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English:
Adolf
Hitler delivers a speech at the Kroll Opera House to the men of the Reichstag
on the subject of Roosevelt and the war in the Pacific, declaring war on the
United States. Next to Hitler in the government benches (from right to left)
are Joachim von Ribbentrop, Erich
Raeder, Walther von Brauchitsch, Wilhelm
Keitel, Wilhelm Frick and Joseph
Goebbels. In the second row (from right to left) are Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, Walther
Funk, Richard Walther Darré, Bernhard
Rust, Hanns Kerrl, Hans Frank,
Julius Dorpmüller, Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Fritz Todt.
In the third row (from right to left) are Alfred
Rosenberg, Otto Meißner and Johannes
Popitz. (11 December 1941)
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INTERNET
SOURCE: http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/40-07-19.htm
Adolf Hitler
- Great speech to the German Reichstag
Berlin, July
19, 1940
Deputies, Men
of the German Reichstag!
In the midst of the mighty struggle for the freedom
and future of the German nation, I have called on you to gather for this session
today. The grounds for it are: to give our Volk insight into the historic
uniqueness of the events we have lived through; to express our thanks to the
deserving soldiers; and to direct, once again and for the last time, an appeal
to general reason.
Whoever contrasts the factors which triggered this historic conflict
with the extent, the greatness, and consequence of the military occurrences,
must realize that the events and sacrifices of this struggle stand in no
relation to the alleged causes, unless these causes themselves were but
pretexts for intentions yet concealed.
The program of the National Socialist Revolution, insofar as it
concerned the future development of the Reich’s relations with the surrounding
world, was an attempt to obtain a revision of the Treaty of Versailles under
all circumstances-and as far as this was possible-by peaceful means.
This revision was by nature a necessity. The untenability of the
provisions of Versailles lay not only in the humiliating discrimination, the
disarmament of the German Volk secured with the result that they lost their
rights, but above all in the resultant material destruction of the present and
the intended destruction of the future of one of the greatest civilized peoples
in the world, in the completely senseless accumulation of vast terrains under
the mastery of a few states, in the depriving of the losers of irreplaceable
foundations for life and indispensable vital goods.
The fact that insightful men on the side of the adversary, even while
this Diktat was being composed, warned against the conclusive realization of
the terms of this work of lunacy, is proof of the persuasion prevalent even in
these ranks that it would be impossible to maintain this Diktat in the future.
Their misgivings and their protests were silenced by the assurance that the
statutes of the newly created League of Nations secured the possibility of a
revision of these provisions, indeed that it was authorized for such a
revision. At no time was hope for a revision regarded as something improper,
but always as something quite natural. Regrettably, contrary to the will of the
men responsible for the Versailles Diktat, the institution in Geneva never
regarded itself as an agency for procuring sensible revisions, but rather, from
the beginning, as the custodian of the ruthless implementation and maintenance
of the provisions of Versailles. All endeavors of democratic Germany failed to
obtain, by means of revision, an equality of rights for the German Volk.
It lies in the interest of the victor to portray as universally
sanctified those conditions that benefit him, while the essence of the instinct
of selfpreservation compels the vanquished to strive for a restoration of his
general human rights. For him this Diktat penned by an arrogant enemy has even
less force of law insofar as the victory of this enemy was a dishonest one. It
was a rare misfortune that the German Reich was led exceedingly badly in the
years 1914–18. To this, and to the not otherwise instructed trust and faith of
the German Volk in the word of democratic statesmen, must our fall be ascribed.
It was thus that the joint British-French endeavor to portray the
Versailles Treaty as some type of international or higher justice must have
appeared to every honest German as nothing other than an insolent usurpation.
The supposition that British or French statesmen of all people were custodians
of justice itself, or even of human culture, was a stupid effrontery. It was an
affront which is sufficiently elucidated by their own inferior performances in
these fields. For rarely has this world been governed with a greater deficit of
cleverness, morality, and culture than in that part of it which is presently at
the mercy of the fury of certain democratic statesmen.
The National Socialist Movement has, besides its delivery from the
Jewishcapitalist shackles imposed by a plutocratic-democratic, dwindling class
of exploiters at home, pronounced its resolve to free the Reich from the
shackles of the Diktat of Versailles abroad. The German demands for a revision
were an absolute necessity, a matter of course for the existence and the honor
of any great people. Posterity will some day come to regard them as exceedingly
modest.
All these demands had to be carried through, in practice against the
will of the British-French potentates. Now more than ever we all see it as a
success of the leadership of the Third Reich that the realization of these
revisions was possible for years without resort to war. This was not the
case-as the British and French demagogues would have it-because we were not
then in a position to wage war. When it finally appeared as though, thanks to a
gradually awakening common sense, a peaceful resolution of the remaining
problems could be reached through international cooperation, the agreement
concluded in this spirit on September 29, 1938, at Munich by the four great
states predominantly involved, was not welcomed by public opinion in London and
Paris, but was condemned as a despicable sign of weakness. The Jewishcapitalist
warmongers, their hands covered with blood, saw in the possible success of such
a peaceful revision the vanishing of plausible grounds for the realization of
their insane plans.
Once again that conspiracy of pitiful, corrupt political creatures and
greedy financial magnates made its appearance, for whom war is a welcome means
to bolster business. The international Jewish poison of the peoples began to
agitate against and to corrode healthy minds. Men of letters set out to portray
decent men who desired peace as weaklings and traitors, to denounce opposition
parties as a “fifth column,” in order to eliminate internal resistance to their
criminal policy of war. Jews and Freemasons, armament industrialists and war
profiteers, international traders and stockjobbers, found political
blackguards: desperados and glory seekers who represented war as something to
be yearned for and hence wished for.
It is to be ascribed to these criminal elements that the Polish State
was incited to assume a posture which stood in no relation to the German
demands and even less to the consequences that resulted.
The German Reich, in particular with regard to Poland, has shown
restraint ever since the National Socialist rise to power. One of the basest
and stupidest provisions of the Versailles Diktat, namely the tearing away of
an old German province from the Reich, already cried for a revision in and of
itself.
But what was it that I demanded at the time? I must in this context
refer to my own person. No other statesman could have afforded to propose a
solution to the German nation in the way I did. It comprised merely the return
of Danzig-that is to say of an ancient, purely German city-to the Reich as well
as the creation of a connection of the Reich to its severed province. And this
only pursuant to plebiscites conducted, in turn, under the auspices of an
international forum. If Mr. Churchill or any other warmongers had but a
fraction of the sense of responsibility I felt toward Europe, they could not
have played so perfidious a game. For it need be ascribed solely to these
vested interests in war, both within Europe and beyond, that Poland rejected
the proposals which neither compromised its existence nor its honor, and
instead resorted to terror and arms. And it was truly superhuman restraint,
without precedent, which for months led us, in spite of persistent
assassination attempts on ethnic Germans-yes, indeed, in spite of the slaughter
of tens of thousands of German Volksgenossen, to continue to search for a path toward
peaceful understanding. For what was the situation like? One of the creations
of the Diktat of Versailles, the most divorced from reality, a bogy inflated
militarily and politically, insulted a state for many months, threatening to
beat it, to fight battles before Berlin, to smash the German Army to pieces, to
transfer the border to the Oder or the Elbe; it went on and on. And this other
state, Germany, watches the goingson patiently for months, although one
sweeping gesture would have sufficed to wipe this bubble inflated by stupidity
and arrogance off the face of the earth.
