worse: his amazing stupidity as far as knowledge and ability go, or his biting insolence combined with immorality which—considering his age—makes one’s hair stand on end.
Creed of Hate
“The masses can only be captured by a ruthless and fanatic one-sided presentation of our nationalistic idea.
The dynamic force which has made the most important changes in history has always been—no scientific intellect—but rather a fanatic feeling of hysteria which has hurled the masses in one direction.
To win the soul of the people, it is not enough merely to fight for one’s own end—one must at the same time destroy the upholders of the opposite cause.
A savage attack upon some adversary is proof to the people of the justice of their own cause.
The masses feel that if their leaders refrain from destroying an opponent, this must be a sign of uncertainty of their own cause—if not a sign that the cause is unjust.
The masses are only a fragment of nature, and their feelings cannot understand a handicap between men who proclaim opposite views. What they want is the victory of the stronger and the annihilation of the weaker, or else his unconditional enslavement.”
Mein Kampf—Chapter XII
As my knowledge flowered a new world unfolded before my eyes.
I no longer was forced to earn my dally bread as a common laborer in 1909-10. I worked independently as a draftsman and a painter of water colors. My earnings were small, but I was master of my own time. I had more time to read, and besides, I was continually immersed in thoughts of my own.
I suppose my acquaintances considered me an odd sort.
All this time, learning about music and other arts, I was most of all convinced that I would one day be a famous architect.
“Even as a boy I was no pacifist, and all attempts to train me in this direction were utter failures.”
Mein Kampf—Chapter V
My great interest in politics I deemed merely the ordinary duty of every intelligent individual, so I read and learned a lot about this. But I do not mean that I read only in order to possess wide, little-organized knowledge. This only creates a muddle in a foolishly vain mind. One who masters the art of reading—whether it be book, magazine, or pamphlet—simply picks out that which he believes suitable because it fits a specific purpose or is generally worth knowing. Only in this way is reading of any use. Otherwise it is senseless. A public speaker for example, who has not stuffed his head with all manner of support for his ideas, will be without sufficient support from his memory in case of contradiction or argument.
Escape From
Marxism
I have always, from earliest youth, read in the correct manner, and I have been helped in the most pleasing way by my memory and understanding.
In the misery of Vienna daily experience enabled me to examine theory in the light of reality, and so I was not suffocated by my wide thinking and reading.
Who knows when I would have come to studying Marxism if at this time my nose had not been thrust into this problem!
At the age of 17 I had scarcely heard the word “Marxism”, and I thought “Socialism” and “Democracy” were identical. Until that time I knew of the Social Democratic Party only because I had attended a few mass meetings, at which I gained no insight into the mentality of its followers or the meaning of its doctrine. But in Vienna I came into rapid contact with people of this sort, and soon knew that this “Social Democracy” idea was a pestilence hiding behind a mask of social virtue and love of humanity—a pestilence that, unless it was driven from the world, would destroy mankind.
I was employed on a construction job when I first really encountered the Social Democrats. I was asked to join the union; I knew nothing of unions and I refused. I said I wanted a little time to investigate the whole affair, and so they consented to wait a few days.
After two weeks of study, no power on earth could have forced me to have anything whatever to do with them.
At lunch as I drank my bottle of milk and ate my piece of bread, I listened to the workers talk. They were against everything.
The nation was an invention of the capitalistic classes … The Fatherland was a weapon of the Bourgeoisie to exploit the workers … The law was intended to suppress the proletariat … The school was to create slaves … Religion was to dope the people … Morality was only a symbol of sheep-like patience …
“Are These
Human Beings?”
I strove to keep quiet, but I could not hold myself back. I began to contradict. Of course refusing to join the union, I argued and argued against them until one day they adopted that one means which most easily vanquishes reason: terrorism and violence. I was warned that I must either leave the job at once, or I would be thrown off the scaffolding. Since I was alone and resistance seemed hopeless, I quit my job.
I went away disgusted, my head throbbing with the question: are these human beings, worthy of being part of a great race?
One day soon after this I watched with horror as endless columns of Viennese workers marched through the streets in a mass demonstration. For almost two hours I stood transfixed staring at this huge serpent twisting through the city. On the way home, for the first time I bought a copy of one of the Social Democratic newspapers; and in the evening I read it through, fighting down with difficulty the overpowering rage that arose in me in the face of the mass of lies.
Only a fool, understanding the hypocrisy of this poison, would condemn the victim. Now I understand the candid orders that only Red newspapers be subscribed to, only Red Meetings be attended, only Red books be read.
Thus I learned that the soul of the masses will not accept weak or half measures.
Just like a woman, influenced less by reasoning than by longing for strength, would rather submit to the powerful man than dominate the weak one, so do the masses love the Commander more than the petitioner. The masses are more satisfied with a doctrine which tolerates no rival than by freedom of choice.
The value of physical terror, against the individual and aganst the masses, now was revealed to me.
It was the terrorist instrument of the trade union which turned the idea of Democracy into a ridiculous and disgusting phrase. They outraged liberty and mocked fraternity with the cry:
“Join with us or we’ll break your skull”.
Thus I came to know these friends of mankind.
Hitler Discovers
The Jew
Meanwhile I had come to understand the relation between the doctrine of destruction and the nature of a race of which I had hitherto been unaware.
