The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-12-22

insight into human character, or else he could not have fallen victim easily to pernicious influences
 At time he was the most-hated man in Ger many"
 Ludendorffs part in German victories fully recognized He was made a lieutenant general in November 1914, and after the winter battle in the following February awarded the order of merit For another year he and Hindenburg busy clear ing the Russians out of Poland threatening the rear of armies which slowly pressing back the troops of Germanys ally, Austria.
 When in 1916 Hindenburg made chief of the general staff, Ludendorff named chief quarter master general and they went to the western front The German army, checked at Verdun, forced to defend itself that year against an allied offensive on the Somme The allied naval blockade was tight ened after the Battle of Jutand in May and its effect began to be felt in Germany.
 Ludendorff and Hindenburg joined in opposing ruthless submarine warfare when that measure was proposed of breaking the blockade Luden- dorff it as likely to bring the United States into the war, although he was convinced that the allies could be beaten before that could happen. He was all for crushing Germanys foes and op- posed sporadic peace movements that came up late in 1916 and early in 1917 He fitted from general headquarters to Berlin, to Vienna, to the Italian Austrian front in those days, attending councils and political conferences and gradually criticism of his activities began to develop On August 19 l917 he injured Brussels in a train wreck which reported having been plotted in attempt his life because of his anti-peace attitude. Even late December, 1917, Ludendorff was quoted as saying that only German victory could lead to peace and in January 1918 he accused of stopping negotiations with Russia.
 Under pressure of political leaders the kaiser on October 24 1918, removed Ludendorff from his post quartermaster general definite break in rela- tionship that had been strained for some time
 "The kaiser and Ludendorff were like fire and water wrote Lieut. Gen Ulrich Waldow mem Der of Ludendorff's staff in his war time recolec- tions. Every time they got together they got on each others nerves"
 After the revolution in Germany Ludendorff sensed the danger that he might be impeached on charges of having prolonged the in a effort for a purely military triumph Early in January, 1919, he slipped away to Sweden. That country all lowed him to remain only month and late in Febru- ary he back in Berlin. In the spring he issued volume of war memoirs.
 Thereafter he was willy, sometimes sinister, foe of the new German republic. An avowed monarchst he appeared in shadowy roles whenever an attempt made to overthrow the republic.
 Thus when March 12, 1920 the New York born Wolfgang Kapp, erstwhile spokesman for the unkers of East Prussia proclaimed himself chancellor l1OoocoolOH lin Ludendorff made several calls there in the five days that the regime lasted but when it fell he denied he had any hand in it.
 He appeared next in Munich where a conservative administration held sway Bavaria and became identified with the Bavarian royalists When Hters brown shirts swarmed out of Munich beer cellars in November 1923 and started their abortive march on Berlin" Ludendorff their proclaimed choice for dictator But troops routed the before they had passed the city limits and while Ludendorff was arrested in the resulting roundup of leaders de- veloped that he had repudiated the revolution the day before the march started The fact that his trial in February, 1924 resulted in guilty verdict while Hitler was condemned and sent to cell that same month caused many nazis to brand him as traitor
 Several years later Ludendorff unwittngly caused revelation of his own intimate part in the move ment by publicly charging ex-Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria with dishonorable tactics at the time of the Hitler 'putsch." Rupprecht made him retract the charge and out letter stating that Luden- dorff had approached him in early as the autumn of 1921 with these words:
 T have strong backing It is matter of all or nothing, either Wittesbach (the Bavarian royal house) Hohenzolern The first to seize the power has it."
 Rupprecht added that he had spurned Luden- dorff's overtures
 Following his acquittal, Ludendorff in May 1924 was elected to the reichstag deputy but the open political arena was not his field and he retired from it quickly. In September Of that year. group of Bavaran staff officers disavowed him as brother officer, holding that his political tirades conravened soldiery ethics. He rejoinder
 My powers belong to the people The upper 10000 worthless"
 Until after his divorce and remarriage. Luden- ScIlritv for goitre November 26 1926 kept him abed for some time but he convaesced he and his second wife began to appear jointly in the lmelght
 In 1927 the general left the Protestant church accusing its clergy of being in league with Free masonry. Afterwards he and Frau Ludendorff championed "Germanic faith" in which all Jewish elements especially the Old Testament were excluded and which frankly borrowed tenetS from ancient Teu- tonic worship of Wotan