Berlin, January 30, 1937
Men! Deputies of the
German Reichstag!
The Reichstag has been convened today, on an important day for the German
Volk. Four years have passed since that moment marking the beginning of the
great inner cataclysm and reorganization Germany has experienced, four years
which I requested from the German Volk as a period of probation and judgment.
What would be more logical than to use this occasion to recount in detail all
the success and progress these four years have bestowed upon the German Volk?
Within the framework of such a short rally it is not even possible to mention
all those things which might well be regarded as the remarkable results of this
perhaps most astounding epoch in the life of our Volk! That is a task more
fitting for the press and propaganda. Moreover, there will be an exhibition
this year in the Reich Capital of Berlin in which the attempt will be made to
give a comprehensive and more detailed impression of what has been created,
achieved and begun than I could possibly be capable of giving in a two-hour
speech. Therefore, I wish to make use of today’s historic meeting of the German
Reichstag in order to point out, in a retrospective on the past four years, a
few of the generally valid insights, experiences and consequences which are
important not only for us to understand, but also for posterity.
I can say it with a certain amount
of pride: this was perhaps the first modern revolution in which not so much as
a window pane was shattered. Yet I do not want to be misunderstood: if the
course of this revolution was bloodless, it was not because we were not men
enough to stand the sight of blood. For four years, I was a soldier in the
bloodiest war of all time. I never once lost my nerve throughout, no matter
what the situation or what I was confronted with. This also applies to my fellow
workers. But we perceived the task of the National Socialist Revolution not as
destroying human life or property but instead as building up a new and better
life. It is our greatest source of pride that we carried out this-undoubtedly
greatest-cataclysm in our Volk with a minimum of casualties and losses.
Only where the murderous lust of
Bolshevism believed itself capable, even after January 30, 1933, of preventing
the triumph or the realization of the National Socialist idea by force have we
naturally countered with force- and have done so with the speed of lightning.
Then again there were other elements.
We recognized their lack of
restraint, coupled with the gravest lack of political education, and these we
merely took into preventive custody, only to restore to them their liberty
after a very short time, generally speaking.
And then again there were those few
whose political activities served only as a cover for a criminal attitude
evidenced in numerous sentences to prison or penal servitude; these we
prevented from continuing their devastating work of destruction by urging them
to take up a useful occupation, probably for the first time in their lives.
In the space of a few weeks, both
the political residues and societal biases of the past thousand years in Germany had
been cleared away and eliminated.
Germany and the German Volk have
overcome several great catastrophes.
Naturally, there always had to be
certain men-I will be the first to admit-who took the necessary steps and who
saw these measures through despite the eternal pessimists and know-it-alls.
True, an assembly of parliamentary cowards is most ill-suited to lead the Volk
forth-away from destitution and despair!
My Deputies! When the German economy
seemingly ground to a complete halt in the years 1932 and 1933, the following
became more clear to me than in the preceding years: the salvation of our Volk
is not a financial problem; it is exclusively a problem of utilizing and
employing the available work force on the one hand and exploiting available
soil and mineral resources on the other.
The Volksgemeinschaft does not
subsist on the fictitious value of money but on actual production, which gives
money its value. This production is the primary cover for a currency, not a
bank or a vault full of gold! And when I increase this production, I am
actually increasing the income of my fellow citizens; if I decrease
production, I decrease income, regardless of what salaries are being paid out.
[-] This concerted resolution of economic issues finds its greatest expression
in the Four-Year Plan. It assures that once great numbers of German workers are
released by the armament industry and re-enter the labor force, these workers
shall find secure employment within our economy. [-] It is quite clear that
neither strikes nor lockouts can be tolerated in a sphere where such views
prevail. The National
Socialist State
does not recognize an economic law of the jungle. The common interest of the
nation-i.e. of our Volk-has priority over the interests of all its competing
components. Therefore we cannot allow that any means suited for utilization in
our Volk’s training and education be exempted from this shared obligation.
The education of youth, Jungvolk,
Hitler Youth, Labor Service, Party, Wehrmacht: all of them are institutions for
training and educating our Volk.
Books, newspapers, lectures, art,
theater, film: all are means for the education of the Volk (Volkserziehung).
