The Thousand Conspiracy - Secret Germany Behind the Mask
Paul Winkler
Charles Scribner’s Sons©1943
New York
381 pps. – First Edition – Out-of-print
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CHAPTER VII
PRUSSO-TEUTONIA-ALIAS NAZILAND
AFTER JANUARY 30, 1933, every one of Hitler's decisions, without exception,
accorded with Junker interests. No act of his can be found which in the
slightest degree harmed these interests. From the moment he took the reins of
power no one ever spoke of the Osthilfe scandal again (although previously it
had often been stirred up by Nazi Deputies in the Reichstag) or of
"colonization" on Junker land. The different antiJunker slogans of early
Nazism were definitely buried by Hitler. The Junkers and Hindenburg breathed
a sigh of relief.
This business disposed of work began in earnest on the Prusso-Teutonic scheme.
The entire plan carried out by Hitler corresponded point by point with
Prusso-Teutonic intentions. The details are well known. Decree-laws gave
Hitler dictatorial powers all along the line. This meant the end of what
still survived of the representative system and individual liberties in
Germany. These transformations had been planned for. It was only the methods
of accomplishing them that were original and bore the Hitlerian stamp. The
burning of the Reichstag on February 27, 1933, was arranged to make people
believe that the Communists were responsible for it and make them admit that
it was necessary to vest unlimited power in Hitler to save the country from
Communism. In contrast to the previous regionalistic character of Nazism,
Hitler abolished every trace of autonomy in the various States, and
subordinated all Germany to the domination of Berlin. The masses, deprived of
their leaders by the Felime, did not protest.
Making use of his dictatorial powers Hitler took the neces-sary steps to
stand in well with every part of the PrussoTeutonic group. He introduced
measure after measure to satisfy the Junkers and the big industrialists. He
flattered the Reichswehr too and tried to make it forget that Schleicher, the
man of the Reichswehr, had been replaced by himself as the head of the
government. As for Schleicher, the latter's grudge was against von Papen
rather than Hitler-because he believed it was the former who had been
principally responsible for his downfall. He never realized that, in the last
analYsis, everything had been organized by Hitler.
Denying the Past
But Hitler had a revolutionary past which might be embarrassing to the
interests he was now serving. He had hoisted himself to power by fulminating
for years against existing power, including the Prusso-Teutonic forces.
Originally Hitler was simply an agitator without a definite purpose, ready to
ally himself with any group of interests, if he saw some advantage to himself
from such an alliance. Among his faithful followers were sincere men like
Gregor Strasser, who had strong German nationalist feelings but moved in a
direction opposed to Prussianism. They ardently desired a German Federation
free of any Prussian tinge. While the National Socialist party had had its
headquarters in Munich, it had often displayed a Bavarian-inspired regional
resistance to the centralizing pressure of Prussia. From time to time also,
the Nazi party had appeared to be a movement with socialistic tendencies,
opposed to Junker feudalism. Roehm's views were of this character, though
clearly he was Strasser's moral inferior. But Hitler, who did not feel
constrained by any basic principles and who made allies where he could (or
rather, wherever his alert opportunism might lead him), surrounded himself
also with men like Goering, the Prussian officer type; like Alfred Rosenberg,
who dreamed of a new Prusso-Teutonic religion; and like Goebbels, who would
have sold his soul to anyone, but who concluded that selling it to the
Prussians would be most profitable.
Despite his numerous ties with Prussian interests, for a long time Hitler
would eat at anyone's table. His definite alliance with the Prusso-Teutonic
forces was not consummated until early in 1933, Without it he would never
have been able to accede to power, nor could he have risen to international
importance. He would never have been more than a picturesque demagogue in the
arena of internal German politics. Hitler was never a world threat until the
support of Prusso-Teutonic forces gave him the key to power.
The left wing of his party, Roehm and his three million SA, had taken his
earlier promises seriously. These folk no longer understood what was
happening. They had believed that the hour of revolution had struck, and
demanded changes which might be extremely annoying to the Prussian clique
Hitler was now planning to serve. Roehm went so far as to demand control of
the Reichswehr by the SA and for himself powers superior to the generals.
Decidedly, he did not yet understand what was going on.
The man in Hitler's entourage who. had "understood" from the very beginning
was Goering. He had always had personal ties with the Prussian powers. He now
put himself more fully at their service. Consequently there was to be no
change in his relationships with them and he was to be rewarded for his
attitude: he would be permitted to set, up his "Hermann Goeringwerke, A. G."
within the empire of German heavy industry.
Hitler's accession to power became possible because of the confidence of the
Prusso-Teutonics. He was well aware that he would be unable to maintain that
power unless he managed to preserve this confidence. But the embarrassing
activity of Roehm and his troops was imperiling it. Gregor Strasser was still
estranged from the throne and his silence signified a con
stant reproach to Hitler, reminding him that he had been false to his past.
Kahr, leader of the Bavarian Separatists, formerly allied with Hitler, failed
also to understand the Chancellor's alliance with the Prussian forces against
whom they had striven together. This whole set was sowing unrest among
militant Nazis and creating difficulties for the new Chancellor.
Killing the Past
In the spring of 1934 the Prusso-Teutonics became increasingly worried over
the restlessness in the left wing of the Nazi party. Their cabinet "liaison
officer," von Papen, decided to post a warning. On June 17, 1934, he
delivered a speech severely criticizing the revolutionary phases of the Nazi
regime. This meant obviously that the Prusso-Teutonics were wondering whether
after all they had made a good choice in the person of Hitler, and whether
they should not replace him. Von Papen doubtless hoped that as a result of
this speech Hitler might be forced out and he himself might again succeed to
the office. He was adaptable and managed to fit himself into a subordinate
office, but if the necessity for change arose von Papen was not averse to
playing first fiddle himself, under the baton, of course, of the same
band-leaders as before.
But Hitler clung desperately to his office and was prepared for any sacrifice
to keep it. To meet the situation he improvised, as so often in his career,
and his improvisation bore the usual stamp of his intuitive brutality.
Goering had the same understanding of affairs as he, and followed him
wholeheartedly, while Goebbels and Hess trailed along in more retiring
fashion.
