Page 171 - Was Hitler a Riddle?

158 The American Diplomats

cial and cultural institutions regardless of their political leanings. the Nazis
outlawed the Nationalist combat units, various youth organizations, the Ba-
varian People’s Party, the Christian trade unions, and the social democratic
Party. at the same time, the government proceeded to nazify the institutions
of learning, a process carefully described by Gordon. teachers considered
politically unreliable and all Jewish teachers were summarily dismissed, the
curricula were changed, and students who had “fought for the national up-
rising” were given special privileges such as reduced fees and scholarships. 32
according to Gordon, “the lengths to which this pace of achievement
may lead are not pleasant to behold,” and further measures by the Nazis to
extend their control over public and private institutions could be expected.
in fact, within short order the stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, a right-
wing association of war veterans, was incorporated into the Nazi Party. the
press owned by Hugenberg, a leading Nationalist who was a member of
Hitler’s cabinet, remained silent about these repressive measures, a dra-
matic indication of the extent to which Hitler had succeeded within four
months in imposing his will on the country. By the end of June, all po-
33
tential sources of resistance except the reichswehr and the police had been
“either absorbed by the Nazis or largely, if not totally, crushed.” the only
institution that had offered serious resistance to the Nazis’ implementation
of the principle of “totality” was the evangelical Church, which exerted
considerable moral influence over its large following. By early July, the
34
Catholic Center Party, also regarded as an institution with moral authority,
was dissolved. even the Nazi leadership was surprised at the ease with which
this party had been “annihilated.” in a speech to an sa rally in dortmund,
Hitler himself said that it was inconceivable that only five months after the
Nazi takeover of the government the Center Party “would haul down its
flag.” to Gordon, it was now clear, “[t]he Nazi principle of ‘totality’ has
35
become a fact; Hitler’s triumph over the political parties is complete.” six
months earlier such a development had been “hardly conceivable.” 36

roosevelt’s ambassador, william e. dodd

in mid-July 1933, William e. dodd, sackett’s replacement, arrived in
Berlin to begin a four-and-a-half-year tenure as ambassador that turned out
to be controversial and at times embarrassing. dodd was not a profes-

For a fascinating account of the experiences of dodd and his family in Germany, see the
recently published book by eric larson, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American
Family in Hitler’s Berlin. although larson devotes many pages to the adventures and affairs