On September 2, this struggle could yet have been avoided. Mussolini
made a proposal to put an immediate end to the hostilities and to negotiate
peacefully. Though Germany saw its armies advancing victoriously, I accepted
this nonetheless. But the Anglo-French warmongers needed war, not peace.
And they needed a long war, as Mr. Chamberlain put the matter at the
time. It was to last for at least three years, since they had in the meantime
invested their capital in the armament industry, bought the necessary
machinery, and now needed the precondition of time for the thriving of their
business and for the amortization of their investments. And besides: what are
Poles, Czechs, or other such nationalities to these citizens of the world? A
German soldier found a curious document while rummaging through train wagons at
the La Charite station on June 19, 1940.
He immediately handed over the document-which bore
a particular remark-to his superiors at departmental headquarters. From there
the paper passed to agencies. It became clear that what had been discovered
constituted evidence in a most important investigation. The train station was
once more thoroughly searched. And it was thus that the High Command of the
Wehrmacht came into possession of a collection of documents of unique
historical significance.
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“Whoever
lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.” – Adolf
Hitler
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What was found were the secret files of the Allied High War Council,
including the protocols of all sessions of this illustrious association. And
this time it shall not be possible for Mr. Churchill to simply deny or lie
about the authenticity of these documents, as he had attempted to do at the
time in the case of documents found in Warsaw. For these documents feature
handwritten notes in the margins penned by Gamelin, Daladier, Weygand, and so
on. Hence these
gentlemen are free either to admit to these or to disown them at any time. And
these documents enlighten us as to the dealings of these gentlemen who have an
interest in the war and in its expansion. They will above all demonstrate how
these cold-blooded politicians and military men have used all these small
peoples as a means to an end; how they tried to subject Finland to their
interests; how they determined to make Norway and Sweden the theater of war;
how they planned to set fire to the Balkans to procure the assistance of 100
divisions from there; how they prepared to bomb Batum and Baku under the cover
of a shrewd as well as unscrupulous reading of the Turkish neutrality in favor
of their own interests; how they spun their web around the Netherlands and
Belgium, pulling its strings constantly tighter, and finally engaging them in
general staff agreements; as well as many other things.
The documents afford us, moreover, a good picture of the entire
amateurish method which these policy-making warmongers employed in an attempt
to contain the fire they had kindled. These speak of their military
pseudo-democracy which is jointly responsible for the gruesome fate which they
have inflicted on hundreds of thousands and millions of soldiers of their own
countries; of their barbaric lack of conscience which led them to drive their
own peoples from their homes in cold blood and deliberately, in a mass
evacuation whose military consequences were not necessarily favorable to them,
while the general human results were shockingly gruesome. The same criminals
are at the same time responsible for whipping up the Poles and inciting them to
war. Eighteen days later this campaign ended-for all practical purposes.
For a second time in the war, I spoke to the German Volk from this stand
on October 6, 1939. I was then able to report to it the glorious military
defeat of the Polish State. I then also directed an appeal to reason to the men
responsible in the enemy states and to their peoples. I warned against further
pursuit of the war, the consequences of which could only be devastating. I
warned the French especially not to start a war which, by necessity, would eat
its way inward from the frontier and which, irrespective of its outcome, would
have dire consequences.
At this time, I directed an appeal to the rest of the world as well.
However, as I said then, I did so with the apprehension that not only might I
not be heard, but that thereby I might only elicit the wrath of the warmongers
interested. And this is precisely what came to pass.
The responsible elements in England and France smelt a rat, seeing my
appeal as a dangerous assault on their lucrative profiteering in the war.
Thus they hurriedly and eagerly declared that any thought of an
understanding was a waste of time-yes, that this would even have to be regarded
as a crime. The war had to be pursued in the name of culture, humanity, good
fortune, progress, civilization, and-Good God!-even in the name of sacred
religion, and in subservience to this end Negroes and Bushmen (Buschmenschen)
had to be mobilized. And then, of course, victory would come about of its
own accord, so to speak. It would then be within grasp; one need only reach out
for it. And, naturally, so they said, I was very well aware of all this myself,
and indeed had known it for a long time, and it was only because of this that I
had laid before the world my appeal for peace. For, if I were in a position to
believe in victory, I would not have approached England and France with an
understanding without any conditions attached. In a few days these agitators
succeeded in portraying me as a coward before the eyes of the world.
I was scolded for my peace proposal, even personally insulted. Mr.
Chamberlain virtually spat in my face before the world public and declined to
even talk of peace, according to the directives of the warmongers and agitators
backing him: Churchill, Duff Cooper, Eden, Hore-Belisha,
and so on. Not to mention negotiating a peace.
And it was thus that the big capitalist clique of war profiteers cried
for a continuation of the war. And this continuation has now begun.
I have already asserted, and all of you, my Volksgenossen, know this: if
I do not speak for some time, or nothing much happens, then this does not mean
that I am not doing anything. With us it is not necessary to multiply by a
factor of five or twelve every airplane built, and then to proclaim it loudly
to the world.
Besides, hens would be ill-advised to cry out to the world every egg
just laid. It would be all the more ill-considered of statesmen to announce
projects barely beyond the planning stage, in nervous chatter, to the
surrounding world, so as to inform it in a timely manner. To the excited
garrulousness of two of these great democratic state leaders we owe
ever-current information on the plans for an expansion of the war by our
adversaries, and especially on the concentration of the war effort in Norway
and Sweden.
While the Anglo-French clique of warmongers was on the lookout for new
opportunities to expand the war, and trying to trap new victims, I have labored
to bring to a conclusion the organizational buildup of the Wehrmacht, to set up
new units, to start up production for the war, to get material to flow, as well
as to order training of the entire Wehrmacht for its new missions.
Beyond this, however, the bad weather of the late autumn and winter
forced a postponement of military operations.
In the course of the month of March, we gained knowledge of British-
French ambitions to intervene in the Russo-Finnish conflict; which was less to
help the Finns and more to damage Russia, the latter being seen as a power
cooperating with Germany. This ambition grew into the determination to
intervene actively in Finland itself and, if possible, to gain a base for
carrying the war to the Baltic Sea. And, at this time also, suggestions of the
Allied High War Council appeared with ever greater insistence either to set
afire the Balkans or Asia Minor in an effort to bar the Reich from its Russian
and Romanian oil imports, or to gain possession of Swedish iron ore. Landings
in Norway were to serve this end with the goal of occupying all ore railroads
leading from Narvik across Sweden to the port of Lulea.
The Russo-Finnish peace accords prevented, at the last minute, the
carrying out of the already envisioned action in the Nordic States. Yet, merely
a few days later, similar ambitions surfaced anew and precipitated a clear
decision.
