Thousand Year Conspiracy

THE THOUSAND -YEAR CONSPIRACY
Secret Gemzany Behittd the Mask

PAUL WINKLER
"I h o w no
w a y of judging the future but
by the past." PATRICK HETRY
[Speech
at
the Virginia Assembly, May 17651
N t w York CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

1943
N o )art of fkis book be ~ e p r a d u c c d i n BIIY form w l l k f the gemmi'ssion of Charles Scribtrer'r Sons
,411 righls raservcd.
may
Ail translations from foreign-language sources quoted in this book are the author's unless otherwise indicated
Contents
January 7, 2006 Foreword by Dave Emory
Foreword
PART ONE I The Conspiracy and Irs A4irror I1 The Cavalcade of the Teuronic Knights IZI Prussia Comes Up in the World IV The Fehme Murders V The Prusso-Teutonics Approach Their Goal V E The Last Act of the Tragicomedy VII Prusso-Teutonia-Alias Naziland
VIII Prussianisrn and Downward Progression

IX Western Civilization and Upward Progression X Cornmon Foe and Common Nobilicy
Prusso-Teutonia and the Problem of Post-War
Germany
Prusso-Teutonia and the Social Problem Prusso-Teutonia and the Problems of the Post-War
World The Bull of Rimhi
vii
Foreword
This book attempts to contribute to rhe work of idendficarion of the forces behind Nazism, It results from research undertaken to substantiate this hypothesis: rhat Nazism is not the product of some "sponraneous generation" crystallized by Hider's evil genius; and that it is not-as it has often been described-simply a reaction to the harsh terms of the VersadIes treaty; finalIy, that Nazism does not derive from some basic trait of the German character. Chapter I is introductory. I t presents a f e w characteristic quotations from German writers of the past one hundred and fifry years. These passages, ail written by members of what may be called the Pmssian School, are evidence that Mein Kanzpf is merely a rehash of ideas frequently expressed before HitIer voiced them. But whar was the common inspiration of these earlier authors? In seeking an answer to this question, we first perceive the contours of the conspiracyvery old but very real. Its existence-fantastic, ar first thought -remains the only possibie explanation of the facts. Chapters 11-VII are an attempt to retrace this centuriesold conspiracy, the actual subject of this book. Chapters 11 and 111 examine in particuIar the hidden forces responsible for the rise of Prussia and the Germany of Bismarck and Wilhelm 1 1 . Chapter IV introduces the "Fehme," the biood tribunai of the Middle Ages, into the picture. Chaprers V, VI and VII show that HitIerls rise to power would have been impossible had nor HitIer placed himself and his movement at the service of the Prusw-Teutonic forces. I n Chapters VIII, IX and X, the effort is made to search out behind the specific subject-the "actual conspiracy"its fundamental basis. Whatever may have appeared earlier
ix
FOREWORD
to be a fortuitous development now takes its proper place
within an evoIution which derives from basic, organic causes. In these chapters we seek the reasons why the Prusso-Teuronic forces have pursued paths compIereIy divergent from those taken by the other peoples of Western civilization. Here we face the "forces behind the forces."
Part One
CHAPTER I
T H E CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

IN 1921 Nazism was still in
its infancy and rather harmless.
During one of the sessions of the Bavarian "Landtag" (Parliament), the Deputy Gareis, with a heavy pile of documents in
his hands, made a staterncnr to the orher Deputies which none of them seemed able to understand: "I. have here rhe evidence of a thousand yearsi conspiracy--evidence which I shall presenr ro you shortly." A few days later Gareis was murdered. The criminal escaped punishment and the incident was forgotten. The evidence to which Gareis had referred was never revealed. It was eighreen years after this, in 1939. that German military might began its goose-stepping march across the borders of Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, Greece. Today it is bent upon world conquest. T h e forces which launched Germany on the path of conquest are those which were behind the murder of the obscure Bavarian Deputy. Those responsible for the conspiracy which Gareis mentioned decided-when he sought to unmask them -to destroy him. It was these men-a11 members of the same conspirarorial group-who, some eighteen years later, decided that the time was ripe to place world mastery in German hands. Hitler and Nazism had very Iittle to do with this conspiracy, although they occupy the present spotlight. T h i s is not to suggest thar Iiirier and his party have not been irnpornnt factors
THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
Surplus Popul~tion as a Springboard

In Gemany and the Next War, published in I 9 I 2, GeneraI von Bernhardi had this to say: "Strong, healthy and flourishing nations constantly increase the number of their ~ o ~ u I a t i o n consequently ; they will be faced, after a given moment, with the necessity of extending their borders, of acquiring new Iand, in order to settle the overflowing popuIation. However, since the h r t h is almost compIeteIy settIed by this time, acquisition of new land can be gained only a t the expense of its present occupants-that js through conquest-which becomes a Iaw of necessity. "The right of conquest is universalIy recognized. At k t this can be effected through peaceful means; overpopulated countries pour our streams of emigrants into other Iands and territories. These emigrants, while submitting to the laws of the new land, uy to create favorable living conditions for themselves to the detrirnenr: of the original inhabitants and in competition with them. This means conquest. "FinalIy, the right to conquer through war has always been recognized. When an increasing popularion cannot acquire colonia1 Iands from their primitive and uncivilized occupants, and if it is nevertheless desirable to retain for the State the surplzcr population which can no longer be supported, there is only one thing left to do-self-preservation will force this nation to war and to the conquest of foreign lands. Right no longer belongs to the possessor, but rather to those who are victorious in war. ". In such cases, right belongs ro those who have strengrh either to maintain or to conquer. Might is the highest Jaw. Before its tribunal war is the gauge of strengrh--war whose decisions are aIways biologically just since they evolve from the very essence of all things. . Even from the paint of view of Christianity, one would come to the same conclllsion. True Christian morality is of course based on the creed
the last nine years -Germany has been responsible. But these men are only tools in the hands of much more powerful forces. We shall have a great deal to say Iater about these f o r c e s t h e "PrussoTeutonic" groups and organizations. If we want,to win this war we must see our enemy cIearIy -and we cannot cure a sick world unless we understand the true nature of the disease. To destroy the evil we must first identify it. And this will be of equal importance even when the war is over and our probIem is to win the peace.
in all the decisive actions for which-during
The Forerunners of "Mein Kampf"
We intend to start rhis identification with the forerunners of Mein Kampf, We cannot expect to Iocate thc roots of the evil in the literary field. But Iiterature is a good mirror of much deeper currents,' The writings of Treitschke and von Bernhardi and of the other authors of the Pan Germanic schooI were widely discussed in the United States and England before and during the last World War. Their connection, however, with the whoIe evolution of the Prussian idea-from the thirteenth century up to Nazism-has in general not been sufficienrIy emphasized. Mein Kampf is a significant work from many points of view, but this work and its author, Hitler, are not the source of all evil in present-day Germany. In 1 9 1 3 , more than ten years before the publication of this work, General von Bernhardi, who had enormous influence on the army and the younger generation of Germany, stared in his book, Our Future: "For us there are t w o alternatives and no thirdworId dominion or ruin."
All quotations in rhis chaptcr from German and Frcnch authors are my own translatiow. Italics are fiberally uscd for the sake of emphasis. A 1 1 itaIics are mine. P.W.
..
...
..
THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
of love: 'love God above all, and thy neighbor as thyself.' This law, however, can claim no validity insofar as reIations between natians are concerned, since, when applied to politics, it lvould surely lead to a conflicr of allegiances. For an individual to profess Iove for another country wouId in most cascs resulr in a negating of love for the peopIe of his own country. '4 political system based on such foundations would surely be subject to the worst aberrations. Christian morality is personal and social, and can never become a political reality. It strives to develop the ethical personaliry, and to give it strength, so char this personaIity can live aItruistically, in the inrcresrs of a community." The cynical frankness of von Bernhardi is as great as Hitler's cynicism, Both resort to hypocrisy when their deductions are too unpalatable for their pubIic. Both consider their specia1 moral conception above discussion and consequently do not discuss it. It is cvidenr from the General's text thar he looks upon emigration of surplus population only as a provisional remedy and rhat his solution consists of perpetual conquest. H e prefers conquest, which "preserves" the surplus population "for the Stare''-and when he speaks of "Stare" he is thinking, of course, of the German State. Hc does not expIain what natural law makes it necessary to preserve this surplus popuIation for the State, nor why it cannor be peaceably integratcd with the populations of other nations if there is no room Ieft in the homeland. That "you wish to preserve them for the State" is a premise which needs no justification for rhis preacher of Germanism and Prussianism. "The very essence of the Stare is power," further declares von Bernhardi and, quoting Treirschke, that other great theoretician of German power, adds: "anyone not sufficiently viriIe to face this truth squarely has no right to meddle with politics." Not far a moment does van Bernhardi consider limiting the popularions of nations reproducing too rapidly. On the con-
7 trary, his poinr of departure is that "strong, healthy, Aourishing nations increase their numbers." In rhis, the conclusion is impIicit: the German people, obviously strong, healrhy and flourishing, wi1I always have excess population, and consequentIy wiIl ceaselessly have to annex territory untiI they dominate the world. "World dominion or ruin," the find tragic alternative of von Bernhardi's, impIies, of course, thar if Germany does not succetd in dominating rhe world, another country will perform this task, which awairs the strongest; and in that case the Germans will go to their ruin. Facing this choice, which he believes inevitable, his decision is made." War as a Neces~iry
Von Bernhardi's "indispensable" conqzkest can be accomplished only by war and the General believed that war should be not a defensive but an offensive operation--or rather, ourright aggression. Re cites the Prussian example as proof of this: "Indeed, the foundation for Prussia's strength was established by rhe Great Elector t through succcssfuI wars of his own choice. Frederick the Great continued in the gIorious tradition of his nobIe ancestor. . Of all the wars through which he led hi^ people not one was forced upon h i m ; he never tried to delay the start of any of these wars. In order to deprive his foe of rhe advantage of the first movement he would take the initiative by attacking so rhat he could assure
THE CONSPIRACY AND I T S MlRROR
..
'Note at this point what von Bernhardi considered to be the first step toward wodd dominion: "In one way or anather we must seaIe with France in order that w e can gain rhat military freedom of action so necessary to our world politics. This i s the furt and most necessary demand for healthy German pofitics, and since rhe traditional French hatred for us can never be overcome through peaceful means, we mu= con uer ir by sheer force of arms. France must be so thoroughIy beaten thar r4e will never be able to srmd in o w way." tFriedrich WiIhelm ( 1 6 4 4 8 ) .
THE THOCSASD-TEAR CONSPIRACY
THE CONSPIRACY AKD ITS MIRROR
himself the best chance of success, How successfui be was is weU known. Had he lacked this heroic decisiveness, the entire historical deveIopment of European nations, and of mankind, would have taken a different turn." Given such a state of mind the conclusions of present-day pacifisrs-to the effect that "War doesn'r pay," or "If the Treaty of Versailks had not been so harsh, this war wouId never have broken out"-prove singularly Impotent. But General von Bernhardi did not invent anything himself. He only reduced to a formula a mode of thought cherished by a series of German predcccssors. A century earlier Dietrich von BueIow (17~7-1807), in Modem Methods of W a r , using a sry1.e cIeverIy veiling, by technicaI rniIitary terms, purposes none may doubt, said: "If the amount of mditary resources must sooner or later decide victory, it is obvious that Iittle nations cannot succeed against the big ones, better equipped with war materials. In ancient times courage and disciprine compensated for the inequalities of mass power among nations. Today, however, all mora1 strength, dl individual military taIent of the small in number necessarily fails against the great. I t is necessary, of course, to make good use of your own superiority of numbers in accordance with modern methods of war, bur ir remains certain that in modern battle the weak have never conquered the strong unless the Iarttr have made some mistake. Besides, these modern methods of war have been deveIoped only very recently. W e shall lcnow better how t o benefic from a11 these advantages in rhe future. "Great empires are not only wealthier. Their naturaI frontiers are more extensive than those of small, neighboring states. It happens frequently that a smaller state is compIeteIy enclosed within the borders of the larger one. . . . Whar a double advantage for the latter! "I refer here only to mall adjoining states, for i a the ndmre
of things, i t is
first aecessary to attuck one's neighbor before
...
co;lrzing,to more distant States. If this rule i s not observed countries separating two nzain adversaries may declme themselves e i t h r with o r against the great ewzpire. Should they declare tbenzselves against this power everything is changed, sirzce n coalition of little States ir equivalent to one big State. Even in such a case, however, the concentration of power and coercive means in the hands of a singIe politizal body may still give the great power a military advantage over any federation of independent States." Despite the reservations stated in these last lines, if leaders of a11 the 1ittIe Sraces successively engulfed by Hitler had taken the trouble to reread these words in time they might perhaps have been abIe to decide upon a common course of action instead of maintaining an illusory neurraliry until their fall. T o get people to accept the idea of "perpetual war" (indispensable for the achievement of perpetual conquest), philosophical, or a t Ieast biological, arguments are needed. German science finds them, and demonstrates that the state of war is but a process of natural selection, permitting the human race to improve irself. Thus von Bernhardi states: "Wirhout war, inferior or degenerate races could easily pollute and weaken all healthy, viraI elements by their weedlike growth, and a general decline wouId be the result. 'War,' says A. W. von SchIegel, 'is as necessary as the struggle of elements in nature.' " Heinrich von Treitschke ( r 834-1 896), Iike von Bernhardi, had great influence on the thinking of the generations of Germans immediately preceding Nazism. Treitschke is a conspicuous example of what is known as "Prussianisrn." We shall sec later what significance the formation of "Prussianism" had in the evolution of Germar?thought. Specifically we shall see that "Prussianism" is much less an ethnic reality than a special state of mind, a crystallization of thought rhat has developed over the course of centuries
10
THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPlRACY
II
through some remarkable process. Close examinarion of Prussianisrn will permit us to see more cjearly into numerous detaiIs of rhe German problem. Treirschke, this typical Prussian, was not legitimately a Prussian at all. Son of a Saxon general, dcscended on his facher's side from a recently Germanized Czech family (a fact he was reluctant to admir), Treitschke was powerfully attracred to the Prussian way of thinking. This Prussian by vocation deemed that only Prussia possessed the necessary strength ro dominate a11 the other German Stares and lead Germany toward the conquests he so ardently desired. Concerning rhe concept of war and its role in the existence of nations, Treitschke preached thus to future generations: "War is not only a practical necessity, bur is also a theoretical necessity, an exigency of Iogic. The concepr of a State implies the concept of war, since the essence of a State is power. The Srate is rhe people organized inro a sovereign power. "A Stare which renounces war and which in advance submits to an internarional tribunal gives up this sovereign power, that is, its very self. Whoever dreams of pemanent peace asks for something not only unachievable bat absurd; he commits an error of elementary reasoning. . "War, it is true, may alienate nations from one another and yet, to a certain extent, it brings them closer together, by making them acquainted with rheir own and their neighbors' resources. War as an intermediary among nations is often more effective than universal trade. A narion which clings ro the visionary hope of everlasting peace will inevitably end in decay within its haughty isolation. History buiIds and destroys rirdessIy; never weary, she exhumes humanity's divine treasures from the ruins of ancient worlds in order ro restore them to a new world. T o whoever may believe in this perpetual growth, in the eternal youth of our race, it is qziite evident that war is an inevitable aecessity.
...
..
"That war should be forever banished from the earth is not only an absurd hope bur profoundly immoral, If it were ever realized, we should witness atrophy of many essential, subIime forces in the human soul, and transformation of the terrestrial sphere into a vast temple of selfishness . . . "On the other hand, the State has the right to consider itself an end, since it contains the essential conditions for prosperous social life "Every people, and particuiarIy one of high cultural development, runs the risk, during a long period of peace, of degenerating into egorism. Such a race should consider a great and righteous war which fate may send them as a favor, but the more the comfortable habits of social existence have crept into their spirit, the rougher the counter-blow may seem. "1 have said 'fare may send them a war,' because the reason the value of this cruel remedy is so rarely appreciated is h a t ' no doctor among mankind dares prescribe war as a beneficial potion for a sick people. "As soon as a nation hexrs the echo of this cry of aIarrn: 'The State is in peril--our existence is threatened!' then awakens the highest virtue, courage of sacrifice which may never be so freely or widely displayed in times o f peace. "Among the thousands of men engaging in battle, bEndIy obeying the will of 'All,' each is aware how Iittle his life is worth compared to the glory of the State; each feels himself hemmed in by profound forces which dominate him. From this, in every imporrant war, will spring deep religious feelings, and the sublime spectacle, incomprehensible to pure rcason, of enemy armies, praying to the same God for victory. "The grandeur of war is to be found in rhese acts considered shocking by a debilitated civilization. "Men who have never done each other any ham, who accord one another the high esteem one owes his chivaIrous enemies, Itill each other. They sacrifice in rhis line of duty not only their lives, but what is infiniteIy more painful, natural
...
. ..
12
THE TIIOUSAKD-YEAR CONSPIRACY
T H E CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR
I3
sentiment, the insrinctive love for humanity, and horror of blood. The insignificant seIf, with all its noble and base instincts, must sink into the will of the 'All.' "I ask of whoever may find this barbaric: why, then, has no great beneficial idea of poIitica1 or rcIigious freedom ever been accepted by men without christening by Mood? And why has war been, in cvery age, the favorite theme of the arts?" The cynicism of Treitschke's reasoning is remarkable: war, in itself, is a blessing, but it would bc dangerous to confess it the reason the value of this remedy is so to the people (". rarely appreciated is that no doctor among mankind dares to prescribe war as a beneficial potion for a sick peop1ev). Instead of such a frank admission the cry of alarm is sounded: "The State is in peril-our existence is threatened," and people rush into war with enthusiasm. Ir would be an ilIusion to believe that Treitschke speaks in the absrract, or rhat his purpose is to develop theories t o benefit humanity. Reasoning in this manner, he hopes to benefit only his own people ("our race," as he has already expressed it), whose fate alone concerns him: "To whoever may believe in this perpetual growth, in the eternaI youth of our race, it is quite evident that war is an inevitable necessity." This was writren in I 869. T h e opinions of Treitschke and von Bernhardi aIe not isoIated phenomena, but derive from distant sources. And if we admit that Mein Kampf rnereIy outIines clearly the objectives of a certain Germany, wirhout adding anything reaIIy new, it is interesting to note that Hider's spiritual ancestors were in turn descended from a Iong line of thinkers of similar leanings. It was a mistake on the part of the Western worId not to attach in time sufficient importance to rhis type of thnughtwhich was in violent contradiction ro the basic ideas of Western civilization. Doubtless people were Idled by the iIlusion that such thinking represented purely theoreticaI fantasies of
..
a few German scholars. They were nor abIe to see that actually such thoughts were extremeIy significant manifestations of a state'of mind having its roots in thc distant past; and that these manifestations might in rurn resuIt in a very particular and very dangerous way of thinking in future German generations. Later we shall discuss the early, fundamental causes of German aggressiveness. For the moment Iet us review briefly more recent spiritual ancestors of HitIer, contemporaries and predecessors of Treitschke and von Bernhardi.
Stnrwdtion as a Springboard
Friedrich List ( r 789-1 8641, along with several minor economists activc around I 840, was responsible for formulating the principal theories on which present-day German economic conquest is based. After .emigrating to Pennsylvania and becoming an American cirizin, List was concerned only with Germany's grearness. Hc returned to Germany in 1840 ro publish there his principal work, in which he outlined the basis for his National System of Political Economy. Violently opposed to the principle of free made because it gives the same advantages to weak as to strong nations, he wouId welcome its use without reservation within the continent of Europe, once the continent were dominated by Berlin; and he had high hopes that this would be achieved as soon as possible. So far as his own age was concerned, however, he was an extreme protectionist and advocated deveIopment of new industry in Germany-through high protective rariffs raised againsr competition of foreign countries. He took into full account the risk of losing Germany's foreign markers, since protectionism always provokes reprisals. His remedy is simple: stimulate tremendous expansion of Germany, including conquest of Europe, acquisition of colonies in Australia, New Zealand, India and the Americas.
'4
=5
Then Germany wouId no Ionger have to fear rhat she mighr lack foreign markers in a protecrionist world. According to List a nation must conquer all countries lying in its sphere of economic action-by degrees, but steadily; and this sphere of action is defined as every territory which may serve as outlet, or which contains raw materiaIs the nation may need. In the long run this becomes perpetual conquest, for evenmaIIy every foreign country, however distant, represents a potential export market, or is a producer of useful raw materials. In the ideas of List, we find rhe economic basis for General von Bernhardi's thesis: "For us there are two alternadves and no third-world dominion or ruin." And here too is to be found the compIete outline of Germany's recent and present economic attitude-the oId thesis, slightly improved upon by Dr. Schacht. T h e process is simple. Schacht's Germany settled into a system of the most absolute protectionism, the system so dear t o List. This was accomplished through methods more modern and effective than tariffs. Germany was the firsr counrry, after the World War, to return to exchange control, adopting it not because of any financial need, bur deliberately, in order to create a system of total protectionism. T h e old-fashioned protectionist use of high tariffs to discourage imports becomes outdated. Imports are now made practically impossible: the State releases no currency to private business to cover cost of imports purchased abroad, with the single exception of certain raw marcrials or tools considered by the State to be absolutely indispensable. As in all systems of protecrionism, the population of the country whose production is thus "protected" must wffer: and their suffering bccornes more acute the more the system is improved. Soon the world is accused of starving the German people, and of withholding raw materials necessary to German industries. (No mention is made of the fact that these materials had been available to Germany in a world of free exchange-the system she was the first to deviate from;
and that her importers, on a free monetary market, could have obtained the necessary funds to pay for any quamity of raw materials.) Germany is pictured as "deprived of her place in the sun." Thus a favorable psychoIogical atmosphere is created within the country and abroad as well, to prepare for world conquest "by degrees, yet steadily," as outlined by List. The achievement of List's pIan for the future is considerably advanced by the repetition of the speciaus statement to the German people: "Poor Germany musc starve unless she succeeds in dominating the other nations." List boIsters rhe self-confidence of his compatriots by asserting that a specific determinism demands supremacy of the German race. According to him, the Latin races, under French influence, and the SIavic nations led by Russia, have not the power for domination. Germanic races, among which he included Anglo-Saxons and Germans, possess this power to the greatest extent. Of the two, his choice is simple: Germany musr supplinr England; build a powerful fleet, extend her colonizing to a11 corners of the world; and finally unite all other Europeans against English supremacy, so that she can direct the destiny of rhe world. Charles Andler, a French author, summed up certain ideas of List in his work, The Origin1 of Pan-Gernzmism, published * in 1915: "It is necessary to organize continental Europe against England. Napoleon 1, a great strategist, also knew rhe methods of economic hegemony. His continental system, which met with opposition evcn from countries which might have profited from such an arrangcmcnt, should be revived, but, this time, not as an instrument of NapoIeonic dominarion. The idea of zmiting Europe in a closed trade bloc is no longer shocking if Germany assumes do~izinarion over such a bloc-and not France. Belgium, EIolIand, Switzerland, willingly or by force, will enrer this 'Customs Fedcrarion.' Austria is assumed to be
Clrarles AndIer, Ler origines d z d Pan-Gemanmne, Paris, 19'5,
16
THE THOUSLVD-Y EAR CONSPIRACY
'7
won aver at the outset. Even France, if she gers rid of her notions of military conquest, wil1 not be excluded, T h e first steps the Confederation would take to assure unity of rhought and action worrId be to establish a joint representative body, as well as ro organize a common fleet. But of cowse, both the beadquarters of the Federation arzd its parliamentary seat would be in Gemzany "At once the sharing of common commercial advantages would begin. List proposes something like a cooperative league of nations, in which alI profits would be distributed in proportion to investments. European vitality, intelligence and order would put the Far East to good use. Oriental ports would become 'Free cities' where European agents would deaI with native authorities in the capacity of advisors duly accredited and dipIomatically protecred. Austria would extend its borders to the Red Sea and rhe Persian Gulf. A German navy would be built up. Pmrsian colonies would be established i n Australia and New Zealand, where England has firmly planted he7 fig but has failed t o expiait resources. H o w could England resist all the navies and the concentrated economic power of a united Central Europe? "Since Germany possesses a greater stock of vital energy and superior economic ability to thar of any other nation one may guess which nation would be likely to benefit most from this association,-an association which was to be based on the principk of equaI privilege for all members." Various firsthand reports have given us a fairIy accurare picture of the manner in which Nazi Germany is applying the principle of "economic coIIaborarion" to the "accupied" countries, and how, through her agents, she has seized control of all the great industries of France, Belgium and Ilolland. We have also seen how she has allowed the whole of her economic policy ro be dictated by Dr. Schacht. A11 this indicates clearly that Hitler is merely applying the century-old theories of List in the econon~ic sphere.
The Origin of the "Lebensraum" Theory

Ernsr-Moritz Arndt ( 1 769-1860) as earIy as 1803, in his work Gemraaiu and Europe, expressed political ideas based on the "righr of the strongest," highly significanr for the future. He believed thar each narion owed it to itself t o take advantage of every opportunity for imposing its will. Nations which allow such an opportunity to siip by deserve spoliation by their neighbors. "A Stare," says Arndt, "must first have a srabie foundation, geographically speaking, and develop further according ro rules of chance, and by virtue of its own character. T h e only restrictions IaiJ down for the State are those of climate and surrounding territories. Yes, each State has the right to make strong representations to its neighbors, should rhe latter unjustly seize air and light necessary t o its growth and development." Arndt expresses hirnseIf "euphernisricalIy" about a point of view which might appear too brutaIly direcr to a secrion of the public. WitIer, who commits the gravest injustices in the name of "justice" and "equality of rights," has drawn excellent inspiration from Arndt's methods. His "Lebensraurn" is a mask for the simple will-to-conquer, as was Arndt's "right (for each State) to make strong representations to its neighbors should the latter unjustly seize air and Gght necessary to its growth and development." Ir is evident too thar in speaking of "each State" Arndt had Germany, and particularly Prussia, in mind. We shall see what a great influence the Teutonic Knights of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had on the evolution of the Germany we know. It is namra1 for a man who thinks like Arndt ro say that because Poland did not manage to put ro rout or destroy rhe Teutonic Knights, she no longer had the right to exist. This is the theory that "since you once were weak enough to grant your enemy his lifc, you must permir him to kill you now."
18
THE COXSPIRACY
AND ITS MIRROR
I9
"Poland did not reaIize," Atndt says, "rhat her duty as a nation was first of all to defend her coast line and drive the Teutonic Knighrs away from it. "This negligence spelIed death for PoIand. "When in the eighteenth century Prussia and Russia seized Poland's entire maritime domain, it meant that Poland no Ionger existed. W i t h no o u t l c ~to the sea, surrounded by powerfuI neighbors and having no implements of higher culture, nor any natural frontiers for defense, it was impossible for her ever to become anything. Sooner or later she must disappear . . . "According to our conception of things, small nations must. disappear because geographically they rarely possess the means for subsistence. "The natural frontiers of PoIand were assauIted by Prussia, CourIand and Livonia; and this injury was certainly the main cause of Poland's final pohtical death," And Arndr adds: "Today HoIIand constitutes the most glaring violation of Germany's natural frontier." *
Defense Witl Not Win a War

It is not only the political and economic ideas of "New" Germany which were expressed much earher. In the realm of military tactics also, a11 the German principles now described as "new" were discussed in detail dver t k t y years ago by 'T h e following words, no less significant, are quoted from another work
of Arndr, Spirit of the Time$ (Geist der Zeit): ". , . Let us declare a sweeping, merciless war against France so rhat our mighty efforts may carry us beyond the Rhine. And Icr us not remm o u r swords ta rhcir sheaths until all German speaking peoples, those of Alsacc, Lorraine. Luxembourg and FIanders, havc been emancipated and restored to the German Empire. Here is the rask and the goal. And if we should fail to liberate them, if in spite of all our effons we should not reaIize this goal we may as well nor nndercake anything else, for in vain will God havc offered his rreasures to the Germans, only to take them back because we are too lazy to enjoy them."
General von Bernhardi. Dietrich von Buelow, of whom we have already spoken (and who died in 1 8 0 ~ had ) this to say in his Spirit of Modem Warfare: "We Ynwt fight only offe7zsiue wars. In a defensive war all positions and a11 paralIel marches are useless: they will never suffice as a wall against the enemy, as we shall soon clearly realize. Regardless of how strong or well ~rotectedor how we11 chosen any position may be which you defend against fronral attack, you wiIl be expelled from it by the enemy. He will quickly achieve this result by attacks on your flank, especially if his forces are greater. "I must boldly assert-although this principle may be new -&at defensive wars should never be waged: as soon as passibIe rhe role of aggressor shouId be assumed, and operations conducted against the enemy's Aank and rear." Von BueIow also clearly formdated the ideas underlying the penetration-now a sad reality-by the Fifth Column into democraric countries, including creation of "economic aIIies" in enemy countries in the persons of a few great industrialists to whom economic advanrages are promised. This system gave Germany excelIenr resdts in the conquest of France, and before America's entry into the war she tried to employ similar methods in the United States as well. In the writings of von Buelow are anticipated all the advantages which Germany's masters Iater gained in several counrries by carrying on a campaign of corruption of the enemy at home. "Insofar as everything has its price," says von BueIow, "the amount of money available is also a decisive factor. Greed for gain is so irresistibIe that one may buy materials of war even in enemy countries when they are not available at home . . to say nothing of the advantage possessed by the wealrhier for succeeding in their purposes through bribery and corruption. On rhis subject MontecuccoIi has already said: 'To wage war, rhree things are necessary. . . . ~Voney, Money, and A4oney.' "
20
THE THOUSAND-YEAR COXSPIRACY
THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS .MIRROR
21
The "Ideal Pmssiun"

In reviewing briefly the theories of a few German writers of the past r[;o years, we wished mcreIy to emphasize that ideas generalIy attributed to Hitler and Nazism originate from much earlier sources. For these very writers (and we might have citcd many more at the risk of becoming repetitious) have only formulated principIes underlying a curious "cuItura1 trend," gcneraIly described as "Prussianisrn," but never clearly defined. Taken individually, such texts, frequently cited before the IVorId War, were regarded as characteristic fantasies of slighr significance, springing from that "Prussian insolence" about which nothing could be done. Relared to each other, and related chiefly ro the future (which has since become rhe prescnt) and the past, those texts assume new signrficance, and we are obliged to attribute equaI, if not greater, importance to them than to Mein Kampf. We wiIl frequentIy deal with the origins and purposes of "Prussianisrn" in this book. We arrribute to this word a meaning much wider and reaching much further back in time than that of most writersfor whom Frederick IT, King of Prussia, is the p r o t o w e , if not the actual founder of Prussianisrn. Frederick 11, while in many ways an extremely interesring personaIity, and one of the most important forces in the rise of Prussia, was, however, only one of many in a Iong line of men formed by rhe Prussian school. Besides, this close friend of Voltaire was much too strongly tinged with humanitarianism to be considered an ideal representative of the school which is fundamentaIly opposed to humanitarian ideas. That a number of his actions can be explained only by the inspiration he received from the Prussian tradition does not alter this fact. Frederick I1 was unquestionably a great Prussian, but an imperfect Prussian, much as was Bismarck, that other great Prussian, who has often mistakenly been described as the greatesr Prussian statesman of modern rimes-mistakenly be-
cause, even though Bismarck did render rrcrnendous service to the Pr,ussian cause, his attitude did not always please the high priests of Prussianism. Having conquered France, he attempted to live at peace with her. He limited Germanic ambitions in the Balkans. H e opposed his own counrry's tendencies toward colonial expansion. Although many of his acts were in harmony with the purest precepts of the Prussianism of Arndt, Lisr, and von Buelow, 3ismarck retained a certain restraint and a trace of respect for Christian ethicsthe opposite of Teutonic ethics (as described by several authors quoted). Thus Bismarck cannot be considered an ideal Prussian. T h i s ideal Prussian, rhis man of "Prussian dreams" (which, in previous centuries, would have been called "Teutonic dreams") does exist, however, and is none other than Hitler. Here one must search for the secret of his success among his compauiots, who, for centuries have been awaiting a kind of Teutonic Messiah, who would ruthlessly achieve an ideal definiteIy opposed to conceptions of Christian and humanitarian rnoraliry. Constantin Frantz, German writer of the nineteenth century, refers in one of his books to a little known work by Bollmann entitled Justifificatiomof Machiaveitim. H e says: "The contents of rhis book are worthy of its title. What MachiaveIli once claimed for Italy is applied here to Germany. T h e writer considers ail smalI political parries powerless; and he hopes for an a m e d reformer who, with blood and iron, shall unite G e n ~ a n y and , to whom anythixg shaii be peTwitted provided he attain the proposed goal, Powe~fuland of irresistible attraction, this man will know how to accmplish such a task." Frann tries hard to apply this prophetic description to Bismarck, bur does not Hider fit this picture much morc accurately than Bismarck? Besides, the ideal of a man devoting himseIf exclusively to rhe German cause, to whom "anything
22
THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIR4CI'
THE COKSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR
23
shall be permitted," is much older than Bollrnann's prediction, and even oIder than the "Prince" of Machiavelli, ro whom BoUmann and Frann credited this figure. T h i s is the "man" of whom Heine spoke (see pages 3 3 7-40): "the man whom the German people await, the man who will bring to them the life and happiness they have so long hoped for in their dreams." This is a purely Teutonic conception, as we shall see, at Least 700 years oId. In the course of centuries it has had numerous ramifications, so that it has become rooted in the spirit and subconscious mind of the German people. Later ic was considered a Prussian conception. Small wonder, then, rhat Hirlcr in his uncompromising brutal attitude of the "savage ideal" should have evoked such rcsponse in the hearts of t h e Germans.
Pmssians by Adoption
only in internal German pulitics, became a veritable world . threat. While Nazism, as a truly demagogic movement in its early days in Munich, was making noisy arracks on all existing power, including the power of Berlin, it provided a certain spiritual nourishment to thousands of frustrated German souls, who appreciated such talk. But from the day when Hitler concIuded his alliance with the Prussian Junker leaders, Nazism became a front for Prusianism and entered into systematic planning for conquest of world power. From that rime on, Nazism became a most rhrearening reality for all other countries. Wc must, hourever, never forget the forces hiding beIiind rhis movemenr, forccs which we shall attempt to expose. Pmssi,r Ueber Allex
T h e fact that Hitler is not Prussian by birth does not prevent his being the "ideal Prussian." The most ardent Prussians were not born in Prussia, for Prussianism is first of all a state of mind and a special way of thinking shaped over centuries, and to which men of diverse origins have felt strongly attracted. We have seen that Treitschke, that fervent Prussian, was by birth part Saxon and part Czech. Fichte, who placed his philosophy at the service of Prussianism, also came from Saxony. Hegel, another great philosopher who recognized his "ideal State" in Prussia, was south-German by birth, and Housron Chamberlain, famous theorist of rhe Prussian school, was of English origin. Hitler's Prussian inclinations were not restricted to the realm of theory. He opened the way to power for himself in 1932 and 1933 when, with the help of von Papen, he concluded an effective alliance wirh the powerful Prussian forces directing Germany's affairs under various guises. From that time on this agitator, who had u n d rhen been taken seriously
Christianity, and humanitarianism which i t inspires, believe in the supremacy of the human personality and rhc "Rights of Man." All Western ethics are based on this belief. Prusdanism, however, admits only the supremacy of the State, to which it demands absolute submission of the individual, at the expense of his liberty, his private interests and his personal we11 being. General von Bernhardi summarized this idea thus: "There is, as Fichte has taught us, but one vimle, to forget abour oneself as a person; and but one vice; to think of oneself. 3n the final analysis, the State is bearer of all culture, and as such she has the right ro claim for herself the individual strength of her
ci~izeps.'~
According to the Prussian theory, the State icself is nothing but power, and the individual must do everything to contribute toward the infinite increase of this pourer. No attempt is made to define the State, nor to explain why ir has the right to this absolute submission of its citizens. The theory is offered as a sort of dogma, belief in which forms the very essence of Prussian welfare.
24
THE THOUSAND-YEAR COSSPIRACY
States are forged by the fire and blood of wars of conquest. Great and powerful countries gain possession of the weak, and these weak countries can only disappear. JVar, conscquently, is not onIy inevitable, but forms die very basis of the Srate's ethics. For specialists in Prussian theology thc validity of reasons for which wars are waged does not matter. They readily admit that wars waged by Prussian kings rnay have had no legaI bases. What marrers is that these wars contributed to territorial gains and increased Prussian power. Chrisrian morality, fundamentar to legal concept, may be tolerated for private relationships, and for maintaining social equilibrium, but as for the State itself, the latter determines its own ethical laws. Under the cloak of this "ethics of the State," everything which according to traditionai moraI conceprions wodd bc severely condemned, is excusable and even laudable if it is done in the inrerests of the Stare: broken pledges, alIiances and friendships negated, treaties disregarded, and whatever is considered a "lie" by ordinary human beings. T h e entife rechnique later applied by Hitler, which is abIy analyzed by Francis Hackett and by Raoul de Roussy de Sales in their works based on Mein Kanapf and Hiller's speeches, had already been outlined by this school of thought. The evidence offered by authors o f the Prussian school to support their contenrion thar Prussia, more than any other councry, merirs such an impressive future is extremely vague. Often the evidence is of a cuIturaI nature; they attempt to demonstrate that Prussia (or "Germany," understood as a Germany dominated by Prussia) could contribute much more to worId civilization than any other country. But most often, instcad of proof, a sort of "realistic phiIosophyn is suggested as sufficient: Prussia has known how to extend her domain through victorious wars a t the expense of other nations; therefore she seems to have been chosen by Providence to continue in this direcdon. And since, in the final reckoning, a
5 singre Srare is desrined to dominate all the odlcrs, rhese German thinkers (expressing an entirely persona1 point of view, and vouchsafing no expIanation) concIude that it may just as well be a German state which assumes this rdle. But, they say, Prussia done has shown throughout history that she has the srrength or, if one prefers, the ruthlessness ro bend other German people to her will. "Let us, then, rally round her flag," say Fichte, Treirschke and a4 the other super-Prussians born in different parts of Germany. ("Let us ally ourseIves with her," says Hitler.) "Let us," they agree, "heIp her seize power in Germany, and this Prussianized Germany will one day succeed in conquering the world."
2
THE CONSPIRACY
AND 1 7 ' s ,MIRROR
THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
'7
CHAPTER II
EVERY PLAN FOR international regulation which has been put into practice, or merely proposed (including the League of hTations),presupposes a common ethicaI principle among the participants. Without such a similarity of moral views it is impossible to achieve any international stability whatsoever. Religions, and the schoob of philosophy which they have inspired, have successfuIly brought the leading nations of the world to a more or less common moral denominator. From this angle, Christianity is not in sharp conflicc wirh Mohammedanism, Buddhism, and Brahmanism.
Pmsso-Teutanism sad the Fehme
The Catholic Church at first, then Lutheranism, performed rhe task of ethical education in Germany too. It can hardly be said that the masses of the German peopIe are influenced by the moral teachings of religion t o a Iesser degree than other nations. But separate from the "Christian" moral influencewhich stilI carries weight with Iarge portions of the German population-two distinct developments are discernible. These derive from a very different, much more primirive moral concept, barbarous from one point of view and in any case preChristian. T o say that these two developments stem from pre-Christian ethics may on the surface seem contradictory, for bath arise in direct line from organizations of a definitely religious character, T h e Prmso-Teutonic tradition (or briefly "Prussian-
ism") originates directly from the religious Order of Teutonic Knights, and the "Fehmic" tradition is derived from the notorious Fehme,* the blood-tribunal of the Middle Ages, which had definite ties ro the church. But cenmries have elapsed since bath organizations discarded all their religious characteristics. Irnmediarely before the first World War, the problem of "Prussianisrn" was aften subjected to tke scrutiny of the world and was held responsibIe for German ambitions of that period. Feeling the danger, the Prussian group acted according to time-honored principles for outwitting savage animals: "If you are without a weapon and fear the lion, lie down and play dead." The trick succeeded, and it is currently believed that the old "Prussian" or "Junker" menace has practically died out since HitIer's accession to power in Germany.+ It is extremely important that we penetrate this camouflage. It is nor only useful to reveal the connection benveen Prussianism and present-day Germany; it is equally useful to show cIearly the roots from which Prussianism originated in history long before Frederick I1 of Prussia and the Great EIector. Only by understanding what these roots were can we appreciate what present-day Germany realIy is. Prussianism, in its usual interpretation, hangs in the air. IsoIated from its past and from irs present, i r represents nothing more than an historical curiosity with no direct significance for our rimes. For us "Prussianism" goes back t o thc early part of the thirteenth century and is stilI very much alive in our day. It is the heir of the world-embracing ambitions of the Caro* Also caIled Vehme or Verne. t Hcinrich Hauser, in T h e Was-Death
of a
Junker, bewails rhe pass-
ing of the Pmssian Junker, and has succeeded in arousing sentimcntal regrets among his rcadcrs that these "good people" are no more. (Hauser's good faith in the matter is not questioned here.)
r tt
THE TIIOL'SAND-YEAR C O X S P K R A ~
THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTOXIC KNIGHTS
2 9
Iingian and "HoIy Roman" Emperors-but ar the same t i m e ir is aIso what it became during the centuries in the stuffy and nauseating hot-house of East Prussia. T h e principal events in Germany between the two World Wars, the reasons for E-IirIer's rise to power and the events that foIIowed can be understood only by n rhorough scrutiny of the Prusso-Teutonic and Fehrnic organizations. This should enabIe us also to understand better the connections benveen various writers-"theologians of Prussianisrn," a few of whom we have c i t e d a n d the motives which were sufficiently powerful to make them unanimously adopt an attitude in the of morals which our moral sense, faithful to tradition, strenuousIy rejects. The Rulers of Pmsh Before we go back to the origins of the Prusso-Teutonic conspiracy we may recaII rhat the "Germany" we know is not the same as the Empire which bore this name untiI 1806. That Empire was composed of a number of little States whose principles of government were almost dl sirniIar to those of orher European States and whose ethical doctrines were essentialIy Christian. In the second half of the nineteenth century a remarkable manoeuvre was effected. Prussia, one of these States (the only State whose principIes were profoundly different from those of orher German and foreign States), succeeded in imposing her r u I e - a t first in 1866 over the orher North German Sates, and in 1870 over every German State except Austria. This two-fold manoeuvre, carried out in first-rate ~MachiavelIian fashion, allowed Prussia to indoctrinate a11 Germany with her principles. And our centuries-oId Prusso-Teutonic problem became from that day on ody a "German problem." Prussian principles consisted of discipline with a vengeance,
aggressive methods, absolute submission of individuals to the inrerests of the State, and disregard of all Christian morality whcre these interests were concerned. From 1870 Gcrmany, ruled by the Prussians, assurn<d the r81e of a Great-Pmssia, although her "Prussianization" had only been partIy completed. Despite the Prussian influence, a number of traditional German elemenrs had been preserved throughout the country. It was now a question of making the whole Reich accept the idea widely propagared by nineteenth-century Prnssian theoreticians: that Germany could not achieve prosperiry except by imposing her wiI1, through unceasing conquest, upon other countries. World peace, that age-old dream, could be attained only by creating a unified world under German rule. To reach this goal-a world under German rule-any method would be acceptable. The favored method for effecting this expansion was by bloody wars, deliberately started, and so ruthless that, according to the Prussian rhcory, rhe transformation wouId be ail the more lasting. Bismarck was the man who accomplished total seizure of a11 Germany by Prussia. Although of the same turn of mind as other Great-Prussians, he felt that any plan for expansion must be applied dowry and progressively. Guided by opportunistic considerations he introduced a parliamentary system into Prussia and Germany, which satisfied the masses, even though he personally was opposed to representative government. His friends, whose spokesman he was, were even more opposed to this than Bismarck-bur they knew that behind this fafade of representative government the real power would remain in their hands if they proceeded wisely. The conspiracy which had started many centuries ago-a materially founded, actual conspiracy and not a purely ideological and abstract heritage-would Iive an. The fagade may change but the goals always remain the same.
3"
THE THOUSAND-YEAH COSSPIRACY
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
3I
A Conspirational Community is Born

Hans Krieg, Nazi author writing in 1939 in the Zeitschrift Politik (Vol. 29) says this, directing his words t o readers in Germany: ". T h e Teutonic Order, having fuIfillcd its historicaI role, was destined to disappear as an organization. However, its legacy of a mighty Prussia, and the Order's basic idea of conspirational community remains a sacred duty for us today." T h e Prusso-Teutonic organizarions of the twentieth century and "Pmssian spirit" in general stem directly from the Teuronic Knights of the twelfth century. This religious order, founded at Acre, Syria, in r 190, during the time of the Crusades, from its beginning was disringuishcd from the two other orders of knights of the HoIy Land, the Tempiars and the Knights of St. John (known Iater as the Knights of Malta), by its strictIy national, or rather raciaI, character. In order to join the Teutonic Knights, one had to prove pure Gemziln ancestry (nobEe ancestry, of course), whereas membership in the Templars or the Knights of St. John was open to nationals of any country.* Nevertheless there was a definite preponderance of Latins in the membership of these two orders. As a reaction against this, the German Crusaders decided ro found a hospital of their own in the Holy Land, xeserved exclusiveIy for German Knights who were sick or wounded. A few years larer, in I 198, this organization was changed into a Knights' Order. King Philip of Swabia took it under his patronage in r 2 0 6 ; the Gerrnano-Roman Emperor Otto IV did rhe same in r r I 3. From this time on the organization may be considered as a purely German political instrument of the highest importance.
fuer
Emperors Against Popes
..
'At the beginning of the nineteenth cenmry anyone wishing ro enrer the Tcurnnic Ordcr had r o pruve thar eight paterrla! and cight maternal ancestors wcre purcly German. (C. J. Weber, Das RitrerwesenStutrgart,
1835)
The crusades were born of the almost perpetual conflict between the Papacy and the German Emperors. It was inevitable that rivalry shouId break our between these two powers, each of which in the eIeventh century considered itself supreme. T h e Emperors, who did not fail to recognize the spiritual influence of the Church, began tg appoint Bishops without consuIting the Pope. They even managed actually to ger: Popes appoinred. Their opportunity came because rhe Church had been weakened by the human frailties of cerrain of its most prominent members. But the Church as an institution was to prove that it possessed greater internal strength than the few weak men who had momentarily been at its head. Cardinals elected new Popes. They came from the great monastery of CIuny, whose influence on Chrisrianity was very important. These Popes, men of GodIy existence, restored to the Church its former glory, but only found themselves in greater conflict with rhc Emperors. Pope Gregory VII was determined to be free of the authority of the State. I-lcproclaimed the spiritual sovereignty of the Papacy throughout the worId and preached about St. Augustinc's "Kingdom of God on Earth"; he denied the ciafins of the Gen~zmz"Holy-Roman" E?npcrors to world rule in a materiul sense. Emperor Henry IV, of the Franconian line of Emperors (ancestars of the Hohenstaufcns through maternal lineage), claimed sovereignty by divine right over mankind and the earth. This resulted in bitter conflict, and in 1076 the Pope excommunicated the Emperor, who came in 1077 t o humbIe himself before the Pope at Canossa. But the struggle was soon resumed, and in 1080 Henry IV had Gilberr of Ravenna appointed "anti-Pope," occupied Rome with his troops, insralkd Gilbert on the Papa1 rhrone, and drove out Gregory, who died in exile.
j2
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TECTONIC KNIGHTS
33
The Crusades are Born

H i s successor, Urban II, burned wit6 intense spiritual passion, Banished from Rome, he traveIIed throughout Christian countries as an "apostolic pilgrim," using the fuIl force of his tongue and pen against GiIbert and the Emperor. Gregory had already spoken in vague terms of a mighty armed pilgrimage to reconquer Jerusalem. Now Urban again took up the idea, and in IraIy, Normandy, and Provence, preached the cause of "God's Expedition." He feIt certain that if he succeeded in launching such a holy campaign under the banner of St. Peter, he would be srriking a telling blow at Gilbert and the Emperor, and the prestige of the Church would thus be restored. Slowly the idea took shape, Crusader troops were organized a11 over Europe, and finalIy a speech by Urban ro the Clerrnont concIave loosened the human avalanche which set out toward the Holy Land. The First Crusade was born! The triumphal march of this army across Italy was sufficient t o drive the anti-Pope from Rome without a struggle, and Urban again had possession of the Lateran PaIace. The prestige of the Emperor suffered a heavy blow, Now that the Pope had regained all his righrs, Henry's excammunication was everywhere regarded much more seriously than before. Abandoned by his friends, an outcast, he died in r 106, and was nor permirred burial in consecrated ground. These conflicts left a deep impression on succeeding Germano-Roman Emperors. A more or less open rivalry between Popes and Emperors continued throughout the cweIfth cenruryEmperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Hohenstaufen famiIy had himself proclaimed "master of the world," Donzinw Mundi, in I I 58 in rhe fields of Roncaglia during his second campaign in Italy. H e also found himself opposed by the Papacy. His struggles with Rome were particuIarly remem-
bered by his grandson Frederick I I * who was greatly to influence; the destiny of the Teutonic Knights. During rhis time two Knighrs' Orders, born of the Crusades, were founded in the HoIy Land: the Temptars and the Hospital Knigha of St. John, both having their seat at Acre in Syria. Both these orders can from that time on be regarded as armier of the Pope the lack of which had previously been a serious shortcoming to the Papacy. I t is therefore not astonishing that the G e m m Emperors shozsld have tried to neutralize these forces. I t is quite probable that they weTe infrumced by considerations of this kind when they supported the fornation of the pu~elyGerman-amzed Order of the Teutonic Knights.
Imperial itfonks
A skilIful manoeuvre: ro allow establishment of a Knights' Order, at first of soIeiy religious appearance and wirh but vague ties to the Ernpire, so that it would have the consecration by the Pope indispensable to its prestige, It was not until a few years later, when its existence was quite secure, that the Teutorlic Order more opedy put itself at the service of the Imperial plans for expansion. Hermann von SaIza, Grand Master of the organization from r r r o t o rz39, w-as primarily responsible for the profound impulse of the Order in this direction, and he may be considered its true founder in a political sense. From the time of his accession to power he realized that the Teutonic Knights were, in the Holy Land, in direct competition with the other two oIder and more respected Knighrs' Orders. It was therefore preferable for the Teutonic Order to turn roward other Iands in order to secure actual conquests. The seat of the
Holy Roman Fmpcmr Frederick TI (11~4-1250). not t o be confused with Frederick 11, King o f Prussia (174686)-
THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY 34 Order remained at Acre, but in I z I I SaIza arranged with Andrew IT, King of Hungary, ro send a detachment of Teutonic knights into the "Burzedand" in the south of Hungary (Transylvania) to cornbar pagan tribes. The rerritory reserved for the Order was clearly defined in a written agreement drawn up between the King and Grand Master. Nevertheless Andrew soon made the complaint that the ~ n i ~ h t s ' w e wideIy re trespassing beyond the borders outIined for them, that they were coining money without anthoriry, and, finally, had so cIeverIy manoeuvred at Rome that the Pope had consented to take the territory occupied by them directly under his protection. This allowed the Knights to consider this territory no longer subject to King Andrew. Heinrich von Treitschke, though we11 disposed toward the Teutonic Knights, founders of the Prussianisrn he holds dear, states that they acted in Burzedand "ia that spirit of mthkss egotism, fully conscious of its strength, which,from this point on, characte~izedthe statesmanship of the Order." Von Treitschke obviously meant this as a compliment, although he describes the Knights as "dangerous friends" for the King of Hungary. The Iatter in rzzs, having early perceived the danger, hastened ro expel these "friends" from his country, before they had time to become too powerful. But we can recognize here, from van Treitschke's frank description, the first evidence of certain traits which have survived to this day among rhe contemporary descendants of the Teutonic Knights. Following this setback in Hungary, Hermann von Salza sought new lands for the Order to conquer. Fredericlc 1 1 , of the Bohenstaufen family, grandson of Barbarossa, had been Emperor of Germany since 1220, and von Salza was on very good tcrms with the new Emperor. Frederick I1 was an extremely curious individual, highly cultured for his day, but with a combination of the most contradictory traits in his personaliry. I~le was both adored and hated, and afren called
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KXIGHTS
35
the Antichrist. Herrnann von SaIza was very devoted to him, frequently, acting as his intermediary with the Pope. When in 1 2 2 6 he discovered a new land, conquest of which might compensate for his humiriating defeat in Hungary, he immediarely turned to Frederick 1 1 , and placed the campaign he was about ta undertake under his patronage* EIermann von SaIza managed t o have conveyed to Conrad of hlasovia, Christian Duke of Poland, the idea that the Teutonic Knights might give him valuable assiitance in his battles against heathen tribes. Among these tribes the SIavic Borussians (Prussians) were most famous. Bishop Christian, a Bernardine monk settled as a missionary within the borders of Borussia, acted as intermediary for the Order. It was he who, bcIieving in the sincerity of the Knights, mentioned them to the Duke. Early in 1 2 2 6 a formal invitation from Conrad arrived at the Order. Von Salza consulted Frederick I I at once and the Iatter, in his Bull of Rimini, entrusted van Salza with an imperial "mission" for his future campaign.
A Charter for Future Action

This Bull,* which doubtless revealed but a minor part of the agreement between the two men (the part which mighr safely be made public) was the very basis for all future action of the Teutonic Knights; a permanent charter for a11 Prussian conquesr, and all German political expansion which, during centuries to come and until this day, was to radiate from that territory. The uncompromising spirit with which the Teutonic Order pursued its aim sprang from the "imperial missian" which was entrusted to the Order in this BdI. This document also clearIy defines the ambitions of the Hohenstaufen Emperors as they appear to us as opposed to those of .the Papacy. Ir was this BuIl which launched the Order on the path of conquest against
S e e cornpIcre texr of rhe Bull, page 363.
36
37
Slavic counrries-but its f d l scope exceeded by far this particular conquesr. In the Bd1 of Rimini, the Emperor described himself "by the merciful tenderness of God" head of the Empire "erected before the Kings of rhe August Earth." H e asserted that God has "extended the limits of our power throughout the various zones of the world." The reason (or rather the excuse) given ro justify this cIaim was the "preaching of the Gospel." in the time of Fred(The HoIy See often violently ~pposed, erick 11 as in the time of his predecessors, such claims of the Germano-Roman Emperors .to world rule, and refused to admit that the pretext of a religious mission justified such purposes. This is in fact the very origin of the secular conflict berween Popes and Emperors, and the reason for excommunication of several Emperors, including Frederick 11.) Furrher Frederick specified that his mission of Empire was directed "not less to subjugation than to conversion of the people"; which makes still more apparent a preponderance of imperialisric ambitions. This phrase, moreover, is a clear indication of the methods by which the Order was to carry out the imperiaI mission entrusted it by the Bull. The Bull states that in this spirit and by virtue of the invitation of Duke Conrad of Masovia (whom the Emperor caIls "noster Cunradus," consequently his vassal) the 'Teutonic Order is charged with conquering the territory described (intentionally, no doubt) in very vague terms: a Iand known as the "Land of Culrn"; another country situated berween the borders of the Duke's land and those of rhe Prussians (Eorussians); and finalIy the Prussian country itself. Elsewhere the 3 1 1 1 1 adds that, besides the right of conquest in the territories conceded by the Duke of Masovia and in the Prussian country, the Order shall enjoy "the old and due imperial rights over mountains, pIains, rivers, forests and seas" (velut vetus et debiturn iza imperii in montibzcs, plnnicie, paminibus, nemoribzcs et in mari).
The BuIl further confirms that a11 territory conquered or received as a gift by the Order shall belong to it entirely, wirh all the rights and privileges of a sovereign imperial prince, including the right to Ievy taxes and duties, coin money, exploit all sorts of mines, name judges, impose territorial Iaws, etc. German historians of the Teutonic Order note with satisfaction that by this Bull the Order was provided for a long time ahead with a broad plan of action. Indeed the terms of the Bull were so generally drawn that any future activity of the Order, regardless of its nature, would come under the special patronage of the Emperor, and would be supported by him. On the other hand, the Order was henceforth to be bearer of the mission of expansion, which, according to Carolingian tradition, was the very essence of Empire.
"A Paraphrase of the Real Goals"

The campaign on the Polish border did not begin until I 2 3 I , after long preparation, five years after Frederick II, the Emperor who dreamed of world dominion, had given rhe Order an impetus which was to keep its full force for many centuries. 'I'he Duke of Poland was bitterly to regret inviting the Teutonic Knights into his country. The Bemardine Bishop Christian was to share these regrets a t having suggested the idea to Conrad, far later he was kidnapped, imprisoned and cruelly tortured by the Borussians, whom he suspected of acting with the encauragemenr of the Knights. The cynicism of the Order, which was to remain unchanged over the centuries, was evident here in all its strength. The Knights began the campaign with the firm resolve to keep for their Order excIusively a11 conquered territory, and to extend their conquesrs far beyond the lands of Culrn and Prussia (where lived the wiId Borussians, a heathen Slavic race), their first goal, and object of rhe agreement with Duke Conrad. The object of the campaign was to secure more and more
38
THE
CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTOXIC KYIGHTS
39
territory for the Order. To succeed in this any means would do, and any excuse was valid for waging war against peaceful neighboring princes, even those who were Christian, if their Iand were coveted. In the thirteenth cenmry, the characteristic Pmsso-Teutonic methods were already definitely crystal-
tIlis mission as a
our going inro detail, that "the Teuronic Order has transmitted Iegacy to the Germany of today."
Frederick Bequeaths His Inrperial Ambitions
lized.
The avowed aim of the Order was to convert the heathen.
This aim done received the Pope's approvaI. In the undersranding of rhe Emperor (as illustrated in his Bull) "Subjugation of the heathen" was not less important. The Emperors fully aware of the enormous spiritual power of the Church, aIways found it convenienr (even at the time of their most violent conflicts with the Papacy) to maintain this religious front in order to make their imperialisric ambitions appear Iegitimate. Frederick IT, while under excommunication, lefr for a Crusade to the Holy Land, despite opposition by the Pope, so that he might prove to the world that he was leading the struggle against the heathen. This "struggle against the heathen" was, for the Gemano-Roman Emperors, what the "struggIe against Jews and Communists" is for HitIer todayprcrext, and a mosr rransparenr one. The German writer Hans Krieg, whom we mentioned before, writing in 1939 (i-e., when the Nazi regime was already in full flower) acknowledges definitely that conversion of the heathen was only a screen and that actually the Order was concerned with increasing the territory of the "Reich." "Conversion of the heathen Prussians was a contemporary paraphrase of the real goals-a paraphrase adapted to those rimes." Krieg does not attempt to deny the dupIicity of such an attitude, without describing it as such, but adds that in view of the "grandiose vision of the whde" pursued by the Order the methods employed did not matter much. Krieg uses a modem expression very familiar to us, when he describes the true mission of the Order: "increase of German living space" ("Lebensraurn"). He does not fail to state moreover, with-
Emperor Frederick II who, wirh Hermann von Salza, was responsible for the Teutonic Knights' great adventure into Prussia, was one of the queerest men of the Middle Ages. Son of Henry VI and grandson of Frederick Barbarossa, he felt responsibIe for carrying out his forefathers' inordinate ambitions. The title "dominus rnundi" proudly borne by his grandfather awakened powerful responses in his highly mystical souI. His most ardenr desire seems to have been to continue this tradition and maintain it for posteriv, and this desire dictated all his acts and decisions. H e finalIy came to realize that the violenr opposidon of rhe Pope would doubtless not permit him to pursue his scheme for imperial expansion and perpetual conquest by direct means. 1Ie decided therefore to use the Teutonic Knights by charging the Ordcr wirh an imperial mission suiting his own purposes. Thus a double advantage was achieved. He succeeded in covering up his real ambitions by having them carried our by a so-called reIigious Order under the pretexr of "converting the heathen." Even the Pope who had excommunicated him could not criticize such activity. Besides in bequeathing his schemes to an Order following strict monascic ruIes which assured its permanence, he could hope that his intentions would bc carried out nor: only during his lifetime, but in furure times as welI. Frederick had had ample opporrunity to get a clear idea of the power acquired by the two other Knights' Orders, rhe Templars and the Knights of St. John. He understood that their strength lay in their rigid organization, the srticmess of their rules, and also in what was known as their "secret," The "sccrer" of religious Orders of the Middle Ages was a power-
40
4'
f d motive which insured absolurc devotion of the members to the purposes pursued. It was not so much the content of this secret which martcrcd, (although it usually bore, at least symbolically, some relation to the real designs of the Order). What mattered was the very existence of a secret, Men bound by a common sccrct, subject to the same vow of silence on certain questions, were IikeIy to devote themseIves more ardently and with steadier zeal to the common cause, than if rhey were bound by purely rational obligations, devoid of mystery. Modern society has greatly neglected this helpful facror, so very imporranr in rhe Middle Ages and ancienr times. Frederick 11, whose mystical soul divined what he could expect from the cIosed organbration of an Order built on mystic vows and a secret, firrnIy intended to use them in carrying out his plans. Both rules and organization of the Teutonic Order had been copied from those of the TernpIars. T h e Templars had a secret (although it is unlikely that its content was as malodorous as certain witnesses claimed during the famous trial instituted against them early in the fourteenth cenmry by PhiIippe le BeI-the trial which was to end in the annihilation of this Order). Both TempLars and Hospitalers, aside from their own Ieaders recognized only God and the Pope as their masters. Frederick repeatedIy found himself in difficulty with both Orders, and especialIy with the TempIars. Far his tastes, rhey were too devoted to the interests of the Papacy, with which he was in canstant conflicr. H e therefore deemed it profitabIe to do everyrhing possibk to fortify the position of the Teutonic Order, on which he could depend ever since his dose alliance with Hermann von Salza had been concluded. H e knew that the Teutonic Order, apparently a retigious Order like the other two Knighrs' Orders, was much more devoted to him than to the Pope and could be safdy considered the faithfuI heir of his ambitions. Can these "arnbitions," these "intentions," be described as
peculiarly "German"? In the thirteenth century the ward had a meaning different from what ir has for us. Frederick I1 was German only on his father's side. Elis mother was Constance of Sicily, and the education he received in his own youth was much more Sicilian than German. H e was a sort of Renaisthe Renaissance. But Frederick, in sance figure-before achieving his imperialistic plans, had met with more difficulties in Italy than in Germany. Although the German princes were often nor easy t o handle, he still had a greater hold on r l ~ e German nobles than on thc Italian. In view of this, the Teuronic Order, which was an organization of German noblemen, was able to bring him valuable help-especially because of his sinccrc friendship with the Order's Grand Master. Thenceforrh he could consider rhc Teutonic Knights the dependable force on which he might rely. Because of the instability of imperial power, Frederick had had every reason to strengthen as much as he could the position of the Order. It is because of this that he elevated it to the rank of a State of the Cmp'ireto makc it the principal performer of what he considered the imperial task. In reading rhe text of the Bull of Rimini, one may wonder whether the Emperor had not wished to grant the Order a certain independence from the Empire. This could be explained by the fact that Frederick had been very uncertain regarding the immediate future of the Empire. One of his sons, Henry, whom he had had appointed "King of Germany," had later revolted against him; Frederick had been obliged ro havc him tbrown into prison, where he died. His other sons did not appear to have much strength or promise. H e had therefore n o way of lcnowing what family wouId occupy the throne of the Empire in future generations. Frederick must have realized that his own family, and an Empire poorly consolidared, would offer fewer guarantees for continuance of his imperial ambitions than arouId a rigidIy c)rganized Order with which he had spiritual ties. It is nor sur-
42
THE THOUSAKD-YEAR COXSPXRACY
THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTONIC KSIGIITS
43
prising7 then, that he should have assigned such an important rdle to the Teuronic Order, both in the BuII of Rimini and by his subsequent aid. Me must have experienced a kind of satisfacrion in seeing his task pursued by an Order to which he had brought reaI Iife by giving it a raisoa d'ihe. This satisfaction can be compared ro that felt by the modern industrialisc who bequeaths his concern t o his empIoyees. But Frederick I1 was a mystic (which modern industrialists rarely are), and must therefore have felt a satisfacrion all the greater when he thought of the influence he was exerting on the future through the medium of the Order. Frederick I1 cannot be considered a "German Nationalist" according to madern terminology. T h e Germanic racial characrcr of the Teutonic Order charged with execution of his schemes was secondary to the Emperor, cosmopolitan par excelience. T h e Order had been organized according to German racial laws before it became associared with Frederick. These racial laws were likewise class laws, for it was necessary to belong to a nobIe German family to be admitted to the Order. Frederick had no reason to wish to change the Order's purely "noble German" aspect, for this contributed grearcr unity to the organism. But aside from such considerations, the problem of German nationaIisrn did not concern the Emperor at all. In the RulI of Rirnini, Frederick describes himself at the beginning and the end as "Emperor of the Romans, King of JerusaIem and of SiciIy." He makes no mention of German countries anywhere in the Bull. T h e conrinuarion of rhc ancient Roman Empire was part of his mystical vision of Iife, and purely Gcrman traditions meanr norhing to him. Fle longed ro be "dominus mundi," Lord of the Earth, for to be a German Emperor seemed to him, under Carolingian tradition, too restricted a task. T h e Teutonic Order, white maintaining the German raciaI organization of its beginnings, concentrated chiefly on per-
petuating the spiritual heritage bequeathed by Frederick II, and devtlopcd, from this stock, its o m oaditiofas.These tradirions were necessarily distinct from all other German traditions, and it was inevitable thar ar some time in iater centuries a struggle should arise between the two traditions.
Antichrist?
IVhile still a young man, Frederick had hoped to accornpIish the greater part of his colossal ambitions during his own lifetime. Fedor Schneider, in a lecture given a t the Wniversiry of Frankfort (published in the 1930 collection of Frankfurter Universitnetsreden) says with regard t o this: "Frederick's program of imperial politics was completely formed by the time he was about twenty. T h e first objecrivc would be an absolute and thorough centralization of the Kingdom of Sicily, the Norman State of his ancestors. 'Through the strength thus gained in Sicily hc mighr reconquer Italy (which Barbarossa previously had conquered and lost) acquiring control over more territory even than Barbarossa. Then, using all Italy as a base, the Emperor planned not only to reestablish his imperial authority in Germany, but to strive for worId dominion in rhe spirit of Henry IV." T h e plans formed by Frederick in his youth were extremely idealistic. H e dreamed of an empire of justice, of world peace. W e have no reason to doubt the sincerity of his interest in these objectives. His extrerneIy wide cuIture helped to make him bmh visionary and tolerant. H e was very active in the study of natural hisrory and contributed considerabIy to the dcvelapmenr of medical science in Italy. In 1 2 2 4 he founded t h e University of NapIes, and also enlarged the medical school at Salerno. Hc spoke six languages: Greek, Latin, Italian, German, French and Saracen. He wrote poetry in the most varied and difficult meters. He surrounded himself with poets, scientists and artists. He collected works of art and had a magnifi-
44
45
cent library. H e was also known for his toIerance towards lMohammedans and Jew. In his youth he appeared to be a faithful son of the Church. Moreover he owed his election as Emperor ro the sponsorship of the Popc. But his faith was not to evorve along very orthodox lines, and he was often accused of scepticism wirh regard to Church doctrine. I l e was much interested in astrology and the occuIt sciences which he had learned from the S a r ~ e n in s Sicily, the home of his mother. With age he showed more and more independence wirh respect to the Church, and set a price on his obedience. The conflict became increasingly sharp, and Frederick was finally excommunicated. Frederick's struggles with the Pope and the Italian cities revived the old conflict between "GueIfs" and "Ghibellines." The Guelfs supported both the Papacy and rhe idea of freedom. They composed rhe party of the "Righrs of man" of rhat period: their political doctrines harmonized with the Church's recognition of the sacred character of the human person. T h e Ghibellines were followers of the Hohenstaufens, who favored strong centraIized power-and absoIute irnperiaI power. Here the popular Christian ideal struggled against the ideal of an ever-expanding imperiaIisrn. T h e Guelfs came primarily from among the Iesser nobility and the city bourgeoisie, while the Ghibelline idea took root among the high nobility. The Guclfs were named after the German famiIy of Welf. The expression "Ghibelline" is an Italian corruption of the German "Waiblingen," which was the name of a Hohenstaufen castle. WeIf I was a powerful noble ar the time of Henry IV and received Bavaria from him as a fief. Later, as a result of thc rivalry for the imperial rhrone, fiercc hostility developed between the families of Welf and Hohenstaufen. The struggles extended to Italy, where the Hohcnstaufcns wished to rule with the same absoIutism as in Germany, Both families had their ardent champions, recruited from among individuaIs of opposing schools of thought. The
origin of the rivalry was soon forgotten; but cleavage between rhe two camps remained, dividing rhe members according to rheir opposed mental attitudes. Partisans of Barbarossa and of Frederick I1 in their struggles against the Popes were recruited, naturally, from among rhe Ghibellines, Frederick spent rhe second part of his life struggling against the Lombard cities and the Papacy. From this time on he changed considerabIy, The ideaIism of his youth had departed. From now on he was a hard man who respected nobody and stopped at nothing, His vision of world empire was no Ionger humanitarian. His sole concern now was the winning of absolute powcr at any price, in opposition ro the Church's claim of spirituaI domination over the entire worId. It was then that he declared: "From now on I shall be the hammer." His irnperiaIistic ideas, of course, aroused determined opposition from the Church. Unril now the Church trusted him, forgctting rhac this was the grandson of rhe ambitious Frederick Earbarossa. Traits of Frederick's character, which he inherited frorn Sicilian forebears on his mother's side, may have been misleading. Siciiy was a t that rime the melting pot of the Mediterranean. There Greeks and Saraccns had introduced their highly developed cultural traditions. Frederick's mixed blood is perhaps rhe very explanation of his contradictory nature. In the second phase of h ~ life s all the harshness of the Hohenstaufens characterized him. The description, "Stupor mundi," applied in his yourh in an admiring sense, now symbolized the terror which he inspired everywhere. His biographer, E. Kantorowicz (in Kaiser Friedrich der Zweife-r928"), describes Frederick during this second phase of his life as follows: "Attila's air surrounded him and he alone could keep on breathing it-just as ir was Attila's mission which was now his, and which only he could comprehend. His contemporaries 'The translation is my own from the German original.
46
47
instinctiveIy bestowed Attila's title, 'Scourge of rhe Peoples' and 'Hammer of the World' on him, and his followers no longer referred to him merely as 'he who rules over land and sea,' or 'he who makes rhe winds to rejoice,' but rather as 'he whose power tramples the mountains and bends them at will.' AU Europe suffered terribly under him, both friend and foe alike, Italy and Germany in particular; and to those who did not worship him and were not his followers, Frederick now represented the very epitome of all evil. The capacity far evil possessed by Frederick was indeed rare in a ruIer of his srature nor has anyone taken greater pleasure in doing evil. Where the State was concerned he had always been capable of any cruelty, treachery, violence, cunning, deceit, harshness--of any outrageous behavior. '1 have never reared a pig whose far I would nor eat' was one of his expressions. But where previousIy he had committed evil for the sake of the State, now it was for its possible effcct in rhe worId srruggIe which went on around his person; and he aIone had come to be the State. Where previously the needs of the Scare constituted right, now ir was rhe Emperor's personal needs. tlrhat he required at the moment and whar might be useful as a wcapon wcre now considered right . . . and where, in the past, laws had been bent to the interests of the State and the world at large, they were now bent to suit imperial caprice. Tllc cheory thar the welfare of the Empire, of other Kings and nations, and of those who believed in him depended on his personal weal or woe-was frequently proclaimed. Every act and move of his now seemed more tyrannical, more violent, rrlore monstrous and in fact more ruthless, since ir: was useful only in the preservarion of a single individual." Kanrorowicz gives the foIlowing description of the effect produced by Frederick on the minds of his contemporaries: "The entire life of Frederick I1 can be interpreted in the AJessianic as well as the Antichrist spirit. It was the common belief that the Antichrist begotten in sin, would be surrounded
...
by magicians and wizards, astrologers and sorcerers and he would restore demon worship: he would strive for personal fame and would call himself God Almighty. He would come to Jerusalem and instaIl his throne in the Temple . . . he would restore the ruins of the Temple of Solomon and then, lying, claim to be rhe son of the Almighry. At first he would convert the Kings and Princes, and rhrough them, later, the people. H e would dispatch his couriers and preachers to a11 parts of the world, and his preaching, as well as his power, would reach from sea to sea, from east to west and from north to south. With him, however, the Roman Empire would come to an end. And he wouId accomplish signs and wonders and unheard-of deeds-but unprecedented confusion would reign over rhe Earrh. For when his deeds were tvimessed, even the perfect ones and God's chosen would doubt whether he were Christ-who, according to the Scriptures, wiIl come again at the end of the world-or whether he were the Antichrist. They would IooIr like one another. "And Frederick's bchavior always allowed for double interpreration. In his display of the exotic splendor of both his court and his menagerie, he might be considered by some as a universal King ruIing over a 1 peopIes and races-men and beasts-as the Messiah, under whose scepter a11 animals shall lie down together in peace . . . while others mighr have seen, in this gaIloping procession of pards and owls and dark-skinned Corybantes, sweeping through ltarian cities, the very Hosts of the Apocalypse." Frederick I1 liked to trace his behavior to his grandfather, Frederick Barbarossa. It is quite possible that the legends attached to the latter largely influenced the dreams of his grandson. Frederick 1 1 maintained for example thar rhe Teuronic Knights had been founded by Barbarossa, a claim which seems to have no justification in facr. In rhe popular mind the legends inspired by Frederick's death fused with those \vhicl~ ccntcred a b n ~ t his t grandfather at an earlier time. When Fred-
...
...
48
49
erick I T died, penpIe did not believe it: had it not been said that the Emperor would live to the age of 267 years? For almosr: a century afrer his death impostors pretended to be Frederick. In Italy it was said that he was not dcad, but that he had retired inside Mount Aetna. A Franciscan monk toId of having been deep in prayer along the edge of the sea, when he noticed a company of several horsemen disappearing with their mounts among flames into the water. One of these riders said to him: "It is Emperor Frederick who is leading his Knighrs into Aema." The German legend mentions Mount Kyffhzuser as the refuge of Frederick and says rhat he will Iive there until he returns ro lead his people. It was assumed rhat this refers ro Frederick Barbarossa, It is probabIe that the story was toId origina1Iy abour Frederick 11, and that this is one of those confusions of personaIities which is common in all folklore. The mysticism of Frederick 11, allied with that of Hermann von Salza, was behind the vast and daring imperial mission which had .been assigned to the Order of the Teutonic Knights. Frederick bequeathed it all of his incontinent ambitions and all of his utilitarian ruthlessness. The Emperor's word, "I have never reared a pig whose fat I would not eat," could have been the mono of the Order. Like its spirirual ancestor, it roo was to become "Hammer of the World" and "Scourge of the Peoples." And the description of Frederick II, -"what he required at the moment and what might be useful as a weapon were now considered right,"-can equally and unreservedly be applied to rhe Order. It was Frederick I1 who instructed the Order in the strict methods used by the Normans of SiciIy in organizing the State. The Order's entire set-up of Knight-officials, which was to be the basis of the severe Prussian officiaI system, sprang from there. In transmitting to the Order all the conceptions deriving from thc second phase of his life, Frederick I I was careful not
to bequeath to it any of the ideas and principles of his youth,
which were marked by humanitarianism and tolerance.

