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Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Volume IV
Document No. 2283-PS
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PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 2283-PS
VOELKISCHER BEOBACHTER
The Munich (Southern German) Edition Nr. 258, 14 September 1936, page 11.
THE 5TH DAY OF THE PARTY CONGRESS ADOLF HITLER HAS CARRIED OUT THE TRUE SOCIALISM
REICH ORGANIZATION LEADER DR. LEY RENDERS AN ACCOUNT OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE GERMAN LABOR FRONT
Nurnberg, 13 September.
Again 20,000 stirred people filled the big hall in the Luitpold Park on Saturday for the penultimate session of the Party Congress.
At this session, too, the Fuehrer was present from the beginning. Again enthusiastic shouts of exultation lasting for minutes roared around the Fuehrer when he strode through the longstretched hall with his deputy, his constant retinue and several Reich Leaders and District Leaders.
On this evening Congress participants listened to grandly-conceived accounts by Reich Organization Leader Dr. Ley about the accomplishments of the German Labor Front, by Reich Leader Hierl about the Labor Service, and by Plenary Inspector for German Highways, Dr. Todt, about progress in building the highways of Adolf Hitler.
After the parade of the Blood Banner and of the Party Standards the solemn prelude was the overture to "Oberon", played by the Reich Symphony Orchestra. The Congress was opened by the Fuehrer's Deputy, Rudolf Hess, who immediately introduced Reich Agency Leader [Reichsamtsleiter] Dressler-Andress for reading of the account of Reich Organization Leader Dr. Ley.
My Fuehrer!
Standards the solemn prelude was the overture to "Oberon", played by the Reich Symphony Orchestra. The Congress was opened by the Fuehrer's Deputy, Rudolf Hess, who immediately introduced Reich Agency Leader [Reichsamtsleiter] Dressler-Andress for reading of the account of Reich Organization Leader Dr. Ley. My Fuehrer!
When you, my Fuehrer, ordered me in mid-April 1933 to take over the trade unions I could not understand why you gave this order to me, since I could not see any connection between my task as Organizational Leader of the Party and my new task. Very soon, however, your decision, my Fuehrer, became clear to me and I recognized that the organizational measures of the Party could only come to full fruition when supplemented by the organization of the people, that is to say by the mobilization of the energies of the people and by their concentration and alignment. If the Party represents the concentration of the political leaders of the people-as you, my Fuehrer, have taught us again and again-then the people in the retinue [Gefolgschaft] and must be organized and trained according to the same principles. Leader and retinue, elite and community at large [Fuehrer und GEfolgschaft, Orden und Gemeinde]-those words the clear directives for my work. These were the consequences:
1. My tasks as Organizational Leader of the Party and as Leader of the German Labor Front were a completely homogeneous task, in other words, in everything I did I acted as Reich Organization Leader of the NSDAP.
2. The German Labor Front was an institution of the Party and was led by it.
3. The German Labor Front had to be organized regionally and professionally according to the same principles as the Party.
That is why trade union and employer associations had to be smashed unrelentingly, and the basis of construction was formed, as in the Party, by the cell and the local section.
The German Labor Front had to be organized regionally and professionally according to the same principles as the Party. That is why trade union and employer associations had to be smashed unrelentingly, and the basis of construction was formed, as in the Party, by the cell and the local section.