What the National Socialist Revolution has accomplished in these areas is
astonishing and colossal. One need only think of the following: Today, our
entire German system of education-including the press, theater, film, and
literature-is run and organized exclusively by German Volksgenossen. How often
were we told before that removing the Judentum from these institutions
must result in their collapse or deterioration? And what has happened now? In
all of these areas we are witnessing a tremendous flourishing of cultural and
artistic life. Our films are better than ever before; the performances on the
stages of our first-rate theaters are in a world class all their own. Our press
has become a powerful instrument serving the selfassertion of our Volk and does
its part in fortifying the nation. German science is doing successful work, and
tremendous proofs of our creative architectural will shall one day bear witness
to this new epoch! An incredible immunization of the German Volk has been
achieved to all the infiltrating tendencies from which a different world is
made to suffer. We now already take for granted several of our institutions
that were not yet understood even a few years ago: Jungvolk, Hitler Youth, BDM,
Frauenschaft, Labor Service, SA, SS, NSKK-and above all the Labor Front with
its tremendous organization-are bricks in the proud structure of our Third
Reich. This safeguarding of the internal life of our German Volk needed to be
complemented by an external safeguard. And I believe that it is here, my
Deputies and men of the German Reichstag, that the National Socialist uprising
has achieved the most marvelous of its accomplishments! When, four years ago, I
was entrusted with the chancellorship and with it the leadership of the nation,
I assumed the bitter obligation to lead back to honor a people who had been
compelled to live the life of an outcast among the other nations for fifteen
years. The internal order of the German Volk provided me with the requirements
for reestablishing the German Army, and these two circumstances likewise made
it possible to throw off those shackles which had been felt to be the deepest
mark of disgrace ever branded on a people.
In concluding this process today, I
have but a few statements to make.
First: the restoration of German
equality of rights was a process that concerned and involved Germany alone.
In its course we neither deprived any other people of anything nor did harm to
any other people.
Second: I hereby proclaim to you
that, within the context of the restoration of German equality of rights, I
shall divest the German Reichsbahn and the German Reichsbank of their prior
character and place them completely under the sovereign control of the
Government of the German Reich.
Third: I hereby declare that, by
virtue thereof, the part of the Treaty of Versailles which deprived our Volk of
equality of rights and degraded it to an inferior Volk has now been settled in
the natural course of things.
Fourth: above all, I herewith most
solemnly withdraw the German signature from that declaration extracted under
duress at that time from a weak government against its own better judgment,
that Germany
was to blame for the war! My Deputies, Men of the German Reichstag! This
restoration of the honor of our Volk-most clearly evidenced in an external
sense in the introduction of conscription, in the institution of a new
Luftwaffe, in the re-establishment of a German Navy, in the reoccupation of the
Rhineland by our troops-was the most difficult
and most daring task and accomplishment of my life.
Today I must bow down in thanks to Providence, whose mercy
has enabled me, once an unknown soldier in the World War, to thus help our Volk
to win the battle for the restoration of its honor and uprightness!
Unfortunately, not all the necessary measures in this context could be
accomplished by way of negotiations. Be that as it may: a Volk cannot attain
its honor by negotiating; it must seize its honor-just as its honor cannot be
negotiated away, but only taken away!
That I took the required action
without consulting our former opponents on each point or even informing them,
was also due to the knowledge that I had thus made it easier for the other side
to accept our decisions, as they would have had to at any rate. Allow me also
to add yet another statement, namely, that the period of so-called surprises
has now come to an end. As a state with equal rights, conscious of its role in
Europe, Germany
will cooperate loyally in the future to settle the problems which are a cause
for concern to us and to the other nations.
When I now proceed to take a stand
on all these basic questions of the present, it is perhaps most feasible to do
so along the lines of the remarks Mr. Eden made recently in the English House
of Commons.
In essence, they contain all there
is to say on the relationship between Germany
and France.
Here I would like to express my genuine thanks for the opportunity of replying
which was offered to me in the both frank and remarkable comments of the
honorable British Foreign Secretary.
I have read these comments carefully
and, I believe, correctly. Naturally I do not wish to become absorbed in
details; instead I would like to try to extract the major points from Mr.
Eden’s speech and, for my part, clarify and respond to them.
Initially, I will attempt to put
right what appears to me to be a quite regrettable error. Namely, the error
that Germany has any intention whatsoever of isolating itself, of passing over
the events in the rest of the world with indifference, or that Germany had no
desire to show any consideration for general exigencies.