Conversion as a Pretext
The conversion and oppression of the Borussians by the Teutonic Knights were carried on by fire and sword. These Borussians were a savage peopIe who knew how to make themselves feared, but the Knights opposed them wirh a11 their Teutonic harshness, the arrogance of their caste and the fanaticism derived from their monasric origins-fanaticism strengthened by severe rules and reguIations inspired by rhose of the TernpIar Order.* A cruei campaign followed in which the Borussians were unable to resist the superior forces of the Order. By 1 2 6 0 almost the entire territory of the Borussians had passed into the hands of the Order. IIermann von Salza died in I r jg and Frederick ZI in I 250, but their deaths did not change the course of events. The future paths of the Knights were all clearly defined; now, subjected to the strictest discipline, they unswervingly pursued their task of conquest. The methods used by the Knights from the beginning of rheir campaign were severely criticized by contemporary chroniclers, most of whom were themseIves German. This criticism was also taken up by the Gennan clergy established in various sections of rhe Borussian territory, as well as the German missionaries belonging to non-armed orders. All of these deIuged Rome with petitions complaining birterly about the cruel and hypocritical behavior of the Teutonic Order, One of their complaints was that the Knights had made absalurely no effort to convert the conquered peopks. On the contrary, the Order hindered such conversion because as long as the heathen remained heathen, they could be considered as slaves: the Knights couId expIoit rhem at wiI1, entirely for their own ends.
* See page 23 r for more details.
5O
THE
THOGSASD-YEAR
CONSPIKhCY
T I I E CAVALCADE
OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGkITS
5I
XIodern German authors have no ilIusions as to the true ends pursued by rhe Order. The "contemporary paraphrase of rhe rear goals" acknowledged by Hans Krieg is accepted by most German historians. Dr. Bruno Schumacher, in a work pubIished in 19.17 (Der Staat des deutschea Orderas i~z Prewsen) described as follows the basic ideas governing the foundation of the Order's Stare: "The first colonization of this Iand, cities used as military bases, and great Jand-grants made to people eligible for Knighr service, seem to have been dictated primarily by miIitary considerations. This all became changed by I 283, when the conqrresc was complete. Only now did the idea of a NationaI Srare begin to take shape. A vigorous and systematic colonization of rhe Iand by German peasants was effected. At the same time this network of cities was extended-no longer for defense needs only but also for administrative purposes, Xut the completion of this founding of a State was realized only with rhc acquisition of Pomerania-Minor. This Vistula Iand, which for a long time had been within the range of East German coIonization, was acquired by dint of the greatesr diplomatic skiI1, with the definite intention of using it as a connecting link to Germany. In this, there is not much of the spirit of the Crusades to be discerned, but what does stand out strilcingly is dle foresighted political activity in the tradition of 1 Ierrnann von Salza." August von Kotzebue, the famous German writer, did extensive research among the archives of the Order ar rhe beginning of the nineteenth century, and published his findaeEtere Gcschichte. He ings in 1 8 1 r , under the title, Preusse~zr claimed that he could find no evidence that these pecuriar armed monIcs, the Knights, had ever atrempted to preach the Christian religion. "They wanted to conquer a land, not a people; establish dominion and not the teachings of Jesus. In this they rook advantage of Europe's 'holy madness'." T h e "holy niadncss" of rhis period was the "struggle against
...
the hcarhen." As already pointed our, with minor differences the Teutonic methods of the thirteenth and mentieth cenmries are identical. The slogan of "conversion of the heathen" used by the Teutonic Knights assured them sympathy in different parts of the Christian world, despite the abuses of which they were accused by respectable people. It aIso allowed them considerabIy to expand their forces through the consranr influx of young warriors coming from al German countries. Actually it now became fashionable to participate in this crusade into the Borussian country-as ir had formerly been to depart for the Holy Land at the behest of the Pope. In this, Frederick II and the shades of his ancestors who had survived in the Order's rradirions won the advanrage ovcr the Pope. Although formally a religious odder, the Teutonic Order pursued its own ends in accordance with rhe spirit of its imperi~l mission. And it went further. Having raken ovcr the aims toward an impmiurn m n d i of Frederick 11 and he Germano-Roman emperors, the Order might be considered, foIlowing Frederick's death, much more the spiritual successor to the Iimitless ambitions of this strange man and his predecessors than was the German Empire itself. The latter from now on lost much of irs briHiance, and appeared in a Icss rhreatening light. Frederick I1 had been the Iast great Germano-Roman Emperor, and the Hohenstaufen line died out with his son, who reigned but a few years. T h e German Emperors who followed them descended from other families. They did nor continue these Carolingian ambitions, and not one claimed the name af "dominus mundi." T h e Order therefore regarded inelf thenceforth not onIy as bearer, bur also as sole heir of that mission which ic had becn assigned by the Gcrmano-Roman Emperors. And whiIe the Christian spirit of "Leben und Icben lassen" ("Iive and let live") was becoming widespread throughout rhe rest of Germany, the Order pursued its aims of perpetual
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53
conquest with egocentric ruthlessness, and later bequeathed them to the Prussian State.
The Gratitude of the Order

.
T h e Order extended its terrirory deeper and deeper into the Slav country until the fifteenth century. Those "Prussians" (Borussians) who did not submit were cruely slaughtered. The "coIlaborarionists" of this period were more or less safe, but in order to gain the favor of their conquerors, they were forced to give up rheir native language. Finally their descendants intermingled with the conquerors. The Germanized Borussian nobility now married among the German "beggar-noblemen" (Betteljunker) who had settled in the counrries of the Order in the wake of the Knights. Together they were to form the Pmssian Junker caste, which has been referred to frequently. For the purpose of constantly extending their territory, the Knights, on the flimsiest of pretexts, waged successive wars against a11 their neighbors, who, for the most part, were Christian: the Lithuanians, the Samaites, the Esthonians, the Russians, the Pomcranians, the Krivitzians, and above a11 the Poles. After Prussia, Pornerania-Minor was taken over, but the Order's conquests did not halt at this point. The Order did not, moreover, intend to stop at any point. T h e tentacles of the Teutonic squid reached out ever further with insatiable avidity. In the course of centuries rhe whole territory thus conquered became known as Prussia. Konebue, reliable historian of the Knights, described their intrigues in provoking war against the heroic Swantopolk, Christian Duke of Pomerania, so that they might seize his country. Swantopolk had rendered the Order great services. The Knights were never impressed by such considerations, when the expansion of their territory was involved. The Order, using to advantage the weak character of the Duke's
brother, and sowing discord between the two Brothers, procured for irself an aUy in rhe very country it planned to conquer. 'Thus, the Order excited the rage of the Duke, and through a series of incidents provoked a war with him-which was valuable in carrying forward their aims for conquest. Kotzebue relates that SwantopoIk was under no illusions whcre the friendship he might expect from the Order was concerned: "He couId already foresee his future fate, observing that of the unforrunare Prussians [Borussians]. He knew that the Knights would never lack a pretext, a Papal Burl or an imperial sanction when, after having succcssfuly subjugated the heathen, their insatiabIe lust might be attracted to rhe lands of the Pomeranian sovereign. Realizing this, he found it both prudent and just to support the Prussians: prudent because their st21 unbroken power afforded him security; just, because the Order, in oppressing the Prussians, violated agreements of which he was the Trustee. "Swanropolk was the son of Mestwin, Duke of Pomerania. The dying father entrusted Swantopolk with the guardianship of his younger brother, Sambar, and made Sambor swear to obey Swantopolk. T h c harmony between the two brorhers was destroyed by the Order's intrigues. "The Christian Order," says Kotzebue, "knowing neither shame nor gratitude, provoked and armed brothers against one anorher, thus rewarding the unsuspecting Duke, who had welcomed and supported rhem with noble confidence. For it was Swantopoik's bravery alone that had saved the Germans from destruction on the banks of the Sirgune in 1 2 3 3 . For five years he remained their confederate ( r z 38) ; would nor male peace with the heathen without the Order's consent; even subjected himself to the Papal anathema rather than be unfaitilful to them. He remained siIent even when they befriended his enemies-the PoIes. "But when the Order, disregarding the duties and oaths it
54
TIlE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
55
had taken, now reduced the unfortunate Prussians to a state of socage, the latter, their arms enchained, turned to Swantopork, the trustee of their compact. H e now felt that to remain silent any longer would be criminal ( I 2 3 9 ) . But he did not yield hastily to an unruly desire for war; rather he wanred first of a11 to try everything to awaken a spirit of justice and humanity in the Order instead of shedding blood. In outspoken fashion, and in a manner befitting a brave man and a mighry sovereign, he presented himseIf before the 'Landmeister' (regional master) of the Knights as a spokesman for the oppressed. But the Landrneister, aloof and excitable, accused the nobIe spokesman of being a traitor and of stirring up the populace. Swantopollr, although angered, was above these personal insu1ts.and was guided simply by the interests of his folIowers. Even now he wourd not draw the sword; he was determined to exhaust every peaceful and Iegal means so that some day the curse and responsibility for having started a war would fall direcrly on the heads of the Knighrs. . Ic was only when Sarnbor, the obdurate brother, built the citadeI of Gordin (with aid from the Order) and turned it over to Swantopolk's enemies for their assemblies that Swantopolk drew the sword-not for conquest, but moved only by prudence and by human sympathy for the sufferings of the Prussians. "The arrogant Knights had the impression that his only followers would be the Prussian masses, because the nobility had frequenrIy caroused wirh them. But these nobles too, now become sober, recognized the new danger. They were still being handled wirh consideration, but what might they expect afrer their people were thoroughly enslaved? For a long time their indignation had mounted when they saw how undeserving Germans were appointed to the principal offices and received Iarge estates. They were no Ionger t o be lured by revelry. They too were called to arms by the wails of the oppressed+"
A Iong war ensued, terminating in the conquest of Pomerania by. the Order. T h e methods used against Swantopolk are characteristic of the Teutonic Knights' behavior over a period of cenruries. Pretexrs were arways found to provoke war against those princes whose lands they coveted. If such pretexts did not exist they managed to create them, so that responsibility for the ensuing conflict would always be placed on their adversaries. The Mania of Conquert
Kotzebuc describes the infernal urge toward perpetual conquest in this manner: ". . that shameful depravity, referred to where the humble are concerned as greed, and, where the mighty, as the spirit of conquest: considered-in the first case-with universal contempt; in the second with admiration by the petty . . if h a t scourge of humanity spurson some individual sovereign, jt cannot take from rhe oppressed at least one comforting hope: that some day even the conqueror must die. But once this mania takes possession of an organism which never dies (because, in place of decaying extremities, it constanrly shoots forth new ones) rhe ground, put t o fire by its mania, becomcs eternal Hell. Such a rnonsrrosity was the German Order! In vain did a few of ks Grand Masters desire peace and justice; they were but as rhe healthy head of a diseased body; a body whose poison spread ever farther and farther. Those who wilIingIy accept some conquering Duke as their neighbor certainly regret it, but to a lesser degree than those fools who accepted the conquering Order on their borders." The Teutonic Grand Masters had originally imposed a rigid discipline among the brothers of the Order, setting up a strict and exacring administration. T h e latrer was run by means of a body of Knight-oficiais, whose organization had been inspired by the Normano-Sicilian afficiaIs of Frederick
..
T H E CAVALCADE
OF THE TEUTONlC KNIGHTS
57
11. (This tradiriona1 severity, aggressiveness and intolerance of the Knight officials was carried over later i n a direct Iine to the administration of the Prussian Kingdom.) Despite this inner severity and partly, perhaps, because of it, all sorts of abuses arose in the countrics of the Order. T h c treatment to which the Knights subjected the conquered people was, from the very bcginning, most inhuman and led quite frequently to their severe condemnation by the HoIy See, which a t times went so far as to placc them under ban. AIready in 1 2 5 8 Pope Gregory IX had written: "The heathens were oppressed by no yolie before their darkness was illuminated by the torch of faith; yec despite this, thc Brothers dare ro sreal the property and the freedom of those who are no longer sons of Ishmael bur who have heen redeemed through the blood of Christ. If they do not desist, they shall be deprived of their privileges and removed froril the occupancy of the lands they have so abuscd." Kotzebue describes as fo~lows the oppression of the Krivitzians by thc Order: " W h a t fate was in store for the enslaved remnants of the once mighty Krivitz people? Where were their rulers, their nobles, their free-holders? What status, what rigllts and religion, what property would be theirs? Thcy were treated in various manners by the victors. Prisoners, men, women and children, with no hope of clemency, were forced to submit to cruel bondage. The fact thac they renounced PCrkuna," crossed themselves and sprinkled holy water on their heads, did nnt t ~ e them l ~ at all. It is true that the Order had taken the position in 1249 rhat all men are free and equal and that onIy unbelief leads to enslavement. Now, however, they managed to break their word through the vile prctexr that only those who, of their own will, welcomed the cross and the beam on rhcir shourders niight enjoy such privileges; but those who
'Tl~c hcarhcn god the Kr151uiansworshipped.
have been forced into the fold of the Church a t the point of a sword must forever, and in slavery, atone for their past unbelief. "Less miscrabIe was the fate of those princes and nobles who had curried favor with the Order by betraying their fatherland. These were granted estates which in many cases had belonged to them anyhow and which could nac very well be stolen from those who, of their own free will, subn~irred.But where once they had been unrestrained masters of their estates, rhcy now obtained as a special grant whatever greater or lesser jurisdiction they might have over their serfs and also the right-for both mcn and women-to inherit. For all this rhey were obliged to pledge themselves for Knightly service. If they were able to adjust themselves obediently under this new yoke, if they helped to draw the ner even tighcer around their own brothers, then the Order might occasionally condcsucnd TO give the rank of 'noble' to rhc nobles; to decorare the heroes with a KnigI~t'ssword; and in place of the traditional respectful tide, 'Pan,' ('Sir') t o besrow nn them tlic calpty title, 'lMiles.' Whether rhey were also Christians was of no concern to these armor-clad missionaries."
Trickery
.4t the beginning of the fourtccnrh century, Gedemin, Lithuanian Prince, addressed himself to rhe Pope, demanding his protection against the Order. Kotzebue says that his letter shows u p the "black spirit." of the Order: "Gedemin wanted to become a Christian. The pious Knights attemprcd to hinder rhjs, because for their own purposes of potential conquest, rhey ~ r o u l d rather have his lands remain hearhen territory. Through royal grants Gedemin invited all sorts of immigrants, art-ists, artisans and farmers to resctrle in Lithuania. T o the Order this seemed a very seriolts rnsrccr. It appeared to them a plundering of rheir own States, which
58
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
COxSPIRACY
T H E CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
59
had become depopulated through unhoIy wars. Who would come to Prussia in rhe future, they concluded-with reason -and there submit to rheir excesses, if these peopIe had been promised by a powerfuI ruIer pacefur shelter, protection, justice and liberty? To hinder this, the Knights had to utilize every means and practice every evil, if necessary. They had before disrespectfuIly broken the sea1 of rhe Grand Duke. Now they did nor hesitate to intercept his letters, none of which, save those to Rome, ever reached their destinations. So that posterity might some day recognize their cunning and give them credit far their knavish trickery, they were imprudent enough to file these letters in rheir archives instead of destroying them. As it is, these Ietters, after 600 years, are so many irrefutable witnesses against the Knights. "In order to block the only secure road Ieading to Lithuania, they spread danderous rumors to the effect that Masovia had been crueIly razed by ~ e d c m i n Actually, . Gedemin's letter described Duke BoIeslas of Masovia as his onIy friend, rhrough whose, country one might safely travel in the pirgrimage to Lithuania. T h e difficdry with which Ietters were forwarded at rhis time made this knavery possible; and their slander even found its way into history. Such a circumstance appears less surprising when one takes into account the great number of lies officiaIly set in motion, unhindered because no one dares to deny rhem-this even in our own times, despite all the means at our disposal for disseminating truth. "Thus is postericy deceived. "The Ietters addresed to the Pope were not intercepted by the Order, either because chey did not dare to do so, or because rheir bearers escaped the Knights' vigilance. T h a t rhe pagan Grand Duke, rarher than the Pope's own warriors, sons of the Church and Knights of the Blessed Virgin, received the protection of the Holy Father, is rhc best indication of how contemptible was the Order's behavior. Despite the mask it wore so carefuUy, it can be evaluated in its true lighr."
"Justice Was a Stranger i n P nc~rifl

The Knights' abuses continued, even against the German secular cIergy, and against the monks of various orders. The Teutonic Brothers forced them out of their churches. T h e y irnprisnncd and poisoned Bishops, T h e peaceful German bourgeoisie who lived in the seaside towns and in the cities of the interior-where their ancestors had come in great numbers as artisans, a t the invitation of the O r d e r a l s o had plenty of cause ro complain bitterly of the Order's corruption and immoraIity. Fierce battles were waged at various times and notably in the fifteenth cenrury, between the Order and the German city bourgeoisie, who organized in a Bund againsr the Knights. T h e bourgeoisie accused the Knights of crimes of a11 sorts. The most fundamental rights were denied them by the Order, which was functioning as a theocracy, with absolute power. Expropriation and other material usurpation were common. Owners of land coveted by the Order were thrown into prison. Their wives and daughters were seduced by members of the Order, wha did not take rheir own vows of chastity too seriously. H. Bauer (in Schwert i m Osten, 1 9 3 2 ) writes: "In accordance with the original regulations of the Order, it was forbidden for a Knight to kiss even his mother or sister, but a common saying in Prusia now advised rhe head of the house to keep his back door locked against the Crusaders." Koaebue found a vast amount of evidence in the archives of the Order which permitted him to establish the extent of the abuses committed. This is what he has t o say concerning the moraIs of the Teutonic Knights in the fourteenth century: "Robbery and murder were every-day occurrences in Prussia, particularly on the borders, along whose reaches cries and complaints could be heard ceaselessly. In countries of the Order, some of the best known Knights were to be seen robbing and ravishing in broad daylight. In Pomerania, despite
60
THE TI1OUSAND-Y EAR CONSPIMCY
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTOSIC KNIGHTS
6I
the orders of rhe Grand 121astcrro the contrary, they behaved in rhe same fashion. Some of the Superiors of the Order were themselves powcrful robbers who would spare none of their neiglibors. W h e n complaints reached the ears of the Grand Master, his answer was invariably: 'We don'r know anything about it' or '\Vc are redly sorry.' Help was alsvays slow in coming. Even in foreign countries, the Brothers transformed their official strongholds into robber castles, from which the fricndl>- neighboring princcs were regularly atracked. "Cnnteinpt for divine service; neglect of pious rituals; profaning sacred ground; insulting officiaI couriers; lust and raping of young girIs--these were some af the most coinmon occurrences. Thieves escaped punishment bccause of thcir respected kinfolk. Adulterers becnine bolder; in hlarienburg " the Order toierdted a public brothe1."
" W e Are the Law''

Documents dating from 1436, as noted by Koaebue, furthcr confirm the continuance of rhis deplorable scare of affairs. "Enraged by the prevailing djsordcr, the pious monk, Heinrich Raringer of the Order of Carrhauscn, wrote to the Grand h,Iastcr: iniquitous administrators and judges hold the power in the land, selling justice at a price; oppressing the poor bccause their superiors are neglectful and no longer punish thcnl. From the poor they have taken the tools and implements of work, rhrough which wives and cllilciren must be fed. 'rhc sweat of the poor has been spent.-Noble Master, with much virtue and wisdom did yon urritc thrce years ago, thar every complainant shall appear before you, so chat you may
' In rrgl. tbc threc Knights' Orders were rclutcd from Acrc, in the Holy Land, b)- the Arabs. The Teutnnic Kl1ig~:hrs trdnsfcrred rhcir seat t11 Venice a t first ~ n c llacer ro Xlaricnburg in Prussia. From this cirr~e nn rhey made thcnlsclvcs a t home in a land bcl~mgingro them. .I his contributed considcrably m their inticpentlcncc from thc Church.
correct all abuses. A t this even the infernal devil was frightened. W o e TO him who would have hindered you. But today ir is only to Heaven above that the miserable can cry; your shccp have been entrusred to wolves. Sl'hen God shall finally d e m ~ n dhis reckoning from you, I shall not cry out as did St. John: "Woe is me!-for I have remained silent." All rhcsc things arc eve11 known but they have been carefully hidden and but fcw take them to heart. The heathen kings were much more virtuous rhan the presenc-d~y Christian rulers. Holy Jaws are scorned by thesc rulers, even though they rhemselves arc mcn of the Church. And concerning the common Iaw of their subjects rhey jeer, saying: "Wbat laws of Culm? We are your Iaws." ~ e ~ r e s e n t a t i v e of s the oppressed, who dare to speak up, are threatened with the dungeon. "'ParticuIarly in the villages, and with furl knowledge of the Knights, the behavior of the foresters, overseers a l ~ d compeers has been thoroughly vicious on many occasions. Local judges are appointed who arc forced to oppress the poor, and for this they are rewarded by being seared a t the comn~union table of the Knights. Judges have revealed at confession thar they wcre forced to render unjust decisions. W h e n someone has been injured or killed while at work, these greedy Knights extort such enormous fines from the resporlsible party that he csn no longer compensate his victim or his family, Nor do they tolerate friendly sertlements; even where petty amounts are involvcd, one is forced, unwilIingIy, to instiruie suit. They buy grain a t low prices during the winter and force the original vendor to repurcl~ase it at a much higher price in the spring. Whoever complains to the hlastcr is throsvn into chains and often dispossessed from his Ilomc. Oppression and drudgery are intensified from one year to the ncxr. And this, they c l ~ i m ,is for the good of the c o u n t ~ y !Thcy [i.e., thc officjals of che Order], when their larders are full, retire from their duties. When these "rulers" appoint an overseer, they
62
THE THOUSAKD-YEAR CONSPIRACY
do not, from that moment on, pay him anything, but tell him: "Feed yourseIf from your position." 0 Lord, how the poor people suffer rhsn! " 'They carouse with women-they do as they please, the Master rarely questioning them. While the priests sing in Church, thc Knights run riot in the taverns. No one wants to remain in the Abbey. They would much rarher find themselves an office elsewhere-in the wilderness if necessary-as far removed from the Abbey as possible-so that they may go their evil ways without anybody disturbing them. The Prussians still cling to their heathen idolatry, but no one is concerned about rhis. They are conscripted for work duty on IJolv . days-the . Knights, blinded by their avarice, desire only t o rule and exproit them, not to reach or convert them. Their freedom has been stolen. They are supposed to be Christians, but a11 Christian rights have been denied them. il'hen a serf who has no son dies, his lands fall to the manor; that is why the lands lie wastc. No promise to the people is kept, and sworn oaths are but a mere trifle. Sometimcs good regulations will last for half a year, bur ;hen they are trampled by the rulers. Usury, perjury and adultery are commonplace, but they are no longer considered sinful since the Knights themselves behave in the same way. At weddings and at carnivals during Lent, the most fiendish behavior is witnessed. Murder occurs frequcnrly, since a man's life here is worth Iess rhan a horse's. It does not upset the rulers because they can extort fines out of this. T h e cause for all this is in the nightly debauchery in the taverns-and more and more tavcrns are being licensed to make possible coIlection of the cursed taxes. Sharp gambling prevails both among the higher Knights and their subordinates. "'May the Lord and you be prevailed on: even the priesrs have to lead a life more mundane than religious; they must farm chcir own fields and pay tithes. Quod non tollit Chrisrus, tollit fiscus. klhat they exact from priests helps to gorge mer-
cenaries. Whatever the Knights leave over may be taken by their valets, only it would be preferable if they were not so uncivil in this. T o sum up, this is no Christian country, since God's commandments are followed less by the Knights rhan they are by the Prussians.' " As a conclusion, the complaining monk swears that he has told the open and honest troth, rhat he has composed his letter in the privacy of his home, and has revealed its contents to no one. "Friends of the Order," says Konebue, "tried in vain to explain away these serious charges levelled at the organization, as exaggerated and pre-fabricated lies. But it is not the chroniclers alone who support the charges. Authenticated facts speak here. The Camthur * of Tauchel, t o sacisfy his unnatural lust, had a nine-year-old girl carried ad by his servant. When her parents complained, this poor violated girl was sent home. When she was grown older, the girl was married to a local mayor, bearing him a son and Jiving with him in peaceful wedlock for sixteen years. When her hiisband died, rhe Order scized her property on rhe vile pretext that her marriage had been illegal, since she had a t one time lain with the servant of the Comthur. "Even peasant women working in the open fields could not be certain of their honor-their very life. They were frequently dragged off to the woods, where after being lustfully defiled, they were left to hang by rheir feet. "Freemen were tricked out of evidence of loans given by them, and this was immediately destroyed. Furthermore the victims had ro suffer violence and were driven out of rheir homes. Money was extorted from the rich by threats but the victims dared not lament this bcfore wife and child, and dared even less rn complain t o the Grand Masrer. When nvo men quarrelled and a third attempted to reconcile them in friendly
' Local and regional commanders of the Tcutonic Knights s e r e referred
to as "Cumtl~ur" or "Komtur."
T H E THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRAW 54 manrer, the mediator would be punished by the Order's officiaIs because he was depriving the tribunal of a welcome fine. "Without a hearing, without a conviction, many had ro accept corporal and financial punishment. A peasant passing by a window and seeing through it a Brother's bed-companion, would pay dearIy if he dared to make a humorous remark. If one of these Knights of the Blessed Virgin succeeded in seducing an honorable woman, he would openly boast of his conquesr, and of the woman's consent. Handsomc wives were tom away from their husbands and Iocked up in castles. Daughters of weaIrhy burghers, already engaged t o worthy of the journeymen, would be forced into marriage to prot@gts Order, against their own and their parents' wills. Complaints by the parents or the fianck would lead to imprisonment, and often their lips would be sealed in death. A burgher could no longer travel in safery to the annuaI fair, now that the Brothers themselves had become tradesmen: they bought or extorted goods at half their value; transported them by boat elsewhere; returned with expensive cornmodiries obtained in exchange, nor bothering to pay the vessel's owner and crew, and throwing those who demanded payment into the dungeon. "Bloody street battles were common occurrences. If a burgher was injured, that was considered fitting. ShouId he be the victor, however, he would be forced to Aee the counrry."
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTOYIC KNIGHTS
65
"WeAre God's
Creatures"
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the rugged Samaites addressed rheir complain= to the Pope and the King of Rome, pleading for protection in these words: "Hear, hear, ye princes, spirimal and temporal! Receive charitably the propositions of the afiicted, listen to the cry of the oppressed. W e are of free, noble descent and the Order wishes to deprive us of our inherited rights. It has not tried to win our souls for the true God; it has only tried to win for
itself our lands and our inheritances. W e are obliged to beg steal, rob and kilI in order to preserve our sorry Iives. "How do they dare call themselves Brother3 How can rhey baptize? He who is to wash others musr first be clean himself. T o be sure, the Prussians are baptized, but they know as little of the true faith as they did before. When the Brothers invade foreign lands they scnd the Pnrssians before them, to shed human blood. These Prussians need no urging; they burn churches, carry on worse than Turks; and the worse their behavior, the more pieased is the Order. For this reason we have refused to be baptked-we do nor wish to become like the Prussians. "The evil began with us slowIy, but it grows daily, The Brothers have taken all our fruit and beehives from us; have set the yoke of degrading work upon our necks which once were free; have Iaid intolerabIe burdens on our servanrs, serfs, peasants, and tenants; have taken our hunting and fishing away, and have forbidden us to trade wirh neighboring countries. "I-lardest of a11 to bear was the fact that- they carried o f f our chiIdren each year as hostages; but not being satisfied after taking away roo such children, showing no human compassion, they dragged our wives away from us. "We plead wirh you-hear us! hear, you who love justice! W e wouId sooner weep than talk. They have bound the most powerful among us in chains and taken them to Prussia as serfs; some they have burned with their wives for refusing to part with their children. These men of the Cross have abducted our sisters and young daughters by force and-we say it with bitter sorrow-have defiled them; this is rnanifcst and w e can prove it. For a man named Kircuris, one of the mightiest boyars of our Iand, had a very beautiful daughter, whom these same Brothers maliciously abducted, T h e girl's brother could not endure this, and when he was obliged to see how one of rhe Order violated his sister, he ran him through with his sword. A great and noblc boyar named Wyssygynn, along
65
THE THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC K ~ I G H T S
67
with his wife and children, were dragged to Prussia where a11 were killed. They burned the boyar Swolken's house and viIIage and killed the inhabitants; he himself barely escaped. Bur another, SlmgaIo, they beheaded, and forced his whole famiIy into slavery. "Wear, you Christian princes! We have nothing to look forward to but dsath by murder and that their swords'will become red with our blood. They have postponed our baptisms, have built no churches in our country and have appointed no priests. Only the nobIe princes Witold and Jagello have, in friendIy manner, instructed some of our peopIe in the Christian faith. Take piry on us! W e beg t o be baptized. But remember that we are human beings, nor dumb beasts which are given away, bought and sold; we are God's creatures whom H e formed in His image and in the freedom of the children of God; and this freedom we want to preserve and use. Therefore, we pray to our heavenly Father that he receive us through the Polish bishops, into the boSom of the Church. For we wish to be baptized, but not with blood." *
Prussia and the 'Wew Germany"

Even Treitschke-alrhough he still finds inspiration for his neo-Prussian zeal in the history of early Prussia-must acknowledge: 'The nbn-Germanic people are prevented from receiving an education. Balthasar Ruessow complains that, of a thousand peasants, hardly one can repeat the Lord's Prayer by heart. The children scream and dogs slink away when a German enters the smoke-filled hut of the Esthonian. In the clear nights of the short but hot summer, these miserabre people sit under the birch, the favorite tree of their dull poetry, and sing stealthily a song of hatred for these German wolves: 'You
As quoted by Kotzebue.
Germans-swell yourselves up before all peoples of the world; nothing w e poor Esthonians do suits you; therefore down with you to deepesr Hell.' For centuries such hatred on the part of the vassals and such severity on the part of the masters continued; only during rhe period of Russian rule did the German nobiIiry decide to free the peasants from these yokes which tied them to the Iand." But Treitschke adds, wirhout seeming to condemn such behavior: "By these exgmpIes we can estimate the significance of the Gemelaimtion of Old Pmssia." This sentence characterizes, moreover, the entire attitude of the Prussian historical school on the subject of cruelty inflicted, or abuses committed in any epoch of Prussian history. These writers adopt a nonchalant manner; and are not concerned with moral considerarions. They insinuate that the sort of behavior for which the ancestors of present-day Prussianisrn are criticized should be considered perfectly legirimate, in the past as well as the future; for such behavior can be explained as a sort of "Spartan harshness" which is indispensable to rhe welfare of the Order, or r o rhc welfare of its successor, the Stare. It would not have been proper for these Knights to become weakened in the pursuit of their fixed aims by such idle considerations as charity, fairness, gratitude or humanity. In discussing the revolt of the oppressed Borussians (around 1260) who, for some ten years, seemed to have been triumphant, Treirschke says: "Afrer ten years, during which the German domination over rhe Borussians was almost destroyed, rhe days of vicrory again came to the Order through the determined efforts of Landmarshal Konrad von Thierberg . . . and during the next ten years, the supremacy of the Germans was esrabIished through death and destruction. . . . Having once learned their Iesson from this dreadful experience, the Order was
68
THE CAVALCmE OF T H E TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
69
henceforth to adopt a new and harsher policy towards those whom they subjugated." The "dreadful experience" to which Treicschke refers was the almost compIete destruction of German domination. T o prevent recurrence of this, which Treitschke considers the worst of all eventualities, a "harsh policy" seemed indispensable. This was, perhaps, regrerrable, bur what could one d o if there was no other way out? "Having previousIy been extolled as the propagator-as the rock-of Christian faith and as an instrument of Peace, Prussia has now become worthy of the name of the New Germany," says Treitschke (Note that Treitschke thus designates the Order's State of r 260.) Actually, Treitschke might better have said that rhe Teutonic Order, having until then been successful in camouflaging itself as a Christian Order, was henceforth obliged, under the pressure of events, to show its true face, and to proceed with all the ruthlessness and seIfishness inherent in its basic principles-the principles with which it had been endowed by Frederick I1 and Hermann von Salza. In this manner, ir was in future centuries to bccome what Treitschke, writing in 1886, has designated as the "New Germany1'--which name it still bears as part of its present-day mask. The greater part of the Order's political innovations and attitudes have survived until our time. Eventually the Barussians of the thirteenth century dared to revolt against rheir "masters." "The Prussians [Borussians] had farfcited all their rights through revolr," says Treitschke. "Peace treaties with the conquered were now a thing of the past; in their pIace came subjugation and the imposition of rerms dictared entirely by the degree of guilt and by military considerations. The majority of Prussian nobles were reduced ro a state of serfdom but the German peasants and those Prussians who had remained faithful, including the serfs, enjoyed
great privileges. The Order had entire townships resealed in regions where they might be less threatening. Just as the entire Order's State appears to us as a later-day 'March'+ in the Carolingisn tradition so the duties it imposed on the conquered served the highest purposes of the State Of the German philosophers and rheoreticians of the nineteenth centilry who were referred to in rhe first chapter, some produced what were apparentIy original ideas. Others cited Machiavelli for justification. But actually all these ideas can be clearIy discerned three centuries before Machiavdli in the activities of the Teutonic Knights of the thirteenrh century. And this last qhotation from Treitschke which describes the basic methods of the Teutonic Knights is like a blueprinr for present-day Hiderian conquesr.
. . ."
The Junker Caste

We shall not go into derails concerning the formation of the Prussian State by rhe Teutonic Knights, nor the ups and downs of rhe wars which they conducted. We are simply concerned here with showing the origins and evolution of that spirit which characterized the Pan-Prussians of the nineteenth century and of the beginning of the twentieth century-the spirit which stilI characterizes the Germany of today, regardless of the names by which it has been called. But the tradition we are discussing here does not belong exclusively to the realm of ideas. W e are also facing a powerful combinarion of actual economic interesrs established, in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries among the followers of the Knights, and which may be traced right down to our time. Behind its front, which has been changed frequently in che course of centuries, this combination of interests represented a?z important m o t i v e force for keeping alive '"Mark" i n German.
70
THE THOUSAND-Y EAR CONSPIRACY
T H E CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTONIC KKlGRTS
7'
those ideas of grandeur of the State and devotion to it which have been propagated in Prussia from the times of the Knights down to the present. The Knights benefited-personally and as an Order-more than a11 others in the conquest of Prussian territory. But thousands of nobIes soon came fram various sections of Germany and settled near the Knights. We can consider these nobles the second most favored of aII the groups which gained by the conquest. They were for the most parr advenrurers Iured by profits to these Iands where a Crusader was ganted every liberty. Here these sons of noblemen-whether they had not yet come inro their inheritances, or had squandered them recklessly-might hope to make their fortunes in short order. For some years they served in the armies of the Order without actually taking the Order's vows. Then, thanks to the connections they had made in the Order, they were able to seize estates owned by Borussians or by other native people. They used the whip on the native peasants to compel the cultivation of rheir lands and rreated them as slaves. These adventurers arrived in the Borussian terrirory withour possessions, practically beggars. They were calIed the "Eetteijunker" (beggar squires) StiiI others were in the group surrounding the Order. There were former members of the Order who had deserted it to marry. There were brothers and cousins of affluent Knights who came to settle where they might profit by their close connections. Then, too, many of the Borussian nobility, now Gemanired and ready to accept the most humiliating conditions in order to save their estates, allied themselves with the Betreljunkers during the three centuries referred to above 'which were the "Golden Age" of the Teutonic Order. All these groups intermarried and formed thousands of intermingling ties among themselves, to protect through the comThirreenrh, fourteenth and tifteenth centuries.
plicity of the Order the priviIegcs by which a11 of them profited. It is the descendants of these groups-the Berreljunkers, the defrocked Knight-friars, the reIatives of the Knights, and the Germanized B o r u s s i a n ~ w h o later formed the caste of Prussian junkers which was to have so great an influence on the affairs of Germany down to our t h e . From the monastic austerity of the Order stemmed what became known Iater as "Prussian discipline." Despite this austerity, rigorously imposed wherever relations between Knights or the Order's interests were concerned, an extraordinary Iaxity of morals prevailed among the Knights in Prussia. The behavior of the Landjunkers, who were nor directly under monastic discipline, was largeIy responsible for the abuses flourishing in the Order's State. This contradictory situation, Spartan discipIine intermingled with flagrant abuse, reflecred the lasting alliance between representatives of two ideas of life to the advantage of each. It was to remain characteristic of Prussia until rhe present, and more recentjy (since r 8,'0), of Germany dominated by Prussia. In a work published in 1904 (Gescbichte des deutschen Ordens) the German wrirer, Car1 Lampens, characterizes as foIlows the behavior of these ancestors of the Junkers: "Instead of treating the natives with Christian love, the Order pemirted the tyranny of the Landjunkers, as well as that of their own Iocal regents in the newly conquered lands. In a town where the populace had reverted to heathenism, one of these regents, Hermann von Altenburg, had the vilIage exits Iocked, and sIowly burned to death aU the inhabitants. T h e Landjunkers wanted to live only at the expense of the narives, whom they intended to make their persona1 sIaves. When we realize how these Junkers carry on today, in those very provinces, we can we11 imagine what it must have been Iike at that time, when there was no opposition press, nor an opposition parliamentary group which
...
72
THE CAVALCADE
OF THE 'TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
73
might defend the rights of the oppressed." his was written in r904 when there were, we may say, per interim,an opposition press and parliamentary group in Prussia.
The Borussidn Strain
Attempts have often been made t o determine whether or not the Borussian heritage runs deep in the blood of presentday Prussians, and particuIar1y t-he Junlcer Prussians. It wouId be no easier to gauge exactly the erhnic contribution of the Borussians to the present-day Prussian group than to evaluate, for example, the precise contribution of the Saxon, as compared with the Norman, to the EngIish of the twentieth century. Bur we do not need precise, statistical figures to form a genera1 idea of the result of the mingling of Teutonic with Slavic eIements in the Prussians. Despite strict monastic ruIe over the inner life of the Order, the Knights, in their outside behavior, more nearly resembled the barbaric Teutons of Tacitus than the founders of the Church which preached Charity: pre-Christian elcments survived among both the Teutonic Knights and those who surrounded them-the ancestors of the Junkers. The examples set daiIy by the savage Borussians to the Germans and the marriages between the German Junkers and the Borussian Christian proserytes (who never really understood the moral teachings of the Church) emphasized pre-Christian traits in the Prussianism born of this curious fusion. If we bear in mind that their descent from these pre-Christian or, if we prefer, "barbarous" ancestors is relatively recent, we can better understand the peculiar behavior of the rwentiethcenmry Junkers-for exampie the cruel methods of the Fehme in the period after the first World War. Only six centuries have passed since Borussian wives were obGged to render absolute obedience to their husbands, failing which they were burned alive. Lampens tells of the following inci-
dent which occurred during the wars between the Knights and Borussians: "Tlie High Priest invoked the Gods; whereupon the Holy OracIe of Romnwe promised the heathens victory, on condition that a German Christian woman offer of her own free will to be burned in sacrifice-a tribute to their Gods. T h e heathens actually found such a woman who, after becoming satiate with all the pleasures of debauchery, climbed up on the fanera1 pyre. And now the Prussians arose in their unired st-rength." The immediate descendants of these Borussians married the daughters of the Bettdjunkers and contributed to rhe forrnation of a caste which may in many respects be considered a surviva1 of the darkest Middle Ages. T h e primitive virtues of these unciviIized people were destroyed, but their traditions of cruelry merged, by a sort of osmosis, with the harshness and arrogance of the German Knights. Kotzebue says about this: "All the moral practices and customs of these people, induding, unfortunately, its virtues, were later to suffer various rnutations, because they were unhappily fused with the superstition and blasphemy of the German Christians. . . . They believed in evil spirits, who would drive the possessed to jump into the water and flames. Along the BaItic seacoast, men fishing for amber would be harassed by ghosts on horseback. Sorcerers carried on their weird business. Pagan rites were still being celebrated in the black of night. The churches remained empry."
The "Two" Gemzanies

T h e pure virtues of the city bourgeoisie and their strict adherence to the principles of Christian morality were in curious contrast to the very peculiar moral conceptions of the Teutonic Knights and their entourage. Already, at this point,
THE: THOUSAND-Y EAR CONSPIRACY 74 we can distinguish between "good" and "bad" Germany, but the Iatter had not yet achieved the preponderance it was to assume in the future. Konebue says the folIowing on this subject: "To the shame of the noble monks, the bourgeoisie remained firm in their morality and order. In the cities, schools were flourishing. Each guild complied with the laws, which assured them peace, decency and virtue. N o one could come armed to morning services. Whiie merry-making, 'none must behave in a manner disgraceful t o the sight or sound' on penaIty of one pound of wax, 'None shall Iack respect for the aged, nor shall one offend his neighbor by calling him by an evil name.' They had already formed a club at this time known as the Cornpanye, whose rules, if broken in word or deed, imposed a fine on the violator of one barrel of honey. Similar fines were levied on drunkards. Only after vesper belIs had rung would gatherings be permitted, and taverns had to be shut at nine o'cIock. No carnivals or fairs except during Shrovctide; women to visit their suitors only during certain limited hours; journeymen not to be allowed time off on the morning foIlowing a Feast Day. "And thus Prussia offered the curious spectacle wherein rhe immorality of the leaders did not corrupt their subjects and where integriry had fled from the Knight's castle to the burgher's cottage." This opposition between two conrradictory approaches to life was the same in all sections o f Germany, where the Teutonic Knights, reaching o u t from their Prussian fief, had succeeded in establishing a local command in the principal cities. T h e Order was everywhere detested by the bourgeoisie, and conflicrs were frequent. Contrast between them was not confined to the differences in their personal standards but included their social behavior as well. The bourgeoisie could not forgive the numcrous broken promises of the Order and others of its acts--inspired aIternately by cynicism and hypocrisy-
75
which were striking affronts to their own understanding of good and evil. ITere we see before us two contradictory Germanic deveIoprnenrs which occurred independently of one another until the middIc of the nineteenth century. T h e one, characrerizing the greater part of Germany, was essentially Christian, and formed part of what we cal1 "Western civilization." The other, proceeding in a direct Iine from the ambitions GermanoRoman emperors, was localized in Prussia. Representatives of the lamer rendency recognized no rights but their own, and regarded with great disdain the cooperative, aItruistic spirir prevailing in orher German States. They described this spirit as the result of "degeneration" and patiently awaited the moment when they could annihilate it in their domination over the rest of Germany. T h e moment was to come under Bismarck. The Arsus~inntionrof Daazig
T h e assassination by the Order of the burgomasters of Danzig in r q r r was an event long recalled by the city bourgeoisie. FoIlowing the battle of 1410, in which the Knights had suffered the mosr crushing defeat in their history a t the hands of the Poles, the Chief Burgomaster of Danzig, Konrad Lczkau, disguised as a PuIish beggar, succeeded in passing through the Polish lines. He managed t o warn the Margrave of Brandenburg and othcr German princes, who hurriedIy dispatched considerable reinforcements to the Knights. In the Order's tradition gratitude befitrcd only the weak; so the Knights imposed heavy taxes and restrictions on the city of Danzig, and when their erstwhile benefactor, Konrad Lezliau, protcsted bitterly against such behavior, the fuII rage of the IocaI Comrhur was unIeashed against him. Upset and unhappy at such a state of affairs, Konrad and the city councillors tried to appease the Knights and a solemn reconciliation took place
76
77
before the church altar, where both the councilIors and the Comthur of the Order promised to forget their differences and to Iive in peace with one another in the future. Pretending to celebrate this reconciliation, the Comthur invited Konrad and his colIeagues to a grear banquet to be given in their honor at the Knights' castIe on Palm Sunday. Lezkau, two other burgomasters, and a councillor accepted the invitation. On their way to the castle they met the Comthur's jester, who said to them jokingly: "If you knew what they were cooking, you might not come to eat." One of Lezkau's colleagues was frightened at these words and returned home. The orhers, under the exhortations of the worthy Konrad, whose honest soul could never suspect the viIIainy of the Knighrs, entered the castle and were immediately seized. Brought before the Comthur and his Knights, violent insults assailed them from a11 sides, but they had the courage to keep caIm. Thereupon the Comthur summoned the hangman of Elbing, a neighboring city, and ordered him to execute the three prisoners. T h e hangman refused, saying that it was not his custom to execute men unIess there were legally constituted judgments. He was severely whipped for his insolence and the Knights decided to do rhis work themselves, and first celebrated their decision in drink for severaI hours. T h e prisoners were then brought: in. The Knights "leaped at them like mad dogs" (say the chroniclers) and kiIled them with knives and swords. Lezkau suffered ten wounds and his throat was cur, while one of his colleagues suffered sixteen wounds, and the third seventeen. For several days thereafter the Order tried to keep secret what had happened, and they even had their guards accept the daily provisions brought each day by rhe wives of the rhree men. The wives were told what foods their husbands supposedly would like to eat on the folIowing day, so that they might bring ir. Finally, in response to the demands of the municipality, protesting againsr rhe Order's right to with-
hold their Ieaders arbitrarfiy, the Comthur had the bodies of the three burgomasters thrown in front of the castle gates. The citizenry, speechless with sorrow, brought back the bodies and buried them. One might think that the Grand Master, having learned of these events, would perhaps have decided to punish the Danzig Knights, so that the Order might not be identified with such procedures. He did nothing of rhe sort. On the canrrary, the wives and children of the assassinated burgomasters were driven from the city, and all their goods were confiscated.
From Order to Duchy
In rhe fifteenth century occurred the events which weakened the Teutonic Order and finally led to the creation of the Prussian securar State. In order to defend themselves against the abuses and autocracy of the Order, the bourgeoisie in the Prussian cities formed a protective "Bund" in 1438, which was named the "ibfarienwerder Eund," for the site of the place where the organization was formed. The spirit of decency and cooperation was rising against the principles of exploitation and narrow egoism, In the German cities, the Hansa's traditions were in full flower. This league of merchant cities, the Hansa, found both its function and its prosperiry in the exchange, rather than the usurpation of other people's goods. United, the members of the Bund considered themserves suficientIy strong to oppose the Ordcr-this vulture which terrorized them. At first the Bund protested simply against the exactions of the Order. But in 1453 the Emperor upheld the Knighrs, and severely reprimanded the Bund. The Iatter, enraged, declared war against the Order in 1454. The Knights trembled, knowing very well the strength of the cities. The fortified "burgs7' of the Knights, those detested wrongholds which had been
78 THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY dominating the cities from their outskirts, soon fell, one by one, into the hands of the revoIting bourgeoisie. At the end of a few weeks the Iatter had seized fifty-six of these burgs. The war Iasted for thirteen years and claimed heavy casualties on both sides. The cities asked assistance of rhe King of PoIand, whom they invited to extend his reign over Prussia -"this country originarly evolved from the 'crown of Poland.'" The burghers who, for the most part, were Germanspeaking, made this request because they were convinced that all their misfortunes dated from the time of the Knights' reign over their country, and that the Polish kings would show much greater respect for their rights and traditions. The Knights finally realized that they could no longer continue the struggle. Their army, which had totaled 7 1,000 men ar: the beginning of the war, had now decreased to 1700 men. The peace treaty that was signed at Thorn in 1466 represented a complete defeat for the Order. The countries of Cdm, MicheIau and Pornerania-Minor, with their principal cities of Thorn, Danzig, Elbing, Marienburg and the bishopric of Ermeland, came under Polish rule. The Order was allowed to retain the resr of its territory, but the Grand Master, as a "Duke of PoIand," was now obliged to yield to the King. Half the officials of the Order, in the Iands under irs administration, would from now on be Poles. The cities were to be protected, and it was forbidden for the Order to burden them with any new laws or taxes. Following the sigrung of the treaty, the Grand Master humbled himseIf on bended knee before King Casirnir. The Iatter quickIy helped him to his feet, tears in his eyes. The onIy German prince who had aided the Order was the Margrave of Brandenburg, Frederick voa HohenzolIern.*
*The Hohenzoltcrns, natives o f Swabia (which was part of Bavaria), were the "Burgraves" (IocaI rulers) of Nurcrnberg. In 141 x they wcrc raised ro the rank of Margrave of Brandenburg by Emperor Sigismund in exchange for a loan o f ~cm,oooHungarian florins, a loan greatly appreciated by the Emperor, who was constantly i n need of money.
T H E CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
79
The Margrave and the Order had concluded an unusual pact, promising to give mutual aid to one anorher against the subjects of each. I t was the Margrave who, in 1466, acting in the name of the Order, negotiared the peace with the King of Poland for the Knights, Relations between the Order and the Hohenzollerns were now excellent, It is understandabIe then, that the Knights considered it useful in r 51I to elect Albert of Hohenzollern and Brandenburg to the dignity of Grand Masrer of the Order, which post he filled with furl understanding of the Order's traditions and aims. Nevertheless, it was AIbert who was responsible for the secularization of the Order's State. ActualIy the Teutonic Knights for some rime now had been much more a carte controlling a State, than a Monk's Order serving religious ends. The Knight-officials were most influential, and directed everything for the benefit of the Order, of themselves, and of the Junkers, with whom they were united by bonds of kinship, friendship and complicity. A very small minority of the Knights were stilI faithful to the religious traditions, but they had no influence on the Order. Albert did nothing but give official status to an existing condition, when in I S z 5 he transformed the Order's State into the heredirary Duchy of Prussia (with approvaI of the King of Poland, who remained suzerain of the Duchy as he had been of the Order's State). The occasion for this act was the Reformation, the ideas of which Albert allowed to penetrate deeply into the Order. This had curious consequences, for it was possible for some time to witness the strange spectacle of an Order of Monks, of whom some were Catholic but the majority Lutheran; an Order having two initiation rituals with sIighr differences between them-one for the Catholic Brothers and the other for the Lutheran discipres. In reaIity there was nothing astonishing in rhis evoIution, for, as we have seen, the aIlegedly
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THE THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
8I
religious Order had been Gem= above all from the very time of its origin. Its function had never been spiritual, but was inspired exclusively by imperialistic purposes.
A "Hospital" for G m m Nobility

The transformation from the Order's State to Duchy did not a t all change the internal organization of the State. T h e former Knights retained their positions, but from now on it was possible for them to marry legally. Thus they found themselves on the same level as their allies, the Junkers. The few remaining Knights who were still faithful to the traditions of a closed and monastic Order emigrated to Mergentheim, there to continue as a living anachronism shorn of every purpose and function. Finally in 1809, Napoleon dissolved this phantom Order," b u t he did not shatter the forces of the true Teutonic Order, which, secularized and hiding behind a variety of masks, survived in the Prussian State. All sorts of organizations served as disguises. Secret societies had been functioning in the shadow of the Teutonic Order. T h e Junkers were not directIy subjecr to rules of the Order. They had found it useful to form bonds among tl~emselves, under protection of which they could further thcir own interests and pursue ends similar to those of the Order. As far back as I 397 there had been created a secrer Junker society known as the "Society of Lizards"-EidechsengesellscI3afta name whose symbolic significance may have been that its members' intention was to creep in among the fissures of the Order's State. Certain Grand Masters tolerated these act-ivities while others were more strict, as much toward rhe members of the Order as toward the Junkers, their accomplices. Lampens, lenient toward the Order and speaking from a distincdy German point of view, comments as follows on the
* Ic continued its cximcnce in Austria and was officially reestablished i n Prussia ac thc end of chc ninctcenth century by LVilhelm 11.
Eidechsengesellschafi (Geschicba des deutschm Ordens, 1904): "The Landjunkers, in their inconsiderate exploitation of the peasantry, faced constant obsracIes from the officers of the Order. Now a section of the Landjunkers formed an apparently harmless bur actually most treacherous association-the Eidechsengesellschait-claiming, as it is often said today, that its purpose was 'the protection of thcir own interests!' According t o the secret rules of this Association the Landjunkers were to support patriotic German interests only if this were to their own advantage. And already at that time they found their advantage only in the ruin of the rest of humaniry. The entire country existed for them alone, to be exploited and abused by them," Kotzebue claims that the "Society of Lizards" eventually became the real cause of the replacement of the Order by the Prussian State. . . . "Their foundation charter referred to the Grand Masters with respect and gave no hint that they would challenge rhe authority of the latter. Nevertheless they showed no hesitation later in decIaring that if justice were denied them they would take self-protective measures. And so even at this time, the seed had developed which after half a century was to push the srrong roots of the 'Order-Oak' out from the blood-soaked earth." The Order was eliminated from Prussia by the Junkers because the Junkers wanted to monopolize the supreme power of the State for their own advanrage. When the Grand Master, Albert von Hohenzollern, transformed the Order's State into a Duchy he was acting most probably, under the influence of this Society of Lizards. The Junkers had imagined, and correcrly, rhar they could have a more direct hold on the affairs of a political State than on those of a closed Order. The srrictness of the Order had ofren proved an annoying obstacle to outside influences, even those as powerful as the Junkers. From favored servants, they became Iord and master almost
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overnight. I-Icnceforth they couId say, as Louis XIV: "I am the State". If this State, by virtue of an ancient tradition, was destined to carry forward a world mission, they intended to execute this mission-ince they themselves were now to be the beneficiaries of all advantages. T h e Order itself had among its secret aims that of serving as a "EIospiral" for German nobiIity. W e have seen thar rhc Order of the Teutonic Knights was founded originalIy for the purpose of creating a hospital for thc German crusaders in rhe Holy Land. T h e Knights used rhc term "Hospital" in a symbolic sense (another example of the syrnbaiism common in the Middle Ages) and concealed behind it one of the aims of the Order-"conspiracy to promote the interests of a caste." This aspect of the Order definitely existed along with the imperialistic aspects so clearly defined in the Bull of Rimini, the true Charter of the Order. Kotrebue reIatcs that when the Grand Master begged for the help of the Margrave of Brandenburg, the former reminded him "that the Order had always been a Hospital for the German nobility." "The most apt one-word descriptian," adds Konebue, "which could possibly define this unnatural organization-the Order." From the time of its founding, the Order had a "secret" or "secrets." These secrets are mentioned frequently, and in the rules of the Grand Master Konrad von Ehrlichshausen, it is clearly stated that "the Order's secrets musr never bc rcvcaled before laymen or before the servants." This cannot be a reference to the Order's statutes as they were known to every one. The "secrets," then, can concern only a more detailed statement of the aims of expansion and conquest than was originally conrained in the intentionaIly vague Bull of Rimini; ar they might be related to the aim of protecting, in the Order's capaciry as a hospica1, rhe castc interests of the German nobiliry. This lamer aim was recognized but cIcverIy masked in the official name of the Order: "Order of the Gcrman Brnthcrs of the Hospital of Jerusalem." Only with this
doubIe purpose of rhe Order in mind can we undersrand all of the Order's attitudes and methods, frequently contradictory, as well as those of Prussia, and of Germany dorninated by Prussia, a t a later rime. It is this double naotive which explains the pursuit in a most rutldess manner of a mad plan for imperialism by the irnpersonal entity which was the Order and which today is the Stare. This "general interest" shouIdered out a11 private interesrs except where the interests of the German nobiliry were concerned-r rather of those German nobles who in the course of centuries had come to form the caste of Prussian Junkers. Their welfare was the supreme yet rarely acknowIedged goaI of rhe Order. The same double purpose which was pursued cenruries ago by the Order is carried on today by the Junker organizations. The "secrets" were the same in the thirteenth as in the nvenrieth century. C. J. Weber, in a work published in 1835 (Das Ritterwesen) which we mentioned before is surprised that the partisans of the Order were capable of describing it as a "NationaI Institute for the Nobility." This is the natural surprise of the enlightened man who, in the face of evidence, does not dare to beIieve that aravisric morality stiIl exists. On one occasion when the Order was severely criticized, this name, "the National Insdtute for the Nobility," was cited as an argument in its defense. Weber says of this, "It is almost comical. Would ic not be sharnefuI for an enlightened nation which knows its rights (I am dreaming here of the Germans as a nation) to tolerate such a National Institute for the Nobility? And would this not be a discrimination against other citizens of the State?" That was precisely the case.
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PRUSSIA COLMES
UP IN THE WORLD
85
CHAPTER III
P R U S S I A COlZlES U P I N THE WORLD

THE KXTGHT OFFICIALS, the real leaders of the Teutonic Order, rtlaintained their positions. The Junkers preserved their privileges. T h e sccrct societies* undcnook the task of keeping aIivc thc rnyscicism and the "conspirarional" aspect of the all the traditions of the Order. It may- therefore be said r h ~ c Teutonic Knights fully survived it1 the Duchy, and later in the Kingdom of Prussia. The family branch of Duke AIhert died nut in 1618. T h e Pnissian heritage passed to another Hohenzollern, the Elecror of Brandcnburg, who was henceforth to rule over both countries. He was, as Margrave of Brandenburg, under the Emperor, i~nd as Duke of Yrussia, a vassal to the King of Poland. But rhe Electors whr) followed werc much more concerned with being rulers of Prussia than of Brandenburg.
T h e Order's Traditions Szkwive in Diplomacy
d?rd
w-0
These elcctors no doubt wished to take advantage of the numerous traditions of the Order which had survived in Prussia ns well as of the unique tie-up of interests between the Junker organizations and the caste of oficials. They felt that rhey might carry out m u c h more ambirious plans thus than if they built their reign around the duI1 heritage of Brandenburg, whose history was hardly different and no more interesting than that of most of the other German principaIities.
"We shall see ac work the many subordinate organizations which thcse secret societies found it useful to create in the period rgr&rgjj.
Frederick William I, who was named the "Great Elector," contributed a great deaI to the maintenance and development of this Prusso-Teutonic tradition. H. Bauer (in Scbwert i m Osten, r93 2 ) comments on this with characreristic enrhusiasm: "In the creation of the Brandenburg-Prussian Stare by the Great Elector Frederick William I, the Start: concept which had existed in rhe old Order's State was revived. The moral strength of the officialdom and of the army of the Order was given new life. Under Frcderick the Sword in the East was raised in the old Prussian spirit of hardness, obedience and duty-the Sword through which the Reich (the age-old dream of all Germans) would be created anew." During the wars between Poland and Sweden, the Great Elector, alternately siding with each of these countries, manoeuvred with a duplicity so ingenious that he finally succeeded in having the complere independence of the Duchy of Prussia recognized by both countries. Later, under his son, Frederick, Brandenburg and the Duchy were transformed into the "Kingdom of Prussia." Frederick chose this latrer name because as sovereign of Brandenburg he would have been vassal of the Emperor. But a t the same time, by calling himself "King of Prussja," he showcd his intention of remaining faithfuI to Prussian traditions. His sovereignty for this reason received the support of the powerful ruling class composed of Prussian officials, descendants of the Knights and affiliates of the Junkers. His son Frederick 11, named Frederick the Great, increased the power of Prussia through aggressive wars, thus preserving cherished old-Prussian principles. He attributed these wars in his ~ersonaj memoirs simply to ambition. All the wars fought by the great EIector and Frederick the Great were wars of their own choice, as von Bernhardi stated in words previously quoted: "Of all the wars through which he [Frederick 11J led his people, not one was forced upon him." These men acted f o r rlie sole purpose of constantly extending the power
86
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of the Prussian State-just as the activities of the Grand Masters had been devoted solely to continuous expansion of the territory of rhe Order's State. Both were supported by the same feudal privileged class, whose modes of living had varied Iittle during the course of centuries.
N o Gernaan Unity Without junker Hegemony

