The end game.

1. Machtergreifung
Seizure of Power
13 August 1932 - 2 August 1934

2. The anxiety to destroy democracy rather
than the keenness to bring the Nazis to
power was what triggered the complex
developments that led to Hitler’s
chancellorship.
Kershaw, p. 424

3. You have delivered up our holy German
Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues
of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this
accursed man will cast our Reich into the
abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable
misery. Future generations will damn you in
your grave for what you have done.
Ludendorff writing to Hindenburg

4. Levered into Power (13 August 1932 - 30 January 1933)
November election
“taming Hitler”
The Making of a Dictator (1933)
Reichstag fire
Enabling Act
Securing Total Power (1934)
“Night of the Long Knives,” -- 30 June
Hindenburg passes, -- 2 August

5. Potempa Murder Trial
19-22 Aug 1932
10 Aug--5 SA kick a Polish communist worker
to death in front of his mother & brother
Papen had just decreed mandatory death
sentences for premeditated political murders
Hitler portrays the killers as martyrs, claims he
couldn’t participate in such a government
Papen backs down, commutes the sentences to
life imprisonment

6. DISCUSSION AT NEUDECK
Left to Right: Chancellor Papen, State Secretary Otto Meissner (back to camera), Reich
Minister of the Interior Wilhelm von Gayl, Hindenburg, and Reichswehr Minister Kurt von
Schleicher

7. REICHSTAG CONVENES, 30 AUG
GÖRING, AS HEAD OF
LARGEST PARTY, ELECTED
PRESIDENT OF REICHSTAG
NAZIS FORM COALITION
WITH BVP AND ZENTRUM
STRASSER URGES HITLER
TO ENTER PAPEN’S
GOVERNMENT
HITLER FIRM--ALLES ODER
NICHTS

8. “NO CONFIDENCE” FOR PAPEN
12 SEPTEMBER 1932
KPD DELEGATE PROPOSES VOTE OF “NO CONFIDENCE”
HALF HOUR ADJOURNMENT TO MAKE PLANS
PAPEN GETS DISSOLUTION ORDER TO FORESTALL
GÖRING REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE HIM
REICHSTAG VOTES 512 TO 42 -- “NO CONFIDENCE”
PAPEN DISSOLVES THE REICHSTAG
COURT REJECTS THE VOTE AS INVALID
NEW ELECTIONS (#5) SCHEDULED

9. THE HARD TIMES WERE STARTING THEIR FOURTH YEAR

12. HINDENBURG MEETS PARTY CHIEFS, 19 NOV 1932

13. • invites Hitler to seek a parliamentary majority
• both know he can’t
• Hitler counters with offer to include v. Schleicher as
war minister and v. Neurath as foreign minister in a
presidential cabinet
• Hindenburg denies him for the 2nd time in 3
months
HINDENBURG MEETS PARTY CHIEFS, 19 NOV 1932

14. Presidential cabinets, such as
Hitler demanded, ruled by
emergency decrees under
Article 48. Brüning began the
practice.
Parliamentary cabinets
needed to have parliamentary
majorities to pass their
measures.
PHOTO MONTAGE BY JOHN HEARTFIELD

15. LOOKING FOR AN ANTI-DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION

16. •early December, Hindenburg
wants Papen with an extra
constitutional government
• War Minister Schleicher
warns that the army can’t
guarantee that they could
surpress the likely civil war
which the left would unleash
• Schleicher begins to woo
Gregor Strasser
LOOKING FOR AN ANTI-DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION

17. HINDENBURG RELUCTANTLY ASKS SCHLEICHER TO HEAD A
CABINET OF HOLDOVERS-- 3 DECEMBER 1932

18. SCHLEICHER
STRASSER
SECRET MEETING, 3 DECEMBER 1932

19. • offers vice chancellorship
in his cabinet
• offers Minister Presidency
of Prussian state
government
SCHLEICHER • wants Strasser’s help with
trade unions
• wants to split the Nazis
STRASSER
SECRET MEETING, 3 DECEMBER 1932

20. Strasser’s Three Choices
back Hitler’s Alles oder Nichts policy
rebel & try to split the party
resign & go into political exile

