by Adolf Hitler
The joy of responsibility in the framing of great decisions in the struggles of nations will, of course, be all the greater the more the actors, by observation of their Folk, can conclude that even a miscarriage will not be able to destroy the nation’s vital strength. For in the long run a Folk, inwardly healthy at its core, can never be effaced through defeats on the battlefield. Thus insofar as a Folk possesses this inner health, with the prerequisite of a sufficient racial importance, the courage for difficult undertakings can be the greater since even the failure of the same would not, by far, signify the downfall of such a Folk. And here Clausewitz is right, when in his principles he asserts that, with a healthy Folk, such a defeat may repeatedly lead to a later resurgence, and that, conversely, only cowardly subjection, that is, a supine surrender to fate, can lead to ultimate destruction. The neutrality, however, which is today recommended to our Folk as the only action possible, is really nothing but a volitionless surrender to a fate determined by foreign powers. And only therein lies the symptom and the possibility of our decline. If, on the contrary, our Folk itself had undertaken abortive attempts to achieve freedom, a factor that could be beneficial to our Folk’s strength would lie in the very manifestation of this attitude. For let it not be said that it is political sagacity which holds us back from such steps. No, it is a wretched cowardice and a lack of principle which in this case, as so often in history, one tries to confuse with intelligence. Obviously a Folk under the duress of foreign powers can be forced by circumstances to endure years of foreign oppression. But the less a Folk can seriously do outwardly against overpowering forces, the more, however, will its internal life press toward freedom and leave nothing untried that could be suitable for changing the momentarily given condition one day by staking such a Folk’s entire strength. One will then endure the yoke of a foreign conqueror, but with clenched fists and gritted teeth, waiting for the hour which offers the first opportunity of shaking off the tyrant.
Something like this can be possible under the pressure of conditions. But what presents itself today as political sagacity, however, is as a matter of fact a spirit of voluntary subjection, of unprincipled renunciation of any resistance, indeed the shameless persecution of those who dare to think of such a resistance and whose work obviously could serve their Folk’s resurgence. It is the spirit of inner self disarmament, of the destruction of all moral factors which one day could serve a resurrection of this Folk and State. This spirit can really not give itself the airs of political sagacity, for actually it is a State destroying dishonourableness.
And, to be sure, this spirit must hate every attempt at an active participation of our Folk in future European developments, because the necessity of a struggle against this spirit indeed lies in the mere attempt at such a participation.
If, however, a State leadership seems to be affected by this corrupting spirit, it becomes the task of the opposition which perceives, represents and thus espouses a Folk’s real vital forces to inscribe the struggle [the education] for national resurgence, and through it for national honour, on its banners. And it must not let itself be intimidated by the assertion that foreign policy is the task of responsible State leadership, for there has not been such a responsible leadership for a long time. On the contrary, it must adhere to the conception that, besides the formal laws of momentary governments, there exist eternal obligations which compel every member of a nation to do what is perceived as necessary for the existence of the Folkish Community. Even if this stands a thousand times in opposition to the intentions of bad and incompetent governments.
Hence precisely in Germany today the highest obligation should devolve on the so called National Opposition, in view of the unworthiness of the general leadership of our Folk to establish a clear foreign policy aim, and to prepare and educate our Folk for the execution of these ideas. Primarily, it must launch the sharpest war against the hope, widely spread today, that our fate can be changed somewhat by active cooperation with the League Of Nations. In general, it must see to it that our Folk gradually realises that we must not expect an amelioration of the German situation from institutions the representatives of which are the interested parties in our present misfortune. Further, it must deepen the conviction that all social aspirations are Utopian promises devoid of any real worth without the regaining of German freedom. It must further bring our Folk the knowledge that, for this freedom, one way or another, only the staking of its own strength can be considered. And that, consequently, our whole domestic and foreign policy must be such that by virtue of it our Folk’s inner strength grows and increases. Finally, it must enlighten the Folk to the effect that this staking of strength must take place for a really worthwhile aim, and that for this purpose we cannot go forward to meet our fate alone, but will need allies.
Chapter 11
GERMANY AND RUSSIA
The size of the possible military commitment as well as the relation of this means of power to those of the surrounding States is of decisive importance for the question of the future shaping of German foreign policy, apart from the inner power of our Folk, of its strength and assessment of character.
I need not express myself further on the moral inner weakness of our presentday Folk in this work. Our general weaknesses which are in part grounded in a matter of blood, and in part lie in the nature of our present governmental organisation, or must be attributed to the effects of our poor leadership, are perhaps less familiar to the German public than, unfortunately, they are to the rest of the world, which knows them well. Most of the measures of our oppressors are occasioned by knowledge of this weakness. But with all acknowledgment of the factual conditions, it should still never be forgotten that the same people of today hardly ten years ago accomplished deeds unrivalled in history. The German Folk which at the moment leaves such a depressing impression has, nevertheless, more than once proved its powerful merit in world history. The World War itself is the most glorious evidence of our Folk’s heroism and spirit of sacrifice, of its death defying discipline and its brilliant capability in thousands upon thousands of areas in the organisation of its life. Its purely military leadership has also achieved immortal successes. Only the political leadership has failed. It was already the precursor of that of today, even so much worse.