The wave of revolution which swept Europe in r848 was directed a t these privileges, among other things, and also at the abuses for which they had been responsible. The junkers passed a few uneasy hours. But the upheaval was unsuccessfuI, in that it did nor reach the rrue root of the evil. In an enthusiastic but somewhat na'ive spirit, the revoIutionaries asked Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, to assume leadership of their movement and to accept the irnperia1 crown. T h e King, flattered by the offer, at first agreed; but soon "other influences made themselves felt," and he decIined the proposd. The high oficiaIs, the Junker Prussians and their aIIies in the armed forces * had vetoed this proposition. This action rnighr seem surprising on the part of a group which so strongly desired the aggrandizement of Prussia. As proven by Jater events, their aim was Prussian hegemony over the Reich as the first stage toward a more far-reaching hegemony. Yet, apparently, they did not wish to seize rhe opportunity offered them in I 848, whereby they might have unired the various German states under the mle of the King of Prussia: The reason for this is simpIe: the "Pan-Prussians" knew that such unification as was ~ossiblea t that time would be risky, since it would have been based on ideas much too democratic. Under such conditions there was absoIurely no guarantee that their feudal privileges (which for them came before
'The latter-the officers' corps-was composed of descendants of the
same
the interests of the State) wodd be preserved. The creed of the powerful "Society of Lizards" was stilI strong: "Patriotic interests arc to be supported only where they are to the interest of the Junkers." The Junkers preferred to wait until the unificarion of the Reich could be achieved on terns favorable to themselves: i.e., rhrough compIete seizure of power over a 1 1 orher German states by the Prusso-Teutonic clique. Bismarck. WilhcIm I1 to a certain extent. and finalIv Hitler were to achieve this task as the Prusso-Teutonics had conceived it, Carl Schurz, the German patriot of i 848, who later became a great political figure in America, described in his memoirs * the forces influencing the King of Prussia in 1848: "There was the landed aristocracy, the 'Junker' element, whose feudal privileges were theorerically denied by the revoIutionary spirit and practically invaded by the legislative action of rhe representatives of the people, and who arrfuIly goaded the King's pride. There was the old bureaucracy, the power of which had been broken by the revoIution, although irs personnc1 had but little been changed, and which sought to recover its former sway. There was the 'old Prussian' spirit which resenred any national aspirarions that might encroach upon the importance and self-appreciarion of specific Prussiandom, and which srill had strength in the country immediareIy surrounding Berlin [$I and in some of the easrern provinces. All these forces, which in a general rerm were populariy calIed 'the reaction,' worked together to divert the King from the course he had ostensibly taken immediately after the revolution of March, with the hope of using him for the largest possible restoration of the old order of thingswe11 knowing that if they controIled him, they would, through him, control rhe army and then with it a tremendous, perhaps decisive force in the conflicts to come."
The Reminiscmces of Cml Schurz, The McCIure Co.,New, Y&, 1907. was the seat of Prusso-Teutonic jnffurnce on the affairs of chc Srare.
caste as the first rwo groups, and preserved all military traditions of the Order.
t Pocsdam, in the suburbs of Berlin,
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T h e projects f.or German unification in accordance with the democratic plan of 1843-49 also met srrong resistance from Bismarck, who throughout his entire career had becn a faithful servant to the Prrrssian interests: "I believe that if we tvirhhold our supporr from these projects it will be easier for Prussia to bring about German unity in the manner already pointed out by thegovernment. If it came to the worst, however, I wouId rather that Prussia shauId remain Prussia, rhan see m y king lower himself so far as to become the vassaI of Rlessrs. Simon and Schaffrath's [democratic leaders of that time] poIiticaI associates. In her own characrer, she will always be in a position to give Iaws to Germany instead of receiving them from others." It is ;his, actually, with which the Prussian clique is concerned: to impose its o ~ l n a m on the resr of Germany, and we know exactly what is meant by these "laws." In 1849- ~ismarckmade a speech on rhe same question: "What has hitherto kept us going has just becn our specific Prussianism, rhe remains of the heretical old-fashioned Prussianism which has survived the Revolution, i.e., the Prussian army and exchequer, fruits of intelIigent Prussian adrninistrarion, and the vigorous interchangeable activity that connects King and People in Prussia. . . . T h e people, whose truest representarivc is that very army, does not desire to see its Prussian kingdom melt away in the putrid fermentation of South German insubordination." Its loyaIry is not attached to a proper Board of Directors of the Empire or to rhe sixth part of a Comcil of Princes, but to its living and free king
'The cxprcssion "people" employed by Bismarck in his discourse is actually a euphemism-designating rhar mass of Landjunkers who alone opposed realization of rhc dcmocratic plan of 1848, mrhcr than rhe true pcoplc, who had sup ortcd this plan. W h c n hc speaks of the "Prussian army," he obviously rczrs to thc body of offjccrs who, in thcir cniirettr, stem Iron1 the Junker class. As for the spirit of "South German insubordiLation," which lie vigorously opposes, this is, in rcsliry, tlie Cl~ristianand hrlmanirarian spirit, respecting rhe "righrs of man" which Bismarck and the Junkers conGdercd contrary to T c u c t ~ n i c traditions.
of Prussia, the heir of his ancestors. W e ali wish that the Prussian Eagle should spread its wings, alike protecting and ruling, from the hlemel to the Donncrsberg; but we want to see him free-not fettcrcd by a new Ratisbon Parliamenr, or supported on the pinions of those IcvelIing hedgeclippers at Frankfort. Prussians xve are, and Prussians we wilI remain; and I hope to God that we shzll continue to do so Iang after this scrap of paper wil1 be forgotrcn as tl~odgh it were a withered aururnn leaf." T h e Teutojzic Devil
...
In rhus declaring himself for "Prussian" principles, and opposing those principles which might be called "German," Bismarck supports a particular type of Germany, discriminating against the other. The "Prussianisrn" t o which he declares himself faithful (which as a nationality has had a much shortcr past than the German) is none other than the tradition of the Order, which has sumivcd-a Teutonic tradition of everlasting expansion, supported by a privileged caste, In distinction to this is found the other tradition of the industrious city-bourgeoisie, of the peaceful principalities and of rhe spirit o f cooperation of the Hanseatic League. In a moment of sincerity Bismarck wrore to one of his friends: "I have sold my sod to the Teutonic Devil" (so reports Moritz'Busch, his literary factotum, who was very devoted to him "). It is this very "Teutonic Devil" to whom all rhe "German grandeur" theoreticians of the nineteenth century sold their soul. Because this Teutonic DeviI was the same as the Prussian Devil, rhcy all, regardless of rheir own origins, came to consider Prussia as the only country, the only power capabIe of reaIizing their dreams. Morirz Busch devotes much time TO proving that although
' Moritz Busch, Bimnrck, translated by l i l l i a m Beatty-Kingston, Charles Scribner's Sons, N e w York, r 8 g i .
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Bismarck was born a Junker, had the Junker manners, and was the political ally of the Junkers, he was nevertheless not the Junker prototype. Busch had been very close to Bismarck, and is is Iikely he wished to present his hero in the light in which the latter preferred to appear. His thesis to a certain extent is valid. Bismarck throughout his career was sincereIy devoted ta the Prussian monarchy. The latter, despite its alliances with rhe Junkers, despite similarity of gods and methods, despite the origin of both from the Order, had finalIy evolved its own goak and traditions within the framework of rhis common background. (This commonly happens to institutions created t o serve the interests of others. When these institutions acquire an independenr existence, they end by developing their own traditions and aims, still prcscrving those which lay behind their origins. T h e Teuronic Order itself, having carried on the ambitions of Emperor Frederick II toward i?;?periurn mundi, ended by e n d ~ r v &these ~ ambitions with a more cnrnpIex meaning. knd the same appears to be rrue if we compare the Prussian-junker organizations with the true Teutonic Order.) The Prussian monarchy was a servile instrument for the Prussian Junkers, and as suih represented a most opportune f a ~ a d efor this group; but at-the same time it had its own exisrence and evidentlv cannot be considered absolutelv identical with the latter.* Busch, ro whom one may refer withour being accused o f having preconceived ideas against Bismarck, says this of his idol: "He is descended from an ancient family of country nobles,
Just s o , in 1918. the monarchy, because of its rblc as fagade, had ro bear the enrirc responsibiliry for rhe dCb3clc. Because rhis monarchy exisred as a separate entit)-, i t was possible to suppress ir without actually affecung the forces which hid behind it. Suppression of the monarchy seemed ro be remedy enough. T h e Prussian Junkers (with their affiliations in the army, among the osciafs and, since the creadon and devclo ment of German industry-among heavy indusrry as well) were a muc! more dangerous group than had been their front organization-the monarchy; and rhcy were thus able ro maintain their position. They could do so because their activities and their secret organizations escaped gcneral attention.
inhabiting the Marches, which has supplied to the Pmssian kings a number of 'Junkers,' all of whom became officers in the army, not a few dying rhe death on the battleherd, under Frederick the Great and during the W a r of Emancipation, for Honor and their Country. When he had grown up to early manhood, rhe 'junkerish' attributes above aiIudcd r-arrogance, high temper and brusquerie-were strongly developed in him; the leas1 objecrionable of them, however, were the most salient. As a student, he was notorious for a spicy tongue and a ready sword; the older citizens of Goettingen still bear his wild tricks in mind." T h e descriprion of Junker manners in the character of the young Bismarck corresponds trait for trait with the traditional prototype of rhe Teutonic Knighrs, the ancestors of the Junkers. Busch has a few apoIogetic passages here on the subject of the Junker connecrions and attitudes of Bismarck: "The Chancellor was a Junker; he Jived a junker's life for a considerable time, and t o some extent represented the views of his fellow-Junkers. As a Minister, however, he belonged t o the party designated by the epithet 'Junkerdom' only to the extrnr: thar, like itself, he was a Royalist in thought and feeIing, and, above all, objected to Parliamentary government. . . If he were sryled 'soldier' instead of 'Junker'-if hk militarism were gmrnbIed a t instead of his Junkerdom-there would be some sense in such a view of his character, although it would be no reproach to him. What is spoken of as militarism is in reality that Prussian discipline by virtue of which all the forces in rhe State, all the mcmbers of the governmental organism in its various branches, work together with one common object-that system, the first principle of which for a 1 connected with it (from rhe lowest to the highest in rank, including the Sovereign) is obedience, or rather the subordination of each individual's personal inclinations and opinions to those of his immediate official Superior in particu-
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lar, and to the interests of the State in generaLL Every part of this system is an accurate fit, dovetailing admirably with the part adjoining it; a11 goes on smoothly, as in the army, which 1s mereIy the mosr marked outcome of the spirit animating a11 our State institutions and officials, besides being the chief and cenrral schooI in which that spirit is imparted to the population at l a r ~ e . "Such system as this-of which Bismarck himself once said: 'I am ambitious t o deserve one day the praise bestowed by history upon Prussian discip1ine'-is quite compatible wich an abundant measure of po1iticaI liberty, but not with the ParIiamentary form of government demanded by our Liberals . . . Bismarck is the incorporate ideal of the Prussian officer and official, not of the Prussian Junker. Nothing short of stupidity or dishonesty can account for any man mistaking him in this respect. Future generations will not be guilty of such folly o r wickedness, ~usch-here seems to be raisinp " an issue over words. For if wc restrict the use of the expression "Junker" t o that class of Prussian "country-squires" living in their Middle Age pandise, Bismarck, although springing from this very cIass, far surpassed them in scope and daring. Busch says that in the final analysis Bismarck should be considered basicalIy as a Prussian officer or oficial. However we know that these Prussian officers and officials are sons and rrrandsons of the same " Prussian "country-squires," o r that they are descended from other officers and officials whose families, since the time of the Order. had been clvselv allied with the Landiunkers. Considering a11 this, we are justified in saying that a11 thcse elements really formed one great caste-regardless of whether we caU it Junker or not. Because he was more intelligent than the class he represented, because he had rravelIed abroad, Bis-
+ T h e adherence by Hisnlarck and the cnrire Prussisn school to the prino Przisriala discipline, ciple of obedience; to the izterests of the State and r is, as we have seen, the product o f a long tradition srcmming from the Teutonic Order.
became more "civilized" and developed a much broader outlook than his associates. T h a t is why he might have appeared, ar rimes, to be deviating from his original course. This was not so, for Bismarck untiI the end of his career continued to serve the forces which had descended direcrIy from the Teutonic Order, aIways with the same devotion and ruthlessness: he simply used a little more tact in his actions than did his masters. Busch's division of the Prussian ruling class into army officers, officials and Junkers goes back, under different names, to the time of rhe Order. T h e Prussian army officers were formerly Teutonic Knights scrving rhc Order by the sword. T h e Prussian oficiaIs had previously been "O6cials of the Order." Lastly the junlrers were descended in a direct line from tf~ose friends and relativcs of the Knights who had come to Prussia as no more than Betteljunkcrs, and who had seized the lands with the compIicity of the Knights, at the same time absorbing the remnants of the Germanized Rorussian nobility. It is this Trinity-holy only to those individuals participating in it-which for cenruries has been the keystone of Prussian affairs, and which has also become the keystone of Germany, since the time the "Reich" became equivalent t o "Greater Prussia." This tripartite caste was no vague entiry, but was well organized. Its tactics and direction were determined by the secret societies we have discussed. Thc Junkers, Prussian "councry-squires," played a dominant r81e within this group. They were concerned with preserving the advanrages derived from rights which permitted them to exploit their land and men by methods used in the MiddIe Ages. Because they maintained great unity among rhernselves, they were in a position to exercise much influence behind the scenes in aII questions of political significance, and to make their opinions respected during a11 periods of Prussian history. Their aims did not differ much from those of the army officers and officials
94
95
who remained their faithful allies, but because they were better organized than the others and financially more independent, they were at all times more influential in the affairs of the State. Further, the Junkers were concerned with the interests of the State only so long as they could maintain it as a servile instrument in their own hands. T h e Prussian army officers and civic officials, many of whom were related to Junkers (a fact which contributed to greater interdependence of the three groups), loyally carried out the Junkers' intentions. A sort of "local patriotism" masked private interests: these interests were, for the Junkers, the mison d ' h e for this association. As for the officers and officials, the State had symbolically taken the place of the Order and they intended to serve it with almost monastic submission and discipline. Collaboration with the Junkers who were the masters of the State was simply a matter of doing their duty-their Prussian duty; and, in doing it, they used all the traditional harshness of Prussian methods.
The Technique of "Isolation"

It is Bismarck who extended Prussian power over all other German States with the exception of Austria; Bismarck who in 1848-49 did everything to prevent the King of Prussia from accepting the crown of Germany. King Frederick William had to yield actual control of royal power because of his mental state, which had become precarious. His brother William was elected Regent. T h e new Regent believed as strongly as did Bismarck in the necessity for uniting Germany under P r u s s i h hegemony. H e was hesitant as t o the methods to be pursued in this. Bismarck was to provide these methods for him. When Frederick William died in I 86 I , the Regent became King William and in 1862 he named Bismarck Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Prussia. Bismarck's political experience dated back nine years. Dur-
ing part of this time he had represented Prussia in the Diet of the German Bund* at Frankfort, where he spent his time principally in struggle against Austria, which had a great influence on other German States. T h e Prussians considered Austria as their only rival for German hegemony, and cost what it might, she was to be eliminated from the scene. Moreover, Austria, with the urbane and kindly methods of her administration was, for Bismarck, a shocking antithesis to Prussian harshness and severity. As such she influenced the other German States in a way which the Prussians considered pernicious. She had, therefore, to be eliminated at any price. Four years spent as ambassador to the Russian court familiarized Bismarck with the intrigues of diplomacy; so that when he came to power in 1862 he brought with him both national and international experience as background for the battle he was going t o wage. A t first Austria still seemed too influential for Bismarck to consider immediately eliminating her from the Bund. Therefore it was first necessary to "isolate" her. T h e Prussian technique for isolating an adversary from his allies has always been the same since the early times of the Teutonic Order: first, making overtures t o the country or the Prince who was to be isolated; second, after the victim fell into the trap, pointing out t o his allies that the former was willing t o go along without them. Generally this was enough to isolate him completely. In 1863, while discussions on the eventual reorganization of the Bund were taking place, Prussia demanded permanent presidency of the Bund, on an equal footing with Austria. T h e proposal was rejected b y the latter. But Bismarck found another occasion to tie up with Austria, and to trap this country into isolation from the other German States. In 1864, the Bund favored the cause of the Prince of Au* T h e only existing bond between German states at that time. It included
Austria.
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gustenburg in his struggle with the King of Dcnmark over the Duchics of the Elbe, Schleswig-IIoIstein and Laucnburg, which had been occupied by Denmark. T h e Rund artempted to restore sovereignty over these Duchies to the Prince. Rismarck persuaded Austria to ignore the stand taken by the Bund, and to remain on the sidelines. In a rrcary signed in 1864, Austria and Prussia decided to act on the question as independent powers, and to determine by common agreement the fate of the Duchies of the Elbc (without considering the desires of the Bund for return of these Duchies to the hugustenburg family). In his memoirs, Bismarck acknowledges that, by acting supposedly far the "liberation of Germans from Danish oppression," he ivns endeavoring above all to procure rhese territories for Prussia. He had cIearly realized that the port of KieI and the canal connecting the Xorth Sea to the Baltic might some day serve as a base for the estabIishmcnt of Prussian naval power. He was aware thar his aims could be rcaIizcd only rhrough conclusion of treaties which even before signing them he intended ro violate. But he confesses aIso (resuming here a thesis xvhosc rnora1 inspiration stemmed from rhe Order, and which is found repeated among the Prussian theoreticians of tI~enineteenth century) rhat a treaty had but little value to him zi~zless it p i n e d dditio~zalvoiidiy, after its co~cli~sion, t h ~ o u g hthe concorda.lrt interests of the contracting pwties. In August, 1864, following a short and victorious campaign by the Prussian and Austrian armies against the Danes, Bismarclr signed the Treaty of Vienna, in which SchleswigHolstein and Lauenburg were to be administered jointly by Austria and Prussia. From this point on, Bismarck concerned himseIf solely with eIiminating his associate, Austria, from the pact which had been concluded. Austria felt that she was drawn by Prussia into an equivoca1 and embarrassing position with respect t o thc orher German States. T o regain their confidence sire now
began t o look with favor on the settlement proposed b y the Bund, which carled for the return of the Duchies to the Prince of Angustenburg. Bismarck refused to subordinate rhe concluered territories t o rhe authority of the existing Bund, bur declarcd himself ready to negotiate with a reorganized Bund, from which husrria would be excluded. On June 14, 1866, the Diet rejected the Prussian proposal by a vote of nine to six. The following day, Prussian troops marched a,malnst ' Austria, crossing through Saxony. After a campaign of seven weeks, Austria was defeated at Koeniggraetz.
A Tentncle Reaches Out

With her only rival fur German hegemony thus easily eliminated, Prussia now profited from the propitious psycholo~ical moment, ro impose her t c m s on the Gernlan Stares. Austria had.to accept a "new G e m a n organization without the participation of Austria." T w o confederations were established: the Norrh German Bund, incIuding a11 States north of the Main River, and the South German Bund. Relations between the t w o Bunds were to be defined in subsequent conventions, T h e North German Bnnd was 10 have rhe King of Prussia as irs permanent and hereditary ruIcr. T h e Duchies of the Elbe were simply annexed by Prussia, as were the north Gernian States which had previously favored Austria: I-IesseKasscI, Hanover, Nassau, and the frec city of Frankforr. Half of Bismarck's plan was now accomplished: all north Gcrman States were henceforrh under Prussia's control. T h e North in its entirety had always had more undersranding of Prussian rnerhods rhan had the South. Bismarck could therefore hope to impose on it the severity of Prussian discipline, and in this manner establish Prussia's rule over a limited territory as a first step toward further expansion. I1e thought that this progressive expansion would afford him rnucfi better opportunirics for final success.
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Of d l the princes dispossessed from their estates in 1866, only the royal family of Hanover continued for many years
to prorest against the Prussian action. The Duke of Nassau and rhe Elector of Hesse formaI1y renounced their righrs, and the daughter of the Duke of Augustenburg married the young prince 1ViIliam of Hohenzollern, who Iater became Emperor William 11. But the princes of Hanover, who were also heirs to the throne of Brunswick, for a long time considered themselves in a stare of war with Prussia. Their faithfui subjects organized passive resistance to Prussian occupation. It is interesting to note that the royal family of Hanover is descended from the Welfs or Guelfs, whose struggles against the "GhibeIlinesn have become legendary. As we have seen (p. 44) the Ghibellines were partisans of the Hohenstaufens, from whom Emperor Frederick I1 was descended-the same Frederick who had bequeathed his imperiaI mission to the Teutonic Order, the ancestor of Prussia. The struggIe between Guelfs and Ghibellines continued unril the end of the fifteenth century. It. is perhaps no simple coincidence that the princes of Hanover, descendants of the Welfs, were so violently spiritual grandopposed to the ambitions of the Prussia-the children of Frederick I1 of rhe Hohenstaufen, or Ghibelline line. The royal famiIy of England issued fram rhe same family of Hanover. As such, they too descended from the Welfs, the traditional enemies of the imperialistically ambitious Hohenstaufens, of whom Prussia became rhe heir.
99
The Isolation of France
With Ausrrja removed from German affairs, the first thing to do was to neurralize those other influences which opposed Prussian domination over Germany. Because the south German States made it a practice t o invire France's advice, it would be necessary above a 1 1 to "iso1ate7' France, just as Austria had been isolated. To this end Bismarck employed the
same methods: he showed himself very friendly toward France and enrered into discussions with her. During these conversations, Bismarck suggesred all sorts of compensations for France if she would permit Prussian expansion of power. Napoleon III at first claimed the left bank of the Rhine, but Bismarck conducted negotiarions in such a manner that a solution, calling for the annexation of Luxembourg and Belgium by France, and the extension of Prussian power to the sonrh German Starcs, gained preference in the discussions. Nothing was concluded: neither Napoleon 111 nor Bismarck definitely accepted the plan. But Bismarck preserved the original draft of the project which had been written in the hand of Benedetti, the ambassador of France. He then arranged for a facsimiIe of the plan in Benedetti's handwriting to appear in the London Times, and a t rhc same time, brought to the attention of the south German States the original clain~s of Napoleon I11 to the Ieft bank of the Rhine. The isolation of France was accomplished at one stroke. Suspicion was cast on her in England and in the south German states. The latter, which then counted on rhe support of France, from now on felt more disposed to deal with Prussia. Bismarck now conciuded a secret military pacr--offensive and defensivc-with the south German States, by virtue of which the supreme command reverted to the King of Prussia. He next tried ro find a reason for declaring war against France, so that Prussian command over all the German armies night become a fact. Indeed, hc believed thar Prussian direction on the rniritary Ievcl--especiaIly if this were successfuImight easily be followed by Prussian rule an all other levels over a11 German States. iManoeuvring for the throne of Spain furnished the occasion for declaring war against France. A HohenzolIern was candidate for this throne. France protested and asked for explanations. The King of Prussia, William I, held a meeting with Benedetti a t Ems, the bathing rujort where he stayed,
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and matters seemed to work out amicably. T h e King telegraphed to Bismarck, giving him the details of this meeting. Bismarck deliberately "edited" the telegram, and had the a b tercd version published. This ruse made the French artitude appear more unfriendly, and the response of the King more abrupt than they had been in reality. Under the influence of this famous "Ems dispatch" a be1ligerent atmosphere was created within France and Germany. This was exactly what Bismarck had desired. Napoleon 111, under the pressure of French public opinion, declared wara war which immediately turned to the advantage of the German armies, which were under Prussian command. In January, 187I , a few days before the capitulation of Paris, the King of Bavaria (who had always been considered the traditional ally of France) in the joy of conquest, proposed that William I of Prussia be proclaimed Emperor of Germany. T h e proclamation took pIace a t the Palace of Versailles. Bismarck, who had accompanied thc King to Paris, settled a t Versailies for a few months. H e used these surroundings favorable for his plans. to create conditions In the impressive halls of rhe Palace he had no difficulty in obtaining consent of the German princes to the formalities necessary for the creation of the Reich. He passcd all his time in Versailles at this task and succeedea in establishing rhe unity, under Prussian rule, of the States of north and south Germany. Bismarck had thus put his theories c f 1848-49 into practice: not to allow thc King of Prussia to accept the throne of Germany if the latter came as a spontaneous offering of the ,peopIe; but to acquire the throne through "blood and iron," which according to the traditional conceptions of the Teutonic Order was the path to more lasting results. Ir did not rnatrer rhac to achieve these goals it was necessary to provoke wars against Austria and France artificiarly. Treitschke well expressed the essence of Prussian thought on this subject
when he deplored the fact that no physician could be found who would have the audacity to prescribe war frankIy as a wholesome potion for the ~eople. From the day Bismarck succeeded in subjecring rhe other German States to Prussian ruIe the principal task was to impose the Teutonic spirit and Prussian scveriry on the whole of the German population, and to combat their easygoing tolerant ways-as a weakness, deriving from the "softening" Christian philosophy and corrupting the souI.
The N y dra Needs Tiwe

Culminating in the gains of Bismarck, the Prusso-Teutonics had made great strides since their modest beginning in the thirteenth century. To recapitulate briefly: W e have seen that an uninrcrrupted evolution proceeded n from rhe beginning of the thlrrecnth century until 1870. T 1226, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I1 enrrusted a vast imperial mission to the r e c e n r l ~created Order of Teutonic Knights, in his Bull of Rimini, T h e Knights launched rhe "campaign of Prussia" and conquered one country afrer another, dragging their neighbors into war on the flimsiest of pretexts, for the sole purpose of constantIy increasing their territory. T h e Order was soon acting entirely on its own account as the sole heir of the traditions of rhe Hohcnstaufen emperors (indirect descendents of the Carolingian emperors) whose line died our: with Conrad IV, son of Frederick 11. These are the traditions which p i n t toward worId domination, and which are in opposition and direct conflict ro the cIaim of the Church of universal spiritual sovereignty. Under the protection of the Order, a caste of nobles, enjoying the favor and complicity of the Knights, settled in the conquered countries. These "Junkers" in turn tried to appropriate for their exclusive advantage the very aims and rraditions which the Order itseIf had carried down from the Gcrmano-Roman
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T H E THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
103
emperors. Already, during the reign of the Order in Prussia between the thirteenth and the fifteenth centuries, the Landjunkers were those who sought the greatest advantages from their privileged position, and they committed the greatest abuses. To prowct their special interests they founded a secret society in the fourteenth century, ("Society of Lizards"). Under their influence, the State which the Order of Knights had formed was secularized in the sixteenth century by a Grand Master who was a member of the Hohenzollern family, and became a purely paliricaI unit Instead of being subservient to the Knights as they had been in the past, the Junkers intended, from the time of the secularization of the. Order's State, to have ar their service the State officials and army officers, descended from two branches of knighthood-officials of the Order and rhe warrior Knights. The EIectors, 2nd later the Kings of Prussia, had to reckon with their desires and interests. So Iong as these were respected, the Stare-Duchy or Kingdom-could pursue those ancient plans established by the visionary Hohenstaufens, exrending the bounds of conquest more and more. The Great Elector and King Frederick 11 found dl sorts of pretexts for waging war. The goal was always the sarneceaseless conquest. T h e actions of Bismarck were no different, but he was not content with increasing the territory of Prussia. Using the same methods as his predecessors, he achieved domination by Pmssia over a11 the German States-the reestablishment of the Empire to the advantage of Prussia and the Prussian clique. The circle was now compIeted. The Hohenstaufens had launched the Knights on a path of worId conquest, but had lost the Empire. The descendanrs of rhe Knights established their regime over a vast territory which served them a3 a fief, and from which they again conquered the Empire. In observing how the Great Elector, Frederick the Great, and Bismarck all arrived at their goals, one cannot help but
be struck by the similarity between their hypocritical methods 2nd those employed by the Order, as described by contemporary chroniclers. Bismarck closed the circle, but by the inclusion of this immense territory within the Prussian orbit, at the same time put a temporary stop to rhe movement of expansion. The hydra needed time to digest the lamb. Thus in rhe period berween r 870 and 19 I 4, Prussia could give the world the irnpression that it had nothing to fear from her, and most peopIe were lulled by rhe illusion that the era of Prussian conquest had passed. T h e world did not realize that Prussia needed a temporary period of peace t o organize the territories it had acquired. Bismarck himself had decided to caU a haIt. The Empire was to be thoroughly Prussianized, for only the Prussian discipline inherited from the Order-the "devota subjection so dear to the Knighrs, translated into civic terms in Prussiawould in the lang run enable other German countries also to acquire the desirable toughness and ruthlessness. This development would some day enable the Prussians to resume the path of conquest, rhis time on behalf of the Prussianized Empire.
A Ghost Returns
Principally due to the leadership of Bismarck, years of internal organization followed, bur the theorcricians of Prussianism, the Treitschkes, the von Bernhardis and the others, looked toward the future and continued to keep the flame
alive. In German inteIlectua1 circIes they kept in the foreground the ambitions for world domination as we11 as the basic principles of tacrical method through which to achieve it. During this time Bismarck himseif was apparentIy occupied only with standardizing laws throughout Germany, and with unifying the army and the ocher institutions. Later, over a
14
105
period of years, William II pursued the same task, but being more of a mystic than his predecessors, he considered it uscful, toward the end of the nineteenth century, to reestablish the organization of the Teutonic Knights in Germany and principaiIy in East Prussia. This gesture was purely symbolic and added but little to the existing state of affairs; the Junkers, the oficers and officiaIs who wcrc now active in the Order had for a long time been united by numerous ties. They had their secret societies, within which they regularly discussed projects concerning the protection of their persona1 interests and national expansion. Nevertheless, it was characteristic that WilIiam I1 wenr further than mere reconstruction of the Order by rebuilding Marienburg, its traditional seat. He also named one infantry regiment (No. 1 5 2 ) as well as two artilIery regiments (Nos. 7 1 and 7 2 ) for the Teutonic Knighrs, af rhis kind would obviously increase the pride and the ambitions of the Junkers, and of their associates in the army and administration.
Pruaian plans for world domination. "The quasi-historicaI

form," said Cramb, "which the question of enmity t o England now assumes in the minds of thousands of intellectual Ger-
"Hm gegen England, 1914"
The next task to be undertaken was the attempt to smash the world hegemony of the power which was considered by the Prusso-Teutonic forces as their only major rival-England, Already List had pointed out the importance of this problem for the benefit of German imperialists of thc future. Trcitschke, in his writings, constanrIy fulminated against English hcgernony, and thus kept aIive a flame of hatred which was to become useful at the proper moment. The English had become masters of a fifth of the habitabk lands of the earth. "Through robbery," said Treitschke. N. A. Cramb, Professor of History a t Queens ColIege in London, died on the eve of I.Vorld W a r I. He foresaw the Prussian struggle against English hegemony as imminenr in one form or another, because it was indispensable for the
mans is rhis: As the first great united action of the Germans as a people, when they became conscious of their power, was the overthrow of the Roman Empire, and uItimately, in Charlemagne and the Ottonides, the reaIization of the dream of Alaric-the transfiguration of the world, the subversion of Rome, and the erection upon its ruins of a new State; so in the twentieth century, now that Germany under the HohcnzoIlern has become conscious of her new life, shall her first grear action to be the overthrow of that empire most corresponding ro the Roman Empire, which in the dawn of her history she overthrew? In German history the old imperialism begins by the destruction of Rome. Will the new imperiarism begin by the destruction of England?" " If there is conflict benveen the two nations, it is not because of the insuIts which Germany might suffer from England. N o need for thar. The mere existence of the Srirish Empire is an insult to Prussian Germany. Cramb, who was in regular conract with German university circIes, and who couId ckarly estimate the state of mind beyond the Rhine in r 9 r 3 , said: "England's possessions, England's arrogance on the seas, her claim to worId-wide empire-these, Germany answers, are to Germany an insult not less humiliating than any she has met wirh in the past. And what are these EngIish pretensions? And upon w h a t are they based? Not upon England's supremacy in character or intellect. For what is rhe character of this race which thus possesses a fifth of the habirabIe globe and stands forever in the path of Germany's course towards her 'place in the sun', in the path of Germany's course towards empire? "Ir is from this first recrimination that, during the Iast three
J. A. Crarnb. M.A.. Germany and E s g h d , E. York, 1914, Quoted hy permission of rhe publishers.
P. Dutcon
& Co., New
06
THE THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
or four decades, Iargely under the influence of the Prussian School of History, there has been evolved a portrait of EngIand as the great robber-State. In one phase or another rhis conception is gradualIy permeating all classes, making itself apparent, now in a character in fiction, now in a poem, now in a work of history or economics, now in rhe Iecrure hall a t Bonn or Heidelberg or Berlin, now in a political speech. "And the theme is precise. England's supremacy is an unrealiry, her political power is as hollow as her moral virtues; the one an arrogance and pretence, the other hypocrisy. She cannot long maintain that baseless supremacy, On the sea she is rapidIy being approached by other powers; her resources, except by immigration, are almost stationary, and her very immigrarion debases still further her resources. Her decline is certain. There may be no war. The display of power may be enough, and EngIand after 1900, like Venice after 1500, will gradually atrophy, sunk in torpor. . . ". . . W h o is to succeed her? It may not be Germany; some Power it must be. But if Germany were to inherit the sceptre, which is falling from her nerveless hands . ? "And having visuaIizcd rhis future, the German imagination, in a tempest of envy or vehement hate, becomes articulate and rakes various shapes, resurting in an almost complete arraignment of the British Empire, of the English character, and of all our institutions and a11 our efforts as an empirebuilding race." For what is the supreme ideal, Cramb asks, for all these German thinkers, who influence future events in Germany? "It is world dominion," he answers; "it is world empire; it is the hegemony of a planet, It assigns to Germany in rhe future a role like that which Rome or Hellas or Judaea or Islam have played in the past. That is Germany's hero-ideal. Ir is at least greatly conceived. "Assuming for a moment that rhis world-predominance is possible to Germany, what is the testimony of Germany's past,
..
You find Germany an empire already in the ninth century, if you regard Charlemape 2s a German-as he was; and again you have attempts at imperialism made by the German race under the Ottos in the tenth century; but most distinctly is Germany an imperial power in the twelfth century in the time of the Hohenstaufen, one of the nost tragic dynasties in history." Characterizing the spiritual heritage of Treitschke, Cramb says: "Treirschke has defined the aim of Germany, and Trcirschke's definition, which has been taken up by his discipIes is this: that just as the greatness of Germany is to be found in the governance of Germany by Prussia, so the greatness and good of the world is to bc found in the predominance there of German culrure, of German mind, in a word, of German characrer. This is the idea1 of Germany, and this is Germany's roIe as Treirschke saw it in the future." These considerations of Cramb (originating in a lecture series he gave in 1913 and published in April, I 914) certainly correspond with the evoIution of things during the first World War, which was a first attempt to rupture English political hegcrnony. But other passages in these same lectures have greater point for a more rccent past than the 1914 epoch. Thus Cramb points out that the forces directing Germany intend not onIy to achieve world dominion in their own way, and to eliminate for this purpose the power of EngIand. What rhey are equally concerned with is to replace the predominant civilization of the world with another, prrreIy Germanic; and ro do away with Christianity, the "softening influence" of which is in direct contradicrion to the Teuronic moral concepts. "This world dominion of which Germany dreams" says Cramb, with great academic objectivity, "is not simply a material dominion. Germany is not bIind to the lessons incuIcared by Napoleonic tyranny. Force alone, violence or brute strength, by its mere presence or by its Iaud manifestations in
to her capacity to play this part?
r 08
THE THOUSAXD-YEAR CONSPIRACY
PRUSSIA CO.MES U P IN T H E WORLD
109
war, may be necessary t o establish this dominion; bur its ends are spiritual. The triumph of the Empire wiIl be the triumph of German culture, of the German world-vision in a11 the phases and departments of human life and energy, in religions, poetry, science, art, politics, and social endeavor, "The characterisrics of this German world-vision, the benefits which its predominance is likeIy to confer upon mankind, are, a German would allege, truth instead of falsehood in the deepesr and gravest preoccupations of the human mind; German sinceriry instead of British hypocrisy; Faust instead of TartufFe. And whenever I have put to any of the adherents of this ideal the further question: 'Where in actual German history do you find your guarantee for the character of the spirirual empire; is not the true role of Germany cosmopolitan and peaceful; are not Herder and Goethe its prophets?' I have met with one invariable answer: 'The politicd history of Germany, from the accession of Frederick in 1740 to rhe present hour, has admittedly no meaning unless it bc regarded as a rnovernenr toward the establishment of a world-cmpire, wirh the war against England as the necessary preliminary. SimiIarly the curve which, during the Iast century and a haIf, Germany has traced in reIigion and metaphysica1 thoughr, from Kant and HegeI ro Schopcnhauer, Srrauss and Nietzsche, has not less visibly been a movement towards a newcr woridreligion, a newer world-faith. T h a t fatal tendency to cosmopolitanism, ro a dream-world which Heine derided and Treitschke deplored, does, indeed, still remain, but how aansfigured! "But what is t o be Germany's part in rhe furure of human thought? Germany answers: 'It is reserved for us to resume in thought that creative role in religion which the whole Teutonic racc abandoned fourtcen centuries ago. Judza and Galilee cast their dreary spcll over Greece and Rome, when Greece and Rome were already sinking into decrepitude and the creative power in them was exhausted, when weariness
and bitterness wakened with rheir greatest spirits a t day, and sank to slecp again with them a t night. But Judza and Galilee srruck Germany in the splendor and heroism of her prime. Germany and the whole Teutonic people in the fifth century made the great error. They conquered Rome, hut dazzled by Rome's authority they adopted the reIigion and the culmre of the vanquished. Germany's own deep religious instinct, her native genius for religion, manifested in hcr creative success, was arrested, stunted, thwarted. But, having once adopted the new faith, she strove to live thar faith, and for more rhan thirty generations she has struggled and wrestled to see with eyes that were nor her eyes, to worship a God rhat was not her God, to live with a world-vision that was not her vision, and to strive for a heaven rhat was not hcr hcsvcn. And with whst chivalry and with whac loyalty did not Germany strive! XVirh what ardour she flung herself into the pursuir of sainthood as an ideal and then into the Crusades! Conrad and 1 , Hildebrand and Barbarossa, Otto the Great and Frederick 1 Innocent 111, were of her blood, so were Godfrey and Tancred and Bohemund, Yet in the East, in the very height of her enthusiasm, the ourward fabric of faith sank. In the East where she sought the gravc of Chrisr, she saw beyond it the grave of Balder, and higher than the hTewJerusalem rhe shining walls of Asgard and of ValhalIa. In JerusaIem, standing beside an empty grave, the summits of a mightier vision gleamed spectra1 around her. And whilst her Crusaders, front to front with Islam, burst into passionate denials and set hlnharnmed above Christ, or in exasperated scorn derided all religion, her great thinkers and mystics led her steadily toward the sercner heights, where knowIedge and faith dissolve in vision, and ardour is all. " 'A great hope had sunk; a mightier hope had arisen. But like thc purposes of the world-spirit in the everlasting selfdisaccord, this hope could only be born in the bloodiest strife, and agony infinite, and faralk~ing hatred and war. . . . Rome
110
111
no longer a guide, Germany was torn by the vioIence of the furious heresies, from which sprang the secret orgies of the Black Mass, and that subterranean literature of which the "De tribus impostoribus" is a sign. " 'Theseventeenth century flung off Rome; the eighteenth undermined Galilee itself; and with the opening of the twentieth century, Germany, her long travail past, is reunited to her pristine genius, her creative power in refigion and thought. " 'And what is the religion which, on the whole, may be characterized as the religion of the most earnest and passionate minds of young Germany? What is this new movement? The movement, the governing idea of the centuries from the fourteenth t o the nineteenth is the wrestle of the German intellect not only against Rome but against Christianism itself. Musc Germany submit to this aIien creed derived from an aIien cIirne? Must she forever confront the ages, the borrower of her religion, her own genius for religion numbed and paralysed? . . " 'Thus while preparing to found a world-empire, Germany is also preparing to create a world-religion. No cultured European nation since the French Revolurion has made an experiment in creative religion. The experiment which EngIand, with her "dull imagination" has recoiIed from, Germany will make; the fated task which EngIand has declined she wilI essay.' "That is the faith of young Germany in rprj," concludes Crarnb. His description of the German state of mind before the first World War is interesting in many respects. It is a rapid risumC of a spiritual evolution paralleling the socia1 and poliricaI evolution which we have described. As to the future, his description has more significance for the evenrs of the last ten years than for the period which was immediately to foIlow the time when Crarnb was speaking, The Germany of Wil-
...
I1 was not yet ready to make an open break with Christianity. The Germany of Hitler is much closer to rhis p i n t , but here as elsewhere, we can see that she only executes what has for many years been definitely pIanned by the Prusso-Teutonic group. Cramb does not resolve the problem whose contradictions strike him. He is impressed by rhe profundity of the neopagan spirit which he has encountered in Germany, and by the political importance of Prussian traditions. On the other hand he is we11 aware of the Germany of Herder and Goethe and of its "cosmopolitan and peaceful spirit" but he does not know which to believe is the true spirit of Germany. He does not yet come to the conclusion that both Germanies might quite well have existed over a period of centuries simuItaneuudy; the one always deepIy pagan, of a pretended Christianity (Emperor Henry IV, Barbarnssa, his grandson Frederick IT, the Teutonic Knights and their descendants); and the other, thoroughly Christianized to an extent as grear as any other European country, but constantly suffering from the exactions and egotism of the Pagan Germany. Crarnb sees only the contradictians, but the permanent and secular character of the conflict seems to escape him completely. Prussia's propaganda was so clever that by 1913-forty-three years after the Russian cIique had manoeuvred themselves into the saddle over the rest of Germany-she made the world forger: that "Pmssia" and "Germany" are not absolurely identicai.
]ism
More Dreams
Frederick Scott Oliver, another observer in the same epoch, writing in London ( 1915 ) says: * "The cornpIetc mosaic of the German vision is an empire incomparably greater in extent, in riches and in population ' Frederick Scott Oliver, Ordeal by Battle, The MacrnilIan Co., Ncw
York, 191 5. Quoted by permission o f the publishers.
I12
PRGSSIA COlMES UP IN THE WORLD
"3
than any which has yet existed since the world first began to keep its records. Visionnaires are always in a hurry. This stupendous arrangement of the Earth's surface is confidently anticipated to occur within the first half of the prcsenr century. It is to be accomplished by a race distinguished for its courage, industry and devotion-let us admit so without grudging." But in numbers-even if we count the Teutons of the Habsburg Empire aIong with those of the HohenzolIern-it amounts upon the highest computation, to Iess than eighty millions. This is rhe grain of musrard-secd which is confidently believed to have in it 'the property to get up and spread,' until within Iirrle more rhan a generation, it wiII dominate and controI more than seven hundred millions of human souIs. "Nor to German eyes, which dwell lovingly, and apparently without misgiving, upon this appalling prospect of symmetry and vasmcss, are these the sum torai of its arrracrions. T h e achievement of their vision would bring peace t o mankind. For there wouId then bc but two empires remaining, which need give the overlords of the world the srnalrest concern, Of these Russia in their opinion needs a cenrury at least in whicl~ to emerge out of primitive barbarism and become a serious danger; whilc in Iess than a century, the United States must inevitably crurnbIe to nonentity, through the worship of false gods and the corruption of a decadent democracy. Neirher of these two empires could ever hope to chalIenge the German Mastery of the World. "In Sonrh America as in North, therc is alrcady a German garrison, possessing great wealth and influence. And in the South, at any rate, it may w e 1 1 become, very speedily, an imperarive obligation on rhe Fatherland ro secure for its exiled children more settIed conditions under which to extend the advantages of German commerce and kultur. President Mon'Like Cramh, Olivcr does nor distinguish suficicnrly bcnveen the German pcople {whose good quaiiries appeal to him) and the clique which goads rt~cpcoplc in rhe direction of rhcse ultra-arnf>itic~us ~lans.
roe has already been dead a hundred years or more According to the calculations of the pedantocracy," his famous doctrine will need some stronger backing than the moral disapprobation of a hundred millions of materially-minded and unwarIike people, in order to withstand the pressure of German diplAady, if it should summon war-shipiand transports ro its aid." Note rhar this risumt of German conceptions dates from rgr 5, and is based on observations made in 19r z-19 I j - a n epoch, rherefore, in which the "Nazi menacc" which today seems alone to be indicted, did not yet exist. This is the epoch in which one of the most famous scientists of Germany, Professor Ernsr Haeckel, had forrnulatcd the Gerrnan war aims in a series of 8 points (which would be inreresting to compare with the 8 points of RooseveIt and ChurchilI). These evidentIy represented only the "immediate aims'' in rhe grandiose whole of the Teutonic conception:
) Smashing of English tyranny. Invasion of Great Britain and occupation of London. (3) Partition of Belgium. The section from west of Ostend to Anrwerp to become a Statc in the German Empire; the northern section to go to HoIland. Luxembourg to receive the southeast section, and thus expanded, ufould henceforth be a unired Gerrnan State, (4) Certain English colonies and the Congo Free Stare to Germany. ( 5 ) France to cede its northeast Departments to Germany, ( 6 ) Russia to be neutraIized by the reconstitution of the Polish Itingdorn under Austrian influence. (7) T h e German Baltic provinces to be restored ro the German Empire. (8) Finland, united with Sweden, to become an independent kingdom.
(I
(2)
* Olivcr's iicsigl~ationfor the Prusso-Tcurrlnic riicorccicial~s.
PRUSSIA COAMES UP IN THE WORLD
"5
It was the epoch of William 11, and many people had the illusion thar he alone was responsible for the "German menace." Some blamed the world unrest created by Germany simply on his contradicrory ternperanicnr, which was responsible for his arternate pacific declarations and "sword-rattling" harangues. I n realiry he was a figurehead who, at times, was even something of an encumbrance to rhe Prusso-Teutonic forces -who aIonc counrcd in the controI of German affairs; for in thcsc outbursts, which he did not very well know how to conrrol, he revealed all too readily the policies and plans which should have been kept secret. But this was of little imporrance since the Prusso-Teutonic plans were pursued unwaveringly, regardless of which man was used as a front. This man alone wouId appear to the outside world. Obviously Bismarck, who was a man of high qualities, rendered much more service to the Prusso-Teuronic cause than did that clown-supreme, William 11. But it was not the Iatter alone who was responsible for the war of 1914. And if, abroad, he was considered solely to blame for this war and, in his own country, for the defeat which followed, this was fully to the advanrage of the Prusso-Teutonic circIcs. T h e latter thus escaped bIame from two sourcs+which wouId have bccn a devastating blow for them had they acted direcrIy and openly.
invade her. They speak of a "Teutonic solidarity" wirh England-and then call hcr their greatest enemy. They envisage 3 reconstituted Poland in order to make Russia powerlessand later conclude a temporary alliance with Russia perrnirting the occupatian of Poland. Sometimes the men who speak in the name of Prusso-Teutonic Germany are replaced by others and the change in aims is explained by the persona1 preferences cf these men. The world is rhus reassured, made to berieve thar Germany is abandoning her ancient pIans due to the influence of new leaders. But even where a Ieader keeps his place, although the avowed aims have changed, the world is time and again taken in by the illusion rhat Germany is finally limiting her aims, and that she is no Ionger to be considered as dangerous as people imagined her. This was'the reasoning during the period of calm between I 870 and 1914 (which calm, as we have seen, was necessary for Prussia to strengthen her dominion over Germany); in the years which followed the 1918 armistice; and most recently in the time between any two changes in Hitler's tactics, Sometimes these varied aims, these alleged "oscillations" as to the ends pursued in German politics, were simply tacticaI and designed to vei1 thc rcaI intentions of Germany. She to make preparations would thus be in a much better in the direction she actuaIly intended r o take. Bur many of the changes in direction have been sincere. Frequently these periodical shifts in the "German menace" may be explaincd by the absorute empiricism of the PrussoTeutonic methods. It makes no difference what the immediate objective is so long as the final goal remains the same. If the matter of primary importance for Berlin had been the conquest of France, Austria, Poland, Russia or England-her behavior, alternately friendly and threatening to each of these countries, may appear illogical. But the conquest of any of these countries may be considered only as one of the pos-
Under the Cloak

Because of the great variety in the apparent aims pursued
by the Prusso-Teuronic group over a period of centuries, the observer of German affairs has often been rnisraken on the
subject of the group's actual intentions. Thus the Prussians are at first allied with Austria-then they attack her so as ta eIiminare her from the Empire. Before 1870 they keep in rhe good graces of France-then at the firsr opportuniv they
1 16
THE TIIOUSAND-YEAR COSSPIRACY
sible first steps toward the only real goal which inrerests her: world dominion. Thus she can start action anywhcre and continue it, guided by opportunity, resisrance and degree of failure encountered. T h e chess player, a t the beginning of his game, does not gcneraIIy know which pieces he wants to win from his opponent first, but he knows his finaI goal quite well. T h e empiricism in the choice of her immediate objectives allows Germany better to hide her actua1 game and even to makc interim allies of the countries to which such an alliance is acccptabIc. In rhe long run rhey will surely be devoured, as were the others, In the quarter century berween 1914 and 1939, the immediate ends of Germany have changed somewhat, but the basic plan behind her actions has scarcely been altered. T h e venture of 1914 had faiIed by I 918. Was England called the major enemy during the World War-the enemy who was to be wiped out? This is of no importance. Since she proved to be the stronger, Germany would court her friendship over a period of years so rhat she rnighr be neutralized. To encourage England's confidence in her, Germany wouId first show a f a ~ a d e of peace, the German Kepublic. This was the strategy Germany empIoyed. Through ir: she gained rime had served to re-establish her forces. Then--since the f a ~ a d e its purpose and was now a nuisance-she removed it and erected another, more threatening than any of the ancient ones. This fagade is Hitler and Nazism-a faqade very valuable today ta the Prusso-Teutonic farces, bur which could be sacrificed over night as the others were, if such sacrifice wouId be to the advantage of the real leaders of Germany. W e shall try in the pages which foI1ow to show the means by which the Prusso-Teutonic forces succeeded in maintaining their position in the years between the rwo World Wars and how they allowed Hitler to accede to "power," so that he might rerve them.
CHAPTER IV
THE FEHNE AIURDERS

THE DEFEAT OF 1 9 1 8 wrought considerable changes in the political organization of Germany. The monarchic system having borne the entire blame for the dkbicle, the German people now carried through their democratic revolt. The Hohenzollcrns were banishcd and the Republic was set up. The Prusso-Teutonic caste, composed of Junkers, officers and officials, had bcen we11 served by the Hohenzollerns. First rhey brought about the secnIarization of the Order's Stare and Prussolater, on the initiative of Bismarck, achieved co~nplete Tcutonic seizure of the whole of Germany. The Hohenzoilerns retained the confidence of this caste until 1918. Bur when the World War ended in defeat for Germcny, the Hohcnzollern family became a most convenient scapegoat. A few individual members of the Prusso-Teutonic caste continued sentimental relations with Wilhelm 11. For the group as a whoIe, however, the Emperor no longer existed, since t o discipIes of the cruel Teutonic philosophy any defeat is rantamount to suicide. Germany seemed t o be passing through the same transformarion which both America and France had experienced aImost a cenNry and a haIf before. The Rightist parties, whose popularity had greatly declined in the colrrsc of rhese events, could not muster enough strength to oppose this political dcvelopment. Rut the Prussa-Teutonic forces, accustomed to working in obscurity and to preparing their positions long in advance, did not feel vanquished by all this. T o then1 the defear represented a temporary setback to the execution of rhcir plans. Sacrifice af the Hohenzollerns seemed to appease the wrath
117
18
THE FEHME XIURDERS
1 19
of the world; so that the Prusso-Teutonic clique was able ro reorganize its forces quietly and prepare to resume control of the affairs of Germany. It was concerned, first of all, wirh terrorizing those unforrunates who had had, afrer the defeat of 1918, the unhappy idea of introducing a democratic regime and spirit into Germany. I t was also necessary to eIirninate the Ieaders of the democratic parties. T o gain time it would be necessary to hold friendly reIations with England for a while and in the meantime to prcpare for other conquests. But for many years the PrussoTeutonic forces couId pay no attention to foreign politics
matters. Its members were at the same time judges and execu-
bccause internal political problems in Germany more urgently demanded soIutions, and these had ro be worked out methodically. Could the Rightist parties, many of whose members were faithful servants of the Prusso-Teutonic forces, no longer be usefur in the Reichstag, as in Bismarck's time? Granted-but what difference would this make? The Prusso-Teutonics did not intend t o bother with the Reichstag-they would use merhods completely opposite t o those of parliament. Moreover, methods of this rype wauld be closer to the traditions of the Prusso-Teutonic group than would any parIiamentary procedure. Bismarck himself had accepred the parhmentary system only after much hesitation and with a certain amount of resignation. He had found it a difficult task to get this system accepted by his Junker friends, These new merhods, which at the same time were very old, called for terror through asrassination.
Familiar Memories
The Prusso-Teutonic forces, never acting openry, had the ingenious idea of reviving and making use of a Germanic institution of the Middle Ages, the Fehme. The Fehme was a sort of secret society which set itself up as a tribunal in a11
tors of decisions. In the three and a half years folIowing the Armistice, from Igrg to June 24, I 922, rhe date of Rathenau's murder, somc 354poIitical assassinations were perperrated in Germany by the various "national revival" organizarions. For only two of tltese crimes, the assassinations of Rathenau and Eisner, was any punish~nenr meted out, and this was extremeIy light. Despite the fact that the various State police forces were officially republican organizations, usually they allowed the assassins to escape. In those cases, however, where the kiIIers were actually arrested by overzealous officials, they were acquitted, or at best fined or condemncd t o imprisonment for a ridiculously small period on some silly ground, for example, the carrying of guns withour a permit. Count Arco, who had assassinated Eisner, leader of the Bavarian Left, was sentenced ro death in January, $920, but his sentence was commuted to imprisonment for Iife. This actualIy consisted in his doing some vague farm work neat the his sentencc was suspended prison. Finally on April I 3, 1924, and he was set free. Shortly thereafter he was appointed director of rllc "Sueddeutsche Lufrhansa," a major aviation concern controlled by the Reich, These assassinations occurred with a regularity that bafffed the general pubIic, and yet they seemed to be part of an organized pIan. Soon people began to speak of the "Fehme" in connecrion with thcse crimes, comparing the assassinarions wirh the "executions" of the notorious secret Gerrrlan tribunal of past cenruries-which the recent crimes resembled in many respects. In 1 9 2 0 , 1 9 2 2 , 1924 and in 193I , the German writer, E. 1. Gumbel, ~ublished works which attempted to expose the organizations responsible for these outrages, and to draw the attention of the German public to the criminaI complicity of the judicial machinery af the Reich and the other authoriries with the Fehme murderers. T n his four books, GumbeI asscm-
I20
THE
THOUSAKD-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
bled considerable documentation concerning these postwar "execurions." Bur his appeals and warnings were in vain, and the Fehme was able to continue its activities unhindered. Despite pubIic belief to the contrary, Gurnbel did not relate these crimes to the blood tribunal of the Middle Agcs, He considered the word "Fehrne" simply an expression well chosen by the murderers to point up the acrual resemblance between the two instinrtions. W e shaIl probably never know exactly what information was contained in the heavy file the Bavarian depucy, Karl Gareis,* had planned to present to the Bavarian Landtag concerning rhe political crimes of rhat time. A few days afrer he announced his intention of discussing the marerial he had assembkd, he was shot to death in the strcet. The two mcn who participated in his assassination escaped and were never apprehended. in any case, we know this much: that Gareis had spoken of a "conspiracy going back a thousand years" which he intcnded to reveal. He must have been referring to one of the only two German organizations which sremmed from the Middle Ages: the Fehme and the Teutonic Order. T h e history of the Fehme tribunals was independen: of that of the Teutonic Knights. The Order had always claimed that it did nor have to submit to the jurisdiction of the terrible Fehmc. But actually the frighrful practices of rhe Fchme had widely penetrated among the Order's circles. Kotzebue relared, in speaking of [he Grand Masrer Winrich von Kniprode, that a t his time many Comthurs (regional commanders) of rhe Order were members of the Fehme, and the Grand Master himself was suspected of being one of i a leaders. "One morning, two Knights who were beyond reproach were found hanging from an oak tree outside Marienburg-marked by the Fehme," says Kotzebue. "The Grand Master was asked ro prosecute the murderers. He did nothing. The others, en* See page 3.
raged, again requested action from him, and now he declared in dead earnesr: 'One should abstain from passing judgment on such rhings.' " After the seventeenth century, rhe Fehme was rarely heard from. FinalIy, pcoprc berieved that the organization must have been dissolved, despite the fact rhat no laws or decrees suspending or condemning its practices had ever been promulconstigated. Bur whether or not the Fehrne, as a rewularly O. tuted organizarion, actually survived until 1918 1 s of but relative importance. In any event, its Middle Age practices were well remeinbered in the spolxn traditions of many German families. IVilen, following the Armistice of rgr 8, the Prussian Junker organizations decided to revive these bloody practices, rhey nrerc \veil aware of thc traditional streams that might be tapped in the interests of their cause. They used methods which evoked familiar memories throughout Germany.
A Thozkst7~td-Year-Old Conspiracy
What were these notorious traditions of the Fehme? They were founded on the oId German law giving all "manorial lords" rhc right to judge freeIy over their serfs. This practice was maintained parricularly in \\'cstphalia. In a later, undetermined pcriod * it gave rise to the secret tribunaI of the "IToly FehmcV-a tribunal which meted out but a single kind of punishment, rhc death sentence. The Fehme originated from a pre-Christian, pagan moral conception, despite the fact that ir claimed to be Christian. This institurion served no more of a religious purpose than did the Teutonic Order, despite the religious fagadc which both organizations had found useful at their inception. (At rhe time of their foundation a11 institutions had to be Christian.) T h e Fehme represented a revolt of Teutonic Iaw against preGerman hisrt~rians have placed the origin of the Fehme at various times bctwccn rhe reign o f Charlernagne and rhe fifteenth century.
I2 Z
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
COSSPIRACY
THE FEHME iMURDERS

of
'23
vailing Roman law, which latter was the basic code of the official German tribunals. T h e existence of the Fehme was known, bur its operations were secrer. It was subject t o no authority except the Emperor's. The latter, at a time not clearly defined in German history, had delegated rhis authority to the Archbishop of Cologne who was head of the Fehme, at Ieasf norninalIy. Indeed the Fehme tribunal had among its principal official tasks the punishmenr of crimes againsr religion; but in practice its activity was entirely different. T h e Fehrne soon became simpIy a means of terror against a11 individuals who might be in personal conflict with members of this powerful secret organization. The Christian appearance it assumed was but a cloak; and, moreover, in no other Christian country was there a similar organization. The Fehme was of purely German conceprion, and the morality underlying its judgments was a Teutonic morality in direct contradiction to the principles and customs of Christianity. In common with the Teutonic Order rhe Fehme affected Christian aims; yer beneath this disguise-so suitable to rhe times-it pursued ends which were purely Teutonic. The suruiuaL i n G e m a n y of the troditions of these t w o institutio~zs based on pre-Christian mrality-the Teutonic Order and the Fehe-provz'des the only satisfactory explunotion for a series of con~udictoryphenomena by which Gennany, in her recent history, has SO frequently confused the people of western
had darcd to mention-thus
rhe "thousand-year-oId conspiracy" which Deputy Gareis sealing his own fare.
The Red Earth
T h e tribunals of the Middle Age Fehme operated in Westphalia, but they claimed jurisdictional power over all of Germany. Westphalian "Freigrafs" presided over the meetings of rhe Fehme. They said that their families had received this ~riviIege from Charlemagne, and that they had to hold sessions
exclusively on Westphalian soil. In the characteristically symbnIic language of all Middle Ages secrer associations, Westphalian soil was designated as "Die rote Erde" (the Red Earth)-(an expression associated perhaps with the blood spilled in the course of Fehme judgments) and ir was stated t h ~ the t tribunal of the Fehme was always to hold court on "Red Earth." (It is interesting to note that one of the most influenrial Nazi newspapers, published in WestphaIia, is called Die Rote Erde.) In the course of judgment, the Freigraf was assisted by the FreischoeIrfea (jurors). It was under the name "Freischoeffe" that each Fehme member was known. AII Fehme members were therefore qualified to participate in judgment. But the Freischoeffen were not only judges or jurors; they were hangmen as wcII. In effect they were charged with executing judgments pronounced by themseives or by other Freischoeffen. At one time it was estimated that there were over roo,ooo Freischoeffen in all of Germany. ActuaIly, while t h e Fei~me tribunaI functioned onIy in Westphalia, the Freischoeffen, who were its police and executionary organs, were present everywhere, scattered throughour rhe various German cauntries. T h e Freischoeffen kept their functions absolutely seeach other by secret signs. Bur even if they cret, idcntif~ing were not recognized by the average citizens, everyone knew that they managed to Isy hands on their victims. wherever
civilization.
Fundamentally, therefore, we witness the clash of two apposing civilizations-and it was our fond illusion that one of these ceased to exist in the far distant past. This error comes from the fact that sime the period of the Christinnization of Gemany, the civilization of the barbaric ages has been hidden beneath n Chixtian cloak and has survived there. In this wza7zner it has succeeded i a preserving its institutions for errds clearly opposed to tbose of Christianity. It is in facts such as these that one musr seek the explanation
124
THE FEHME MURDERS
'25
they might be hiding. Irs occulr aspect conrributed largely to increasing the terror which the Fehme inspired over all of Germany. There were a great number of Fehme tribunals in JVestphalia. GeneraIIy rhey held sessions on some elevated spat beneath an old tre~--~refcrablya linden. The Freigraf and his Freischoeffen sat there before a large tabIe on which was placed an unsheathed sword and a rope. The plaintiff and the wirnesses had to swear by the sword, while the rope was used for execution of sentence. If a complaint against someone was made, by a Freischoeffe before a Fehme tribunal (Freischoeffen done were allowed t o appear as plaintiffs before the Fehme) a summons was issued against the accused. The latter rarely responded t o the summons since it was we11 known with what difficulty acquittal was obtained; and further that but one type of punishment was decreed by the Fehme-the death penalty. If the accused did not make an appearance, the plaintiff had the right to bring him in by force from any section of Germany, seizing him with the assistance of his "Eidcshelfer" (sworn deputies), who were witnesses in support of the original complaint and who were, in addition, his deputies. Originally it seems that only two witnesses for the plaintiff were necessary, but later the number was raised t o six. T h e defendant might try to clear himself by having his own Eideshelfer, or "witnesses of defense," sworn in in greater number than the witnesses of accusation sworn in for the plaintiff. But the latter could neutralize such effecr by increasing in turn the number of his own witnesses. The number of witnesses alIowed to the defense and the prosecution was fixed by Iaw as two, six, thirteen or twenty. If one party produced two witnesses, the other party had to produce not less than six in order to have a chance to win his case, since any other nurnber would not be recognized by the court. In turn thc opposing party had to produce rhirtcen wirnesses, so that he might
win ar least a temporary advantage from the other side. His opponent, finalry, in order to win his case, would have to produce nventy. If the plaintiff succeeded in resenting twenty Frcischoeffen in support of his complaint, n o dcfense u.itnesses in greater number were allowed and a death sentence was made mandatory. The w~itnesses had to swear to the effect that they knew che plainriff well as an honesr man and his word was good enough for them if he accused the defendanr. On the other hand, witnesses for the defendant would swear that rhey knew him ro be innocent. T h e plaintiffs and the defendants always had to swear in addition to their own witnesses. Consequently the total number of oaths administered was thrcc and seven {numbers which appear frequently in the symbolism of the Middle Ages), or fourteen and twcnry-one (rnurtiples of seven). This a11 made for progressive "outbidding" in the number of witnesses. It was understood, however, rhar witnesses for either side had t o be Freischoeffen. For one who was not himself an influential Freischoeffe it was obviously difficult to find sufficienr numbers of othcr Freischoeffen prepared to ssirearon his behalf. Since the pIaintiff was of necessity a Freischoeffe, the defendant, even if he was himself a member of the FcIlme and parricularry if he was not, was already at a disadvantage when he presented himself before the tribunal. Where the defendanr was present, rhe death sentence was carried out a t once. T h e Frekchoeffen, co-judges of the tribunal, seized the condemned man and hanged him from the nearest tree. If the accused deemed it prudenr to stay away, or if the summons could not be served on him, the Freigraf, president of the tribunal, would call for a "heimliche Acht" or "secret session." Indeed it was considered important to kcep the procedures secret, parricuIarly in cases where the accused was absent. This was to prevent the condemned man from learning of the sentence, which would enable him to hide our in an
I20
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
THE FEHME MURDERS
"7
effort to avoid execurion. If, after convening in secret session, it was noticed that an outsider, a non-Freischoefie, remained in the vicinity (every outsider was supposed to Ieave), the Frcigraf wouM stand up, call the man, pIace the rope around the neck of the unfortunate fellow and have him hanged from the nearest tree by the Freischoeffen. Such action was taken even where the outsider did nor realize that he might be trespassing. After having ascertained that the defendant had not appeared, the Freigraf had his name carled our four rimes, and then asked if anyone were present to defend the accused. Next, the plaintiff swore to the truth of his accusation, and his witnesses in turn took an oath, declaring that they believed the plaintiff incapabIe of perjury. T h e proof was thus considered sufficierit, and sentence was pronounced.
The Kszife in the Tree

According to ancient Iaw-books of the Fehme, the Freigraf pronounced sentence in the folIowing formula: "The defendant by the name of 'X': I hereby deprive him of peace and of the rights and liberties granted by Kaiser Chariemagne and approved by Pope Leo; and further attested under oath by a11 princes, nobIes, knights and vassals, freemen and Freischoeffen in WestphaIia; and depose him and set him ourside of all peace, all liberty and a11 rights, by virtue of the King's ban and malediction, abandoning him ro the greatest misery and disgrace; and make him unworthy, outlawed, deprived of his seal, dishonorable, without peacc and not entitled to share in the common law; and abduct him and 'verfehme' him [put him under the curse of the FchmeJ according t o the mies of the 'heimliche Acht' [secret tribunal]; and vow his neck to the rope and his corpse to rhe beasts and the birds of the air-to be earen by them untiI nothing remains; and commit his soul to God in Heaven in
His authority; and vacare his life and properry; and his wife shall be widowed and his children orphans." Here is the procedure which followed, according to the prescriptions conrained in the books of the Fehme: "The Freigraf shaIl take the rope which is braided from wilIow switches and throw it outside the tribunal, and then alI Freischoeffen standing in presence of the tribunal shall spit, as though rhe outlaw were to be hanged within that very hour. Following this, the Freigraf shall command aI1 Freig a f e n and Freischoeffen, reminding them of their &ths and their honor as members of the 'heimliche Acht,' obliging them, the moment they have seized the outlaw, to hang him from the nearesr tree, according to all their strength and might." The Freigraf now handed the plaintiff a document which by his sea1 confirmed the sentence, and in which all Fehrne members were requesred ro lend him rheir support in the execution of sentence. The bearer of this document departed immediately in search of his victim, being careful not to mention his mission to anyone, with the exception of other Freischoeffen, lest the condemned be warned in rime, and flee from punishment. Frequenrly the condemned Iived in a part of Germany a t some distance from Westphalia. This made no difference, since Freischoeffen were found everywhere, and it was the duty of each, were he so requested, to assist in the execution. H e was firsr to look over the official sentence which bore the sea1 of the Freigraf; or if such document were lacking, it would suffice for three other Freischoeffen to swear before him that the individual being pursued had actuaiIy been outlawed by the Fehme. Having thus received the requested proof, he could not neglect his duty, even if the condemned were his best friend or his own brother. The execution was usually carried out by rhree or four Freischoeffen, They wouid seize the condemned, who in most cases was not, until that moment, zware of his having been
r2 8
TIIE THOUSAND-YEAR COXSPIRACY
THE FEHLfE MURDERS
129
sentenced by the Holy Fehme. Without further ado he was then hanged from the ncarest tree. In order to make clear that this was no ordinary crirnc but an act of the Fehme, a knife was stuck inro the tree. 1Vhcre the condemned resisted, the Freischocffen had the right to kill him in any manner possible. In such cases they would hang his cadaver-and, as usual, stick the knife into the rree. It happened from time to time that a Freischocffe, having learncd of the condemnation of one of his friends, would try to warn him discreetly so that hc might escape, even though he knew that he thus risked his own life. The harmless words pronounced casuaIly: "It's just as well to eat one's brcad elsewhere than here," became a formula whose significance was undcrsrood by non-initiates. Such was thc fear inspired by the Fehrne over all Gcrmany that if these words were addressed to any m a n - e v e n if he were the mosr influentid citizen in town-and if he understood their meaning, he would gather whatever possessions hc couId and overnight would become a vagabond, travelling under an assumed name, living the rest of his days far from his wife and children. If it bccame knvwn that someone had been outlawed by rhe Fehrnc, no othcr individual would darc to help him, f o r by being seen in the company of someone sought by the Fehme he would be risking his life. T h e condemned man, abandoned by aI1, wouId hide where hc could until he was finally discovered by the Fehme, The range of crimes coming under the jurisdiction of the Fehme was exrremely wide. In line with contempsrary thought, crimes against religion and the Ten Commandments are mentioned first, despite the fact that no evidence is found that the Fehrne ever functioned as a religious tribunal. Following this are enumerated "a11 crimes againsr honor and lawtreason, murder, robbery, perjury, defamation, rape, and abuse of power." T h e intentions of those who had originally assigned to the Fehrne jurisdiction over these crimes were no
doubt excclIenr, but in pracrice anyone coming in personal conflict with a member of the Fehme risked condemnation by the blood tribunal; for it was always simple to discover a "crirnc against honor" as a basis for accusation, and an influential Frcischoeffe had no difficulty in iinding others to present as witnesses, supporting his accusations. The Noose Arourad The Neck
The slightesr betrayal of Fehme secrets by a Freischoeffe was punished by death, and in such cascs execution took pIace without a trial. O n this subject we read the following in the Fehme law-books: "If a Freischoeffe brings into the open the secrers and password of the 'secret tribunal' [heimliche Acht] or telIs outsiders anything of this, wherher smaIl or Iarge portions, then he shalI be seized without trial by the Freigraf and Freischoeffen who wiIl tie his hands togerher before him, place a cIoth over his eyes, throw him on his beIly and rip his tongue from out of his throat; a three-strand rope is ro be slipped around his neck and he shall be hanged seven feet higher than a condemned 'Verfehrnt', outlawed criminal." Non-initiates who tried ro discover the secrets of the Fehme, or who simpIy dared to gIance at a Fchme document, were led before the tribunal and execured on the spot, Those books and archives of the Fehme which have survived until today carry a strict warning that anyone opening them who is not a Frcischoeffe is subject to jurisdiction of the secret tribunal. T h e fear which such methods inspired was so great that even in the nineteenth century one could still find unopened Fehme documents in the German archives, their Fehme seals unbroken. They bear the inscription: "No one is allowed to read, or to have read to him this letter, unless he be a true Freischoeffe of the secret tribunal [der heimrichen bcschlossenen Acht] of the Holy Roman Empire."
THE FEHME MURDERS
131
T h e Freischoeffen were granted such broad powers that they could execute any man, even without trial before the rribnnal, if three Freischoeffen saw the accused in the very ~ c of t coinmitring a crime punishable by the Fehme. Further, the confessiun of a crime was considered equivalent to its actually having been wirnessed. Thus if someone boasted in the presence of several persons that he had committed any of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the Fehme, without realizing that at Ieast three of such individuals were Frcischoeffen, the lartcr were required-at the first opportunity they might find to do so without being discovered-to seize the man and hang him from the nearest tree. W e can well imagine the number of abuses to which such methods gave rise. T h e terror spread by the Fehme proved at the same time to be its best recruiting agent. T o be a member of the Fehme was considered insurance, at least to a certain extent, against being unjustly condemned by the secret tribunal. In effect, it was always easier for a Freischoeffe to defend himself than it was for an outsider. In the early days, when a Freischoeffe was accused he could cIear his name by swearing his innocence. Later this advantage was withdrawn, and all defendants, regardless of their affiliation, had to present a sufficient number of witnesses in their defense. Yet obviousIy an influential Freischoeffe would much more easily find a great number of witnesses among his fellow Freischoeffen than would a nonmember of the Fchme, While in the early days, the Freigrafcn had seen to it that only men of unimpeachable virtue were to be admitted to Fchrne membership, at a later time men of doubtful moraI character invaded the ranks of the Freischoeffen. T h e opportunity to do as one pleased was so appealing that all sorts of adventurers did everything in their power to become members of the Fehme. One can visualize the reign of terror which folIowed as a consequence, and the blackmail, abuse, and mean
vengeance which it was possible to practice under the cloak of the Fehme. A man innocenr of any crime would awaken find a summons stuck to his door by some unknown person, calling for his appearance on a specific day before this or that tribunal of the Fehme. Such men knew that certain death awaited them there, and that they had better flee, or hide themselves as besr they could. Another who had never been served by summons would one day unexpectedry be seized by three Freischocffen, not aware that he had been condemned by the Fehme until he felr the noose around his neck.
The Junkers 077d the Fehme