The idea of the Factory Troops [Werkschar] is making good progress in the plants, and I am able to report to you, my Fuehrer, that security and peace in the factories has been guaranteed, not only in normal times, but that also in times of the most serious crises, disturbances, such as the munition strikes of the traitors Ebert and his confederates, are out of the question. National Socialism has conquered the factories. Factory troops [Die Werkschar] are the Nationalist Socialist shock troops within the factory, and their motto is:
THE FUEHRER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
Source:
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Volume IV
Office of the United States Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality
Washington, DC : United States Government Printing Office, 1946
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Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Volume IV Document No. 2284-PS Previous Document Volume IV Menu Next Document TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 2284-PS WRITINGS OF THE HOCHSCHULE FOR POLITICS Edited by Paul Meier-Benneckenstein II. The Organizational structure of the Third Reich Brochure 33 The SS History, Mission, and Organization of the Schutzstaffeln of the NSDAP Compiled on the Commission of the Reichsfuehrer-SS by SS-Standartenfuehrer Gunter d'Alquen 1939 Junker and Duennhaupt Press, Berlin 1. History and Structure of the SS Path of Proof The great National Socialist Movement, as a party, did not step into German or even world history as a complete framework at the time of its formal founding. Originating from the rebellion against the downfall, from a fervent belief in the German people, which was born in the trenches of the battle-fields in the whole world, Adolf Hitler began to conquer the new Reich, both in thought and through deeds, with a few comrades, upon the simple, strong fundamentals of his firm belief and to form it anew, stone upon stone. Decisive actions, like the outbreak of 9 November 1923 for which we today, in all its great tragedy and in all its pain, nevertheless have to thank a forcible fate, impressed the inner and external features into the power and into the structure of the Third Reich. Parts and powers of this living marching growing movement, components and men in it, acquired in proof faith, and reliability which was daily the positions, missions and powers which then determined in the powerful structural branch their course toward victory over external power. Therefore, he who wants to understand the growing mission and living essence of the SS must first glance over its history and pursue therein how it quite consequentially grew out of the smallest beginnings through tough, clear work into an everenlarging mission. Therefore the growth of the SS, as a firmly rooted member of the great Movement is in many respects symbolic of the development of National Socialism, as well as of a spiritual position and of the consequent practical application of this unmistakably clear position in the life of the folk and of its state. Not the chance incidents of the fighting years and also not the tactical eventualities rounded out the form and brought about the individual
well as of a spiritual position and of the consequent practical application of this unmistakably clear position in the life of the folk and of its state. Not the chance incidents of the fighting years and also not the tactical eventualities rounded out the form and brought about the individual developments of this Black Corps, but from the beginning on, the National Socialist of this organization, man upon man, was quite consciously raised again and again above every day affairs which are often petty and full of compromise; thereby raised above his own weaknesses into the consciousness which is always new and living, that he serves a powerful mission which is quite unique in the lengthy annals of German history. The SS originated in the quite early time of the National Socialist Movement in the year 1923. Then later, as the "Stosstrupp Hitler [Shock Troop Hitler]" on the 8th of November 1923 it was forbidden and dissolved automatically along with the entire movement. When the Party was again set up in the year 1925, the SA, as the protective organization of the Movement, still remained forbidden. Furthermore, besides these limiting coercive measures, there still existed a prohibition against speeches as well as assemblies for the Fuehrer in Prussia and also in Bavaria. The National Socialist assemblies were at that time only allowed in Saxony and Thuringia which were at that time fully Red. And now in order at least here to hold the necessary assemblies with success, in order to gain a foothold, it was necessary to protect them under all circumstances from explosive missiles and premature disbandment. The Protective Echelons [Die Schutzstafflen] For this reason, the Fuehrer ordered in January 1925 that a small mobile organization be constructed for the protection of these meetings: The Protective Echelons. They were in the best sense of the word at this time, therefore, echelons, which means, quite small formations, most of them only in strength of one leader and ten men, which had been set up in single places which at that time already were important for the first forward march of the Movement. Even such a large city as Berlin had only one "Schutzstaffel" of two leaders and twenty men in those days. With these Schutzstaffeln then in the years 1925 and 1926, the