What grounds are there for the view
that Germany
is adhering to a policy of isolation? If the assumption as to Germany’s isolation is concluded from what are
alleged to be Germany’s
intentions, I would like to note the following: I do not believe that a state
could ever intend to consciously take a politically disinterested stand on
events in the rest of the world. Particularly not if this world is as small as
modern-day Europe. I believe that, if a state
is in fact forced to take refuge in such an attitude, then only by virtue of
being compelled to do so by an alien will imposed upon it. I would like to
assure Foreign Secretary Eden here that we Germans do not in the least want to
be isolated and by no means feel isolated.
In the past few years, there have
been quite a few political ties which Germany has entered into,
re-established, improved and, in the case of a number of states I might even
say it has set up close and amicable relations. From our perspective, our
relations in Europe are normal to most states,
and very friendly to quite a few. At the top of this list I might cite the
excellent relations binding us with all those states which have, as a result of
hardship similar to our own, arrived at similar conclusions.
By virtue of a series of treaties,
we have resolved former tensions and thereby made a substantial contribution to
improving European conditions.
You will recall for example our
agreement with Poland which proved advantageous for both states; our agreement
with Austria; our excellent and close relations with Italy; our amicable
relations with Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Spain, etc.-and
last but not least, our no less friendly relations with quite a number of
states outside of Europe.
The agreement Germany concluded with Japan for the
purpose of combating the Comintern Movement is graphic proof of how little
interest the German Government has in isolating itself and how little it thus
does in fact feel isolated.
Moreover, I have expressed more than
once the desire and the hope of being able to arrive at equally good and
friendly terms with all our neighbors.
Germany-and I solemnly reiterate
this here and now-has repeatedly declared that there can be no humanly
conceivable contentious issues whatsoever between itself and France, to cite an example. The
German Government has moreover assured Belgium
and Holland
that it is prepared to recognize and guarantee these states at any time as
inviolable neutral territories.
In the light of all the declarations
formerly given by us and the actual state of affairs, I am somewhat at a loss
to comprehend why Germany
should feel itself isolated or even adhere to a policy of isolation.
I do, however, fear that I must
interpret Mr. Eden’s words as meaning that he regards the implementation of the
German Four-Year Plan as one element of Germany’s refusal to partake in
international relations. Therefore, I wish to leave no doubt whatsoever that
the decision to implement this Plan is not subject to any review. The reasons
which led us to arrive at this decision were cogent ones. And I have been
unable to detect any recent development which might have moved us to refrain in
any way from implementing this decision.
Germany has a tremendous number of
people who wish not only to work, but also to eat. In other respects as well,
our Volk has a high standard of living.
I cannot build the future of the
German nation on the promises a foreign statesman gives of providing some kind
of international aid; I can build it only on the real foundation of a
functioning industry whose products I must sell either at home or abroad! And
this is perhaps where I, in my mistrust, differ from the optimistic remarks of
the British Foreign Secretary.
If in fact Europe
does not awaken from the fever of its Bolshevist infections, I fear that,
despite the good intentions of individual statesmen, international trade will
not increase, but ultimately decrease. That is because this trade is built not
only upon the uninterrupted and thus secured production on the part of one
specific nation, but on the production of all nations. Initially, however, one
thing is certain: every single Bolshevist disruption will of necessity lead to
a more or less lengthy disruption in orderly production. Therefore, I am not
able to view the economic future of Europe as
optimistically as Mr. Eden apparently believes he can. I am the responsible
leader of the German Volk and must look after its interests in this world to
the best of my knowledge and belief. Hence I am also under an obligation to
assess the situation in accordance with what I believe I can perceive with my
own eyes.
The history of my Volk would never
acquit me were I to omit-for any reason whatsoever-doing something which is
imperative for the preservation of this Volk. I am glad, as are we all, of any
increase in our foreign trade. However, in view of the unresolved political
situation, I shall not fail to do anything which might serve to guarantee to
the German Volk its existence even after other states have succumbed to the
Bolshevist infection. Furthermore, I must object when this view is dismissed as
being but the product of a feeble imagination. For right now there is no doubt
about the following: the honorable British Foreign Secretary is showing us
theoretical perspectives on life, while in reality, for one, completely
different events are taking place. The revolutionizing of Spain, for example, drove fifteen
thousand Germans out of that country and did severe damage to our trade.
