TB, 24 April 1932 (concerning 23 April): “Röhm and Helldorf. […] Strasser’s ruled out.”
115. Statistisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Berlin 1932, 259f.
116. TB, 27 April 1932.
117. TB, 29 April 1932.
118. Pyta, Hindenburg, 691; Brüning, Memoiren, 575ff.
119. TB, 7 May 1932.
120. TB, 9 May 1932. See Reuth, Goebbels, 222.
121. TB, 9 May 1932.
122. LAB, A Rep 358-01/721, Generalstaatsanwalt, 6 June 1932 to Prussian Ministry of Justice; TB, 13 May 1932; VZ, 13 May 1932, “Polizei im Reichstagssaal”; Verhandlungen Reichstag, vol. 446, 2686ff.; Reuth, Goebbels, 224.
123. TB, 13 May 1932. On Groener’s resignation, see Schulz, Brüning, 820f.
124. TB, 14 May 1932.
125. TB, 19 May 1932.
126. TB, 25 May 1932.
127. Pünder, Reichskanzlei, 126; Brüning, Memoiren, 593ff.; Staatssekretär unter Ebert, Hindenburg, Hitler, 224ff. See also Schulz, Brüning, 853.
128. TB, 28 May 1932; VZ, 26 May 1932, “Blutige Saalschlacht im Landtag” (headline).
129. TB, 28 May 1932.
130. On this conversation, see Schulz, Brüning, 843ff; Kabinett Brüning I und II, no. 773, Niederschrift des Staatssekretärs Pünder über die letzte Ministerbesprechung des Reichskabinetts Brüning am 30. Mai 1932; Brüning, Memoiren, 597ff.; Pünder, Politik, 128f., Brüning’s report on the conversation immediately after the meeting with Hindenburg.
131. On the background, see Fiederlein, Der deutsche Osten und die Regierungen Brüning, Papen, Schleicher; Schulz, Brüning, 800ff.
132. TB, 31 May 1932.
133. TB, 30 May 1932.
134. TB, 31 May 1932.
135. TB, 1 June 1932.
136. On the von Papen government, see Hörster-Philipps, Konservative Politik in der Endphase der Weimarer Republik; Petzold, Franz von Papen.
137. TB, 1 June 1932; on the continuation of this “dispute,” see 3 June 1932.
138. TB, 5 June 1932.
139. Schulz, Brüning, 879f.
140. TB, 5 June 1932.
141. TB, 7 June 1932.
142. Der Angriff, 6 June 1932, “Was müssen wir tun?” and 14 June 1932, “Papen, werde hart!” See also Reuth, Goebbels, 226.
143. TB, 10 June 1932; on reform, see Kissenkoetter, Straßer, 68ff.; VB (Bavaria), 15 June 1931, Hitler’s instruction as well as Strasser’s (extensive) regulations for implementing it.
144. TB, 15 June 1932.
145. TB, 15 June 1932; Reuth, Goebbels, 226, on the reaction to the speech; Kissenkoetter, Straßer, 139f.
146. Kissenkoetter, Gregor Straßer, 137ff.
147. BAB, NS 22/2, letter from Goebbels/Dietrich to all Party offices, 4 June 1932; letter from Goebbels/Dietrich to all Gauleiters and Gau propaganda directors, 27 June 1932; further detailed instructions of 5 July 1932; BAB, NS 26/289, undated memorandum on the Reichstag election and various circulars from the Party’s Reich propaganda headquarters to the Gauleiters and Gau propaganda directors; see also Paul, Aufstand, 100ff.
148. BAB, NS 26/289, circulars from the Party’s Reich propaganda headquarters to all Gau propaganda and press offices, 19 July 1932.
149. BAB, NS 26/289, memorandum by the Reich propaganda headquarters on the Reichstag election of 1932.
150. TB, 15 June 1932; the scenario described in the Kaiserhof version is much more detailed than in the original TB version. See also Reuth, Goebbels, 226f. Decree of the Reich President against Political Unrest of 14 June 1932, RGBl. 1932 I, 297; Goebbels learned about it on 16 June; TB, 17 June 1932.