Today the inner qualities of our Folk may be a thousandfold unsatisfactory, but in one blow they will yield another image, as soon as another fist takes the reins of events in order to lead our Folk out of its present decline.
In our own history, we see how wonderful is precisely our Folk’s capacity for transformation. Prussia in 1806 and Prussia in 1813. What a difference! In 1806, the State characterised by the most abject capitulation everywhere, an unheard of wretchedness in the civic attitude, and in 1813 the State characterised by the most glowing hatred against foreign domination and a sense of patriotic sacrifice for one’s own Folk, the most heroic will to fight for freedom! What, in truth, has changed since then? The Folk? No, in its inner essence it has remained as before, only its leadership had come into other hands. A new spirit followed the weakness of the Prussian governmental administration and the ossified and aged leadership of the post Frederick period. Baron vom Stein and Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Clausewitz and Blücher were the representatives of the new Prussia.
And the world in a few months had again forgotten that seven years before this Prussia had undergone the experience of Jena.
And was it, for instance, otherwise before the founding of the Reich? Hardly a decade was required for a new Reich, which in the eyes of many seemed to be the most powerful embodiment of German power and mastery, to arise out of the German decline, the German disunity, and the general political dishonourableness. A single head, towering above all, had restored freedom of development to the German genius in a battle against the mediocrity of the majority. Let us dispense with Bismarck in our history, and only wretched mediocrity would fill the most glorious period for our Folk in centuries.
Just as the German Folk co
uld in a few years be hurled down from its unprecedented greatness, by the mediocrity of its leadership, into its present chaos, so can it be pulled up again by an iron fist. Its inner value will then make its appearance so visibly before the entire world that merely the actuality of its existence must compel a regard for and an appraisal of this fact.
If at the start, however, this value is a slumbering one, it is more than ever necessary to provide clarity on Germany’s real power value existing at the moment.
I have already tried to draw a brief picture of the momentary German instrument of military power, the Reich Defence. Here I wish to sketch Germany’s general military situation in relation to the surrounding world.
Germany at the present time is encircled by three power factors or power groups.
England, Russia and France are at present, militarily, the most threatening of Germany’s neighbours. At the same time, French power appears strengthened by a system of European alliances which reach from Paris to Belgrade via Warsaw and Prague.
Germany lies wedged between these States, with completely open borders. What is especially threatening thereby is that the western border of the Reich runs through Germany’s greatest industrial region. This western border, however, in consequence of its length and of the lack of all real natural barriers, offers only a few possibilities for defence by a State whose military means seem most extremely limited. Even the Rhine cannot be viewed as a fully effective line of military resistance. Not only because the possibility of finding the necessary technical preparations for this has been taken away from Germany by the peace treaties, but because the river itself offers even fewer obstacles to the passage of armies with modern equipment than the slight means of German defence which must be dispersed over too long a front. Moreover, this river runs through Germany’s greatest industrial area, and consequently a struggle over it from the outset would mean the destruction of the industrial areas and factories technically most important for national defence. But if in consequence of a French German conflict Czechoslovakia should come under consideration as a further opponent of Germany, a second great industrial region, Saxony, which could be useful industrially for the conduct of the war, would be exposed to the greatest danger of war. Here too the border, without natural defence, runs down to Bavaria, so broadly and openly that the prospect of a resistance promising success can hardly be considered. If Poland also were to take part in such a war, the entire eastern border in addition, apart from a few inadequate fortifications, would be defenceless against attack.
Whereas on the one hand the German borders are militarily indefensible and are surrounded openly in long lines by enemies, our North Sea coast is especially small and confined. The naval power for its defence is laughable, and completely worthless as such. The Fleet which we claim today, beginning with our so called battleships, is at best the finest target material for enemy firing practice. The two newly built ships, light cruisers, modern in themselves, have no decisive value, indeed not even an apparent one. The Fleet we are allowed is inadequate even for the Baltic Sea. All in all, the only value of our Fleet is at most that of a floating gunnery school.
Thus, in case of a conflict with any naval power, not only would German trade be ended in a moment, but there would also be the danger of landings.
The entire unpropitiousness of our military situation stems from this other consideration: Berlin, the Reich’s capital, is barely 175 kilometres from the Polish border. It lies scarcely 190 kilometres from the nearest Czech border, just as far as the distance between Wismar and the Stettin Lagoon as the crow flies.