England and France had agreed to move, in one sudden strike, to occupy
numerous important locations in Norway under the pretext of preventing further
support for the German war effort with Swedish ore.
To secure access completely to the Swedish ore, they intended to march
into Sweden themselves and to push aside the few forces Sweden could muster,
either, if possible, in a friendly manner or, if necessary, by force.
Of the imminence of this danger we were informed personally by the
untameable garrulousness of the First Lord of the British Admiralty.
Moreover, we received confirmation through a hint
made by the French Premier Reynaud in a talk with a foreign diplomat. That the
date had been postponed twice before the eighth of April, and that the
occupation was scheduled for the eighth, that the eighth, therefore, was the
third and final day-of this we gained knowledge only recently. It was
conclusively established only with the discovery of the protocols of the High
Allied War Council.
I then ordered the Wehrmacht, as soon as the danger of dragging the
North into the war was becoming apparent, to take the appropriate measures.
The case of the Altmark already demonstrated that the Norwegian
Government was not willing to uphold its neutrality. Beyond this, reports of
secret agents also revealed that, at least insofar as the leading heads of the
Norwegian Government and the Allies were concerned, there was already full
agreement. Finally, Norway’s reaction to the violation of its territory by
British minelayers dispelled all remaining doubts.
The German operation, prepared down to the last detail, was launched.
In fact the situation was a bit different from what we perceived it to
be on April 9. While we then believed we had anticipated the British occupation
by a few hours, we know today that the landing of the English troops had been
scheduled for the eighth. The embarkation of the British contingents had
already begun on the fifth and sixth. However, the moment the first news
reached the British Admiralty of the German steps, i.e. that a German fleet had
put to sea, this development so impressed Mr. Churchill that he decided to have
the contingents already embarked disembark once again, so that the British
fleet would first be able to search for and attack German ships. This attempt
ended in failure. Only a single English destroyer came into contact with the
German naval forces and was shot out of the water. This vessel could not relay
any sort of message to the British Admiralty or to the fleet of the English
naval combat contingents. And thus, on the ninth, the landing of German forward
units was carried out along a coastal front stretching from Oslo north to
Narvik. When news of this reached London, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr.
Churchill, had already been on the lookout for many hours-eagerly awaiting
first reports of the successes of his fleet.
And this strike, my Deputies, was the most daring undertaking in the
history of German warfare. Its successful implementation was possible only
thanks to the leadership and the behavior of all German soldiers involved.
What our three arms, the Army, the Navy, and the Luftwaffe, have
accomplished in the struggle for Norway assures them mention in the records of
the highest soldiership.
The Navy conducted its operations, and later handled the troop
transports, faced by an enemy who, all in all, possessed an almost tenfold
superiority. All units of our young Reich War Navy have covered themselves with
eternal glory in this venture. Only after the war will it be appropriate to
discuss the difficulties faced especially in this campaign: the numerous
unexpected setbacks, losses, and accidents suffered. To have overcome all this
in the end goes to the credit of the behavior, the leadership, and the troops.
The Luftwaffe, which often was the only means of transport and
communications in so gigantically vast a terrain, outdid itself in all
respects.
Death-defying attacks on the enemy, on his ships and landing troops, are
hardly more impressive than the tenacious heroics of the transport plane
pilots, who in spite of unimaginably adverse weather started time and time
again on their way to the land of the midnight sun, only to unload soldiers or
freight in the midst of a snow storm.
Norway’s fjords have become the graveyard of many a British warship.
Because of the uninterrupted wild attacks of German bombers and Stukas,
the British fleet was forced to retreat from and to evacuate the very arena of
which a few weeks earlier an English newspaper had so tastefully stated “that
it would be a pleasure for England to oblige the German invitation to do battle
there.” The Army. The crossing already constituted a great challenge for the
soldiers of the Army. In a few cases, airborne troops had opened up the area
where they first set foot. Then division after division flooded the land which,
due to its natural characteristics, already possessed considerable defenses,
and which-as far as the Norwegian units were concerned-was very valiantly
defended. Of the Englishmen who had landed in Norway, one can say that the only
remarkable thing was the unscrupulousness with which such badly trained,
insufficiently equipped, and miserably led soldiers had been put ashore as an
expeditionary corps. From the beginning, they were certain to lose. By
contrast, what our German infantry, the pioneers, what our artillery, our
communications and construction units, have achieved in Norway can only be
termed the proud heroism of struggle and labor.
The word Narvik will enter our history as glorious evidence of the
spirit of the Wehrmacht of the National Socialist Greater German Reich.
The gentlemen Churchill, Chamberlain, Daladier, and so on, have, until
recently, been exceedingly ill-informed as to the essence of the Greater German
unification process. At the time, I announced that the future would probably
teach them better. And I may well assume that in particular the deployment of
mountain troops from the Ostmark at this front furthest north in our battle for
freedom has enlightened them sufficiently as far as the Greater German Reich
and its sons are concerned.
It is lamentable that the grenadiers of Mr. Chamberlain did not pay
sufficient and, above all, persistent attention to this conflict, and instead
preferred to be satisfied with the first test of the inner disposition of the
tribes of our Volk which have newly come to the Reich.
General von Falkenhorst led operations in Norway. Lieutenant General
Dietl was the hero of Narvik.
Operations at sea were conducted under the leadership of Admiral General
Saalwachter and the Admirals Carls and Boehm, and Vice Admiral Lutjens.
Operations of the Luftwaffe were under the leadership of Colonel General Milch
and Lieutenant General Geissler. The High Command of the Wehrmacht, Colonel
General Keitel, as the Chief of the High Command, and General Jodl, as the
Chief of the Wehrmacht leadership staff, were responsible for implementing my
directives for the entire undertaking.
Even before the conclusion of the campaign in Norway, news in the West
took on an ever more threatening character.
While, in fact, preparations had been made before the war to break
through the Maginot Line in the event of a necessary conflict with France or
England, an undertaking for which the German troops had been trained and had
been equipped with the weaponry required, the course of events in the first
months of the war compelled us to contemplate the possibility of moving against
Holland and Belgium. While Germany had positioned hardly any units against
Belgium or the Netherlands, other than those necessary for security reasons, as
well as beginning to expand upon its fortification system, a visible mass of
French units began to array itself along the French-Belgian border. In
particular, the concentration of tanks and motorized divisions in this sector
revealed that it was intended-at any rate it was possible-for these to be
hurled at lighting speed through Belgium at the German border.
Decisive in this context was the following observation: While, in the
case of a loyal reading of the Belgian-Dutch neutrality, these two countries
would have been forced, by the concentration of strong Anglo- French forces at
their border, to focus their attention on the West, both began to reduce their
troop strengths along this border to the same degree they began to build up the
units stationed along the border with Germany. News of ongoing talks at the
general staff level also shed a peculiar light on [this interpretation of]
Belgian-Dutch neutrality. I need not emphasize that these talks, had they been
conducted in the spirit of true neutrality, would have had to be held with both
sides. Besides this, such an intensification of signs indicating that a move of
the Anglo-French troops across Holland and Belgium against the German industrial
area was taking place required that we should regard this threat as a serious
danger.