The bloody purge of June 30, 1934, born of this inspiration, was a master
stroke. Hitler organized it solely to regain the confidence of the Prussian
clique. Gregor Strasser and Roehm were executed. They were the ones who had
wished to proceed with the National Socialist revolution and had been
reproaching Hitler for his alliance with Junkers and big industry. Schleicher
was also killed. Despite his origin he had dared while in power to further a
policy opposing Junker interests. Moreover, he remembered his negotiations
with Strasser and Roehin and might possibly reveal at some future date the
promises both had made in Hitler's name (and surely with his consent) for the
purpose of arousing him to action against the Junkers. If Schleicher had
survived the execution of Strasser and Roehm, he might at any moment have
become an extremely embarrassing witness. Kahr naively had signed his own
death warrant by reminding Hitler that he had once been on the other side of
the fence, with the Bavarian Separatists against the Prussian powers.
Von Papen's arrest on the same date was necessary to make him clearly
understand that Hitler had no intention of abandoning the position of "first
fiddle." He had to accept with a smile the execution of his assistants. They
had been unwise enough to draw up the speech delivered by von Papen and had
dared to recommend that the powers behind the scenes accord their confidence
to someone other than Hitler. Since they were persons of no importance, no
one would protest their deaths.
Eventually von Papen was freed and was permitted to continue "to serve." The
bonds between him. and the, Prusso-Teutonic forces were too close to allow
Hitler to sacrifice him entirely. He deserved a warning and Hitler was
satisfied with that much.
By executing Schleicher, Kahr, Strasser, Roehrr-, and numerous other militant
members of his own party having similar tendencies, Hitler had silenced
embarrassing witnesses of his past. He had equally in this way arrested any
future desire, within the Nazi party, to proceed in a direction opposing the
interests of the Prussian forces. Besides he could now say to his
Prusso-Teutonic masters: "For you have I sacrificed my best friends. I have
eliminated Schleicher as well, who dared oppose you. What better proof could
I furnish of my absolute devotion to your interests?"
True, the Reichswehr, which was part of the Prusso-Teutonic clan, was angry
at him for Schleicher's death. But Hitler knew that Junkers and
industrialists were more powerful within the group than the Reichswehr, and
in the course of his career he had never hesitated to betray weaker interests
for the advantage of stronger ones. Possessing the confidence of Junkers and
industrialists, he was certain that nothing could happen to him, and now that
the general who had been bothering him was no longer present, he applied
himself thenceforward to appeasing the Reichswehr too. Like a real
"confidence man" he knew the best methods to regain the confidence of those
whom he had tricked. Early in January, 1935 he read a declaration before an
officers' society restoring Schleicher's "honor," the officers were pleased,
and tranquility returned.
The contempt which the Prussian General Staff felt for the Austrian Corporal
did not disappear overnight, but they no longer disputed his orders. Despite
appearances to the contrary, orders were no longer given in his name, nor in
the name of Nazism (which had changed completely from its earlier form).
Hitler was now speaking in the very name of the ancient Prusso-Teutonic caste
of which the army officers were members, and whose supreme servant Hitler had
become.
The Anti-Semitic Camouflage
Since then, what is now known as Nazi Germany has been the very prototype of
what the Prusso-Teutonics might have dreamed in their most optimistic
moments. Hitler had supplied the methods but it was the Prusso-Teutonic
scheme which had taken shape: Hitler had merely contributed the anti-Semitic
note to the choruses, which would certainly not displease the
Prusso-Teutonics.
Anti-Semitic camouflage has been put by Hitler to excellent tactical
advantage. He knew that he could maintain his influence over the masses if he
succeeded in preserving the revolutionary appearance of his movement. In the
past he had berated Junkers, heavy industry, Jews and Communists
indiscriminately. He could no longer say anything against Junkers and the
industrialists-they were now his masters. There remained the Jews and
Communists. To make up for what he had lost in area of attack he would intensi
fy his brawling against the latter two groups. Former Communists were more
numerous in Germany than Jews; it was therefore chiefly against the latter
that he loosed his attacks. It was always preferable to march first against
the weakest minority, thereby winning the sympathies of all who were not
affected by these attacks and who consequently believed themselves privileged.
Julius Streicher, filth-mongering editor of the Stuermer, had never been in
the circle of Hitler's intimates. His movement had evolved on the fringe of
the Nazi party. Nevertheless ever since he came into power Hitler drew from
Streicher the inspiration for his anti-Semitic campaigns. Once he arrived at
the conclusion, for the reasons stated, that it was good policy to intensify
this campaign, it was natural, in order to go about it in the best way, for
him to call upon the specialist.
One should not for a moment forget that the anti-Semitic movement was, for
Hitler, chiefly a "smoke-screen" which served to, hide his real intentions.
The suffering of Jews in Germany and in territories occupied by the Nazis
deserves all our sympathy, but the real danger which Hitler represents is
quite another. Hitler prefers to place "the struggle against the Jews" in the
foreground of his ambitions and from time to time "the struggle against
Communists." The Teutonic
Knights when they left for the Borussian country had constantly on their
tongues "the struggle against the pagans," when actually they were thinking
of conquest and nothing else. The same class has preserved through the ages,
from the thirteenth century to our day, the same ambitions for unlimited
conquest. This class and their ambitions have been hidden, at various points
in Prussian history, behind different screens. Now this front is called
"Hitler," as tomorrow it may be called "Goering," "von Papen," or "Thyssen."
The men have changed through the ages but the forces controlling them and the
methods employed have remained the same.
We may add that Fritz von Thyssen's "flight" to Paris in April, 1940 was
clearly designed to build up his prestige in the eyes of the Allies and to
use him, if it becomes necessary to sacrifice Hitler, as a new front behind
which the PrussoTeutonic game could be carried on. Indeed, in the beginning
of the war, Germany's masters were somewhat uncertain about the results they
might expect from Hitler's blitz technique. Thyssen's trip to Paris was
decided upon in order to prepare for a new camouflage in case of an
unsatisfactory outcome of the war.