Thus this means that Berlin can be reached by modern aircraft in less than one hour from these borders. If we draw a line stretching 60 kilometres east of the Rhine River, within it will lie almost the entire western German industrial region. From Frankfurt to Dortmund there is hardly one major German industrial locality which does not lie within this zone. As long as France occupies a part of the left bank of the Rhine, she is in a position to push forward by aircraft into the heart of our western German industrial region in hardly 30 minutes. München is just as far from the Czech borders as Berlin is from the Polish and Czech borders. Czech military aircraft would need approximately 60 minutes to reach München, 40 minutes to Nuremberg, 30 minutes to reach Regensburg; even Augsburg lies only 200 kilometres from the Czech border, and consequently could also be easily reached in scarcely an hour by presentday aeroplanes. As the crow flies, however, Augsburg is almost as distant from the Czech border as it is from the French border. From Augsburg to Straßburg the line of flight is 230 kilometres, but it is only 210 kilometres to the nearest French border. Hence Augsburg also lies within a zone which can be reached by hostile aircraft in an hour. Indeed, if we examine the German border from this point of view, it turns out that within an hour’s flight time the following can be reached: the entire industrial region in western Germany, including Osnabrück, Bielefeld, Kassel, Würzburg, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg. In the east: München, Augsburg, Würzburg, Magdeburg, Berlin, Stettin. In other words, with the present situation of the German borders, there is only a very small area embracing a few square kilometres which could not be visited by hostile aircraft within the first hour.
Hence France must be considered as the most dangerous enemy because she alone, thanks to her alliances, is in a position to be able to threaten almost the whole of Germany with aircraft, even an hour after the outbreak of a conflict.
At the present time, the military counteractions Germany could take against the application of this weapon, all in all, are quite nil.
This single observation already shows the hopeless situation into which a German resistance against France, based only on itself, must land at once. Whoever has himself been often subjected in the field to the effects of an enemy air attack best knows how to appraise especially the moral effects resulting therefrom.
But Hamburg and Bremen, too, in general all our coastal cities, would today no longer escape this fate since the large navies have the possibility of bringing floating landing places very close to the coast by means of aircraft carriers.
But Germany today not only has no technically effective weapons in a sufficient amount to oppose to air attacks. Even otherwise the purely technical equipment of our small Reich Defence is hopelessly inferior to that of our enemy. The lack of heavy artillery might be put up with more easily than the lack of a really promising possibility of defence against armoured tanks. If Germany today were thrust into a war against France and her allies without beforehand being in a position to be able to find at least the most necessary preparations for defence, the issue would be decided in a few days on the basis of the purely technical superiority of our adversaries. Measures required for defence against such a hostile attack could no longer be taken during the struggle itself.
Likewise false is the opinion that we will be able to put up a resistance, at least for a certain time, by improvised means, since these very improvisations already require a certain amount of time which is no longer available in case of a conflict. For events would roll more quickly and thereby produce more facts than there would be time left for us to organise countermeasures against these events.
Hence, from whatever side we consider the possibilities of foreign policy, for Germany one case must in principle be excluded: we will never be able to proceed against the forces now mobilised in Europe by relying only on our military means. Thus any combination which brings Germany into conflict with France, England, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and so on, without beforehand giving her the possibility of a thorough preparation, is therefore void.
This fundamental perception is important because there are still among us in Germany, even today, well meaning, national minded men who in all earnestness believe that we must enter into an association with Russia.
Even if considered only from a purely military point of view, such an idea is unviable or catastrophic for Germany
Just as before the year 1914, today also we can a
ssume as unconditionally established for always that in any conflict involving Germany, regardless on what grounds, regardless for what reasons, France will always be our adversary. Whatever European combinations may emerge in the future, France will always take part in them in a manner hostile to Germany. This lies in the traditionally anchored intention of French foreign policy. It is false to believe that the outcome of the War has changed anything on this score. On the contrary, the World War did not bring about for France the complete fulfilment of the war aim she had in mind. For this aim was by no means only the regaining of Alsace-Lorraine, but, on the contrary, Alsace-Lorraine itself represents only a small step in the direction of the goal of French foreign policy. That the possession of Alsace-Lorraine in no way abolished the tendencies of French policy, aggressively directed against Germany, is most strikingly proved by the fact that at the very time France possessed Alsace-Lorraine, the tendency of French foreign policy directed against Germany was, nevertheless, already in existence. The year 1870 showed more clearly than the year 1914 what France ultimately intended. At that time no need was felt to veil the aggressive character of French foreign policy. In the year 1914, perhaps made wise by experiences, perhaps also influenced by England, the French considered it more correct to profess general ideals of humanity on the one hand, and to limit their aim to Alsace-Lorraine on the other. These tactical considerations, however, did not in the least signify an inner deflection from the former goals of French policy, but only a concealment of the same. Afterward, as before, the leading idea of French foreign policy was the conquest of the Rhine River borders, whereby the mutilation of Germany into individual States, linked as loosely as possible to each other, was viewed as the best defence of this border. That this safeguarding of France in Europe, achieved thereby, was to serve the fulfilment of greater world political aims, does not alter the fact that for Germany these French continental political intentions are a question of life and death.