21. 8 DECEMBER--STRASSER’S CHOICE
MEETS WITH REGIONAL
OFFICIALS & EXPLAINS
HIS POSITION
SUBMITS LETTER OF
RESIGNATION
LEAVES FOR VACATION
IN ITALY

22. HITLER WEATHERS THE CRISIS
MEETS WITH SAME
GROUP HOURS LATER
GIVES HIS SIDE
“I NEED YOUR SUPPORT”
ACT
TURNS STRASSER INTO
THE ARCH TRAITOR
PAYBACK WILL COME ON
30 JUNE 1934

23. January, 1933
“extraordinary political drama”

24. SCHLEICHER AT THE BERLIN SPORT PALAST
15 JANUARY 1933
FEELING MORE AND MORE ISOLATED, HE TRIES TO HANG ON

25. SECRET MEETINGS BEHIND SCHLEICHER’S BACK

26. • beginning on 3 January in the
home of a banker in Cologne,
Hitler and von Papen begin to
meet
• Papen wants to replace
Schleicher with some sort of power
sharing with Hitler
• by mid January meetings are
moved to von Ribbentrop’s home
in the Berlin suburb of Dalhem
• Schleicher appears to be growing
weaker
•Hitler is strengthened by a Nazi
gain in state elections in Lippe-
Detmold
• he lowers his demand to
Chancellorship plus cabinet posts
for Frick & Göring
•Papen brings in Hindenburg’s son
Oscar to try to convince the
president
•Papen recruits conservatives
whom Hindenburg trusts to serve
in a Hitler cabinet
• the evening of 28 Jan,
Hindenburg “now amenable”
SECRET MEETINGS BEHIND SCHLEICHER’S BACK

27. 30 JANUARY--HINDENBURG SWEARS IN A HITLER CABINET

28. “WE’RE BOXING HIM IN”
ALFRED HUGENBERG
Wilhelm Frick Hermann Göring
Interior without portfolio
NSDAP NSDAP

29. “WE’RE BOXING HIM IN”
ALFRED HUGENBERG
Konstantin v Neurath Graf Schwerin v Krosigk
Foreign Minister Finance
parteilos parteilos
Alfred Hugenberg
Economic Minister
DNVP
Franz v Papen
Vice Chancellor
Z
Wilhelm Frick Hermann Göring
Interior without portfolio
NSDAP NSDAP
Werner v Blomberg
Reichswehr
Franz Gürtner Franz Seldte
parteilos
Justice Labor
DNVP Stahlhelm

30. Fackelzug 30 Jan 33
1 mill (Goebbels)
0.5 mill (Nazi press)
30,000 (Br. ambassador)
15,000 (Br. military attaché)

31. Making of a Dictator
(1933)
Gleichschaltung
economic plans
a new Reichstag
“Day of Potsdam”
church relations
army relations

32. Undoubting belief and fantastic
will to

33. Undoubting belief and fantastic
will to
THUS, THE MYTH
AS WE HAVE SEEN, A
BIT MORE THAN THIS
WAS INVOLVED
NOW THE CHALLENGE
WAS TO CONSOLIDATE
THE MACHTERGREIFUNG,
THE SEIZURE OF
POWER

34. Swift transformation &
consolidation

35. Swift transformation &
consolidation
pseudo-legal measures
terror
manipulation
willing collaboration
contemporaries were astounded
by Hitler’s swift progress

36. 10 FEB RADIO CAMPAIGN
BROADCASTING FROM
THE BERLIN SPORT
PALAST
TO A 20 MILLION
AUDIENCE, NATIONWIDE
MEANWHILE, ACROSS
GERMANY, A “WAVE OF
UNPARALLELED STATE-
SPONSORED TERROR &
REPRESSION AGAINST
POLITICAL OPPONENTS”

38. The best possible way to bring the German people back
into work is to set German economic life once more in
motion through great monumental works... This is not
merely the hour in which we begin the building of the
greatest network of roads in the world, this hour is at the
same time a milestone on the road towards the building
up of the community of the German people.

