Читать книгу A THREE PART BOOK: Anti-Semitism:The Longest Hatred / World War II / WWII Partisan Fiction Tale - Sheldon Cohen - Страница 16

German losses In World War I included 2.5 million dead and 4 million wounded. Near the war’s end, German military morale deteriorated to the extent that soldiers threw down their arms, and sailors at Kiel, a German naval base, refused to set sail for a final showdown against the British fleet. Even the German generals told the Kaiser that the time had come to end the unwinnable war.

The Kaiser abdicated and went into exile in Holland.

The German chancellor signed the armistice which Hitler viewed as a treasonous act, another reflection of his anti-democratic mind-set.

All this was taking place in Germany during terrible economic conditions with rising prices and unemployment. And if that were not enough, when the Communists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht tried to take control, the government acquired Freicorps troops crushed the revolt assassinating Liebknecht and Luxemburg which prevented a Communist takeover. Post-war conditions in Germany were clearly chaotic.

The Weimar Republic was now free to form. It was named after the city where it was developed and planned. It would last 14 years. Germany became a democracy, anathema to Hitler who had other plans. Since this new government consisted of many political parties, numerous coalitions meant frequent change because it was impossible for one party to take complete control. Through this period, stability in government was non-existent and opposition to Weimar grew. Anti-Semitism still reared its ugly head at times, but it was isolated and not a part of government policy. That was and would be Hitler’s prerogative if and when he took power.

The bill to Germany for the war was 6.6 billion Reichmarks. Germany had to default on payments by the end of 1922, forcing France and Belgium to occupy the Ruhr so as to use its industrial capacity as payment. The loss of the Ruhr was catastrophic for Germany resulting in severe inflation. The average citizen found their savings had lost all value. The new Weimar Republic was in serious trouble.

Adolph Hitler, after the speech he gave at the political party he investigated was eagerly invited to join by Anton Drexler, the founder. After a thorough investigation when Hitler discovered the party’s philosophy was identical to his, he did indeed become a member. Soon he became the leader of the National Socialistica Deutcher Arbeiter Partei (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), or NAZIS for short. Within a few years, he built the party into a local one principally known in Germany’s Munich area.

Realizing the political possibilities of rampant inflation on the German economy, Hitler, emboldened by his rapid success, decided to act. He brazenly attempted the takeover of the German government to be replaced with his right wing nationalistic party before the Weimar government restarted reparation payments as the Treaty of Versailles stipulated. To Hitler, the government’s action was treason, an admission of guilt for starting the World War. Buoyed by a Nazi party which had grown to 35,000 members, he decided on a direct approach which is remembered now as the “Munich Beer Hall Putsch” (coup).

On November 8^th 1923 the Bavarian Prime Minister, Gustav Kahr, was addressing a meeting in a Munich beer hall when Hitler and 600 of his Storm troopers invaded the hall. Hitler took over the speaker’s platform and announced to the audience that “The national revolution has broken out.” At gunpoint, Kahr and two other government officials were ushered by Hitler, Rudolph Hess, a good friend of Hitler’s, and others into a side room. Kahr refused to support Hitler, but Hitler reentered the assembly and lied to the audience that Kahr had given Hitler his full support. The audience believed it. Hitler then started his plan to take over Munich, while at the same time releasing Kahr and his other government officials. Kahr immediately reported all to the Berlin Central Government which mobilized the police and the military to prevent Hitler’s attempt at a coup. Hitler and General Ludendorf marched shoulder-to-shoulder through the streets toward the center of Munich. However, Hitler had not disclosed his agenda to Ludendorf who was angry about the concealment. When Hitler and 3,000 party faithful reached the center of Munich, they were confronted by 100 armed troopers who opened fire killing sixteen Nazis. Hitler escaped and Ludendorff was arrested. The coup was a failure!

Hitler was also quickly arrested and stood trial for treason. He received a five year prison sentence. He served only six months, but that was long enough to pen his famous book Mein Kampf, (My Struggle) which subsequently received national and international recognition. Perhaps because of the time for reflection behind bars, while he thought and Rudolph Hess wrote, he at last decided to take control of Germany through the legitimate political approach. Even so, he never abandoned his anti-democratic ideology. To the future dismay of the world, he would eventually succeed.