The successful invasion of France made such precautions appear to be
superfluous. After Thyssen's return to Germany, "under heavy guard" to keep
up appearances, it was learned that he was living quietly in a sanitarium in
a fashionable Berlin suburb, instead of having been executed for having
turned "traitor"—as everybody would have expected.
Serving His Masters
It is a well-known fact that Hitler succeeded to power through von Papen's
intrigues and with the support of Junkers and heavy industry. Nevertheless,
most authors conclude that Hitler, after getting hold of the reins of the
government, devoted his attention first of all to imposing the Nazi regime
upon Germany and subduing every other power there, including the
Prusso-Teutonics.
Exactly the opposite is true. Hitler, in order to become Chancellor,
concluded a bargain with the Prusso-Teutonic powers and to this day has
rigidly adhered to that bargain. It is true that ever since this agreement
was made Germany has appeared in the eyes of the world in the guise of "the
Nazi regime." It must not be forgotten, however, that Hitler has permitted to
remain alive only as much of the Nazi system as suits the Prussian powers. He
has suppressed everything that ran counter to those forces, including the
"socialistic" and "revolutionary" nature of Nazism. The word "Nazi" has
taken, since 1933-1934, a different meaning from what it had before, narrower
and broader at the same time: narrower because it no longer corresponds at
all to the program of early Nazism, and broader because of its use as a new
cloak for Prusso-Teutonic ambitions.
In practice this means that Hitler, unpredictable character though he is,
acts as leader only within certain limits, and these limits are prescribed by
the powers operating as his "bosses." He has never come to any decision which
would not have been fully approved by the Junkers and heavy industry,
preponderant elements of the Prusso-Teutonic group. He appears now and then
to be in disagreement with the Generals, but then it should not be forgotten
that the Reichswehr is only a kind of "Junior partner" in the Prussian
company. Because of the professional pride which has always characterized
military career men everywhere, the Reichswehr does not always submit blindly
to the will of its associates. This was evident even in Schleicher's time and
more recently as well, when, for example, General von Brauchitsch was
recalled. Hitler acts a bit more freely toward the Reichswehr than toward his
other partners, for, as in the days of Schleicher, he depends for support
chiefly on the Junkers and big industry who, by reason of their economic
importance, are his real masters.
"Nationalists" and "Prusso-Teutonics" Are Not Identical
What may have deceived those who think that Nazism has overcome the forces
which promoted its access to power is the fact that the rightist parties have
been liquidated by Hitler just as thoroughly as the parties of the left.
Hugenberg was forced to dissolve his party and had himself to resign from the
first Hitler cabinet on June 2 7, 1933 .
The misapprehension stems from the fact that one may confuse "rightist
parties" with "Prusso-Teutonic powers." The parties of the right were,
indeed, liquidated by Hitler but not the forces behind them.
Hitler considered the rightist parties as rivals. It is therefore
understandable that one of his first considerations should have been to
destroy them. But he knew that these parties were only fronts for more
powerful forces. He never attempted to eliminate these forces for which he
had always had a great respect. All he wanted was merely to become their sole
aged and sole facade for the future. On this condition, he was ready to serve
them blindly.
The highly competitive struggle between the so-called German Nationalists and
Hitler was perfectly defined by Robert d'Harcourt on February 20, 1933,
barely three weeks after Hitler's accession to power, in the French Catholic
review, Etudes:
"Rarely have two parties waged a struggle as fierce as the Racists have
against the supporters of Hugenbergy. From the beginning a great gulf opened
between them in their differing attitudes toward capital, or fixed fortune.
The former group based their stand on the economic depression debilitating
Germany. They themselves had more than once quite cynically acknowledged that
German misery was their prime ally. They had found in the bitterness and
spirit of revolt of the masses and in the social climate in general, a
springboard which they energetically exploited. To the young, and also to the
embittered, they appeared to be revolutionaries. Their greatest strength was
a vast stock of vague expectations and confidence in the overthrow of things
as they were. In the eyes of the discontented unstable element the German
nationalists [i.e., the Hugenberg followers] had the disadvantage of
appearing as a party of money-bags, of gorged individuals—and at the same
time, a mummified group. All the forces of reaction congregated within this
party: industrial magnates, great agrarians of the East, capitalists of every
color banded together to obstruct the road of revolution with a strong-box,
and raise a wall of money against the barricade."
The "Nationalists" had made the mistake of permitting reactionary influences
which hid behind them to be seen too clearly. This was bound to render them
unpopular. It was therefore not surprising that their representation in the
Reichstag should have been the smallest. The Prusso-Teutonics had nothing to
gain any longer by encumbering themselves with such a troublesome, weak
front. It constituted a handicap to them from the moment they were able to
replace it by the younger, more vigorous front offered by Hitler.
The exchange was wholly to their advantage. It is not astonishing that they
should have accepted it as soon as they believed Hitler's promises that he
would faithfully serve them. These promises had been given directly, as well
as through the medium of von Papen, during the weeks preceding January 30,
1933. When in 1934 doubts arose among the Prusso-Teutonics as to Hitler's
sincerity, he felt it necessary to reaffirm his unlimited devotion by the
radical act of the blood purge of June 30, 1934. "He goes to the length of
sacrificing his most faithful lieutenants for us," said the Prusso-Teutonics,
and they voiced no further doubts concerning his fidelity.
A Well-Constructed Hierarchy
One may wonder why Hitler, who betrayed so many in the course of his career,
including his most intimate friends, should never have attempted to betray
the Prusso-Teutonics. It is the only bargain Hitler seems to have kept. The
reason is simple: he believes them very strong and more powerful than any
other group in Germany, and therefore prefers to travel in their wake. It is
certainly not moral considerations which prevent betrayal on his part.
Hitler saw, during his long years of struggle to gain control of the ruling
office of Germany, that it was always the men momentarily in the confidence
of the Prusso-Teutonics who held this post. For years and years he had
concentrated, therefore, on becoming that henchman serving the same forces
and eliminating all rivals. After concentrating so long on this single aim he
was not going to risk, by any false move, alienating the masters in whose
power he believed.
If he had wished to revolt against these forces, the natural thought would
have been for him to lean on his own party as all the support that was
needed. This in short was the solution proposed by Gregor Strasser and Roehm.