This barbaric institution had terrorizcd Germany for centuries. One can imagine what services it could render ro an unscrupulous group pursuing its own purposes and it was inevitabIe that such an institution should become the instrumcnr for all sorts of private interests. When the Fehme returned to Germany following the I 9 I 8 Armistice, its reappearance was due to the initiative of two groups of inrerests, the Junkers and the Ieaders of heavy industry in Wesrphalia. In any event, every cIue to the crimes of the revived Fehme uncovered by German tribunals or contemporary newspapers in their exposures led directly either to the Junkers or to heavy industry. Financing of the organizations responsible for the Fehmic crimcs came from one or the other of these groups. A number of such crimes were committed on the very estates of the Junkers where numerous Fehrne units were in hiding, avaiIabIe for Fehme activities. Moreover, the Prusso-Teutonic junkers and officers seem to have been very directly involved in these crimes-to have been the immediate instigators. The r6le of the Ieaders of heavy industry was probably to finance such projects. This cooperation consolidated the strange alIiance which had been estabIished between two such different cconornic
132
THE
THOUSASD-YE A R
COXSlJIRACY
THE FEHIME .MURDERS
I33
groups-U'cstpl~alian heavy industry and the Junkers-the existence of one bnscd on the most modern industrial rnerhods, of rhc other on the lnosr backward cuploitation. In 3 description of the Prusso-Teutonic group of today, one really must include the heads of these industries, together with rhc junlters, officers and officials previously cited. A t the time of the Teutonic Order, nothing comparable t o heavy irid~tstry exisred. Toclay this industry is a force with which the descendants of rhe Ordcr must reckon. There may have been some cconnrnic friction bctween thc two groups during the period afrcr World W a r I, when there was rivalry in connection with tariffs on agricultural products and manufactured goods. This, honci-er, disappeareil cr>rnpletelywhen Ger~natly in r 9 3 r estabIished a sysrem of absolute protectionism based on exchange conrrol, which benefits equnlly both groups-+ big indr~strialistsand landowners-at the cxpense of rnercantile jnceresrs, small farmers and consumers. T h e x~orlikeatmospherc dear to the Prusso-Teutonics is equally desirable to heavy industry, the logical supplier of munitions. (We shall draw n o conclusions from the curious coincidence rhat the leaders o f heavy industry in Germany are descendants of old Westphalian families. There is good reason to believc rhat in rhe A4iddle Ages thcir ancestors were members, perhaps even chiefs, of the Fehme movement, of Westphalian origin. I n any case it is curious to notc this facr concerning the alIiance between the Junkers and heads of LVestphalian heavy industry: these two groups are present-day descendants of men who participated in the two German inwiturinns whose traditions most directly oppose Western civilization, the Teutonic Order and the Fehme.) The renewal of the Fehme seemed to rest with the Junkers whose secret "self-defense" societies stemmed in a direct line from the ancienr Society of Lizards and indirecrly from the Teutonic Ordcr. These socjeries were in a position to make an immediare decision t o revive the Fehrne terror-which was
indispensabk t o rheir aims-and then to organize it at once. sucha reign of terror would never have spread spontaneously, nor could it have resulted from the decision of a few members of the same caste o n the spur of the moment. T h e pri~~cipal aim was to cxccute, onc by one, the lcaders of the young German Republic. Almost overnight the numerous sub-organizations, functioning under various names, became executors of the restored Feh~ne. Through their good offices hundreds of democratic leaders were put t o death in post-war Ccrmany. In the democratic nations outside of Germany, no anention was paid to thcsc murders because they were considered a German "internal aff~ir." A11 Fehme assi~ssinacionsafter 19I 8 can be traced back to the same organizations. The two groups which were the executors par exsellence of Fchrnic crimcs were the "C" Organization (Conml) and the Rossbdch Organizgtion. All clues led t o them. But che men active in both these organizations ofcen figured as well in the activities of other societies o r associations, all of which scemed to be pursuing the same ends and carrying out the same instructions. E. J. GumbeI, recognized specialist in the history of German political crimes ;~fter 1918, whom we have mentioned earlier, explains as follows the entanglcmcn~of interests existing among these various groups: "The otiicial program as well as the name [of these organizations] changes in accordance with what seems policicalIy the most appealing a t the moment. T h e real tendency, however, remains ctic same. Thcrefore it would Ire wrong t o assume thar all these societies existed individually side by side. In many cases onc rosc from another, and societies with cntircly different na~ncsnlighr be identical. For the same individu:~b made i t 3 practice ro hold simultaneous rnenihcrship in a whole list of associations. "The constant change of names often serves the purpose of veiling the camplctc structure of the organizations so as to
* 3-t
T H E THOUSASD-YEAR COXSPIRACY
THE FEHXIE MURDERS
I35
make practically ineffective any dissoIution by order of the government or under pressure of public opinion. T h e pnrpose of the founding of new societies under new names and with new members was often to exclude those individuals who were no longer considered completely trustworthy, without provoking the enmity of such individuals by specificalIy expelling them." The number of persons engaged in these activiries cannot properly be estimared by adding up the members of the various existing associations, since there are numerous duplications in their lists. W e can figure that at the most- zoo,ooo individuals were active members of such organizations. Here are the names of some of the societies of chis character which abounded at rhis epoch. They often assumed pofessional or athletic guises, bur always pursued the same secrer ends. (Certain associations mentioned in this list preferred t o keep their very existence secrer) : Academic Werdandi Guild, General German PeopIes Turnverein, Old Comrades (secrer), Andreas-Hofer Bund, Arrninius Bund, Arian 'CVandervogeI, Bartelsbund, Bismarck Youth of the Pu'ational German People's Party, German Veterans' Bund, Friends of Edda Bund, Bund of the Faithful, German Sailors Bund, New Pathfinders' Bund, German Wrestling Bund, German National Training Bund, German National Lawyers' Bund, Franconian Bund, Bund for German Rebirth, Bund for German Public Teachers, Christian German Revival, German Academic Guild of Nibeiungen, German Oak, German Bund for Local Defense, German Women's Society of Ostmark, German Herold, German High School Circle, German Sailors, German Order, East German Bund, German Osrmark Society, German Employees' Eund, German Writing Bund, German Day, German Society for Rural Relief and Local Care, German Arms Bund, Society of German Faith, German Order's State, German Social
Employment Society, German Social Party, German Pathfinders' Eund, German National Academic Society, Siegfried Youth of the German Peoples, German National Youth Bund, German National Writers' Eund, German National Students' Bund, German Economics Bund, German WandervogeI, Eros (secret), Brorherhood of Travellers, United Field ArtiIlery, Pinc Tree Society, Irminsnl Boys' Sociery, Frontbund (secret), Germania, Germania Ring, Germanic Faith Society, Germanic Conscience Society, Germanic Youth Bund, Society of Friends of Conscience, Society of National Germanic Morality, Geusen, Grail Bund, Seekers of the Homeland, Germans' Bund, Germans' Order (secret), Hubertus, Youth Group of German Kyffhzuser Bund, Jungborn Bund, Young German Pathfinders' Bund, Young Teachers' Bund of BaIdur, Young National Bund, Innklub, Small Arms Society (secret), Knappenschaft, Kronacher Bund, Kultur Council, Mitgart Bund, National Society of German Officers, New Gobineau Society, Non-Jewish Bund, Aid Society (secret), Patriotic Veterans' Relief Society, Black-White-Red Reichbund, Reichsbund of Former Cadets, Reichs Gegenzins Bund, Reichs Hammer Bund, Reichs Officers' Bund, Order of German Legion of Honor, Schlageter Memoria1 Bund, Siiver ShieId (secret), Signal Bell, Tejabmd, Bund of German Artists of Bavaria, Bund for a Better Life, Theodor Koerner Turnverein, The Bold (secret), Prince Bismarck Youth Bund of the Farherland, Society of Friends of German Art, German Students' Society, National Women's Group, National Wandervoge1 Bund. Through these societies the conspiracy secured useful associates in a11 circles of the papdation, but to these were revealed only smaII portions of the true aims. The reaI "acting agents" seemed to come from the Consul and Rossbach organizations, at leasr insofar as the actual assassinations were concerned.
1 3 ~
THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIR4CY
T H E FEHAfE XlURDERS
3
'37
A m y and Navy Assassins

T h e assassins were all former officers, and in exceptional cases non-commissioned officers. When this curious fact was revealed in the course of ihe various trials and investigations concerning Fehme crimes in Germany, the public accepted withour a murmur the too easy explanation that the war had lowered the moral standards of the combatants. In reality this state of affairs was due to norhing so simple, but to deeper causes: the Prussian officers, faithful members of the PrussoTeutonic Caste were themselves obliged ro rake charge of these delicate rasks of the Fehme assassinarions, since they were the only "men of arms" within the caste. In the traditional way of doing things, the other Junkers' rdle was to finance the various secret organizations with the aid of heavy industry and to provide them wirh hideouts on their estates; the officials who were devoted to the common cause were actively represented among the various pofce organizarions, where they could heIp the assassins to escape, o r if that proved impossible, t o arrange, as prosecutors or judges, either their acquittal or their sentencing to an easy term. By 1918PrussoTeutonic affiliates could be found here and there among the officials of a11 German countries, even in places quite distanr from Pnrssia. Since 1870 the Prussian spirit had had time to spread to a certain extent a11 over Germany. T h e "bloody task," rhe actual killing, was considered the privilege of the officers-the descendants of the ancient Knights of the Order. T h e C Organizarion consisred primarily of former naval officers, the Rosshach Organization of army officers. Had a regular air force existed a t the time of the first World War, it is probable that a third organization would have been farmed, to be sraffed by officers formerly active in that branch of service. In tgra, the anri-Republic factions in Germany attempted
$?aguecoup d'Etat, known'as rhe "Kapp Pursch." Corvette Caprdin Ehrhardt participated in this together with his naval brigade. Ehrhardt had succeeded in keeping this brigade in existence after 1918.H e kept it functioning as an illegal orgnnization. Its financing came through unknown interests 13-hosc identity can easily be guessed. A writ of arresr was issued against him in xgzo by authorities of the Republic but it was never exccurcd. WhiIe the writ was still in effect Ehrhardt moved freely about the corridors of rhe Reichswehr illinistry. The official purpose of his discussions in the Ministry w a s "to find emphyment far his men." His real purpose was to elaborate quietly a scheme for collaboration between the Reichswehr and the future organization he had decided .to found by using the men of his brigade as a nucleus. Since direct action in the "Kapp Putsch" had not had satisfactory results, he planned from that time on to devote his efforts t o under-cover acrion. The newly creared "C Organization," or "Consul Organization," was named for Ehrhardt who was its leader: in the sccret code of rhe association each member had a special name and Ehrhardt was called "Consul." Outstanding Germans often tried to fight the Consul Organizarion and the other secret associations, but in vain. On September 2 2 , rgz I , Dr. Trunk, Presidenr of rhe State of Badcn, made the following revelations in the Diet of Baden concerning the by-laws and aims of the C Organization:
"The by-laws call for: "(a) SpirituaI aims: development and dissemination of national ' thought; struggle against all anri-nationals and internationalists; struggle against Judaism, SociaI-Democracy and
T h e word, "narional," is used here as the antonym of "inrernariond." The German nationalistrc circles considered the men behind the Wcirnar Constirution as 'internationalists" and they looked upon themselvs as the only ones who thought in "national" terms.
138
THE
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THE FEHME MURDERS
'39
the radical left parties; struggle againsr the anti-nationally conceived Weimar Constitution by word, writing and action; enlightenment of thc widest possible circles of the population as to the real nature of rhis Consrirution; support of the onIy possible constitution for Germany, one based on Federalism.' "(b) mater rid aims: Organization of men among the armed forces determined to prevent rhe complete revolutionizing of Germany; the prevention, through constitution of a national government, of the recurrence of present-day conditions; and, as far as possible, the preservation of armed forces as well as armaments for the nation. "The organizarion is a secret one, the members of which are bound for mutual defense and protection through a pact by which every member of the organization is assured of the utmost assistance from all other members. The members pledge themseIves to become a force to be reckoned with, so that when necessity, the honor of the FatherIand, and the realizatian of their aims demand it, rhey shall stand in the united strength of their closed ranks. Every member pledges absolute obedience to the organization's leaders. Jews and in genera1 men of foreign races are excluded from membership in the organization. Membership expires: (a) through death; ( b ) because of dishonorable activiry; (c) because of disobedience to rhe leaders; ( d ) through voluntary withdrawaI. All members involved under ( b ) and ( c ) and all traitors are to be disposed of by the Fehme. T h e pledge of alregiance reads: 'I declare on my word of honor that I am of German descent. I pledge on my word of honor, and through a handclasp, that I will subject myself to the by-laws
'So long as the cenrraI power in Germany, following the events of
1918, resred in the hands of republican groups, the reacrionary groups called themselves "Federalists." Whcn, following the rise of Hitler, power fell inro their hands, they were to become supporrers of ccntmlization to a much
and will act in accordance with them. I vow absolute obedience ro the highest Leader of the organization, and to observe utmost secrecy concerning all its affairs.'" During the niaI in 1924, following the assassination of Rathenau, a zealous Reich prosecuror, Ebermayer, spoke as follows about the activities of the C Organization: "I beIieve it my duty to point out that during the time of the investigation of the case and even irnmediateIy before the trial, a certain number of facts were produced which ~errnit us to suppose and almost to conclude that certain organizations and societies are hiding behind the accused-and I go further, that they have perhaps inspired their crimes. I must emphasize above all rhar: in all political outrages of the last few ycars, in the assassination of Erzberger, in the outrages against Scheidcmann and in the assassination of Rathenau, which concerns us here, the same circles-I might almost say the same individuals-have aIways been involved. In rhe assassination of Erzberger-SchuIz and TiIIessen play a rble; in the attempt against the life of Schcidemann, the brother of TiIlessen was active. Tillcssen, Plaass, Fischer, Kern, SchuIz, Techolv-all these men are the same group. A 1 have widespread personal, contacrs-eithcr because rhey have known each other for a long time or because they are all members of the different organizations. Thus, whether or not it is to our Iiking, we gain the impression of running up against the links of a common chain-of a singIc association to which all rhese men are affiliated." During the trial, the C Organization was seldom mentioned by name. The fear which checked the witnesses, the prosecution and thc judges in speaking of it was clearly evidenr. T h e presiding judge mentioned, however, that during rhe closed hearings which had been ordered, the relationship between the C Organization and the Rcich Government was discussed,
greater exrenc than even the republicans.
130
THE
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THE FEHME lMURDERS
]+I
Everyone understood that in reaIiry the matter of discussion was the relationship between the C Organization and the Reichswehr-this in reference to secret rearmament. The trial was conducted in such a way as to estabrish that rhc C Organization had rendered important "patriotic" services in the cause of secret rearmament and thar under these conditions it would be preferable not t o insist on denouncing the assassinations, which were not crimes but Fehmic exccutions. Finally a11 the accused were ser free. It is illuminaring that in the foIlowing year, during another trial, the same prosecutor, Ebermayer, referred to the C Organization in an entirely different manner. To his mind, now, the Organization was nor carrying on "secret activity." It is true rhar it was struggling against rhc IVeimar Constitution, bur it was doing so through "legal means." The intimidation of rhe Fehme had had its effect on the good prosecutor Ebermayer during the time between these two trials. It has been esrablished that there was a close connection between the Consul Organization and a whole series of associations serving as its "front" from time to time: Brueder vorn Stein, Hauptverband der Schlesier, Bund der Aufrechten, Jungdeutscher Orden, Verband nationalgesinnter SoIdaten, Nationalbund deutscher Ofiziere, Bayrischc HolzverwertungsgeselIschaft, Norddeurscher Bund, a number of studenr societies and finally the Wikingbzcnd (Viking Bund), an association which had some importance. In 1 9 2 3 , the Press Bureau of the Thuringian government characterized this Wikingbund as foIlows: "It appears that the National Associarion of German Soldiers, which was suppressed by law, has given rise ro a substitute organization, the so-called Wikingbund, which at the same time funcrions as a branch of the Ehrhardt Brigade [Consul Organization]. Characreristic of the way in xtd~ich ordinary members are deceived is the facr that, according to a declaration by a leader of rhe organization, no information
is allowed to be given out to unimportant members as to the connection between the Wikingbund and the C Organization, The Wikingbund as rhe 'latest edirion' of the ConsuI Organization operating in Thuringia, inclusive of Prussian provinces, has been divided into eleven district sections which are directed from the regional office in the city of Erfurt. According to statemenrs of individuals involved it has come nut thar rherc also exisrs a F e h e wirhin rlie organization. The duty of the Fehme is to preserve through rhe most rigorous methods the secret characrer of the organization and of its activities. Members who are suspected of being traitors or 'stool pigeons' are shot, according to various statements of peoplc who have participated in such actions. In the wellknown manner of such bunds the members have to swear 'life and death' obedience t o their leaders. It has been further established, according to confessions of individuals who havc been arrested, that one of the purposes of these organizations is also to put out of the way any leader or statesman of chc Republic who upsets their p1ans." Thc by-laws of the Wikingbund, drawn up in 1 9 2 3 , contain conclusive proof as to the connections of this Bund (and indirectly of the C Organization) with the National-Socialist Party. Among these by-laws is written: "The Bund is an association of industrious German men; it strives on a nationaI basis, for a moral, cuImraI, economic and polirica1 rebirth of the German people. The leader of the Bund is its founder, who shall havc absolute authoriry. Membership is open ro anyone who is above reproach and who is of Aryan German descent On entering the Bund, each new member must take the oath of allegiance to the Ieader and his aims, pledging himself irrevocably to obedience. Sentences must be executed by those chosen for this purpose by the leader, The political program is that of the National Socialist Gemran Workers' Party.* The Bund is a rniIitant patriotic
The italics are minc. P.W.
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THE THOUSAND-YEAR
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THE FEHIUE IMURDERS
'43
organization." This is signed: "B. Reiter, Leader and Founder of the Wikingbund."
A fob Well Done

T h e C Organization as a unit, or its members, can be traced in most of the post-war assassinations of outstanding poIiticaI personalities. In the regulations of the revived Fehme, where the of traitors" is mentioned, not only those who actually berray secrets of any of the organizations invoIved are intended. A11 who wanted Germany to take the path of democracy were considered "traitors"-traitors because they opposed rhe direction desired by the Prusso-Tcutonics, the only direction "worthy of a German"-according to the very parricular understanding of this clique. Since they were traitors, they must be killed. And as a result of this reasoning, the German democratic Ieaders were all disposed of, one by one. Of course the Fehme had even better reasons for acting promptly in cases such as that of the Bavarian Deputy Gareis in 192 I, when Gareis threatened to expose the Fehme crimes and those responsible for them. It must be admitted that the methods applied were effective. By 1 9 2 0 a11 the democratic parties had losc their leaders through assassination. Those who remained at the head of these parties were men who had neither power nor prominence-and they were terrorized. (It is thus not surprising that rhe German emigration which followed HitIer's accession to power has not ycr been able to produce an abIe leader from among the German statesmen of the different dernocratic parties.) Thus the srage was set for the seizure of power by a group which would controI Germany according to the desires of the Prusso-Teutonics and which would serve as a front to the Iatter, The Nazi Party, which was one of the candidates for this rBk, was mentioned more and more frequently. Less
...
and Iess was said about the Fehme crimes and the Consul Organizarion. Since the tasks entrusted to this organization had been finished the latter could now sink into oblivion, l3y 1930 we can find the men who had been Ehrhardt's trusted Iieutenanrs occupying important posts in the Navy, in rhe Administrative offices of the Admiralty and in the General Staff of the FIeet. Werner Tillessen, one of the foremost "men of many tasks" in the Consul Organization, whase name, together with that of his brother, had figured frequcndy during rhe course of most of the rrials invorving Fehme assassinations, was by then Vice-Admiral. Services rendered were well paid! When the officers had accomplished rheir tasks as Fchme assassins, they returned to the Army or the hTavy-hoIding higher rank than before because of time passed in the performance of "duties of a special nature."
T h e Black Reichswehr
While the staff of the Consul Organization consisted of naval officers, that of the Rossbach Organization was composed of army officers. Both organizations worked hand and glove. No difZcuIries arose between them, and from time to time .they lent each other their strong-arm men. The absence of conflicr benveen these two rerrorist groups, which one might expect to find competing with one another, can easily be explained by rhe fact that both organizations were acting in separate spheres but on behalf of the same controlIing interests. The C Organization was concerned primarily with disposing of major political figure-en in the public eye. The Rossbach Organization was dedicated to the execution of Iesser lights, who might hinder the Junkers as well as the day-by-day work of secret rearmament. The C Organization functioned throughout Germany, and was parricuIarly acrive in areas where a cerrain strengthening of the democratic
let
THE THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
THE FEHME MURDERS
'45
parties was noticed. The Rossbach Organization was more active in Prussia inelf, looking after the local interests of the Junkers, on whose estares the units of the organization had been set up. Therefore the connections of the Rossbach Organization with the junkers were of necessity more apparent than those maintained with the same inrerests by the C Organization. The Rossbach Organization was founded in December, 1918,by Lieurenant Gerhard Rossbach of the 175th Infantry Regiment with the remnants of' his regiment H e tried to keep together the men who ralIied around him after the dCbBcIe by hiding rhem on the estates of the East-Prussian landlords. Out of this a few rnonthslater Rossbach formed a "Srurmtruppe" (assault ~ o o p ) ,now admitting to membership officers and soldiers from all the armed forces. The Rossbach forces called themselves an "Arbeitsgemeinschaft." (work cooperative) to conceal the miIitary character of rheir organization from the Armistice Commission. They were to be placed in smaII units on the estates of the Junkers where they would carry out their activities. The Junkers had decided .to hide on their estates the implements of war which the army was able to salvage after Germany's defeat. For the Prusso-Teutonics these were a powerful trump, to be used in the future reconstruction of their forces. They had no doubts as to thisreconstruction, although they did not yet see clearly the exact form it would take. It is enIightening that the secret rearming, which was being carried on in defiance of the Armistice Commission, took place rnainry on the very estates of the Junkers (i.e., in the onIy section of Germany controlled entirely by the PrussoTeutonics). Ir is also interesting that a11 Junkers thus placed their Iands at the disposaI of the cause without a moment's hesitation; and that not one traitor was to be found among them who dared to oppose the shouldering of these obligaThe reason tions or to carry taIes to the democratic ~arties.
for this lay in the stricr secret organization of the Junkers. If this secret organizarion had not existed, a simple "community of interests," wouId certainIy not have been enough to force decisions so rapidly and.to insure secrecy and perfect synchronization of a 1 1 actions. The only leakage which the Junkers had reason to fear might have come from their farm workers. The Iatter, of course, unlike the Junkers, were not bound by the secrecy of the junker organizations. They were, further, in a position TO know and reveal the spots where arms had been hidden. It w a s a question, then, of terrorizing these workers and impressing on them the fact that by talking too much they would be risking the wrath of the Fehme. The organization of this Fehrne unit was the task of the various "work cooperatives" composed of ex-service men. Among these "cooperatives," the Rossbach Organization soon became outstanding by virtue of the initiative and ruthlessness of its leader. CollectiveIy these secret units were known as the "Black Reichswehr." Indeed, their purpose was to keep together the staffs of the former army. These staffs could not remain in the official Reichswehr, which had been considerably reduced in accordance with the terms of the Armistice. A close liaison was maintained between the two Reichswehr. This was considerably facilitated by the fact that officers of both were serving the same cause and obeying the same orders.
An Honorable Enterprise
The Rossbach Organization established central ofices in Berlin. It was from here that recruiting was carried on and that contact was maintained with leaders of the Reichswehr. These offices themselves organizcd a fronr known as the "Deutsche Auskunftei" (German Information Bureau). The Deutsche Auskunftei was under the official direction of Lieutenant Rossbach, and one can imagine what was meant by the
I t6
THE TIIOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
'i f I E FELIME MURDERS
'47
official description of the services rendered: "Investigations, Shadowing, Escorted Journeys." T h e prospectus of the bureau contained the following directions:
"Russbach volunteers" would show up immediately and at-
Main Business Office: BerIin Wannsee, Otto W. Erichstrasse 10; Open Day and Night, Telephone Wannsee 61 3 and 793 Branch Office: Berlin W 62, Bayreutherstrasse 1 r r 3 r d floor. Business Hours: 1-4. Telephone Steinplatz I 1663 Agents and Representatives scnt out on your request by phone Private automobile service from Berlin or Wannsee Terminal on request Cable Address: Deutsche Auskunft Wannsee Bank References: F. W. Ikause 8r Co. Berlin W Behrenstrasse z. Industrie und Landwirtschafts Bank Berlin, Markgrafensrrasse 35 Criminal Division: Criminal Police Inspector Wilss (retired) Political Division: Executive Director-First Lieutenant Rossbach (retired)-Major von Berthold Information, Stock Exchange and Cashiers' Division: Director M. L. Eberhardt Guards and Proteaion Division: First Lieutenant D. H. Lukash (retired) Legal Department: Major Bartold (retired)-Kurt Oskar Bark, Editor Telephone Service connects with all departments. T h e German democratic press of that period tried in vain to unmask the Deutschc Auskunfrei by demonstrating that all its resources were of Junker-Prussian origin; that it had been organized to provide those forces with srrong-arm men -the so-called "detachments of guards" for their estates; and that ir had been responsible for all Fehme assassinations in Prussia east of thc EIbe. If a Prussian Iandlord had the slightest difficulty with his farm workers, if he suspected them of wanting to organize a strike or of wishing to betray the rearmament activities, the
tack the workers,with clubs; they would not hesitate to kill those who might become too troublesome. All "volunteers" were armed wirh guns, knives and bIackjacks. They were obedient to the strictest: military discipline, going so far as to snap into "at attention" in the presence of their superior officers, although they were generaIly in mufti. Despite the name, "JVork Cooperative," they were nor concerned wirh any actual work. In a tight spur, however, the Kossbach volunteers were prepared to furnish large armed forces at almost a moment's notice.
Petty Executions
The responsibirity of the Rossbach Organization for some of the assassinations was clearly estabIished in the course of trials which aIso ended without any significanr results. T h e dernocraric press conducted inquiries and made some interesting revelations. Gurnbel tried very hard to demonstrate the connecting Iinks between a11 these Fehme assassinations but his efforts did not arouse public opinion. In July, 1920, the non-commissioned officer Max Krueger, of the Rossbach corps stationed at Stecklin, learned that one of rhe farm workers, Willi Schmidt, age twenty, wanted to abandon his job-and that it was being whispered in the vilIage that he intended to inform the police of the spot where certain secret arms had been cached. The local Fehme of the Rossbach corps decided to take action immediately. Four members of the organizarion, EIeines, Bandemer, Vogr: and Otrow, paid a visit to Schmidt, pretending to be p o k e inspectors. Intimidated, Schmidt Ieft with them, supposedly t o attend a hearing at the police station. ActualIy he was led to an isolated spot in the vicinity and there Otrow bear hLn over the head with a blackjack. It was decided to take him to the Kehrberg forest and his wounds were dressed. O n the way
1 4 ~
THE THOUSASD-YEAR CONSPIRACY
THE FEHME MURDERS
'49
there Schmidt tried to draw the attention of passers-by and cried out: "They want to kiII me." No one paid any attention to him. Two other members of the Rossbach corps, Baer and Fraebcl, now joined the others. Ar last E-Ieines ordered Baer to shooc Schmidt. Bacr could not quite make up his mind, so Heines himself shot a t Schmidt twice. H e was joined by Ottow, who aIso fired twice. Schmidt still had sufficienr: strength to cry out for help. He was knocked down and his face was pushed into the ground. FraebeI trampled on his head and finalIy Ortow finished him off with ten raps of the blackjack. Eaer now dug a pit in which the corpse was buried. 'But the pit was not deep enough. A few days Iater the knees of the victim pushed up out of the ground and people in the neighborhood began to speak of the assassination. After that the assassins went back to the grave and buried their victim in a much deeper pit. Walter Cadow, age twenty-three, employed as overseer an an estate at Wismar in Mecklenburg, had been admitted into membership in the IocaI Rossbach volunteers, having been a second liemenant during the war. After some time he was suspected of inrending to turn witness against the Rossbach Organization, in a trial concerning the Organization's activities, then in session. On May 3 I , 1923, following previous arrangements, members of the local Fehme g a him drunk, and then a11 his papers were removed. It was midnight. I-Ie was pIaced in a car wirh eighr men, who, under the command of Sccond Lieutenant Hness, hdd their guns against him. The car was driven out to rhe woods. Cadow was dragged out, stunned by blackjack hIows, and, dripping with blood, was put back into the car. They now drove him to a clearing, where he was knocked t o the gmund. The entire gang trampled him wirh booted feet.
One of these men, Wiedemeyer, sIit his throat, and Second Lieurenant Hoess finally killed him with a bullet in the head. Jurisch, one of the members of this particular unir, Iater became remorseful and recounted the incident to the Vmwnerts-socialisr newspaper of Berlin. T h e crime was thus brought co the attention of the attorney-general, who could not refuse to act. T w o minor helpers in the assassination, as well as the informer, were arrested. Finally all three were released, The local chief of the Rossbach Organization hurriedly transported those who had participated in the assassination to othcr estares in Upper Silesia. He thus made sure that the affair would have no further repercussions. Later it was learned that he reprimanded Ijoess, Ieader of the unit, severely: "If you had been a member of the Rossbach Organization for a longer time, you would have known how such affairs should be handled. T w o men and one b u l l e t a t night in the woods-are all that is needed." Around 1 9 22-1 gz 3, the Rossbach Organization found means of introducing irs methods into the Reichswehr irself. In numerous areas throughout Germany, Iocal cells were organized within the regular army. Thcse cells were named "Reichswehrblock Rossbach" (R. W. B. R.)-Rossbach Reichswehr Section. Indiscretions had exposed the relations between the Rossbach Organization and a certain regiment of Mag4eburg. Following this, the local R. W. B. R, issued, in May, 1932, the following command (later revealed by the Left press): "In rhe name of the Chief: In view of the prevailing espionage, the leaders have decided to form a so-called Fehme-unit. This will be composed onIy af trustworthy men, who have been trained in pisrol shooting, and shall be under the direct command of the leaders, It wiII be the duty of the Fehrne to observe the movement of rhose who appear suspect to rhe
THOUSAND-YEAR COKSPIRACY leaders and to dispose of traitors as well as poIiticalIy undesirable individuals. Because of the difficulties of this work, and the great demands it makes, only the mast reliable and trustworthy men are to be chosen."
THE
'so
THE FEHME MURDERS
Ijt
Fehme assassinations increased in number wirhin the Reichswehr and the various BIack Reichswehr organizations. The magazine DBSmdere Deutxhland published in its issue of January, 1927, the folIowing "confession":
"I, the undersigned, Hubert Caida, worker at Wreschen, was, in 192I, a member of the 'self-defense' organization, section Dedewitzhof, near to Twerkau, district of Ratibor. O n the night of the r8rh or 19th of May, 192I, I, along with another member of the organization, received orders from Lieutenant Petrich to follow the tavern proprietor Riiiketta, from Dedewitzhof to Benkowitz, and to .shoot him dead, somewhere along the way. On the road from Dedewitzhof to Twerkau, hfiketta walked a few sreps in front of us, his hands in his pockets, smoking his pipe, and without suspicion. We said that we would accompany him right up to the door of his house where his wife awaited his return. Miketta was three steps ahead of me when, in accordance with my instructions, I shot him in the head. He died on the spor. I am sorry to have kilIed Miketta, but I thought I had to carry out the orders of my superior, Lieutenant Petrich. "Wreschen, November 27, 1926 Hubert Caida."
mann, cried out for help from rhe Black Reichswehr, and begged a policeman to protect him. Despite protestations by the Sergeant, who showed his papers to the policeman, the Iatter conducted Pander to the police station. The commissioner there telephoned the general staff of the Third Army Division, requesting instructions. He was told that a second lieutenant wouId be sent over immediately to call for Pannier. Later a second lieutenant and another man presenred themselves to the commissioner, and they rook custody of Pannier, wham they then led away. The commissioner did nor realize that the officer was really Second Lieutenant Benn of the BIack Reichswehr. (In rhe course af the trial, where these incidents were revealed, it was never explained how a teIephone caIl to the general staff of a reguIar division of the German army could have led to the dispatching of men of the Black Reichswehr.) Two days larer, on orders of Eenn, Pannier was killed in the woods with an axe by Sergeant Schirmann and Privates Aschenkampf and Sreh. The day folIowing the crime, Schirmann left for Berlin carrying a letter addressed to Lieutenant PauI SchuIz, whose name figures in many of these assassinations. Schulz seems to have been one of the principal organizers of the Black Reichswehr Fehme. Sergeant Fahlbusch, who made accusations against Schulz during rhe course of a trial of Fehme crimes, was later, in January, 1931, found asphyxiated in a motor boar. His death was never cleared up,
The N e i s and the F e h z e
Erich Pannier, a young baker aged twenry-one, was active in a Ruhr detachment of the Black Reichswehr in 1923. H e became suspect to his superiors and when, in May, 1 9 2 3 , he did not return from a Ieave within the required time, Sergeant Schirmann was sent out after him, arresting him at the home of his parents. On the street, Pannier slipped away from Schir-
It is curious to observe the reIationship berween the postwar Fehme organizations and the Nazi party. That numerous murderers from the C Organization, the Rossbach Organization and the various detachments of the BIack Reichswchr became members of the Nazi party around 1930, is in itself nor astonishing, It can be explained simply by the general
152
THE THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
THE FEHME MURDERS
I53
attraction which the party held for the masses, and particularly among nationalist elements. But we have seen how, as early as 1923, the Wikingbund, closely connccted to the C Organization, adopted in its statutes the program of the NarionaI-SociaIist party as its poIitica1 ideal. On the other hand, Rossbach was officiaI representative for Hider in North Germany during this same period. When the police of Thuringia on January 26, r p t 3 , arrested 373 members of the Rossbach Organization, including forty officers (as related in the F~amkfzcrter Zeisung of January 28, 192 j ), it was discovered that alI of them were t o report to the Congress of the National-Socialist party, convening in Munich. The police found numerous guns and blackjacks on the men, and i n many cases they wore uniforms beneath their civilian clothes. A great many of them wore swastikas. In 1923, the Nazi party was not yet as feared and as influentiaI as it was to be a t a Jater time. Nevertheless the two ~ o w e r f u IFehme associations, the C Organization and the Rossbach Organization, maintained consistent connections with i t This was due oniy to the facc that all three organizations were agencies acting for the same group of i n r e r e s ~ . The ties of the C Organization with the Junkers and with the Reichswehr, loyal servants of rhe Prusso-Teutonics, were clearIy revealed during the course of various trials. T h a t there was a connection between the Rossbach Organization and the Pnrssian landlords was an open secret, since aIrnost a11 of their activiry had taken place on lands of the latter. I t is clear that by maintaining a regular relationship with both organizations, the Nazi party was curtivating its connections with the hidden powers which were at the same time behind both organization-the enrire Junker-Prussian clique. Yet there had been reason t-o believe from time t o time that o a head in a the Nazi movemenr wouId one day come t separatist revoIt of the different German regions against Prussian centralization. This was true especialIy when Hitler
-in the beginning of his movement-had close ties with the Bavarian separatists under the Ieadership of Kahr. T h e Number Two leader of the Nazi party, Gregor Strasser, thought he could maintain great independence with respecr t o the prusso-Teutonic forces. Captain Roehm deluded himself with the jdca that his "Praetorian Guards," the S. A., were sufficienrIy strong to enable the party to realize its own ends withour the necessity of submitting to any outside forces. HjtIer himself, entirely wirhout scruples, did not oppose his Iierrtenancs. H e welcomed all aliianccs, and all slogans, so long as these rnighr be of value to him. Basically, he was never under any iIIusion as to what were the truly dominant forces i n Germany. He knew very we11 that his assumption of power in Germany some day would be made possible only if he gave these forces absolute guarantees that he would serve them faithfully from the moment he had the controls. Despite his passing Airtations in other directions, Hider wisely maintained contacts with the Prusso-Teutonic elements through Rossbach and Ehrhardt, and through his own henchman, Goering. This state of affairs continued until the time in 1932 and parricuIarly in f anuary, I 933, when he concluded a "life and death" alliance with the Junker forces. This became possible only after the "neutralization" of Hindenburg, who alone among these elements had, up to that time, refused to approve the choice of the Austrian corporal as the "super factotum" selected to serve the Prussian cause. AS earIy as I 924, when appearances ran counter t o the conclusion hc set down, E. J. GumbeI in his book, V e m c h o e r e r , published in Berlin, had written the fallowing: "in its deepest foundatio?is, Nntional-social is^ contains but little more than P~ussiun .militarism."
THE
PRCSSO-TEUTONICS
APPROACH THEIR GOAL
15s
CHAPTER V
looser than those of the Pmssian landlords, always in debt. Xcvertheless the moral benefit of this princely gift to the
THE PRUSSO-TEUTONICS APPROACH THEIR GOAL
ON THE FIRST OF OCTOBER, 1927, two extremely dignified gendcmen in frock coars 2nd striped trousers called on Marshal Hindenburg, Presidenr of the German Republic, Thcy were the "secret adviser" (Geheimrat) Duisberg, head of the famous chemical firm I. G. Farben and one of the leaders of German big industry; and the royal chamberIain, Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau, mouthpiece of the Junkers and official representative of the Reichs-Landbund, the Junker agriculturaI organization., They came to present to Hindenburg a "gift from the German economy"-ritle to the hTeudeck estate, castle and grounds, Neudeclc had beIonged to the Hindenburgs from the time of Frederick the Great, though the Marshal himserf had never owned landed property. Tomorrow the whole country would be celebrating his eightieth birthday and on this occasion the Junkers and big industry had decided to restore the estare of his ancestors to him.
A Stroke of Genius
The idea had becn conceived by the designing OldenburgJanuschau, who was a close friend of Hindenburg. This "king's chamberlain" was a kind of liaison officer to the Marshal, permanently delegated by the Junker organization t o safeguard their interests in the Presidential office. OIdenburg had worked effectiveIy. The contribution of the Junkers t o the cost of the gift was trifling. The greater part of the funds came from big manufacturers, whose purse-strings were
h[nrshaI-Presidenr would revert equally to both groups. In tliis there was a certain justice: the industriaIists had supplied thc money, the Junkers rhe idea. IndustriaJists and Junkers mere hoping by this gcsrure to obtain a stronger hold on Hindenburg. But the Junkers hoped to secure an additionaI advantage of their own. By being transformed from an army officer without property into a Iandowncr, Hindcnburg would become a genuine Junker like his forebears. He would have the samc day-to-day economic anxieties as they, and would be better qualified to understand their ideas and aspirations. Bismarck himself had been a great landlord, owner of three domains: Schoenhausen, Friedrichsruh, and Varzin. His entire economic policy conformed to the special interests of the Junkers. Under his regime import duties on agricultural producrs were steadily increased, ro rhe disadvantage of other classcs of the population. Under his successor, however, rhings had gone less smoothly.
A Junker W h o Forgot
to
Be w Junker
when the young and impetuous William II decided that Bismarcl~should retire, he replaced him by Count von Caprivi, a general, member of a Junker family, who a t first had the confidence of PrussuTeutonic groups. But Caprivi ~ O S sessed no fortune of his own; he was simply a soldier. Moreover, he pursued economic policies directly opposed to what the Junkers believed so be their interesr. Between 1892 and 1894 he concluded commercial treaties which represented evolution toward free rrade with Austria-I-Iungary, IraIy, Belgium, Switzerland, Roumania, Serbia, and Russia, They provided for a decrease i n duties on imported agricultural products, in exchange for similar concessions gr'anted by the
156
THE T HOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
THE PRUSSO-TEUTONICS APPROACEI THEIR GOAL
157
various countries for admitting manufactured goods which Germany wishcd to export. Young German industry was happy, and the public gladly expericnccd a general reduction in the cost of living. But the Junkers were furious. Because of their unprogressive methods of exploiting their soil they could make profits only if they could sell their products at exorbiranr priccs, artificially bolstered by high import duties. So they decided on the fall of von Caprivi who had become increasingly persona nun grata to them. A carnpaiLgn of unusual violence was launched againsr the chancellor. Finally in October, I 894, the Emperor, while visiting on the estate of Count von Euienberg, one of the most inAuentiaI Junkers of the time, declded without apparent reason to recalI Caprivi. T h e "powers behind the chrone" had received full satisfaction. Hindenburg became President of the German Republic in 1 9 2 5 . Descendant of an old Junker family, he was elected with the support of the Junker class, but once in pnwer he seemed at times to forget that his sole duty in his new office was to serve the special interests of some 13,oooPrussian lords. True ir was chat Hindenburg, like Caprivi, owned no land. His fidelity to Junker principles, therefore, originated simply in the rraditional alliance between the corps of Prussian o f f i cers and the Junker class, and not in any direct personal interest. For an officer younger than Hindenburg the entangled interests of the Reichswehr and Junker organizations might have been an argunxnt strong enough to xvnrrant total submission to orders from the manor lords. But Hindenburg was a hero of the Great War as well as Presidcns of the Republic, elecccd for a term of seven years a t the age of 78. He could therefore consider hinlsclf sufficientIy independent to act merely as one who wished to leave posterity the recolleccion of a man devored t o the public interest. At the beginning of his term m President, Hindenburg
seemed unwilling to accepr orders from anyone, and, in spite his antecedents, was ready to serve the Republic faithfully. The Republican parries were agreeably surprised, but rhis iniiependcnce was unbearable to the Junker class. It had to be stopped at 111 costs, Neudeck was the bait held out co him. Bv one operation Hindenburg was made a debtor of the Junker class and heavy industry. In addition to this, as owner of a grcat estate in East Prussia he was henciforth to have the same worries and interests as other Junkers. The case of Caprivi had been a lesson, and the remedy found was an excellent one.
A Fnsitful All' zance
The alliance bcrween junkers and big indusrry in this overture to Hindenburg was not an innovation. It was.che same fruitful cooperation which we have seen a t work behind the Fehnlc murders. At first glance the interests of rhe two economic classes do nor appear identical. T h e Junkers favored high tariffs on agricultural products to prevent competition, while it was to the advantage of industrialists to conclude commercial treaties facilimring exportation and allowing in exchange imporration of agricultural products. In signing his series of commercial trearies Caprivi had yielded to considcrations of the latter sort. But German industrialists of 1927were no longer like those of 1892. The latter saw thcir future in natural expansion of their export markets, in healthy competirion with manufacturers of other countries. The industrialists of 1927 had already been brought into line by rhe Junkers. They had been made to understand that as German manufacturers they need not think along the lines of Anglo-Saxon economy. In free conyetition with foreign industries they could hope at best to secure one of the three first ranks in world markets. Bur Germany, according to Prusso-Teutonic schemes, should n o t
158
THE
PRUSSO-TEUTONICS
APPROACH THEIR GOAL
I59
be content with one of the first pIaces, but ought to obtain complete domination of all market$+ The plan for achieving this purpose was simple. Instead of facilitating trade with other parts of rhe world by concluding comrnercia1 trearics which successiveIy Iowered tarifis, they must, on the contrary, increase duties on imports and set themselves apart from the rest of the worId. (Later rhis isolation was to be effecred much more thoroughly wirh the aid of exchange control introduced under Bruening's regime by Dr. Luther and perfected under Hitler by Dr. Schachr: control of exchange which subjccts a11 importing to the control of the State.) T h e plan anticipated the folIowing stages: economic isolation; considerable rise in cost of living; misery and discontent of the people; blame traced back to parliamentary institutions and the Allied narions; ther, a hyofold result: discredir of parIiarnentary institutions and rearmament. AEthis point industrialists were promised these advantages: huge arms orders as an ample compensation for lost export business; high tariffs on imported producrs of heavy industry; successive subsidies by the Stare to German industry to allow a certain amount of exporting as a method of dumping (in exchange the State obtained foreign currencies which is needed even with control of exchange); and finally, because of discontent of the people and as a result of rearmament, war; then conquest by blood and fire of new territories, each becoming an economic outlet totally submissive to German control.
honorable for centuries, and had been carried on according to rules identical on both sides. The League, if its traditions had in the economic life of Germany, might indeed have become a real threat to other countries in the markets of the world, because German merchanrs were ingenious and industrious. But that threat would have been perfectly Iegirimate, conforming to the rules of the game of economic competition, and wodd have stimulated the competitors of the Hansa merely to show greater ingenuity in their mrn. The new economic plan had been conceived in order to produce a threat to Germany's competitors of an enrirely different sort. It was no longer a matter of playing the game fairly to win as much as one could from one's opponent, but of overpowering him and taking everything away from him. T h e Junlcers had succeeded in getting German industrialists to accept their robber-barons' ractics and discard rraditional Hanseatic methods from the German economic scheme. There is a time-honored conflict between the two principles. In the middle of the fifteenth century the bloody war of the German Hansesric cities against the Order had had its origin in the same conflict. In 1466 the Hanseatic cities had been victorious over rhe Teuronic Knights. In the twenrieth century rhe descendants of those Knights, the Junker class, succeeded in driving the Hanseatic economic concept out of Germany. World Dowzinion or Ruin The Junkers were anxious to have a good presentation for their "new economic theories." Prusso-Teutonic theorisrs of the nineteenth century had suppIied the necessary presentarion and a t the same time an exact outline for applying their plan. (We have seen the advantage they managed to derive from the economic theories of List, put into practice by Dr. Schacht.)
The Right Kind
of
Competition
In this Iine of reasoning the point of view of the Hanseatic League no longer prevailed. That ancient trading association of fret German cirics had struggled to gain control of world markets by every Iegitimate means of free commerce. The Hansa's contests with English merchants had been sharp but
60
THE
PRUSSV-TEUTONICS
APPROACH
THEIR GOAL
1 6I
But if that "presentation" had been useful in getting their plan accepted by the rest of Germany, inchding the industrialists, the Junkers were concerned with something simpier: their own immediate interests. These imrnediatc interests demanded higher tariffs on the import of agricultural products to aIlow them to raise thcir prices and make grearer profits. Their concern was to perpetuate the comfort in which they had lived as long as they were able to profit by the virtual famine that reigned in Germany during the postwar years. Here is what a German writer, Rudolf Olden (Hindenburg, Paris, 1935) says on the subject: "The famine which continued in greater and lesser degree untd 1924 had been the big opportunity for German agriculture, a period of easy success and luxury for everybody who produced comestibles, Hardly had this time passed when the great landowners immediateIy asked for protective tariffs. On rhis poinr also Germany stood at the crossroads. On the one side fuIfillment of the Treaty of Versailles, peace, disarmament, flourishing of commerce and industry, cuIturaI progress, satisfied labor; on the other side, high tariffs for grain and wine, isoladon from the worId market, refusal to make reparations payments, rearmament, cIass struggle from above, provocation of a war of revenge." One may cIearIy discern the precise plan of Prusso-Teutonic organizations, the secret Junker societies, behind the "uniIinear operations" of the Great EIector, of Frederick the Great, of Bismarck, of William the Second and of those who, under the Weimar Republic, conducted the Fehme and prepared in secret for rearmament. T h e extraordinary homogeneity a these operations would of itself suffice as indication of their common origin. Bur one need not imagine rhat I 3,000 Prussian manorial lords-i-e., a11 the Junkers-had been initiared into the full scope of the plan. That is not the way secret socicties work. T h e Junker cIass as a whole, assembled in the "professional
organization" known as the Reichs-Landbund, and in the social and politica1 society known as the Herrenklub, envisaged only their immediate interests. But those interests had been presented to them in such a way that they coincided with the combination of goals pursued. T h e procedure was sirnpIe enough. The Junkers wished to isolate themselves from the rest of the world in the matter of importing products of the soil, in order to sell their c;wn ac higher prices. T o attain their purpose, they needed the political support of heavy industry; and to obtain that support they had to make promises to industry as to the rearmament program. Moreover, they had to introduce into every German economic circle a complete plan that would encompass the rearization of their own immediare ends. This compIete plan lay ready for use. Ir was an elaboration of the precise plan rhat had directed every phase of Yrussian growth, the pIan which had inspired the fantastic dreams of the Prussa-Teutonic writers of the nineteenth century and rhe early twentieth. This plan evidently satisfied the imagination of the Junker class as a whole, bur to them it was fundamentally only a fortunate way of presenting their most immediate and much more limited purposes. T h e Junkers had to make every influential group in Germany accept the idea that for their country it was a matter of life or death to ernbarlc on a course of world conquest. T h e theory, "world dominion or ruin," came anew to the surface, and they attempted to make people believe char the fate of all Germany was at srake in this breath-taking dilemma. Actually if anyone was threatened with ruin it would be only the rj,ooo Junkers-ruin which the Junkers couId have avoided by orher means: by modernizing their farm operations and restricting expenditures. Bur such modernization and restrictions were inconceivable to these feudal lords. T o avoid them a11 Germany had to be drawn into an interminable period of "cannon versus butter," and strife with the rest of the world.
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
,I'IIIS
PRUSSO-TEUTONICS
APPROACH THEIR GOAL
I6j
The "Osrhilfe" Scandal

The "gift from the German economy" given Hindenburg in 1927 in rhe form of the domain of Neudeck was t o provide the Junker class with a hold over the octogenarian I lindenburg profitable in Fany respects. SeveraI irregularities came abour in connection with the gift. First of all, it was arranged to save on the transfer taxes. Taxes on gifrs as valuable as Neudeck were extremely high, amounting to 44 per cent of rhe assessed value. T h e revenue authorities allowed themselves to be persuaded to make an exception and formarly waive rhese raxes on the ground that Neudeck was a kind of "national gift." This exemption could have been vaguely jusrified if it had actuaIly been a matter of transferring property to the name of thc Marshal-President. However, the deed to the property was nor recorded in.the name of Marshal Paul von IIindenburg but in thar of his son and aide-de-camp, Colonel Oscar von Elindenburg. Indubitably it was a matter of avoiding the inheritance tax in the eventualiry, probably close, of the aged h.larshalFs death. Ncudeck was worth a million marks; the inheritance taxes saved in addition to the gifr taxes mentioned above amounted to roo,ooo marks. Incidentally, by registering the property in Colonel Hindenburg's name the Marshal's other children were deprived of their rights. The Marshal, entirely under his son's influence, offered no resistance. He did not realize that each of these irregularities opened a door through which pressure could later be brought to bear on him. Henceforth he could no longer allow himself the luxury of being a President caring only about the national interest. If he had ever dreamed (ingenuous thoughr!) of being able to frec hirnseIf of his antecedents, and of acting simply as a soIdier and German statesman, not as a Junker, he nlust now dispeI that dream. H e sank to the lever of rhe other Junltcrs. I i e became their partner of destiny in a "combine," disclosure of which might well embarrass him because
of his position much more than it could embarrass the instigators of the transacrion. Oscar von Hindcnburg had a fatal influence on his father. Eager to take advantage of his exceptional position, he w a s part of every political combination between 1 9 2 5 and 1933. I t was an open secret in Berlin that one could easily get what one wanted from the Marshal by being on good terms with the Color~cI.Ajlember of the I-Icrrenklub, the "social front" of the Junlier class, where derails of poIitical deals were debated day in and day out, Oscar in the end was completely dominated by the Prusso-Teutonics. O n his eightieth birthday the h'larshal, now a landowner, was exultant. He was enjoying Neudeck as a child enjoys a new toy. His dream at last had come true. H e would no Ionger be a poor officer without soil or root. This was what had rroubIed him so during his yourh when he used to compare himself with his more fortunate army comrades. If he wished to relax from his wearying duries he could now rest in his own castle, hunt on his own grounds; and when he died he could leave this lovely estate to his son. T h e latrer would have the advantage of it at an age when the father had had to he content with being a poor guest on the property of friends. At Neudeck Windenburg was the neighbor of OldenburgJanuschau. The two saw more and more of each other and the Marshal had an even more attentive ear than before for the suggestions of the man \vhom he considered his bcnefactor. OIdenburg in his conversations emphasized the "difficulties af agricuIture." Indeed, the golden age which had reigned for rhe Junlccr class, due to thc famine in Germany, had come to an end. T h e Junkers could no longer sell their products at exorbitant prices and profit by the misery of orhers. Their yierds on the agricultural market a t current prices were no longer enough to allow them to continue the extravagant living and drunken carousing to which rhey were accusromcd.
' 64
A good share of Junker money was also going to finance illegal dctachmenrs of the Black Reichswehr concealed on their properties. A11 this was no longer possible with the reduced finances which the Prussian Iords now had at rheir disposal. Sesidcs, they were running further and further into debt. Hindenburg, who was touched by Oldenburg's recital of the "misfonunes of agricuIture," consented to intervene with the government to find a possible remedy. This was how the famous Osthilje (Eastern Aid) was created, a fund amounting to 2 5 0 million marks. The avowed purpose of the Osthilfe was to "come to the aid of srnaIl farmers and peasants who had been ruined in the period of inflation." But in the few years of its existence Osthilfe money brought about rhe "refinancing" of some I o,joo big Junker manor Iords (of the entire r 3,ooo), by payment of their debts and by according them new credits on practicaIIy unlimited terms. On the other hand, Rudolf Olden shows that of two million average farmers, only one our of forry-five rcceivcd loans, and of three million small famers in Germany, not one obtained a thing. Accordingly, tremendous bitterness arose among the peasant class on the subject of the Osthilfe. Von Oldenburg-Januschau himself received over 600,ooo marks from the Osthilfe. When certain people hinted later thar he had gotten so much because of his initiative in the matter of the Nendeck gifr, orhers pointed out that when a person bears the name von Oldenburg-Januschau hc necds no further argument to get a heavy slice of the cake. T h c distribution of funds was in the hands of Junker officials. Investment of the money was carried out by a so-called "guarantee procedure" (Sicherungsverfuhren) directed by trustees appointed for this purpose. AII the trustees were Junkers who in rheir turn were profiting by the refinancing of their own properties. Thus neighbors superintended each other, and made 1nutua1grants of large sums.
One of the duties of the trustees was supposed to be to verify that the money granted under the title "debt repayment" actually went to creditors. However, creditors found themselves generally deprived of rhe greater part of their equity, with very smali hope of ever seeing rheir money. Some big Junker landowners were refinanced as many as four rimes, each time declaring their estates bankrupt in order to rid themselves of all indebtedness. Frequently this did not prevent their having money on the side, invested in prosperous businesses. Others continued their reckkss spending in accordance with the oid junker custom. When refinancing was no Iongcr possible in their own names they transferred their estates to the names of rncmbers of their families, frequently minors, and the same game went on ad z?zfiwitum, T h e development of semi-military organizations gained new intensity with the aid of this manna from Heaven distributed by the Osthilfe. A deputy speaking of rhese abuses before the Prussian ParIiament said: "The concealment and feeding of SA groups, of StahIhelm troops and similar organizations, showy festivities on the occasion of Nazi and Deutsch-national electoral successes, excessive personal expenditures and other similar things c o d d continue on a wide scaIe everywhere because of rhe good offices of the 'guarantee procedure."' Throughout Germany people began to whisper at first, then to talk more openly of the "Osthilfe scandal." T h e names of Ilindenburg and his son were frequently mentioned in this conncction, and ir: was said that being on friendly terms with the ColoneI was suficient to obtain ample sums from the OsthiIfc. Olden, Hindenburg's biographer, says: "A great number of Hindenburg's neighbors or people from the same social group as he-friends, or friends of friend-directly contacted the President or his son. All old Prussia came to new life. What counted was whether you beionged to the same Regiment, to the same student frater-
Ibb
THE
PRUSSO-TEUTONICS
APPROACH THEIR GOAL
167
nity, from what period your family had lived in a certain neighborhood, whose cousin or in-law one was. Friendships and cIiques looked for and found their way inro the Palace of the President of the Reich. Junkers managed t o be recommended to rhe source whence the flow came. The landIords from east of the Elbe fie., the Junkers] had aIways-at a11 periods of their history-been insatiable. They hurled themselves gIuttonously upon the overflowing abundance." The Osthilfe scandal, and later that of Neudeck, hovered in the background of the history of the governments preceding the Hider regime. The Catholic Centrum party and the Socialisrs stirred up the scandal, cautiously at first, then with more courage. This created great uneasiness among the Junker class. Bur even the Nazis, directly or indirectly, made revelations concerning these matters in order to keep atcention focused on them. It was because of the continual pressure thus exerted on the Junker class and Hindenburg that the Nazis were finally able to seize power and maintain their position with Junker support,
...
A Paralyzed Parliarnew
From March, 1930,until May, 1932, Dr. Heinrich Bruening
was Chancellor of the Reich. H e came from the movement of
brought about sterility in parIiament. T h e democratic parties, dispossessed and without true leaders, could do no constructive work, opposed as they were by an extremely active and AIachiavellian Nazi minority. This was a11 the Junkers could ask. They had succeeded in suppressing their mosc dangerous opponents. If parIiarnent (which they detested, though they had been forced to tolerate ir from Bismarck's time on) now wound up by making a fooI of itself and becoming paralyzed, nothing could give them greater delight. Bruening, not knowing how to govern with an impotent Reichstag, resigned himself to using an expedient which he was able to devise in accordance wirh provisions of the Weimar constitution. He decided to introduce a system of decree-laws, i.e., decrees which had the force of law and dcpcndcd merely on the signature of the President of the Republic. True, he was obliged to submit these decree-laws later for approval of the Reichstag, but if this approval should be refused he could immediately dismiss the Reichstag by using a decree of dissolution signed in advance by the President. Comparative parliamentary stabirity lasted, therefore, only under permanent threat of such dissolution. Presidenr Hindenburg rhus became the source of all power. He had already become accustomed to giving orders to politicians who had access to him, treating the ChancelIor and members of the government the way a commander-in-chief treats his s t a f officers in time of war. So great was the respect which this miIitary chief inspired in the Germans that no one found anything amiss. From now on his power became srili more absolute. But Hindenburg in turn was under the influence of the Junkers, especialiy since the deed of gift to Neudeck, Oscar von Hindenburg received dairy orders from the Reichs-Landbund and the HerrenkIub and continualIy whispered them to his father. So the Junkers' rneddIing with the government became quire direct.
Chrisrian labor syndicates, was a devout Catholic and member of the Centrum party. In principle he was opposed t o the Junker class, as was his party. Actually, he c o d d stay in power only so long as he tolerated their abuses and resigned himself to act, in spite of his better feelings, in accordance with Junker schemes. H e had t o yield office as soon as he tried to prove himself independent of them. When Bmening took office the democratic parties of Germany had already losr all initiative. The Fehrne, faithful tool of the Prusso-Teutonic cIass, had suppressed the most enterprising democratic leaders and intimidated the rest. This had
168
Bruening a t first toIerated the abuses of the Osthilfe. H e had, moreover, a still greater merit in the eyes of rhe PrussoTeutonics, for it was he who, in July, 193I , introduced "control" of the mark, which separated the destiny of German currency and German economy from the rest of the world.
A Financial Wizard Enters the Game

Before 1923 the mark had passed through a period of acute inflation due to the effects of defeat. In 1924 Dr. Schacht replaced the German unit of currency, almost compIeteIy devaluated, by the "Reichsmark," based on goId. T h e Reichsmark circulated freely and became a choice international coin. Dr. Schacht had succeeded in making the world believe rhar henceforth Germany had decided to in international exchange and become an inregral part of world commerce based on goId and free competition. The worId's greatest. financial institutions then offered Germany credit and her empty coffers were quickly filled. But the PmssoTeutonics had not given up the plans of List. They figured that they could derive no advantage from the prosperity which Germany wodd achieve as a result of intensified internationaI trade. The good fortune to which they aspired was of an entirely different sort. For them it was essential to become isolated from the rest of rhe worId and avail themselves of the sufferings and prejudices excited by that isoIation to get the country started on the path to conquest.. In recalling to mind the theories of List we have already briefly indicated the r61e played in their execution by Dr. Schachr. The remarkable rise of Schacht is worth considering. H jalmar Schacht was born in 1 8 7 7 . 1lis father had returned to Germany from America only the year before Hjalmar's birth, T h e Schachts were a family from the frontiers of SchIcswig-Holsrcin and Denmark, who had, after annexation
of Schleswig-Holstein by Bismarck, received German citizenship. But the Schachts had a Ieaning toward Denmark, and the occupation of their country by rhe Prussians was, for ~vera1 members of the family, a reason for emigrating to America. Hjalmar's father was one of these. In the United States he acquired American citizenship and steeped himself in American democratic ideas. But reverses forced him to come back to Europe, and in 1875 he accepted a ~osition as accountant in Germany. For this reason his son was born on German soil. He named him Hjalrnar Horace Greeley Schacht -Hjalmar to recaIl his Danish origin and Horace GreeIey to show his admiranon for the great American journalist and for American ideals in genera1. We have seen that List, creator of the economic doctrines of the Prussian school, had been an American citizen. Ir is a curious fact that Schacht, who was primarily responsible for putting these ideas into practice in modern times, was also of American background. This background unfortunately tended to inspire confidence in Dr. Schachr among American and English bankers, and made easy the successful and conspicuous part he was to play in Anglo-Saxon financial circles. Schacht started his career as a financial journalist. He was next employed as financial expert in onc of rhe largest German banks, the Dresdner Bank. During World W a r I hc was assigned to the army to help organize the economic occupation of Belgium, After two years he was recalled to Germany, because he had been accused of having used his official authority to rhc advantage of his own bank in transactions involving occnpation currency. In the course of his career he was frecluendy caunred about this "Belgian affair" by politica1 adversaries. After the war we find Schacht a t the Damstaedter Bank, another of the three largest German banks. Jacob Goldschmidt, head of the Darmstaedter-who was at that time in
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the vanguard of the specufation brought about by the wild inflation of the mark-had recognized in Schacht a pliant and subservient henchman. Goldschmidt was the man responsible for the rise of Schacht, for it was on his advice that the German government put Schacht in charge of the Reichsbank. His mission rhere was to bring to an end that astronomicaI inflation, after it had impoverished the entire middle class of Germany, to the enrichment of a few big spcculators. The stabilization of the mark was accornplishcd by October I I , 1924. Dr. Schacht received a11 the credit for the work, although various experts had paved the way. In any case, he did have the knack of creating in Germany and abroad the psychological annosphere necessary for a successful stabilization. He effecriveIy spread the belief throughout the world that the mark was now.definiteIy on a gold basis and that Germany in the furure wouId honorably participate in world exchange based an free trade. No one doubred that these intentions were sincere, for they felt that Germany had everything to gain by taking such a course. Indeed, they thoughr thar by playing the game of free competition, German industrialists and merchants, whose abilities were unquestionabIy first-class, wouId have every chance of securing a high pIace on the world's economic roI1.
its interest. For that group, the job in mind had to be done in several stages. T h i s was accompIished as follows:
r . T h e purpose of the first period, inflation, was to permit the Iooting of the entire German rniddIe cIass. This was accompIished to the advantage of the Junker class which was
able to make money by the tremendous rise in prices, due t o scarcity of agricultural products;' and also to the advantage of bankers and big industrialists speculating directly on inflation, like Stinnes, Thyssen, and Krupp. These men succeeded, during this period, in buying up tremendous quantities of industrial properties with borrowed money which they were able to repay easily after the currency was devaluated. 2. After October I I, 1924, the next step was to encourage the inflow of foreign money under the guise of long and short term credits. IVithour these fresh funds there would indeed have been nothing left to pick from German pockets. The small German merchants and manufacturers had lost all their reserves during inflation. It was therefore essential, above all, to inspire confidence throughout the world regarding the mark, so that foreign credits would begin flowing in heavily. Sums amounting to from twenty to thirty billion marks were thus lent to German business in the period between 1925 and
'930. 3. During the years 19z5+1930 the direction of this operation was reversed. There was more and more talk of rhe
A itlost Unorthodox Fi~zanciaIPiun

Reasoning thus, internationai financial experts failed to recognize one thing: rhar in the administration of Germany's affairs under the direction of the Prussian clique, what one might call "the German national interest" had bur small influence. It was the speciaI interest alone of a restricted group, directing the affairs of Germany from behind the scenes, which decided what course was to be taken. O r rather, what that group, because of its "robber baron" spirit believed to be
heavy burdens borne by Germany after payment of reparations. In reality, these payments amounted to scarcely ten billion marks. The peace treaty did not, on the country's baIance sheet, represent much of a burden, because of the re-entry of gold as foreign investment worth twenty to thirty billions during the same period. German financial and governmental circIes, painting the
'When inflation reached astronomical proportions and this advantage of rhc Junkers bccame illusory, they then agreed that stabilizadon should rake placc a t once.
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country's situation in darker and darker colors, artificially created a panic. This produced, in German and foreign financial circles, a "flight from the mark." From the middle of 1930 to July 193I , about taro or three billion marks poured our of Germany. Finally, on July 1 3 , 1931, under Bruening's administration, the financial authorities of Germany took advantage of the climax of the panic they themselves had provoked, to have the government declare a moratorium on internal and externaj debt payments, and they instituted "control of exchange" on a permanenr basis. This control of exchange again took Germany off the gold standard. Its first resuIt was to make impossible repayment of credits which had been accorded to German economy. All short term credits became automaticaIly long term ones, or rather, credits of "indefinite rerrn," i-e., frozen credits. The same perfarmance which d o w e d the spoliation of the whole German middle class during the period before 1924 now took place a t the expense of financial interests the world over. 4. T h e introductian of control of exchange on Juiy 1 3 , I 93 I, represented complete seizure by the State-and by groups hiding behind the Srate-of a11 export and import business. AiI foreign currencies accruing from export must now be yieIded to the State. AII importing not deemed useful to the interests of the Stare was forbidden. Officials whose decisions were not subject to parliamentary control ran everything, and behind them was still the same influential crowd. Import of products useful to the public at large was considerably dowed up, with preference given to entry of raw matcriaIs needed for making armaments. Heavy industry grew increasingly prosperous. Private business suffered and prices of commodities doubled. Misery sprang up again among the middle and poorer cIasscs of the population. T h e "masters of Germany" were satisfied with rhe execution of rheir plan. Misery and discontent of the peo-
were excellent argumenrs for ulrimately compromising the so hated. In addirion, the same arguments were invoked to excite the German people against France and England. This promoted psychological conditions favorable for the rearmament program, and prepared the way for the foreign conquest long anticipated by the Prusso-Teutonics, 5. Properly speaking, conquest-and the attempt at economic domination of world markets which it implies-may be considered the fifth phase of the same program.
parliamentary system which they
Dr. Schacht Prepares the Panic

Following the stabilization of the mark, Dr. Schacht was responsibIe, eirher directry or by his acrion behind the scenes, for the execution of the entire financial scheme described. When, in r g q , he had brought about stabilization he was acting in full accord with the Prusso-Teutonic class and the financial circles of Germany. The tactics corresponded perfectly with what they wished. Only the Nazis, with their customary violence, criricized rhe stabilization. At that time their interests were not yet identical with those of the Prusso-Teutonics. They acted as free-lances, sitting in many anterooms. They did have some conncctions with the Prussian clique, bur had not yet placed themselves totally at their service. The aim they pursued above all else was to capitalize on the discontent of the people to raise thernseIvcs, by demagogic means, ro power. Therefore they were fierce opponents of a measure such as stabilization which might eliminate one of the main causes of discontent. The advantages which Prusso-Teutonic circles hoped to gain -foreign loans destined to fill the empty cash boxes-did not interest them a t all, for they had nothing to gain thereby. On June 2 2 , 1925, the Nazi organ Voelkiscber Kzsrier attacked Dr. Schacht and called stabilization "the greatest
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swindle ever committed at the public's expense," Other Nazi newspapers said that Schachr was of Jewish origin and t h a ~ his real name was "Hajim SchachtI." Alfred Rosenberg took up this attack on Schacht in a work pubIished in 1926 under the tide "Novemberkoepfe." These attacks did not bother Schacht much, for at that time the Nazis were not very powerful and he knew thar he was under the protection of a much more influential group. During the period after the inflation Schacht tried to inspire the world with confidence in Germany. In his frequent talks with directors of other government banks he showed himself to be a conservative, cautious financier. At that period he conformed in every detail to the classic ideal of a great banker who could personally guarantee to the world the healthy condition of Germany's financial affairs, as well as the sound basis of world-wide investments in the mark. Tn 1929, when the coffers were almost filled, Schacht became bolder. Phase number two couid give way to phase number three. On April 15, 1929,one of the regular conventions of national bank heads of various countries was held at the Hotel George V in Paris. As usual, the conference was to discuss the question of reparations, examining different financial aspects of the problem. Suddenly Dr. Schacht took rhe floor and began, to the surprise of his colIeagues, inrroducing political factors into the discussion. He stated that Germany could not continue to make reparations payments unIess she received in exchange the Polish corridor of Danzig, Upper' Silesia, and "a colonization spot somewhere in the world." Such talk surprised and shocked Dr. Schacht's coIleagues utterly. What-this canservarive financier who had made them belicve all dong that Gcmany was on thc road ro financial recovery, and who had during previous conferences argued only about financial difficulties of a rechnical naturewas he suddenly subordinating the financial relationship
between his country and the rest of rhe world to political demands? The international bankers were quite familiar with these demands. They had been the favorite theme of a small group of German nationaIists, including the Nazis. But in the past bankers had been made to believe that these groups had no influence, that the German Republic sincerely intended to respect its obIigations, and that Dr. Schacht especially, as high master of German finance, cared only about stabilization of the international financial situation and the developmenr of thriving trade. But now didn't it look as if he were borrowing rhe arguments of his country's extremisrs? Et tu mi fiti
Brute?
The disappointment of the financiers was great. Moreau, Governor of the Bank of France, demanded that the conference be immediately cIoscd. Finally it was agreed to diminish the shock by inviting Dr. Schacht to submit a written report. Pof tical matters were not discussed further during the sessions following, and the bankers Ieft the conference with a semblance of agreement on financial questions. But the warning had been a fierce one and had made its impression. Dr. Schacht now speeded up the steps to follow. Phase number three of the program was ending. In frequent interviews with his great friend, Monrap Norman, Governor of the Bank of England, Schacht brought out more and more plainly the internaI difficulties of Germany. I t u s no longer a matter of inspiring confidence in the world, but of slowly and nrethodically preparing the way for panic which would sometime soon justify suspension of reparations pay wzents m d the freezing of foreign Eoans. Lare in February, r 930, Owen Young received a cable from Schacht informing him of his intended resignation. Young felt it proper to forward this cable to the German Embassy in Washington. That was how Germany and the worrd at large Iearned the surprising news.
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T h e roundabout way Schacht chose for revealing his intentions is astonishing. Nevertheless, it was in Iine with Schacht's purpose. This direct communicarion to the American dclegate was expected to disclose the disagreement supposedry existing between Schacht and the leaders of Germany. Thus he gave the world dearly to understand that he could no longer personalIy guarantee the stabiIity of Germany's financial situation-which was the best means of hastening panic. Besides, by communicating directly with the American financial expert Schacht hoped to preserve for himself rhe sympathies of American bankers (those of London were already insured by reason of his friendship with hlontagu Korman. Furrhermore, it is not known whether he simuItaneously sent a similar message to Norman which the latter had not felt obIiged to divulge.) The impression Schacht gave was as if he had said, "I have done my best, prepare for the worsr. After me, the deIuge." O n March 7, 1930, Schacht's resignation became official. T h e painful surgical intervendon which had been planned as the cnd of phase three of the program-panic, moratorium and exchange control-approached. By retiring to private life in time, Schachr avoided all blame for the operation, in Germany as we11 as abroad. H e knew that he could always come back later, washing his hands Iike Pontius Piate. All this appears dear today in the Iight of subsequent events. At the rime, everyone found the reasons for Schacht's departure somewhat mysterious. Writing on March 9, 1930, in the Vossische Zeitung of Berlin, the great publicist, Gcorg Bernhard, said: "No one knows the real reason for this resignation." Today we know it only too well. The departure of Schacht contributed greatry to the Gernran capiralists' "flight from the mark." Large sums of money were invested abroad, Dr. Hans Lurher, named by Bruening t o replace Schacht a t the head of the Reichsbank, did Iinle to repair the damage. The die was cast and it was now simply
a matter of replating the rhychm and speed of the program. Finally, taking advantage of a heavy run on private banks, among which the Darmstaedter Bank (the bank Schacht came from) was the first, Bruening's government, on July I 3, 193 I , decreed a bank moratorium and "control of exchange" which was to become permanent. Phase three of the pro,uram was finished and Gemany now became financially isolated from the world.
The Plight of "Poor Germany"