39. AUTOBAHN!
FOR THE OPENING THE BIGWIGS GET TO DRIVE ON BOTH
SIDES OF THE HIGHWAY!

40. HITLER INVENTS THE AUTOBAHN?
FIRST INTERSECTION-
FREE HIGHWAY OUTSIDE
BERLIN IN 1912!
FIRST LEG OF THE
AUTOBAHN, BEGUN 1929
HERE HITLER MAKES IT
HIS OWN IN 1933
EMPHASIZED ITS
MILITARY VALUE, AS DID
IKE IN THE 1950S

41. Alles für den Heer!
(EVERYTHING FOR THE ARMY!)

42. Alles für den Heer!
(EVERYTHING FOR THE ARMY!)
PUBLIC WORKS GOT THE PROPAGANDA SPOTLIGHT
REARMAMENT GOT THE BULK OF THE FUNDS
FIRST SECRETLY, THEN MORE AND MORE DEFIANTLY
HITLER WAS DETERMINED TO MAKE THE VERSAILLES
LIMITATIONS A “DEAD LETTER”
Wir wollen wieder Waffen! (WE WILL HAVE WEAPONS
AGAIN!)

44. •Hitler first “pitched”
the idea of a
Volksauto to Ferdy
Porsche in 1932.
• In February, 1933 it •Prototypes came
became a pillar of his off the line in 1938.
economic, social &
political policy
•Military production
meant that only 54
civilian models were
ever made until post
1945
GOOGLE: Hitler Volkswagen

46. First, the carrot ...
then, the stick!

48. MURDER! 35 DEAD!
THAT’S THE RESULT OF THE BLOODY SA TERROR TIME OF HITLERS
REGIMEBEGINNING. SELFDEFENSE DEMONSTRATION OF THE
ANTIFASCIST UNITYFRONT AGAINST THE SA-MURDERBANDS
Struggle with the Communists

49. 27 FEBRUARY--CONVENIENT, OR PLANNED?

50. REICHSTAG FIRE DECREE 28 FEB 33
UNDER ARTICLE 48, HINDENBURG, AT HITLER’S
REQUEST, SUSPENDED MOST CIVIL LIBERTIES
IN ADDITION TO THE DUTCH COMMUNIST, VAN DER
LUBBE, FOUR GERMAN COMMUNIST LEADERS WERE PUT
ON TRIAL, FOUND NOT GUILTY--AFTER THE ELECTION!
THE REICHSTAG ELECTION TOOK PLACE FIVE DAYS
LATER IN THIS EMOTIONAL ATMOSPHERE

52. Emergency Decree
against communist measures
The Reichspresident has signed
these Countermeasures against the communist Terror

53. MARINUS VAN DER LUBBE
(1909-1934)
DUTCH JEWISH PARENTS,
DIVORCED
ORPHANED AT 12
WORKED AS A BRICKLAYER
JOINED DUTCH COMMUNIST
PARTY, AGE 16
APPREHENDED AT SCENE
GUILLOTINED 3 DAYS BEFORE
HIS 25TH BIRTHDAY

54. A STRUGGLE FOR GERMANY
THE RED SCARE THEME
HAD ALREADY, BEFORE
THE FIRE, BEEN APPLIED
TO THE CAMPAIGN
“LOATHING & DEEP
FEAR OF COMMUNISM
RAN THROUGH SOME
80% OF VOTERS” --
KERSHAW, P. 409

55. The communists were revolutionaries, they would take away private
property, impose a class dictatorship, and rule in the interests of
Moscow. The National Socialists were vulgar and distasteful, but they
stood for German interests, they would uphold German values, and
they would not take away private property. Crudely put, this reflected a
widespread train of thought...
Kershaw

56. THIS SPD PAPER BANNED
FROM 1 -15 MARCH, AFTER THE ELECTION!

57. KZ
KONZENTRATZIONSLAGER

58. KZ DACHAU
THE MAIN ENTRANCE, MAY, 1945
JUST AFTER LIBERATION

59. ELECTION DAY, 5 MARCH 1933
NOTICE THE INTIMIDATION OF THE SA MEN AT THE POLLING
LINES

60. 5 MÄRZ 1933
DER FÜHRER VOTES

61. LISTENING TO THE RETURNS
HOPING FOR THE STRENGTH TO PASS THE ENABLING ACT. HE NEEDS A
TWO-THIRDS VOTE TO BE FREE OF BOTH PARLIAMENT AND PRESIDENT