But Hitler, a cynic, had reached the conclusion that "popular" forces—groups
which appeared in the public eye and whose membership was open to the great
masses of the people-were much less powerful than occult, closed forces,
whose success was guaranteed by their firm internal organization. The
Prusso-Teutonics had all the earmarks of a group organized in occult, or at
least closed, fashion. In comparison with these forces the Nazi party must be
considered an open, "popular" organization. (The fact that the Nazi party had
been built up by demagogic means does not detract at all from its open,
popular character.) The Nazi party has weight due to its numbers; the
Prusso-Teutonic group, to the nature of its conspiracy. (See page 30 for the
role played, according to the Nazi writer, Hans Krieg, by a "Conspirational
Conmninity" in the achievement of alms bequeathed by the Teutonic Knights)
Hitler realized that he could make the mass membership of the Nazi party
serve him and he intended in turn to put himself at the service of the
Prusso-Teutonic conspiracy. In this there was an hierarchical gradation from
which Hitler, contrary to Gregor Strasser and Roehm, has never wished to
break away.
Since January 30, 1933, Hitler has devoted himself—with the aid of the
Prussian forces—to the achievement of the old plans of the Teutonic Knights,
of the great Elector, of Frederick the Great, and of Bismarck.
In international matters, all Hitler's acts and decisions are what one would
expect from any agent of the old PrussoTeutonic scheme. But to a world
unprepared for them they are the startling manifestation of a newly risen
universal danger.
He spent a few short months exclusively on internal Gleichschaltung, eliminati
ng every trace of the Weimar Republic and suppressing any possibility of
disturbance from that source. The "authoritarian regime" which has always
been a Prussian dream was fully achieved within a very short time.
Then, in the month of October, 1933, Germany withdrew from the disarmament
conference of the League of Nations. The whole Prusso-Teutonic class was
jubilant and the "heavy industry" wing in their midst feverishly, prepared
for heavy armament production. A few months of internal unrest followed which
suggested the possibility of a split between Nazis and Prusso-Teutonics. But
Hitler put an end to all that on June 30, 1934, and everything was
straightened out.
The Ancient Conquering March
Rid of all disturbing elements, Hitler and the PrussoTeutonics could
thenceforth devote themselves completely to the achievement of their common
plan. The stages of this task followed one another in rapid succession. In
March, 1935, conscription was again introduced into the German Army and Navy.
This occurred in spite of prohibitions of the Versailles Treaty. In March,
1936, Germany occupied the left bank of the Rhine. Occupation of Austria
followed in March, 1938; the "peaceful" occupation of the Sudetenland in
September, 19 3 8, secured under armed threat; the rest of Czecho-Slovakia
occupied in March, 1939; annexation of Memel in the same month through
pressure on Lithuania; and finally in September, 1939, occupation of Poland.
The ancient conquering march of the Prusso-Teutonics was on again, directed
along lines of least resistance; it was only the last of the above movements
of expansion that excited world resistance and thereby the present war. The
task of secret rearmament, begun by the PrussoTeutonics immediately after the
German defeat of 1918 and completed with the help of the Felime's activities,
had produced its results.
"God has erected our Empire before the Kings of the Earth," wrote Emperor
Frederick II, who launched the Prusso-Teutonic forces on the path of
conquest. From Frederick Barbarossa, who dreamed of himself as dominus mundi,
to Hitler, who dreams of similar things, is but a step.
The guiding diplomatic principles are identical with those of the old
Teutonic Order. In the expansion of territory, no friendship or treaty is an
obstacle and any excuse is valid. The precepts of Prusso-Teutonic
theoreticians are followed, such as the teachings of von Buelow, who held
that: ". . . it is first necessary to attack one's neighbor, before coming to
more distant States. If this rule is not observed, countries separating the
two main adversaries may declare themselves either with or against the great
empire. Should they declare themselves against this power everything is
changed, since a coalition of little States is equivalent to one big State."
The "New Order" Is an Old Order
More recent occupations of countries by Germany (Norway, Denmark, Holland,
Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, etc.) at first glance may appear as simple
strategic occupation. If one examines them more closely one can perceive,
however, that the Prusso-Teutonic powers took advantage of each invasion of
foreign territory, from the first day of occupation, to prepare in the most
thoroughgoing scientific manner for the permanent subjugation of the occupied
country. This was accomplished first of all on the economic level, where the
Prusso-Teutonics' interests primarily are. They are well aware that economic
control leads automatically to political control. German economic agencies
follow closely on the heels of armies of occupation and endeavor to transform
the temporary hold on conquered countries into a permanent economic control.
Until the present this operation has succeeded much more completely in a
country like France, where local authorities have accepted the idea of
"collaboration" than in countries occupied against the resistance of their
governments. In France capture of control of corporations through forced sale
to Germans took place with a show of legality because French authorities and
courts, under pressure from Vichy, countenanced these transactions. The
Prusso-Teutonics know that military occupation of France cannot last forever.
Be-sides, they have probably considered the possibility of a German defeat
which would bring about the fall of the Nazi regime They must have said to
themselves that even in that case conquest of France would have yielded them
the key advantages they had hoped to gain: they figured that it would be
extremely difficult for the French to find the legal forms to get rid of
German control over nearly the whole of their national economy. This control
having thus been established within legal framework, according to French law,
the task of destroying it would be arduous and complicated. This would be
true even for a government under no obligation to respect the agreements of
Vichy. It would of course be more true for any French government recognizing
Vichy laws and decrees.
All of this entered into the preparation for what Hitler calls the "New
Economic Order." This "New Order" is in its entirety the old Prussian scheme
of List, which ninety years before Hitler's reign provided the blueprint for
the creation of European economic unity under domination of a Prussian
Germany. It also provided for subsequent expansion of this Prusso-Teutonic
Europe through invasion of the markets of other continents, and establishment
of "protectorates" throughout the world. This scheme had always been close to
the hearts of the Prusso-Teutonic powers of Germany and had been placed by
Dr. Schacht and Dr. Funk in the foreground of the alms pursued by Hitler.
Territorial conquest has a meaning subordinate to economic conquest,
according to List's formula.