The operation had so far been successfui and the plan approached phase four without a hitch because nearly all the international financial interesrs had allowed rhemselves to be raken in by the touching "plight" of "poor Germany." Nevertheless, the Financial Chronicle of New Yark in its issue of July 18, r 93 I , revealed clearly the German government's responsibility in this course of events. "The flight from the Mark that resulted in the present situation of Germany is due both to the demand for foreign currencies by fearstriclcen Germans who recalled vividly their worthless holdings of German securities and currency eight years ago, and the withdrawals of their short term credirs by foreign invcsrors. The signal for the withdrawals was given, it must be remarked, by rhe German government itself. ChanccIIor Bruening and Foreign Minister Curtius advertised rather too well, during their visit to London in June, the precarious state of affairs produced in the Reich by the worldwide economic depression and the heavy reparations burden. Pleas then made, together with the German government dccree imposing heavier taxes, started a unanin~ous exporr of capita1 which finalIy exceeded the capacities of the financial institutions of the Reich." In these events Bruening's responsibility is indisputable, but how far it werx is net clear. T h e former Chancellor of the
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Reich, now Iiving in the United States, has not seen fit, up to the present time, to give ha version of the story of his years in powcr. Possibly he was not fully conscious of the r6le he was made to play by the Prusso-Teutonic clique, who remained masters of the situation under his regime also. But the extent of Bruening's personal responsibility is anIy relatively important. Certain it is rhat in tolerating, over a period of two years, rhe practices which prevailed in the distribution of Osthilfe funds, and in creating the financial isoIation of Germany, he did render conspicuous service to the PrussoTeuronic class. Moreover, if it were not for this weakness, or blindness, or temporary cornpIiancc-whatever one chooses to calI it-Bruening could not have kept himself in power for two years. The Totalitarian Plan Berween the two world wars, Germany was thus the first country to destroy, on a large scal:, the effect of the stabilization of hcr currency, and to break away from international free trade based on gold. It was she, therefore, who supplied the "eviI inspiration," and within a few months several countries followed suit. The avalanche was let Ioose. Finally many countries adopted a kind of "controI of exchange" which became, during the period before the war, the primary obstacle to international commerce.* The conrrol of exchange introduced by Germany was extremely strict. A veritable financial "wall of China" was built around the country. Without this seclusion, whose rules were established and perfected under a regime still bearing the title "RepubIic," Hitler's totalitarian scheme couId not have functioned. The new measures were part of the Prusso' T h e srarc of war added other obstacles such as transportation difficuIries and prohibiuons on exporting. In addirion, during the war the few countries \vhich u-cre still allowing free export of currency finaIIy adopted, almost rvirhr~ur:exception, a system of more or less strict control o f exchange.
Teuronics' plan, and they had definitely decided that, from that time on, the country was headed in a totaIitarian direction.
At that moment it was probably not yet clear in the minds of the real masters of Germany who should be entrusted with the task of putring this totalitarian orientation into practice. AIthough E~Iider was already a serious candidate for the enviabIe post of "sublime henchman," and mas the protbgi of several persons of influence, the forces running Germany from behind the scenes stilI, in principle, had free choice. One may well imagine that they mighr have put someone else in charge of rhe execution of an absolutely identical plan, provided that they could have foundgone as well qualified as Hitler to dispatch the business. It was Hitler's good fortune rhat at the time no other man existed in Germany who had his peculiar quaIifications to put into execution the Machiavellian plan of the Prusso-Teutonics, Von Papen, who was the onIy other serious candidate, was simply an amateur in comparison. He did not have the qualities required of a "good professional."
The "Robber Barox" Concept
After the advent of Nazism only the method of a "financial waII of China" codd permit German economy to be placed practically on a war basis and to work for total national rearmament. (Secret rearmament in accordance with a definite plan had never ceased since the Armistice.) It was this financial arrangement which paved the way for Hitler's demagogic argument * that other nations were refusing Ger7nuny the raw materials she needed, and therefore she ~izust conquer to get them. It was this argument that made ir possible for Hitler to ger his people to accept the harsh policy,
'If rhe Prusso-Teutonics had chosen another "henchman" hc would have used the same argumenr.
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"cannon instead of butter," and the sufferings of war. By virtue of the same argument he got people in certain foreign circles almost ro excuse his policies because they bewailed the fate of "starving Germany." We have already touched on this question, but one cannot insist too strongiy on the fallacy of this Iine of reasoning. As long as she remained on the basis of a free financial system Germany could aIways have procured all the raw materials she needed. They were at her disposal in free markets throughout the world, and could be bought in a few seconds at any rime by means of a simple cabled order. Countries much srnalkr-Bclgiurn, for example, which was as industrialized as Germany-were also in the same position and never complained of a "dearth of raw materiaIsn or of "lack of vital space." This dearth, this lack of vital space, was deIiberateIy produced by a series of measures, the first of which was the introducrion of controf of exchange on July 1 3 , 1931.Those who defend the German point o f view try to prove that the financia1 panic provoked by the introduction of controI of exchange was not brought about deliberately by the group d i n g the affairs of Germany, and thar consequently control of exchange was inevitable. The reverse is easy to prove, but even if we admit for a moment the correctness of this thesis, we must say thar the solution by control of exchange as a pewanem measure was the worsr that could have been chosen. One may compare Germany in panic to a bank on which there is a run. Obviously, the doors must be closed for a time, but permanent closing, or opening subject to all sorts of restrictive and annoying rules imposed on patrons, wodd be the best way one could imagine to avoid entirely restoring normal life to the bank. One need not wonder why a bank choosing such methods goes to its ruin. T h e only solution by which one might hope to save a bank in straits would be t o put persons i n charge who inspire confidence, and starc to function again by opening the cashiers' windows wide.
Germany's secIusion from the normal economic world exchange was also in perfect harmony with what one would expect from "robber barons." Henceforrh it was a matter of pining possession of raw materials by force and consequently of the territories which podgced them, even if it was possible to buy and pay for these materials with the product: of one's Jabor, provided, of course, that one was inclined to supply such labor, Most people-and most nation-feel that this procedure is simpler, healthier and more satisfactory. The robber barons, and the powers governing Germany, felt (and stiI1 feel) exactly the opposite way. PcopIe committing acts considered dishonest under the law 'always try to excuse these acts by saying that they have been obliged to act so because the society in which we Iive does nor alIow them to live otherwise. Just the same attitude was adopted by Germany from 1931on; Hider merely accentuated it by developing the theme of "vital space." But the plans providing for this attimde were estabIished long before 193I by the powers behind the German scene,
Dr. Schachr Chooser Hider

In 1930, at the time of Schacht's resignation, the PrussoTeutonic powers did not yet seem to have chosen Hider as final executor of their schemes. The agitarion which he had created in Germany had a certain urjlity for these aims; therefore rhey helped him when occasion offered but had not yet decided to enrrusr him with the "supreme task." If the combined Prusso-Teutonic powers had nor yet made their choice, Schacht had made his. From 1930 on he was staking everything on Hider. Known to the public as a man of democratic convictions, Schacht had in reality always been in close ronch with the Prusso-Teutonics and in particular with the "heavy industry" wing of that group. He was no fool; he knew who wielded
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THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY Irnmediacely after his retirement from office in I 930 Schachr procured subsidies for Hitlcr from his friends in heavy industry. About that time Schacht introduced Dr. Walter Funk to Ifirler. Funk was to become head of economic affairs in Germany under the Hider regime. Schacht had known Funk when the latter was a young economic journaIisr working chiefly for publications financed by industrialists of the Ruhr. His presence close to Hitler represented a further guaranree to the industrialists that their prans would be faithfully executed by Hitler. Schacht and Funk had long conversations wirh Hitler on matters concerning the economic future of Germany, and explained List's ideas to him. In this way Hitler's economic training was shaped in a direction coinciding in every particular with Prusso-Teutonic conceptions and rraditions. H e understood the ful1 meaning of List's economic thesis, which recommended rigid economic isolation from the resr of the world in order to have to conquer it by force. A l the speeches made by Funk from the time he began to represenr Germany in the economic sphere were obviously inspired by this thesis. In the fall of I 930 Schacht set out on a journey which took him through several countries: Denmark, Sweden, SwitzerIand and America. He went "as a private citizen" to visit his friends in banking circles. H e was well received everywhere, for the halo of the stabilization still surrounded him. People did not realize that he was actuaIly just as responsible for the rccent deterioration of German finances which he had promored from the wings. Schacht was still Iooked upon as a man of the Weimar Republic, a sincere democrat. Foreign bankers therefore wondered why during his trip he openly defended the Nazis and predicted a great future for them, using rhe Leitmotiv: "They are not as dangerous to big business as people say." On his rerurn to Germany the National Socialist deputy von Reventlow made a speech in the Reichstag thanking the former President of the Reichsbank for having
the real power in Germany. All his activity as head of the ReichsbanIr, the srabilization of the mark and his fruitful efforts to attract foreign capital, had been undertaken in perfect agrcemenr with the Prusso-Tenronics. W e have seen that at that rime the Nazis were not in agreement with him, for rhey knew that stabilization and influx of foreign capita1 would bring order and prosperity back to the country. And nothing could have a less favorable effect on the success of their demagogic agitation than order and prosperity. No wonder, then, that they attacked Schacht's stabiIization measures. Not yet admitted to the "inner councils," EIitIer and his friends did nor know thar stabilization and the prosperity it was designed to bring about were to be of short duration, according to the intenrions of the very ones who had decided on the introduction of these measures. Toward the end sf his regimc at the head of the Reichsbank Dr. Schacht contributed greatly to preparations for the panic which was to reach its climax in JuIy, 193I , a year and four months after his return to private Iife. Attracting foreign capital no longer concerned the Prnsso-Teutonics. Now they were occupied with achieving successively financial and economic autarchy in Germany and ultimately keeping the foreign capital which had been invested there. This pleased the Nazis better, since panic and privation resulting from autarchy would furnish a fertile field for their agitation. The poinrs of contact therefore between Hirler and Schacht were quite obvious. Meetings between Schacht and Nazi leaders took place and after his departure from the Reichsbank Schacht saw HitIer personally. No Nazi again accused Schacht of being named Hajim Schachti. During March, 1930, the National SociaIist deputy Feder was the onIy one to defend Schacht in the Reichstag while deputies of other parties attacked him for his "unmotivated" resignation which was bound to have a harmful effect upon Germany's financial prestige.
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so we11 explained the Nazi point of view in the United States. In spite of the position taken openly by Schacht in favor of National SociaIism, people were astonished when on March 1 7 , 1 9 3 3 , he returned as head of the Reichsbank. Hitler had taken office onIy six weeks previously, on January 30. T h e Fuehrer had decided to aIlow free rein in financia1 matters to rhe man who had considerabry aided his accession to power by winning confidence toward him of a section of the PrussoTeutonic group as we11 as of German and foreign banking circles.
Bruening's Blunder
Bruening was much less "in the know" than either Schacht or Hitler- In spite of services he had consciously or unconsciously rendered the Prusso-Teutonics, Bruening was sacrificed by them in 1932. Indeed the ChancelIor, though he had been obedient in the beginning t o pressures to which he had been exposed, was nai've enough toward the end of his term in office not to recognize the precise extent of influence exerted by the Prusso-Tcutonics over the affairs of Germany. Thc misery of the peasant class had been aggravared as a consequence of rhe very measures which were enriching the Junkers. Bruening committed the tacticaI error of heeding his humanirarian feelings, a dangerous luxury for a German statesman. He had been moved by the peasants' misery, and ro bring about a remedy had envisaged a plan of settling small farmers a n land taken from poorly exploired large estates. This land would have ro be condemned at prices to be determined. This Siedtungsplan, although quite modest in extent, alarmed the junkers exceedingly. T h e y began to conduct a campaign against Bruening, speaking of his "agrarian Bol-
sRevism." Bruening aggravated his mistake in the eyes of the prusso-Teutonics by retorting with a dangerous argument. T o justify his plan he hinted thar he wouId let the Osthilfe abuses be brought up again and he threatened to prosecute the pcopIe responsible for them. We ingenuously imagined that ir would suffice to pronounce this threat in order to win rhe argumenr. Actually the argument was dynamite and caused an explosion. T h e stable Bruening regime which had lasted more than two years disappeared in a trice. Rcprescntarives of rhe Landbund and the I-lerrenklub had worked on ColoneI von Hindenburg and he interceded with his father, only a few weeks after the MarshaI-President's re-election in which Brucning had helped considerably. T h e Marshal fclr a certain gratitude toward his Chancellor and was embarrassed to have to sacrifice him. But whar: could he do when Bruening had committed the blunder of definitely displeasing those Landbund gentlemen? And then had nor: Oscar remarlred that if too much were said about the Osthilfe business, people would end up by wondering similarly about the circumstances under which the deed of gifr to Neudeck had been made? Hindenburg called Bruening into his office and the interview ended with the latter's resignation. The Chancellor had been abIe to govern only with the aid of the famous "decrees of dissoiurion" of the Reichstag, signed in advance by the President. Since the hlarshal no longer accorded him his confidence and refused to sign the necessary decrees from thar time on, Bruening had ro leave. Three men chiefly had contributed t o Eruening's fall, three ambitivus men who depended upon different sources of strength: von Papen, General Schleicher, and Hitler. They had thus succeeded in eliminating one rival who had been in their way. The problem now was for each to eliminate the other two.
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The Man of the Junkers

Franz von Papen was the man of the junkers, or at least, recognized their strength, inrended to serve them faithfully, and derive thereby we11 deserved advantages. He was nor: a Junker himself, in the strict sense of the word, for he did not come from the eastern provinces. He was descended from a noble Lf-estphaIian family. His ancestors had participated in the terrible practices of the Fehme of WestphaIia but were not part of the circle around the Teutonic Knights. Von Papen, a member of the IIcrrcnklub, had nevertheless been accepted by rhe Junkers as one of them, and he conducted himself as a faithfuI executor of the Landbund's designs. Attach6 of the German Embassy at Washington until 19x6, von Papen had been responsible for numerous acts of sabotage carried out to obstruct American manufacture of armaments. H e later joincd detachments of the German army in Turkey and after the war became active in politics. A devour Catholic, he was at firsr a member of rhe Centrum party, the Catholic parry par excellence. Then, having rcalized that the real power was in the hands of the Junker class, he swerved further and further away from the Centrum, whose pIarform opposed the Junkers', and applied himself exclnsiveIy to rhe promotion of Prussian poIicies. By reason of his WestphaIian origin von Papen had close connections with the big industrialists of the Ruhr. I4e exerted himself therefore to strengthen the bonds Iong existing between Junkcrs and heavy industry. Not ignoring the influence which the Nazi movement appeared to be gaining in the wake of the Junker movement, he procured subsidies several times for Hirler from the industriaIists. In these efforts he was Iater matched by Schachr. Each time, of course, he acted with the full approval of his masters, the Junkers. Finally recognizing the prestige surrounding lllarshal von Hindenburg and taking account of the fact that as long as he was President of
the Republic he would wield grear authority, von Papen at-
tached himself particularly to his person and acquired considerable influence over him. Von Papen's intrigues contributed greatly to Bruening's fall. Alenlber of the Centrum party like Bruening, hc should normaIly have formed a common front with him. Actually he set a trap for him. After getring him to taIk privately about his plans for dividing land into lors, he hurried to report these conversations to the Hcrrenklub and to Hindenburg. He gave them ro understand that Bruening was promoting a policy contrary to Junker interests and that it was necessary to get rid of him.
The Man of the Reichswehr

General Kurt von SchIeicher was above all else a soldier and in his poIitical attitude depended chiefly on the Reichswehr. H c was also considered the more or less officiaI delegate of the army in the politicaI world, This was the r6Ie he intended faithfully to perform. He hid in the shadow of the different governments which succeeded each other-the ever aIerr watch-dog over the inrerests of that powerful organization, rhe Reichswchr. His mistake was to believe that the Reichswehr was a power in itself which could get along without every other power, including the Junker class. In spite of his Prussian origin Schleicher didn't like the idea that the Reichswehr had to receive orders from the LandLund, but at rhe outset he did not show his displeasure. To strengthen his position he sought alIics outside the Reichswehr. He believed he had found them in the persons of G r e p Strasser and Captain Roehm, two men who represented, within the Nazi party, tendencies opposed to the Junkers. Schleicher figured thar Roehm, who was a t the head of the doo,ooo Inen co~nprisillg the SA, and Gregor Srmsser, wllo
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came immediately after HitIer in the Nazi hierarchy, would be the real furure masters of the Nazi movement. Gregor Strasser was the sincere fanatic of the movement, a direct antithesis of rhe hlachiavellian IJitIer. Strasser sriII believed in the program represented by the name "National Socialist" and took a very censorious attitude toward the I'russo-Tcutonics' hoid on Germany's affairs. Gregor Strasser was, moreover, strongly influenced by his brother Otto on this subject. T h e latter, though clearly the more intelligenr and discerning of the two brothers, did not have the prestige of Gregor because he was younger. Cognizant of Hitler's Iack of sincerity and of his scrviIe submission to the PrussoTeutonic powers, Otto Strasscr left the Nazi party in July, 1930.Gregor stayed because he imagined that with the great influence he wielded over the militant members of the party he would succeed in making his ideas triumph. Through Gregor Strasser, SchIeicher hoped to secure the help of the Nazis and their parliamentary representatives who were vcry srrong in the Reichstag. Rachrn did not have the sincerity of Strasser. He was a simple adventurer, but, South German Iike Strasser, he disliked the strong influence of Prussian lords on German affairs. His cohorts of the SA struck terror everywhere. They were composed of hoodIums of every sort, including some elements from the Consul and Rossbach organizations. These had nor been abIe to find other employment after dissolution of those organizations, and finding thcmselvcs abandoned by their former bosses, ended up by joining rhe first free gang willing to feed them. In spite of the presence of these elements on its roII, the SA, under Roehm's Ieadership, did nor incline toward the Junkers. Roehm figured that the Nazi party wouId soon be the sole force of importance in Germany. Sincc he was at its core with his 600,ooo SA men he wouId wieId the real power. Schleicher expected to use to advantage his identity of
feeling with Strasser and Roehrn on the subjecr of the Junkers. Certainly rhc Reichswehr was, to his mind, the reaIly supreme power in Germany. But if he were to appose the Junkers, the Nazis, especialIy if they were of the complexion of Gregor Strasser and Roehm, would be welcome allies. Consequently as a service to his newIy acquired friends he violently opposed General Groener, War Minister in Bruening's cabinet, when Groener decided to Jissolve the semimilitary organizations of the Xazis, including Roehm's SA. Groener usuafly acted as a man of politics rather than as a general, As for SchIeicher, he knew chat he could count on the full support of the Reichswehr even if there were conflict between himself and Groener. Moreover, the latrer, who was not of noble birrh, had always been considered by the other generals as an upstart plebeian. SchIeicher now showed the generals dearly that the Nazis couId be of great use to them and that the SA wouId end up by augmenting the Reichswehr troops. Thcir dissoIution musr: be avoided at all costs. SchIeicher and the Reichswehr were therefore in agreement with von Papen and rhe Junkers in the matter of getting rid of Brucning and Groener. This facilitated the abrupt dismissal of the ChanccIlor by Hindenburg, for the Marshal heeded the counsel of the Reichswehr. Von Papen and Hitler rubbed their hands. Thanks to the aid they had received from Schleicher, they had got rid of one of their rivals for power.
Hitler Chooses His Masters
Of the three peoplc Iefr in the poker game after Bruening was "cleaned out," Hitler was by far the besr tactician and a t the same time the most hypocritical and ~Machiavellian. Ever since the beginning of his career he had had but one goal: personal power. T o achieve it he was always ready to make any concession or any compromise. He aIso knew exactly for
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whom to reserve these concessions and compromises, for he judged accurately the importance of powers opposing each other and figured that he should always aIly himself with the strongest. Hitter knew rhat the democratic parties in Germany were completely paralyzed, a t first as a consequence of acts of the Fehme, and latcr because of the rise of his own party which had been effected with a11 the cunning of demagogism and terror. There remained the Prusso-Teuronic group which controlled Germany's affairs to a greater and greater extent. Hitler realized that he must reckon with several divergenr forces within this group. The Junker organizations, with their "professiona1" offshoot, the Landbund, and their "social" outgrowth, the Herrenklub appeared to be the most powerful. The bulk of the Junker cIass were intercsrcd only in maintaining thek feudaI privileges, but the secret Junker organizations, descended from the Society of Lizards, seemed to have kept alive the most fantastic, most ambitious Prussian expansion schemes. T h e big industrialisrs of Westphalia ran second. They had by rhis time definitely chosen their path of industrial expansion: the rearmament of Germany. Hugenberg, who controlled a powerful press and the "Dentschnazional" party in rhe Reichstag, was their agent. T h e industrialists felt inferior to the Junkers in the matter of secret organization. Their infiltration into the machinery of the Stare was not as complete as rhar of the Prussian lords. NevertheIess, they werc superior in financial means. T h e third component of the Prusso-Teutonic group was the Reichswehr. Sprung from the same roots as the Junkers, joined to them by a thousand ties, and generously serving rheir interests, the Reichswehr still had an existence of its own, determined by its own professionaI ambition. Grocner was an example of a general who had almosr completely escaped the
grasp of the external powers which controlled the Reichswehr. Schleicher, mouthpiece of the Reichswehr until 1933, at first had a meek attitude toward rhe Junkers, but later tried to save the army from their influence. These tendencies show that the army officers, proud of their professionaI knowledge, had at times an exaggerated opinion of rhe influence which their armed forces gave rhem in the inrema1 political scheme, and did not always look favorably upon the rille which the other elements of thc PrussoTeutonic group made them play. In spite of this fancied independence, the Reichswehr on the whole was still an organic component of, and faithfully submissive to, the PrussoTeutonic group The officials sprung from the oId Prussian school, descendants direct or spirirual of "officials of the Order," did nor form so coherent an entity as the Reichswehr, for example. They could be found scattered here and there throughout the machinery of adminisrration. They could nor be distinguished, on the surface, from officiaIs of another type of a more modern and more democratic background. By now they could also be met-and this had been true for some time -we11 beyond Prussian frontiers, in other parts of Germany. Prussian centralization had functioned we11 in Germany since Bismarck's times: Prussisn aficiais werc sent all around the country and local officiaIs were brought closer and closer to the Prusso-Teutonic type of thinking through the influence of the numerous patrioric and professional organizations under Prussian control. N o t necessarily allied and related to the Junkers and officers, but sometimes merely coming from schools steeped in the old Prussian spirit, they were faithful servants, in mast cases reaping the persona1 reward for their devotion. If they comrnirred abuses, or closed their eyes to the abuses of others, this was always because of rheir devotion to what they thought-sometimes correctly, but often mistakenly-a higher German causc. Highly discipIined them-
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seives, and disciplining others-therefore very intoIerant-, highly conscious of what they called a "Prussian sense of duty," they may well be considered chiefly the victims of their traditions. They were victims as well of the dzrk intentions of the rest of thc Prusso-Teuronic group. Characters of every background and description gravitated about the Prusso-Teuronic group, serving its interests and gaining advantages in exchange. Writcrs, university professors, bankers, etc., in largc numbers, had realized that they could count on the success of Prusso-Teutonic pIans and became their ardent propagandists. But a11 these folk werc not an organized entity. Hirler, who sought only personal power, was therefore nor in the least obliged to reckon with them as factors in the internal political scheme. Furthermore, for the same reasons he could also neglect rhc functionaries, in spite of their numerical irnportance. Hider, who was a good judge during his entire career of the polirical importance of people and groups he encountered, knew that all these elements would follow him without hesitation, from the moment he succeeded in coming to terms with the three great contemporary branches of the PrussoTeutonic group: Junkers, industrialists, and Reichswehr.
The Men Who Mattered
In order to achieve such an arrangement, Hitler figured that he needed either to come to an agreement with the men in whom rhese three blocs placed their confidence, or else eliminate these men. The men who mattered were Schacht, Hugenberg, von Papen, and Schleicher. Schacht had influence over heavy industry and the banking circles which were behind this industry. Hitler knew, after his taIks with Schacht in 1930,that he could thenceforth count on him unreservedly. Furthermore he himself had given Schacht and his friends absolute pledges regarding the execu-
tion of the financial and economic plan in which they werc interested. Schacht had secured Hirler's promise that after he seized power Schacht would be allowed to return KO the direction of the Reichsbank and would be able there to finish tire job of financially isoIating Germany from the rest of the worId. Behind the walI of isolation, reamarnenr could be ceaselcss1y pushed and heavy industry would be generously supplied with orders. On Schacht's suggestion, Hitler was aIso willing to accept the service of that other faithful servant of the aims of heavy industry: Dr. Walter Funk. Schachr and Funk werc to have, from then on, carte blaache in everything concerning the economic action of Nazism. (Goering Iarer tried to eliminate Schacht, whom he considered a competitor in the economic field. AIthough Goering himself had succeeded in establishing strong ties with the Prusso-Teutonic group, he couId not get rid of Schacht completely because the latter right down to the present has been supported by big industry.) Hugenberg was the poIitical and journalistic henchman of the industrialists. HitIer figured that he would be easy to satisfy. A post in the cabinet when Hitler succeeded to power, advantages granted his newspapers, would be sufficient to keep him quiet s o that he could later be relegated to the background. Von Papen had as strong an influence over the Junkers as he had over the industriarists and over the old Marshal as well. He had often played the rdle of liaison officer bctween all three and this had given him additional influence. SchIeicher in his turn had the full confidence af rhe Reichswehr. Von Papen and Schleicher were therefore, in the eyes of Hitler, the two men with whom he musr first reckon if he wished to prepare for his advent to power. He used his formula in connection with them first of all: either come to un agreement with them, or el~hinatethem.
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T H E PRUS50-f EUTONICS APPROACkI THEIR GOAL
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TO come to an agreement wirh both at once seemed to him

impossibIe. The possible grounds for understanding were different in each case. Von Papen, with whom Hitler maintained a close personal relationship, seemed entirely devoted to the feudal interests of the Junkers. On the other hand, Schleicher became more and mare criticaI of these feudal rendencies and maintained relations with the anti-Junker wing of Hitler's own party: Strasser and Roehm. Hirler was kept informed of taIks between his lieutenants and SchIcicher, and Gregor Strasser tried t o persuade him to aIly himself definitely with Schleicher. H e had to make his chaice. ti7eighing the power and influence of each, Wider arrived a t the conclusion that the Junkers were the most important force within the Prusso-Teutonic group. Next came heavy industry. These two forces, furthermore, got aIong quite weII, and von Papen was the man of both. He must therefore treat him with respect. Schleicher was the man of the Reichswehr, and the Reichswehr itself only executed the commands of the two other groups; therefore it was a less important force. HitIer's choice was made: fie chose, as usual, the stronger. He could get rid of Schleicher wirhout risk if he were supported b y von Papen and the powers behind him. The operation he had in mind was not so simple as it sounded. It was a matter of discarding SchIeicher and molding von Papen to his wishes. T o succeed in this he knew of an infaIlible method: to set the two men against each other and make them do the job he had in mind. Afrer the fa11 of Bruening von Papen was a logical candidate for rhc office of Chanccllar. If Hitler could succeed in getting von Papen overthrown through the good offices of Schleicher, and SchIeicher Iatcr overthrown through the aid of von Papcn, the rrick would be turned and Hitler himself could succeed to power. By instigating this double action without bringing him-
self into the picture, HitIer foresaw the advantage of haring both men find themselves in direct opposition to each ocher without getting himself invaIved. This was the cIassica1 system so frequently appIied in Prussian history when competing nations were divided by getting each to beIieve the Prussians were on their side. T h u s Bismarck succeeded in dividing and isoiating Denmark from Austria on the one hand, and Austria from France on the other. The same Prussian system was to be used later by Hitler in the inrernational game when he tried to make the nations allied against hini believe-one after the other-that he intended ro ally hirnseIf with that nation against the others. IJitler used this system surcessfully in 1939 when he managed to separate Russia from England; and in 1940 when he made the France of Pkrain believe that Nazi Germany could be a morc valuable ally for France than England. And it was this same system that Hitler tried to apply in rgqr, this time without success, when he attempted ro persuade England and Russia alternately to conclude a separate peace with hjm so that he could later turn against the other, The game was becoming roo transparent for him to succeed every time. But it's true also that the time-honored systems of "confidence men," though often exposed, nevertheless conrinue ro claim new victims. A further parallel may bc drawn between Hitler's actions in inner Gcrman and the methods he employs in dealing with foreign nations. T o weaken his enemy, iaternal or external, his preferred method is to use the enemy's "minoriries"-whom he wins over to his side--to his own advantage; at rhe same time his own minorities also serve his purposes. Notwithstanding the traditional fidelity of the Reichswehr toward the Junkers, he knew how to set General Schleicher against the Junkers without putting himself in evidence. He thus succeeded in causing a division among his victims, using the "minority" in the opposing camp, while his own "minori-
1 9 ~
THE TI IOUSAND-Y EAR COXSPIRACY
ties," Gregor Strasser and Rochm, were, due t o their influence on Schleichcr, unconscious tools of this transaction. Likewise, Hitler managed to put to good use foreign connections of a man such as Abetz, known earlier far his pacifist activities, ,4betz was to bring him severaI French Yefrist collaborationisrs," Scan Luchaire for example, who had formedy worked hard in behalf of the League of Nations. Hitler knows how to cransfornl former opponents of his ideas into useful tools.
C H A P T E R VI
THE LAST ACT OF THE

TRAGICOMEDY
Ox )MAY 30, 1932, Bruening resigned. Vor, Papen fol1owed as Chancellor and was succeeded on December 2, 1 9 3 2 , by General von SchIeicher. Von Papen's and SchIeicher's governments were the last two before Hitler's advent to power on January 30, 1933. T h e main trends underlying these events
were the following:

(a) When von Papen succeeded to power he expected to have Hitler's support. It was with this in mind thar he had procured subsidies from the industridisrs for Hitler. The latter's slrpporr would be very useful to him, for although he governed with the aid of Presidential "decrees of dissolution," no Chancellor could afford to dismiss the Reichstag too often.
The Nazis were the most importanr party in the Reichstag. ..2lthough they did not have a majority a t their disposal, their support was nevertheless of grear value to a government head. Iicsides, I-Iitler was an esceIient "bogeyman" who could serve ro hold in check the parties of Germany's left, and intimidate countries abroad. T h e latter, under the effecrs of rhis intimidation, would be much more apt to make concessions to Germany in the direction desired by the Prusso-Teutonics. Von Papen figured that the bargain he had concluded with the Fuehrer was fair and satisfactory to both. H e therefore expcctcd it to last, the more so because Hider could not hope to accede to power himself. Indeed the Marsha1 had pronounced an absolute veto of this possibility and the Reichswchr did not look upon it favorably either. ( b ) Von Papen knew that he could count on the support
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T H E THOUSAXD-YEAR COXSPIRACY
THE LAST ACT OF THE TRAGICOMEDY
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of the real masters of Germany, the ruling Junker clique and heavy industry. He served them well and had no doubts about his reward. Also, he had been on an equal footing with SchIeicher in thc overthrow of Bruening, and the general acccpted a place in his cabinet as Minister of the Reichswehr. The Reichswehr xvould therefore be behind him too. Posscssing, in addition, Hindenburg's friendship and counting on flitler's integriry, von Papen imagined that he would remain a t the head of the government for many years. (c) Von Papen, believing his regime to be a Iasting one, let it be understood that he had plans reaching far into the futurc. To consolidate his position positively he projected a reforliz of the Weimar Co~zstitution, d r e f o m ~ l ~ h i would ch j~aveprocured him quasi-dictatorial powers and wozrld have put an end to the parliamenta~y s y s t e ~ ~ acondemned , to death by the Przcsso-Tentonics. Then, i n the field of foreign policy, von P o p m reca~mn~zmded ideas in the di~ectiortof a "Europenn Federation" m d e r German control, and spoke of a rebirth of the Holy Ro~nxn Empire, H e had not, of course, taken any of his ideas from Hitler but rather from purely Prusso-Teutonic sources. NevertheIess one may say rhat if he had been abIe to maintain himseIf in power he would have tried to carry out, internally as well as abroad, schemes almost identical to those which HitIer was to produce later.
T h e result wouId have been practicaIIy the same and probably Prussian Germany under van Papen's conrroI would hare taken a direction about identical with the one she took under Hider. True, von Papen would have carried our some of his plans at a different tempo, not possessing HitIer7sbrutaDy determined spirit. But what he lacked in brutality he compensated for in subtlety and his regime would doubtIess have deceived foreign countries much Ionger. Hitler's one merit is that of having broughr the danger into the foreground, into the public eye. The characteristic brutality
of his expression and action has resulted in making the world aware of the threat for which actually the Prusso-Teutonic forces are responsibIe-more aware than if a more common@ace individual, von Papen, for example, had pursued the same course. The reason why von Papen was not the one finaliy ro put these plans into practice for the Prusso-Teutonics was that Hitier did not intend him to be. Hitfer was incontestably the stronger of the two. He was not going to allow von Papen to get the credir for the performance, nor to content himself with the riile of "bogeyman." H e might consider this rble but only if he couId play it as a star. H e had realized that von Papen expected to maintain himself in power as compensation for his faithful service to the Prusso-Teutonics. H e therefore decided that he would not let him have that privilege: char he himself would occupy that post and serve the same interests with even greater devotion, aIlowing von Papen a t most a position in the background. BIuckmail and Intrigue The following sequence of events developed from the interplay of the motives discussed above: I.-Von Papen organized his cabinet with Schleicher as Minister of W a r and representatives of the junkers as holders of rhe greater number of portfolios. Von Papen dismissed the Reichstag and prepared, in agreement with Hitler, new eIec[ions in which the Nazis expected to increase their number of sears. The von Papen-Hirlcr alliance seemed firmIy cemented. 2.-On JuIy zo, 1 9 3 2 , von Papen forcibly removed from ofice the Socialist government of Prussia. As a reaction against the feudd powers secretly controlling public affairs, the people of Prussia had pIaced Socialist governments in power in the state of Prusia after the Great War. Since
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Pmsia represented about two-thirds of the area and popuIatioa of Germany, its SociaIist governments were a nuisance to the feud21 powers who intended to keep effective domination over Germany's affairs. By putting an end, with his coup dYEtat, to the contradicrory situation existing in Prussia, von Papen rendered another important service to his friends. The Prime Minister of Prussia, Otro Braun, and Severing, Minister of Interior (both of whom were Socialists), were frightened by the terroristic acrs of the PrussoTeutonics and did not dare ro resist, although they had a considerable police force at their disposal. The legal excuse given by von Papen for his coup d'Etat was clearly on uncertain ground and was Iater invahdated by the Supreme Court of Leipzig. No matter; control of Prussian affairs was to remain in the future directly with the Reich. 3.-Von Papen managed to satisfy his "bosses" on all matters. Decrees authorized wage reductions. OsthiIfe subsidies were granted wholesale to the Junkers. Satisfacrion was given the Nazis as well: the measure calling for dispersal of the SA and SS, issued under Bruening, was suspended. +.-New elections were held on July 3 I. The Kazis now obtained 2 3 0 seats in the Reichstag out of a total of 608. Hitler did not yet have a majority but he had nevertheless won the day. His future now looked most promising. 5.-On August 13, a t von Papen's suggestion, Hitler went to see President von Hindenburg. T h e Chancellor thought that I-Iindenburg's authority would be sufficient to persuade Hitler to accept a post within the cabinet. Von Papen hoped that as part of the government, Hirler would continue his supporr. Hitler told Hindenburg frankIy that he did nor want a subordinate place in the cabinet. H e wanted to be Chancellor or nothing.. Hindenburg went into a rage bur it did no good. Hider gave him to understand plainly that from that day on he would be on rhe opposing side. T h e Hirler-van Papen alliance was terminated for the time being, It had defi-
niteIy served Hirler's purpose because he had obtained the new eIections he wanted and had come out of these stronger than before. He had also avoided the dissolution of his "selfdefense troops" which rhe previous regime had considered. Having secured what he wanted Hitler could now go into opposition to the government. From then on the government was again in danger. &-I-Iitler carried out his threar: on September I 2. T h e govcrnment met with a reverse in the Reichstag, Nazis and Communists voring against it. T h e result: 5 1 3 against, 32 for. Neverrhsless von Papen did not resign; he dissolved Parliament, Elections were set for November 6 . In the meantime von P3pen arranged to havc the industrialists cut off Hitier's subsidies. The Nazis would therefore find themselves in financial straits during the eIectoraI campaign and the election returns wouId reflect this. OnIy twelve millions voted for the Nazis instead of the fourceen million at the last election, and as a result the National-Socialist party last thirty-five seats. 7.-Von Papen, by forcing Hitier into elections without the financial aid he used to procure for him, hoped to put him into a position of inferiority. H e expected that a new agreemenr with Hitler would thus be easier to achieve. The Nazi party was indeed passing through a severe moral and financial crisis. For the first time the most faithful members of the party began to doubt Hitler. Creditors became threarening. Bur the Nazis, in spite of their losses, urerc still the mosr importanr party in the Reichstag. Von Papen thought he had brought HitIer into line and again offered him a post in the cabinet, even proposing t o him the office of Vice-Chancellor. Hitler refused. H e was still pIaying "all or nothing." 8.-The expedient of dissolving the Reichstag could not be repeated ad infiniturn. Von Papen therefore put into execution an idea which he considered a stroke of genius. On November 17, 1 9 3 ~ . he offered the President his resignation. He
T H E LAST ACT OI-* THE TRAGICO.MEDY
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knew that he would be asked to form a new cabinet. EIc wouId take advantage of the crisis to prove that it was quire impossible to constitute a government which would have a majority in the Reichstag. Under such conditions it could be shown that if any government were to be stabIe and effective the constimtion would have to be changed. Von Papen as Chancellor would receive under the new constitution quasi-dictatorial powers. 9.-A strong government might perhaps have been able ro effect such a change in rhe constitution, equivalent, without the approval of the Reichstag, to a coup d'Etut. In order ro establish a government of chis nature it would have been essential for von Papen to be able to count on full aid of the Reichswehr. However, at the last moment this aid entirely failed him. Schleicher actuaIly decIared that he did not wish to be in the new cabinet. At first von Papen thought it was a trick. He continued to bargain with the General, who remained adamanr, his position taken. Under such conditions there remained no choice for von Papen but t o announce, on November 30, that he was unable to organize a new cabinet. 10.-By leaving office von Papen thought he was taking a step which svould add to his prestige; he expected to return some day. He retained Hindenburg's confidence, as well as that of the Junker-heavy indusrry gmup. l i e did not feel too strongly against I-Sitler for nut supporting him, for the Nazi Ieader had for a long time given him pIainly to understand that he was not disposed to cooperate exccpr on condition thar top pIace be reserved for him. As for Schleicher, who had stabbed him in the back, von Papen wished to wreak vengeance upon him ar rhe firsr opportunity. i r +-What had inspired Schleicher's attitude? Negotiations wirh Gregor Straser, Hitler's second-in-command as head of the Nazi party, had been the cause. For a Iong time Strasser had been dissatisfied with Hitler's close connections with the Junkers and heavy indusrry. He knew that rhcse con-
necrions had of late been passing through von Papen. As we have seen, Strasser stiIl held to the old "Socialisc" conception of his party and would have liked to free it of its servitude to the Prmso-Teutonics, toward whom he had always been critical. With this aim, he inclined in the direction of an alliance with Schleicher who willingly let himself be designated as the "Socialist General." Such was the integrity 05 Strasser that he kept Hitler informed of his negotiations with Schleicher. Hitler encouraged rhem, for he saw in them a good way t o separate Schleicher from von Papen. Urged forward by Strasser, and indirectly by Hitler, Schleicher had formulated a plan to organize the cabinet himself, succeeding von Papen, whom he dropped from then on, and taking Strasser with him as ViceChancellor. Hider pretended to be willing to accept this combination, bur stared his conditions. 12.-While waiting for the matter of Gregor Strasser's entry into his cabinet to be settIed, SchIeicher organized his government on December a , hoping Strasser would join him in a few days. One of Hitler's conditions had been that Srrasser ascertain, before accepting the pasr of Vice-Chancellor, that Hindenburg's veto regarding himself was sriII valid, Schleicher tool< Strasser to the Marshal, who gave him his word of honor that "the Austrian corporal would never be ReichsChancellor." Strasser considered the matter definitely verified. Iie informed I3itler of his interview and awaited Hitler's permission to accept the posr of Vice-Chancellor. Hider was t o arrive in Berlin on December 8 to discuss the question. Srrasser waited in vain at thc station. Hitler was not on the train. Later in the day I-IitIer rushed to Strasser's house and violently reproached him, accusing him of having lied. Hitlcr said that he had just seen von Yapen, who had assured him that Hindenburg's word had not been final. Since then Otto Strasscr has recounted his brother's interprerarion of this scene. Gregor, very devoted to HitIcr, could
THE THOLSAND-YEAR COXSPIRACY 204 never see the full extent of his Machiavcllisrn and atrrihuted Hitler's reproaches r o rhe intrigues of Gaering and Gocbbels. Indeed Goering and Goebbels had for some time bcen very jealous of the position occupied by Strasser in the party. Strasser, still confident of I-Iicler's good faith, fclt that only under the influence of Gocring and Goebbels could FIirler have believed thar his most faithful licurenant had lied to him. ActuaIly it is plain that Hitlcr, in spite of Strasser's interpretarion, had been putting on an act during all these discussions. He had never had any intention of allowing Strasser to accept the ofice of Vice-Charlcellor, for he knew that this would give Strasser practically first place in the party, which would not have suited him at all. hloreover, by entering the cabinet Scrasser would considerably fortify Schleicher's position, and this again wouId not be to Hitler's advanrage. Hitler had neverrheless pretended to approve of Strasser's negociacions, only for the purpose of eventually separating Schleicher and von Papen. Once SchIeicher's cabinet had been formed and this separation accornpIished, he could afford to reverse his position. The scene he had played before Strasser when he spoke of lies and betrayal, and quoted the testimony of von Papen, Goering, and Goebbels, was merely one of those scnsarional, dramatic stunts which Hitler always uses to good advantage when he wants to extricate hirnself from a difficult situation. Strasser ler himself be deluded (like so many bcfore and after him) into believing in the sincerity of the actor he was watching. 13.-Gregor Strasser was too weary to continue the struggle. Grieved and deeply shocked that Hitler should believe him a liar, he resigned his posicion in the party and left for a vacation in Italy. Hider rubbed his hands with had gone as he had hoped. The danger satisfaction; e v e ~ t h i n g of a strong Schleicher cabiner had been avoided and he could now study the best means of ultimately compromising the "Socialist General."
THE LAST ACT OF T H E TRAGICOMEDY
10s
I+.-Schleicher resigned himself to the fact rhat he could not count on direcr aid from Gregor Strasser to improve the posirion of his government. However, he thought that his tie with the Reichswehr was enough to give him the requisite strength. We did not realize thar Hirler, considering him a dangerous rival, had decided his fate. Hitler did not arrack in the open, althoupIl he had at his disposal in rhe Reichstag the necessary strength co lead such an attack against Schleicher with every chance of success. But for Schleicher a Reichstag defeat \vouId have been "honorable." As its sole consequence lie would have been forced to resign temporarily, wirh nothing to prevent him from returning to power later. 15.-The only positive way to prevent any return of Schlcicher would be to compromise him in the eyes of the forces actuaIIy in control of affairs: the Prusso-Teuronics. T h e lefr wing of his party again became the unconsciow tool of Hitler. Nazi delegates of Stmsser's group (thar is, antiJunker) introduced a question in the Reichstag on the matter of the Osthirfe abuses. General Ludendorfi, whose ties to FIitlcr were well knowm, led a violenr campaign agxinst IIindenburg concerning the circumstances surrounding the deed of gift to Neudeck. In this way LudendorfT gatified his personal jealousy of Hindenburg. For Hitler, this was but one additional use of blackmail to enable him to succeed to power. Schleicher also fell into the trap. Believing-as Hicler intended he should-that these arracks had been launched wirh Hitler's consent, he hoped to secure legislative support from the Nazis by promoting the airing of che scandal in the Reichstag and the press. The Socialists, glad of an opportunity to dcal rhe Junkers a blr~w, joined in the chorus. 16.-Meanwhile Hirler, dircctly and through the medium of Goering arld Goebbels, maintained d o s e contact with von Papen and rhrough him with rhe Junkerj. He pointed o u t that Schleicher represented a danger to them because he was
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favoring the exposure of the OsthiIfe affair. T h e fact that the flames of this campaign were constantly fanned by Hitler's own acolytes did not embarrass him at all. H e explained t h a t he could discipline the fanatics in his party and guaranree that such incidents would not recur in the future only if he were appointed to the office of Chancellor. r 7.-It was all blackmail, but von Papen was thinking only of his revenge on Schleicher. Besides he had finaljy reaGzed that Hitler would accept nothing short of the Chancellorship. Hider, needing von Papen's contacts with the Junkers and the industrialists, had given him to understand that he would be quite ready to cooperate wirh him on condition that von Papen content himself with a secondary r6le. The Westphalian was probably already resigned to this. He did nor feel himself quite equal to a contest with Hitler and preferred to have him as a friend rather than an enemy. A decisive inrerview took place between the two men in Cologne, a t the home of Baron Schraeder, financier of the heavy indusrry. Hitler gave assurances to his interlocutors that if he were granted rhe reins of power he would put an end t o the socialistic salIies of his party's left wing. I 8.-Von Papen had no difficuIty in persuading his friends, the Junkers and industrialists, that they should henceforth place their bets on Hitler. Only the latter was ready ta guarantee that the Osthilfe scandal would no longer be discussed. Besides, Hitler could carry out as we11 as he--or perhaps even better, he must admit-the scheme already outlined by von Papen on which the entire Prussian clique had agreed: constitutional reform with complete concentration of powcr in the hands of the Chancellor, continuation of the work of rearmament behind rhe screen of Germany's financial isolation, inaugurated in 193I ;and finally, reconstruction by srages of the Germanic HoIy Roman Empire. AIL this had hitherto constituted the Prusso-Teutonic scheme as expounded by
von Papen. Hitler would take charge of it thenceforth for the benefit of the same silent partners, 19.-On January I 2 , Schleicher was "guest of honor" at the Landbund banquer. A Landbund bulletin was passed around conraining a violent attack on the Chancellor. SchIeicher demanded an explanation. It was not given. H e was made to feel thar the articIe expressed the feelings of the Landbund members and that was aH. SchIeicher rose and left the hall accompanied by the generals present. H e still did not undersrand that his fate was already sealed. Junkers and the Landbund had let themselves be persuaded by von Papen, and in the end by HitIer, that Schleicher was dangerous to their interests. H e did nor realize that nothing could save him now, that only the method of his depanure was lefc to be arranged, Jan Bargenhusen wriring in the magazine D i e Weitbuehne * on January 24, 1933. said: "The amount of personal authority with which Schleicher assumed office is already terribly diminished. The Landbund in particular has treated him badly . . ." Bargenhusen concluded his article wirh the words: "The G~rman Reich is a Republic. A E I power comes from the Landbund." 20.-The Iasr act of the rragicorncdy took place at. the presidential palace, Hindenburg stiIl was hesitating about dropping Schlcicher, who seemed to have the generals' support. Bur his son, Oscar, made it clear that Schleicher was promoting revelations about the Neudeck affair and if that continued, a scandal very embarrassing : o father and son might well break out. True, the army still favored Schleicher, but on the other hand the Junkers were absolutely against him and this counted much mare. Faced with these considerations the aged Marshat no longer hesitated. O n January 28, 1933,
Published by C.van Ossierzky, winner o f rhe Nobel Peace Prize, who
was Iater t o die in 3 conccntracion camp.
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Schleicher asked Hindenburg for the famous decree, signed in advance, which provided for dissolution of the Reichstag. This decree had been granted his predecessors who had ruled wirh the aid of the threat ir contained. SchIeicher had no doubt that it was a simple formality and that the decree would be granted him without difficdty. But Hindenburg refused, and Schleicher understood that the President had withdrawn his confidence. H e was deepIy hurt and resigned. z I .-hTothing remained to be done but to appoint his successor. Von Papen was prepared to let Hitler have the post. The Junkers agreed. Heavy industry agreed. Why shouIdn't they, since there was no other candidate available to acconplish what had been pIanned? 21.-Only Hindenburg was sEiiI unable to reach a decision. He had given his word of honor that the "Austrian corporal" would not be Chancellor. The Junkers therefore arranged a final stunr to speed things up. On January 30, 1933, one of their leaders, Count von AIvensIeben, rushed to the Presidential palace with the "scoop" that SchIeicher had put himself in command of the Potsdam Garrison and was marching on Berlin to arrest Oscar von Hindenburg, Papen, and Hitler. The "news" was pure fabrication but it had its effect, Under the stress of emotion Hindenburg finally consented to have Hider form a government with von Papen as Vice-Chancellor. T h e Nazi regime was born.
leftist parties, weakened by underground efforts of the secret societies, were no longer prepared to resist. As for the forces behind the righrist parties, rhese had all agreed to consider the Nazi party as their front for the furure. No other parties would be necessary, The old garments had served their purpose. They could be thrown away.
On January 30, 1933, began the GE~ichschaltung.The various parties were liquidated in succession and a singIe parry, the Nazi party, was left. Henceforth ir was to be the clnIy front for the interests which had promoted its rise to power. PeopIe had the impression that from then on Hitler was
sole master of Germany. Everyone wondered at the ease with which he had gained possession of the helm, meeting with no resistance either from left or right. They forgot rhat rhe
PRUSS-TEUTONIA-ALIAS
NAZILAND
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CHAPTER VII
PRUSSO-TEUTONIAALIAS NAZILAND
AFTER JANUARY 30, 1933, every one of flitler's decisions, without exception, accorded with Junker interests. No act of his can be found which in the slightest degrce harmed these interests. From the moment he taok the reins of power no one ever spoke of the OsthiIfe scandal again (aIrhough previousIy it had often been srirred up by Nazi Deputies in the Reichstag) or of "colonization" on Junker land. The different antiJunker slogans of early Nazism were definiteIy buried by Hirler. T h e junkers and Hindenburg breathed a sigh of relief. This business disposed of, work began in earnest on the Prusso-Teutonic scheme. The entire plan carried out by Hitter corresponded point by point with Prusso-Teutonic intentions. The derails are we11 known. Decree-Iaws gave Hitrer dictatorial powers a11 along the line. This meant the end of what still survived of the representative system and individual liberties in Germany. Thcse transformations had been planned for. It was only the methods of accomplishing them that were original and bore the Hitlerian stamp. The burning of the Reichsrag an February 2 7 , 1933, was arranged to make people believe thar rhe Communists were responsible for ir and make them admit that it was necessary to vest unlimited powcr in Hitler to save the country from Communism. In contrast to the previous regionaIistic characrer of Nazism, HitIer abolished every trace of autonomy in the various States, and subordinated all Germany to the domination of Berlin. The masses, deprived of their leaders by the Fehme, did nor protest. Making use of his dictatorial powers Hitler took the neces-
sary steps to stand in well with every part of the PrussoTeutonic group. He introduced measure after measure to satisfy the Junkers and the big industrialists. He flatrered the Reichswehr too and tried to make it forget that Schleicher, the man of rhe Reichswehr, had been repIaced by himseif as rhe head of the government. As for Schleicher, the latter's p d g e was against von Papen rather rhan HitIer-because he bdieved it was the former who had been principaIly responsibIe for his downfall. He never realized that, in the last analysis everything had been organized by Hitler.
Denying she fast

But Hitler had a revolutionary past which might be ernbarrasing to the interests he was now sewing. He had hoisted hirnseIf to power by fulminating far years against existing power, including the Prusso-Teutonic forces. OriginaIly Hitler was simply an agitator without a definite purpose, ready to ally himself with any group of interests, if he saw some advantage to himself from such an alliance. Among his faithful followers were sincere men Iike Gregor Strasser, who had mong German nationalist feelings but moved in a direction opposed to Prussianism. They ardently desired a German Federation free of any Prussian tinge. IVhiIe the National Socialist party had had its headquarters in Munich, it had often dispIayed a Bavarian-inspired regional resistance to the centralizing pressure of Prussia. From rime to time also, thc Nazi party had appeared to be a movement with sociaIistic tendencies, opposed to Junker feudalism. R'oehrn's views were of this character, though clearly he was Strasser's moral inferior. But Hitler, who did nat feel constrained by any basic principles and who made allies where he could (or rather, wherever his alert opportunism might lead him), surrounded himself also with men Iike Goerin~, the Prussian officer type; like Alfred Rosenberg, who dreanicd
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of a new Prusso-Teutonic religion; and like Goebbels, who would have sold his soul to anyone, but who concluded that selling it to the Prussians would be most Despite his numerws tieswith Prnssian interests, for a long time HitIer would eat a t anyone's tabIe. His definite alliance with the Prusso-Teutonic forces was not consummated until early in 1933. Without it he would ncver have been able to accede to power, nor could he have risen to inttrnational imporrance. R e would never have been mare than a picturesque demagogue in rhe arena of irzternaI German politics. HitIer was never a world threat until the supporr of Pruso-Teutonic forces gave him the key to power. The left wing of his party, Roehm and his three miIIion SA, had taken his earIier promises serioudy. These folk no longer understood what was happening. They had berieved that the hour of revolution had struck, and demanded changes which rnighr be extremeIy annoying to the Prussian clique fgitler was now planning to serve. Roehm went so far as ro demand control of the Reichswehr by the SA and for hirnseIf powers superior to the generals. Decidedly, he did not yet understand what was going on. The man in Hitler's entourage who had "understood" from the very beginning was Goering, He had always had personal ties with the Prussian powers. He now put himself more fully at their service. Consequently there was to be no change in his relationships with them and he was to be rewarded for his attitude: he would be permitted to set up his *Wermann Goeringwerke, A. G." within the empire of German heavy industry. Hider's accession to power became possible because of the confidence of the Prusso-Teuronics. He was well aware that he would be unable to maintain that power unIess he managed to preserve this confidence. But the embarrassing activiry of Roehm and his troops was imperiling it. Gregor Strasser was sriIl estranged from the throne and his silence signified a con-
srant reproach ro Hitler, reminding him that he had been false to his past. Kahr, leader of the Bavarian Separatists, formerly allied with Hitler, failed also to understand the Chanceilor's alIiance with the Prussian forces against whom they had striven together. This whole sec was sowing unresr among militant Nazis and creating difficuIties for rhe new ChanceIlor.
Killing the P a s t
In the spring of r934 the Prusso-Teutonics became increasingIy worried over rhe restlessness in the left wing of the Nazi party. Their cabinet "liaisan ofFicer," von Papen, decided to post a warning. On June 77, 1934, he delivered a speech severely criticizing the revolutionary phases of the Nazi regime. This meant obviously that the Prusso-Teutonics were wondering whether after a11 they had made a good choice in the person of Hitler, and whether they should not replace him. Von Papen doubrless hoped rhar as a result of this speech Hitler might be forced out and he himself might again succeed to the office. He was adaptable and managed to fit himself inro a subordinate office, but if the necessiry for change arose von Papen was nor averse to playing first fiddIe himself, under the baron, of course, of the same band-leaders as before. But Hider clung desperately to his office and was prepared far any sacrifice to keep it. T o meet the situation he improvised, as so often in his career, and his improvisation bore rhe usual srarnp of his inmitive brutaKry. Goering had the same understanding of affairs as he, and folIowed him wholeheartedIy, while Goebbels and Hess trailed along in more retiring fashion. The bloody purge of June 30, 1934,born of this inspiration, was a master stroke. Hider organized it solely to regain the cawfidmce of the P m s i m clique. Gregor Strasser and Roehm were executed. They- were the ones who had wished t o
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proceed with the National Socidist revolurion and had been reproaching Hitler for his alIknce with Junkers and big industry. Schleicher was also killed. Despite his origin he had dared while in power to further a policy opposing Junker interes~. Moreover, he remembered his negotiations with Strasser and Roehm and might possibIy reveaI at some future date the promises both had made in Hitler's name (and surely with his consent) for the purpose of arousing him to action against the Junkers. If Schleicher had survived the execution of Strasser and Roehm, he might at any moment have become an extremely embarrassing wimess. Kahr na'ively had signed his own death warrant by reminding Hitler that he had once been on the other side of the fence, with rhe Bavarian Separatists against the Prlrssian powers. Von Papen's arrest on the same date was necessary to make him clearly understand that Hitler had no intention of abandoning the position of "first fiddle." He had to accept with a smile the execution of his assistants. They had been unwise enough to draw up the speech delivered by von Papen and had dared to recommend that the powers behind the scenes accord their confidence to someone other than Hitler. Since they were persons of no imporrancc, no one would protest rheir deaths. to conEventually von Papen was freed and was ~errnitted tinue "to serve." The bonds between him. and the PmssoTeutonic forces were too dose to allow HitIer ro sacrifice him entireIy. He deserved a warning and Hider was satisfied with. that much. By executing Schleicher, Kahr, Strasser, R o e h ~ , and numerous other militant members of his own party having similar rendencies, HitIer had silenced embarrassing witnesses of his pasr. He had equally in this way arresred any future desire, within rhe Nazi party, to proceed in a direction opposing the interests of the Prussian forces. Besides he codd now say to his Prusso-Teutonic masters: "For you have I sacrificed my
best friends. I have eliminated Schleicher as well, who dared oppose you. What better proof could I furnish of my absolute devorion ro your interests?" True, the Reichswehr, which was part of rhe Prnsso-Teutonic clan, was angry at him for Schleicher's dearh. But Hider knew that Junkers and industrialists were more powerful within the group than the Reichswchr, and in the course of his career he had never hesirated to betray weaker interests for the advantage of stronger ones, Possessing the confidence of Junkers and industrialists, he was certain that nothing could happen to him, and now thar the general who had been bothering him was no longer present, he applied himself thenceforward to appeasing the Reichswehr roo. Like a real "confidence man" he knew the best methods to regain rhe confidence of those whom he had tricked. Early in January, 1935 he read a declaration before an officers' society restoring SchIeicher's "honor," the officers were pleased, and tranquility returned. The contempt which the Prnssian Genera1 Staff felt for the Austrian Corporal did not disappear overnight, but they no longer dispured his orders. Despite appearances to the contrary, orders were no longer given in his name, nor in the name of Nazism (which had changed completeiy from its earlier form). Hitler was now speaking in the very name of the ancient Prusso-Teutonic caste of which the army officers were members, and whose supreme servant Hitler had become.
T h e Anti-Semitic Cmouflage
Since then, what is now known as Nazi Germany has been the very prototype of what the Prusso-Teutonics might have dreamed in their most optimistic moments. Hitler had supplied rhe methods but it was the Prusso-Teutonic scheme which had taken shape: HitIer had mereIy contributed the
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antiSemitic note to the choruses, which would certainly not displease the Prusso-Teutonics. Anti-Semitic camouflage has been put by Hitler to excellent tactical advantage. H e knew that he could maintain his influence over the masses if he succeeded in preserving the revolutionary appearance of his movement. In the past he had berated Junkers, heavy industry, Jews and Cornmunisrs indiscriminately, H e corrId no longer say anything against Junkers and the indusrrialists-they were now his masters. There remained the Jews and Communists. To make up for what he had lost in area of attack he would intensify his brawling against rhe latter rwo groups. Former Communists were more numerous in Germany rhan Jews; it was therefore chiefly against the latter that he Ioosed his attacks. Ir was always preferable to march first againsr the weakest minority, thereby winning the sympathies of all who wcre not affected by these attacks and who consequentiy believed themselves privileged. Julius Streicher, fiIrh-mongering editor of the Smermer, had never been in the circle of Hider's intimates. His movcmenc had evolved on the fringe of the Nazi party. Nevertheless ever since he came into power Hitler drew from Streicher rhe inspiration for his anti-Semitic campaigns. Once he arrived at the conclusion, for the reasons stared, thac it was good policy ro intensify this campaign, it was natural, in order to go about it in rhe best way, for him to call upon the speciaIist. One should not for a momenr forget thar the anriSernitic movement was, for Hitler, chiefly a "smoke-screen" which served tv hide his real intentions. The suffering of Jews in Germany and in territories occupied by the Nazis deserves all our sympathy, but the real danger which Hitler represents is quite another. Hitler prefers to place "the srruggre against the Jews" in the foreground of his ambitions and from time to time "the struggle against Communisrs." T h e Teutonic
Knighrs when they Icfr for rhe Borussian country had consrantly on their tongues "the struggle against the pagans," when actuaIly they were thinking of conquest and nothing else. T h e same class has preserved through the ages, from the thirteenth century to our day, the same ambitions for unlimited conquest. This crass and their ambitions have been hidden, at various points in Prussian history, behind different scrcens. Now this front is called "Hitler," as tomorrow it may be called "Goering," "von Papen," or "Thyssen." The men have changed through the ages but the forces controlling them and rhe methods employed have remained the same. Itre may add that Frin von Thyssen's "flight" to Paris in April, 1940was clearIy designed to build up his prestige in the eyes of the Allies and to use him, if ir becomes necessary to sacrifice Hitier, as a new front behind which rhe PrussoTeutonic game could be carried on. Indeed, in the beginning of the war, Germany's masters were somewhat uncertain abour the results they might expect from I.Iit1er7s blitz tcchnique. Thyssen's trip ro Paris was decided upon in order to prepltre for a new camouflage in case of an unsatisfactory outcome of the war. T h e srrccessful invasion of France made such precsutians appear to be superfluous. After Thyssen's return to Germany, "under heavy guard" to keep up appearances, it was learned that he was living quietly in a sanitarium in a fashionable Berlin suburb, instead of having been executed for having turned "traitorH-as everybody would have expected.
Serving His Masten\
Z r is a weII-known fact that HitIer succeeded to power through von Papen's intrigues and wirh the support of junkers and heavy industry. Nevertheless, most authors condude that Hitler, after getting hold of the reins of the gov-
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ernment, devoted his attention first of all t o imposing rhe Nazi regime upon Germany and subduing every other power there, including the Prusso-Teutonics. Exactly the oppositc is true. Hider, in order to become Chancellor, concIuded a bargain wirh che Prusso-Teutonic powers and t o this day has rigidly adhered to that bargain. It is true that ever since this agreement was made Germany has appeared in the eyes of rhe worId in the guise of "the Nazi regime." It must not be forgotten, however, that Hirler has permitted to remain alive only as much of rhe Nazi system as suits the Prussian powers. He has suppressed everything thar ran counter to those forces, including the "socialistic" and "revolutionary" nature of Nizism. T h e word "Nazi" has taken, since 1933-1934, a different meaning from what it had before, narrower and broader at the same time: narrower because it no longer corresponds at all to the program of early Nazism, and broader because of its use as a new cloak for Prusso-Teutonic ambitions. In practice this means that Hitler, unpredictaMe character though he is, acts as leader only within certain limits, and these limits are prescribed by the powers operating as his "bosses." Hc has never come to any decision which would not have been fuIIy approved by the Junkers and heavy indusrry, preponderant elements of the Pmsso-Teutonic group. He appcars now and then to be in disagreement with the Generals, but then it should not be forgorten thar the Reichswehr is onIy a kind of "junior partner" in the Prussian company. Because of the professional pride which has always characterized military career men everywhere, the Reichswehr does not always submit blindiy ro the will of its associates. This was evident even in Schleicher's time and more recently as welI, when, for example, Genera1 von Brauchitsch was recalled. Hitler acts a bit more freely toward the Reichswehr than toward his other partners, for, as in the days of SchIeicher, he depends for support chiefly on the Junkers and big
industry who, by reason of their economic importance, are his real masters.
''Natio~alists"and "Pmsso-Teutonics" A7e N o t Identical

What may have deceived those who rhink that Nazism has overcome the forces which profnored its access to power is the fact that the rightist parties have been liquidated by Hitler just as rhoroughly as the parties of the Icfr. Hugenberg was forccd to dissolve his party and had himself to resign fram the first Hitler cabinet. on June 2 7 , 1933. The misapprehension stems from the fact that one may confuse "rightist parties" with "Prusso-T'cutonic powers." Thc parties of the right were, indccd, liquidated by Iditler but not the forces behind them. Hitler considered the righrist parties as rivals. It is therefore understandable rhat one of his first considerations should ]lave bccn to destroy them. But he knew rhat these parties were onIy fronts for more powerful forccs. H e never attempted to eliminate these forces for which he had always had a great respect. A11 he wanted was merely to become their sole agent and sole fagade for the future. On this condition, he was ready to serve them blindly. The highly competitive struggle between the so-called German Nationalists and HitIcr was perfcctIy defined by Robert d'Harcourt on February zo, 1933, barely three weeks after IIitIer's accession to power, in the French Catholic review, Etudes: "RareIy have two parties waged a struggle as fierce as the Racists have againsr the supporters of Hugenberg. From the hginning a great gulf opened betwcen them in their diffcring attitudes toward capital, or fixed fortune. The former group based their stand on the economic depression debiliraring Germany. They themselves had more than once quite cynically acknowledged tlut Gcmmnn rnisery was their prime
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ally. T h e y had found in the bitterness and spirit of revolt of the masses and in the social climate in general, a springboard which they energetically exploited. T o the young, and also to the embittered, they appeared to be revolutionaries. Their greatest strength was a vasr stock of vague expectations and confidence in the overthrow of things as they were, In the eyes of the discontented unstable clement the German nationalists [i.e., the Hugenberg foIlowers] had the disadvantage of appearing as a party of money-bags, of gorged individuai+and at the same time, a mummified group. AII the forces of reaction congregated within this party: industria1 magnates, great agrarians of the East, capitalists of every coIor, banded together to obstruct the road of revolution with a strong-box, and raise a waIl of money against the barricade." The ''Nationalists" -had made the mistake of permitting reactionary influences which hid behind them t o be seen too clearly. This was bound to render them unpopular. It was therefore not surprising that their representation in the Reichstag should have been the smallest. T h e Prusso-Teutonics had nothing to gain any longer by encumbering themselves with such a troublesome, weak fronr. It constituted a handicap to them from the moment they were able t o replace i t b y the younger, more vigorous front offered by HitIer. The exchange was wwhly t o their advantage. I t is not astonishing that they should have accepted it as soon as they believed Hitler's promises that he would faithfully serve them. These promises had been given direcrIy, as weII as through the medium of von Papen, during the weeks preceding January 30, 1933. When in 1934 doubts arose among the PrussoTeutonics as to Hitler's sincerity, he fcIt it necessary to reaffirm his unlimired devotion by the radical act of the blood purge of Junc 30, 1934. "He goes t o the length of sacrificing his mosr faithful lieutenants for us," said the Prusso-Teutonics, and they voiced no further doubts concerning his fidelity.
A Well-Co~rstmcted Hierarchy
One may wonder why Hitler, who betrayed so many in the course of his career, incIuding his mosr intimate friends, shouId never have attempted to betray the Prusso-Terrtonics. Jt is the only bargain Ilirlcr seems to have kept. T h e reason is simple: he believes them very strong and more powerful than any other group in Germany, and therefore prefers ro travel in their wake. It is certainly not moral considerations which prevent betrayal on his part. Hitler saw, during his long years of struggle to gain controI of the ruling office of Germany, that it was always the men momentarily in the confidence of thc Prusso-Teutonics who heId this post. For years and years he had concentrated, therefore, on becoming that henchman serving the same forces and eliminating a11 rivals. After concentrating so long on this single aim he was not going to risk, by any fake move, alienating the masters in whose power he believed. If he had wished to revolt against these forces, the natural thought would have been f o r him ro lean on his own party as all the support that was needed. This in short was the solution proposed by Gregor Srrasser and Roehm. But Hider, a cynic, had reached the conclusion that "popular" forcesgroups which appeared in the public eye and whose membership was open to the great masses of the people-were much less powerful than occult, closed forces, whose success was guaranteed by rheir firm internal organization. T h e Prusso'reutonics had all the eannarks of a group organized in occult, or at least closed, fashion. In comparison with thcse forces the Nazi party must be considered an open, "popular" organization. (The fact that the Nazi parry had been built up by demagogic means does not detract at all from its open, popular character.) The Nazi party has weight due to its numbers; the Prusso-Teutonic group, to the nature of its conspiracy. (See page 3 0 for the r61e pIayed, according to rhe Nazi
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writer, Hans Krieg, by a "Conspirational Conmnity" in the achievement of aims bequeathed b y the Teutonic Knights.) Hitler reaIized that he couId make the mass membership of the Nazi party serve him and he intended in turn to put himseIf at the service of the Prusso-Teutonic conspiracy. In this there was an hierarchical gradation from which Hitler, contrary to Gregor Strasser and Roehm, has never wished to break away. Since January 30, 1933, Hitler has dcvored himseIf-wirh the aid of the Prussian forces-to the achievement of the old plans of the Teutonic Knights, of the great Elccror, of Frederick the Great, and of Bismarck. Tn international marrers, a11 Hitler's acts and decisions are what one would expect from any agent of the old PrussoTeutonic scheme. But to a world unprepared for them they are the startling manifestation of a newly risen universal danger. He spent a few shorr months exclusively on internal Gleichschaltznzg, eliminating every trace of the Weimar Republic and suppressing any possibility of disturbance from that source. The "authoritarian regime" which has always been a Pmssian dream was fully achieved within a very short rime. Then, in the month of October, 1933, Germany withdrew from the disarmamenr conference of the Leaguc of Nations. The whole Prusso-Teutonic class was jubilant and the "heavy industry" wing in their midst feverishly prcpared for heavy armament production. A few months of inrernaI unrest followed which suggested the possibiIity of a split between Nazis and Prusso-Teutonics. But HitIer put an end to all that on June 30, 1934, and everything was straightened out.
T h e Ancient Conquering ,March