If the revolutionizing of Spain
were to spread to other European states, the damage would increase, not
decrease. If, however-this I must also investigate-the reason behind the
opinion that Germany is adhering to a policy of isolation might lie in our
withdrawal from the League of Nations, I would like to point out that the
Geneva League was never truly a league of all the nations; a number of major
nations either never belonged to it in the first place or had withdrawn even
before we did, whereas no one claimed they were adhering to a policy of
isolation. Therefore I believe Mr. Eden has evidently misunderstood German
intentions and our own views on this issue.
For nothing is further from our
minds than severing either our political or our economic relations with the
other world or even to diminish them. On the contrary, the opposite is more to
the point.
I have so often attempted to make a
contribution to understanding in Europe, and have quite often assured
particularly the English people and its government how very much we desire to
cooperate and be on sincere and friendly terms with them. And I mean all of us,
the entire German Volk, and last but not least myself! Yet I do admit there
does exist a real and, as I see it, unbridgeable difference between the views
of the British Foreign Secretary and our own on one issue. Mr. Eden emphasizes
that under no circumstances does the British Government wish to see Europe torn in two halves. It is unfortunate that this
desire was not expressed and heard earlier. Today this desire is nothing but an
illusion.
For sadly the fracture not only of Europe, but of the entire world into two halves is now an
accomplished fact. It is regrettable that the British Government did not take
the position it does today-that the fracturing of Europe
needs to be avoided under all circumstances-at an earlier point, for then the
Treaty of Versailles never would have come about. It was in fact that Treaty
which introduced the first fracture to Europe,
namely, the division into victorious nations on the one hand and vanquished
nations, without rights, on the other.
No one suffered from this fracturing
of Europe more than the German people. That
this rupture was repaired, at least as far as concerns Germany, is essentially the achievement of the
National Socialist Revolution in Germany and thus, to a certain
extent, probably mine as well! The second fracture arose as a result of the
proclamation of the Bolshevist doctrine, one of whose integral components is
that it does not confine itself to a single people but aims to be forced upon
all peoples.
At issue here is not a special form
of life indigenous to, let us say, the Russian people; rather, it is the
Bolshevist goal of world revolution. The fact that the honorable Foreign
Secretary Eden refuses to see Bolshevism as we see it is perhaps related to Great Britain’s
location, perhaps to other experiences of which we have no knowledge. I do,
however, hold that, because we speak of these things not as theoreticians, one
cannot accuse us of being insincere in our conviction.
For Mr. Eden, Bolshevism is perhaps
something sitting in Moscow; for us, however, Bolshevism is a plague against
which we have been forced to defend ourselves in a bloody fight; a plague that
has attempted to make of our country the same desert it has made of Spain, that
had begun the same shooting of hostages we are now witnessing in Spain!
National Socialism did not seek contact with Bolshevism in Russia; rather, the Jewish international
Muscovite Bolshevism attempted to penetrate Germany! And it is still attempting
to do so today! And we have fought a difficult battle against this attempt,
upholding and thus defending not only the culture of our Volk, but perhaps that
of Europe as a whole in the process.
If in those days in January and
February 1933 Germany had
lost the last decisive battle against this barbarity, and if the Bolshevist
expanse of rubble and corpses had spread to encompass Central Europe, perhaps
one might have reached other conclusions on the Thames
as regards the character of this, the most horrendous menace to mankind.
Since England
must be defended at the Rhine in any case,28
it would now already be in the closest proximity to that harmless democratic
Muscovite world whose innocuousness is so constantly and ardently hammered home
to us.
Thus I would like once more to
formally state the following: Bolshevism is a doctrine of world revolution,
i.e. of world destruction. To adopt this doctrine, to accord it equal rights as
a factor in European life, is tantamount to placing Europe
at its mercy. If other peoples choose to expose themselves to contact with this
menace, Germany
has nothing to say on the matter.
However, as far as Germany itself
is concerned, I would like to leave no doubt that we 1. perceive in Bolshevism
an intolerable world menace; and 2. that we are using every means at our
disposal to keep this menace away from our Volk; 3. that we are thus
endeavoring to make the German Volk as immune to this infection as possible.
This also entails that we avoid any
close contact with the carriers of these poisonous germs and that we are
specifically not prepared to dull the German Volk’s sense of perception for
this menace by ourselves establishing connections more extensive than the
requisite diplomatic or economic relations.