leader and ten men, which had been set up in single places which at that time already were important for the first forward march of the Movement. Even such a large city as Berlin had only one "Schutzstaffel" of two leaders and twenty men in those days. With these Schutzstaffeln then in the years 1925 and 1926, the Movement had held the assemblies of the Fuehrer and also of other champions of the Party in Saxony and Thuringia, and always held fast against each oppositional attempt in every case. The year 1926 brought the renewed permission to organize the SA and for this reason, the Schutzstaffeln stepped more into the background in the following years. This year 1926, however, is of great significance for the SS which at that time consisted of about 200 men in its entire strength, when namely Adolf Hitler gave the most sacred symbol of the Movement, the Blood Banner [Blutfahne] of 9 November 1923 into faithful hands at the Party Congress [Parteitag] in Weirmar, the second Reichsparteitag of the NSDAP. On the 6th of January 1929, Adolf Hitler appointed his tested comrade of long standing, Heinrich Himmler, as Reichsfuehrer-SS. Heinrich Himmler assumed charge therewith, of the entire Schutzstaffeln, totaling at the time 280 men, with the express and particular commission of the Fuehrer to form of this organization an elite troop of the Party, a troop dependable in every circumstance. The New Division With this day, the real history of the SS begins as it stands before us today in all its deeper essential features, firmly anchored into the National Socialistic Movement. For the SS and its Reichsfuehrer, Heinrich Himmler, its first SS man, have both become inseparable in the course of these battle-filled years. When the command of the Fuehrer had been given for the organization on a greater scale of this component of the movement, it had to be clear from the beginning that this mission could only then be solved in the real significance of its occasion if, in pursuit of the last essentials, the directives given by Adolf Hitler to the movement were grasped and carried out. The Selection We National Socialists are, firmly convinced of the ideology that in the final over-all objective only good blood, as seen in the long run, produces the best
its occasion if, in pursuit of the last essentials, the directives given by Adolf Hitler to the movement were grasped and carried out. The Selection We National Socialists are, firmly convinced of the ideology that in the final over-all objective only good blood, as seen in the long run, produces the best accomplishments. Sustained by this conviction, the Reichsfuehrer SS went at that time, beginning with this basic criterion of the National Socialist, into the execution of the command of the Fuehrer of the 6th of January 1929. One of the last soldiers of the old army and, at the same time, also one of the oldest co-champions of the Fuehrer began, as a tough and energetic organizer, to collect a troop, a troop of the best, not only the best physically, but also most dependable, most faithful, in the last analysis the most characteristically worth-while men from all parts of the movement, in order in the first place to satisfy the fundamental demand made of this formation, namely: the greatest good of the movement, to protect the Fuehrer himself. It remains as one of the greatest and decisive services of the Reichsfuehrer SS that he inserted the theoretical concepts of the National Socialist ideology, courageously and consequentially especially in this field, into this, his own organizational mission of the construction of the SS and then clearly carried them out even at a time when the racial question was a negative concept deriving from a self-evident anti-semitism. The Marriage Law [Heiratsbefehl] It would naturally be meaningless and also, after a short time be worthless, to undertake the experiment to assemble a male racial elite and while so doing to by-pass present or, indeed, the future families of the men. Corresponding to this quite simple and clear perception, for which, moreover, German history affords sufficient menacing lessons in all of its periods, the SS has given itself its own appropriate fundamental laws. As the first and most important of these basic requirements, the Reichsfuehrer-SS in the year 1931 gave to the Schutzstaffeln the law which prescribes an engagement and marriage certificate for SS men. This order has the following wording: Munich, 31 December
itself its own appropriate fundamental laws. As the first and most important of these basic requirements, the Reichsfuehrer-SS in the year 1931 gave to the Schutzstaffeln the law which prescribes an engagement and marriage certificate for SS men. This order has the following wording: Munich, 31 December 1931 "Reichsfuehrer-SS SS Command-A-No. 65 1. The SS is a band of definitely Nordic German men chosen according to certain viewpoints. 2. Corresponding to the National Socialist ideology and to the perception that the future of our folk rests in the selectiveness and preservation of the race and of the healthy inheritance of good blood, I install with effectiveness from the 1st of January 1932 the 'Marriage Certificate' for all unmarried members of the SS. 3. The aim striven for is the hereditarily healthy clan of a definitely Nordic German sort. 4. The marriage certificate will be distributed or denied solely and alone from a racial and hereditarily healthy viewpoint. 5. Every SS man who has the object of getting married has to procure for this purpose the marriage certificate of the Reichsfuehrer-SS. 6. SS members who though denied marriage certificates marry in spite of it, will be stricken from the SS; they will be given the choice of withdrawing. 7. The working out of the details of marriage petitions is the tasks of the 'Race Office' of the SS. 8. The Race Office of the SS directs the 'Clan Book of the SS' in which the families of SS members will be entered after distribution of the marriage certificate or acquiescence to the petition to enter into marriage. 9. The Reichsfuehrer-SS, the manager of the Race Office, and the specialists (Referenten) of this office are duty bound on their word of honor to secrecy. 10. It is clear to the SS that with this command it has taken a step of great significance. Derision, scorn, and failure to understand do not move us; the future belongs to us! The Reichsfuehrer-SS H. Himmler" This incisive command and the self-evidence of its execution demonstrate, even in the difficult years before the first victory, the self-confidence of this voluntary partnership for a determination which even at the time in