Rid of a11 disrurbing elements, Hitler and the PrussoTcutnnics couId thenceforth devote tl~emselvcs completely to
the achievement of their common pIan. T h e stages of rhis task followed one another in rapid succession. In March, 1 9 3 5 ~ conscription was again introduced into the German Army and Navy. This occurred in spite of prohibitions of the Versailles Treaty. In March, 1936, Germany occupied the left bank of the Rhine. Occupation of Austria followed in iMarch, 1938; the "peaceful" occupation of the Sudetenland in September, 1938, secured under armed threat; the rest of Czecho-Slovakia occupied in March, I 939; annexation of Meme1 in the same month through pressure on Lithuania; and finalIy in September, I 939, occupation of Poland. T h e ancient conqucring march of the Prusso-Teutonics was on again, direcred along Iines of Ieast resistance; ir was only the Iast of the above movements of expansion that excited world resistance and thereby the present war. The rask of secret rearmament, begun by the YrussoTeutonics immediately after the German defeat of 1 9 1 8 and completed with the heIp of the Fehme's activities, had produced its resuIrs. "God has erected our Ernpire before the Kings of the Earth," wrote Emperor Frederick 11, who Iaunched the Prusso-Teutonic forces on the path of conqucsr. From Frederick Barbarossa, who dreamed of himself as dor~inzrs m d i , t o HitIer, who dreams of simiIar things, is but a step. are identical with those T h e guiding diplomatic of the old Teutonic Order. In the expansion of territory, no friendship or trcaty is an obstacle and any excuse is valid. T h e precepts of Prusso-Teutonic theoreticians are followed, such as the teachings of von Buelow, who held that: ". . . ir is first necessary to attack one's neighbor, before coming to more distanr States. If rhis rule is not observed, countries separaring the two main adversaries may declare thcrnselves either with or against the great- empire. Should they decIare themseIves against this power everything is changed, since a coalition of IittIe States is equivalent to one big State."
224
The "New Order" Is an Old Order

More recent occupations of countries by Germany (Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, etc.) at first gIance may appear as simpIe strategic occuparion. If one examines them more cIosely one can perceive, however, that the Prusso-Teutonic powers took advanrage of each invasion of foreign territory, from the first day of occupation, to prepare in the most thoroughgoing scientific manner for the permanent subjugation of the occupied country. This was accompIished first of a11 on the economic level, where the Prusso-Teutonics' interests primariIy are. They are well aware rhat economic conrroI Ieads automaticaIIy to politicaI control, German economic agencies follow closely on the heels of armies af occupation and endeavor to transform the temporary hold on conquered countries inro a permanent economic controI. Until the present this operation has succeeded much more completeIy in a country like France, where locaI authorities have accepted the idea of "collaboration" than in counrries occupied against the resistance of their governments. I n France capture of control of corporations rhrnugh forced sale to Germans took pIace with a show of IegaIity because French authorities and courts, under pressure from Vichy, countenanced these transactions. T h e Prusso-Tcutonics know that mditary occupation of France cannot last forever. Besides, they have probably considered the possibility of a German defeat which would bring about the fall of the Nazi regime. They must have said to themscIves rhat even in that case conquest of France would have yielded them rhe key advantages rhey had hoped to gain: they figured that i t would be extremely difficult for the French to find the legal forms t o get rid of German conrroI over nearIy the whole of their national economy. This control having thus been established within legal framework, according t o French law, the task of
destroying ir would be arduous and complicated. This would bc true even for a government under no obligation to respect the agreements of Vichy. It would nf course be more true for any French government recognizing Vichy laws and decrees. All of this entered inro the preparation for what HitIer calls the "New Economic Order." This "New Order" is in its entirety the old Prussian scheme of List, which ninety years before I-IitIer's reign provided the blueprint for the crearion of European economic unity under domination of a Prussian Germany. I t also provided for subsequent expansion of this Prusso-Teutonic Europe through invasion of the markets of other continents, and estabrishment of "protectorates" throughout the world. This scheme had always been close t o the hearts of the Prusso-Teutonic powers of Germany and had been placed by Dr. Schacht and Dr. Funk in the foreground of the aims pursued by Hitler. TerritoriaI conquest has a meaning subordinate t o economic conquest, according to List's formula. An army of Gernlan accountanrs and auditors was installed in Paris, following the army of soldiers, t o draw up "invcncories" of aIl important French enterprises. After these inventories were drawn up German officials and delegates of private German industry calIed upon rhe various enterprises to secure for themselves absolute and quite Iegal control of these firms by the aid of poIitica1 pressures of every sort and especially by means of the aid lent by "collaborarors" within the French government. All this is in no sense a product of Hitler's invention or of Nazism. Ncither is it rhe result of private initiative of a "racketeering" sort, springing up perhaps bctausc of the complacency of certain German military authorities. (This is not to say that there is no wholesale racketeering going on in addition to the above transactions.) I t is a matter, on the contrary, of initiative completely consistent with the oficiaI German scheme, which is the Prussn-Te~ztonicscheme srcn-1-
ming from List and other theorists of the same school of rhought-and has nothing to do with hTazism.
The Anti-Christian Current
Aside from his conquest and these efforts to establish a "New Economic Order" under German dorninarion, Hitler's mnovations" are primarily in the religious domain. In order not to Iase the sympathies o$ that section of German population which is deeply devoted to the Catholic or Protestant Churches, he approached this subject with many precautions during the early period of his rule. For some time, however, this aspect of his regime has come to the foreground in Germany and the world press has long dcait with the evident efforts of HitIer to substitute a purely Germanic faith for all forms of religion having fareign connections. It is openly said in Germany roday that Mein Kawzpj should repIace the Bible and it is hinted that Hitler will some day replace Christ, Certain observers called attention to the fact thar Hitler had definitely creared something new at least in the field of religion. A11 "religious innovations" now taking pIace in Germany are generally attributed ro Nazism. Bur if we reread what Professor N. A. Cramb said in 1913 about German aims in the domain of religion (see pages I 07-1 r o) we must admir that in rhis sphere as we11 Hitler's "innovarions" correspond point by point with the ancient Prnsso-Teutonic scheme. Crearion of a new world religion, purely Teutonic in character, appears in this light to be as irnportanr a god in the whole scheme as the aims of poliricaI and economic conquest: "It is reserved for us to resume in thought that crearive rale in religion which the whole Teutonic race abandoned fourteen centuries ago," young Germans told Cramb in 19I 3. Judaea and GaliIee struck Germany in the splendor and heroism of her prime. Germany and the whole Teutonic peopIe
'I.
in the fifth cenmry made the great error. They conquered Rome, but, dazzled by Rome's authority, rhey adopted the religion and the culture of the vanquished." And Cramb adds: "Thus while proposing to found a worId-empire, Germany is also praposing to create a world-religion," Seen in rhis Iight the violent anti-Semitic campaigns of Hitier are blows against the combined Judeo-Christian religions: these first blows are directed at the weakest branches of a single tree. The basic idea came from the Prusso-Teutonics and even Hitlcr's methods of employing it are of old Prussian inspiration: to attack firsr the weakest of one's adversaries and then only to extend the atrack to the others, one ar a time. This tactic makes possible clever propaganda which spreads the belief that only the minority group is the enemy, in this case the Jews. This anti-Christian current is a very ancient Teutonic trend. It is true .that the Holy Roman Empire was, in irs origins, profoundly Occidental and Christian; but the struggles waged against the Papacy by the Emperors who succeeded one another brought out atavistic, essentiarly antiChrisrian elements in these men as a reacrion. Thus there had been, as we have seen, two men in Emperor Frederick iI. I n his youth he pursued an imperiaI vision of Occidental idealism. Later he became a hilrd man, the "hammer" of his century, a new Attila whose moraI concepts were no longer Christian but quite dose to those of rhe barbarians. It was precisely this Frederick 11-"second edition" (who was not so different from his grandfather, Barbarossa) who had intrusted an imperial mission to the Teutonic Knights. By acting thus he had automatically transmitred ro them his basically anti-Christian principles, o r at least a-Christian and amoral (according to our concept of the word "moral"). T h e Teutonic Order has pursued through the centuries this rradition and has, so to speak, crystallized it by giving it permanent form and even accentuating its anti-Christian direction. It is
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therefore not astonishing that the Teutonic Order should have been so frequently in conflicr with the Papacy. T h e Prussia created by the Teutonic Knights and the Prussian spirit which evolved finally handed dosvn to the present the anti-Christian tendencies observed by Crarnb in 1913. When Alfred Rosenberg travels around Germany setting up his "Ordensburgen"-in which young Germans are indoctrinated with the principles of the new Teutonic religian -he is definitely inspired by the old rradition of thc Teutonic Order. He is, moreover, right in calling rhese institutions "Ordensburgcn," because each ancient "Burg" of the "Order" in the past centuries filIed the same r6le as the recent institutions of the same name: T h e ancient Ordensburgen were outposts of Teutonic thoughr and expansion in Slavic countries. The Teutonic Order and its offshoot, the intermingled Prusso-Teutonic forces, have kept alive the Teutonic spirit of revenge against the Christian influence. The tradition of the Fehrne has evolved on parallel tracks and was inspired by the same spirit. The spirit of the great mass of the peaceable and profoundly Christian German population has through the ages provided a striking contrast. Observers during a11 this time have talcen account of only this larrcr aspect of affairs and have not atrached sufficient importance ro the Teutonic forces which were awaiting their hour. T h e belief in a Teutonic Messiah was always alive in these circles: Barbarossa was asIeep in his mountain " and would come forth some day to lead his people toward new destinies. Hitler expects to be this Teutonic Messiah. In this respect also he intends to take advantage of ideas which were set in motion Iong before his time. H e knows how to "stea1 the show" in every field. He expects from his faithful that they take him with a respectful seriousness, as becomes a Barbarossa redivivus. The saiute "Heil Hitler" was introduced precisely in order to superimpose Hitler on the image of Christ.
* Sce pages 337-341.
The expression Third Reich was created ro recall Barharossa. The second Reich had been, in the interpretarion of HirIer's faithful, thar of Bismarck (although the Iatter had never so described it), and the first, that of Barbarossa. T h e figure three leads back to the figure one, as the Holy Trinity symbolizes the one God. I-Iider, or rather Hess and Rosenberg -his experrs in "mystic matterso-, were cIever a t choosing their symbols to catch rhe public imagination.
Destruction of tbe Family
The Prusso-Teutonics succeeded in liberating themselves completely from the background common ro Western civilization: the Greco-Christian moral philosophy. The fighr against the Christian spirit is rhus an organic part of PrussoTeutonism; Bismarck's famous "Kulturkarnpf," directed against the Carholic Church, and Hitler's open battle against all Judeo-Christian religions can be considered logicai-simply as a parr of this fighr. W e must pur inro rhe same class the methodical attempts made in Germany to break up the traditional conccpr of rhe famiry as well as the efforts to introduce into the relations between young peopie of the two sexes a lack of restraint directly opposed to Western ideas. T h e encouragement of sexual relations berween girls and boys of neighboring youth advanced a in schooIs to accusrom camps and the ~ r o ~ a g a n d the girIs to the idea of having illegitimate children "for the State" or "for Hitler" are not accidental occurrences. They are part of a systematic plan to break up all the social forms and customs on which Greco-Christian society was built. This program has been extended even to the territories occupied by Germany. Recent reports from Paland and from Alsace-Lorraine seem to confirm thar rhe "New Order" which the Prusso-Teutonics visualize in Europe would mean, in this sphere also, regression to Iong outdated concepts.
230 THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY T h e family idea is very ancient and goes back to preChristian times. It was adopted, however, as an organic part of the Greco-Christian moral concept. It evolved out of an eIernenrary phiIosophy of life in which was larenr the idea of the "primacy of the human person." The Individual, instead of being submerged in the Tribe or in the State, forms his own little universe, the Family-and a11 further development of Society starts a t that point. The undermining of the ideas + on which rhc family has been built up means something further: the suppression of a unit in which the individua1 was able to find shelter from the uniformity and the exactions of the Tribe or the State. German policy in the matter of the sexual education of youth thus appears as an organic part of the plan to submerge the individual within the State-the PrussoTeutonic State, of course, even if the individual is Alsatian or PoIish. No girl should be serfish enough to save herself for her future husband or to be dominated by thoughts of the family she may wish to raise. Such thoughts are no longer a virtue. They are a crime against the State: chddren should be begotten only for the State. "There is but one virtue-to forget oneself as an individual," said Fichre and von Bernhardi long ago. T h e individual's thought of procreating shourd be governed only by the needs of the State. And if these children are born out of wedlock, so much the better: without family artachments they will be much more willing to submit themselves to the State.
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Chapter II as particularly characteristic of the Teutonic Order. Let us review rhe meaning of each of these traits:
( I ) The Teutonic I > ~ s h e s of s the Knights. This appeared on many occasions as the barbaric element in Prussianism. This is rhe trait which goes back directly to pre-Christian days. It explains the many cruelties apparent in the Third Reich which so often shocked the Western World. ( 2 ) The egotism of caste and the arrogance of the Teutonic Knights The Knights were of noble descenr. The Order itself was described symbolicalIy as a "Hospital" of the German nobles, a sort of charitable seIf-help institution with the purpose of procuring due and undue privileges for the caste members. We are facing here the feudal element in Prussianism; in its name were committed the numerous abuses for which the Junkers so often were criticized. This created and encouraged in Prusso-Teutonic Germany an atmosphere of corruption strangely fused wirh the so-called "higher goals.'' This clement is aIso responsibIt for the famous arrogance of the German Junkers and officers which has frequently aroused world-wide resentment. (3) The fanaticim and the "di~cipliaarian"mentality derived f ~ M Fthe Z nronastic origin of Pm1siam's7n. The Teutonic Knights acted in rhe most un-Christian manner and were often in open struggle with the Church. Nevertheless a severe monastic rule reigned supreme within the Order in contradiction to the frequently un-Christian ounvard conduct of the Teutonic brethren. Ir is true that in this ruIe the accent was on discipline and not on Christian spirit. This rule was inspired by the statutes of the two other Knights' orders in the Holy Land, especially by those of the Templar Order. T h e srrictness of these statutes was a guarantee of survival for these Ordcrs. The leaders of the Teutonic Knights wanted to insure survivaI of their Order by using the same means. In spite of their frequent opposition to the teachings of the Church they
The Five l'rzsssinn Characteristics

W e may now recapitulate the various traits which are inherent in "Prussianism." We can find five such trairs, or characteristics. First, there is the threefold mark mentioned in
* i.e., thr,sc opposcd to promiscuous scxua1 relations, those referring to rhe firsr allegiance of childrcn to the head o f rhe family, ere.
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could employ monastic mIe because this was not nccessariIy Christian. T h e tradirions of the Sicilian-Norman Stare in which Emperor Frederick I1 had been raised aIso influenced these statutes toward the same disciplinarian spirit. From this source the Order inhcritcd especialIy its conception of a State led by officials governed by the same rigid discipline, Out of this monastic fanaticism and disciplinarian mentality evolved the famous "Prussian discipline" of the German army and officialdom; and also the intolerance characteristic of most institutions in present-day Germany. This is the trait in Prusso-Teutonic Germany which is at the antipodes of any "sense of humor." But this monastic fanaticism in the Knights' times aIso meant absolute devotion to the cause of the Order and utter disregard of the "primacy of the human person." This primacy was a Christian principle but. its application was necessarily lost in the rigid monastic srructure of the Teutonic Order: the Order's interests took precedence over those of Christianity and mankind. In the course of centuries the Teutonic Order developed into the Prussian State. T h e absolute devotion which originalIy had been accorded to rhe Order now was directed toward the State. This devotion in modern times took shape as the German totalitarian idea appIied by the Prusso-Teutonics in connection with rhe Prussian-controlled German State. Besides this threefold mark, the Teutonic Order had iwo further characteristics. These were the ones direcdy inherited from the I-Iohenstaufen Emperors: (a) awzbition aiming at world dominatim; (b) fight {uzdercover or open) against the Christian 19irit. These t w o aims were closely connected. As we have seen, the Hohcnstaufens concerned themselves only with the unlimited extension of their own power in rhe which the Church direction of wodd dominarion-toward took (and had to take by its very nature) a strongly criticaI attitude.
T h e Teutonic Order inherited from the Hohenstaufens both these ambitions and the spirit of resistance against rhe supremacy of rhe Church and Chrisrian reachings in general. In the isolated hot-house of Eastern Prussia thcsc two "Leitmotivs" grew to gigantesque proportions through the cenruries. These five characteristics Tvere perpetnatcd by the inner circle of rhe Order and later by the Junker organizations. They still pervade present-day Prussianism. They have even obtruded thcmselves into the foreground to such an extent rhat their sudden appearance in the Iirnelight has surpriscd the world. It has not been fully reaIized that this is no spontaneous crcarion of Nazism, but rhar rhese characteristics have for centuries been inherent in Prussianism. It is due to the five traits or tendencies we have described (two of which were inherited from the Hohenstaufen Emperors, three develsped within the Teutonic Order) that Prusso-Tentonic Germany (Ilitlerian Germany today) seems ro be so utterIy different from the rest of the world. And it is also because of the same characteristics that ir is so diffcrent from that other Germany: the Germany of Greco-Christian culture-which used to be the Germany before Prussian dorrlinarion was established over all German nations; and which may stiIl exist, to a limited extent, in a parr of the country-or at least in certain German homes.
The All-lynportant Fight Against the Christian Spirit
Of the five characteristics of Prusso-Teutonic Germany, the two inherited from the Hohensraufen Emperors described under (a) and ( b ) are the most significanr and the most important. These-"ambition aiming toward world domination" and "fight against the Christian spirit7'-appear as the basic driving forces. It is quite naturaI that this shouId be so, since the Teutonic Order accepted rhese two aims when it
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T H E THOUSAND-YEAR COSSPIRACY
embarked on the Borussian adventure and consciousIy carried them forward chrough the centuries. The "fight against the Christian spirit" scems to be the more all-embracing of these two aims. It is even a kind of prerequisite to the other aim-unlimited imperialism-because rhe Christian spirit is necessarily opposed to domination of the world by a singlc group or State. Also, it was possible for the other three characteristics of Prusso-Teuronic Germany which we have described to develop into what they are today only because of the basic anri-Christian tendency of the Order, and in later times of the Prusso-Teutonics. T h e Teutonic harshness and egotism of caste, flrcking all liwzitatio~s set by Christian morality, made possible the crueIties and abuses for which the Teutonic Knights were infamous in Prussia, the pecuIiar practices of the Fehme in the Middle Ages and particularly- in its revived, more cruel, form after World W a r I, and the present inhuman mass-kilIings of the civilian population in the Ukraine, Yugoslavia, etc. The unlimired devotion to the State without the humanizing iaflzle~ceof Christian morality is at the origin of such statements of principles as those contained in the writings of the Prusso-Teuronic theoreticians (see Chapter I) *-statements which Western peopIe with their Greco-Christian background feel are basically opposed to their way of thinking. This also explains the constanr lying and broken promises of the Teutonic Order where advantages for the Order's State were a t stake; and aIsc rhe same attitude in morc recent Prussian history-particrrIarly in the case of Bismarck, whose Machiavellisrn and cynicism are surpassed only by Hitler's. This peculiar type of devotion to the interests of the Stare finds justification for the mosr evil actions, provided they benefit the State.
For example: ''Right belongs to those who are victorious in war"; 'Thc right o f conquesc is universa1ly recognized"; "Strengrh i s the highest law"; "WicI~our war we would find degenerate races"; "War is a sound panacca for the people"; "Evcryrhing has irs price"; "Thc State is an end in itscIf."
Secret Gemany One may ask whether there is an actual secret organization behind rhe Junkers and the Prusso-Teutonics or whether rhe familiar Prusso-Teutonic organizations are responsible for the sequence of events presented in this baok. Really secret organizations seldom betray their existence by outward signs. Neverheless the founding of the secret "Society of Lizards" (Eidechsengesellschafr) is an historical facr. Reliable historians have related how this society tried ro pull the strings in Prussia whiIe the Order of the Teutonic Knighrs still cxisced. Kotzebue attributes to the activities o f this secret society the secuiarization of Prussia. The unilinear evolution which has taken place since thenin Prussia and in a Germany dominated by Prussia-and which corresponds poinr: by point to the basic principles of the Society of Lizards might be considered sufficient circumstantial evidence af the survival of a secrct Prussa-Teutonic organization right down to our time. But there is more. T h e entire process of Prussian growth seems to be inspired by an uninterrupted organic plan. The continuiry in the achievement of this plan whire the Teutonic Order was responsible fur the growth can weli be understood. No interruption in t h e logic of events is observable, hawever, even since the time when the Order ceased to manage the affairs of Prussia. T h e natural thought, of course, is that the Society of Lizards, which was-while the Order still exisred-its rival for influence in Prussia, secretly carried forward the same plans on its own; and that the same Society inspired rhe Great Elector, Frederick 11, Bismarck, tViIheIm 11, and the different leaders of Germany since r 918. Our circumstantial evidence goes further: Germany was defeated in 1918 and the old ambitious plans of the Prussian dements seemed shattered forever; yer within a few months somebody, somewhere, behind the curtains in Germany, made
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237
decisions of the highest importance. These decisions meant revival of the old Fehme, the organization of a systematic terror planned to undermine the young German Republic and to facilitate Germany's secret rearmament. So-called "secret societies" sprang up from one day to the other all over Germany-societies which were secretive as regards the details of their decisions and activities, but whose existence irself was a secret from nobody. All these secret societies were closely connected among themselves; and there was no rivalry between them. Their activities complemented each orher wonderfully. Even a superficial observer must conclude that all this was possible only if these societies received instructions from the same hidden, absolutely secret sources. The fact that the Fehme terror sprang u p so rapidly, so "spontaneousIy" after the first World War tends to confirm the view thar the decision to institute this terror must have been reached by a very small group operating secretly. It is extremeIy difficult to imagine that a large, openly organized association Iike the Reichs-Landbund (the professional organization of the Junker landowners), or a social club like the Herrenklub (ro which nobody but the cream of the Prusso-Teutonics was admitted), could overnight have taken such a grave decision as the starting of a new bIood tribunal. Matters of this delicate character can be decided only by a few people who are party to the same secret, and bound by the same vows. UnIess rhis condirion exisrs, endless discussions ensue which hinder a quick decision; and the danger of betrayal exists. Ir is a facr thar no time elapsed before the decisions were taken, and the orders were issued to the different executive agencies. Further, nobody ever betrayed the warking of the inner circle of the twentieth-cenrury Fehme. At the end of the nineteenth century, Emperor WiIhelrn 11, who was nurtured on the traditions of the Prusso-Teutonic Order, actually reestablished this Order in Prussia and Ger-
many. The descendants of those who, acting in the Society of Lizards, displaced the ancient Order from Prussia-and contribured rhus to its disintegration-now cIaimed for rhemselves the right to appear doaked in the dignity of those whose pIacc they had taken. (From their point of view they were perfectIy right to do so: although they had displaced the Order, they actuaIly were carrying on the Order's traditions. They acted Iike a nian who secures control of a corporation by the foulest means and rhen, continuing on the original poIicics of rhe enterprise, makes speeches to the glory of his prcdccessor.) X o t much was said about the activities of the revived Order, bur irs yearly conventions in East Prussia were generally noted by the German newspapers. A few months after the beginning of the present war, a short notice appeared in German papers announcing thar Hitler himself had been initiated into the Teutonic Order. No information is published about the inrernal organization of rhe contemporary Prusso-Teutonic Order, nor about it still exists-is the its exact connections wirh what-if present-day survival of the Society of Lizards, In a word, we cannot expect to find documentary evidence about the precise functioning of "Secret Germany," but we do not need more than circumsrantial evidence for our purposes. In this connection it is interesting to note that in May, 1924, when the 700th anniversary of the University of Naples, a University founded by Emperor Frederick 11, was celebrated, a crown was found near the sarcophage of the Emperor in the Cathedral of Palermo with rhe following inscription: "Seinem Kaiser und Helden Das geheime DeutschIand"
("To Their Emperor and Hero, from Secret Germany)" * This Secret Germany, whatever may be the form in which it
' From:
I?. Kantorowicz, Kaiser Friedrich der
Zweite, 1928.
236
PROSSUTEUTONIA-ALIAS
NAZILAND
239
functions today, may certainly be grateful to Emperor Frederick 11, aurhor of the Burl. of Rirnini, and thereby spiritual father of the Teutonic Order, who enabled Secret Germany to preserve to our times his mystic, worId-spanning ambitions. Ir is this Secrer Gemany, this Germany carrying on a centuries-old conspiracy, about which the Deputy Garcis spoke in 1 9 2 I in the Bavarian Landtag, and which caused his murder. It is this same Germany which, as we have seen, brought Hitier to power and has enabled him to appear in the eyes of the world as a great. conqueror, or a grear criminaldepending on the point of view. If we assume the existence of a Secret Germany, the open Junker organizarions Iike the Reichs-Lzndbund and the Herrenklub-which aho derive from the Order of the thirteenth century-have only a secondary r81e, carrying out instructions of the secret group like all the other recentIy established societies which we have mentioned. But even if we disregard the circumstantial evidence which proves the actual survival of Secret Germany, we must admit that a straight line can be detected benveen the Teutonic Order of the thirteenth century and the Germany of today. In this latter casc we must assume that the Reichs-Landbund and the Herrenklub are the find source of all decisions because they wouid be the highest in rhe hierarchy of all existing Prusso-Teutonic prganizations. They would rhus have the final responsibiIity for Germany's present-day rille. The facts set forth in this book supporr the f o m c r view. The Barbarian Revolt Before the advenr of HitIer to power, thc German Catholic thinker, Theodore Haeckcr, clearIy recognized that HirIer was the faithful valet of the Prusso-Teutonic forces and that he would act in rhis capacity when he became head of Germany. Haecker considered the Prussinn trend an evil German
tradition, a kind of bastard tradition. Here is what Haecker wrote in December, rg3a (in Virgil,Father of the W e s t ) :
"We are aware that we are living in dark times. W e still have in us just enough light to be conscious of the darkness enveloping us; to perceive it through the heavy vapors rising from rhe second and third Reichs (Bismarck and Hitler: or we know that the advent of the Racists will inaugurate a new age of Humanity which they wdl baptize the third Reich) and which are exhaled by rhe impure, hollow declarations of our second and third-rate apostles and prophets of empire. At the bottom of these foul Messianic fermentations is no trace of spirituality [Geist] and even less of the Holy Ghost [Heiliger Geist]. Their sole excuse, perhaps, and even more the excuse of those they carry aIong in their train, is the spiritual and material distress in which we are living. "The great trickery, the great fraud is rhis: from the hour char Prussia incarnated the idea of Empire, this idea of Empire changed in dimensions, ceased to be the common affair of the Christian West, and shrank to rhe compass of an internal affair, of the Germanic tribes of the Forest of Teutoburg . . . plebeian, cardinally vicious and perverted in its deep essence. From the beginning of irs history Prussia has been a State, and norhing more rhan a State. A Statc stricken with hydrocephaIy. She has never had any ethnic character. She has never been a race like Bavaria or Swabia. She has never been a people or a nation. She has never annexed a race, a people, a ~rutiom except by means of deceit. .* The Prussian Stare has introduced into the Germanic idea of the Reich elements which cause ir to disintegrate internalIy, short-sighted State centralism, and an anti-Christian, bestial nationalism."
..
The entire background of what we consider the "hitlerian" regime is here in the words of Haecker published two months
* T h c italics are mine. P.W.
2S0
THE THOISAND-YEAH COSSPIRACk
before Hider's accession to the chancellorship. Nazism may have represenrcd many things since its beginning. Since January 30, 1933, it has been nothing more than ''Prussianism" and Iives only by the grace of Prusso-Teutonic forces which alone count in Germany. Hitler and his acolytes have taken all the bIame for whatever can be said against the Germany of today, while PrussoTeutonic Germany has succeeded in making the world almost forget that it ever existed-and certainly has succeeded in concealing the fact thar: i t is still thcre, more than ever responsible for everything rhat is done in Germany's name. Thc forces which in 1933 allowed Hirler's accession to power kept him there on condition that he serve their interesrs, and that he systematically pursue their cherished plans of conquest. They always preferred to work through some such figurehead, because, recognizing thc possibility of a setback to their ambitions, they thought it preferabIe for others, rather than themselves, to be blamed for any failures. Thus, they would be able to reorganize their activities Iater under new guises. Domination over all of Germany was the first goal which attracted the Prusso-Teutonics. Once this was accomplished the rest of the world was to be brought under control.
Part Two
In what Prussianism has become through the ages it represents a "barbarian revolt" against a11 rhat is dcar to us in Western culture. Whether Hitler is overthrown tomorrow or not, Prussianism will still be here in a11 its threatening reality, a real focus of evil which to this day has always escaped the surgeon's scalpel. Unless, rhis time, we have the courage to cut o u t from its depth a11 of the putrid flesh. . . .
C H A P T E R VIII
PRUSSIANISM AND DOWNWARD PROGRESSION
IN T H E preceding pages we described our Wesrern morality as Christian or Greco-Christian. W e shall examine--see pages 16 r ff.-the Greek foundations of Christian morality. The expression "Christian" has not necessarily a religious meaning. Non-rehgious humanitarian thinking and all modem social doctrines are also of Greco-Christian essence. We cannot enter here into the debate whether or nor the same type of moral philosophy could have spread just as we11 by means other than the penetration of the Christian religions into different parts of rhe world. It is a fact, however, that rhe Christian religions served admirably to disseminate the sorc of concept of life which is usually considered essential to Western moral thoughr. It is cherished both by religious and a-religious thinkers.
+
Our Morality and Theirs

As for the expressions, moraE and morality, we employ them in their broadest senses. W e do not use them in connection with the so-carled "moral code," a sorr of narrow code supposed to specify day-by-day "dos" and "don'ts"; but rarher to describe the basic principles regulating our entire lives. "iMoraIity," in this sense, is a sort of concept of life which permanently inspires our entire existence, induding our political exisrencc.
'Of course the reader understands that we do not include among modern social doctrines the Pmsso-Teutonic and Nazi rheoric*which are dcfinitety regression,
244
PRUSSIANISM
AND DOWNWARD PROGRESSION
245
We are in the habit of constantly criticizing our everyday

maral code ("moral," in chis case, in the narrower sense of the
say that they had not yet obtained the necessary divine inspiration, or intuitive vision; or we might. even say, pragmatically speaking, that they had not yet recognized the advantages in
word). This criticism is useful in effecring a perpetual rejuvenation of the petty rules regulating our lives. Such constant criticism does not, however, mean that we wish to change the basic principles. And it certainIy does not mean that we wish to replace them with principles which are sirnpIy a return to the distant past. It is not within the scope of this book to examine whether o r not o u r rnoraliry is higher than any other moraIity in general, or the Prusso-Teutonic morality in particular. Certain schools of thought oppose every attempt to differentiate as to the worth of competing moralities. We shalI intentionaIIy avoid this issue of the relative or non-relative worth of moral concepts. We shall, however, assume the risk of saying that most of us would not exchange our type of Iife for the primitive existence of our Own ancestors in the Stone Ages or for the superstition-filled lives of some of the savage tribes today in the middle of Africa. We take this position despite thc feeling of insecurity created by the present tumoiI-which occasionally prompts rhe easy comment that primitive peoples lead a happier and more desirabIe existence than ours. Such expressions of naturaI discouragement cannot change the universal and fundamental belief in progress. W e shaII content ourselves with a simplified standard of values for mora1 concepts. It evolves from the folIowing trend of thought: Our primitive ancestors (just as primitive people today) had primitive ideas about the physical constitution of the wodd. Their eyes saw as far as ours but, because they had not yet related all their separare observations, their mentaI vision did nor extend very far. This nearsightedness in laws of the physical world was accompanied by a nearsightednes in moral principles. It amounts to the same thing whether ure
of a certain moral attitude over another more one, which had been giving more immediate satisfaction to the egotisticaI insrincrs. There seems t o be a paraiIel and uninterrupted progress in knowIedge of the physical world and development of mora1 laws--uninrerrupted except for temporary reversions which can be attributed to a sort of pcndular movement. (We cannot examine here the rdle of defunct or dormant civilizations which at one time reached great moral heights, perhaps greater in certain respects than ours. J t seems that profound inruirive insight into the domain of moral truth has not always been accompanied by sufficient insight into physical cosmic truth. Consequently moral-philosophic thought necessarily came to a dead-end and even deviated inro superstitious aberrations--closely foIlowing the superstitious short curs taken by these civilizations in the domain of cosmic truths. This disparity between physical and phiIosophica1 research may have been the actual cause of the disappearancc or retrocession of these different civilizations, It is quite possible that our own civirization is exposed to rhe same danger through a lack of balance in the opposite direction: i.e., if research in the field of nloral philosophy is unable to keep pace w i t h o w rapid progress in rcientific research.) For all practicaI purposes we can say that we prefer to let our Iivcs be ruled by a mora1 philosophy evorving from a wide knowIedge of physical phenomena-a wider knowIedge than that of our ancestors in so-called "barbaric" times. W e feel fully justified in applying this Iarrer simplified standard of values in choosing between competing moral concepts. O n these terms we are in a position to state that such and such a moral concept is "better" (i.e., better for us) than
run
the long
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PRUSSIANISM AND DOWNWARD PROGRESSION
247
a n o r h e r a n d consequently that we are willing to fight for the former. By stating, in rhis manner, a definite preference between different mora1 concepts, we can avoid subrle discussion as regards the respective "heights" of these moralities. We shall have occasion Iater in this book to apply rhis simplified standard of vaIues to the Prusso-Teutonic moraI concept and to our Greco-Christian moral philosophy. We have already described in Chapters 11-VII the historic background of the Prusso-Teutonic stream of deveropment. W e shall now try to discover what was the originaE point of sepxration between the two currents, the Fmso-Tmtonic and the Greco-Christian. A brief study in rhis direcrion may confirm what we have said before: that it is fundarnentalIy its dcparrure from the Greco-Christian way of thinking and morality which makes the Prusso-Teutonic current so dangerous for the Western world.
The Two Basic "Progressions"
The Christian Empires of ibe Barbarians
Most readers are familiar with the history of the first thousand years of the Christian era, The feudal organization which was established in Europe in Carolingian times has often been described. W e review some of these detaiIs in the following pages simply because they have a definite bearing on mixers discussed in this book. Barbarian mentality, feudal rystem, Pmsso-Teutonic conspirdcy and contemporary N a z i ambitions on the one hand; Greek civiIimtion, R a m legal sckooE of thought, Judeo-Christian religions, humdnitarian movements, modern social docm'nes, and democratic traditions on the other hand, represent two different organic progressions moving in opposite directions. We shalI call them the "Downward Progression" and the "Upward Progression'? respectively. It is important to show all the relationships between the different phases within these two progressions.
Ir is commonIy recognized thar Western civilization aems mainly from Greek and Judeo-Christian sources. It is true that in political customs, in particular, and in legal traditions the influence of ancient Rome is not negligible. When we want, however, ta dcfine the deeper layers of Western civilization, we think much more often of Arhens than of the Romans. It is because of this greater depth thar Greek traditions are assumed ro be a more imporranr influence in our lives. The teachings of Christ spread rapidly in the Western world during thc first 1000 years A.D. It is useless to repeat here the details of this process. T h e Roman Empirc extendcd from the Atlantic Ocean to thc lower Danube and Africa. The Chrisrian religion took root within the different parts af the Empire. Then the Emperor himself, Constantine rhc Great, embraced it and contributed Iargely to the Chrisnanization of his people. Several Christian Emperors folIolved and continued the process of closing down the Pagan temples. Emperor Theodosius the Great decided to divide the Empire between his two sons. This division was the origin of the two Christian Empires: the Eastern Empire, extending over Ancient Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and Syria; and the Western Empirc, including Iraly, Spain, Africa, Gaul and Britain. The Wcsrern Empire was soon overrun by different barbaric peoples, several of which were Teutonic. The Vandals settled in Spain but were overcome by the Visigoths who estabIished dominion over parts of Spain, Portugal and southern France. Into Italy came first the Ostrogoths. Then, after their kingdom had been destroyed, it was the Lombards who invaded the country. Later the Normans settled in the southern part of Italy. T h e powerful Franks esrablished themselves in the Rhine basin and penetrated into Gaul as far as
248
THE THOUSAND-TEAR CONSPIRACY
PRUSSIASISAI AND DOWNWARD PROGRESSION
249
the Loire. Britain was overrun by the Angles, Saxons, and later by the Normans. The Western Emperors courted the various barbarian chiefs in a vain attempt to save rheir thrones. Toward the middle of the fifth century, AttiIa's Huns, forever on the move, pIundered Gaul and TtaIy, and then the Vandals ravaged Rome. The power of the Western Emperors had cornplerely disappeared. Their tide had become meaningless and was finally dropped. N o w began a remarkabIe spiritua1 process among the barbaric conquerors who had settled in different parts of Europe. The mystical power of the Christian religion-which had succeeded in a very short time in replacing the ancient Roman religion--extended to the barbarians as well. Enthusiastic missionaries were at work. A11 the different conquering tribes, including those of Teutonic origin, one after another became Christian: the Franks, the Alernanni, rhe Boiarians, the Thuringians. By the end of the eighth century, the Pope was in continual conflict with the Lombard Kings and the Roman nobIes. Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, came to the aid of the Pope and vanquished the Lornbards. T h e Pope thought that the Frankish rulers could be of lasting help to the Papacy. To increase the strength of these valuable allies and their prestige in the Christian West, he had an exceIlent idea: to bestow on them rhe crown of the former Western Roman Empire. The memory of the Roman Empire was stilI aIive in the West, although the Empire had actually continued to exist only in the East (as the Eastern or Greek Empire). In 800 the Pope placed the crown on the head of Charlernagne-or Karl the Great-son of Pepin. The Carolingian Empire, a revival of the ancient Western Empire, was bornthis time an Empire under Germanic leadership, but of Christian faith like the earlier one. The establishment of the Western Empire under a German
Emperor was the culminating point in the conversion t o Christianity of the different German tribes, The East Roman Empire was falling into ruin and was no longer in a position to be the shield of Christendom against Islam. The fresh ardor of the recently converted German nations was wclcorne support to the Church. Furthermore, Charlemagne unired under his sceprre the greater part of both the Latin and Germanic nations. His Empire conscquentIy became a very active center of crystallizarion for whar was to be known later on as the Western civilization of Chrisrian essence, rre was a In the beginning the reconstituted Roman 13mp ' valuable aid ra the papacy. After Charlemagne's death, however, great disorder foIlowed. The Empire soon feIl to pieces. Otto of Saxony, who was chosen King by the German princes, reestablished the Empire in 962 under the name "Ilaiy Roman Empire." 1-Te organized it in the CaroIingian spirir. Otto's "Saxon" house, later the so-called Franconian House, and finally the Hohenstaufen family thus carried forward the tradition of a "Roman" Empire under German ruIe, Whether these Iarter houses actually descended from the Carolingian line or nor is immaterial. They can certainly be called Carolingians since they perpcmated the Carolingian ambitions, They all claimed descent from Emperor Arnulfhimself a direct descendant of Charlemase. According to this version-which has not been historicaIly substantiated-the mothers of Conrad I of the Franconian House, and Henry I of rhe Saxon House were both daughters of Arnulf. T h e grandmother of the Hohensraufen Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa) came from the Saxon imperiaI house. In a very broad sense the Saxon, Franconian and Hohenstaufen Emperors can consequentIy be called Carolingians. in the course of centuries, the imperial ambitions rook on a shape more and more different from what rhey were under CharIernagne. T h e accent was no Ionger on cooperation with the Church, but on domination of it.
250
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
COXSPIRA-
PRUSSIANISM A N D DOWNWARD PRCKRESSLON
51
So Iong as the Papacy was willing to take orders from the Emperors there was n o conflict benveen the two powers. New Popes came. They burned with great inner fire and no Ionger were disposed to subordinate themscIves to the Emperors whom rhe Papacy had heIpcd to power. W e have briefly recounted (see pagcs 31-32) the long-enduring conflict between the Popes and the Emperors. It reached its climax under Frederick Barbarossa and his grandson, Fred1 . erick 1 This conflict caused the departure of the Hohenstaufcn Emperors from their original Christian principles, I t transformed Frederick II into "Hammer of the JVorld." T h e Emperors liked ro appear in rhe ride of faithful but disappointed sons of the Church: having met a t Rome a different reception from what rhey had imagined, they nursed their grudge against Christianity itself. It is true that the Hohenstaufen Emperors had imagined something quite differcnt from what rhey could possibly have expected. Their imaginations had run away with rhem. T h e original pact between the Frankish rulers and the Papacy provided for mutual protection. T h e Pope placed the crown of the Roman Empire on rile head of Charlemagne to give him more prestige in the eyes of the people hc had brought under his sceptre, so rhar he would be better able to protcct the Papacy. The reconstitution of the Roman Empire did nor, however, imply rhat rhe Emperors had been assigned the mission of conquering the world and becoming its supreme ruler -donzi~zus ~ ~ k n d i - a rhe s Hohenstaufens jmagined. Nor did ir imply giving to the Emperors a powcr superior to that of the Pope in a11 marters, even in things spiritual. Emperor Henry I11 of rhe Franconian line-from whom the Hohenstaufens were descendcd through maternaI lineage w e n t so far as to name Popes. T h e Church was un the way to becoming a rnere puppet in the hands of the Emperors it I~aditself creatcd. T h e danger was accentuated by the fact
rhat the clergy were being brought into the feudal sysrem ~vhich had been established in rhe Empire in Carolingian times.
Feudaiisliz: Rrnbari$~nUnder a Christian Cloak The very crearion of rhe feudal sysrem was an attempt of barbaric customs to survive under a Chrisrian cIoak. It was possible for this system to cvolve in the recently Chrisrianized Kingdom of the Franks, and to spread from there throughout the Empire only because neither the Emperor nor the nobles took the rcai meaning of Christianity very seriously. T h e feudal system crystallized and developed numerous inequalities and privileges. Mere possession of riches and force gave definire rights-for example, that of conducting private wars, in which force alone was decisive. The complicated tangle of the rights and powers of thousands of perty sovereigns and holders of fiefs created innumerable injustices. Slavery was being combated by the Church and gradually disappeared-but rhe system of serfage which deveIoped under the feudal regime was not much better. T h e only differcnce berween slaves and serfs was that the latter were attached to the soil. The rapid establishment of the feudal regime in Carolingian times was fundamentaIly an attempt to nullify the teachings of the Church in the social field by those who feared them. To us it appears as a sort of indirect reaction of barbarism against Christianity, Greelc society had contained the elements from which our modern dcrnocratic idcas evolved, T h e same elements were also present to a ccrtain extenr in Roman society. Feudal society represenred a definite regression from the standards of these two societies. In the spiritual ficld Chrisrianity meant the continuance and developmcnt of certain Greek idcas. Christianity can be considered a great srep forward in cornparison with the old reIi-
z5z
PRUSSIANISM Ah-
W W X W A R D PROGRESSION
253
gious and rnorai concepts of the formerly barbaric tribes which, as part of the CaroIingian Empire, accepted the new faith. In the social held, on the conrrary, feudalism was organized according to old barbaric principles, aIthough hidden under the cloak of Christianity. Social development rhus represenred a regression back to times preceding the civilizations of Greece and Rome. Consequently the spiritual dcveIopment, which can be considered as a definite step forward, took place in spite of the emergence of feudalism. This paradoxical state of affairsprogress in things spiritual and regression in social matterscharacterized the MiddIe Ages. Greelc moral concepts and Roman law faded into greater and greater oblivion. Feudal law and morality sprang from barbarian concepts. The feudal fief was simply an outgrowth of the homestead of the barbarians. Thousands of powerfui warriors set up their awn parricuhr lirrIe realms and protected them by force. The mass of the people who were subjected to their will were the serfs and the witlains. T h e serfs were bound to the soiI. Their condition differed onIy slightly from that of the slaves whom they replaced. The villains-vilIagers -were originally a grade higher. They paid rent for the soil on which they toiled. The distinction between the two classes tended to disappear. Both had to submit to the will of their lord. Without his permission they could not marry, nor change habitation, nor bequeath their goods. He was their judge in a11 matters-he protected them against neighboring plunderers and himself plundered them at will. N o law decided their quarrels4nly the suzerain's pleasure. I-le set the amount of the taxes which were to be paid ro him in products of the soil. H e subjected their daughters to the jus prinae noctis, if it so plcased him. Bur the suzerains, unless they were among the most powerful, had to submit in turn to suzerains higher than thcmselves.
T h e great majority of the suzerains were thus a t the same time both lords and vassals. Fealty of one to another was based on the use of land and was not a persona1 matter. Certain barons might bc vassaIs of different suzerains because certain of their holdings carried wirh them allegiance to different lords. Occasionally thc various lords ro whom the same baron owed fealry engaged in wars among themselves and this created endless complications. T h e vassal owed his sovereign military scrvice, help in the administration of justice, and financial help on certain occasions. If the vassal died without heirs the fief reverted ro rhe Iord. Castles and fortresses were erected not for the State but ro protect the property of the lords and ro facilitate prunder of surrounding lands. In case of dispute the barons could ask to he tried by their peers-that is, by vassals on thc same level. In practice they took justice into their own hands. This resulted in so-called "private wars," and persona1 disputes were decided by duels. Power and not Iaw determined a11 matters.
Christian Reign or Imperial World Domination Imperial power in the so-called Holy Roman Empire flowed down through the complex ties linking princes and barons, all-in principle-owing allegiance to the Emperor. it seemed to be definitely in the Emperor's interest to include the clergy as an integraI part of the feudal system. For them this was a means of insuring the submission of the Church t o their own power. T h e manoeuvre was clever: the bishoprics were made secular fiefs and the bishops were invested with rights over vassals and serfs. The bishops were gradually becoming secular princes, living in the same wo1fish atmosphere as the feudal Iords in general. Often they were given the titk "Count" and thus obtained suzerain right over all nobles in their dioceses. The bishoprics were soon prosperous feudal properties, based on privileges like the others. The Kings and
254
THE fHOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY
PRUSSlANISM AND DOWNWARD PROGRESSION
2 55
Emperor named the bishops, and possession of the bishoprics went with the investitures. A flourishing trade developed in these titles, although this was considered scandalous by many good souls devoted to the interests of the Church. A clergy organized according to such principles acts in accordance with worldly and not spiritual considerarions. Its first allegiance necessarily goes to the Emperor, from whom it derives, in the last analysis, all its privileges-and it does cot go to the Pope. Christianity was thus in danger of becoming a limited, provincial affair, serving the interests of the Emperor. The Popes recognized the danger in time. Pope Nicholas I1 reserved to the CardinaIs the righr to eIect the Popes. Gregory VII abolished the arbitrary choice of bishops and provided for filling of ecclesiastica1 offices by the clergy. The bishops convoked synods to re-establish unity among the clergy. The Pope also reminded the Empcror that a11 the latter's power came from rhe Papacy, that he was crowned by the Pope, and that his oath called for obedience to rhe Pope and the Church. Gregory intended to insist on this obedience-which had been pureIy nominaI under former Popes. A11 attempts of the Popes to re-establish the rights of the Church and to limit those of the Emperor necessariIy led to conflicts with the latter. We have spoken of the struggles of the Papacy with Henry IV, which were foIlowed by the humiIiation of the Emperor a t Canossa; of the investiture of an Anti-Pope, and the events preceding the first Crusade; and of rhe Hohenstaufens' difficulties with the Popes which had a direct bearing on the matters discussed in this book. All these conflicts arose out of a fundamental divergence between two diarnetricaIly opposed goals: thar of the Popes, aiming ar the spiritual reign of Christianity; and that of the Emperors, directed at material world domination. The divergence berween these two aims is closeIy related to thar between the Greco-Christian and the Prusso-Teutonic currents
(because the Iatter originated in an enterprise skilIfuUy conceived by Emperor Frederick I1 to further his revenge against the Papacy). The Reign of the Wolves Serfage, private wars, the absolute power of rhe various suzerains over their vassals, the universal reign of the "law of the stronger," and in general the complete neglect of the "rights of the human person" were basic characteristics of feudalism, aII in direct contradiction to the teachings of Christianity. They were simply a survival of barbarian concepts of Iife, somewhat disguised. The reign of the "walves," who gained control over the greater part of Europe at the beginning of feudalism, was not accidental. On the contrary, it resulted necessarily from the basic principles of fcudaI society, which considered nor the "rights of man" but only the "rights of the strong." As a matrer of fact, barbarian sociery itself, as pointed out earlier, had organized feudaI society. The former felt that its existence was endangered by the moral teachings of Christianity and reconstitured its way of life under the feudal cloak. It was a measure of potection against the revolutionary social and economic influence of Christianity. It is true that feudal sociery changed for the berter in the course of centuries, but this happened in spire of its fundamental concepts and almost soIeIy because of the influence of Christian teachings. A civilizarion whose social structure is based on one sort of morahty, but whose members, in their religious life, are taught a morality of quite a different sort, will sooner or later necessarily have to choose between the two. The contradiction between the two schools of thought which influence everyday life makes itself evident each day even to the humblest individuals. As a result one rnoraIiry gradually displaces the other.
2 ~ 6
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W e are nor concerned here with the significance of Christianity in the strictly religious domain, but only with its influence on morality. Each reIigion has a moral content as weII. Christianity, in particular, is an excellent vehicle of morality. By "strictly religious domain" is meant such doctrines as those concerning the HoIy Trinity, the birth and death of Christ, etc. O n the other hand, Christianity has within its "moral conrenr" doctrines of universal love and such teaching5 as those contained in the greater part of the T e n Commandments. T h e interdiction against worship of alien gods comes under the first-the "scrictly religious" class. People musr have felt that the moral truth of Chrktianity insures a much more satisfactory, happier way of life than feudalism offered. This is the reason why they gradually replaced feudal morality with another of Christian inspiration. T h e Church was not in a position to proceed too quiclrly. A first attempt by the Popes a t the pacification of Europethe so-called "Peace of God7'-cornpret-eIy failed. The Popes declared priests, monks, nuns, shepherds, traveIlers, schoo1children and tradesmen inviolate. Asylums were created. But nobody respected them and the Peace of God was eventually forgotten. T h e next, more modest attempt to civilize the feudal jungle was the "Truce of God." By this compromise the Popes tried to create a peaceful state of affairs at least from vespers on Wednesday until sunrise on Monday. During this time everyone was forbidden to assault, rob o r kilI; or to attack or seize castles o r other properties. Those who violated the Truce of God were exiIed and excommunicated. The Church did not rely alone on the inner truths of Christian moral teachings. It deemed it useful at a11 times to back up these inner truths by sanctions-spiritual sanctions with material consequences. By impIicarion the rules of the Truce of God meant the tolerance of all excesses on other days. Moreover, the Truce itself was not observed in many pIaccs. But however limited
its scope, it nevertheless had a certain civilizing effect in the moral field. T h e Magna Carta itself was written under the stimulus of a Christian way of thinking. The English barons who obtained it from the King declared themselves to be an "Army of God and the Holy Church." Christian moral teachings had by this time (I 2 r 5)' taken deep roor in England. T h e Charter was a move toward the liberation of English society from the excessive feudal power of the King. Bur it was only a very modest Iiberation from the feudal yoke, It was not yet an atrack on the fundamentals of feudaI society. Its main achievement was the securing of certain guarantees of liberty-but only for freemen, not for serfs and slaves. It assured t o the individual--so long as he was a free manprotection in accordance with the Christian concept of the primacy of the human soul. Tr introduced concepts which had not been known in feudal society but which were cIose to old Roman and Greek concepts. Such concepts, once stated, transcended their original purpose. During the centuries rhey had an influence toward reform far beyond the granting of . specific rights t o freemen in I 2 I 5
T h e Logical Plaa for World Conquest

T h e Hohcnstaufen imperial power derived its strength from feudal concepts. T h e Empire was a sort of super-suzerainty. It was governed by the same principles of utter disregard for the rights of its vassaIs as those vassals themselves displayed toward their own vassals and serfs. Only ir was more JificuIt to hold together the vast structure of imperial organization than the small domains. As the reverse side of the medal the princes and barons ofren used their own power t o defend themselves against the demands of the Emperor. The spir*This was eIeven ycars before Emperor Frederick 11, in the Bull of Rimini, gave a charter to the Teutonic Knights for rhcir future conquesa.
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itual aid the various Emperors received from the Popes in the beginning of the Carolingian Empire and even larer was valuable to them in the firmer establishment of their power over rheir vassals. Only by virtue of this asset-the divine and miracuIous nature of their appointment-were they able to maintain rheir position above a11 the other princes and barons. T h e very title "ITaly Roman Emperor" was based on two intangible elements which appealed deeply, even mystically, to rhe masses of the people: first, holi~ess; and second, the somewhat vague descent from the Roman Empire. So long as the Emperors were sure of the help of the Church, they could nurture the most ambitious projects, based on accepted feudai traditions. The small suzerains were not contented untiI they had conquered and prundered a11 neighboring lands and the Emperor would not be contented until he had conquered and pIundered the whole globe. His worldernbracing imperiaI ambitions evolved Iogically from rhis feudal Type of thought. They were the normal ambition which befitted a super-suzerain. T h e valuable mysticaI aid of the Church was avaiIabla to the Emperors so long as they were on good terms with the Papacy-and they were on good terms, as we have seen, so long as clergy and Papacy wcrc wiIling to take orders from the Emperors. When they refused, the whole structure was upser. T h e law of might now favored the vassaIs and worked t o thc disadvantage of the Emperor. So long as the C ' m perors had been backed by the mystical influence of thc Church, they had had a t their disposal the collective power of their vassals. Now that the Church no longer supported the Emperors, their mysricaI aura disappeared and it became impossible to keep in line the wolf-barons who roamed the immense rerritory of the Empire. T h e whole edifice threatened to fall ro pieces. To savc it, the Emperors had to find a solution: they had to find some
means to carry out their ambitions in spite of the hostility of rhc Papacy.
The Preservation of L ~ r p i ~ Thought e
Emperor Frederick I1 found this means in the Teutonic Order. Within the isolated domain established by the Ordcr hc was able to perpetuate a11 tile principles which he cherished. While the rest of Germany was gradually humanized by the influence of Christianity, the Order, under its religious disguise, carried forward the Emperor's extravagant arnbitions. At the same time, to support them, it sheltered the most backward, feudal and in many respects barbaric principles. T h e Hansa developed the idca of commercial cooperation in Germany-"cooperation" being an essentially Christian principle, in contradiction to rhe barbaric (and feudal) method of spoliation and exphitation. When the Marienwerder Bund revolted in the fifteenth century against rhe Teutonic Order and won-this appeared to be the victory of the "Good" Germany over the "Bad." * In the meanwhile Christian moral principles were permeating the rest of Europe even more thoroughly. England, although continuing to use modified and humanized feudaI methods in internal politics and in certain imperial activities, starred spreading its concepts of commercia1 exchange around thc world, thus replacing step by step the feudal concept of spoliation. France was developing within its numerous rnonasreries and abbeys an inrense religious life. Almust every street corner of Paris is cIosely associated with same cvcnt in the history of rhe Church. Monks' and nuns' cemeteries spread out under the whole city. The entire colorful French culrure developed from Christian roots. A profound mystical thinking radiated from there beyond the boundaries of France
'See pages 77-78.
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and was a great influence in the steady process of civilizing Europe. T h a t besides this, a certain rype of a-rcGgious thought also developed in France, especially roward the end of the eighreenth century, was due to a reaction against the deep penerration of Chrisrianiry imo France, But whether the process of "civilization" was accompIished by the Church or by the "enlightened" EncycIopedists, who preceded rhe French Revolurion, did not make much differencc. 30th Christianity and "free thought" were gradually driving European Iifr: toward the same humanized moral level. This situation gave rise to a widespread illusion: people imagined that mankind was moving sIowly bur surely in the direction of progress. Western Man thought that decency and cooperstion had been accepted as everlasting principles for the guidance of humanity. Our fathers and ourseIves did not reaIize that the lupine brand of thought which had once characterized a11 feudal Europe lived on in Easrern Prussia; that it had accumulated tremendous potential power there during the centuries-as described in the earlier chapters of this book, and thar it would spread from there to the rest of Europe.
CHAPTER IX
WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND UPWARD PROGRESSION

OURPURPOSE I N the preceding chapter and the present one is to find the point in the history of human thought a t which occurred the original split between the Prusso-Teutonic and the Greco-Christian approaches to Iife. W e shall now look more cIosely at Greco-Chistianismrhis only in order to try to establish the relationship benveen the latter and Prusso-Teutonism.
Greco-Christian Moral Concepts Stem from Mystical Sources Whence did Christianity derive the moral content which proved to have a much greater hold on people than barbarian and feudal moraI laws? We mighr assume rhat this moral content came simpIy through reveration of divine truth. Or ure mighr say thar it stems from J u d a and Greece. The latter double origin is generally accepted and we speak alternately about Judeo-Christian and Greco-Christian conceprs. There is an evidenr relationship between the Jewish and the Christian religions. T h e moraI Iaws of the OId Testament, including rhe Ten Commandments of Moses, passed into the Christian teachings but they were enriched there (we are tempted to say "hnmanked") . Ir: i s nor possible to discuss here fully the controversial question as to which elements contributed to the formation of Christianity. Although it is oversimplification to make rhis statement, we dare to advance the opinion that Christian ideas were born in the world of Judaea because of this very contacr with the Greek way of Iife.
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W. T. Srace, in a brilliantly written book," makes a comparison between the Western way of thinking and the rotalitarian Weltanschauung. H e also uses the expression "GrecoChristian" to describe our civilization and our morality; but for him the contriburion of Greece to our way of rhinking goes back to the Greek philosophers and to PIato in particular. Stace says: "The spiritual forces which. have molded the Wesr are Christianity and Greek phiiosophy." There is no argument against the influence of Greek philosophers on Western philosophical thought. W e believe, however, that, so far as morality is concerned, developments in the philosophical domain have, on morality, a more limited, more indirect effect, than religion. PIato and other Greek philosophers have, of course, had some influence on Western rnordity. The real Greek influence within the Greco-Christian morality was, however, of a quite differertt nature. It did not stem from phiIosophica1 roots bur from religious or rather from mystical ones.+ The Greco-Christian ethos was not born of Greek rational thought on the one side and the Christian religion of mystical essence on the other. A marriage of such disparate elements would never have given the lasring results with which we are familiar. Mystical reiigious teachings (Christianity) and rational philosophical deductions (Plate) do not mix so we11 that they could have created a civilization and a moralityboth of which have lasted for so many centuries.
The Great Inpumce of the "hitiation" Any lengthy discussion arrempting to prove the Iast thesis would exceed the limits of this book. We shall, however, try to show what we mean by the mystical (as contrasted to the philosophical) Greek influence on Greco-Christian morality and civilization. When we think of Greek religion we usually have in mind the Greek gods described by Homer in the Iliad and Odys~ey and by Hesiod. It is difficult to establish the contributions, respectively, of popular and poeric creation in the concepts of the Homeric gods. Yet there is something nonmystical and earthy about them--something "transparent." But these charmingly simple Homeric gods do not represent the entirety of Greek religious life. Mysteries of a secret, esoteric nature existed in addition to the popular mythology of the Greeks. ~~steAe into s which only the iniriate were admitted flourished all over the ancient world. In Greece the "Eteusinian Mysteries" were predominant. Celebrated in Eleusis, near Athens, they were devoted chiefly to Dionysos and Dernete'r, a god and goddess mentioned but rarely by Homer. Similar mysteries, all related to EIeusis, were ceIebrated in other places throughout Greece and later even in Rome. These mysteries moldcd Greek thinking and morality to a much greater extent than the teachings of the philosophers, or the moral concepts deriving from the Homeric theogony. Exactly to what extent cannot be examined here in detail. W e do not deny that there was a definite connection beween these mysteries and the philosophica1 theories. This connection existed, however, onIy to rhe extent to which philosophers expressed in concise, exoteric " form certain veiled esoteric teachings of the mysteries. PIato himself seems 'Sce page 266.
'W. T. Stace, The Destiny of Western Man, New York, Reynal & Hitchcock, 1 9 2 . t We disagree with Stace on a fnrrher point. He arrribures ro German philosophers (Schopenhauer and Niensche) a decisive part in rhe formation of German totalitarian theories. In our opinion, Schopenhauer and Niemsche mcrely crystallized-with personal variations corresponding ro the individuaLry of each--certain thoughts which stemmed from much deeper'sourccs in PNW-Teuronia. T h e s t thoughrs had a more earthly basis than shccr philosophy. Aside from our disagreement with the imporranee Stace attributes t o purely philosophic factors in the formation both of the Western and "German-roralirarian" (for us, "Prusso-Teuronic") conccpa of life, we find much merit in his acrual detailed juxtaposition of the nvo conceprs.
244
to have been initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. He mentions them several times with reverence, and his teachings appear in many ways to have been inspired by them. Also he introduces his Socrates as an initiate of Eleusis, The origin of these Mysteries has been ascribed ro several sources. Those which arc the most commonly mentioned are ( I ) Egypt; ( 2 ) Orpheus and the Orphic school; (3) Various ancient mysteries of the original inhabitants of Greece daring from pre-I-TelIenic times. it is interesting to note that the Orphic source irself seems to go back, according to certain versions, to Egypt. Indeed ir has been said that Orpheus, Iegendary King of Thrace, went to Egypt and was rhere iniriated into the Egyptian mysteries. Certain Greek authors beIieve that it was Orpheus who founded the Mysteries of Eleusis. The followers of Orpheus, members of the Orphic Brotherhood, believed in the "Orphic Life." The latter included a great number of ascetic rules-among others, rhe ban against animal food. Several other brotherhoods of this sort existed in Greece. The Pythagoreans were among the most famous and have aIso been associated by various authors with the hlysteries. According to Herodotus, both the Orphic and Pythagorean teachings came from Egypt. All rhese secret reiigious and semi-religious activities seem to have had a very great effect on what we mcan by Greelc civilization. It is rhe'influence of these various brotherhoods, mysteries, teletes, etc., which, through numerous channels, was tmnsrnitted to Western civilization. It is here, much more than in the commonly known Homeric mythology, that wc can trace the actual Greek influence on the Greco-Christian way of life and on Christianity itself. This was an extremely rich heritage indeed. Its transmission ro Western civilization rhrough the ages followed devious and complicated routes: besides the direct fiIiarion of ideas through the official Christian channel, there were several side-
routes. The various "hereticaI teachings" of the beginnings of the Christian era originated from closely related sources. All rhese intermingIed or paraIlel movements seem to have carried foruyard elements springing from rhe same initiations, which darc back to the Greek mysteries and possibly to Egypt. Their influence on Western civilization is as great as the influence of Christianity itseIf and shouId not be overlooked. The Eleusinian rites shaped to a very great extent the sods of those who were initiated inro the Mysteries. The symboIic value of the revelations contained in the Eleusinian Scven Degrees was such that it contribured to the spiritual development of the individuals who participated in them. Of course only a few were admitted to the privileges of the full initiation, but even the lower degrees imparted precious teachings in veiled symboIic form. T h e successive initiarions constirured a most exceptional schooling in the direction of spiritual and moral elevation--even when judged by our present standards. The secret about the content of the Mysteries was very carefuIly guarded and those who committed indiscretions concerning them rislied the death penalty. Alcibiades was once accused, just before leaving for battle at the head of the armies of Athens, of having profaned the Eleusinian Mysteries. Although he flatly denied ever having done anything of rhc sort, he found it extrerneiy difficuIt to justify himself, and his departure for the campaign was considerably deIayed. When attempts are made ro define the Greek influence on our civiIization, Plato and the other Greek philosophers are mentioned much more frequently than these Mysteries. The rcason for this is that a11 our thinking is geared ro a concept which grants credit for our progress only t o factors popularly revealed and openly d i s c u s ~ e d a n d not t o anything as incomprehensible and secret a s the content of these Mysteries. Since we do nor admit rhe conrribution of so-called esoteric
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factors to our modern life we often fail to realize rhe influence of these factors on the civiIirations from which ours originated. In reality nothing made a greater contribution to Greek moral thwght than these iwysteries, although they often appear obscure ro us. Their reachings penetrated to the widest circles of the population, whereas the theories of the phiiosophers reached only the learned. But in spite of thc popular acceptance of rhc Mysteries, the philosophers did not look down upon them. Rather they considered rhem extrcmely respectable institutions, containing, especialIy in their more ekvaced degrees, great inspiration even for themselves. It is true that the belief in "reason" stemmed from rhe Greek philosophers; bur for these men the isitiative do7vrm'n and its symbolic teachings always had great force and validity. Wesrern civilization, wirh its uncompromising rationalism, has always refused to believe in anything rhat was beyond pure rcason+xcept when it came to the strictly religious domain. But religion, the purely mysrical content of rerigion, is for us today entirely separate from science and philosophy. For the Greeks, science and philosophy were closely connected wirh the Mysteries. W e cannot discuss here whether the modern attirude in rhese matters is good or bad. In any event it is complcteIy differenr from that af the Greeks who were in the habit of tapping mysticaJ sources and deriving from rhcm teachings which they then used in the field of pure reason. T h e Greek Mysteries and the Mystcries of other peoples of ancient times wcrc ewteric-i-e., they revealed rheir teachings only to the iniriate through progressive initiations. Most ancienr Eastern religions had in addition to the esoteric portion of their teachings, an exoteric part as we11 (i.e., simplified teachings for the non-initiate). T h e exorerie part derived from the esorcric. T h e modern religions-including in this rcrm the Christian, Jewish and Mohammedan religions-arc exoteric.
Their reachings are open to all who wish to receive them-and a11 are considered initiate. (The Christian baptism and the Jewish circumcision of the men are actual initiation ceremonies.) These modern religions, a t the time of their founding, severed relations with any Iiving esoterisnl--or rather they incorporated into the symbolic contents of rheir basic books, which arc availahre to everyone, rhe esoteric teachings which Iay behind them. These were to re~nain a Idsting inspirarion to the faithful. They lacked, however, progressive initiations, and consequently progressive profundities of thought, among which even the superior and most demanding individuals might have found a Ievel to satisfy them. This is perhaps the reason why modern science and philosophy evolved--except in a few cases-along lines entirely independenr: of those of religion. T h c secrecy concerning the A4ysteries was justified in the following manner by the ancient Greeks: Truth is of divine origin and is revealed only to the few who make the necessary effort to get dose to it. It should, consequently, not be communicated to those who are not desirous of exerting these efforts. T h e Mysreries, which raise obstacles in the way of the successive initiations, communicate the truth only to people who are willing to work for it. I t would be dangerous to reveal the truth to those who are not prepared and not ripe for it: having received the truth with no effort they wouId nor appreciate it and might misuse it. The Begiming of the "Life Without T h u d
In spire of rhe secrecy which surrounded rhe Eleusinian mysteries different fragments have come out through the
works of various Greek and Larin wrirers. Modern writers (Martin N. Niisson and Victor Magnien, among others) have succeeded in piecing together these fragments and in giving a
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fairIy accurate idea of the principal phases of the different initiations. W e are interested here onIy in cerrain EIeusinian teachings which appear to us to have a direct bearing on moral conceprs and which may have influenccd Greco-Christian thinking in moral matters. We have said that Dcmeter, goddess of agicuIrure, was the principaI figure at Eleusis along with Dionysos. Demeter gave nvo things ro mankind: agricurture and the EIeusinian Mysteries. "We have received from Dernctcr two gifts," says Isocrates, "the fruits of the earth which have permitted us to Iive a Iife superior to that of the animals-and the initiation." Magnien says, "As soon as men have agriculture they can Iivc a much easier Iife without fighting and killing each other. Consequently the Mysteries, by teaching agriculture, bring forrh civiIization." * We may add that the Mysteries not only taught agricuiture but inculcated in the initiates the deep spiritual meaning of the possession af agriculmtre-the sense to which Magnien refers: i.e., an appreciation of rhe uselessness in the future for men ro fight and kill each other. T h e Mysteries became an exceptional school for elevating man toward higher goals not only in his rational thought but also in +is basic instincts. It would indeed have been simple to preach on every street corner that now that they possessed rhe techniques of agricuiture, ir was much better for men to employ cooperarion and exchange than the wolf-like methods to which humanity had been accustomed. Perhaps such utilitarian moral arguments would have appealed to the reason of some pevple and might have had a Iirnitcd effect on them. Thesc argurncnts, however, would not have reached the instinctive part of man -which, at that time, was still compIete1y geared to barbarian modes of living: killing, robbing, and, in generaI, achieving success in life by methods of force.
Victor Magnicn, Les Mystives d'Eleusir, Paris,
1929.
These deeply rooted instincts could not have been affected by any rational argument-but the methods of the Mysteries, directed toward much deeper levels of rhc mind, were wonderfulIy suited to the accomplishment of this work. T h e profoundly meaningid symbols, progressively revealed to the initiates in the hlysteries; the elaborate ceremonies which appeaIed to all senses; and the music which accompanied the rites reached rhe mosr hidden recesses of the soul, well beyond the realm of pure reason. Thus the Mysteries prepared the way for a change on these rncnral lcvcls without which any moral reform would have been superficial. Alan's barbarian innincts had been kept alive not only by the daily experience of a life of savagery, but also b y very ancient mysteries which were based on the sacrifice of humans. A further importanr function of the EIeusinian Myst e r i e s a n d of other, less important mysteries of the same category-was to replace the oIder mysteries and to substitute their own higher ideas of divine happiness for the originaily barbarian concepts of the latter. The expression, "Ground life" ("ground" from the verb "to grind") was used in the Mysterics to describe the civilized Iife which man can have through the use of agriculture. T h e use of wine was aIso considered by the Greeks to have a civilizing effect. Wine was believed to be purifying, and the symbolic representation of irs invenrion by Dionysos is also part of the Mysteries. W e can assume that symbolically wine replaced rhe human blood drunk in the earIier sacrificial mysteries, just as the use of the products of agricuIture replaced the eating of human Aesh. Another expression used in the Mysteries, "No more thorns," conveys the same idea as "Ground life." The invention of agriculture meant the overnighr rransformation of the soil-which had formerly becn only a hunting ground, full of thorns and prickles-into rich and smiling fieIds and orchards. Man by this invention and by penetrating its deepest
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meaning through the Mysteries had left behind him the "life with thorns"-the sorr of savage and painful Iife which was the only one known to his barbarian ancestors. Suidas says on this subject: "The 'Gmund' life i~the sort of life in which human beings distribute among themselves the goods of the earth instead of fighting each other. I t is expressed by she formzclu, 'shuri?zg
tion to the "discovery" of a better, higher way of life-and this discovery definiteIy came from the symboIic Elcusinian teachings we have briefly discussed, I f this is so, we can see the point at zohich "civiEizedn moral concepts, in the Western sense, originally stenzwzed away f ro7n wolf-like moral concepts. And the latter are the same can-
arrd not swmgling.' "
The Splitting Point of the Two Concepts of Life AIl rhese teachings are described in small portions by various authors. In the Mysteries themselves they were clad in numerous symbols, some clear and Iimpid, Iike rhose Hirnerius mentions in one of his speeches: "The Attic law obliges the mystes [the initiates of the Mysteries] ro bring to EIeusis a light and stalks of grain, symbols of civilized life," * Other symbols, on the other hand, were less rransparent but all could be similarly interpreted. We enter into all these details only because we believe it usefuI to find out through what processes, through whar: insight into the narurc of things Western civilization reaIly started-this in order ro understand bctrcr rhe split between the Prusso-Teutonic and Greco-Christian approaches to life. We do not expecr to outline a ful1 and comprehensive answer to this question, which is immense in scope. JVe believe, however, that the few items cited from the Mystcries of Eleusis provide at least a simplified answer to our question. T h e importance of a Greek contribution to Western civiIizatinn is not generally doubted. As a matter of fact, a great number of Greek authors themselves credit the teachings of the Mysteries with having "broughr forth civilization." T h e writer feels rhat so far as Greek thought has influenced Western t h o u g h in general, we must arrribute this contribu' Quotations from Victor Magnien, t e s Myst?res d'Eleusis.
cepts which down to the present have characterized PmssoTeutonic thinking. It is, of course, impossibre to assign a definite period ro thc processes to which we refer. However, the determination of such a time has much less importance than insight into rhe processes themselves. There was a time when humanity could think only in terms of killing, plundering, and imposing the law of thc strongest. This was a harsh period, a strenuous for everyone-for the "wolves" themselves. Then sometime, somewhere, humanity developed a grear new idea: the idea of cooperation through friendly exchange of the producrs of thc soil. This discavery opened the door to a happier, easier Iife. Ir meant so amazing, so radical a dcparture from thc earlier concepts of mankind that those who had made it did not dare to speak about it to the masses. Thus it became part of the Mysteries-and was imparted, with elaborate precautions, to the iniriates onIy. In the course of centuries, however, this discovery spread from the Mysteries to a great part of humanity-but another part never grasped its meaning. T h e latter remained at the leveI of the previous barbarous concepr of life-the "life of thorns'-a sorr of concept so deepIy ingrained as to be almost instinctive. Only initintion into the higher way o f life wouId havc had the power of alrcring concepts so rooted in the mind. When the initiation into a higher truth of which wc have spoken started, somewhere, at some time in the past, its effect was ro divide humanity into two sections. Those who were touched either directly or indirccdy by he initiation set out
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on the Upward Progression; * those who, for some reason or another,; were nor reached by rhc initiation continued the fight to preserve their accustomed way of living. In rhe course of this fight-and the rnorc the worId changed rhe more vigorousIy they fought-they became the protagonists of the Downward Pmgression.j All anachronistic defenders of feudal concepts, in any pan of the wodd, fall into the latter category. Among them, the Prusso-Euronics are rhe representatives par excellence, for the reasons examined, of the Downward Progression. T h e Prusso-Teutonics can therefore be considered non-initiatesnurtured on a Iong-outdated philosophy of life. T h e rest of hurnaniry, with a few exceptions, benefited directly or indirecrry by the initiation into higher truth. (In the same sense as our description of Christianity and Judaism as mass initiations.) During this time the Prusso-Terrtonics not only did not grasp this higher truth but developed thcir own outdated concepts to gigantic proponions in their isolation from the rest of thc world. They ncver tried to modify them toward the appreciation of a "life without thorns." 1 Instead they "stabili7,cd" thcir deeply rooted concepts, which had become almost instinctive, and those of peopIe whom they managed to dominate-at an earIier stage of development than the entire Greco-Christian civilizarion. T h e process described in the Eleusinian Mysteries is a sort of "opening of the cyes." In the moral domain, it represented the same progress as had been made, probabIy millions of years before, when living creatures passed from two- t o theedimensional thinking. Somewhere, sometime in a very distant
t In a number of cases the initiation to which we refer did not penetrate below thc surface of the souls, $We could incIudc here the "higher deductions of a moraliry," as containcd in the higher degrees of the Mysteries (described on pagcs 276278). T h e Prusso-Teutonicsnever understood the meaning of any of these various deductions of a new rnoraiity. See page 306 for more on this subjcct,
See page 2 4 6
past, our primitive ancestors grasped the meaning of "thickness" (or "height") in addition to their carlicr concept; of "length" and "breadth." They grasped this third dimension not only rationally bur eventually with their instincts as well. This also was an "eye-opening" process. T h e rhree dimensions had always been present; but man's reason and-even more imporrant-his insrincts were, until some unspccified prehistoric time, not yet developed enough tu understand and grasp what three dimensions reaIly meanr. (Todayygivcn sufficient mathematical knowledge-we can comprehend Einstein's four-dimensional world rationaIly. To our instincts, however, this world is still terra incognita.) SimiJady, on the moral level, the possibility of a "ground" life was aIways present--even when all peoples still lived the "life with thorns"-but nobody had yet grasped it. We know that, i n rhe physical worId, animals whose perception is Iimired to one and two dimensions have survived to our own Jay. They have not, even yet, passed through rhe sort of "initiation" which would enable them to understand what three dimensions mean. In the moral sphere the PrnssoTeutonics have not yet passed through the "initiation" which would make it possible for them to understand the higher moral "dimension" on which Wesrern civilization is built, Whether they, and those who had came completely under rhcir influence, wilI ever be able to experience this initiation is more than doubtful.
The Egyptian Sources of the Greek Mysteries