151. TB, 28 June 1932.
152. TB, 9 July 1932.
153. TB, 10 July 1932; Heiber (ed.), Goebbels Reden, no. 4; VB (Bavaria), “200,000 im Berliner Lustgarten.”
154. TB, 11–16 July 1932.
155. VB (Bavaria), 13 July 1932, “Des Führers Freiheitsflug über Deutschland beginnt” (headline); see also 17/18–31 July 1932: continued reporting on the flight.
156. Lerg, Rundfunkpolitik in der Weimarer Republik, 448. Text republished in Heiber (ed.), Goebbels Reden, no. 5.
157. TB, 19 July 1932; text in Heiber (ed.), Goebbels Reden, no. 5.
158. TB, 22 (quotation) and 24 June 1932; see also 10 June 1932.
159. Decree of the Reich President concerning the Re-establishment of Public Security and Order in the Territory of the State of Prussia of 20 July 1932, RGBl. 1932 I, 377; Akten der Reichskanzlei, Das Kabinett von Papen (1932), Karl-Heinz Minuth (ed.), nos. 57 and 59, Ministerbesprechungen vom 11. Juli und 12. Juli 1932, 16:30 Uhr.
160. Schirmann, Altonaer Blutsonntag 17. Juli 1932.
161. Schulz, Brüning, 920ff.
162. TB, 20 July 1932 concerning the events of the previous day and on 20 July itself.
163. TB,
21–23 July 1932.
164. TB, 21–29 July 1932.
165. Statistisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Berlin 1933, 262ff.
166. TB, 1 August 1932.
9. “I HAVE A BLIND FAITH IN VICTORY”
1. TB, 3 August 1932; Reuth, Goebbels, 230.
2. TB, 7 August 1932.
3. TB, 9 August 1932.
4. On Meissner’s report, see note 9.
5. TB, 12 August 1932.
6. TB, 11 August 1932: “S.A. concentrated around Berlin. Makes the honorable gentlemen very nervous. That’s the point.”
7. TB, 12 August 1932. The VB (R) of 12 August denied the rumors: “Judenschwindel über eine Berliner S.A.-‘Aktion’ ” (headline). See also Reuth, Goebbels, 332.
8. TB, 14 August 1932; Pyta, Hindenburg, 718f.; Pünder, Politik, 141.
9. TB, 14 August 1932; Kabinett von Papen, p. 399, no. 101, Note by state secretary Meissner about a conversation between the Reich president and Adolf Hitler on 13 August 1932, at 16:15; see also Reuth, Goebbels, 232f.
10. What was being referred to was above all the communiqué’s formulation that Hitler had demanded “the power of the state to its fullest extent,” which Hitler had not in fact done. Kabinett von Papen, doc. 101n5. No. 102, Adolf Hitler an den Reichswehrminister, Staatssekretär Meissner und Staatssekretär Planck, 13 August 1932 (The Nazi leadership’s account of the events).
11. VB (R), 17 August 1932.
12. TB, 14 August 1932: “Kerrl is given the task of negotiating with the Center Party. That’s now the biggest threat we can make.” Morsey, Der Untergang des politischen Katholizismus, 59f.
13. TB, 15–22 August 1932.
14. Reich Presidential Decree Against Political Terror; Decree of the Reich Government Concerning the Creation of Special Courts; Reich Presidential Decree Concerning the Securing of Domestic Peace; all of 9 August 1932, RGBl. 1932 I, 403ff. On their passage, see Kabinett von Papen, no. 98, Ministerbesprechung vom 9. August 1932.
15. On the wave of violence at the beginning of the month, see Longerich, Geschichte der SA, 156f.; see details in the daily reports of the VZ from 2 August 1932.
16. RSA, vol. 5, doc. 174, Hitler telegram to the five condemned SA men published in Der Angriff of 23 August 1932 and elsewhere.
17. TB, 26 August 1932.
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