not move us; the future belongs to us! The Reichsfuehrer-SS H. Himmler" This incisive command and the self-evidence of its execution demonstrate, even in the difficult years before the first victory, the self-confidence of this voluntary partnership for a determination which even at the time in which it was ordered must mean an eternal, inconceivable, encroachment on the so-called personal freedom of the individual. The Instrument of the Fuehrer Inside and outside of the movement, in these years, the SS had to intervene, repeatedly called upon for the protection of the National Socialist fundamental principles. From disunity over the attempt at a schism to the betrayal of the Fuehrer himself, under immeasurable difficulties and grave human sacrifices, the SS fulfilled its various missions as the instrument for unconditional preparedness for intervention for the Fuehrer. It earned for itself at this time the slogan of Adolf Hitler: "SS-man, your honor is faithfulness". In the whole broad Reich, in village and city, the SS, in good and self-evident comradeship with the SA in the fighting years, broke the Red and Black Terror. Long and stirring is the list of all those brave soldiers of the Black Corps who gave their lives as a pledge of their faithfulness. They did not die in open battle, eye to eye with the opponent; they fell singly and deserted, pursued, hunted; harrassed, beaten, trampled to death, in dark alleys and courtyards, shot in the back, murdered by hostile superior forces; they gave their mortal life, and their names shine forth today, from banners and standards, their earthly immortality as a symbol of a great example which they fulfilled, completely and purely, everywhere, including those unforgettable heroes who fought against the choking gallows of an inhuman system, until even Austria returned home into the greater Reich through their sacrifice. Responsibility for the Future But not only the revolutionary fighting and sacrificial spirit of this National Socialist formation, its daily application and by this means the best and clear cut selectiveness, determined its existence and its ever clearer course. Far and beyond this, it was the penetrating feeling of responsibility of its leadership for a distant future which
fighting and sacrificial spirit of this National Socialist formation, its daily application and by this means the best and clear cut selectiveness, determined its existence and its ever clearer course. Far and beyond this, it was the penetrating feeling of responsibility of its leadership for a distant future which decisively determined its course. Here, in that difficult moment, those solutions were found for all necessary questions which, indeed in the first place must be justified for the day, far and above that, however, without compromise, bore complete responsibility at the same time in itself for the way of future development. Apart from the green table, not for the sake of momentary results, distinct from all dogma, a great eternal view of German history and a chaste consciousness of the inheritance of ancestry and the genesis of the future at the decisive point of the fighting period, and of the selectiveness of this partnership, have the peculiar and deep meaning for all missions and their execution. When the day of the grasping of power had finally come, there were 52,000 SS men who in this spirit, bore the revolution in the van, marched into the new State which they began to help form, everywhere: in their stations and positions, in profession and in service, and in all their essential tasks. The firm, devout ties to this great blood stream of the nation [Volk], the perception of the fulfillment of the deepest German longing for service to the nation, this welding to the firm internal unity of the exclusiveness which the SS was able to achieve, in the course of hard and full years, was the presupposition for the succeeding further greater task of the Black Corps. Only the absolute understanding of the emptiness of all personnel objectives and the final recognition of this valuelessness of smaller interests gave this formation the right to be the protective corps in State and Party as the strong arm of the Fuehrer for the internal security of the Reich in all good and evil times. Protective Corps of Party and State The prerequisites for this mighty mission were severe discipline and the highest sort of self-confidence as the result of continuous selection within its own ranks, but were, as well, a fanatical and convinced consciousness
security of the Reich in all good and evil times. Protective Corps of Party and State The prerequisites for this mighty mission were severe discipline and the highest sort of self-confidence as the result of continuous selection within its own ranks, but were, as well, a fanatical and convinced consciousness of duty to coming generations. Here, the hardiness of the best soldierly traditions met a new and harmonious formation with the keenness of a crystal-clear political consciousness as well as the pure, devout heart of a revolutionary of the living German Movement. The missions which were given to the SS in the present day National Socialist State can be understood only in the knowledge of this evolution. The protective organization of the Movement became the internal protective organization of the State after the seizure of power and after the Schutzstaffel, by renewed proof of its essentiality and the testing of its dependability on the 20th of July 1934, was elevated to be an independent component of the Party directly subordinate to the Fuehrer. Out of the above evolution, all the latter events could fashion themselves in apparent self-evidence along these principles. With the acquisition of power within the Reich, the protective organization of the Party became, feature by feature, as a consequence of the broadening of its mission, the protective organization of the National Socialist State. In this capacity, it took over step by step the remaining usable and valuable parts of the old police. Out of the 16 state police forces, a large and strong Reich police came into existence; and, that which even the old National Socialists themselves had hardly thought to expect: out of the jailer of the rubber cudgel regime there came in existence in the new police, an active friend of the people; and even more than that, in this slow and qualitative evolution the police itself has become, in the completion of National Socialism and in the leadership of National Socialism, through this Black Corps, a part of the proud formations of the Movement. Reichsfuehrer-SS and Chief of the German Police The Reichsfuehrer-SS became Chief of the German Police and united its mission, as elastic as operative, with its formations into a comprehensive line of defense