An army of German accountants and auditors was installed in Paris, following
the army of soldiers, to draw up "inventories" of all important French
enterprises. After these inventories were drawn up German officials and
delegates of private German industry called upon the various enterprises to
secure for themselves absolute and quite legal control of these firms by the
aid of political pressures of every sort and especially by means of the aid
lent by "collaborators" within the French government.
All this is in no sense a product of Hitler's invention or of Nazism. Neither
is it the result of private initiative of a "racketeering" sort, springing up
perhaps because of the complacency of certain German military authorities.
(This is not to say that there is no wholesale racketeering going on in
addition to the above transactions.) It is a matter, on the contrary, of
initiative completely consistent with the official German scheme, which is
the Prusso-Teutonic scheme stemming from List and other theorists of the same
school of thought—and has nothing to do with Nazism.
The Anti-Christian Current
Aside from his conquest and these efforts to establish a "New Economic Order"
under Gennan domination, Hitler's "innovations" are primarily in the
religious domain. In order not to lose the sympathies of that section of
German population which is deeply devoted to the Catholic or Protestant
Churches, he approached this subject with many precautions during the early
period of his rule. For some time, however, this aspect of his regime has
come to the foreground in Germany and the world press has long dealt with the
evident efforts of Hitler to substitute a purely Germanic faith for all forms
of religion having foreign connections. It is openly said in Germany today
that Mein Kampf should replace the Bible and it is hinted that Hitler will
some day replace Christ.
Certain observers called attention to the fact that Hitler had definitely
created something new at least in the field of religion. All "religious
innovations" now taking place in Germany are generally attributed to Nazism.
But if we reread what Professor N. A. Cramb said in 1913 about German aims in
the domain of religion (see pages 107-110) we must admit that in this sphere
as well Hitler's "innovations" correspond point by point with the ancient
Prusso-Teutonic scheme. Creation of a new world religion, purely Teutonic in
character, appears in this light to be as important a goal in the whole
scheme as the aims of political and economic conquest:
"It is reserved for us to resume in thought that creative role in religion
which the whole Teutonic race abandoned fourteen centuries ago," young
Germans told Cramb in 1913 Judoea and Galilee struck Germany in the splendor
and heroism of her prime. Germany and the whole Teutonic people in the fifth
century made the great error. They conquered Rome, but, dazzled by Rome's
authority, they adopted the religion and the culture of the vanquished." And
Cramb adds: "Thus while proposing to found a world-empire, Germany is also
proposing to create a world-religion."
Seen in this light the violent anti-Semitic campaigns of Hitler are blows
against the combined Judeo-Christian religions: these first blows are
directed at the weakest branches of a single tree. The basic idea came from
the Prusso-Teutonics and even Hitler's methods of employing it are of old
Prussian inspiration: to attack first the weakest of one's adversaries and
then only to extend the attack to the others, one at a time. This tactic
makes possible clever propaganda which spreads the belief that only the
minority group is the enemy, in this case the Jews.
This anti-Christian current is a very ancient Teutonic trend. It is true that
the Holy Roman Empire was, in its origins, profoundly Occidental and
Christian; but the struggles waged against the Papacy by the Emperors who
succeeded one another brought out atavistic, essentially antiChristian
elements in these men as a reaction. Thus there had been, as we have seen,
two men in Emperor Frederick II. In his youth he pursued an imperial vision
of Occidental idealism. Later he became a bard man, the "hammer" of his
century, a new Attila whose moral concepts were no longer Christian but quite
close to those of the barbarians.
It was precisely this Frederick ll—"second edition" (who was not so different
from his grandfather, Barbarossa) who had intrusted an imperial mission to
the Teutonic Knights. By acting thus he had automatically transmitted to them
his basically anti-Christian principles, or at least a-Christian and amoral
(according to our concept of the word "moral"). The Teutonic Order has
pursued through the centuries this tradition and has, so to speak,
crystallized it by giving it permanent form and even accentuating its
anti-Christian direction. It is therefore not astonishing that the Teutonic
Order should have been so frequently in conflict with the Papacy. The Prussia
created by the Teutonic Knights and the Prussian spirit which evolved finally
handed down to the present the anti-Christian tendencies observed by Cramb in
1913.
When Alfred Rosenberg travels around Germany setting up his "Ordensburgen"—in
which young Germans are indoctrinated with the principles of the new Teutonic
religion -he is definitely inspired by the old tradition of the Teutonic
Order. He is, moreover, right in calling these institutions "Ordensburgen,"
because each ancient "Burg" of the "Order" in the past centuries filled the
same role as the recent institutions of the same name: The ancient
Ordensburgen were outposts of Teutonic thought and expansion in Slavic
countries.
The Teutonic Order and its offshoot, the intermingled Prusso-Teutonic forces,
have kept alive the Teutonic spirit of revenge against the Christian
influence. The tradition of the Fehme has evolved on parallel tracks and was
inspired by the same spirit. The spirit of the great mass of the peaceable
and profoundly Christian German population has through the ages provided a
striking contrast. Observers during all this time have taken account of only
this latter aspect of affairs and have not attached sufficient importance to
the Teutonic forces which were awaiting their hour.
The belief in a Teutonic Messiah was always alive in these circles:
Barbarossa was asleep in his mountain * and would come forth some day to lead
his people toward new destinies.[ * See pages 337-341]
Hitler expects to be this Teutonic Messiah. In this respect also he intends
to take advantage of ideas which were set in motion long before his time. He
knows how to "steal the show" in every field. He expects from his faithful
that they take him with a respectful seriousness, as becomes a Barbarossa
redivivus. The salute "Heil Hitler" was introduced precisely in order to
superimpose Hitler on the image of Christ.
The expression Third Reich was created to recall Barbarossa. The second Reich
had been, in the interpretation of Hitler's faithful, that of Bismarck
(although the latter had never so described it), and the first, that of
Barbarossa. The figure three leads back to the figure one, as the Holy
Trinity symbolizes the one God. Hitler, or rather Hess and Rosenberg -his
experts in "mystic matters"-, were clever at choosing their symbols to catch
the public imagination.