I hold the Bolshevist doctrine to be
the worst poison which can be administered to a people. I therefore do not want
my own people to come into contact with this doctrine in any way. And as a
citizen of this Volk myself, I will not do anything I would be forced to
condemn in my fellow citizens. I demand from every German worker that he
refrain from having any relations or dealings with these international pests,
and for his part he will never see me quaffing or carousing with them. In other
respects, every additional German contractual tie with the present Bolshevist
Russia would be completely useless to us. It would be equally inconceivable for
National Socialist German soldiers to ever need fulfill a helpmate function in
protecting Bolshevism; nor would we on our side accept any aid from a
Bolshevist state. For I fear that every Volk which reaches out for such aid
will find it to be its own demise.
I must also take a stand here
against the view that the League of Nations
might lend its support as such if needed and actually save the individual
member states by virtue of its assistance. No, I cannot believe that. Foreign
Secretary Eden stated recently that actions speak louder than words. I would,
however, like to point out that the outstanding feature of the League of
Nations to date has been not actions, but words-with the exception of a single
case in which it perhaps would have been better to have been content with words
only.29
Moreover, in that one
instance-as could be expected-the actions were not able to achieve the desired
effect.
Mr. Eden holds that, in the future,
every state should possess only those arms which are necessary for its defense.
I do not know whether and in what form Moscow
has been approached with respect to putting this interesting thought into
practice, and to what extent promises have already been made from that quarter.
There is, however, one thing I must
say: there is no doubt that the amount of the arms required for defense depends
upon the amount of the dangers which threaten a country. This is something
which each Volk-and each Volk alone- is competent to judge. Thus if Great
Britain establishes the limits of its arms today, everyone in Germany will
understand this; the only way we can see it is that London alone is competent
to decide on the proportions of the protection required by the British Empire.
At the same time, however, I would also like to stress that the proportions of
the protection and hence defensive arms required by our Volk comprise a matter
which falls under our own competence and thus is to be decided exclusively in Berlin.
The attempt has been made to
construe a connection between German sympathy for national Spain and some
sort of colonial designs. Germany
has no colonial claims against countries which have not taken colonies from it.
In addition, Germany
has suffered so greatly from the Bolshevist plight that it will not exploit
this plight and rob another unhappy people in its hour of need or extract from
it some future gain by force.
The German Volk once built up a
colonial empire without robbing anyone and without violating any treaties. And
it did so without waging war. That colonial empire has been taken away from us.
The reasons being brought forth today to rationalize that action are not
tenable.
First: “The natives do not want to
belong to Germany.”
Who asked them if they wanted to belong to someone else; and when have
colonized peoples ever been asked whether they harbored good will and affection
for their former colonial masters? Second: “The German colonies were not even
properly administered by the Germans.” Germany had only gained these
colonies a few decades before. Great sacrifices went into their expansion, and
they were in the midst of an evolution which would have led to completely
different results today than, for instance, in 1914. Yet we had nonetheless
developed the colonies to such an extent that others considered them worth
waging bloody battles with us to wrench them from our possession.
Third, it is claimed, “Those
colonies had no real value.” Were this the case, this lack of value would also
apply to other states, and hence it makes no sense that they are depriving us
of them at all. Moreover, Germany
has never demanded colonies for military purposes, but exclusively for economic
ones.
It is obvious that the value of a
certain territory may decrease in times of general prosperity; it is, however,
just as obvious that such an assessment will undergo an immediate revision in
times of distress. And today Germany
is living in times of a difficult struggle for foodstuffs and raw materials.
Sufficient imports are only conceivable given a steady and continuous increase
in our exports. Thus the demand for colonies in a country as densely populated
as our own will naturally be put forward again and again.
In concluding these remarks, I would
like to take a stand on a document the British Government sent to the German
Government on the occasion of the occupation of the Rhineland.
At the outset I would like to
establish that we hold and are convinced that the English Government did
everything in its power at that time to avoid an escalation of the European
crisis, and that the document in question owes its existence to the desire to
make a contribution toward untangling the situation at the time. It was
nonetheless impossible for the German Government to provide an answer to these
questions for reasons the Government of Great Britain will certainly
appreciate.
We have chosen instead to settle
some of these questions the most natural way of all in the practical handling
of our relations with our neighboring states, and now that full German
sovereignty and equality of rights have been restored, I would like to state
conclusively that Germany will never again sign a treaty which is in any way
irreconcilable with its honor, with the honor of the nation and the government
representing it, or which is otherwise irreconcilable with Germany’s vital
interests and thus cannot be upheld for any length of time.33 I do believe that this declaration
will be easily comprehended by everyone.
