Lies being taught;
Mein Kampf is unintelligible ravings of a
maniac.
Now the Truth;
CHAPTER IV Munich
Views on Future of a Nation.
"At last I came to Munich, in the spring of
1912. The city itself was as familiar to me as if I had lived for years within
its walls.
This was because my studies in architecture
had been constantly turning my attention to the metropolis of German art. One
must know Munich if one would know Germany, and it is impossible to acquire a
knowledge of German art without seeing Munich. All things considered, this
pre-war sojourn was by far the happiest and most contented time of my life. My
earnings were very slender; but after all I did not live for the sake of
painting. I painted in order to get the bare necessities of existence while I
continued my studies.. There were a thousand or more things which I inwardly
loved or which I came to love during the course of my stay. But what attracted
me most was the marvellous wedlock of native folk-energy with the fine artistic
spirit of the city, that unique harmony from the Hofbräuhaus to the Odeon, from
the October Festival to the PINAKOTHEK, etc.
The only questions therefore were the
following: What form shall the life of the nation assume in the near
future--that is to say within such a period as we can forecast? And by what
means can the necessary foundation and security be guaranteed for this
development within the framework of the general distribution of power among the
European nations? A clear analysis of the principles on which the foreign policy
of German statecraft were to be based should have led to the following
conclusions:
The annual increase of population in Germany
amounts to almost 900,000 souls. The difficulties of providing for this army of
new citizens must grow from year to year and must finally lead to a
catastrophe, unless ways and means are found which will forestall the danger of
misery and hunger. There were four ways of providing against this terrible
calamity:
(1) It was possible to adopt the French
example and artificially restrict the number of births, thus avoiding an excess
of population.
As soon as the procreative faculty is
thwarted and the number of births diminished, the natural struggle for
existence which allows only healthy and strong individuals to survive is replaced
by a sheer craze to 'save' feeble and even diseased creatures at any cost. And
thus the seeds are sown for a human progeny which will become more and more
miserable from one generation to another, as long as Nature's will is scorned.
(2) A second solution is that of internal
colonization. This is a proposal which is frequently made in our own time and
one hears it lauded a good deal. It is a suggestion that is well-meant but it
is misunderstood by most people, so that it is the source of more mischief than
can be imagined.
It is certainly true that the productivity of
the soil can be increased within certain limits; but only within defined limits
and not indefinitely. Nature knows no political frontiers. She begins by
establishing life on this globe and then watches the free play of forces. Those
who show the greatest courage and industry are the children nearest to her
heart and they will be granted the sovereign right of existence.
If a nation confines itself to 'internal
colonization' while other races are perpetually increasing their territorial
annexations all over the globe, that nation will be forced to restrict the
numerical growth of its population at a time when the other nations are
increasing theirs.
Two further ways were left open in which work
and bread could be secured for the increasing population.
(3) It was possible to think of acquiring new
territory on which a certain portion of' the increasing population could be
settled each year; or else
(4) Our industry and commerce had to be
organized in such a manner as to secure an increase in the exports and thus be
able to support our people by the increased purchasing power accruing from the
profits made on foreign markets.
If new territory were to be acquired in
Europe it must have been mainly at Russia's cost, and once again the new German
Empire should have set out on its march along the same road as was formerly
trodden by the Teutonic Knights, this time to acquire soil for the German
plough by means of the German sword and thus provide the nation with its daily
bread.
For such a policy, however, there was only
one possible ally in Europe. That was England.
Only by alliance with England was it possible
to safeguard the rear of the new German crusade. The justification for
undertaking such an expedition was stronger than the justification which our
forefathers had for setting out on theirs. Not one of our pacifists refuses to
eat the bread made from the grain grown in the East; and yet the first plough
here was that called the 'Sword'.
No sacrifice should have been considered too
great if it was a necessary means of gaining England's friendship. Colonial and
naval ambitions should have been abandoned and attempts should not have been
made to compete against British industries.
Only a clear and definite policy could lead
to such an achievement. Such a policy would have demanded a renunciation of the
endeavour to conquer the world's markets, also a renunciation of colonial
intentions and naval power. All the means of power at the disposal of the State
should have been concentrated in the military forces on land. This policy would
have involved a period of temporary self-denial, for the sake of a great and
powerful future.
And that dream of peace was a most
significant reason why the above-mentioned third alternative for the future
development of Germany was not even taken into consideration. The fact was recognized
that new territory could be gained only in the East; but this meant that there
would be fighting ahead, whereas they wanted peace at any cost. The slogan of
German foreign policy at one time used to be: The use of all possible means for
the maintenance of the German nation. Now it was changed to: Maintenance of
world peace by all possible means. We know what the result was. I shall resume
the discussion of this point in detail later on.
There remained still another alternative,
which we may call the fourth. This was: Industry and world trade, naval power
and colonies. In adopting such a course Germany must have known that to follow
it out would necessarily mean war sooner or later. Only children could believe
that sweet and unctuous expressions of goodness and persistent avowals of
peaceful intentions could get them their bananas through this 'friendly
competition between the nations', with the prospect of never having to fight
for them. No. Once we had taken this road, England was
bound to be our enemy at some time or other to come. Of course it fitted in
nicely with our innocent assumptions, but still it was absurd to grow indignant
at the fact that a day came when the English took the liberty of opposing our
peaceful penetration with the brutality of violent egoists.
Naturally, we on our side would never have
done such a thing. If a European territorial policy against Russia could have
been put into practice only in case we had England as our ally, on the other
hand a colonial and world-trade policy could have been carried into effect only
against English interests and with the support of Russia.
But nobody thought of forming an alliance
with Russia against England, just as nobody thought of making England an ally
against Russia; for in either case the final result would inevitably have meant
war. And to avoid war was the very reason why a commercial and industrial
policy was decided upon. It was believed that the peaceful conquest of the
world by commercial means provided a method which would permanently supplant
the policy of force. Occasionally, however, there were doubts about the
efficiency of this principle, especially when some quite incomprehensible
warnings came from England now and again. That was the reason why the fleet was
built. It was not for the purpose of attacking or annihilating England but
merely to defend the concept of world-peace, mentioned above, and also to
protect the principle of conquering the world by 'peaceful' means. Therefore
this fleet was kept within modest limits, not only as regards the number and
tonnage of the vessels but also in regard to their armament, the idea being to
furnish new proofs of peaceful intentions."
Adolf Hitler
To be continued...
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