Destruction of the Family
The Prusso-Teutonics succeeded in liberating themselves completely from the
background common to Western civilization: the Greco-Christian moral
philosophy. The fight against the Christian spirit is thus an organic part of
Prusso-Teutonism; Bismarck's famous "Kulturkampf," directed against the
Catholic Church, and Hitler's open battle against all Judeo-Christian
religions can be considered logical—simply as a part of this fight.
We must put into the same class the methodical attempts made in Germany to
break up the traditional concept of the family as well as the efforts to
introduce into the relations between young people of the two sexes a lack of
restraint directly opposed to Western ideas. The encouragement of sexual
relations between girls and boys of neighboring youth camps and the
propaganda advanced in schools to accustom the girls to the idea of having
illegitimate children "for the State" or "for Hitler" are not accidental
occurrences. They are part of a systematic plan to break up all the social for
ms and customs on which Greco-Christian society was built.
This program has been extended even to the territories occupied by Germany.
Recent reports from Poland and from Alsace-Lorraine seem to confirm that the
"New Order" which the Prusso-Teutonics visualize in Europe would mean, in
this sphere also, regression to long outdated concepts.
The family idea is very ancient and goes back to pre-Christian times. It was
adopted, however, as an organic part of the Greco-Christian moral concept. It
evolved out of an elementary philosophy of life in which was latent the idea
of the "primacy of the human person." The Individual, instead of being
submerged in the Tribe or in the State, forms his own little universe, the
Family-and all further development of Society starts at that point. The
undermining of the ideas * on which the family has been built up means
something further: the suppression of a unit in which the individual was able
to find shelter from the uniformity and the exactions of the Tribe or the
State. German policy in the matter of the sexual education of youth thus
appears as an organic part of the plan to submerge the individual within the
State—the PrussoTeutonic State, of course, even if the individual is Alsatian
or Polish.
No girl should be selfish enough to save herself for her future husband or to
be dominated by thoughts of the family she may wish to raise. Such thoughts
are no longer a virtue. They are a crime against the State: children should
be begotten only for the State. "There is but one virtue-to forget oneself as
an individual," said Fichte and von Bernhardi long ago. The individual's
thought of procreating should be governed only by the needs of the State. And
if these children are born out of wedlock, so much the better: without family
attachments they will be much more willing to submit themselves to the State.
The Five Prussian Characteristics
We may now recapitulate the various traits which are inherent in
"Prussianism." We can find five such traits, or characteristics. First, there
is the threefold mark mentioned in
* i.e., those opposed to promiscuous sexual relations, those referring to the
first allegiance of children to the head of the family, etc.
Chapter 11 as particularly characteristic of the Teutonic Order. Let us
review the meaning of each of these traits:
(1) The Teutonic harshness of the Knights. This appeared on many occasions as
the barbaric element in Prussianism. This is the trait which goes back
directly to pre-Christian days. It explains the many cruelties apparent in
the Third Reich which so often shocked the Western World.
(2) The egotism of caste and the arrogance of the Teutonic Knights. The
Knights were of noble descent. The Order itself was described symbolically as
a "Hospital" of the German nobles, a sort of charitable self-help institution
with the purpose of procuring due and undue privileges for the caste members.
We are facing here the feudal element in Prussianism; in its name were
committed the numerous abuses for which the Junkers so often were criticized.
This created and encouraged in Prusso-Teutonic Germany an atmosphere of
corruption strangely fused with the so-called "higher goals." This element is
also responsible for the famous arrogance of the German Junkers and officers
which has frequently aroused world-wide resentment.
(3) The fanaticism and the "disciplinarian" mentality derived from the
monastic origin of Prussianism. The Teutonic Knights acted in the most
un-Christian manner and were often in open struggle with the Church.
Nevertheless a severe monastic rule reigned supreme within the Order in
contradiction to the frequently un-Christian outward conduct of the Teutonic
brethren. It is true that in this rule the accent was on discipline and not
on Christian spirit. This rule was inspired by the statutes of the two other
Knights' orders in the Holy Land, especially by those of the Templar Order.
The strictness of these statutes was a guarantee of survival for these
Orders. The leaders of the Teutonic Knights wanted to insure survival of
their Order by using the same means. In spite of their frequent opposition to
the teachings of the Church they could employ monastic rule because this was
not necessarily Christian. The traditions of the Sicilian-Norman State in
which Emperor Frederick II had been raised also influenced these statutes
toward the same disciplinarian spirit. From this source the Order inherited
especially its conception of a State led by officials governed by the same
rigid discipline. Out of this monastic fanaticism and disciplinarian
mentality evolved the famous "Prussian discipline" of the German army and
officialdom; and also the intolerance characteristic of most institutions in
present-day Germany. This is the trait in Prusso-Teutonic Germany which is at
the antipodes of any "sense of humor." But this monastic fanaticism in the
Knights' times also meant absolute devotion to the cause of the Order and
utter disregard of the "primacy of the human person'' This primacy was a
Christian principle but its application was necessarily lost in the rigid
monastic structure of the Teutonic Order: the Order's interests took
precedence over those of Christianity and mankind. In the course of centuries
the Teutonic Order developed into the Prussian State. The absolute devotion
which originally had been accorded to the Order now was directed toward the
State. This devotion in modern times took shape as the German totalitarian
idea applied by the Prusso-Teutonics in connection with the
Prussian-controlled German State.
Besides this threefold mark, the Teutonic Order had two further
characteristics. These were the ones directly inherited from the Hohenstaufen
Emperors: (a) ambition aiming at world domination; (b) fight (undercover or
open) against the Christian spirit. These two aims were closely connected. As
we have seen, the Hohenstaufens concerned themselves only with the unlimited
extension of their own power in the direction of world domination-toward
which the Church took (and had to take by its very nature) a strongly
critical attitude.
The Teutonic Order inherited from the Hohenstaufens both these ambitions and
the spirit of resistance against the supremacy of the Church and Christian
teachings in general. In the isolated hot-house of Eastern Prussia these two
"Leitmotivs" grew to gigantesque proportions through the centuries.