Hence I took the German Wehrmacht into my confidence, informing it of
the possibility of such a development and entrusting it with the appropriate,
detailed directives. In numerous conferences at the High Command of the
Wehrmacht with the Commanders in Chief of the three branches of the Wehrmacht,
the leaders of the Army groups and of the armies, down to the leaders of
important, individual undertakings, the tasks facing us were enumerated and
thoroughly discussed. Among the troops these were taken up with great
understanding, as the basis for a special type of training.
Correspondingly, the entire German deployment underwent the necessary
adjustments.
The thorough observations which had been conducted everywhere gradually
led to the compelling recognition that, from the beginning of May on, an
Anglo-French advance had to be expected at any moment.
In the days of May 6 and 7, telephone conversations between London and
Paris took place, of which we gained intelligence and which reinforced
suspicions that an invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium by the so-called
Allies had to be expected at any moment. Thus on the following day, May 8, I
ordered an immediate attack for May 10, 5:35 in the morning.
The basic thought behind this operation was to deploy, without worrying
about peripheral successes, the entire Wehrmacht-especially the Army and the
Luftwaffe-in so decisive a manner that the envisioned operations had to attain
the complete annihilation of the Anglo-French forces. In contrast to the
Schlieffen Plan of the year 1914, I ordered the main thrust of the operation
along the left flank of the breakthrough front, while, however, keeping up
appearances of a reversed version. This deception was successful. Conduct of
the entire operation was made easy for me by measures our adversaries
themselves took. For the concentration of the entire Anglo-French motorized
combat forces against Belgium revealed as certain that the High Command of the
Allied armies had arrived at the decision to advance most speedily into this
area.
We relied on the steadfastness of all German infantry divisions deployed
in the thrust against the right flank of the Anglo-French motorized Army Group.
Such a drive had to lead to its complete shattering and dissolution-yes,
perhaps even to its encirclement.
As a second operation, I had planned the taking of the Seine up to Le
Havre, as well as securing bases at the Somme and Aisne for a third assault.
This was intended to break through, with strong forces across the plateau at
Langres, to the Swiss border. Reaching the coast south of Bordeaux was to
conclude operations. Within this framework and in this sequence, operations
were in fact carried out.
The success of this mightiest sequence of battles in world history we
owe first and foremost to the German soldier himself. He held his own at all
places he was deployed to the highest degree. The German tribes all share
equally in this glory.
The soldiers of the young, new Reichsgaus, added only since 1938, also
fought in an exemplary fashion and took a heavy toll of lives. The heroic risk
of life by all Germans in this war will make the emerging National Socialist
Greater German Reich eternally sacred and dear not only to the present
generation, but to all that follow.
When I undertake to honor all those forces to whose activities we owe
this most glorious of victories, then first mention is due to a leadership
which, in particular in this campaign, has met the highest of requirements.
The Army. It has performed the tasks imposed upon it, under the
leadership of Colonel General von Brauchitsch and his Chief of Staff Halder, in
a truly glorious fashion.
If the leadership of the German Army of long ago was regarded as the
best in the world, then it is deserving today of at least equal admiration.
Yes, since success is decisive for passing judgment, the leadership of the new
German Army must be considered even better.
Subdivided into three Army Groups, the Army in the West was placed under
the orders of Colonel Generals Ritter von Leeb, von Rundstedt, and von Bock.
The Army Group of General Ritter von Leeb had the initial mission to
maintain the left flank of the German front in the West, stretching from the
Swiss border up to the Moselle, in a state of highest defensive readiness. It
was anticipated that, in the later course of the operation, this front would
also actively intervene in the battle of destruction with two armies under the leadership
of Colonel General von Witzleben and General Dollmann.
At 5:35 in the morning of May 10, the two Army Groups under Colonel
Generals von Rundstedt and von Bock launched the attack. It was their mission,
along the entire front from the river Moselle to the North Sea, to break
through the enemy lines along the frontier; to occupy the Netherlands; to move
against Antwerp and the troops stationed at Dyle; to take Liege; and, above
all, to reach the left flank along the river Meuse with massive forces for the
attack, to force a crossing between Namur and Carignan with a main thrust of
the tank and motorized divisions at Sedan and, in the further course of
operations, to assemble all available tank and motorized divisions to push
onward, along the system of canals and rivers between the Aisne and the Somme,
to the sea.
To Rundstedt’s southern Army Group fell also the important task of
preventing a repetition of the Miracle of the Marne of 1914. He was to
accomplish this task by securing, according to plan, the cover of the left
flank in the course of the breakthrough.
This massive operation, which already decided the further course of the
war, led, as planned, to the annihilation of the main mass of the French Army
as well as of the entire British Expeditionary Force, and already added luster
to the German leadership.
Besides the two leaders of the Army Groups and their Chiefs of Staff,
Lieutenant General von Sodenstern and Lieutenant General von Salmuth, the
following leaders of the Army are deserving of the highest of distinctions:
Colonel General von Kluge as leader of the Fourth Army; Colonel General List as
leader of the Twelfth Army; Colonel General von Reichenau as leader of the
Sixth Army; General von Kuchler as leader of the Eighteenth Army; General Busch
as leader of the Sixteenth Army; and the Generals von Kleist, Guderian, Hoth,
and Hoeppner as leaders of the tank and motorized troops.
Large additional numbers of generals and officers who distinguished
themselves in these operations are known to you already, my Deputies, because
of the high distinctions granted them.
The further conduct of the operation in the general direction of the
Aisne and the Seine was not intended to conquer Paris primarily, but rather to
create, or better secure, a basis for a breakthrough to the Swiss border. This
massive offensive action, thanks to the outstanding leadership of all grades,
also went according to plan.
A change of personnel in the High Command of the French Army, which had
meanwhile taken place, was to revive its resistance and to bring about a
change, much desired by the Allies, in the fortunes of the battle so unhappily
begun.
Indeed it was possible to get the German armies and their offensive
actions going, at several locations, only after overcoming the strongest of
resistance.
Here, not only the courage, but also the training of the German soldier
had the opportunity to hold its own to a high degree. Inspired by the zeal of
countless officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as of individual men
of valor, the infantry itself, time and time again, was compelled onward even
in the most difficult of situations.
Paris fell! The breaking of the enemy’s resistance at the Aisne opened
the way to a breakthrough to the Swiss border. In one gigantic envelopment the
armies stormed to the back of the Maginot Line. Now abandoning its reserve, the
Army Group Leeb went on the offensive in two locations west of Saarbrucken and
Neubreisach. Under orders from Generals von Witzleben and Dollmann, they
achieved the breakthrough. And thus it was possible not only to surround the
gigantic front of the French resistance, but to dissolve it into little
particles and to force it to the well-known capitulation.
These operations were crowned by the now generally beginning advance of
the German armies. At their head moved the incomparable Panzer and motor
divisions of the Army with the goal of driving a left flank down the Rhone in
the direction of Marseilles, and a right flank across the Loire in the direction
of Bordeaux and the Spanish border. This was to destroy the dissolving remains
of the French Army, or rather to occupy French territory.
