Adolf Hitler on 'The World War' part 2

Continuing with passages from Mein Kampf, 2017 Thomas Dalton translation. See here.

In the following two selections from Chapter 5, Hitler points out how the defeatist elements in German society sought to undermine the war effort. These Jewish Marxist elements, because they were not stamped out, were able to bring about the post-war communist revolutions in Bavaria and elsewhere, and also World War II.

P329  5.6  ARTIFICIAL DAMPENING OF ENTHUSIASM

I was a soldier then, and didn't really want to meddle in politics—all the more so because the time was inopportune. I still believe that the humblest stable-boy of those days served his country better than the best of, let's say, our 'parliamentarians.' My hatred for those big-mouths was never greater than in the days when all decent men who had anything to say, said it point-blank to the enemy's face, or else, failing this, kept their mouths shut and did their duty elsewhere. Yes, I hated all those politicians. And if I had my say, I would have formed them into a labor battalion and given them the opportunity to babble amongst themselves all they liked, without offense or harm to decent people.

In those days, I cared nothing for politics. But I couldn't help forming an opinion on certain manifestations that affected not only the whole nation but also us soldiers in particular.

There were two things that caused me the greatest anxiety at that time, and which I had come to regard as harmful.

First: Shortly after our first series of victories, a certain section of the press already began to throw cold water, drip by drip, on public enthusiasm. At first this wasn't obvious. It was done under the mask of good intentions and solicitude. The public was told that big victory celebrations were somewhat out of place, and weren't worthy expressions of the spirit of a great nation. The fortitude and valor of German soldiers were accepted facts that didn't necessarily call for celebration. Furthermore, foreign opinion would have much to say about such activities. It would react better to a quiet and sober form of celebration rather than to a bunch of wild jubilation. Surely the time had come for us Germans to remember that this war was not our doing, and thus that we should always be willing to contribure our share to a reconciliation of mankind. For this reason, it wouldn't be wise to besmirch the radiant deeds of our army with unbecoming jubilation; the rest of the world would never understand this. Furthermore, nothing is more appreciated than the modesty with which a true hero quietly and unassumingly carries on—and willingly forgets the past. Such was the gist of their warning.

Instead of taking these fellows by their long ears, dragging them to some ditch, and stringing them up on a rope—so that the victorious enthusiasms of the nation would no longer offend the aesthetic sensibilities of these knights of the pen—a general campaign was conducted against what was called “unseemly” forms of celebration.

No one seemed to have the faintest idea that once public enthusiasm is damped, nothing can spark it again, when the need arises. It's an intoxication, and must be maintained in that form. Without the power of the enthusiastic spirit, how would it be possible to endure a struggle that made such immense demands on the spiritual qualities of the nation?

I was only too well acquainted with the psychology of the broad masses not to know that, in such cases, a high aesthetic tone cannot fan the fire enough to keep the iron hot. In my eyes, it was even a mistake not to have tried to raise the pitch of public enthusiasm higher still. Therefore, I couldn't at all understand why they adopted the opposite policy—that is, of damping the public spirit.

P331  5.7  MISRECOGNIZING MARXISM

The second thing that irritated me was the manner in which Marxism was regarded and accepted. In my eyes, all this proved how little they knew about this plague. It was believed, in all seriousness, that the abolition of party distinctions during the war made Marxism a mild and moderate thing.

But this was no question of party. It was a matter of a doctrine that must lead to the destruction of all humanity. The intention of this doctrine was misunderstood because nothing was said about it in our Jew-ridden universities, and because our arrogant bureaucratic officials didn't think it worthwhile to study a subject that wasn't included in the university curriculum. This mighty revolutionary trend was going right in front of them, but those 'intellectuals' didn't pay any attention. That's why state institutions nearly always lag behind private enterprises. It is to such people, by God, that the maxim applies: 'What the peasant doesn't know, won't bother him.” Here, too, a few exceptions only confirm the rule.

In August of 1914, the German worker was looked upon as a Marxist. That was absurd. When those fateful hours dawned, the German worker shook off the poisonous clutches of that plague; otherwise he wouldn't have been so ready and willing to fight. People were stupid enough to imagine that Marxism had now become 'national'—another demonstration of the fact that the authorities never took the trouble to study the essence of Marxist teaching. If they had done so, they never would have made such foolish errors.

Marxism—whose final objective was, is, and will continue to be the destruction of all non-Jewish national states—saw in those days of July 1914 how the German working classes were aroused by a national spirit, and rapidly entered the service of the Fatherland. Within a few days, the deceptive smoke-screen of that infamous national betrayal vanished into thin air, and the gang of Jewish bosses suddenly found themselves alone and deserted. It was as if no vestige remained of the folly and madness that was foisted upon the mass of the German people for 60 years. That was a bad day for the betrayers of the German working class. The moment, however, that the leaders recognized the danger that threatened them, they pulled the magic cap of deceit over their ears, and insolently mimicked the national awakening.

The time had come for taking action against these Jewish poisoners of the people. That was the time to deal with them, regardless of any whining or protestation. At one stroke, in August of 1914, all the empty nonsense about international solidarity was knocked out of the heads of the German working classes. A few weeks later, instead of this stupid talk ringing in their ears, they heard the noise of American-made shrapnel bursting over the heads of the marching columns; there was your 'international brotherhood.' Now that the German worker had rediscovered the road to nationhood, it should have been the duty of any caring government to mercilessly root out the agitators who were misleading the nation. (… die Verhetzer dieses Volkstums unbarmherzig auszurotten.)  In this case, a form of the verb  'ausrotten' is used for 'root out.'  While in the next paragraph, 'vertilgen' is used as 'exterminate.' Vertilgen was never used by Hitler, Himmler or Goebbels in speaking about the Jews that I know of.

If the best were dying at the front, the least we could do is to exterminate the vermin. (... dann konnte man zu Hause wenigstens das Ungeziefer vertilgen.) 

Instead, His Majesty the Kaiser held out his hand to these old criminals, thus sparing these treacherous murderers of the nation and allowing them to regain their composure. This is the mistake we still make today, even worse than ever, 'we' including even White Nationalists who cower at being called names or considered as too 'exclusive' (ie supremacist). By not tackling the problem at the time, not believing its virulence, it is now even more deeply rooted in our societies, harder than ever to eradicate.

And so the viper could begin his work again—this time, more carefully than before, but even more destructively. While honest people dreamt of reconciliation, these perjured criminals were organizing a revolution.

'The World War' to be continued