The discovery of a "higher moral truth"-which is ar the basis of Western civilization and which was conrained in the hlysteries of EIcusis-did not necessarily originate in these Mysteries. T h e dose similarity between the ceremonies and the symbols of the Greek mysteries on the one hand and the Egyptian mysteries on the other Ieads to the conjecture thar
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the new teachings may have becn given by Egypt to Greece. Here, of course, we enter a fieId where precise investigation a n d definite conclusions become more and more difficuIt. Herodotns says that Demeter corresponds to Isis, and Dionysos to Osiris in the Egyptian mysteries. This comparison has been generally admitted. Ilerodntus also decrares that the Eleusinian derived the belief in the immorrdity of the human sou1 from Egypr. W e have examined before rhe connections with Egypr of the possibIe Orphic and Pythagorean contributions to the EIeusinian Mysteries. All these spiritua1 affiliations make it appear quite possibIe that if we could retrace the road of the Greek mysteries to their original sources we would find ourselves in Egypt. T h e only other sources of the Greek mysteries which have bcen mentioned occasionaliy are the mysteries which existed in Greece in pre-Hellenic times. It is, however, possible that many of the larter mysteries were simply of the blood sacrificial type, containing teachings which, in spite of their sacred or initiative nature, might be called "barbarous." If so, before making their contribution to the Greek mysteries, the whole direction of thesc ancient mysteries must have becn altered toward the "upward progression"-perhaps at the time when they came into contact with the Egyptian mystic ideas. Rut we know very little about these pre-Hellenic mysteries. It is, of course possible that some of them may have moved into the camp of the "upward progression" long before this time. If we assume the Egyptian origin of the Greek mysteries,as do several authors both ancient and modern-we may just as well go farther back and consider the possibility of a filiation from India. There are, indeed, many analogies bctween the Greek and Egyptian mysteries and certain East Indian teachings. We cannot hope to get anywhere--and we shall not arrempt t o - o n the extremely uncertain ground of rhis time-honored discussion: which came earlier, and which
influenced the other-the Indian or thc Egyptian civilization? Bur whether we admit the primacy of Egypt or India we can clearly see the same eIements in the mystical teachings of Egypt, India and Greece-all directed roward our upward progresion. Thus T'IYestern civilization and the various Eastern traditions a11 seem to belong to rhc same progression. T h e rdIe of the discovery of agricuIrure in the Greek mysteries, as the basis of certain moral teachings, was more or less foreshadowed in rhe Egyprian mysteries. IVc have mentioned the comparison made by Herodorus between the Greek and Egyptian gods: Dcrneter and Dionysos on the one hand and Isis and Osiris on the other. This comparison lilccwise appIies to the deduction of a morality from agricuIture: Isis has a significance in many respects similar to that of Demeter, and to that of Dionysos-with the difference that in rhe Egyptian mysteries certain agricultural discoveries seem to be directly related to the fertilizing value of the Kile, a river corresponding symboIicaIly to Osiris. "The concrete Egyptian imagination also ascribes ro Osiris and Isis the introduction of agriculture, the inventian of the plow, the hoe, ctc.; for Osiris gives not only rhc useful itselfthe fertility of the earth-but moreover the means of making use of it. H e aIso gives men laws, a civil order, and a religious ritual; he thus places in men's hands the means of labor and sccnrcs its result. Osiris is also the symboI of the seed which is placed in rhe earth, and then springs up-as also of the cause of life. T h u s we find rhis heterogeneous duality-the phenomena of narure and the spirirual-woven together into o m knot." (I-legel-The Philosophy of History.*) Thus the Egyptian mysteries-bcfore the Greek mysteries -seem ro have presented the moraI laws as deriving from the discovery of agriculture. Furthermore Osiris, whose anaIogy with Dionysos is evident, has a rble of very wide scope in rhe Egyptian mysteries. I t is probable that Dionysos had, in ' Quutcd from translathin by J. Sihrcc, 1l.rZ. (The Colonial Prcss. N.Y . ) .
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the Greek mysteries, a rale and symbolic vaIue equally extensive. To credit him simply with the introduction of wine is to diminish his real importance considerably. Beyond the field of utiiiturian deduction of a morality 'we can discover a higher, more spirituak field of moral inspiration in thc same mysteries. This is a domain where the imrnortali~y of the human soul and metempsychosis are major factors. Our soul is rcgarded as being of divine essence. In the higher degrees of the Eleusinian inirjatian the polytheistic conceprion of the exoteric religion gradualIy disappears. The Sou3 merges with the One and forms, in the highest--or seventhdegree of Initiation but one divine u ~ . i t yThus . in their ultimarc, although secret expression, the Mysteries definitely reach a monotheistic state. ". . . Herodotus," says Hegel in The Pbiiosophy of H i s tory, "tells us that the Egyptians were the first to express rhe thought that the -sou1 of man is immortal. . The idea that Spirit is immortal involves rhis-that the human individual inherently possesses infinite vaIue. T h e merely natural appears limired-absoIutely dependent upon something other than itserf-and has its existence in that othes; but immortality invoJvcs the inherent infinirude of Spirit. This idea is first found among the Egyptians." Again Egypt seems to have inspired Greece in the creation of an idea which had an iminense bearing on Western civilization. The Iatter has among its basic concepts "the infinire value of the human individuaIm -related by Hegel to Egypt although ir came ro us more directly from Greece, in particular through the EIclrsinian Mysterics. T h e moral conclusions deriving from this conception are the samc as those drawn through the "agriculrural" or utiIitarian deduction. If we believe in the infinire value of the Soul
..
T h e deduction of a moral uu* from the usefulness of agriculture and exchange o f the fruits of the earth can bc conjrdcred a "utilitarian" deducrion.
and in its unity with the' One, we have already vanquished and abandoned the "Iife with thorns." No person hoIding such a belief could continue killing and plundering his fellow creatures. The concepts of s y m p a t h y and love of our felrow creatures, which are commonly regarded as Chrisrian conceprs, are contained either actually or virtually in the Mysteries. There are bur few derails avaiIabIe about the initiation to the "mystical" (or LLphilosophical")love which was part of the fifth, or sacerdotal, degree in the Eleusinian Mysteries. T h e cxacr nature of this "a-physical Iove" aroused much discussion from time to time and various interpretations circulated. It is probable that rhe rcal meaning of the Fifth Initiation of rhe Eleusinian Mysteries approximated present concepts of Christian Iove. ConsequentIy, in the l a s r analysis, the two types of moral deductions in thc Mysteries give rhc samc resulrs. We encounter here one of those strange "superpositions"-characteristic of the ancient mysteries--of identical truths derived in different manners and from different symboIs which eventually fade into one. It is commonly believed that the monotheistic concept stamed with the Jewish and Christian reIigions. However, it appears probable thar monotheism was already fully developed i n the ancient Mysteries-but it was part of the highest initiations only and carefulIy hidden from the masses of the followers. These subtlc concepts-that God is The One and that the human soul has evolved from the same essence-were extremeIy novel compared to earlier concepts. It is not surprising thar thcy have been considered "dangerous" for the common people-more dangerous even than the meaning of agriculture which we mentioned before. Only the mast sublime minds, the most highly initiated ones, were ablc t o understand and assimilate these idens. The primitive polvtheistic
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worId vision was considered good enough for the masses. It was more apt to be understood by them. T h e concepts of sympathy and brotherly-or mystical-lovc were not cornmunicated to the masses for the same reason.
The Egyptian Sources of the Jewish Religion

As pointed out above, it is probably true that the esoteric concept of a unique god existed borh in the highest Egyptian and Greek mysteries. It is also probable-this vicw is based on the many references by Greek authors to Egyptian sources of the Grcck mysteries-that the concept in question was passed on from Egypt to Greece. From these assumptions we may reach a third: that this concept of the Egyptian mysteries may have been at the origin of the Jewish monotheistic doctrines. T h e hypothesis that the Jewish religion may be of Egyptian origin was advanced by Freud in his Moses. According t o Freud, Moses was an Egyptian who became a beIiever in a short-lived Egyptian religion, called the "Aton-religion." "Aton" was a monorhcistic god proclaimed by a Pharaoh who called himself "Akhnaton." His original name was Amenophis, bur he assumed rhe name "Akhnaron" in honor of his god, Aton. The abstract, non-anthropomorphic Aton was opposed by Akhnaton to the polytheistic doctrines proclaimed by the priests. A. WeigalI * states concerning rhis: "Akhnaton did not permit any graven image to be made of the Aton. The True God, said the King, had no form; and he held this opinion throughout his life." There is remarkable similarity between Akhnaton's and the Jewish ban on graven images of God, and also between the respective concepts upon which these interdictions were based. Furthermore, the name "Aton" is very dose to "Ado" A, Wcigall, The Life and Times of Akhnaton, London, 1923.
nai," one of the names given to God b y the OId Testament. Bur it must be added that no historic facts can be found to prove that hlvses was really a disciple of Akhnaton's doctrines, as Freud believes, or that he actually taughr these doctrines to the Jews. Whether the teachings Moses brought to the Jews were directly influenced by the doctrines of Akhnaton is of but small importance. H e may have known the Aton concept of God from other sources. Akhnaton himself did nor create his god, Aton; he simply tried to impose on his people the spiritual reign o f this god in place of the earlier primitive doctrines. After Akhnaton's death, Atoll again disappeared from the foreground, and the priests reestablished the older and more primirive reIigious teachings. Whar had happened was probably this: Aron was not one of the gods of the common, popular theogony of Egypt. On the cantrary he corresponded to the more subtle concept of a monotheistic divinity as it existed in the highest degrecs of the Egyptian mysteries, In one word he was an esoteric and not an exoteric god. Akhnaron was certainly an initiate, because in rhe ancient mysreries roya1 dignity was always connected with a certain high degree of initiation, (In Greece, for exampIe, the sixth degree of the Eleusinian Mysteries--among seven-represented the royal initiation.) Akhnaton must have been moved by the impatience and the feeIing of revolt of a man who refuses to preach one thing to his people while believing in another. For this reason he decided to break thc laws of secrecy of his initiation and to tell the people that "There is no other god but Aton." The priests who opposed him did not disagree with him on grounds of doctrine-they believed in Aton as mud1 as Akhnaton did, bur they wouId not reveal thcir bcIief nurside the mysteries. They opposed the King because they were shocked b y his indiscretion. When, after Akhnaton's death, they again
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managed to have their way in matters of reIigion, they simply sent Aton back where they thought he beIonged: to the hearth of che deepesr esoteric mysteries. All great founders of popular religions appcar to have been moved by the same feclings as Akhnaron: they burn with their impatience to reveal to everybody immediately what the contemporary initiates believe oughc ro be imparred Jowly and only by progressive initiation. Moses acted just as Akhnaron had. We had the same impatience as the King to reveal certain teachings in which he believed. These teachings wcre, indeed, very close to those which Akhnaton taughr-but this does nor mean by any means that Moses shouid be considered a disciple of Akhnaton. The reason for the coincidence of their two beliefs may have been simply that both Moses and Akhnaton were instructed in the same mysteries; and each derived the elements of the reIigion he preached from the same sources. That Moses was an initiate of rhe esoteric Egyptian rites is extremely probable. ("Moses, before he was sent by God to the IsraeIites, was not only learned in a11 the wisdom of rhe Egyptians but was aIso mighty in words and in deeds." St. Stephen, "Acts*") Since he was brought up at court by a princess of the royal family, he was probably adrnirred to some of the highesc degrees of the mysteries. It is from there thar he must have taken his monotheistic views and his moral principles. In a word, it was probably in the mysteries that he received the initiation which he Iater transmitted to the Jews. He sct up for them the mass initiation characterized by the circumcision. This thcory does not contradicr that part of the Freudian thesis which assumes that Moses was not a Jew bur an Egyptian. T o back up his thesis that Moses was an Egyptian, Freud advanced the hypothesis that he could not even speak the language of the Jews. According to the Bible, Moses had
a speech defect, and Aaron, who is described as his brother, spokc in his stead to the peopk. Freud assumes that in reality Moses spoke only rhe Egyptian Ianguage and did not know that of rhe Jews. He used Aaron-a Jew who was not his brother-simply as an interpreter. Let us add thar we may accept the Biblical description of "Aaron brother of Moses" as not an absolute untrurh. Aaron may have been a Jew who was himself initiated into the Egyptian m).steries and therefore considered by Moses as a "Brother." h'foses, although an Egyptian, possibly a member of the royal family, may have had good reasons for Ieaving Egypr. He mighr have considered the Jews good human material to which to apply his teachings, provided he couId free them from davery. He knew rhac once he succeeded in leading rhem from Egypt he would no longer be hindered by the Egyptian priests from revealing the secret doctrines. of the According to this view the Jewish religion-ne modem religions which contributed to Western civilizationhas carried forward Egyptian initiative teaching. Certain of its characteristics are inherited, of course, from the ancient Jewish religion-but its most important teachings, principally the monotheistic views, and rhe moral teachings, are probably of Egyptian inspiration,
Greek In@wnce
on the Jewish Sects
Thus far we have seen that Greece and Judaa, two great spiricuaIly creative forces (which, according to common belief, have had an immense influence on Western civilization). seem to have been inspired to a great extent by common or at Ieast very closely related sources. We have traced thcse sources to Egypt and more particularly to the Egyptian mysreries. Let us now see how rhe Chrisrian religion fits into this pict u r e - a religion which has had an even greater influence on
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our civilization than the Greek mysteries and the Jewish reIigion. A t the time of the birth of Christ the lews were scattered in many places besides Palestine, among Romans and Greeks and other people+in BabyIon, Alexandria, Syria, Macedonia, Asia Minor, etc. They had preserved thcir own traditions, but had necessarilv felt aIso the influences of rhe various civiIizations with which they had come into contact. T h e clear and limpid, 1egaIisrically brilIianr but not very deep, Roman civilization does not seem to have had a great effect on them. O n the contrary, the more profound, more mystical Greek civilization had a dcfinite influence on the Jewish thinking of the epoch. T h e different phiiosophical schools-the Stoics, the Pythagoreans, and the Platonists, for example-had by that time spread widely certain teachings which had formerly been confined to the secret rites of the mysteries. In addition to the masses of the people three "mystical" (or "philosophical") sccts existcd among the Jews: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian, A.D. 37-95) who mentioned these three sects, says of the Pharisees that they were "kin of the sect of Sroics, as the Greeks called them." * About the Essenes, he says: "These men live the same kind of Iife as do those whom the Greeks call Pythagoreans." t This seems to indicate that at least two of the three Jewish sects arose under Greek influence. We are primariiy interested in the r81e of the Essenes because we can trace, through them, the thread leading to Christianity. There had been, in general, a great fermentation of Greek ideas in Jewish circles. The Sadducees themselves displayed a penchant for Greek culture-bur more for the phiIosophica1 than for the mysticaI teachings. W e may consider rhe Sadd
'Life of Flaviris josephus, written by himself. Published by Thomas Kinnerslzy, New Tork, 1 8 2 r . William Whiston, translator. t Antiquities of the Jews. Published by Thomas Kinnersiey, New York, 1821. William \Vhisro~>, rranslaror.
ducees simply the positivists of the period. They refused to accept anything of the Jewish religious traditions which went beyond the written word of the Old Testament. Some authors even think that they did not believe in the reIigious doctrines at aII, and recognized the Old Testament simply t o keep up appearances. In any case they refused to believe in the immortality of the sod, a concept which was by rhen-probably due to the influence of the Greek rnysterie+part of the oral traditions of the rwo other Jewish sects. T h e information available about the Sadducees is too fragmentary to allow us t o m a k e any deductions concerning rheir influence on Western civilization. We know a little more about the Pharisees. They are generaIly recaIIed as men fulI of avarice, pride and hypocrisy-a description attributed t o Christ. It is probabre that Christ's anger was directed only ar the black sheep among the Pharisees rather than q this sect in its entirety. It is, furthermore, possible that there may have been many such Mack sheep. T h e Pharisees, as a group, exercised considerable influence on rhe common people. Possibly their great power corrupted many of them. Rut whatever may have been the failings of the Pharisees as individuaIs-failings which have been casrigated by Christ-we can recognize among their teachings several. doctrines, probabIy of Greek origin, which seem to have been taken over b y Christianity. T h e Pharisees taught that man's soul is immortal and that there is resurrection for the souls of the good. They also believed in the existence of angels. These doctrines, which, as we know, appeared latcr in Christianity, did nor exist in the original teachings of h,loses. T h e most obvious explanation of their origin is that they were raken by rhe Pharisees from the ancient mysteries: the "secret" in thc highest degrees of the Eleusinian Mysteries included irnmortaIity of the soul and everlasring life; further, the concepr of resurrection taught by the Pharisees, wllile it closely resembles the later Christian
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idea of resurrection, aIso in a certain sense ,orrcsponds to the Greek metempsychosis. (The theory of the "angels" may have been talcen by the Jews from the mysteries of Zoroaster during their sojourn in Babylon.) rhe individual, Everything is ruled by God's will-and nevertheless? preserves his free will concerning a11 things that s contradiction bctwcen thesc depend upon him. There ~ 2 no two concepts for thc Pharisees and neither is there for the Christians. Like St. Augustine after them, the Pharisees also spoke of the "Kingdam of God on earth." God's power is above that of the earthly rulers, rhey said, and rhey rcfused to render oath to thc Roman h ~ p e r o r s . Thus the sect of the Pharisees in a ccrtain sense constituted a transition between Greek mysticaI teachings and Christianity. A much more striking transitional r81e between the two civilizations was played, however, by the third sect, the Essenes. W e can assume that quire a number of the basic doctrines of the Jewish Essenes came from Greece-and these doctrines were also very close to those later taught in the Christian religion. Consequently the Essenes must have been ideal disciples of Christ when he came-fully prepared to accept his reachings and to be absorbed within his new reIigion. We can also say that if the Christian religion had not been born, the Essencs would probably have continued to exist. as a Jewish sect of distinctive character or would have become the founders of a separate religion, proclaiming a trurh very close, in many respects ro whar we know today as Christianity. W e shaIl give special attention to rhe Essenes because we are inclined to think that this Jewish sect represents the most important "missing link" between the secret Greek teachings and the beginnings of Christianity. They are a sort of junction between the Greek and the Western civilizations. The Essenes may appear to be, a t first glance, far from our present-day problems. It is useful, however, to have a clear understanding
of their rcile in the moral and philosophical evolution of mankind in order to appreciate fuily where we stand in our fight for civiIization.
Tbe " M i s s i ~ g LinR" Between Greek Teachings and Cbrisrialzity

According to the description of Josephus, the Essenes showed great affection for one another. They lived in a sort of community which may have been the inspiration for the reIigious orders of Christianity, They despised riches and none of them had more than another. "For, it is a law among them that those who come to them must let what they have be common to the whole Order: inasmuch rhar among them all there is no appearance of poverty, or excess of riches; but everyone's possessions are intermingled with every orher's possessions; and so there is, as it,were, one patrimony among afl the brethren , . nor do they aIIow of the change of garments or of shoes till they be first enrireIy torn to pieces or worn out by time. As for their piety towards God it is very extraordinary. For before sunrising they speak nor a word about profane matters; but put up certain prayers which they have received from their forefathers as if they made supplicarion for its rising." " Then they are sent away by their "curators" to exercise some of the arts in which they are skilled. They work five hours, assemble again, take baths of purification in cold water and cIorhe themseIves with white veils. Then only do they sit down to eat one kind of food, but it is unlawful to taste the food before the priest has said grace. After their meal grace is said again. Then they Iay aside their white garments and return to their labors. For supper they proceed in the same manner. Clamor and loud discussions are prohibited, but
* Flavius Josephus, W a r s of the Jews. Published by Thomas Kinncrslcy, New York, 1821. William Whisran, translator.
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evervone in his turn has Ieave to speak. "Which silence t l ~ u s kept in their house appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery,'' says Josephus. They do nothing without the instructions of thcir "curators" except assisting those in want; they can, of their own free will, give help or food to those who are in distress. Whatever they say has more weight than oath but they have no right to swear. Swearing is considered by them worse than perjury '-but in spite of this prohibition, the neophyte who is admitted inro their sect? must swear at the moment of initiation "rhat he will neither conceal anything from those of his own sect, or discover any of their doctrines to others." This is the same sort of vow of secrecy as can be found not only in the ancient Greek and Egyptian mysteries, but also in the latter-day religious orders and in the various secret societies of the Middle Ages. The Essenes' attitude toward pain and torture, as described by Josephus, is very reminiscent of what we know about the early martyrs of Christianity: "They contemn the miseries of Iife, and are above pain by the generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better than living always. And indeed our war with the Romans gave abundant evidence what grear souls rhey had in their trials. IVherein, although rhey were tortured and distorted, burned and torn to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment that they may be forced either to blaspheme their IegisIaror, or to eat what was forbidden them; yer could they not be made to do either of them: nor once to Aatter their tormentors or t o
'Christianity conrains similar injunctions against swearing; thosc of Christ, Marc. V, 34, XXIII, 16 and St. James V, rz. Bur exceptions are permitted for "solemn" reasons and on great and necessary occasions, Thus the apastoIic consumcions forbid swearing in general hut state elsewhere that: one should not "swear falsely, swear often and in vain." The parailclism with the k e n e s is evident. t Thase who wanred ro be admitrcd had to wait several years, living with rhe Essenes in the meantime. They were accepted only after having proved thcir worth in severs1 trials.
shed a tear. But they smiled in their very pains; and laughed those to scorn who inflicted the torments upon them; and resigned up their souls with great cheerfulness: as expecting to receive them again." It is dear that this is the very same human material as that of which the early Christians were made. So Iong as rhey were Jews of the sect of Essenes they refused to braspheme their "legislator"-i.e., Moses. When they were calIed Christians, they showed the same fidelity toward their Saviour. As for the doctrines of the Essenes, Josephus gives a picture which would suggesr that these doctrines were born our of the contact of the origin21 Jewish beIiefs with certain Greek teachings-which all seem to originate from the Eleusinian Mysteries: * "Their doctrine is thar bodies are corrupted and that the matter they are made of is not permanent; but that the souls are immortal and continue forever; and that they are come out of the most subtile air, and are united to their bodies as to prisons, into which rhey are drawn by a certain natural enticemenr. But that, when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opinion of the Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean; and in the region thar is neither oppressed with the storms of rain, or snow or intense heat: but that this place is such as refreshed by the gentle breathing of a West Wind thar: is perpetually blowing from the ocean. While they allot to bad sods a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments. And indeed rhe Greeks seem to have followed the same notion when they allot the islands of their blessed to thcir brave men whom they caIl 'heroes' and 'demigods'; and to the souIs of the wicked, the region of the ungodly in Hades: where their fables relate that certain persons such as
We have seen rhar elsewhere Josephus compared the docrrines of the Essenes to rhe Pythagorean reachings-which themseIves were closely connected with the Alysteries.
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Sisyphus, Tantalus, Txion and Tityus are punished: which is built on this firs supposition thar souls are imrnorral. And thence are those exhortations to virtue, and dehortations from wickedncss coIlected; whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their lives by the hope they have of reward after their death; and whereby the vehement incIir~ationsof bad men to vice are restrained, by the fear and expecradon rhey are in, that although they shouId lie concealed in this life, they shouId suffer immortal punishment after their death. These are the divine doccrines of the Essenes about the soul: which lay an nnavoidabIe bait for such as have once had taste of their philosophy." According to Josephus, there were approxinlately four thousand Essenes in his rime. Although they caiIed rhemseIves Jews they could just as we11 be considered the discipIes of a new religion-probably evolved, as we have surrniscd, from the contact of the Jewish faith wirh Greek mystic reachings. They were excluded from the common court of the Ternpie. This is not surprising in view of the exrremely unorthodox charzcter of their Jewish beliefs.
T h e Cunverging T r e A s of the Upward Pragressiun
insritnrions of a purely Christian characrer. Assuming the Egyptian influence both on the Greek and Jewish civilizations, we can give the following schematic pattern of thc spiritual and cuIturaI evolution which took pIace:
W e have given much artention to the Essenes because this multi-faced sect, which professed to be Jewish and which was Greek in many of its doctrines, closely approached the early forms of Christianity. Consequently rhe Essenes, wharever may have been their actual historical influence, played a r6le which typified the spiritual process which was taking place a t the same time in various fields during the period of gestation of \Vestern civilization: " certain Greek and Jewish elements merged in various proportions, and resulted in ideas and
'We could rncnrion for example t h e Therapeutes, another Jewish sect
which, under the influence o f Greek teachings, came to resemble a Chrisrian

sect very
closely.
This is the form the Upward Progression (see page 246) probably took during the Iast two or three thousand years (omirting numerous by-paths which have no place in this schemaric representation). In addition t o the more profound effect of the mystical tcachings-about which we have spoken-we ~ o i n t e d out rhe possibiIiry thar the teachings of thc phirosophers had a limited influence at the same time, particularly among the learned. On the other hand, there moved along with rhe main currcnc of Christianity various so-calIed heretical currents. The !atter were condemned by the Church-which was acring in naturaI self-protection againsr n ranfusing over-diversification
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and splitting up of its basic doctrines. These currents (;Vanicheisrn, Gnosticism, Catharism, etc.) were nevertheless excellent vehicles of the Upward Progression and carried it inro extremely diversified circles. There were teachings for the most dissimilar tasres and for the various degrees of mental evoluricm of mankind. They replaced, in a certain sense, the multiplc degrees of initiation of the original mysterirts, which, as pointed out earlier, corresponded to thcsc various degrees of mental development. Historically more important than xII sub-teachings, the Church of Rome became a most extraordinary mass initiation of the barbarous people of Europe and later of several other continents as well. I f it had not. fir~iilyestablished its own traditions during the long centuries preceding the Reformation the various Protestant religions would never have bcen able to display such remarkable unity in their basic Christian substance.
Christianity: Vt,hicle of Initiatio~zand Civilization
This is not the moment to examine the arguments of the

two camps in the age-old discussion between rhe defenders and the critics of Rome. From our poinr of view only one
thing counts: that all Cl~ristianreligions carrled around the world the seeds of the same initiation and the same civilization. As we have s3id before, we arc concerned here only with the moral content and influence of the Christian religions. T h e spirirual teachings and the Christian cosmogony are beyond our scope except insofar as they arc vehicles for certain moral truths. In this moral dolllain Christianity certainly has acted as an "eyc-openerm on a very largc scale: it has revealed to people nurtured on barbarous concepts what we commonly consider a higher or a bettcr moral truth. Tr has shown them this moral trurh as deriving from certain spiritual teaching* immorrality of the soul, God a spirit, man coming from God
and returning to God. These are thc same kinds of teachings as those which were imparted to the initiates of the highest mysteries, and thc same types of moral principles were deduced in borh cases. We Ilavc secn that in additinn to these spiritual deductions of a morality there was also in the Greek and Egyptian mysteries a "utilitarian" or type of deduction. This was based on the agricultural discoveries of Dcnletrr and to a certain extent on the invention of wine by Dionysos. The Iartcr was the sort of "utilitarian" revelation which brought the Greeks from the "life with thorns" to the concept of a "ground" life, These elements of rhe Greek mysteries-whict~ already existcd in Egypt-are present within Chrisrianicy in an even more veiled form symbolically. Their nearest equivalent is the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist with its "transubstantiadon" of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. According to Saint Thomas Aquinas (Sumna Theolagicu, LSXIII, 6 ) , this sacrament was prefigured in rhe Jewish religion by the bread and wine offered up by Melchizedek, and also by the mawnu which containcd--as a spiritual nourishment--every flavor and every sweetness. The different sacraments, the baptism, rhe co~ifirmation, etc., probably correspond to the diffcrent dcgrees of the ancient initiation. There were seven degrees in the Eleusinian Mysteries and there are seven sacraments in the Catholic religion. A detailed comparison cannot be undertaken here. Of the t\cro types of deduction of the same moral truththe "utilitarian" and the spiritual, which had coexistcd in the Greek mysteries (in nvo different degrees of initiation)-the accenr in this case was placed on the spiritual. +4 religion which bestowed on all its members the full advantage of the initiation had to choosc between different types of deduction of the same truth. Christianity chosc the higher, more spiritual deduction of the two. In rhe Greclc mysteries the initiates of the Iower degrces
292
were taught to cease to Iaok for the sort of happiness which consists in plundering and killing each othcr. They were made to understand, by the use of transparent symbols, that the exchange of the fruits of the earth could procure then1 much greater happiness than the sort of happiness they used to find in the "life with thorns." This practical deduction was deemed understandable by the common initiates. The happiness to be found in "mystical love" and, on a higher level, the happiness in the post-mortem unity of rhe human soul with the One, were truths reserved for the sclected few, Teachings which are very dose to rhese latter truths werc given the principaI r81e for the determination of human happiness by Christianity, alrhough this religion opened wide to everyonc rhe doors of initiation. In Chrisrianiry the perfect happiness of man consists in the "vision of God," Man cannot possess this perfect happiness on earth-he can only prepare himself for it, T h e "vision of God" means for man the possession of all good and rhe excIusion of all evil.+ Christianity considered all men capable of understanding this mystical origin of happiness from the moment Christ came into the world. T h e coming of Christ to earth thus represents, in a cerrain sense, the dcsccnt of the esoteric mysteries from their former OIympian hcighrs.
The Rble of the "Marginal" Movements of Christianity
In addition to official Christianity and the "heretical" Christian doctrines, several secrct socieries served as vehicles of moral education in the Middle Ages. The morai teachings of rhc Rosicrucians and of the esoteric guild of the cathedral builders (the "operative Masons") were close co the moral laws of the Church, but were expressed in rhe farm of secret symbols. T h e Order of the Templars, one of the Knights' Orders of the Church, also had its "secret," In a certain sense
'St. Thomas Aquinas, Szmmza Theologica, 111, 8, IY,
1-8
these secret societies represenred the persistence of the ancient esoteric methods. In many respects they seem to have descended from the Essenes, the Greek mysteries, and perhaps even from Egypr. All these societics were active participants in the Upward Progression of mankind. Their primary concern was the perfecting of the individual and humanity. At first gIance this purpose appears to be one which might just as well have been publicly disclosed, Zut consjdcrations similar to those which weighed with rhe heads of the ancient mysteries *; made these societies also proceed in secret. Victor M a p i e n (in Les rMyrt4res d'Elezlsisis) states, "The existence of secrer or closed societies in which cerrain teachings or certain practices are transmitted to serected and proven people corresponds to a very general tendency of human nature." During the seventecnrh and eighteenth centuries the socarled "speculative" (i.e., purely phiIosophica1) Masonry reached an outstanding position among the secret societies. A heated argument has been carried on among French historians during recent years to decide wherher Masonry did or did not conrriburc to the coming of the French Revalution. I t seems to us that by thoroughly discussing in its lodges ideas which were certainly "Christian" ideas in the morai sense, and which were in contradiction to the tyrannical, feudal practices of the epoch, French Masonry undoubtedly preof the Revolution. But pared the way for the liberating so did Christianity itself, which by reason of its teachings exercised a conrinuaI influence in the direction of the Upward Progression, even though occasionally leading members of the Church were allies of the very powers thcir teachings opposed. T h e ways of civilization are often paradoxicaI. Ideas and trends spread through contradictory channels (which makes it possible for them to penerrare much more deeply into varied strata of society). T h e different Christian religions have fieScc page 267.
and V, 7,
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quendy been in conflict among themsefves. Rome, which
was
anxious to keep Christianity united, combated the Reformation as strenuously as it had fought against the heretical teachings. Furthermore there has long been a ban against Masonry by Rome, although originally many outstanding members of the Church belonged to rhis secret organizarion. W e have to consider all these as "internal struggles," because fundamentally Rome, the different other Christian religions * and the secret societies of the Masonic type a11 pursue the same goals-at least in the moral field. They all further the same sort of mord educarion of mankind, although they may differ as to how this education can be effected. Even certain schooIs of thought which scorn "mystical" methods in the pursuit of their aims have performed the same task in the process of civiIization as rhe religions and secret societies. Modern social doctrines and movements, for exarnpIe, have carried forward Greco-Christian moral ideas in their own way. They have spread these ideas in circIes whose mentality is geared to a "positive" approach and which would have refused to accept rhem from any "mystical" source. These movements-although they generally do not boast of this ancestry-nevertheIess srem from the same Greco-Christian roots as the modern religions and the other mystica1 teachings. Their entire content, both the "critical" and the "constructive," is based on a moral outlook which is essentially Greco-Christian, or which, at least historicalIy speaking, has evolved from Greco-Christian mystical thought. W e cannor examine here the pros and cons which are generaIly advanced concerning the modern economic and social theories currently called "Marxism." W e distinguish between modern Marxism and basic Marxism, because the latter, rhe Marxism of Marx, was principaIly "critical"-not "construe* We cwld calI them "Judeo-Christian religionsw-and we could add to them, probably, most other contemporary religions, Mohammedanism, Buddhism, etc.
tive" like the doctrines of his modern disciples. Ir: is irrelevant to our present purposes whether we consider Marx's criticism of capitalist society jusrified or unjustified; and whether we favor or violently oppose the collectivist solutions which are advocated by the disciples of M m . Whichever be the case, we must admit that Marx's critical attitude is based on GrecoChristian mora1 premises. It is the critical attitude of a man who, inspired by his Greco-Christian ou:look on Iife, considers-rightly or wrongly--certain prevailing conditions un]US" The earlier socialist theories, mostly French-those of Fourier, Sainr-Simon, Proudhon, Blanc, etc.-were all more or less based on the premise that "man is good," wirh a definitely Greco-Christian meaning of the wvrd "good." The same can be said about the various ?rends and ideas which are comprised in rhe very general expression "free thought." Free-thinkers also refuse to recognize the rMe of mystical sources of inspiration in their interpreration of morality. As a matter of fact, however, their ethical ideal has evolved either from the Christian type of rhinking or from the Greek philosophers-and the latter were influenced either directly or indirectly by the mysreries. Even those types of "free-thought tendencies" which consider themselves in absolute opposition to Greek and Christian ideas derive indirectly from the same sources of inspiration as the latter. Here we have in mind the various trends of popular thought which are more or less related to the different "utiIitarianV and "pragmatisr" philosophies. "Usefulness" is considered the basic gauge of morality-and no divine, mystic, or intuitive moraI standard is recognized by these schools. In practice the moraI conclusions and judgmenrs of such free-thinkers generaIly coincide with the Greco-Chrisrian moral ideas. The reason for this is that, while rhey make their moraI conclusions dependent upon the concept of "usefulness," they must at that point decide what should be consid-
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ered "useful." T h e question then becomes one of choice--of preference-and not of scientific determination, since rhe "utility" desired dcpends enrirdy on the sort of future visualized for the individual or mankind. In determining our preferences, there are apparedy nu weightier reasons for turning in one direction than in another. W e therefore turn where "our heart belongs." Because even "urilirarian" free-rhinkers are unconsciously influenced by their Greco-Christian background, in practice their moral conclusions and judgments coincide with Greco-Christian moral ideas.
97 tions of conquest of the different surrounding countries), in an e h r t to keep a11 the spiritual and material forces they wish to destroy from forming an alliance among themselves. Our task therefore is to join rogerher, to synthesize, these elements of the Upward Progression which the Russo-Teuronics strive to split apart and destroy. It is for this reasgn that the possible outline of such a synthesis was suggested in the present chapter.
2
'WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND UPWARD PROGRESSION
The Pmsso-Tezctonics Fight the Whole Upward Progression
It was not our purpose in the preceding pages to review sysrcmarically rhe differenr moral doctrines which have contributed to the formation of Western civiIization, Our object was simply to examine briefly the roots which are common to all groups and elements composing the Upward Progression. We have distinguished in this Upward Progression such eIemenrs as Greek civilization, the Roman Iegal school of rhought, Judeo-Christian religions, humanirarian movements, modern social docrrines, democratic traditions (sce page 246). In the opposite camp is Prusso-Teutonism, part of the Downward Progression-a part which has developed ro gigantic proportions. It is not due to the caprice of a single man rhat PrussoTeutonisrn (represenred at the moment by Hitler) is so violentIy opposed to a11 constituent parts of the Upward Progression. This opposition is samerhing basic and organic; and it was inevitable-Hitler does no more than give it current expression in his brutal and mediumistic way. Both HitIer and the Prusso-Teutonics fight the battle piecemeal. They reveal only fragrnena of their spiritual inrentions (just as they have revealed only in fragments their inten-
CO.\5lION
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I99
it is simply a vision of life Iong ago abandoned by those peo-
CHAPTER X
ple whom the Upward Progression has joined together-no matter in what part of the worId thcy may live,
CORlrZION F O E A N D C O h l l t l O N NORILITY
CURRENTS, schooIs of thought, movements, religions, etc., which have contributed to our Upward Progression are usually split among themselves by their doctrinal differences and disputes. In norma1 times, rhis is as it should be because these conflicts resuIr in further progress. From time to time, however, these inrernal disagreemcnts bccome so sharp, so passionate, that irreparabIe cleavages divide one group from another within the same camp. In times like the present-when outside danger of quite a different character threatens the members of the camp of the Upward Progression-such intcrnaI division may have disastrous effects. Mutual hatred and pssion often so warp the vision of thosc participating in the Upward Progression that they may not always distinguish the difference in character benveen, on thc one hand, their normal disagreements with other members of their own camp, and, on the orher, the much more profound difference with the outside foe. Some time ago the remark was jokingly made that thc people of the earth wouId never forget their differences unrii the inhabitants of Mars threatened an invasion. T h e actions of the Prusso-Teutonics bear the same relation to the world as those of the ltlartians might have: the ideas and practices which the former try to enforce on our world are not mere variations within the same cultural stream. They attempc to subject us to the rules and habirs of a life based on quite a different concept from ours-a concept which is as alicn as though it came from a different planet. In the finaI analysis,
The Com~non Ground

When cerrain words bccorne "attached" to certain groups, it may be resented if they are used in conncction with other groups. W e have spoken in preceding pages about the "initiation" through which the various component parrs of the Upward Progression have passed. IVc arc we11 aware that use of the word "initiation" may arouse resentment on the part of those groups which do not recognize their relationship to mystical trends. However, the expression "initiation" can be used in a very general sense in the history of human thought to refer to the "eye-opening" process mentioned in peceding pages. It is both in this sense and, in rhc case of the religions and mystical groups, in a "mystical" sense as well that we have ernproyed the word "initiation." \Ve tr:ed to point our that the different groups within rhe Upward Progression a11 originared in the same "initiation," in rhe same "eye-opening" process. It is important that a11 those individuals and groups which can rrace back their spiritual ancestry to this initiation should fully rearize this; and that they shouId sce clearly that it is this which separates them definitely and irrevocably from the groups within the Downward Progression.' This common spiritual ancestry represents for all members of the Upward Progression a sort of nobility of which all should be proud, 110 matter whar ideological differences may have separated them in rhe past. These ideoIogica1 differences tviIl separate rhem again in
* \t'e harc mentioned among [he componenr parts of this Downward Prilgression: harlrarian mentality, feudal society, Prusso-Teuronic conspiracy a n d conrcmporar). Nazi ambitions.
THE VARIOUS
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the future-and it is good that this should be so. In the meantime, however, let us explore fulIy the meaning of our common "nobility," so fully chat we wilI be able to take a much more effective stand against the threar which comes from the outside and dates from the Dark Ages. We do not claim to chart o u t in this book the definite "common ground" on which all members of this spiritua1 nobility, all participants of the Upward Progression, can firmly establish their lincs of defense. We hope, however, rhat the theme we have suggested will be elaborated upon. Most individuals, nations, groups, etc., have instinctively understood what the danger of Nazism means. But there exist numerous doubts and uncertainties concerning the roors of this danger and its extent. O n the other hand, not a11 appreciate fuHy that it is of a nature quite different from the usual struggles and differences of opinion which arise between parties, religions, movements, etc. Whatever may be the daily ups and downs of the war, it is Important that we strengthen our internal "spiritual front." I l l i s is what will enable us to win both the war 2nd the peace. The "Common Initiation"
Other Anlachronistic Survivals
We should not be a s h a ~ ~ e of d our origias. By this is meant that we should not bc afraid to recognize, a t least historically, the "mystical," initiative background which lies behind our mental evoIution. Initiation came to our ancestors and to ourscIves through varied channels which, in the ancient mysteries, all converged. Whether our initiation came through one of thesc channels or through all of them, it is still the same initiarion and it represenrs a common bond for a11 of us. T h e Prusso-Teutonics and their nearby satellites never received this initiation or, if they were approached by ir, it !wised over them without leaving any trace.
W e do nor intend to paint a picmre completely black on one side and white on the other. Nor a11 individuals who belong to the different groups which participated in the Upward Progression can be considered fully initiate in our sense. The process of civilizarion is a slow one. Ir may approach its goal. It never reaches it, and its achievements are full of imperfections. The various religions, mora1 doctrines, etc., which have contributcd to liestern civilization have on the whole, however, effected a wonderful change in the world during the Iast thousand years or so. The civilizing process wilI perhaps never penetrate into 011 recesses of our human society. But these recesses become ever fewer and fewer. W e and our ancestors thought that nothing wirhin these recesses could endanger the balance of the whole. W e Iooked upon the remnants of rhe primitive "non-initiated" concept of life "-the numerous reactionary, feudal-minded groups-simply as picturesque anachronisms. We attached littIe importance to them because the varied driving forces of the Upward Progression were at work against them, simultaneousiy in joy, bloodshed and tears, on all levels of society, and thus a continual housecleaning was effected. T h e isolated survival of dements of the Downward Progression would indeed have had no great consequence while the dynamic influence of the Upward Progression was setting the tone for the Western world and, more or TESS, for the worId as a whole. But a11 estimates were upset b y the fact that the driving forccs of the Downward Progression had accumulated considerable power in their secInsion in East Prussia and recentry have pushed their way to the foreground of world events, Those who represented the Upward Progression were raken by surprise-and the present struggle is the result.
'These survived everywhere, including thc democratic counrrics.
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The Prusso-Teutonic "Pseudo-Esoterim" We face a paradoxicaI situation, The basic concepts of the Upward Progression originated in esoteric mysteries. These concepts later came out into the sunlight, expressed a t first by exoteric, openIy taught religions and then by even more openly revealed doctrines of various rnovements and schools of thought. On the other hand, the primitive barbaric forces which flourished in Europe and existed openly everywhere (during the period which preceded the civilizing effect of the mysteries, religions, and different currents of IVestern thought) rcaIized that they could survive and acquire new power only if they in their turn used methods of secrecy. Now they face us with all the advantages which these methods give ro those who employ them. So while the initiation into a higher moral truth came more md more into the open, the forces which tried to preserve the way of life which was once the common way have retreated into the isoIarion of their secret societies whence they manipulate power they have accumulated. W e musr watch this paradoxical situation. Undcr normal circumsranccs the forces of the Upward Progression would have every advantage in the struggle now taking place (both in the spiritual and marerial fields) because of the mass appeal of the "initiation into the higher morai truth." This advantage is, however, somewhat diminished by the fact thar most of these upward forces have been acting in rhe open for centuries now and have lost the benefits of their earIier secrecy. Furthermore their activities have been conducted in a nan-concentrated, more or Iess haphazard manner, each force isoIared from the other. During this timc the Prusso-Teutonics have gradually formed cheir own secret organizations in which they have cleverly aped certain traditions of form created by the other
camp.' Within these secret organizations they have been concenrraring rheir forces, and have planned their action for many years ahead.
The Prusso-Teutonics have succeeded during the lasr seven decades in incuIcaring their own ideas in the minds of a great number of peopIe whom we would expect to be proud of their aIlegiance to the of the Upward Progression. These people-Gerrnan-speaking people in Germany and in other parts of the world-had already passed through rhe civilizing initiative process of Christianity. Nevertheless, because they were made t o believe that a common Ianguage implies more fundamental common bonds, they let rhemselves be dragged by the Prusso-Teutonics along the slope of the Downward Progression. This reasoning of the PrussoTeutonics convinced many Germans, in spite of its fallacy, because from the Upward Progression there came no organized effort to out the truth to the German-speaking peopIe: that only the superficial symbolism of a common language united them to the Downward Progression of the Prusso-Teutonics; and that they were spirinralIy more attached to thc Upward Progression. T h e world itself has been confused by vaguely mystic ideas concerning the significance and unifying effect of a common language. It was because of this confusion that the PrussnTeutonics were able to gain acceptance for rheir faliacious reasoning. T h e Gmm-speaking people were 7nore or less abandoned by the rest of the world, and thus became an easy prey for the Prusso-Teutonics.
Hitler himself fits we11 into this picture with his penchant for a certain kind o f mystical teachings. But Ilitler's "esorerisrn," like thac of rhe PrussoTcuronics has nothing to do with rhe real initiation. Rather ir is a blend of charlatanism and black magic.
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The Fornation of the Abscess

T h e Egyptian and Greek mysteries, the Jcwish religion and sects, finaIIy Christianity and its "marginal" movements, spread everywhere the concepts of cooperation, exchange of goods, brorherIy Iove, sympathy, etc. T h e Prusso-Teutonic forces we have described set u p their center of resistance in East Prrrssia. T h e y acted under the initiaI impetus givcn by a visionary Emperor, and a feudal society which-in the face of the rapidly spreading ideas of rhe Upward Progressionsought to survive in rhe guise of a secret organized Order. T h u s they formed a sort of abscess in an otherwise predominantly healthy body. By wrapping rhemseives in the cloak of sccrecy, by adopting secret methods, by isolating thernseIves for centuries from the rcsr of mankind, they deveIoped into a real danger for the world. During this time other feudaI remnants in all countries, not isoIated from the organic life of the globe, were caught up in the healthy stream circulating through the body as a whole and bccame less and Iess important in world affairs. (An exception may perhaps t ~ emade in the case of the surviva1 of feudalism in Japan which in several respects is analogous to the Prusso-Teutonic situation.) Using the same figure as before: no compronlise is possibIe berwccn the healthy celIs of the worId-body and the abscess full of decaying matter. Once the centuries-old wall which rhe abscess has built around itself has burst there are but t w o possibilities: either the abscess spreads over the whole body and transforms it into a decaying organism, or the healthier elements of rhe body get the upper hand and succeed in resorbing the ahscess cnrireIy.
The T h e e Types of Moral Initiation

W e did not enter here and we cannot enter here into a detaiIed anaIysis of rhe eye-opening process which humanity
has experienced-of the moral initiarion we have mentinncd. We know this much: that it was a complex and intricate pmcess, because its different phases which originated in the ancienr mysteries developed through varied forms in the modern religions. Although not everyone fuIly absorbed the different phases of this initiation, human society in general is more or Iess "perme~ted"by their meaning--either directly or through the example given by others-and ir was through this alone rhar the general advance of morality occurred, Schematically the different phases of the "moraI initiation" seem to emerge as folIows from the ancient mysteries and from varied, more recent sources: 1 . The discovery of agricuIrure is represented in the ancient mysreries b y the initiation into the "Life Without Thorns," Corresponding symbols are the stalks of grain, the manna, the "bread" of the HoIy Eucharist and bread in general. T h e daily benediction of bread by the Essenes and b y the Christians enters into this category. "Bread" represents, according to a very ancient terminology, much more than its nutritive value-it represents human nourishment in general; (compare expressions Iike "Our daily bread," "Panern et circcnses," etc.). T h e syrnboIic representation of the discovery of agriculture corresponds at the same time to a higher stage of moral understanding: with the possibility of exchanging t h e products of the earth it is n o longer worth while to base our daily existence on plunder and killing-it is becoming more satisfactory t o leave behind the "Life with Thorns." This process could be caIlcd a "utilitarian" or "nlaterial" deduction of a moraIity. z. A t a higher degree of the ancient mysteries we find rhe initiation into "mystica1 love." T h e latter, in the time of Christendom, becomes "human sympathy" and "Christian love." T h i s process is, in a certain sense, a "humanitarian" deduction of a morality. 3 . T h e highest understanding of the moral trurh derives from concepts Iike "immortaliry of the soul," "everlasting
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Jife," "unity of the human soul with God." (These concepts, which existed in the ancient mysteries, can be found among the pre-Christian sects of the Jews and have considerable importance in Chrisrianity.) We may call rhis process a "metaphysical" deduction of a morality. The understanding of any of these three initiations may be sufficient to motivate an abandonment of the "Life with Thorns" and an elevation ta a higher moral level. Although rhcy are different in form, they a11 coincide in meaningi.e., they project the same idea of goodness-and in a certain sense all three are superimposed one on rhc other in rhe minds of those who receive them all. T h e Prusso-Teutonics, in spite of the Christian guise under which they carried on their first activities, never grasped fuIIy the meaning of any of these initiations. They did not grasp it: they refused to q a r p it, or, rather, they were enabled to resist it because their basic c barter lrnd their "secret" *--whit h f w them counted more than amy thing else-were inspired by opposed principles= These principles were those of feudal society, which society in its turn was only a disguise of barbaric society.
Spirinral lznd ~liaterialInterests Behi77d the Growth of the Abscess

T h e Prusso-Teutonics based their future destinies on motives of both spirituaI and material character. Furthermore, as we have seen, the two sorts of motives were protected by a scrictIy guarded secret from the curiosicy and troublesome interference of the outside world. This was the situation a t the rime of the Order and it continued when the Junker organizations took over, for their own sake, the ambitions and the policies of the Order. These are the reasons why the Prusso-Teutonics succeeded in establishing such a lasting
"Secret"-in the sense usua1 for secret orders--consisting a t the same time of a secret mission and secret methods.
"abscess" of their own ideas and intentions within a more and more Christianized worid, W e have already examined these aims in greater detaiI. They included: perpetual conquest (in the full Hohensraufen sense of rhe imperial drive toward world domination), furthering of the selfish.personal interests of rhose who were participating in these undertakings (rhe Knights and later the Junkers), and, in general, preservation of feudal principles in opposition to a world moving in the direction of the Upward Progression. What we consider "spiritua1" and what "materid" in these aims is irrelevant. They a11 contained elements of the two kinds. These aims consisted mainIy in the protection of ihe immediate egotistic interests of the and in the pursuit of unlimited ambitions which were nurtured to further the cause of some vaguery defined entity. Great weight was added to the "material" interesrs of the PrussoTeutonic drive by the inclusion of "big business''-heavy industry--among the participants. This is but a detail, however, and the interests of big business alone cannot explain what is going on in Germany today. A 1 1 these elements were strangely intermingled. The egotistical instincts were satisfied and flattered and gave way to all sorts of abuses-while the shield of devotion to a higher entity was flaunted above the hcads so as to ser the consciences ar ease. Such a combination of aims was bound to have Iasting effects, resulting in the creation of an inner body, or rather an "abscess" as we called ir-an abscess completeIy foreign to the body which sheltered ir. Of course the abscess could nevcr have deveIoped and survived to our day had the intervention of the outside world, the scalpel of the surgeon, removed it in time. The "secrer" was there (and is will there to a great extent) and acts as protection from any such danger. T h e Fehme spirit represented another survival of the Downward Progfession in Germany, also prr~tecrcd by a secret. Left
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to itself the Fehme tradition mighr definitely have died out,
i r m a foundarion and was not so because it did not have so f evenly balanced between spirituaI and material aims as the Prusso-Teutonic tradition. But in combination with the latter tradition the Fehrne spirit contributed to bringing the Downward Progression to the fore in a11 its brutality. What we have discussed here is, of course, not Nazism. And long after Nazism has disappeared it may still be there in Germany. Neverthefess it is on this soil that Nazism grew. It is a much more profound and insidious threat to our Wesrern civiIization and to the whole Upward Progression than mere Nazism. At the Level of Plunder
T h e mentaIity of man before he experienced any of the three types of initiation to which we refer above was entirely different from ours. It was, however, very similar t o the sort of mentality which-in the actions of the Prusso-Teutonics and their satellite-arwses our moral indignation every day. Before man's mind was able to grasp .any of the teachings which for us represenr the moral truth, his happiness consisted in obtaining all he could from life by murder and robbery. It is quite naturaI that this should have been so: he had not yet discovered agriculture--on which was to be based the simplest of a11 "eye-opening" initiations. He was, therefore, living in a world in which economic values were extremely limited in quality, diversiry and number. T h e uncultivated carrh had no vaIue for man except. as a hunting ground. In hunting it was not to his advantage to remain attached t o the soil. The tribes which moved around most quickly were the most successfuI: it was these which succeeded in srealing the greatest number of cattle from rhe neighboring tribes after, in most cases, breaking their resistance by murder and piliage.
In our evaluation of this behavior, there is no plnce for nloraI indignation: instead we must admit realistically that Inan at this stage of his mental and economic evolution knew no better and that from his point of view he was completely justified in plundering and killing. It is fortunarc rhat the action of Prusso-Teuronic Germany should constantly arouse our moral indignation. This indignation has contributed to awakening us t o the danger represented by this Germany. But it is also useful to set the mativating impulses of the Prusso-Teutonics side by side for comparison with those of their not-so-distant ancestors in pre-initiative times. We can thus objectiveIy appreciate all the propeIling forces behind the disquieting present-day phenomena. T h e question at this stage, then, is no longer one of indignation, hate and passion, but a matter of making a diagnosis, of finding the roots of the cvil-and perhaps of finding a remedy,
Pacifist Thought Is Powerless Before Conspiracy

T h e usual "pacifist" type of thought which was in vogue after World W a r I complctely faiIed to develop such a remedy. Even pacifists of the hTorman AngeIl rype realize today that staremcnts like "War doesn't pay" are utterly meaningless in the face of Nazi and Prusso-Teutonic phenomena. They are just as meaningless as such statements as "Crime doesn'r pay" or "Be good because it is profitable" when addressed to an inveterate criminal. "War doesn'r pay" is a useful rationalization for the benefit of those whose moral background has been firmly established by the Upward Progression. It is an utterly empty statement when addressed to those who not only never did receive our rype of moral initiarion, but who, furthermore, are well protecred from even the accidentel influence of this initiation by a f i m t y knit secret conspiracy directed along the path of she Downward Progression.
3 I0
T H E THOUSAPI'D-Y EAR CONSPIRACY
COMMON FOE AND COMMON XOBILITY
3"
The Elementary Understmding of a Morality

Considering again the first type of moral initiation of the mysteries, to which we referred above-the one based on the agricultural discovery-we find in it a basic idea very close t o the modern concept thar "war does not pay." However, the moral truth in the myweries reached the parricipants not as the result of cold rationarization but through the profound effect of an inrricate initiation which penetrated to the innermost chambers of the heart. T h e texts we have quoted concerning the basic moral initiation of the mysteries are, of course, themselves mere rationalizations; thc initiation itself went much deeper. NevertheIess these texts are adequate presentations of the elementary procal to ess which first opened the eyes of our ~ p i r i ~forefathers whar we consider morality. Isocrates says that a Iife srrperiar to that of the animals has come from agriculture and thar the initiation derived from the same source. (See page 268.) For Suidas the "ground" Iife which came from the initiation consists in the sharing of the goods of the earth by the inhabitants of the earth instead of their fighting and strangling one another. (See page z 70.) I t is this elementary understanding of a moraIity spread by rhe various mysteries, in addition ro a more subtle deduction of a moraliry contained in rhe higher degrees of the mysteries, which contributed most of a11 to bringing civilization (in our sense) first from Egypt and India to the East in general, and later to the Greek and Roman world.
The Moral Groundwork
Even those inhabitants of Greece and the Roman Empire who understood only the most elementary moral ideas originating from the Greek mysteries were fuIly prepared to appreciate the moral teachings of Christianity and consequently
to become excellent Christian converts. T h e monotheisric idea of God, Christian love, immortality of the soul, resurrection, man made in the image of God, were concepts which were readily accepted by those who had already received a first experience of the same type of doctrines, either directly or indirectly, either from the lower or from the higher degrees of the mysteries. A wonderful Christian synthesis was in the course of emerging from the Egyptian, Greek and Jewish civilizations t o become the general inspiration of the Wester1 world. It was the period when the "Kingdom of God on Earth" seemed to be approaching. T h e original inhabitants of the Western Roman Empire were fully engaged in this process when they were overrun, during the first centuries of our era, by various barbaric tribes. These tribes, for the most part of Teutonic origin, were soon, at least on the surface, converted to Christianity. Although the first acceptance of the Christian doctrines by the barbarians was still somewhat superficial the moral transformation of these people was already welt along the way toward gradual accomplishment in the snbsequenr generations. But while the common people were passing slowly through a moraI initiarion which gave them title in the reaI "nobility" of the Upward Progression, the so-called nobles among the former barbarians were organizing everywhere to preserve rheir privileges from the reforming inffucnce of the Greco-Christian moral conceptions. We have, consequendy, the following picture: Among the Greeks, and to a certain extent also among the original inhabitants of rhe Roman Empire, the highest classes of society had received in the mysteries, and had assimilated, the subtle moral doctrines which were later to become those of Christianity. The common people had, directly and indirectly, benefited by the same doctrines. The Greeks and the Latin world under their influence through a long mystical
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313
training had acquired enough subtlety to appreciate-if not wich their reason at lcast through mystical perception (Bergson would have said "intuitively")-that a "Life wwirhour Thorns," or later simply a "Chrjstian Iife," was happier than the wolf-like existence of their forefathers.
N o Groriadwork Among Barbarians
Thc barbarians reacted differently to such teachings. T h e common people among them werc impressed by thc "imperative" presentation of the divine law and by the sanctions imposed by the Church. It was n~osrly because of such down-toearth reasons that thev were drawn into the Christian orbit. From chen on ir was inevitable that they would receive slowly but surely the fulI Christian rnoral initiation. T h e barbarian nobles, just like thcir commoners, did not at first: sight grasp the fulI meaning of the Chrisrian rnoral
teachings. But less impressed than the people by the "imperative" conrcnts of religion and by rhe sancrions, they determined to give their best efforts to safeparding their tradirin11a1, barbarously interpreted economic privileges against rhe modernizing tendencies of the Church. The whole feudal system was born out of this kind of endeavor: to m a i n t i n under a cloak of Christian chivalxy the barbarian methods of priviIege, abuse, plunder, continual conquest and, if necessary, killing and deceit. T h e Carolingian Empire and later the so-called Holy Roman Empire of the German people were the n~ost prominent organizations constituted by the feudal suzerajns. The Emperor's role being that of a super-suzerain, his rights, methods and aims were simply superlative of those of his v;lssals. T h e "continua1 conquest of neighboring prcjperties" became in the case of the Emperors continual conquest of all lands not yet belonging to the Empire, Some of the Emperors were quite sincere in their spiritual accepcince of the Christian faith.
But in the political and economic field thcir efforrs were in flagrant opposition to the pinciples of Chrisriani~.Conscyuently the Emperors necessarily fourld themselves in constant conflict with the Church after they failed to absorb the whole clcrical organizatiot~in the intricacies of the feudal sysrem (for instance, by appointing as its princes men whom they could control). They professed to be sincere Chrisrians and did nor fully realize to whar extent, poIitically, rhcir conduct as well as that of their vassals, was still determined by the Dov.~~ward Progression and by "Life with Thorns." They were rllus often sincerely surprised and shocked when rhe Church did nor appreciate their political behavior.
T h e Conspi~uc y Againsb lnitiatio??

The formarion of the Teutonic Order was an organized attempt to secure survival of all rhe non-Christian privileges of the feudal cmpire and of feudal nobility during the centuries to come. The Order was thus both an organism carrying ouc an "imperial mission," conceived in a feudal sense, and a refuge for fcudai nobility (which evolved from barblrian nobility). The latter needed rhe refuge because ir saw its xbusive privileges dwindling away in a sociery which was moving gradually in the direction of the Up ward Progression. T h e Order became 2 German institution simply because the Teuronic nobles (more so, for example, than those of Larin origin who were prepared for Christianity by thc effect o f the initiations) were Christianized only on the surface. They still clung to the economic principles deriving frat11 the original barbarian cusroms. It is for the same reasons that the Fehme enrerprise, having an origin and growth parallel soil. t o the Order, also arose on Germ~n Itre have seen how rhe Teutonic Order and the secret societies which were to become its successors systematically carried forward the plans laid down at the ~jnle of thcir
3'4
COMMON FOE AND COMMON NOBILITY
3'5
formation. They represented, in the midst of a more and more thoroughly Christianized German world, an obtuse survival of economic and spiritual principles stemming ram a different world. This living anachronism, which gradually took on the character of actual conspiracy, engrained its principles so deeply on the minds of its participants that a sort of impenetrable crust was created. Through this crust eIernents of the Upward Progression could no longer reach the minds. The Hohenstaufen Emperor, Frederick IT, transmitted his resentment against the Church-which characterized the second part of his Iife-to the Order; but the Order itself, and the secret societies which emerged from it, developed iliro organisms even more violently opposed to Christianity and to the whole Upward Progression rhan Frederick ever was. T h e Order nor oldy kept alive but carried to new heights the original spirit of pxivilegc, abuse, plunder, perpetual conquest, and, if necessary, killing* and deceit usual among the barbarians and among the feudaI Jords.
Still the Same Conspi~acy

W e know how the Prusso-Teuronics brought the other German-speaking people under their rule. We saw also how Hitler's rise to power became possible only when he agreed to be their faithful servant, advancing their purposes on a world scale. Hitler takes all the credit and all the Mame for everything that has been happening. He likes the limelight, he Iikes rhe rble he is permitted ro play. As a matter of fact, Hitler is not. the real problem in Germany today. His days are probably numbered but whatever may be the manner of his disappearance from the worId scene, the Prusso-Teutonic problem wiII still be there, essentially unchanged,
.See the Fehme murdcm after 1918 (Chapter I V ) .
In the meantime Hitler, as the faithful agent of the Pmsso'fentonic aims, is doing his best to destroy a11 basic concepts 2nd institutions of the Upward Progression. In this endeavor the Nazi movement in its present form is acting like any exoteric movement, carrying out the basic aims of its own esoterisrn. Here the "esorerism" is the (pseudo-) esorerism of rhe Pmsso-Teutonic-an esoterisrn based on "downward" principJes. This is the same barbaric conspiracy against the canstantIy modernizing influence of the Greco-Christian civilization which has existed for centuries. It is not by accident thar HitIer considers Christianiry (both Catholic and Protesrant), Judaism, and Masonry as enemies. His object (and his "bosses" approve of it) is to stop rhe whole flow of the Upward Progression and to annihilate its institutions. Hitler knows that the political and economic world rulership he wants to secure for Prusso-Teutonia (a world rulership established, of course, on feudar economic principles) can be achieved only on one condition: the spiritual ideas behind the political and economic reality of the world must be completely broken off from Christianity, Greco-Christianity, Judeo-Christianity-and from the Upward Progression in general. The first purpose is to destroy the "initiation," to push it into complete oblivion. The second purpose is to build after thar the sorr of world which would have long ago emerged had nor initiation "opened the eyes" ro the moral truth in our sense and in that way comp1eteIy changed the destinies of mankind. If it were not for the initiation (which came to humanity through the various mysteries, religions and movements, and their deriving philosophies) the brutal reign of the strongest would have continued in the world, Of course this worId would have been different from rhe world we now knowbecause in rhe absence of the animating ideas of civiIization ( a 1 produced by the influence of the initiations) our entire
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3I7
rnatcriai existence would have been different. None of today's scientific discoveries would have been possible. (Pruw-Teutonism and conscquently Nazism, though aimed ar h e destruction of our civiIization, intends to preserve-for its sole benefit-the scientific discoveries which were possible only under this civilization.) Instezd of our customav exchange of goods between individuals living in the most distant parts of the world-an exchange based on gold, which can circulate everywhere-we would be laboring under a cumbersome method of transfer of goods: a barter system completely regulated by the strongest group to its exclusive advantage. Of course the barrer system would have resulted in an economic standard much less satisfactory than our diversified exchange of goods based on a universal gauge of values. General poverty would have been the ruk. Only the most powerfur group would have profited: with the aid of this system the rest of the world could quite easily have been kept in subjection. Such a world without the benefits of civilization is purely hypothetical. The initiation which produced civilization was not accidental but organic. CiviIization-lack of space prevents detaiIed proof here-evolved out of an organic necessity of mankind. Even if the Prusso-Teuronics shouId succeed in destroying our civilization and the initiation with it, the latter-and, consequentIy, civilization itself-would eventually be re-created by the human race to meet a vital necessity. But generations might elapse before this re-creation. In the meantime indescribable harm would have been done. (The followers of Gandhi in India and conscientious objectors in Western countries counr on this automatic regrowth of the initiation and consequently of civilization. Their expectation is reasonably founded but they compIeteIy negIecr the time element. It makes a tremendous difference whether we can save our civilization-imperfect as ir may be-or whether we face hundreds of years, possibly, of bar-
barian life until, in the long run, a new civilization is deveioped.)