These five characteristics were perpetuated by the inner circle of the Order
and later by the Junker organizations. They still pervade present-day
Prussianism. They have even obtruded themselves into the foreground to such
an extent that their sudden appearance in the limelight has surprised the
world. It has not been fully realized that this is no spontaneous creation of
Nazism, but that these characteristics have for centuries been inherent in
Prussianism.
It is due to the five traits or tendencies we have described (two of which
were inherited from the Hohenstaufen Emperors, three developed within the
Teutonic Order) that Prusso-Teutonic Germany (Hitlerian Germany today) seems
to be so utterly different from the rest of the world. And it is also because
of the same characteristics that it is so different from that other Germany:
the Germany of Greco-Christian culture-which used to be the Germany before
Prussian domination was established over all German nations; and which may
still exist, to a limited extent, in a part of the country—or at least in
certain German homes.
The All-Important Fight Against the Christian Spirit
Of the five characteristics of Prusso-Teutonic Germany, the two inherited
from the Hohenstaufen Emperors described under (a) and (b) are the most
significant and the most important. These—"ambition aiming toward world
domination" and "fight against the Christian spirit"—appear as the basic
driving forces. It is quite natural that this should be so, since the
Teutonic Order accepted these two aims when it embarked on the Borussian
adventure and consciously carried them for-ward through the centuries.
The "fight against the Christian spirit" seems to be the more all-embracing
of these two aims. It is even a kind of prerequisite to the other
aim-unlimited imperialism-because the Christian spirit is necessarily opposed
to domination of the world by a single group or State. Also, it was possible
for the other three characteristics of Prusso-Teutonic Germany which we have
described to develop into what they are today only because of the basic
anti-Christian tendency of the Order, and in later times of the Prusso-Teutoni
cs.
The Teutonic harshness and egotism of caste, lacking all limitations set by
Christian morality, made possible the cruelties and abuses for which the
Teutonic Knights were infamous in Prussia, the peculiar practices of the
Felime in the Middle Ages and particularly in its revived, more cruel form
after World War I, and the present inhuman mass-killings of the civilian
population in the Ukraine, Yugoslavia, etc.
The unlimited devotion to the State without the humanizing influence of
Christian morality is at the origin of such statements of principles as those
contained in the writings of the Prusso-Teutonic theoreticians (see Chapter
1) *—statements which Western people with their Greco-Christian background
feel are basically opposed to their way of thinking. This also explains the
constant lying and broken promises of the Teutonic Order where advantages for
the Order's State were at stake; and also the same attitude in more recent
Prussian history-particularly in the case of Bismarck, whose Machiavellism
and cynicism are surpassed only by Hitler's. This peculiar type of devotion
to the interests of the State finds justification for the most evil actions,
provided they benefit the State.[ * For example: "Right belongs to those who
are victorious in war"; "The right of conquest is universally recognized";
"Strength is the highest law"; "Without war we would find degenerate races";
"War is a sound panacea for the people"; "Everything has its price"; "The
State is an end in itself."]
Secret Germany
One may ask whether there is an actual secret organization behind the Junkers
and the Prusso-Teutonics or whether the familiar Prusso-Teutonic
organizations are responsible for the sequence of events presented in this
book.
Really secret organizations seldom betray their existence by outward signs.
Nevertheless the founding of the secret "Society of Lizards"
(Eidechsengesellschaft) is an historical fact. Reliable historians have
related how this society tried to pull the strings in Prussia while the Order
of the Teutonic Knights still existed. Kotzebue attributes to the activities
of this secret society the secularization of Prussia.
The unilinear evolution which has taken place since then—in Prussia and in a
Germany dominated by Prussia—and which corresponds point by point to the
basic principles of the Society of Lizards might be considered sufficient
circumstantial evidence of the survival of a secret Prusso-Teutonic
organization right down to our time. But there is more. The entire process of
Prussian growth seems to be inspired by an uninterrupted organic plan. The
continuity in the achievement of this plan while the Teutonic Order was
responsible for the growth can well be understood. No interruption in the
logic of events is observable, however, even since the time when the Order
ceased to manage the affairs of Prussia. The natural thought, of course, is
that the Society of Lizards, which was-while the Order still existed-its
rival for influence in Prussia, secretly carried forward the same plans on
its own; and that the same Society inspired the Great Elector, Frederick II,
Bismarck, Wilhelm II, and the different leaders of Germany since 1918.
Our circumstantial evidence goes further: Germany was defeated in 1918 and
the old ambitious plans of the Prussian elements seemed shattered forever;
yet within a few months somebody, somewhere, behind the curtains in Germany,
made decisions of the highest importance. These decisions meant revival of
the old Fehme, the organization of a systematic terror planned to undermine
the young German Republic and to facilitate Germany's secret rearmament.
So-called "secret societies" sprang up from one day to the other all over
Germany-societies which were secretive as regards the details of their
decisions and activities, but whose existence itself was a secret from
nobody. All these secret societies were closely connected among themselves;
and there was no rivalry between them. Their activities complemented each
other wonderfully. Even a superficial observer must conclude that all this
was possible only if these societies received instructions from the same
hidden, absolutely secret sources.
The fact that the Fehme terror sprang up so rapidly, so "spontaneously" after
the first World War tends to confirm the view that the decision to institute
this terror must have been reached by a very small group operating secretly.
It is extremely difficult to imagine that a large, openly organized
association like the Reichs-Landbund (the professional organization of the
Junker landowners), or a social club like the Herrenklub (to which nobody but
the cream of the Prusso-Teutonics was admitted), could overnight have taken
such a grave decision as the starting of a new blood tribunal. Matters of
this delicate character can be decided only by a few people who are party to
the same secret, and bound by the same vows. Unless this condition exists,
endless discussions ensue which hinder a quick decision; and the danger Of
betrayal exists. It is a fact that no time elapsed before the decisions were
taken, and the orders were issued to the different executive agencies.