I will report in detail at a later point on the intervention of our
allies in this war. When Marshal Petain offered France’s laying down of arms,
he was not laying down a weapon he still held. Rather he merely put an end to a
situation completely untenable in the eyes of every soldier. Only the bloody
dilettantism of a Mr. Churchill either fails to comprehend as much or lies
about it in spite of better knowledge.
In the second, third, and last phase of this war, the following Army
leaders distinguished themselves as did the earlier mentioned generals: Colonel
General von Witzleben; the Generals von Weichs, Dollmann, Strauss. The valiant
divisions and standards of the Waffen SS also fought within the framework of
these armies.
When I express my gratitude and that of the German Volk to the
aforementioned generals, in their capacity as leaders of the Army and Army
Groups, this applies at the same time to all other officers, all of whom it is
not possible to mention by name, and especially to all the nameless workers of
the General Staff.
In this battle, my Deputies, the rank and file of Germany has proved
itself to be what it has always been: the best infantry in the world.
And with it all other branches of the Army compete: artillery and
pioneers, and, above all, the young units of our tanks and motorized troops.
The German Panzer weapon, through this war, has made its entry into world
history. The men of the Waffen SS share in the glory. Yet the communications
units, the construction units of the pioneers, the railroad construction men,
etc., are also worthy, in accordance with their performance, of the highest praise
we have to offer. In the wake of the armies followed the commandos of the Todt
Organization, of the Reich Labor Service, and of the NSKK, and these also
helped to repair roads, bridges, as well as to restore order to traffic.
Within the framework of the Army, this time there also fought parts of
the Flak artillery of our Luftwaffe. At the foremost front, they helped to
break the enemy’s power of resistance and attack. A detailed account of their
effectiveness can be rendered only at a later date.
The Luftwaffe itself. At dawn on the morning of May 10, thousands of
fighter planes and dive bombers, under the cover of fighters and destroyers,
descended on enemy airfields. Within a few days uncontested air superiority was
assured. And not for one minute in the further course of the battle was it
allowed to slip.
Only where temporarily no German airplanes were sighted, could enemy
fighters and bombers make short appearances. Besides this, their activities
were restricted to night action. The Field Marshal [Goring] had the Luftwaffe
under his orders during this mission in the war.
Its tasks were: 1. to destroy the enemy air forces, i.e. to remove these
from the skies; 2. to support directly or indirectly the fighting troops by
uninterrupted attacks; 3. to destroy the enemy’s means of command and movement;
4. to wear down and break the enemy’s morale and will to resist; 5. to land
parachute troops as advance units.
The manner of their deployment in the operation in general, as well as
their adjustment to the tactical demands of the moment, was exceptional.
Without the valor of the Army, the successes attained should never have been
possible.
Equally true is it that, without the heroic mission of the Luftwaffe,
the valor of the Army should have been for naught. Both Army and Luftwaffe are
deserving of the greatest glory! The deployment of the Luftwaffe in the West
took place under the personal command of Field Marshal Goring. His Chief of
Staff: Major General Jeschonnek.
Both aerial fleets stood under orders of General der Flieger Sperrle and
General der Flieger Kesselring. The Aviation Corps subordinate to them stood
under orders of Generals der Flieger Grauert and Keller, Lieutenant General
Loerzer, and Lieutenant General Ritter von Greim, as well as of Major General
Freiherr von Richthofen. Both Flak Corps stood under orders of Flak Artillery
General Weise and Major General Dessloch. The Ninth Aerial Division under Major
General Coeler deserves special mention. The Commander of the Parachute Troops,
General der Flieger Student, was severely wounded. The further conduct of the
battle in the air in Norway was orchestrated by General der Flieger Stumpff.
While millions of German soldiers of the Army, Luftwaffe, and Waffen SS
took part in these battles, others could not be spared at home as they were
needed for the buildup of the local reserve formations. Many of the most
capable officers-as bitter as this was for them-were forced to conduct and
oversee the training of those soldiers who, as reserve units, or perhaps in new
formations, were to go to the front only later. Despite my sympathy for the
inner sentiments of those who felt at a disadvantage, the greater common
interest, as a matter of principle, was decisive. Party and State, Army, Navy,
Luftwaffe, and SS sent every man to the front whom they were able to spare
somehow. Yet, without securing a Replacement Army, a reserve air force, reserve
SS formations, as well as Party and State in general, the war at the front
could not have been waged.
As the organizers of the Replacement Army at home and of the armament
and supplies for the Luftwaffe, the following have attained special merit:
Artillery General Fromm and General der Flieger Udet.
I cannot conclude the enumeration of all these meritorious generals and
admirals without paying tribute to those who are my closest co-workers in the
Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht: Colonel General Keitel as Chief of
the High Command of the Wehrmacht, and Major General Jodl as his Chief of
Staff. They have made the greatest of contributions to the realization of my
plans and ideas throughout long months of many cares and much work.
An appreciation of the accomplishments of our Navy and its leaders will
only be possible, to a full extent, at the end of the war. When I now conclude
these purely military reflections on events, truth compels me to state the
historic fact that none of this would have been possible without the
disposition of the home front-or without, at its fore, the foundation, the
work, and the activities of the National Socialist Party.
Already in 1919, in the age of great decline, it proclaimed its program
for the establishment of a German People’s Army and has stood up for it
throughout the decades with a zealous determination. Without its activities,
the conditions necessary for both the re-emergence of the German Reich and the
creation of a German Wehrmacht would not have existed. Above all, it lent the
struggle its ideological (weltanschaulich) foundation. To the senseless
sacrifice of life of our democratic opponents in the interests of their
plutocracies, it opposes the defense of a Volksgemeinschaft. Its activities
have resulted in a solidarity between front and homeland, which regrettably did
not exist in the World War. From its ranks, therefore, I should like to name
the men, who along with countless others, attained great merit in securing the
opportunity to celebrate victory in a new Germany:
Party comrade Reich Minister Hess, himself an old
soldier of the World War, has been one of the most loyal fighters for the
erection of the present state and its Wehrmacht ever since the early days of
the foundation of the Movement.
Party comrade Chief of Staff of the SA Lutze has organized the mass of
millions of SA men, in the sense of supporting the state to the utmost, and has
secured its pre- and post-military training. Party comrade Himmler has
organized the entire security of our Reich as well as the units of the Waffen
SS.
Party comrade Hierl has been the founder and leader of the Reich Labor
Service. Party comrade Ley is the guarantor of the behavior of the German
worker. Party comrade and Reich Minister Major General Todt is the organizer of
the production of armament and ammunition and has gained eternal merit as a
master builder in the construction of our massive, strategic [!] road network
as well as of the fortified front in the West. Party comrade Minister Goebbels
is the leader of a propaganda apparatus whose refinement is best ascertained in
comparison with that of the World War.
Among the numerous organizations of the home front, there remain to be
mentioned the organization of the Kriegswinterhilfswerk, and of the NS
Volkswohlfahrt under the leadership of Party comrade Hilgenfeldt, as well as
the German Red Cross, and moreover the Reich Air Defense Association under the
leadership of Flak Artillery General von Schroeder.