63. The Day of Potsdam
21 March 1933
THE NEW, AND LAST SEMI-
LEGITIMATE, REICHSTAG
WAS ABOUT TO OPEN
ITS TEMPORARY SITE WAS
THE KROLL OPERA HOUSE
IN BERLIN
BUT FIRST, GOEBBELS
MADE PROPAGANDA HAY
OF THIS LINK TO THE
AUTHORITARIAN PAST
POTSDAM WAS THE SITE OF
THE HOHENZOLLERN
MONARCHY

65. CLAIMING HIS PLACE IN HISTORY
What the king conquered,
the prince shaped,
the field marshall defended,
the soldier saved

66. THE TWO LEADERS ARRIVE AT POTSDAM
A DEFERENTIAL CHANCELLOR BOWS TO THE REICH
PRESIDENT, DRESSED IN HIS IMPERIAL UNIFORM

67. GARNISONKIRCHE, POTSDAM. SITE OF THE OPENING CEREMONY
OF THE THIRD REICH

68. POTSDAM FILM ON THE WEB
THIS ITEM APPEARS IN GOOGLE UNDER “DAY OF POTSDAM
HITLER VIDEO”

69. The Enabling Act --23 March 1933
(“Act for the Removal of Distress from People and Reich”)
unlike Article 48 emergency decrees
didn’t require President’s approval
no time limits
“...so widely framed that subsequent
deviations from the Reich constitution
would be possible”
2/3 majority required

71. grim picture of the conditions he had inherited
promised ‘far reaching moral renewal’
rights of Christian denominations would not be
touched
businesses would be made to serve the people,
not the interests of capital
no rearmament if the rest of the world disarms
as promised. Germany only wanted similar
rights and freedom

73. at the end, what appeared to be important concessions:
existence of neither Reichstag nor Reichsrat (court)
was threatened
position and rights of the Reich President untouched
the Länder (states) would not be abolished
the rights of the Churches would not be reduced and
their relations with the state not altered

74. OTTO WELS
(1873-1939)
SON OF A BERLIN INNKEEPER
WEAVER, JOINS SPD-1891
ELECTED TO REICHSTAG-1912
1913-NAT’L EXEC SPD &
“VORWÄRTS” NEWSPAPER
1918-IN X-MAS FIGHTING
1920-HELPS DEFEAT KAPP
COUP
REICHSTAG, 1920-33

75. quot;At this historic hour, we German Social Democrats pledge ourselves to the
principles of humanity and justice, of freedom and Socialism. No Enabling Law can
give you the power to destroy ideas which are eternal and indestructible ... From
this new persecution too German Social Democracy can draw new strength. We
send greetings to the persecuted and oppressed. We greet our friends in the
Reich. Their steadfastness and loyalty deserve admiration. The courage with which
they maintain their convictions and their unbroken confidence guarantee a brighter
future.quot;
Looking directly at Hitler, Wels proclaimed, quot;You can take our lives and our
freedom, but you cannot take our honourquot;. quot;Freiheit und Leben kann man uns
nehmen, die Ehre nicht.quot;
His words: quot;Wir sind wehrlos aber nicht ehrlos.quot; - quot;We are defenceless but not
honorless.quot; - have become famous.

76. HITLER’S BRUTAL RESPONSE
law is not enough; power is decisive
opponents we either destroy or make
friends with, if they’re committed to
Germany
the SPD is committed to the [Communist]
International
we don’t want your votes
“Germany will become free, but not
through you!”
with 441 votes to the SPD’s 94, the
Reichstag voted itself out of existence

77. GLEICHSHALTUNG FOR THE
LÄNDER
29 MARCH--HITLER GETS
CABINET APPROVAL FOR
REICH GOVERNORS FOR THE
STATES
“TO UPHOLD THE ‘LINES OF
POLICY’ IN THE LÄNDER”
HERE IS GENERAL RITTER
VON EPP, THE ‘SAVIOR OF
MÜNCHEN’ IN 1919, NOW
REICHSTATTHALTER VON
BAYERN
BY SUMMER ALL THE STATES
WERE “COORDINATED”