An understanding of Jewry is the sole key to a grasp of the hidden, real intention of Social Democracy.
To know this race is to lift the veil of false understanding, and then from the mist of social talk rises, grinning, the ape-like face of Marxism.
Today I find it difficult to say when the word “Jew” first provoked special thought in my head. I do not remember ever hearing it at home. At school I knew one Jewish boy whom we treated with caution, but this was only because his aloofness made us distrustful of him. Neither I, nor the other boys, had any real thoughts on the matter. I encountered the word “Jew” more frequently when I was fourteen or fifteen, generally in political discussions. Only a few Jews lived in Linz. After centuries they seemed outwardly European and human; I even thought that they were Germans.
- (After the Nazi regime came into power in Germany, Goebbels declared: “Our critics are degenerates! Some even say the Jew is a human being!”)
The insanity of this notion was not clear to me, for the only distinguishing mark I perceived was the religion. That Jews had been persecuted solely because of their religion, as I supposed, made me dislike hearing hostile remarks about them.
I did not dream that there was such a thing as organized warfare against the Jews.
Then I went to Vienna.
“… Because of My
Human Tolerance”
At that time Vienna had nearly 200,000 Jews among 2,000,000 inhabitants, but I did not see these Jews. Soon I was conscious of anti-Semitism, but, because of my human tolerance, I refused to join the movement, which I thought was based upon religious grounds.
I was depressed by the memory of certain events in the middle ages which I hoped never would be repeated.
When I first came to Vienna I eagerly read the “world press”, but I soon found myself antagonized by the inevitable blind daily worship of the House of Hapsburg. I thought that Democracy was violated by this courting of the powerful. Meanwhile, of course, proudly comparing the growing strength of the German Reich with the decline of the Austrian State, I saw in Wilhelm II not only the German Emperor but the great creator of the German fleet. It maddened me that the Viennese press, while bending the knee to the smallest local court followers, openly attacked the German Kaiser.
This made the blood rush to my head.
More, the asinine press praise for France annoyed me. Compared to the way the French were talked of, one could only feel ashamed of the Germans.
Finally, I dropped such people and turned to the Volksblatt, a smaller, but cleaner newspaper and with which I seemed much more in accord. I disagreed with its anti-Semitism, but occasional arguments expressed in the Volksblatt made me think.
This led me to knowledge of the man and the movement which then ruled Vienna’s destiny—Doctor Karl Lueger of the Christian Social Party. When I came to Vienna I disliked both, considering the man and the movement “reactionary”, but my customary sense of justice allowed me to alter this opinion and now I consider this man the greatest German Mayor of all times.
- (Lueger, a violent anti-Semite, founded the Christian Socialist Party to which Kurt von Schusschnigg, last Chancellor of independent Austria, belonged. When Hitler annexed Austria in March, 1938, Kurt von Schusschnigg was imprisoned in a hotel room, where he was doped with scopalamine and otherwise mistreated. He is still held prisoner by the Nazis.)
As I came to sympathize with the Christian Socialist Movement, my opinions regarding anti-Semitism changed. This radical change was my most severe spiritual struggle, and only after months of torturous debate between reason and feeling did victory finally fall to reason. Within two years feeling followed reason completely, and from then on was its most faithful guide in this matter.
One day as I walked through the streets of Vienna I abruptly encountered a figure clad in a long kaftan, with black curls. My first thought was:
“Is that a Jew?”
Secretly, I stared at the man, and as the strange face impressed itself upon my brain, feature by feature, my question changed form:
“Is that a German?”
According to my custom, I strove to end my doubts through books. For the first time I bought some anti-Semitic pamphlets. But they were such that I suffered again from my doubts, for the anti-Semitic assertions were supported only by shallow and unscientific arguments.
I then suffered relapses for weeks—even for months. The matter seemed so monstrous; the accusations were so overwhelming, that through fear of injustice I was uncertain.
However, even I could no longer doubt that these were not Germans with an odd religion, but a separate race. Now wherever I went I saw Jews, and soon I could easily tell them from other people.
My vacillation was finally ended by the Jews themselves. A great movement amongst them, a movement widely represented in Vienna, was determined to affirm the character of Jewry as a people: the Zionists.
Soon I discovered that the apparent quarrel among the Zionist Jews and non-Zionist Jews was entirely unreal, based on lies. The inner oneness of the race was not disturbed; this fraud disgusted me. The impurity of this race was still another thing—they were drunkards. After a time I was often nauseated by the smell of the Jew; also there was their unclean clothing and most unheroic appearance.
“We must train the German people from childhood only—absolutely exclusively—to recognize the rights of their own nationality.”
Mein Kampf—Chapter III
Much more revolting than this was the moral uncleanliness of the chosen people. Was there any offal, any form of profligacy, especially in cultural life, in which there was not found some Jew? This was devouring disease, everywhere infecting the people, worse than the Black Death of ancient times, and in what quantities this virus was produced and distributed!
It was not to be denied that nine-tenths of all the literary dirt, artistic rubbish, and theatrical nuisance was conceived by a race constituting scarcely a hundredth of the population; the press, too, was thus poisoned.
“How My Indignation
Blazed!”
The Vienna streets offered especially lucid and ugly lessons. Nowhere else an western Europe was the relationship between Jewry and prostitution—and also the white slave traffic—so evident, unless in the French sea-