I cannot conclude this tribute without thanking the one man who, for
years, has engaged himself in loyal, untiring, self-devouring work to realize
my foreign policy directives. The name of Party comrade von Ribbentrop as Reich
Foreign Minister shall remain tied for all eternity to the political rise of
the German nation.
My Deputies! I have determined, as Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of the
German Wehrmacht, to honor the most meritorious generals before the one forum
which in truth represents the entire German Volk. I must place at their
forefront a man to whom I have difficulty in expressing sufficient gratitude
for the services which tie his name to the Movement, to the State, and, above
all, to the German Luftwaffe.
Since the days of the foundation of the SA, Party Comrade Goring has
been bound up in the development and rise of the Movement. Since we came to
power, his capacity for work and willingness to take responsibility have
accomplished deeds in numerous fields for the German Volk and the German Reich
which cannot be excluded from the history of our Volk and Reich.
Since the rebuilding of the German Wehrmacht, he has become the creator
of the German Luftwaffe. It is granted to only a few mortals to create in the
course of their lives a military instrument practically from nothing and to
transform it into the mightiest weapon of its kind in the world. Above all, he
has lent it his spirit.
Field Marshal Goring as creator of the German Luftwaffe, and as an
individual man, has made the greatest contribution to the rebuilding of the
German Wehrmacht. As the leader of the German Luftwaffe he has, in the course
of the war up to date, created the prerequisites for victory. His merits are
unequaled! I name him Reichsmarschall
of the Greater German Reich and award him the Grand
Cross of the Iron Cross.
For services rendered to the victory of German weaponry in the struggle
for the freedom and future of our Greater German Reich, I hereby promote:
The Commander in Chief of the Army, Colonel General von Brauchitsch, to
the rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General von Rundstedt, Commander in Chief of Army Group A, to
the rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General Ritter von Leeb, Commander in Chief of Army Group C, to
the rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General von Bock, Commander in Chief of Army Group B, to the
rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General List, Commander in Chief of the Twelfth Army, to the
rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General von Kluge, Commander in Chief of the Fourth Army, to the
rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General von Witzleben, Commander in Chief of the First Army, to
the rank of Field Marshal;
Colonel General von Reichenau, Commander in Chief of the Sixth Army, to
the rank of Field Marshal.
I promote:
General Halder, Chief of the General Staff of the Army, to the rank of
Colonel General;
General Dollmann, Commander in Chief of the Seventh Army, to the rank of
Colonel General;
General Freiherr von Weichs, Commander in Chief of the Second Army, to
the rank of Colonel General;
General von Kuchler, Commander in Chief of the Eighteenth Army, to the
rank of Colonel General;
General Busch, Commander in Chief of the Sixteenth Army, to the rank of
Colonel General;
General Strauss, Commander in Chief of the Ninth Army, to the rank of
Colonel General;
General von Falkenhorst, Military Commander in Norway, to the rank of
Colonel General;
General von Kleist, Commanding General of the Twenty-Second Army Corps,
to the rank of Colonel General;
General Ritter von Schobert, Commanding General of the Seventh Army
Corps, to the rank of Colonel General;
General Guderian, Commanding General of the Nineteenth Army Corps, to
the rank of Colonel General;
General Hoth, Commanding General of the Fifteenth Army Corps, to the
rank of Colonel General;
General Haase, Commanding General of the Third Army Corps, to the rank
of Colonel General;
General Hoeppner, Commanding General of the Sixteenth Army Corps, to the
rank of Colonel General;
General Fromm, Chief of Military Armament and Commander in Chief of the
Replacement Army, to the rank of Colonel General.
In consideration of unequaled services rendered I promote:
Lieutenant General Dietl, Commanding General of the Mountain Corps in
Norway, to the rank of Infantry General. As the first officer with the German
Wehrmacht, I award him the Oak Leaves of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.
Pending a later recognition of all the leaders and officers of the Reich
Navy, I promote:
Admiral Carls, the Commanding Admiral of the Naval Station Baltic Sea
and Commander in Chief of the Naval Troops East, to the rank of Admiral
General.
In appreciation of the unequaled accomplishments of the German Luftwaffe,
I promote:
Colonel General Milch to the rank of Field Marshal;
General der Flieger Sperrle to the rank of Field Marshal;
General der Flieger Kesselring to the rank of Field Marshal.
I promote:
General der Flieger Stumpff to the rank of Colonel General;
General der Flieger Grauert to the rank of Colonel General;
General der Flieger Keller to the rank of Colonel General;
General of the Flak Artillery Weise to the rank of Colonel General;
General der Flieger Udet to the rank of Colonel General.
Furthermore, I promote to the rank of General der Flieger:
Lieutenant General Geissler;
Major General
Jeschonnek;
Lieutenant General
Loerzer;
Lieutenant General
Ritter von Greim;
and Major General
Freiherr von Richthofen.
In my High Command of the Wehrmacht I promote:
Colonel General Keitel to the rank of Field Marshal;
Major General Jodl to the rank of Artillery General.
In announcing these promotions on the occasion of the most successful
campaign in our history, before this forum and so before the entire nation, I
thereby honor the entire Wehrmacht of the National Socialist Greater German
Reich.
I cannot conclude my reflections on this battle without thinking of our
ally here. Ever since there has been a National Socialist regime, its foreign
policy has embraced two goals: 1. bringing about a true understanding and
friendship with Italy and, 2. bringing about the same relationship with
England.
My Party Comrades, you know that I was as driven by these conceptions
twenty years ago as I was later. I have dealt with and defended these ideas as a journalist and in my
speeches countless times, as long as I myself was a mere opposition leader in
the democratic republic. I immediately undertook, as soon as the German Volk
entrusted me with its leadership, to realize these oldest goals of National
Socialist foreign policy in practical terms. It still saddens me today that, in
spite of all my endeavors, I have not succeeded in obtaining this friendship
with England which, I believe, should have been a blessing for both peoples;
and especially because I was not able to do so despite my persistent, sincere
efforts.
However, I am all the more happy that at least the first point in this
program of my foreign policy was in fact realized. This I owe, above all, to
the genius who today stands at the head of the Italian people. For it was
possible only owing to his epoch-making activities for the two intellectually
related revolutions to find each other, to finally seal in jointly-shed blood
the alliance which is destined to procure a new life for Europe. That I myself
have the honor to be a friend of this man gladdens me all the more in view of
the unique story of his life, which bears evidence of as many similarities to
my own as our two revolutions do to each other, and, beyond this, as does the
history of the unification and rise of our two nations.
Ever since the resurrection of the German Volk, we have heard many
voices of understanding from Italy. On the foundation of this mutual
understanding grew a living community of interests. And finally this was set
down in treaties. And when, last year, contrary to my expressed will and
desire, this war was forced on the German Reich, a consultation on the further
conduct of our two states involved Mussolini and me. The benefit derived for
the Reich from the behavior of Italy was extraordinary. Not only economically
did we profit from the situation and the stance of Italy, but also militarily.