78. Dealing with Labor

79. PICTURE FROM “THE GOOD OLD DAYS”
MARXISTS, WHETHER KPD OR SPD, USED TO LEAD GERMAN
WORKERS “OVER THE CLIFF”

80. THE THINKING WORKER
COMES TO HITLER
THE RED (LEFT) AND SOCIALIST (RIGHT) EACH CALL THE
OTHER “TRAITOR TO THE WORKER!”

81. Nazi Labor organization stories
NAZI LABOR ORGANIZATION CO-OPTS THE EVENT

82. • since the nineteenth
century, May Day had
been international
socialism’s premier event
• after 30 Jan, Hitler
appointed Robert Ley
Chairman of the “Action
Committee to Defend
German Labor”
• his job, Gleichschaltung
• D-Day, 1 May
• Goebbels prepared
Nazi Labor organization stories another spectacle ala “Day
May Day mass Nazi demonstration
of Potsdam” in Berlin Lustgarten, 1933
NAZI LABOR ORGANIZATION CO-OPTS THE EVENT

83. 2. MAI. 33
TRADE UNION OFFICES OCCUPIED AND OFFICERS ARRESTED

84. The SPD. outlawed
IN THE SUMMER OF 1933 HITLER DECLARED THE SOCIAL
DEMOCRATIC PARTY AN ENEMY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE

85. Hitler’s Dilemma
Party Revolutionaries National-Conservatives
the SA the army, big business

86. Dealing with the
Churches

87. HITLER’S ADULT SPIRITUALITY
HE NEVER PROMOTED
PAGANISM, NORSE
RELIGION, OR VÖLKISCH
MYSTICISM
HE ALWAYS CLAIMED TO BE
A PRACTICING CATHOLIC
HE WAS VERY CAREFUL IN
HIS DEALINGS WITH THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
PRIVATELY, HE DID
CONSULT ASTROLOGERS

88. WITH CARDINAL FAULHABER
GLEICHSCHALTUNG MADE THE LEAST PROGRESS WITH THE
RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT’S SCHOOLS & MOVEMENTS

89. Dealing with the
Army

90. REICHSKRIEGSMINISTER
WERNER VON BLOMBERG
HE WAS PART OF WHAT
AIMED TO “BOX HITLER
IN.”
THE MAJORITY IN
HITLER’S CABINET
WERE HINDENBURG
LOYALISTS LIKE
GENERAL BLOMBERG
NOTE THE “BLUE MAX”
AT HIS THROAT

91. THE ARMY WAS A POWERFUL GROUP WHICH HITLER
KNEW HE MUST WIN OVER
THEY HAD BEEN MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE DESTRUCTION
OF WEIMAR AND COULD BE SO AGAIN AGAINST HIM
HE REACHED OUT TO THEM WITH BOTH WORDS OF
PRAISE AND DEEDS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT
ONE MAJOR OBSTACLE STOOD BETWEEN THE NSDAP AND
THE ARMY

92. RÖHM’S AMBITION FOR THE SA
AT SOME 4 1/2 MILLION,
THE SA WAS VASTLY
GREATER THAN THE
REICHSWEHR’S 100,OOO
RÖHM BELIEVED THAT HIS
VOLKS ARMY SHOULD
BECOME THE HEART OF
THE NATIONAL ARMY
THE ARISTOCRATIC
OFFICER CORPS WAS
DETERMINED THAT THAT
WOULD NEVER COME TO
PASS

93. Securing Total Power
(1934)
“Night of the Long
Knives,” -- 30 June
Hindenburg passes,
-- 2 August

94. Faced with the dilemma of what to
do about the SA, Hitler for months
did little to resolve the tensions
which continued to build.
Characteristically, he acted finally
when there was no longer a choice --
but then with utter ruthlessness.
Kershaw, p. 499