In the meantime, Gustav Stresemann was appointed chancellor. Not particularly enamored of Weimar, he formed his own party, the German People’s Party comprised of a coalition of several parties which Stresemann hoped would protect Weimar against what he felt were the dangers of parties operating at the extreme right and left of the political spectrum. Stresemann was responsible for introducing a new currency, the Rentenmark, ending the tragic hyperinflation that was strangling Germany. At the same time he fended off threats from Adolph Hitler’s Nazis and the Communists. Stresseman is given credit for ushering in a much improved outlook for Germany.

Sam had grown into a fine looking young man. With the war over, he resumed in earnest his swimming program, and his muscular definition showed the result.

In Sam’s freshman year at college in 1919, while studying one night, a classmate approached him and said, “Let’s go to the nurse’s dance.”

“What nurse’s dance?” Sam asked.

“From the nursing school here.”

“I’m studying,” said Sam without looking up.”

To make a long story short, Sam’s persistent friend prevailed, and they went to the dance hall. Sam’s life changed that night. As he tells the story, “I walked through the door and happened to look to my left, and I was immediately struck numb. There sitting against the wall was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was sitting there with a long green skirt that stretched about four inches beyond her knees. She was also wearing a similar colored sweater under which a white unbuttoned collar extended around her neck. There was no makeup on her face, and believe me she didn’t need any. When I saw her, I just stopped and stared. She saw me and quickly looked away. She had straight brown hair extending almost shoulder length. I drew up the courage to ask her to dance. She said yes. When she stood up, my estimate was that she was about three or four inches shorter than me. My heart thumped. I think I fell in love on the spot”

Four years later in 1922, when Sam was starting medical school at the Charite-Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, he and Eva Gold married. Sam was 26 years of age; Eva was 22.

Albert took a different course. He was five feet and nine inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes, already showing some early signs of baldness like his grandfather. He joined his good friend in swimming upon his return from war and also built up his muscular definition. Albert perceived another benefit of this exercise and that was a slowly progressive reduction and improvement of the intermittent anxiety episodes he experienced, which had been diagnosed as “shell shock” by the military doctors.

After graduation, Albert took leave of his friend Sam, as he had been accepted at Oxford University where he would pursue an advanced degree in finance as his father had before him.

When he left, the two families had a going away party for him and then saw him off at the train station. He said to Sam, “I’m going to miss you, buddy.”

“Me too,” answered Sam, “We’ll keep in touch.” They hugged.

“Do me a favor, Sam, Write me at least once a week and keep me up to date on conditions in Germany. There’s lots of trouble now, and I appreciate it if you will do that.”

“That’s a guarantee, Al. My pleasure, and you do the same for me about Great Britain, or wherever else you end up,” said Sam.

They shook hands, and separated again like they had during World War I, more than likely for another four years. It was 1926.

Oxford University is the oldest English speaking college in the world. They started admitting women in 1920. This was good timing for Albert as he repeated Sam’s performance and fell in love at first site; this time with a classmate, Adele Meyers. She sat next to him in class, and was as drawn to him as he was to her. Adele was five feet and three inches tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Following past practice, now Al followed Sam down the aisle, which he did happily with all family members, and also Sam and Eva present.

Stresemann’s influence on the Weimar Republic prevailed positively, and in the next five to six years he worked tirelessly with Germany’s former enemies, Great Britain and France, trying to modify some of the Treaty of Versailles mandates. Most importantly, Stresemann agreed with the conclusions of the Dawes Plan proposed by American Charles Dawes. The plan was an attempt in 1924 to solve the World War I reparations debacle which had bedeviled international politics following the First World War and the Versailles treaty. This helped alleviate the crushing financial burden imposed on Germany. Germany also received loans from America, which proved to be a major economic benefit. The Dawes plan was formed for the purpose of stabilizing the hyperinflated German Economy.

Stresemann died prematurely, and a grateful nation mourned his passing.

Throughout all this period of progressive prosperity coupled with the fact that after Hitler’s imprisonment he was not allowed to give speeches, the citizenry lost interest in the Nazi Party. Hitler now had an uphill battle in his goal of transforming Germany to his way of thinking; a dictatorship with Adolph Hitler as dictator.