For us the
army is the representational and actual expression of the strength of a nation
for the external defense of its interests.
Open Letter to Brüning of October 14, 1931
The victory of our ideas will
convey to the whole nation a political and world-view thinking, which puts the
army into a real inner, spiritual relation to the whole folk and hence rescues
it from the painful fact of being an alien body within the own folk.
Open Letter to Brüning of October 14, 1931
Only the man is a real one who
also defends himself like a man, and a folk is only a real one, which is ready
- if necessary - to step onto the battlefield as a folk. This is not
militarism, rather self-preservation.
Speech of April 27, 1923 in Munich
Only if the nation’s defense
question - which is foremost not a technical one, rather a spiritual one, a
question of will - is solved in the sense that the German folk again
comprehends that one can only pursue politics with power and again power, is
reconstruction again possible.
Speech of May 4, 1923 in Munich
A statesman...who is
responsible for the well-being of his folk cannot allow it that Germany is
exposed to the danger that perhaps a neighbor could attack it or drop bombs on
our industrial works or wage a so-called preventive war simply in order to
divert from its own internal difficulties. Only for this reason - and for no
other - do we demand armed forces, which suffice for defensive purposes.
Interview of April 3, 1934 in Berlin
There is only one arms-bearer
in Germany, and that is the army.
Speech of October 14, 1933 in Berlin
The German youth is given
military training in neither the work camps nor in the S.A. and in the
subordinate formations, which could tempt them to one day use it. How much
more, however, could Germany complain that in other lands year after year
millions of recruits receive real military training!
Interview of October 18, 1933 in Berlin
The defense of the Reich’s
borders and thus our folk’s life and our economy’s existence today lies with
our Reichswehr, which in accordance with the terms imposed on us in the
Versailles Treaty is to be viewed as the only really disarmed army in the
world. Despite the thereby conditioned smallness and totally insufficient
armament, the German folk may look with proud satisfaction on its Reichswehr.
Under the most difficult circumstances, this small instrument of our national
self- defense has emerged. In its spirit it is the bearer of our best soldierly
traditions.
Speech of March 23, 1933 in Berlin
With minute thoroughness the
German folk has fulfilled the obligations placed on it in the peace treaty,
yes, even the back then approved replacement of our fleet’s ships has - I may
say: unfortunately - only been carried out to a small degree.
Speech of March 23, 1933 in Berlin
Although this fleet is small,
all of Germany looks on it with joy. For it is the most visible presentative of
the German concept of honor and of German respect in the world.
Speech to the fleet in Kiel of March 23, 1933
The German folk has destroyed
its weapons. Counting on the loyalty to the treaty by its former war opponents,
it has even fulfilled the treaties with downright fanatical loyalty. On the
water, on land and in the air immeasurable war material was disarmed, destroyed
and scrapped. In place of the former million army came in accordance with the
wish of the diktat powers a small professional army with militarily totally
insufficient equipment.
Speech of October 14, 1933 in Berlin
This order (of division of the
world into victor and vanquished states) finds its worst effect in the forced
defenselessness of one nation opposed to the exaggerated armaments of the
others.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
When Germany today raises the
demand for actual equal rights in the sense of the disarmament of other
nations, then it has a moral right for that through its own fulfillment of the
treaties. For Germany has disarmed, and Germany carried out this disarmament
under the strictest international supervision.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
Six million rifles and
carbines were turned over or destroyed; the German folk had to destroy or turn
over 130,000 machine- guns, the German folk had to destroy huge quantities of
machine-gun barrels, 91.000 guns, 38.75 million shells and enormous additional
stockpiles of weapons and ammunition. The Rhineland was demilitarized, German
fortresses were levelled, our ships turned over, airplanes destroyed, our
military system given up and the training of reserves thereby prevented. Even
the most necessary weapons of defense were denied us.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
Germany has disarmed. It has
fulfilled all obligations of the peace treaty imposed on it far beyond the
limits of any pettiness, yes, beyond any reason. It’s army numbers 100,000 men.
The strength and nature of the police are regulated internationally. The auxiliary
police assembled in the days of the (National Socialist) revolution has an
exclusively political character. In the critical days of the revolt it had to
replace the portion of the other police initially presumed by the new regime to
be unreliable. After the victorious carrying out of the revolution, it is
already in the process of be reduced and will be totally dissolved by the end
of the year. Germany thus has a completely justified moral claim that the other
powers for their part fulfil their obligations, which result from the Treaty of
Versailles.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
The only nation, which could
rightly fear an invasion, is the German one, for which one not only banned
offensive weapons, rather even curtailed the right to defensive weapons and
prohibited the establishment of border fortifications.
Speech of May 17, 1833 in Berlin
Whoever tries today to counter
these undeniable facts with truly pitiful excuses and evasions and to claim
Germany had not fulfilled the treaties or had even armed, I must from this
position reject his view as untrue and unfair!
May 17, 1933 in Berlin
If one...furthermore...does
not count the trained classes of the other armies of the world compared with
the militarily totally untrained people (of the S.A., S.S. and Stahlhelm, who
solely serve domestic political purposes), if one consciously overlooks the
armed reserves of the others, but starts to count the unarmed members of
political federations among us, then this represents a procedure against which
I must raise the sharpest protest! If the world wants to destroy trust in right
and justice, then this is the right means for that!
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
The claim that the S.A. and
the S.A. of the National Socialist party have any kind of relation to the
Reichswehr in the sense they are militarily trained formations or reserves of
the army, is untrue!
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
Germany is furthermore ready
without ado to totally renounce offensive weapons, if within a certain time
period the armed nations for their part destroy these offensive weapons and
their use is banned by an international convention. Germany only has the one
wish to be able to preserve its independence and defend its borders.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
The defensive works of other
folk are, after all, built to withstand the heaviest offensive weapons, while
Germany demands no offensive weapons, rather only those defense weapons, which
in the future as well are not banned, rather permitted to all nations. And
here, too, Germany is ready from the outset to make due with a numerical
minimum, which stands in no comparison to the gigantic supply of offensive and
defensive weapons of our former opponents.
Speech of October 14, 1933 in Berlin
Furthermore, the German
government will reject no weapons ban as too restrictive, if it is applied in
the same manner to the other states.
Speech of May 17, 1933 in Berlin
The German folk has fulfilled
its disarmament obligations in excess. It would now be the turn of the armed
states to fulfill the analogous obligations no less so.
Speech of October 14. 1933 in Berlin
Despite our willingness, if
necessary to continue to the very end the already completed German disarmament,
the other nations cannot decide to simply fulfill the assurances they signed in
the peace treaty.
Appeal of October 14, 1933
If anybody in the world can
feel threatened, then that is we alone!
Speech of November 10, 1933 in Berlin
So, just as the officers and
soldiers of the armed forces obligate themselves to the new state in my person,
I will always view it as my highest duty to stand up for the inviolability of
the armed forces.
Letter to the Reichswehr Minister of August 20,
1934
It is a unique historical
event that such a gracious bond in the service of the folk manifested itself
between the forces of the revolution and the responsible leaders of the most
extremely disciplined armed forces as well as between the National Socialist
party and myself as its leader on the one side and the officers and soldiers of
the German Reich army and navy on the other side.
Speech of January 30, 1934 in
Berlin
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