95. TRERE WAS WIDESPREAD OUTRAGE ABOUT SA
BRUTALITY. ABOUT 100,000 “ENEMIES OF THE NATIONAL
REVOLUTION” HAD BEEN ARRESTED-- COMMUNISTS,
SOCIALISTS AND JEWS
HINDENBURG ASKED HITLER TO TONE IT DOWN
HIS ORDERS TO DO SO PRODUCED LITTLE RESULT
EVEN RÖHM HAD TROUBLE KEEPING THE LID ON

96. Dealing with the SA

97. IN 1933 COMPLAINTS POURED IN ABOUT SA “EXCESSES”
BY SUMMER, GÖRING STOPPED USING THEM AS POLICE
AUXILIARIES IN PRUSSIA
BY OCTOBER, THEY WERE REMOVED FROM KZ GUARD
DUTY
STILL, THEIR ARROGANCE AND COMBATIVENESS
BROUGHT COMPLAINTS FROM EVEN PRO-NAZI CITIZENS

98. HAMBURG SA WITH TROPHY
THE CAPTURED FLAG OF THEIR ARCH RIVALS, THE RED
FRONT FIGHTING BUND

99. DISPLAYS LIKE THIS ANGERED THE ARMY
THE BERLIN SA PARADES THROUGH THE BRANDENBURG
GATE IN THE SPRING OF 1934

100. HITLER CALLS A MEETING OF SA AND ARMY
LEADERSHIP
(28 FEBRUARY 1934)
HE OUTLINES HIS MILITARY PLANS, WAR FOR
LEBENSRAUM IN ABOUT FIVE YEARS
ONLY THE ARMY CAN BE “BEARER OF WEAPONS OF THE
NATION”
THE SA ROLE: BORDER PROTECTION AND PRE-MILITARY
TRAINING
RÖHM & BLOMBERG HAD TO SIGN & SHAKE HANDS ON
THE “AGREEMENT”

101. RÖHM’S ENEMIES

102. RÖHM’S ENEMIES
Göring Bormann & Heß
Himmler & Heydrich
the Party
the SS
President Hindenburg
Papen & his circle
of nationalist-
Blomberg & conservatives
the top officers

103. PAPEN & HITLER--DUELING SPEECHES
(17 JUNE 1934)
PAPEN AT MARBURG UNIVERSITY--HITLER’S STATE
SHOWING SIGNS OF “DEGENERATION, ARROGANCE”
HITLER TO THURINGIAN PARTY MEMBERS AT GERA--
CERTAIN ‘REACTIONARIES’ WERE THREATENING THE
NATIONAL REVOLUTION. THEY WERE “DWARVES,
WORMS”
GOEBBELS TRIES WITH PARTIAL SUCCESS TO PREVENT
PAPEN’S SPEECH FROM BEING REPORTED
PAPEN COMPLAINS TO HITLER ABOUT THE BAN
HITLER MOLLIFIES HIM, PLAYS FOR TIME

104. MEETING AT SCHLOß NEUDECK
(21 JUNE)
THE PAPEN SPEECH PRODUCED A FUROR
HITLER VISITS THE AILING (DYING) PRESIDENT AT HIS COUNTRY
ESTATE
BLOMBERG MEETS HIM ON HIS WAY IN. IF HITLER DOESN’T DO
SOMETHING ABOUT RÖHM AND THE SA, HINDENBURG WILL
DECLARE MARTIAL LAW & THE ARMY WILL
HINDENBURG HIMSELF TOLD HITLER TO “BRING THE
REVOLUTIONARY TROUBLE-MAKERS TO REASON”
HITLER WAS FINALLY FORCED TO ACT

105. ‘KOLIBRI’ (HUMMING BIRD)
(30 JUNE 1934)
HITLER ORDERS THE SA LEADERSHIP TO MEET WITH HIM
AT RÖHM’S VACATION SPOT, BAD WIESEE, SOUTHEAST
OF MÜNCHEN
HE COMES WITH A TRUCKFULL OF ARMED SS TO ARREST
THEM IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING
ARMY, GESTAPO, & SS HAVE COLLECTED “EVIDENCE” OF
A “RÖHM PUTSCH”
WHEN HITLER TELLS BERLIN OF THE SUCCESSFUL
ARRESTS, THE PASSWORD “KOLIBRI” ORDERS THE
ARREST OR KILLING OF OTHERS--150-200, NOT ALL SA