Further, nobody ever betrayed the working of the inner circle of the
twentieth-century Felime.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Emperor Wilhelm II, who was nurtured on
the traditions of the Prusso-Teutonic Order, actually reestablished this
Order in Prussia and Ger many. The descendants of those who, acting in the
Society of Lizards, displaced the ancient Order from Prussia—and contributed
thus to its disintegration—now claimed for themselves the right to appear
cloaked in the dignity of those whose place they had taken. (From their point
of view they were perfectly right to do so: although they had displaced the
Order, they actually were carrying on the Order's traditions. They acted like
a man who secures control of a corporation by the foulest means and then,
continuing on the original policies of the enterprise, makes speeches to the
glory of his predecessor.) Not much was said about the activities of the
revived Order, but its yearly conventions in East Prussia were generally
noted by the German newspapers. A few months after the beginning of the
present war, a short notice appeared in German papers announcing that Hitler
himself had been initiated into the Teutonic Order.
No information is published about the internal organization of the
contemporary Prusso-Teutonic Order, nor about its exact connections with
what—if it still exists—is the present-day survival of the Society of Lizards.
In a word, we cannot expect to find documentary evidence about the precise
functioning of "Secret Germany," but we do not need more than circumstantial
evidence for our purposes. In this connection it is interesting to note that
in May, 1924, when the 700th anniversary of the University of Naples, a
University founded by Emperor Frederick II, was celebrated, a crown was found
near the sarcophage of the Emperor in the Cathedral of Palermo with the
following inscription:
"Seinein Kaiser und Helden
Das geheime Deutschland"
("To Their Emperor and Hero, from Secret Germany)"* [*From: E. Kantorowicz, Ka
iser Friedrich der Zweite, 1928]
This Secret Germany, whatever may be the form in which it functions today,
may certainly be grateful to Emperor Frederick II, author of the Bull of
Rimini, and thereby spiritual father of the Teutonic Order, who enabled
Secret Germany to preserve to our times his mystic, world-spanning ambitions.
It is this Secret Germany, this Germany carrying on a centuries-old
conspiracy, about which the Deputy Gareis spoke in 1921 in the Bavarian
Landtag, and which caused his murder. It is this same Germany which, as we
have seen, brought Hitler to power and has enabled him to appear in the eyes
of the world as a great conqueror, or a great criminal—depending on the point
of view.
If we assume the existence of a Secret Germany, the open Junker organizations
like the Reichs-Landbund and the Herrenklub—which also derive from the Order
of the thirteenth century-have only a secondary role, carrying out
instructions of the secret group like all the other recently established
societies which we have mentioned. But even if we disregard the
circumstantial evidence which proves the actual survival of Secret Germany,
we must admit that a straight line can be detected between the Teutonic Order
of the thirteenth century and the Germany of today. In this latter case we
must assume that the Reichs-Landbund and the Herrenklub are the final source
of all decisions because they would be the highest in the hierarchy of all
existing Prusso-Teutonic organizations. They would thus have the final
responsibility for Germany's present-day role.
The facts set forth in this book support the former view.
The Barbarian Revolt
Before the advent of Hitler to power, the German Catholic thinker, Theodore
Haecker, clearly recognized that Hitler was the faithful valet of the
Prusso-Teutonic forces and that he would act in this capacity when he became
head of Germany. Haecker considered the Prussian trend an evil German
tradition, a kind of bastard tradition. Here is what Haeckcr wrote in
December, 1932 (in Virgil, Father of the West):
"We are aware that we are living in dark times. We still have in us just
enough light to be conscious of the darkness enveloping us; to perceive it
through the heavy vapors rising from the second and third Reichs (Bismarck
and Hitler: or we know that the advent of the Racists will inaugurate a new
age of Humanity which they will baptize the third Reich) and which are
exhaled by the impure, hollow declarations of our second and third-rate
apostles and prophets of empire. At the bottom of these foul Messianic
fermentations is no trace of spirituality [Geist] and even less of the Holy
Ghost [Heiliger Geist]. Their sole excuse, perhaps, and even more the excuse
of those they carry along in their train, is the spiritual and material
distress in which we are living.
"The great trickery, the great fraud is this: from the hour that Prussia
incarnated the idea of Empire, this idea of Empire changed in dimensions,
ceased to be the common affair of the Christian West, and shrank to the
compass of an internal affair, of the Germanic tribes of the Forest of
Teutoburg . . . plebeian, cardinally vicious and perverted in its deep
essence. From the beginning of its history Prussia has been a State, and
nothing more than a State. A State stricken with hydrocephaly. She has never
had any ethnic character. She has never been a race like Bavaria or Swabia.
She has never been a people or a nation. She has never annexed a race, a
people, a nation except by means of deceit . . . . * The Prussian State has
introduced into the Germanic idea of the Reich elements which cause it to
disintegrate internally, short-sighted State centralism, and an
anti-Christian, bestial nationalism." [* The italics are mine. P.W.]
The entire background of what we consider the "Hitlerian" regime is here in
the words of Haecker published two months before Hitler's accession to the
chancellorship. Nazism may have represented many things since its beginning.
Since January 30, 19337 it has been nothing more than "Prussianism" and lives
only by the grace of Prusso-Teutonic forces which alone count in Germany.
Hitler and his acolytes have taken all the blame for whatever can be said
against the Germany of today, while PrussoTeutonic Germany has succeeded in
making the world almost forget that it ever existed-and certainly has
succeeded in concealing the fact that it is still there, more than ever
responsible for everything that is done in Germany's name.
The forces which in 1933 allowed Hitler's accession to power kept him there
on condition that he serve their interests, and that he systematically pursue
their cherished plans of conquest. They always preferred to work through some
such figurehead, because, recognizing the possibility of a setback to their
ambitions, they thought it preferable for others, rather than themselves, to
be blamed for any failures. Thus, they would be able to reorganize their
activities later under new guises.
Domination over all of Germany was the first goal which attracted the
Prusso-Teutonics. Once this was accomplished the rest of the world was to be
brought under control.
In what Prussianism has become through the ages it represents a "barbarian
revolt" against all that is dear to us in Western culture. Whether Hitler is
overthrown tomorrow or not, Prussianism will still be here in all its
threatening reality, a real focus of evil which to this day has always
escaped the surgeon's scalpel.
Unless, this time, we have the courage to cut out from its depth all of the
putrid flesh. . . .
pps. 210-240
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
All My Relations.
Omnia Bona Bonis,
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
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