The great tasks which have been
commenced beyond this [the Four-Year Plan] shall be continued. Their goal will
be to make the German Volk healthier and its life more comfortable. As external
evidence of this great epoch of the resurrection of our Volk shall now stand
the methodical expansion of several of the Reich’s major cities. Enhancing Berlin to become a true
and genuine capital of the German Reich is the first priority. Therefore
today-just as this is done for our road-building-I have appointed a General
Building Inspector for Berlin who will be responsible for the structural
enhancement of the Reich Capital and shall ensure that, despite the chaos of
Berlin’s constructional development, the strong lines will be retained which do
justice to the spirit of the National Socialist Movement and the individuality
of the German Reich Capital. A period of twenty years has been allotted for the
implementation of this plan.
May the Almighty God grant us the
peace to be able to accomplish this tremendous task. Parallel to it there will
be a large-scale enhancement of the Capital of the Movement, the City of the
Reich Party Congresses and the City of Hamburg.
This, however, shall serve merely as
a model for the general cultural evolution to which we aspire as the crowning
glory of the internal and external freedom of the German Volk.
And finally, it shall be a task of
the future to guarantee, in a constitution, for all time to come the true life
of our Volk as it has now taken shape in the form of a state, and thus to
elevate that life to become the immortal basic law for all Germans.
When I look back upon the great work
of the four years lying behind us, you will understand that my initial feeling
can be none other than that of gratitude to our Almighty God who allowed us to
accomplish this work.
He blessed our work and enabled our
Volk to stride unscathed and confident through all the perils lining its path.
I have had three unusual friends in
my life: in my youth Poverty was my companion for many years. When the Great
War came to a close, it was the deepest Regret at the collapse of our Volk that
overcame me and prescribed my path. Since that January 30 four years ago I have
met my third friend, Concern. Concern for the Volk and Reich entrusted to my
leadership. It has never left me since, and will probably accompany me now
until I am no more.
Yet how could a man be capable of
bearing up under the weight of this concern if he did not, faithfully trusting
in his mission, have the consent of Him who stands above us all? It is Fate
with special tasks that so often compels men to he alone and forlorn. I also
wish to thank Providence here and now that it enabled me to find a company of
the most loyal fellow fighters who have linked their lives to mine and who have
been at my side ever since, fighting with me for the resurrection of our Volk.
I am so happy that I need not stride through the German Volk as a lonely man,
but that beside me there are men comprising a guard whose name will live on in
German history.
At this time I would like to thank
my old comrades in arms who stood by me untiringly throughout these long, long
years, and who are now giving me their help, either as Ministers, as
Reichsstatthalters, as Gauleiters, or in other positions within the Party and
the State. At present, there are fateful events taking place in Moscow which
really reveal to us how highly that loyalty which binds leading men deserves to
be valued.35 I would
further like to extend my sincere thanks to those who, although they have not
issued from the ranks of the Party, have come in the course of these years to
constitute true helpers and companions in the leadership of the Reich
Government and in the rest of the Volk. Today they all belong to us, though
this very minute they may not yet have the symbol of our community.
I would like to thank the men and
women who built up our Party organization and have so successfully headed it.
Yet above all I must take this opportunity to thank the leaders of our
Wehrmacht. They have made it possible to present the National Socialist weapon
to the National Socialist State
without any disturbance. Thus today the Party and the Wehrmacht constitute the
two eternally-sworn guarantors of the assertion of our Volk’s life. We are also
aware that all our deeds would have been in vain had not hundreds of thousands
of Political Leaders, countless civil servants of the Reich and innumerable
soldiers and officers stood by us loyally in the spirit of our uprising. And
beyond that-had not the broad front of the entire German Volk stood behind us.
On this historic day, I must once
again mention those millions of nameless German people who, from every walk of
life, from every profession and factory and from every farm, have given of
their heart and their love and their sacrifices for the new Reich. And we, too,
Men and Deputies of the Reichstag, wish to join together to thank above all the
German women, the millions of our mothers who have given the Third Reich their
children. For what would be the sense in all our work, what would be the sense
in the uprising of the German nation without our German youth? Every mother who
has given our Volk a child in these four years has contributed, by her pain and
her happiness, to the happiness of the entire nation. When I think of our
Volk’s healthy youth, my faith in our future becomes transformed into joyful
certainty. And I sense with heartfelt fervency the significance of that single
word Ulrich von Hutten wrote before he set aside his quill for the last time:
Deutschland!