106. THE VICTIMS
GENERAL SCHLEICHER & HIS WIFE
GREGOR STRASSER
VON PAPEN’S JUNE 17TH SPEECH WRITER
MOST OF THE TOP SA LEADERS
WILLIAM SCHMID, MISTAKEN FOR DR. LUDWIG SCHMITT.
HIS BODY WAS RETURNED WITH AN APOLOGY

107. RÖHM’S END
HITLER WAS RELUCTANT TO HAVE HIM KILLED
ON 1 JULY HE WAS GIVEN A PISTOL IN HIS CELL WITH THE
INDICATION THAT HE WAS TO KILL HIMSELF
AFTER TEN MINUTES HE WAS SHOT
2 JULY WAS DECLARED TO BE THE END OF THE
“CLEANSING ACTION”

108. JUSTIFYING IT TO THE PARTY
THE VÖLKISCHER
BEOBACHTER
SUPPORTS THE LIE
THAT THE SA WAS
PLANNING A PUTSCH
AFTER A STUNNED FEW
DAYS, MOST OF THE SA
FALLS INTO LINE
IT IS NEVER AGAIN THE
THREAT IT ONCE WAS

109. RÖHM PURGE JUSTIFIED
(13 JULY 1934)
HERE HITLER GIVES HIS VERSION TO THE TAME REICHSTAG
OF HOW THE SA BETRAYED HIM

110. NÜRNBERG PARTY DAY, 1934
THE TAMED SA IS
CENTER STAGE
THE ARMY RESENTS
ITS LESSER PRESENCE
LENI RIEFENSTAHL’S
FAMOUS TRIUMPH OF
THE WILL IS A RECORD
OF THE SA’S
CEREMONIAL ROLE

111. Hindenburg’s End

112. FÜHRER AND REICH
CHANCELLOR
ON 1 AUGUST, AS HINDENBURG LAY DYING, HITLER HAD
HIS CABINET SIGN A LAW COMBINING THE POWERS OF
PRESIDENT AND CHANCELLOR
THIS CHANGE WOULD BE PUT TO THE GERMAN PEOPLE IN
A “FREE PLEBISCITE” SCHEDULED FOR 19 AUGUST
NOW HITLER WOULD BE COMMANDER OF THE ARMED
FORCES
AN OATH OF LOYALTY TO THE FÜHRER WAS TAKEN BY
EVERY OFFICER AND SOLDIER THE VERY NEXT DAY

113. +PAUL VON HINDENBURG+
(1847-2 AUGUST 1934)
PRESIDENT HINDENBURG HAD WANTED TO BE BURIED AT
HIS COUNTRY ESTATE, NEUDECK
GOEBBELS CONVINCED HITLER OF THE PROPAGANDA
VALUE OF A MARTIAL CEREMONY AT REICHSEHRENMAL
TANNENBERG
1927 SAW THE COMPLETION OF THIS MASSIVE CIRCULAR
MEMORIAL FOR THE VICTORY WHICH STOPPED THE
RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN 1914
IT ALREADY WAS A MASS GRAVE FOR THE REMAINS OF
GERMAN SOLDIERS WHO HAD DIED THERE

114. HITLER DELIVERS THE FUNERAL ORATION AT REICHSEHRENMAL
TANNENBERG

115. You have delivered up our holy German
Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues
of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this
accursed man will cast our Reich into the
abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable
misery. Future generations will damn you in
your grave for what you have done.
letter from Ludendorff to Hindenburg after
Hitler’s appointment, 30.i.33

116. With the passing of this figure who was forty-
two when Hitler had been born, who had
served the Kaiser and the Republic, there
was no one left who could stop the descent of
Germany to her Null Stunde, her “Zero Hour”
in May, 1945.
Did Hindenburg remember Ludendorff’s
damning letter as he lay dying?
And what were Hitler’s thoughts as he
delivered the funeral oration?

117. Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
“The Second Coming,” lines 2-8, 1920. -- Wm Butler Yeats