From the beginning, Italy tied down strong forces of our enemies and
curtailed above all their freedom of strategic disposition. And when the Duce
determined that the time had come to take a stand with the weapon in his fist
against the unbearable and persistent violation of Italy, damage done in
particular by French and British transgression, and the King issued the
declaration of war, then this was done with complete freedom of decision. All
the greater must our gratitude be.
The intercession of Italy has sped up and assisted in opening France’s
eyes to the utter hopelessness of continued resistance.
And ever since, our ally has fought on the peaks and ridges of the Alps
and now on the vast plains encompassed in his sphere of interest. Especially
his present air attacks and battles at sea are being led with the spirit
peculiar to the Fascist Revolution. Here they elicit the spirit which binds
National Socialism to Fascist Italy. Italy’s pain is Germany’s pain, as we have
experienced in recent days in view of the death of Balbo.
Its joy is our joy.
And our cooperation in the political and military fields is a complete
one.
It will erase the injustice done the German and Italian peoples
throughout the centuries. For, at the end of everything, stands the shared
victory! And when I now turn to speak of the future, my Deputies, I do so not
to boast or brag. This I can well leave up to others who are in greater need of
it, as for example Mr. Churchill. What I want to do is to paint a picture of
the present situation, bare of exaggeration, as it is and as I see it.
1. The course of events in the ten months of war now lying behind us has
proved my assessments correct and those of our adversaries incorrect.
When the British so-called statesmen assure us that their country
emerges strengthened from every defeat and failure, then it surely is no
arrogance when I inform them that we emerge at least equally strengthened from
our successes.
On September 1 of the year now past, I already explained to you that,
come what may, neither the force of weapons nor time shall force Germany to the
ground. The Reich today stands stronger militarily than ever before.
You have seen the losses, individually surely heavy, though as a total
relatively low, which the German Wehrmacht has suffered in battle within the
past three months. When you consider that, within this time, we erected a front
which reaches from the North Cape to the Spanish border, then our losses are
extraordinarily low, especially when compared with those of the World War. The
cause lies-besides with the, on an average, excellent leadership-with the
outstanding tactical training of the individual soldier and of the units, as
well as with the cooperation among the branches of the service.
Another cause is to be found with the quality and efficiency of the new
weaponry. A third cause lies with the conscious refusal to pursue what is
called prestige. I myself have, on principle, labored to avoid any attack or
operation which was not necessary in the context of the actual annihilation of
the adversary, but was instead to be carried out for the sake of what was
regarded as prestige.
In spite of all of this, naturally, we had anticipated far higher losses
in many instances. The manpower saved will benefit us in the further pursuit of
the struggle for freedom forced upon us. At present, many of our divisions in
France are being withdrawn and reassigned to their bases at home. Many men are
able to take leaves of absence. Weaponry and equipment are being either
repaired or replaced by new material. All in all, the Wehrmacht today is
stronger than ever before.
2. Weaponry. The loss of weaponry in Norway, especially in the campaigns
against Holland, Belgium, and France, is void of any significance. It stands in
no relation to production. Army and Luftwaffe possess at this moment-as I am
speaking to you-equipment more complete and stronger than before we intervened
in the West.
3. Ammunition. Provisions for ammunition were so well executed, the
stocks are so vast, that in many areas production must now be curtailed or
rerouted since the existing depots and warehouses, even given the greatest of
efforts, in part are no longer capable of absorbing further deliveries. As in
Poland, the consumption of ammunition was unexpectedly low. It stands in no
relation to the stockpiles. The total reserves of the Army and the Luftwaffe
are higher at present, for all categories of weapons, than before the attack in
the West.
4. Raw materials essential to the war effort. Thanks to the Four-Year
Plan, Germany was prepared for the greatest of strains in an exemplary fashion.
No armed forces in the world, other than Germany’s Wehrmacht, have so benefited
from a shift away from imported raw materials essential to the war effort to
such as can be found within the country.
Thanks to the work of the Reichsmarschall, this transformation of the
German economy into a war economy characterized by self-sufficiency was already
achieved in peacetime. [!] We possess reserves of the two most important raw
materials, coal and iron, in what I may well term an unlimited quantity. Fuel
supplies are more than enough for consumption. The capacities of our production
are increasing and, within a short time, they will suffice- even should imports
cease-to satisfy demand completely.
Our advance metal collections have so increased our metal reserves that
we can face a war of no matter what duration. We shall reign supreme no matter
what happens. Added to this are the enormous possibilities that come from a yet
immeasurable loot and including the development of the territories we have
occupied. Germany and Italy possess, within the confines of the area they
regulate and control, an economic potential of about 200 million men, of whom
only 130 million are soldiers, with seventy million free to be employed
exclusively in different economic activities.
I informed you on September 1, my Deputies, that for the further conduct
of the war I had ordered the initial implementation of a new Five-Year Plan.
I can now assure you that all measures to this end
have been taken. Come what may, I now no longer regard time as a threatening
factor, not even in a general sense. This time, the measures taken in a timely
fashion have also secured foodstuffs for a war of no matter how long a
duration.
5. The attitude of the German Volk. Thanks to National Socialist
education, the German Volk has not approached this war with the superficiality
of a “hurrah” patriotism, but with the zealous determination of a race which
knows the fate awaiting it should it suffer defeat. The endeavors to subvert
this unity, launched by the propaganda of our enemies, are as stupid as they
are ineffective. Ten months of war have rendered this zealousness all the more
profound. And, in general, it is a great misfortune that the world’s opinion is
not formed by men who see things as they are, but by men who see them as they
want them to be.
In the last days, I have seen through and studied countless documents
from the Allied Headquarters’ “Ark of the Covenant.” Among other things, these
contain reports on the atmosphere in Germany, or memoranda on the disposition
and inner attitude of the German Volk. The authors of these reports were, in
part, also diplomats. Reading through these reports, one cannot help wondering
whether their authors were blind, stupid, or simply vile scoundrels. I will
admit without further ado that, naturally, here in Germany also there have
been, and perhaps still are today, certain individuals who have watched the
Third Reich’s conquests with a feeling akin to regret. Incorrigible reactionaries
or blind nihilists may well be saddened in their hearts that things came out
not as they had willed them. But their numbers are ridiculously small and their
significance is smaller yet.
Regrettably, this scum of the nation appears to have been chosen by the
outside world as a measuring stick by which to assess the German Volk. And from
this, the sick minds of failed statesmen derive the last points of orientation
to cling to for new hope. As needed, the British warlords designate a “General
Hunger” or an “imminent revolution” as their new allies. There is no nonsense
that these people would not dish up for their own nation in order to cling to
their positions for yet a few more weeks.
The German Volk has proved, above all, its inner attitude through its
sons who are fighting on the battlefield. Within weeks they have beaten
Germany’s strongest military adversary and have destroyed him. Their spirit was
and remains the spirit of the German homeland.
6. The surrounding world. In the eyes of English politicians, their last
hopes, besides those resting with the loyal and allied nations, lie with a
series of propped-up heads of state without thrones; statesmen without
subjects; and generals without armies; as well as on renewed complications they
believe they can conjure up thanks to their well-proven deftness in such
matters. A true Ahasuerus amongst these hopes is the belief in a possible new
estrangement to separate Germany and Russia.
German-Russian relations have been established for good.
The reason for this was that England and France,
with the support of certain smaller states, incessantly attributed to Germany
ambitions to conquer terrain which lay completely outside the sphere of German
interests. At one time, Germany was eyeing the occupation of the Ukraine; then
again it sought to invade Finland; at another time it was claimed that Romania
was threatened; then finally even Turkey was endangered. Given these
circumstances, I held it to be proper to undertake, above all, with Russia, a
sober delineation of interests, to once and for all clarify what Germany
believes it must regard as its sphere of interest in securing its future, and
what in turn Russia holds to be vital to its existence.
Based on this clear delineation of mutual spheres of interest, the
Russo- German relationship was revised. It is childish to hope that in the
course of this revision tensions might arise anew between Germany and Russia.
Germany has not stepped outside its sphere of interest, and neither has
Russia. England is
deceived in its hope of bringing about a new European crisis to reprieve its
own situation, insofar as the relationship of Germany to Russia is concerned.
Though the British statesmen are chronically slow in their comprehension of
almost everything, they will surely come to understand this in the course of
time. I fancy I
correctly forecast the future development of this war in my speech of October
6. I assure you, my Deputies, that not for a moment could I doubt victory. And,
unless one feels the need to see signs and guarantees for the final victory
exclusively in defeats, then I believe that the course of events up to this
point has proved me right. As I was certain of this course of events, I offered
my hand to France and England at the time for an understanding.
You still recall the answer I received. My arguments against the
nonsense of pursuing this war, on the certainty of gaining nothing, even under
the most favorable of circumstances, and of losing much, were mocked and
scoffed at, or passed over.
I promptly assured you then that I feared, because of my peace proposal,
to be decried as a cockerel who no longer wants to fight because he is no
longer able to fight. And this is exactly what happened. I now believe that
France- less the guilty statesmen than the people-thinks differently about this
October 6 today. What nameless misery has befallen this great country and
people since then. I shall not even mention the toll of suffering the war has
placed on the soldier. For above this stands the suffering caused by the
recklessness of those who drove millions of people from their homes without
proper cause, who were compelled by the thought that this might somehow hamper
the German war effort. This premise defied comprehension: this evacuation was mostly
to the detriment of the Allied war effort and, moreover, it was the most cruel
experience for the unfortunate afflicted. The injury the gentlemen Churchill
and Reynaud have done millions of people, through their advice and
commands-this they can neither justify in this world nor in the next.
All of this-as I said-need not have happened. For peace was all I asked
of France and England in October. But the gentlemen war profiteers wanted a
continuation of this war at all cost. They have it now.
I myself am too much a soldier not to comprehend the tragedy of such a
development. Still all I hear from London are cries-not the cries of the
masses, but of the politicians-that this war must now, all the more, be
pursued. I do not know if these politicians have an inkling of just how this
war is in fact to be pursued. They declare that they will continue this war,
and should England fall, then they will do so from Canada. I do not believe
this means that the English people will all emigrate to Canada, but rather that
the gentlemen war profiteers will all retreat to Canada by themselves. I fear
the people will have to remain behind in England. And, assuredly, they will see
the war with different eyes in London than their so-called leaders in Canada.
Believe me, my Deputies, I feel an inner disgust at this type of
unscru-pulous parliamentarian annihilators of peoples and states. It is almost
painful to me to have been chosen by Providence to give a shove to what these
men have brought to the point of falling. It was not my ambition to wage wars,
but to build up a new social state of the highest culture.
And every year of war takes me away from my work.
And the cause of this robbery is those ludicrous zeroes whom one could at best
call nature’s political run of the mill,
insofar as their corrupted vileness does not brand
them as something out of the ordinary.
Mr. Churchill has repeated the declaration that he wants war. About six
weeks ago now, he launched this war in an arena in which he apparently believes
he is quite strong: namely, in the air war against the civilian population,
albeit beneath the deceptive slogan of a so-called war against military
objectives. Ever since Freiburg, these objectives have turned out to be open cities, markets, villages,
residential housing, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and whatever else
happens to be hit.
Up to now I have given little by way of response. This is not intended
to signal, however, that this is the only response possible or that it shall
remain this way.
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Adolf
Hitler predicts the fall of the British Empire
[PHOTO
SOURCE: https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1150902-2/]
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I am fully aware that with our response, which one day will come, will
also come the nameless suffering and misfortune of many men. Naturally, this
does not apply to Mr. Churchill himself since by then he will surely be secure
in Canada, where the money and the children of the most distinguished of war
profiteers have already been brought. But there will be great tragedy for
millions of other men. And Mr. Churchill should make an exception and place
trust in me when as a prophet I now proclaim: A great world empire will be
destroyed. A world empire which I never had the ambition to destroy or as much
as harm. Alas, I am fully aware that the continuation of this war will end only
in the complete shattering of one of the two warring parties. Mr. Churchill may
believe this to be Germany. I know it to be England. In this hour I feel
compelled, standing before my conscience, to direct yet another appeal to
reason in England. I believe I can do this as I am not asking for something as
the vanquished, but rather, as the victor, I am speaking in the name of reason.
I see no compelling reason which could force the continuation of this war.
I regret the sacrifices it will demand. I would like to spare my Volk. I
know the hearts of millions of men and boys aglow at the thought of finally
being allowed to wage battle against an enemy who has, without reasonable
cause, declared war on us a second time.
But I also know of the women and mothers at home whose hearts, despite
their willingness to sacrifice to the last, hang onto this last with all their
might.
Mr. Churchill may well belittle my declaration again, crying that it was
nothing other than a symptom of my fear, or my doubts of the final victory.
Still I will have an easy conscience in view of things to come.
Deputies, Men of the German Reichstag! In
reflecting on the ten months lying behind us, all of us will surely feel
overcome by the grace of Providence which allowed us to accomplish so great a
task. It has blessed our resolves and stood by us on many a difficult path. I
myself am touched in recognition of the calling it imparted to me to restore
freedom and honor to my Volk. The disgrace we suffered for twenty-two years and
which had its beginnings in the Forest of Compiegne was erased forever at the
very same site. Today I have named the men who, before history, enabled me to
accomplish this great task. They have done their best, dedicating their talents
and their industry to the German Volk.
I now wish to conclude in mentioning all those nameless men who have no
less done their duty. Millions of them have risked life and liberty and, as
brave German officers and soldiers, have been ready at every hour to make the
last sacrifice a man can make. Today many of them rest in the same graves in
which their fathers have rested since the Great War. They bear evidence to
silent heroism. They stand as a symbol for all those hundreds of thousands of
musketeers, anti-tank gunners and tank gunners, pioneers and artillerymen,
soldiers of the Navy and the Luftwaffe, men of the Waffen SS, and all those
other fighters who stood for the German Wehrmacht in the struggle for the
freedom and future of our Volk and for the eternal greatness of the National
Socialist Greater German Reich.
Deutschland-Sieg
Heil!
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