Welfare of the People immaterial
It is entirely understandable and in the nature of rhings that the economic Fuehrer of the Third Reich, Dr. Wraltcr Funk, has laid our plans for a re-establisllrnent of the barter system, governed by Berlin. T o Dr. Funk and his PrussoTeutonic masters it does not matter if this shaurd result in general poverty-because the worId, thus impoverished, cauld be ruled by the Prusso-Teutanics much more easily. (Let us recall thac the Prusso-Teutonics, in the period between I g I 8 and 193 3, deliberately and systematically eff ecred the impoverishment of Germany in order to facilitate imposition of their rule over the country,) There is no point in proving to the present masters of Germany that such a system would resuIt in economic disasrer and in a loss by mankind of all prosperity. The fact that they are not concerned abour the weIfare of the people around them, and refuse to admit that their own welfare is dependent on that of others, is alrogether to be expected from their super-feuda1 mentalir~.Their eyes are as closed to such higher mora1 and economic truths as were rhose of their forefathers in barbarous times, The only aim in which rhey are interested is to reign over he Iargesr possible territory even if it means reigning simply over deserrs and cemeteries. Ir cannot be sufficientIy emphasized how largely our basic economic conceptions derive from our moral and philasophical outlook. W e do not speak here about the prevailing capitalist. system. Rather we are concerned with something much more basic: the universal exchange of goods based on gold. "Gold" deserves a thorough rehabiIication and vindication from the slander to which it has been subjected. The introduction of goId as a universal symbol of values had a
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COMMON FOE AND COMMON NOBILITY
3'9
tremendous and extremely beneficial effect on the evoiution of mankind. Without such an adoption of a universai symbol no universal exchange of goods and no world travel of any great proportions would have been possible. Gold-along with Liver-wouId never have become the basis of exchange of goods had it not been for the moral and philosophicaI teachings contained in the various initiations. T h e concept of "sharing and not strangling" taught by the Mysteries would have had no practical meaning without a universal symboI of vaIues which each individual could possess: only the use of some such symbol makes possibIe an actual sharing-ie., exchange of distant goods including a11 goods other than exclusively personal beIongings. Gold proved to be a satisfactory symbol of values. We cannot enter here into a detaiIed analysis of this question. W e may add, however, that in ancient times gold, because of its color and its other qualities, was considered a symbol of the sun and of divinity in general. (Silver symbolized the moon and the feminine element in diviniry, of the Isis, Demerer, Juno rype.) This suggests the sort of mental process which probably led t o the acceptance of gold everywhere as a satisfactory symbol of values. (Silver, of course, has also been used as a monetary symbol: but it has been increasingly neglected as, in a paralle1 development, mankind has become increasingly attached to the monotheistic concept of life.) The abiliry to possess gold, whether actually, or in the form of banknotes-a later development-is symbolicalIy equivalent to the individual's "participation in God."
Sinply an Abscess
Nazism stunned the world by brutally unloosing on it a11 the barbarous practices and conceprs of the "non-initiated" Prusso-Teutonic-the spirit of abuse, plunder, deceit, perpetual conquest, etc. T h e world was stunned because ir had not even suspected the existence of this danger which for
centuries had awaited the propitious moment to burst into the open. The first surprise had a paralyzing effect on many victims and possible victims of Nazism. They were hypnotized by the monsrer which seemed almost supernatural, simply because of the unexpectedness of its arrivaI in all its shocking brutality. Since then the Nazis have suffered several reversals which t o some extent have broken the speD. Nevertheless many still attribute almost supernatural powers to Hitler or at least consider Nazism the expression of some marvelous dynamic force having, whether we Iike it or not, a great chance of success. This is one of the reasons why it is important to expose what Nazism really is and what lies behind it. It serves a useful purpose to bring t o light the "socia1 abscess" of PrussoTeutonism with the pus of Nazisrn flowing out of it. The grave danger which this abscess represents is by no means negligible. We should not forget, however, that it i s simply an abscess and nothing more. I t is not some vital force, and it has no mamelous potentiality. There is nothing supernatural about its sudden appearance. What we face is an accumulation of decaying matter which has existed deeply hidden for many centuries. The surgeon's scalpeI will have to do a thorough and speedy job now that the abscess has revealed its existence and threatens to send out its poison into the bloodstream of the world. And the surgeon's hand will not tremble if he forgets his moral indignation and reaIizes objectively that the evil stems from perfectIy natural, although carefully concealed, sources.
Noblesse Oblige
In the first chapters of this book we tried t o throw some Iight on these sources and to trace the evolution of the evil. In the later chapters our endeavor was to show the common
320
THE THOUSAND-YEAR COXSPIIWCY
COMMON FOE AND C O M M O N NOBILITY
32
'
roots of the various branches that compose the Upward Progression-branches which are a11 imperiled by the same evil. It is essentiaI in the present circumstances that we see these common roots clearly. And it is essenrial that we re-examine with fresh appreciation the values for which we fight together wirh the other descendanrs of our common spiritual ancestry. The same nobility which unites a11 of us-ail participanrs of the Uprrrard Progression, whatever may be our social standing-can serve as a profound inspiration in our present crusade. We are ail knights of this crusade, united by the same initiation, regardless of our particular faith or phiIosophicaI belief. W e may be called CathoIics, Protestants, Jcws, Mohammedans or Free-Thinkers-we must realize that our united srand against the same foe is not the result of an accident but arises from our common nobility. And wc must appreciate that it is solely because of this common spiritual ancestry that our forefathers and ourselves have been able to produce all that we cherish in our common civilization: moraI conceprs, ideas of freedom in every sphere, frec exchange of goods, and even scientific discoveries, literature and art. All these have common roots in the same initiation, in rhe same "eyeopening" process. We tend to forget that this process ever occurred, because we take for granted the seIf-engendered development of all our spirituaI and economic vaIues. W e do not suficiently realize that the origins of a11 these values are closely interrelated, that they aII stem from the same 'moral initiation" against which the Prusso-Teutonics have carefuIIy insulated themselves during the centuries. And we often forget that if, for any reason whatsoever, this "moral initiation" had not occurred, we would sriIl be living in exactly the same dark ages as our ancestors of severaI thousand years ago. If they succeed in destroying our "moral initiation" the PrussoTeuronics may lead us back into those dark ages, although,
blinded by their spirirual blinkers, they may not themselves realize all the possible disastrous consequences of their efforts. Bccause they have never experienced the moral initiation, they cannot appreciate the tremendous disadvantages of absence of cooperation, and the disastrous consequences of poIicies of might. The nobility to which we refer-and to which the masses of the people belong-zrose from the historic superposition of a11 the good elements which mankind ever produced. This is the onIy real nobility. In opposition, thc "nobility" of those German "noblemen" who contributed to forming PrussoTeutonia, and who are at the head of it, has consisted of nothing but the systemaric superposirion of elements of egotism and deceit, and all the backward concepts of the "Life with Thorns." W e are a11 participants in one great crusade against actual barbarians who threaten to destroy our entire way of living. The war itself is indeed an essential pan of this great crusade but a part oniy. T h e fight has a wider scope. It includes the complete destruction of the mom1 and social abscess which caused the present conff ict. Even while the war continues, practical means can be found to prepare for the destruction of this abscess. After the war it wiII have to be accomplished wirh the highest skill and ruth3essness of which the operating surgeon is capable. W e r e else but in our common nobility can we find the necessary moral strength and inspiration to accomplish the work for which all of us are responsible?
APPENDIX
Prusso-Teutonia and the Problem of Posr-War Germany ............................
325
Prusso-Teutonia and the Social Prob1e1n. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 5

Prusso-Teuronia and the Problems of the Post-War World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
The Bull of Rimini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
363
PRUSSO-TEUTONIA AND T H E P R O B L E M OF POST-WAR G E R M A N Y

Since this wnr bega~zthere hrrs been a great deal of discussion i n different counr7ier about "good" and "bad" Ger??zany.Sowe mpport tbe thesis that tl~ereare a c u l l y two Gemzanies-one good and one bad; and that if we want to settle world affairs all w e have to do is elivzinate bad Ger~izmzy,T h e opposing camp is of the opinion that all G e m n y is equally dangerous and rhat it is preposterous to speak about "Two Gemzanies."
Those who believe that a "good Germany" is to be found behind the wall facing us mean, when they speak of "bad Germany," the Nuzi party and everything thar gravitates around Hider. For them all evil started with Hitler. They claim that all that must be done is to wipe out every trace of rhe Nazi party organization and its assault troops, and thus to liberate German society from the Hitlerian stamp. From rhcn on, they say, order might be restored and Germany could again take her place among the civilized nations of the world. Many speechcs by members of the English Cabinet about war aims have been based on these premises. Those who hoId the contrary poinc of view say that Germany has represcnted a danger to the world since long before Hider's rime; that consequently rhe whole German nation as such is in fundamental opposirion to the way of thinking and living of the rest of the world. In their undersranding Nazism is the very essence of the German soul and the entire German nation to a man is behind Hirlcr. T h e protagonisrs of this latrer opinion seem, however, unable to propose a practical solution for the settlement of the German problem. T h e suggestions which are put forward
326 THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY inclade the administration of a11 internal affairs of post-war Germany by a group of foreign officials, isolation of the German youth from parental influences in order to facilitate their reeducation, and even the sterilization of all Germans. For the most part those who advance such suggestions do not mean them literalIy. They think in these terns in order better to characterize the pessimistic conclusions to which they have been forced by their understanding of the German peopIe as a race of belligerents filled with the spirit of conquest: a people directly opposed ro all the teachings of Occidental civilization and of Christianity. "A grave mistake," say the others. "Good Germany exists alongside the bad, and is in striking contrast to what is taking place roday in Hitier's Germany. No one can doubt the sincerity of thought of a Goethe, Lessing or a Thomas Mann, nor the purity of the inspiring ideas behind Beethoven's symphonies. In all sections of oId Germany, there was cultural activity which could well take an outstanding place in the great flow of European civilization." Many of those subscribing ro this theory have fond rncmories of their earlier days in Germany, of German friends tiley have had. They also reason thar a country which has turned out millions of German-Americans (who for the most part have made excellent and loyal citizens of the United States) cannot be considered in entirety as a danger; that this country does not deserve bIanket condernnarion for the war of aggrcssion which we witness. With a sort of wishful thinking, forgetting alI the German aggressions of pre-Hiderian days, a11 the extraordinary utrerances of the pan-Germanisrs of the lasr hundred and fifty years, they go on repeating thar, with HitIer gone, the roots of the evil would be eliminated and everything would return to normal.
APPENDIX
327
The conclusions which we reach in this book do not agree with either of the two schools of thought described. Rather
we are led to betieve chat each of them contains part of the rruth. Gemany is neither a single, indivisible whole, dangerous in its entirety, nor is it "Two Germanies," of which but one, the Nazi Gemany, represenrs rhe true danger. There are, in reality, "Three Germanies." There is the first Germany-the Germany which can be considered "good": the Germany of ancient and honorable traditions, the Germany of Goethe, the Germany which has given us the great majority of German-Americans and the political refugees of 1848 and of 1933-1941. The spirit of this Germany, despite all outward appearances, may still be aIive in the hearts of millions of Germans under the yoke o f Hirlerism today. Then there is a second Germany, airnost as old as the first, but vile and dangerous. Her traditions are no less deep rooted, no less ancient than those of the first Germany, but her true face is revealed only to the initiate. This is the Germany of "pan-Germanism" and "Prussianism." W e have called it the "Prusso-Teutonic Germany," tracing ir back to the founding of the Tentonic Order in the thirteenth century. This is the Germany which actually carried on those ideas of the Holy Roman Emperors which pointed toward world domination. This Germany has been very much alive during the last seven hundred years in Eastem Prussia and, during recent decades, its doctrines have penetrated wide categories of rhe population. It escaped world anention until the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, because its activities seemed limited to the Eastern part of Europe. Of the three, "First" Germany was the only one visible. It was there in the form of small German states loosely tied together within the Empire and inspired by the general principles of Christian morality. Prusso-Teutonic Germany waited in the background like a vulture for the most propitious moment to sink its claws into its victim. T h e readers of this book know thar we are not concerned here with a vague, in.definable tendency-the sort of concept common t o the
318
APPEKDIX
3I 9
"subtle historian" who deals in hazy imponderables; on the contrary, Prusso-Teutonic Germany iolIowed a very precise line of development which one can trace clearly through the centuries. This development is absolutely distinct; it suffices simply to assemble some facts scattered in the pages of history in order for one to note with whar inexorable logic events follow one another. This "Second" Germany, this Prusso-Teutonic Germany does not like to show her true face. She had adopted various disguises throughout history, Before I 918 she was disguised as Wilhelm I T and the monarchy. T h e allies thought it was sufficient to overthrow the latter in order for everything to change, so that order might be restored in Germany. Thar is how Prusso-Teutonic Germany was able to avoid destruction, and in the years between the two wars was able to reconstruct her forces-forces which the rest of the world thought had been wiped out. Besides "First" and "Second" Germany, there remain Hitler and Nazism, which are what we may call "Third" Germany. This is a most formidable Germany indeed, but is in fact only the present front behind which are hidden all those profoundly dangerous elements inherent in Gerrnania, the "Second" Germany.
A practical solution of the German problem will become apparent if we distinguish correctly between the good and bad elements in Germany. It is only the Nazism of Hitler which seems to represent Germany today. It alone shows its repulsive face. But the tragic era of rgr 8-1939 will be experienced again and the great struggle will have been in vain, if we allow history to repeat itself and are content wkh destroying Hitler and HitIerisrn without accomplishing the rest of the task. We must avoid repetition of the serious mistake which was made by the Allied Powers after the last war, Only the figure-
heads were caIied to account, while those really responsible remained undisturbed-able to reorganize their positions behind rhe scenes. The same sort of mistake would be repeated (as pointed out earlier) if Hirler and the Nazi party were to assume the blame alone and the rest of the Prusso-Teutonic group was thus enabled to continue its operations without interference. Ir is not likely that the Allies will be taken in by any offers of appeasement on Hitler's part. Evcn the Cliveden Set and the survivors among former Munichmen undersrand today that an agreement with the "man of a hundred broken promises" would be purely illusory. But they might walk right into a trap in the event that the "forces behind Hitle~"proposed the liquidation of the Fuehrer and his entire set-up and asked for an agreement based on these terms. As early as the end of 1939 and during the firsr months of 1940, several "peace-feelers" were sent- out to Paris, London and Washington, calling for an understanding of this nature. T h e "escape" of Thyssen ro Paris, the negotiations by Stinnes' son in London and the activities of that odd oil magnate, tViIliam Rhodes Davis, in Washington were aH undertaken with this end in mind. All these men spoke in terms of replacing Hitler by Goering-the Goering who, though the lieutenant of Hirler, enjoys the complete support of the forces behind Hitler. The purpose of rumors spread periodically that Goering and Hitler do not get along well with one another is only to pave the way for some such intrigue. Yet if, for onc reason or anorher, Goering should fail to win international support, hc would be sacrificed, much as Hitler may be sacrificed, and another figurehead would be set up. AS long as "Second Germany" can find a front behind which it is possible for her to hide and save her cause, she does not care who is in the foreground. I do not know what the world situation will be at the time this book appears, bur I am certain that intrigue and negotia-
3 3O
THE
THOUSAND-YEAR
CONSPIRACY
APPENIlrX
331
tions along the lines I have just discussed will be attempted by those individuals who, behind the scenes, are actually in concroi of Germany today. 1 am certain of this because I am convinced that the mad race in which Germany is engaged can ody lead to her ruin and end in catastrophe either jn the strictly military sense or otherwise. Today it is a race of desperation which can never reach its goal since, because of irs very nature, it cannot limit its goal. It is the mad dance of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice," of the "Golem," which can no longer be halted except through drastic and extreme measures. It is this soiution which the men behind the scenes in Germany will attempt to find at the rnornenr when they sense impending catastrophe. The facts assembled here are presented as a warning against any effort toward negotiations which would allow Prusso-Teutonic Germany to regroup hcr forces and to start afresh in the future. Bur even if such a scheme has already been partially successful, perhaps it is still not too Iate to shed light on those dangers which exist or have succeeded in surviving in Germany. Ler us prepare ourselves for the surgical operation which ir is indispensable to perform in Germany. Oniy after that will it be possible to speak of a reviva1 of the Germany of Goethe; only after that will one be able to meet former German friends with a smile and without any underlying mistrust; and the millions of men and women in the world of known German origin will be forever free from that pernicious influence which has so often hindered them from integrating themselves, wichour mental. reservations, into the communities in which they live. Another mistake would consist in condemning the German people en masse and definitely excluding rhem from the human community of the future. Germany's masters confi-
dently expect the United Nations to commit chis error in addition to the one mentioned above. Nothing would suit rheir plans better. Continued misunderstanding on these two points would not only assure their own survival<onceaIed as they are-but also the survival of all their unlimited ambitions and "downward" moral concepts. Funher it would enable rhem to hold and tighten their grip on the millions of German-speaking people. When in preceding chapters we spoke about the revolt of rhe German cities united against the Teutonic Order in the Marienwerder Bund in 1438, we said that this was a rebeI1ion of the spirit of decency and cooperation against the principles of exploitation and narrow egotism. To obtain a permanent solution of the German problem this spirit-the spirit of the first Germany-must be reawakened. It is no easy task, since the people all over Germany have been systematicallyand successfuily-indoctrinated with Prusso-Teutonic ideas. But the job can be done. The spirit of decency and cooperation has been kept alive in Germany, among other things, by the different Churches. It continues to exist below the surface--even more deeply imbedded in the German spirit than the Prusso-Teutonic infection. The Prusso-Teutonics annexed a people-the people of German tongue. They will do everything in their power to hold this people within rheir circle of damnation: ro be damned when they are. Goebbels in his arricles and speeches points out regularly that it is vitally important for the entire German nation-not only for the Nazis-to win rhis war: because if they are defeated, the world will revenge itself cruelly on all of them. Responsible circles in the Western nations carcfuiIy avoid discussing this problem in detail. People feel instinctively that Nazism does nor compose the entire danger in Germany. But instead of going to the root of the matter--determining e~actly what elements in Germany are the dangerous ones-
APPENDIX
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332
THE THOUSAXD-YEAB COxSPIRACY
they prefer nor to commit themselves concerning the exact scope of the sanctions to be taken after the war, Occasionally the "Prussian spirit," "Pan-Gemanistic tendencies" or something equally vague, is heId responsible, with Nazism, for the recent evenrs. But because such vaguely defined conceprs are not usually localized they are mistakenly considered a basic German tendency. W e have endeavored to present Prusso-Teuronisrn in its concrete outlines-so delimited that it can be traced and eradicated, not only spiritually but also materially. As for the good elements in Germany, they shouid by all means be encouraged. We should not abandon them to the Prusso-Teutonics. Instead we should spare no effort to bring them over t o the side of the Upward Progression, where they belong. T o o much time has already been wasted. N o really constructive plan has been presented by the AlIies to the Germanspeaking populations which might encourage them to work against their present masters for a better future. The propaganda directed to the Germans has struck a single note: "Get rid of Nazism and everything will be fine again." Most Germans understand rhis for what it is-propaganda. They know that Germany's failure to get along with the wodd did not start with Nazism. Such Leitmotivs therefore have only a slight effect. They are, in any case, useIess as a means of separating the wheat from rhe chaff in Germany. Germans who are definitely anti-Nazi in feeling continue to make sacrifices for what their masters tell them is "narional honor." An entirely different approach to the question is needed. Efforts to change German mentality have to be directed to deeper layers of the mind than that of Nazism. Ic is not enough to remove Nazism. Prusso-Teuronisrn-the profound infection of the Gennan spirit of which Nazism is only a consequence-must be entirely cur out. T o replace the Prusso-
Tcuronic interpretation of "nationai honor," the minds of the people have to be directed toward trends of rhought going back to the anti-Junlter Revolution of 1848, to the Marienwerder Bund, and to the Hansa, whose principles were always in opposition to the Prusso-Teutonics. Many spiritual sources can be tapped in the effort to bring back the majority of the German-speaking people to the common nobility of the Upward Progression. The underlying concepts should be crystallized into a theme presented continually and in every possible variation even while the war continues. They should be the basis of a constructive plan for after the war, if the German people are to recognize the appeals made t o them as something entirely apart from propaganda. These will attract them as their only hope to be accepted and integrated among the people of the Upward Progression, the decent people living all over the world. Such plans, sincerely developed, would hasten the necessary revolt in Germany, and the moral dilemma which at present troubles the thinking of many people of German origin in different parts of the world would be resolved; they would be aware that the picture presented to them as the "German ideal" is in reality merely a Prusso-Teutonic ideal; they would undersrand that an appreciation of the real German ideal in no sense contradicts their first loyalty-to their present country and to the Upward Progression, But-let us repeat-matters cannot be settled on the spiritual pIane alone. T h e misraken norion of "non-interference with the internal affairs of other nations"* has had its day. The Prusso-Teutonics themselves have vigorously pursued a policy of interference in the internal affairs of other nations. Our resennnent against them should not be based on this fact, but on sornerhing more serious: that the object of their interference has been the propagation of their "downward" prin"'Interference" is used here ro mean practical incerfcrencenot the mere spreading of ideas.
3 34
ciples and the subjection of the conquered countries to barbarous enslavement for their own benefit. We cannot ser the world in order wirhour interfering in the internal affairs of people everywhere. No objecrions can be made to such interference if it is exerred not for the seIfish, imperialistic purposes of one nation * but simply in the interests of the Upward Progression. The world has become so small, the interdependence of its different parts has become so great, that no continued isolation of a part from the whole should be permitted. If we do nor manage to spread our way of life to other parts of rhe world t we should not be surprised if we find ourselves suddenly submerged by a way of life which we hate. For the head to permit an abscess to continue to exist on the arm is not tolerance but stupidity. By making every effort to eradicate the Prusso-Teutonic abscess, with all its economic strongholds, we render service nor onIy to ourselves but also to the whole German people, who, once the infection is removed, will again begin to feel thernseIves a useful part of the world. It is in this direction thar we may seek a practical soIution for the German problem.
* A s has been done before by nations beIonging in all other respects to rhe camp of the U ward Progrcsion. f Mcaning by &a: a n y of the different r a p of life, deriving from the Upward Progression, and not one of these variations in preference to rhe ochers,
PRUSSO-TEUTONIA A N D THE SOCIAL PROBLEM

The various schools of sociology which have inpuenced the thought of mnkifid in recent time^ take it for granted that she world has reached a certain stage of political and industrial development in which are contained all factors for d e t m i n ing what the future w i l l be. I t has currently been admitted thut we are living in what is called a capitalistic society. This is the assumption. from which speculations have started. Though difermt predictions have been advanced as regards the exact shape of tbe future-according to the leanings of each school of thought-none of these schools seems to have takm into account factors deriuing from the Middle Ages. Is it possible t k t mch factors--which so far have been generally overlooked-actually exist?
T o turn back to the Middle Ages in explaining world probicms, or even specific German problems, might seem fantastic to those who believe that civilization as a whole has experienced considerable progress since the Middle Ages, and that this progress, which is evident in so many differenr realms, should be a sufticient basis for a peaceful organization af human sociery. Nevertheless it can be shown through the most objective methods that certain characteristic German social forms (today of the greatest importance for the whole world) have survived with almost no change since rhe Middie Ages. Ir is very tempting to reason as rhough we were all really children of the century in which we live and all disciples of this Western civilization. We would like to believe that this civilization is universally accepted among a11 white races. This
3 36
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rhought is tempting, but false. We must yield to the evidence that it is not possible to explain a series of contemporary phenomena of the utmost importance without back to their distant sources, some six or seven centuries back. So much the worse for those who do not consider this a serious method of invesrigation. Pseudo-scientific thought rends to ignore deductions based on the too remote past. it relegates to the realm of fantasy any reasoning which takes account of factors coo far removed. The word "scientific" is often reserved for things which are visible or palpable. Materialism, which is in vogue in the study of the social sciences, accepts very little beyond contemporary or closely related factors. T o speak of the actual Middle Ages as influencing contemporary events brings a smile to the lips. Thus it is difficult for most people to admit that the r6le which Germany is playing at this very moment-while possibly not determined by one man ail by himself--cannot be explained by the impact of certain great world-wide economic currents either; thac it can only be undersrood b y the discIosure of an entanglement of interests extending back to the Middle Ages. This entanglement has developed a monster-like existence through the course of centuries but it has always carefully hidden its true face. W e do noc intend to deny here the practical and experimental benefits which may be derived from . a materialist approach to history. W e wish only to say that most "materialists" content themselves, in conducting their investigations, with taking into account immediare causes only, neglecting such things as "latent causes" which stem from faraway sources. They are afraid of rouching here upon immaterial ground. This would not occur, since more than spiritual factors are involved. W e have tried ro show how the actual survival in Germany of a certain pre-Christian way of living, which cannot be apparent to any superlicial observer, results not only from a "spiritual rradition" but also from the
very real material (or economic) interests which have remained almost the same for several centuries. Furthermore, the school known as that of "historical materialism" has specialized in revealing certain shortcomings of the capitalistic system and the social injusrices due to these shortcomings. W e have seen the effort toward the a m a l survival and revival of a much more outdared economic system: the feudal sysrem (and in a certain sense even a prefeudal system) used to the advanrage of a small, very restricted group. T h e injustices and sufferings which would spread around the world if their plan succeeded would be a thousand times greater than any injustices of which the capitalisric system has been accused. it is our opinion simply thac the understanding of these phenomena is at the present moment the rnosc urgent rask. It is more urgent in any case than the solution of certain problems which used t o be rhc primary object of interest of the "social sciences." W e don't believe in the actual survival of the Middle Ages any more than we believe in Sanra Claus? But wait! It is useful to reread here what Heinrich Heine, writing about his own country which he knew weli, said to rhe French of the nineteenth century. These Frenchmen were unwilling to believe that the Middle Ages, which they thought of as forever past, could still exist beyond their frontiers in the country of Barbarossa, and that some day this Iiving vestige of the past could penetrate even into France ioelf. Speaking thus, criticizing one part of what he saw and praising another, Heine did not realize that he was making himself the spokesman for this German Middle Age which he wanted to condemn. This is whac Heine has to say in his book On Germany:
"The French, having emerged from the Middle Aggs for some time, can now contemplate them with cairn, and can appreciate their beauties with philosophic or aesthetic detachment. We Germans, however, are still sunk decply in these
3 38
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339
hliddle Ages: we are srill combating their anachronistic admire their qualirepresentatives and we cannot, the~efore, ties with such reverence. O n the conrrary, we must nurture ourselves with a partial hate of them in order that our destructive force should not become completely paralyzed. "You French, you can adxilire chivalry. Nothing of it is left for you but the pretty chronicles and the suits of armor. You risk nothing by amusing your imagination or by satisfying your curiosity in this manner. But we here in Germany, for us the chronicles of rhc Middle Ages are not yet completed; their most recent pages are damp with the blood of our parents and our friends, and these shiny suits of armor protect our living bodies from the blows of our tormenters. Nothing hinders you French from prizing the old Gothic forms. . . For you, Satan andohis infernal companions are only poetry; for us in Germany, there are scoundrels and fools who seek to revive philosophically the belief in the devil, and give credence to infernal crimes of sorcerers. "You dark scoundrel-and you imbeciles of a11 shades; do your work; inflame the minds of the people with old superscitions; drive them wildly along the road of fanaticism; one day, you will become their victims; you shall not escape thc desciny which awaits the awkward conjurer who finally cannot master the spirits which he has evoked, and who is torn to pieces by rhcm in the end. "Perhaps the spirit of revolution cannot stir, by appeal ro reason, the minds of the German pcople; it may possibly be the task of folly to accomplish this great work. But once 'the blood again begins coursing in rhc veins of the German people, once they again feel their heapt beating, no longer will they listen to the pious chatter of che Bavarian hypocrites, or to the mystic murmurs of the Swabian Imbeciles; their ear will only hear the great voice of one man. "Who is this man? "He is the man whom the German people awaits, the man who will return to rhem their lives and their happiness-the
happiness and the life rhey have so longed for in rhek dreams, How much longer will you wait-you whom our old people have prophesied with burning desire-you for whom youth waits with so much impatience-you who carry the divine sceptre of liberty, and the imperial crown withour che cross? "After all this is not the place to make appeals and I would not want to remove myself too far from my theme. I should speak here only of innocent traditions; of what is said and what is sung in the German kitchen. I notice thar I have said very litrle of the spirirs who dwell in the mountain-for example I have nor said much about Kyffh~user where Emperor Frederick lives. . "It is certainly more than popular legend that Emperor Frederick-the old Barbarossa-is not dead; it being said that because of all the trouble stirred up against him by the holy clique, he has taken refuge in the Kyffhzuser mountains. They say that he will remain there in hiding with his entire court, untii some time in the future when he shall again appear and bring great happiness ro rhe German people. These mountains are in Thuringia, not far from Nordhausen. I have gone up there very often, and one clear winter night I stayed u p there for over an hour, crying our a few times: 'Come, Barbarossa, come,' and my heart, ablaze, was as fire in my breast, and tears flowed down my cheeks. But our beloved Emperor Frederick did not come, and all thar was Iefc for me ro do was to kiss the rocks in which he lives. "Many claim thar rhe Emperor, in his mounrain home, sits sleeping in front of a stone table, and dreams of a way in which he can again conquer the Empire. His head nods constantly from side to side, and his eyes wink. By this time, his beard reaches atmost to rhe ground. From time to time, as in a dream, he extends his hand as though he were about to take up his sword and shield. They say that when the Emperor returns to the world, he wili hang his shield on a wit-hercd tree, and this tree wilI then begin to bud and become green,
. .
340
THE TLIOUSAND-YEAR CUSSPIRACY
APPENDIX
34'
signifying a return to better times for Germany. They say that a peasant, who shall be wearing a blouse, will carry his sword before him, and this will serve to frighten all those who are foolish enough to believe themselves of superior blood t o the peasanr. But these old story-tellers add rhat no one knows exacrly when alI this is to take place. "They also teU of a shepherd who was once brought into Kyfihaeuser by a dwarf. O n seeing him, the Emperor arose and asked him whether the crows were still flying around the mountains. And when the shepherd answered in rhe a f i m a tivc, the King sighed deeply and said: 'Thcn it will be necessary for me to sleep another hundred years.' " Thus Heine found charming the very superstitions he inveighed against. For him, violenrly anti-clerical the Church was largely responsible for maintaining these superstitions of the Middle Ages in Germany. H e felt that one day the encouragement of such beliefs would turn against the Church: Yet "One day, you yourself wili become their vicrim. he failed to understand thoroughly the dangers inherent in the survival of those purely G e m n n i c superstitions and the legends surrounding the Kyffhaeuser mountain which, to him, were dear. He did not see that some day all this would turn into a terrific diabolical avalanche running away with itself and would end in a nightmarish conflagration spread to all parts of the world. Nor could he imagine that against this orgy of the "elementary spiritsn the traditions of the Church, based on Christian morality, offered a certain resistance and protection. "The man" expected by Heine as the future savior of Germany, Barbarossa sleeping in the Kyffhzuser mountain until the revival of his old empire, were subjects of common tales in Germany for hundreds of years. They corresponded to a specifically Germanic conception of the Messianic idea. W e have seen how the-popularity of Hitler in his country can be explained by his endeavor to achieve what. the legends
forecast for rhe man who was ro be, for the Germans, Barbarossa himself, returned. None of the various theories of sociology which have inspired Western thought in the last eighty years or so makes possible a complete explanation of what is happening in the world today. On the basis of these theories alone, no one could have predicted the present events. This is due to the fact that most of these doctrines have regarded the evoiution of mankind as an organic whole. They have neglected to take into consideration an anachronistic survival of the Middle Ages which for generations has remained in the background. Students of important social and economic movements on a world scale seem to have overlooked a seriesof purely German phenomena. Each of these phenomena has received attention by itself-but the relationship of one to another has not in general been brought out. Thus they have been considered as phenomena or cnriora of iocal importance only. Heine was conscious of these phenomena although he did not realize what they meant for the future. T h e world missed the significance of this anachronism almosr entirely. Today the same Middle Ages of which E-leine spoke have placed themselves very much in the foreground. When the average observer speaks about "Middle Age practices" in Hitler's Germany he does not realize that the expression he uses is much more than a s i ~ p l e allegorical figure-that it describes the actual come-back of a period long gone. Those Middle Ages seemed so beautiful to us when we were observing the towers of Notre Dame; and yet, seen a t close range, they threaten to envelop us in their somber cloak. They assume for us a reality both terrible and menacing. In the face of this menace which rhrcatens all of u s those problems which have stirred us in recent decades, such as the struggle between capiralism and the proletariat, "private enterprise" and socialism, become less urgent. They recede
. . ."
342 THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY to the background, giving way to a danger which is arising our of the distanr past and is becoming more acute. And, possibly, the common fight against the same danger may open common avenues of understanding between the two camps. Later we may all perhaps see in a new Iight the factors behind the struggIe in the social field.
There are certainly plenty of black spots in the picture of the Upward Progression also. These, however, result from the imperfections of the different "Upward" institution+ whereas, in the case of the Prusso-Teutonics, the characteristics we consider dangerous and execrable are virtues according to the standards of the Downward Progression. The PrussoTeutonic system endeavors to develop barbarous and feudal elements on a world scale, In this endeavor Prusso-Teutonia is perfectly logical from its own point of view. The responsibility rests on us to act in such a way that they may not succeed. Certain barbarous and feudal elements have survived within the democracies also. But these-which are considered "perfecrions" in the other c a m p h e r e are "imperfections" opposed to the basic tendencies on which the democracies, and the institutions of the Upward Progression in general, have been built. Hitler regularly takes advantage in his propaganda of these imperfections from which we suffer. In his speeches we 'nave often heard him criticizing flaws within the democratic countries, although he does not mention the fact that the same flaws exist in Nazi Germany to an extent that dwarfs their presence here. We have laughed at such hypocrisy-which is indeed contemptible, according t o our moral standards; but Hitler, by acting in this fashion, renders us a real service. He focuses atrcnrion on all the elements of the Downward Progression which have penetrated into the Upward Progression or have succeeded in surviving there during the centuries.
343 One result of the present conAicr will be our ability to see our own weak poinrs much more clearly-all those areas of the Upward Progression tainred by elements of the Downward Progression. Let us hope that we will take every necessary step to eliminate these elements when the war is over. A determinarion to do this will give real purpose to the present war. T h e civilizing influence of the Greco-Christian doctrines has carried on a perpetual housecleaning throughout the centuries and has gradually been hunting out the surviving "downward" elements. Man thought that this process was all that was needed; others believed that it was much roo slow. The Prusso-Teutonic danger may speed the process. By turning the spotlight on our imperfections it helps us to eliminate them. The democracies are certainly not completely above reproach. But it is not for them thar we are fighting the present war. W e are fighting it for a cause much nobler, much wider in scope-the Upward Progression--against these representatives par excelleace of the Downward Progression, the PrussoTeutonics. In this war, by uniting in the same camp all those who,, in spite of their imperfections, are basically for thc principles of the Upward Progression, we are preparing the way fcr a much more profound application of these principles in the world which will emerge from the war. W e should at least do everything in our power to bring this about.
APPENDIX
But if feudal privileges have actzcally survived i n wavy parts of the world, can the Prusso-Teatonic phenomenon be regmded as essentially different from these feudal survivals?
Prusso-Teutonisrn is much more than a simple feudal survival. It has purposes of its own and a life peculiar to itselfborn out of the combination of a number of elemenrs includ-
344
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ing the feudal. The feudal element itself, so far as it has become one of rhe component pans of Prusso-Teutonism, is much nearer the primitive, non-initiated "barbaric" character of its origins rhan to later-day feudalism. T h e latter, through the course of centuries, has been very much edulcorated by the civilizing influence of Christianity. It is not the real purpose of Prusso-Teuronism ro strive for the introduction in different parts of the world of what is called "feudal principles," although this is what roday's feudal-minded circIes ail over the world had at first expected from ir. Prusso-Teutonism is interested only in one thing: t.0 establish its own absolute rule over all other countries, cornpIete1y self-centered, without the slightest consideration for rhe righrs and needs of others. This neglect of the rights of others also applies to those of feudal circles in other countries. English feudal concepts have played some parr in shaping the conduct of British internal and external affairs. In spite of this influence on their political life the English have successfully carried t o rhe different parts of the world extremely valuable ideas of political and economic freedom, deriving from cheir essentially Christian concept of life. The survival in France of isolated feudal-minded groups was responsible for the undermining of the French Republic and for the tragic subjection of a now feudally governed France to the sad ruie of Berlin. But the feudal ambitions of rhese French circles are concerned with internal rather than external economic and political matters. They have not the ruthlessness of the Prusso-Teutonics, nor are their ambitions directed toward world conquest. In this case feudalism has produced much more modest results, because it did not rest on the conspirational aims of a strictly organized Order. French feudahsm became, during the ages, increasingly tempered by Christian education. Even in countries like Hungary, where the ruling class has always been feudal-minded, nothing resembling the PrussoTeutonic phenomenon has been produced. Chrisrianization of
the Hungarian feudal circles has always had a moderating effect, at least in the domain of inrernacional politics. Nothing similar to the con~pa'rational character of the Teutonic Order-and later of Prusso-Teutonisnwer arose in any other Western country. It is this characrcr of conspiracy, aiming at world conquest and subordinating all moral considerations to this aim, which gives its unique character to Prusso-Teutonism, even when compared to feudal survivals in other countries. Of course these feudal survivals in many places, including America, constitute a certain danger. W e have seen such feudal circles becoming the temporary allies of the PrussoTeutonics when they imagined, in their short-sightedness, thar Germany's masters had no other purpose but to ~ r o d u c e a world satisfactory to their desires. Unfortunately there is still much thinking along rhese Iines. As said before, when the war is over it will be useful t o give some thought to these isolated feudal survivals. The problem of Prusso-Teutonisrn is, however, of a basically quite different character. It is a probIern represented by a well-concealed, well-organized conspiracy with all its ramificarionsaIl of them subordinated co its own egorisric, super-imperialistic purposes. It is only their own cause which matters to the leaders of this conspiracy-not the cause of feudalism, collectivism, or any other cause. To root out this conspiracy will be quite a problem. At present its leaders have no doubt thar the conspiracy will survive and emerge frorn this conflict with definite gain* even in the case of a German defeat.
'
Since we are examining the implications of rhe PrussoTeutonic phenomenon from the social point of view, we may try to clear up a misunderstanding very common among socially advanced thinkers. Men and women d o s e whole pasts would lel~d U S to expect just the opposite seem to accept German aggressiorz
346
and expansion with fatalism as a= "inevitable histon'c process" which it would be useless to try to halt. These determinists reason as fotlow~:"The transformation which we are witnessing in Europe today is of mch trewzemdo~s magnitwle that it
c o d d not possibly be caused by one man. Hitler could never have accomplished what he already has, if he were nor simply the instrument of an inexorable historical deveIopment. To c d m him does not advance us any W e have observed such reasoning both in certain progressive circles in America-and within a minority group of European socialists, who, today, are resigned "collaborationisrs." There is profound confusion behind such a deduction. Hitler may appear as the instrument: of certain inevitable world-wide processes, but acrually these have nothing to do wirh his basic ideas or with his real purposes. It is indeed probable that a unified Europe, the breaking down of custornsbarriers between the European countries, a common currency, the abandonment of England's old-fashioned "balance of power" potirics and other changes of this sort are a historic necessity. There is, however, no reason to believe that such rransformations couId not take place on a much sounder basis than that of the fake-revoludon staged by Hitler. Naturally gifted, as we have seen, t o "steal the show," Hitler has managed so far to receive a11 the credit. It is up to the dernocracics to become conscious of their own historical task and to effect the necessary changes in the world-by methods reflecting their own incomparably higher conception of life. Those who reason in the manner outlined in our question notice first that the world is inevitably changing. Then-with the sort of resigned fatalism which has caused the downfall of several Eastern civilizations-rhey also view as "inevitable" the abusive attempt of a regressive group to impress its ghastly mark on the changing world. It is hard to imagine a more shameful attitude for sons of the Greco-Christian civilization --which is built upon the concept of frce will.
PRUSSO-TEUTONIA A N D T H E P R O B L E M S O F T H E POST-WAR WORLD

The very first job is to win tbe war. The destruction of Ncrzzsm is co~mzonly considered the next. In addition to these there is the complex task of rooting out Prusso-Teutonirm w i t h all its economic strongholds-+ task which OUT ~eaders may regard 0s at least a1 importrant as the destruction of
."
Nazirm. So mucb can be said concerning rhe immediate job, Bat is there not a wider meaning for zis, a more profound lesson to be drawn front the events e x m ' m d in this bookL I meaning and a lesson wirh such significance for the future that, if we apply tbem properly, we may same day be able to say with sincere conviction that "the war was mt fought in vai~?"
T h e only answer we can ventme to this question is a hetrcr and fuller application of the principles of the Upward Progression to our lives and in the organkmtion of mankind in general. T h e evil u7eare fighting now arose out of a centuries-old conspiracy systernacically organized by barbarous elements against the entire Upward Progression. But this evil could not have expanded as it has if we had not in numerous instances failed to apply the principles of the Upward Progression with the necessary vigor, Depending on the various spiritual alIegiances within the Upward Progression t o which we subscribe, we would state these principles differentiy. But regardless to which of these spiritual groups we belong, there is a common substance
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'THE I'HOUSASD-Y EAR COXSPIRACY
APPENDIX
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behind our principles. It is this common substance that must be brought more and more into the light so that these principles may be more and more thoroughly applied in our own Iives and in the organization of mankind. The more faithful we are to our own principles, the less vulnerable we shaIl be to outside attack. It is commonIy assumed thar rhis war will result in various social and economic adjustments. Social and economic adjustments for centuries consisted of nothing else but the gradually fuller application to our Iives of moral principles of the Upward Progression, as they were derived from the various religions and spirirua1 movements. What rhe future social and economic adjustments evolving from our common inspiradon will be, it is too early to say. It is by no means certain that these developments will move in a "collectivid7 direction as many expect. It is just as possibIe thar their course will take the way leading toward a greater possibility of economic initiative accompanied by safeguards against excesses. Definite solutions can await future discussion -if there is common acknowledgment of the problems for which some solutions must be found. Face to face with an identical foe, a11 members of the Upward Progression will have to look to their common inspiration for common solutions; and these will have to be put into practice with a vigor common to all. But beyond the internal social and economic organization we must consider the whole problem of relations between the different parts of the worId. The outdated character of rhe prevailing rules and customs in international and diplomatic matters is generally recognized. It is also admirted that these rules were a grear handicap in rhe settlement of world affairs in pre-war days-and that this situation favored Igitler, who, because of the anachronistic character of these rules, was able to brush them aside with greater ease. Let us for the time being simpIy recognize the necessity for a change and ler
the actual solution grow out of detailed discussions in the future. There is, however, one lesson which can be immediately derived from the chain of events described in this book: it concerns the necessity for effecting a change i n the direction of a greater and freer interaction between the different parts of the world. N o outside condirion helped more to bring the Prusso-Teutonic abscess to the point where it endangered the whole world than the different "isolations" within the political and economic body of Europe. A great number of these "isolations" were deliberately engineered by the Prusso-Teutonics. Others, stimulated by the example given, folIowed-to the great pleasure of the Prusso-Teutonics. The latter, artfully making good use in their tactics of internationally accepted diplomatic concepts, shut offnow this, now that part of the European blood stream, thus helping along the growth of an abscess which they themselves had created. Without the successful application of these ligatures to the political and economic arteries of Europe, the Prusso-Teutonic abscess would have been washed away by rhe bhod stream. Bismarck and his ftiends stood in the way of the creation of a German empire and the fusion of their own country, Prussia, with this empire so long as the healthy elements in the other German countries were in a position to exert stronger influence within the empire than themselves. Bismarcf also succeeded in bringing abour the isolation of Denmark, Austria and France, one after another, from the different German countries with which they had formerly entertained friendly relations. Between the two world wars the PrussoTeutonics managed to upset Briand's plans for a European federation within which they would have been submerged in the healthy blood stream of Europe. Similar methods were applied on the economic plane. As we have seen, List designed the master plans in this sphere
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about one hundred years ago. They called for deliberate economic isolation from the rest of the world until some day this world might be conquered and subjugared. This was the economic plan which was conscientiousiy furthered by rhe Prusso-Teutonics, When, in the period after Bismarck's regime, ChanceiIor von Caprivi tried to integrate Germany into the normal European commercial system he encountered the of the entire Prusso-Teutonic clique. Then violent oppos~rion later, bcrween the two world wars, Dr. Schacht methodically carried forward List's plan: by isolating Germany economically from the rest of the worId until the economic suffering deliberately created might result in a political expIosion and a march of conquest. AII this can be a lesson to us. The actual settlement of the German--or rarher the Prusso-Teutonic-problem no doubt will have to take the form of an extrcrnely energetic police operation with provisions of a lasting character against the recurrence of the ominous phenomena. Bur no p o k e operation can be a real solution of the problem in the long run unless the general conditions which made possible the abuses arc also modified. After the ghastly experience through which Europe has passed, no reform should be considered too drastic if ir is otherwise desirable. An absoiurely free exchange of goods with no customs-barriers should be the first measure in freeing the European blood srream and perhaps that of the world as well. The alternative--a return to the involved system of "commercial treaties"--would be extremely dangerous. This would again resutt in an era of economic isolation separating the different countries from one another; and it wouId providein defiancc of all the police measures in the world-a welcome screen for the reconstitution of the Prusso-Teutonic forces. A unified monetary system and other economic measures of a similar nature should complere the healing process. SirnuitaneousIy with a more or less completeIy free ex-
change of goods freedom of migration will have to be reestablished. This today appears to be a revolutionary measure, although before World War I there were bur few limirarions to the migration of people. If all obstacles t o the free circulation of goods and peopIe arc eIirninated, the general condicions which might render possible a reconstitution of the Prusso-Teutonic danger zone (or of any similar danger zone of the future) will no longer be present-bur, of course, specific "police measures" will stiil be necessary. It would be Utopian to imagine rhac such changes can be effected by the European people alone. Leadership is necessary and for various reasons such leadership can come only from America.' American public opinion for the most part has repudiated
its own pre-war isolationism, and today vigorously criticizes those who in the U. S. A. continue to maintain an isolationist attitude, thus hampering the war effort. Those opposed ro
isolationism roday, t o be consistent with themselves, should realize that their present stand against isolationism is not fortuitous but logical and organic. It simply corresponds to the fact that with the shortening of distances, America has really become part of this world and must shoulder the consequence-not only during the war bur afterwards as well. "Isolationism is the enemy" in rwo respects: first, because it rries to persuade American public opinion that a settlement of world probIems is of no concern to America; second, because it encourages sympathy, even during peace, for various measures in the U. S. A. and elsewhere which have the effect of ligatures obstructing the healthy circulation of the world: high tariffs, bans on exporr and import, measures against
"Isolationism" before the war meanr simply the desire to kecp America out of war. Today it means striving for a negotiated peace. Wc ourselves use the term in the following discusston to mean disapproval of all pahcipatiun in world affairs.
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"Isolationism is the enemy" in a11 countries because it is the necessary condition for the preservation and the regrowth of sickening "abscesses" of the Prusso-Teutonic type. T h e expressions "isolation" and "isolationism," are employed to designate phenomena of many different types; but the widespread use of the same term is not simply due to coincidence. And to the extent that these "isolations" act as ligatures on the normal circuIation of the worid body we are concerned here wirh all of them. We can use the same expression, "isolation" in, among others, the political, econm~icand demographic spheres. In every case the development it describes is dangerous for the same reasons. And in all'these spheres "isolation" may assume what might be called an "introverted" or an "extroverted" form, Let us pass these spheres and forms rapidly in review.
wars, List's and Dr. Schacht's policies of economic isolation froin the rest of the world. 2. Extroverted form: rhe attempt to isolate other countries from the rest of the world economically by making it difficult for them to export and import. Methods employed: high tariffs, dumping, commercial ucaties intended to injure particular nations, etc. Almost all countries, including America, have done this in the past. There have also been classic examples of extreme and pernicious protectionism in the small independenc nations, created in Eastern Europe afrer World W a r I. England deserves great praise for having maintained its economic liberalism until recent years, in opposition to the economic isolationism of almost all the other parts of the world.
Political Isolation
r. Introverted form: the "isoIationism" familiar in America -the tendency or effort to keep one's own country separated from the rest of the world. 2. Extroverted form: the attempt ro "isolare" a foreign country--or several-from others through the artificial creation of irreconcilable misunderstandings between them by the skillful use of propaganda. For instance, Bismarck's "isolation" of Denmark, Austria and France; Hitler's diplomatic tactics, etc.
Economic isolation
I. Introverted form: the effort to isolare one's own country economically from the rest of the world in order deliberately to create economic misery within the country and thus to keep the pressure up in the political boiler. For example: Prusso-Teutonic and Nazi schemes between the two world
I. Introverted form: tendency to impede or block off the immigration into one's country of people obliged, for various reasons, to quit other countries. This sort of isolation increases the pressure for expansion-the growth of the abscess-in overpopulated countries. After World War I, the
United States itself fell into this error, although its own greatness and prosperity are due primarily to its earlier sysrern of free immigration. 2 . Extroverted form: tendency f o r a country to keep its expatriates permanently under its own influence and to isolate rhem in mentality from their present surroundings. Such isolation makes possible the use of expatriates as tools of the country's own plans of conquest. For example, the artful maintenance of allegiance to the "Fatherland" of German and Japanese immigrants and their descendants within all countries including America.
We realize, of course, that all these "isolations" and "isolationism~"are of extremeiy varied cllaracter. Thcy stem, how-
354 THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY ever, from roughly the same sort of mentality; and in any evenr their supporters usualIy resemble each other like peas in a pod. Further, they all contribute to the creation of conditions which favor the growth of abscesses like the PrussoTeutonic. W e do not mean that the Nazi danger is due primarily t o such isolationisms. T h e primary cause of the Nazi danger is the centuries-old Prusso-Teutonic conspiracy, a phenomenon which, in itself, has extremely deep roots. Furthermore the various types of isolation have often been deliberately srimulated by the Prusso-Teutonic clique to create the proper soil for their own aims, But even when, in other cases, rhe error of isolation was committed by the various peoples of the world of their own free will, this error was frequently seized upon by the Prusso-Teutonics to further rheir own design. T h e important factor was the design itself: an organized conspiracy which has evolved through the years from the thirteenth cenrury until the twentieth. Nevertheless the pernicious effect of the various isolations should not be forgotten. And American leadershipwhich is essential for a settlement of world affairs in the spiric of Upward Progression-shouid be inspired by a sincere desire to end these isolarions. T o achieve this it will be necessary to make enduring provisions for the greatest possible freedom of circulation in all spheres and on a world-wide scale. People must understand that such measures have significance beyond their immediate practical advanrages-significance in the fact that they provide one essential guarantee against recurrence of the evil which has caused our present troubles.
a narural "Liberalism" will have to reach new height-as enemy of all material and mental isolations. T h e word Liberalism is not used here in a sectarian sense. We speak rather about the true Iiberalisrn-i.e., that which frees the worldbody of a11 sickening and paralyzing ligatures. A wide play
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of this liberalism was nothing but a beautiful dream fifty or one hundred years ago. But in an age in which airplanes will make it possible to commute between Europe and America several times a week and in which goods will be shipped in large quantities from continent to continent by ultra-rapid aerial transports, it will be a necessity. Economic liberalism, political liberalism, inteilectual liberalism-a11 are of the same essence. Their importance increases to world proportions with rhe immense technical advances by which distances are shortened.
Facilities of transportation and of communication have aIways tended to break down exisring isolations. Such facilities have always been the natural vehicles of "liberalism." The recent tremendous stimulus to transportation and communication-in part a result of the war--should bring forth a new era of liberalism, more far-reaching in consequence than anything we have known before. W e would not take seriously today a suggestion to separate the East from the Middie West or the individual States of the union by customs-barriers, monetary differences, bans against change of residence and similar "isolationist" measures. Untold misery, immeasurable complications, strife and injustice would result- from such regulations. Any American child realizes this. If the advanrages of economic and political liberalism within the United States are evident today to everybody they will become equally evident to the world as a whole as a result of this war. The United States with its long exqerience of economic and political freedom within its boundar~es and with its unique racial composition seems predestined to assume world leadership in freeing the blood stream of the world. People who speak abour American leadership are accused of imperialistic leanings. When Henry Luce introduced the idea
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of an "American Century" he was called an imperialist in various liberal circles. Bur "leadership" and "imperialism" are not the same: the latter represents a particular use of the former. It is up to the liberal circles of America to be on the alert against all imperialistic aberrations from the course to be talien. Their vigilance is necessary as a guarantee that America's Ieadership will be used not only for her own benefit bur also for the benefit of other countries-not for the oppression but for the liberarion of other peoples. Leadership understood in this sense is not an unwarranted prerogative for America but an obligation. She must assume ir not only in her own interest but primarily for the sake of the Upward Progression. It shouId lead to a post-war crusade against all tendencies toward "isolation"-all attempts to reimpose the ligamres on the world body. It should be appropriate to the basic purpose which i~lspiresit: it should be a leadership profoundly liberal-minded, stcepcd in the best American and Greco-Christian traditions, adherent-on every p l a n e t o principles evolving from the "dignity of the human person." The liberal circles of America instead of fearing American leadership because of its possible results should welcome it: they should contribute to it their best energy and the fruits of their experience. The contribution of liberalism to American leadership rrrill be of the highest importance for many reasons: if, for example, liberal sources fail to contribute fresh blood to American diplomacy the latter is bound to make the same sort of mistakes as rhose for which many of us have often criticized England-in spite of our love for English traditions of civic freedom and democracy. N o other country but the United Srates today has the facilities and the world-wide prestige to assume the leadership which must be found somewhere. England itseIf today looks
357 to America, to a certain extent, for the Ieadership which she has exercised during the last hundred years or so. England, despite her great democratic traditions, has committed many blunders in international politics because of her reliance on out-dated diplomatic principles. She has, consequently, lost much of the presrige which the true leader in international matters must possess-but she can still back up American initiative with her invaluable support. France, because of her very old culmral traditions, is today, regardless of her present political misfortunes, the center par excelImce of Western civilization. T h e "initiation" of the French people dates back to extremely ancient and deep sources. It is probably rhe result of a superposition of Greek and Roman initiative teachings on the Celtic groundwork of initiation which itself belonged to the Upward Progression. (The mysteries of the Celtic or Gallic Druids taught the doctrine of transmigration of the soul and others which are characteristic of Upward initiations.) Later the intense Christianization af France kept alive the force and vigor of the original initiation. T h e collaboration of the highly civilized French people will be essentiaj in the rebuilding of Europe; but France, without American help, will not. be able to accomplish this taskbecause the closeness of the Prusso-Teutonic danger acts in many respects to upset the balance of its public life.
APPENDIX
Many believe that Russia, if she proves victorious in this war, will have more to say about the reconstruction of Europe than the United States. This quesrion is not a simple one. Let us remark only that United States influence on European affairs and on world affairs in general will depend to a large extent on the sincerity and mental courage of the American people in approaching the world problems of the post-war period. Most European people feel strongly that the world to be
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buiIr our of the present nightmare must not be simply a re-creation of the old world-the world which permitted the nightmare to take shape. If the American people and the American leaders have the mental courage to approach these problems in a completely fresh and profoundly liberal spirit, they will have a great deal to say about the reconstruction of Europe and the world. They will have more to say than Russia, at least so far as Europe is concerned, because of the closeness of American and European cultural ties. But should American politics in international matters be guided simply by a dusty conservatism, we would witness a dwindling away of America's present very real prestige in different European countries. In this latter case, but only in this case, it would not be surprising for Europeans to turn to Russia for support in the reconstruction of the continent. In the meantime, let us consider Russian Communism with sereniiy. We are, for our part, not in agreement, on theoretical grounds, with the economic teachings of Communism and with the doctrine of the preponderant rights of the State over those of the individual. W e believe, however (to prove this would lead us far afield), thar Communism derives from the Upward Progression, as does our own Wesrern philosophy of life-although their end-concepts profoundly differ. T h e differences separating the two, in any case, are nor so great, not so fundamental as the difference between them, on the one hand, and Prusso-Teutonisrn, the barbarous product of the Downward Progression, on the other. We are not advocating any truce with Communism. We believe it is useful to fight our our differences in the future as vigorousIy as in the pasr. We can do this, however, with a measure of good faith on both sides, as behooves opponents who have certain common bonds among themselves. Nothing did more to add to the success of Nazi propaganda in the democratic countries than the nervousness caused in some
circles by the mention of Communism or anything connected wirh ir. There is no reason for this nervousness. Our own concept of life has a much better chance rhan Conlrnunism of shaping thc future-at leasr of Europe and rhe 1Vesrern Hemispheregranted two conditions: first, that we think through our own concepts courageously ro their pracrical applications; and, second, that we learn, d l of us, to work dnd fight for our principles with the same spirit of selfless devotion to the cornmon good which we envy in the Russians. W e base this belief on ( I ) our confidence in the soundness of free initiative as a fundamental ectjnornic concepr-provided the practices resting on it are brought- up to dare; and ( 2 ) the fact that respect for the rights of the individual answers an inherent and universal human need. Many believe that leadership by any one nation is unnecessary and that the nations of the world will (or should) be abIe to settle their affairs sin~ply in some irnproved League of Nations where the powers of the varions States are properly balanced. Another feeling is that the various small nations which, by rheir courageous stand in the present conflict, have gained the right to be heard in the future will not be willing to accept any outside leadership. We believe, however, that the small European nations thcrr~selves will recognize that responsible leadership is necessary in the reorganization of Europe. The experiment after the last war--of granting the newly born small nations great influence in the affairs of the continent-did not work out well. T h e ambidons which urerc unleashed within each small narion led to excesses in economic and political matters. On rhe other hand, when confronted by the Prusso-Teutonic threat, the same small nations lacked adequate common leadership and-except in a very few instances-todc sn cvrremely
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hesitant stand. T h e result was that they were either consurncd
by the monster o r became its reluctant allies.

This past unhappy experience is no inducemenr f o r a repetition. Opposition to Icadersliip by a singIe counrry o r nation is chiefly due to the fact thar countries and nat-ions are usually considered, in external matters, to bc mere associations of their citizens for the common prnteccion of private interests. If nations were nothing more, it would be foolish and unjust to grant Ieadership t o any one of them. I t mould be used exclusively t o further the interests of the citizens of a particular State. But nations arc not simply associations for the proaction of private interests. They often are-and those of comparativcly recent creation usually are-also pracrical exf~eldvrents in the direction of a future society: living crystallizations of certain basic ideas and tendencies. This is particularly true in the case of the United Scares, which has been buiit entirely through immigration. This country was creared o u t of the common urge for freedom of masses of people, for the most part Europeans. America t o them meant Iiberation from "ligatures" of all sorts in their homelands-political, economic, religious, etc,; and jrnrnigration t o this country offered them undreamed of freedom in every field. tt'hether these immigrants were adventurers, idealisrs, rerrolutionaries, starving farmers or laborers, they were all attracted by the same sort of marcrial and spirituaI opportunities, and spurred on by the same urge for liberation. If a nation born out of these basic conccprs many times reaffirms them in the course of its history, it becomes a powerful polc of attraction for people in all the different parts of the world to whom the ligarures of their own countries, the isolations inherired from the past, have g o w n unbearable. This nation is, therefore, much more than a mere associa-
rion of interests: it may be regarded as the dynamic center from which to apply-on a much wider scale than ever before-thc concepr of liberation which has been its principal
motive force througl~outrhe !generations. Ocher nations have drawn to themselves people who felt the attraction of thosc nations' ideas in one field o r anorher. T h u s the French nation has acted as a magnet for immigrants who wanted to take advantage of its cultural opporruniries and also, since the French Revolution, for others who have been arrracted by her traditions of political liberty. T h e Teutonic Order, even before it had created a nation, was a pole of attraction for nobles from all parts of Germany who felt a mental kinship with the Teutonic ICnights, After the formation of Prussia, the latter country continued t o absorb people of the same type from all thc other German countries. T h e y became Prussian who felt Prussian, wherever they may have been born. As a Iasr example, Soviet Russia exercises a comparable attraction on peoplc of various countries who share her ideological aims. W e would like to considcr the United States, in spite of irs imperfections, as the nucleus of a future society organized according to ideas of freedom in all domains. If this shouId be her rde, it would be absurd to assign this nation rncmbership in somc international organization of che egalit~riantype, unless some structural opportunity for her leadership were assured. Because this opportunity was I~cking-for this reason alone and not because of the fancied advantages of isoIation-the United States did well to decline membership in the League of Nations. In the larrer its leadership would have hccn submerged in the confusion of numerous sinall and large nations with equaI r i g h t e m a n y of which adhered to distinctly different basic principles. America will dcserve leadership in the past-war world if she sincerely wishes to act jn international matters in the nor as an organization to spirit of her deepest traditions--and
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defend particular interests. People all over the world, whatever their national origin, in this case will be willing to overlook America's past delays in assuming her natural responsibiities. They wili look KO her not as to a powerful narion sirnply pursuing its own egorisric aims, but as to the true nucleus of the society of the future-a society which those who travel the road of the Upward Progression ardently desire,
APPENDIX
Translation (from the mediaevai Latin) of the BULLOF R I ~ I I X( I I 226) In the name of the Holy and indivisible Trinity, AMEN. Frederick the Second, by the merciful tenderness of God always the august Emperor of the Romans, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. Therefore has God erected our Empire before the Kings of the august Earth and broadened the limits of our power throughout the various zones of the world, rhar rhe care of our effort be directed toward the glorification of His name within the centuries and the propagation of the faith within the people, inasmuch as H e has prepared the Holy Roman Empire for the preaching of the Gospel, so that wc may give ourselves not less to the subjugacion than to the conversion of the people, while we enjoy the mercy of that Providence hy which Catholic men take upon themselves the burden of procracred labors for the purpose of subjecting barharic peoples and to reform them to accept the divine cuIt, and by which they discover incessantly rnaacrs and men. In reference hereto it is, which we wish t o have made seriously known t o the present and future subjects of the Empire from the present document, namely how Brother Herrnann, venerable master of che Holy Hospitable House o f the Hoiy Mary of the Teutons in Jerusalem, our fairhful subject, so as to show the humble readiness of his heart, has proposed before us that which our devout Duke of Masovia and Cuiania has promised and offered, namely to procure for him and hk brothers part of rhe Iand xvhich is known as Culm, and also of another country between his boundaries a n d the borders of the Prussians, in such a manner that they started the work and well insisted to invade the land of Prussia and t o capturc it for the horior and the glory of the true God. After hc had rcceived this promise, he wenr forrh and humbly implored Our IIighness that W e condescend t o favor his vows so that he, aiaed hy Our authority, may begin to set about and continue such a great task, and so that Our favor may leave and certify to him and his house that land which the aforementioned
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duke was obliged t o resent, as u.eII as the whole Iand which, in parts of Prussia, wou d bc acquired hy their work; and that W e would further, by force of the privilege of Our liberality, present his house b y immunities, releases and other concessions which he hoped for as a result from the gifc of the aforcrnentioned duke and the conquest of Prussia, and that he himself would receive the proffered gift of the above mentioned duke and that he may use, for the purpose of the conquest and the capture of the country-by conscant and unceasing effort+the properries of the house and the people. According t o the constant and tested devotion of this master in regard t o the land for whosc acquisition in the Lord he so zeaiously fought and with regard to rhc land which under the Monarchy of the Empire may always exist, trusting, further, in the prudence of this master that he is an efficient man and powerful. rhetorician who by his own and his brethren cnergy will begin forcefully and prosecute manfully the conquest of the country and wilI not uselessly desist from what he began, as many have failed who have vainly been tried in the same beginning by various enterprises; wc have given to this master the authority to attack the land of Prussia with the forccs of his house and all efforts, by conceding and certifying to this mastcr, his successors and his house forcver the said country which he will obtain from the aforementioned duke as prnnli&d, and any which he will give him besides, and also all that land which by the will of God hc will conquer in the territory of Prussia, and also the old and due itnpcriai right over mounmins, plains, rivers, forests and seas so that he may kecp the counrry free and immune of all serviccs and threars, and n o one shali be obliged to subject himself [to any such services and threats]. T h c y are further aurhorizcrl, for the \vhoIe country of their conquest, \rdierher it is acquired by thcrrl or ail1 hc acquired by them, t o order, for the comfort of the house, highway roils and taxes, appoint market days and meetings, coin money, tax tributary and other rights, undertake Iand projccts in rivers and in the sea as they may be considered useful, also t o tnkc and kecp in eternal possession mines, gold, silver, iron mines, and mines of other metals and salt as they may be found in the country it-self. W e further permit them to appoint judges and rectors who may govern and dircct justly the people conquered there, as well
thosc who have been converted, as rhosc v.ho persist in their superstitions, and who may prevent the excesses of the evil-doers and punish them in accordance with the necessities of a just order. Thcy may further hold court in civil a n d criminal matters and judge according to the Iaw of reason. W e also decree in O u r mercy that- the master and his succesors may have the righr and thc power to exercise in thcir countries as every other prince should have in thc country which helongs to him, that the)- may care for good morals and ctistorns, that they may decree regulations and laws by which the faithfulness of the believers will be strengthened and all their subjects may enjoy and use a peaceful
existence.
W e further forbid by the power of the authority of the prcsent privilege that any prince, duke, count, priest, judge or advocate, or anybody, be he of a high or low cscatc, do anything contrary to the conrenrs of thc prcscnt concession and confirmation. Whnsocvcr violates this, will find himself subjected to a finc of one hundred gold pounds * of \vl-hich one half is t o be paid into O u r Treasury, the clther half to those having suffcrcd the damage. W e ~villbring about that for the remembrance and etcrnai adhesion of this, our concession and confirmation, the prcscnt privilege will be made, and made public by a Golden Bull provided with O u r Seal. T h e witnesses of this act are: T h e Archbishops of Magdeburg, Ravcnna, Tyrene, Panormina, and Reggio; the Bishops of Bonn, Mantna, Turin, Ariminum, and Cescna; the Dukes of Saxonia and Spoleto; the Counts Heinrich von Schwarzburg, Gunther von Kuercnberg, Werner von Kueburg, Albert von Hapshurg, Ludwig and Herman von Froburg, and Thomas von Acccrds; Alarshai Richard and the Chamberlain of the Imperial Court, Richard, Alben von Amstein, Gottfried von Hohenlohe and many others. Signature of the name of the Lord Frederick, by the mercy of God invincibIc and always august Emperor of the Rorrians and King of Jerusalem and Sicily. Given in the year of the incarnation of the Lord in 1226, in the nionth of Xiarch, under the rule of thc Lord Frederick, by the mercy of God al~vaysaugust Emperor of the Romans and
* X Ronian pound acighs mvclvc ounces.
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King of Jerusalem and Sicily, in the sixth year of His Roman rule, in the first year of his rule over Jerusalem, in the nventysixrh year of His Sicilian rule. AMEX. Given in Ariminurn [Rirnini] in the aforementioned years, months, and titles.
Acten de7. Staendetage Preussens tinter der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens. ( 5 vols.) Leiptig, 1880. ADDISON, CHARLES G. The History of the Knight Tenaplars. London, 1842. ANDLER, CHARLES, Les origines du pangemanisme ( 1800-r 888 j. Paris, I 9 x 5. ANTON, KARLG ~ L O V Be.r m h einer Geschicbte des Tempelordens. Leipzig, I 78 1. ARNDT, ERNEST MORITZ VON. Der G e h de7 Zeit. (4 vol.) Leipzig,
r 806-1 8 I 8.
Gemanien and Europu. Leipzig, t 803. BAUER, HEINRICH. Schwert int Osten. Oldenburg LO., 1932. BENEDETTI, V . M a mission en Prusse. Paris, I 87 I . BERCK, THEODOR. Gescbicbte dm westphaelischen Femgesichte.
Brernen, I 8 I 5.
BERGMANN, ERNST. Fichte und der Nntionalsoziali$7~1us. Breslau,

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THE THOUSAND -YEAR CONSPIRACY

Secret Gemzany Behittd the Mask

by the past." PATRICK HETRY

the Virginia Assembly, May 17651

N t w York CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

VIII Prussianisrn and Downward Progression

Prusso-Teutonia and the Problem of Post-War

World The Bull of Rimhi

to be a fortuitous development now takes its proper place

T H E CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

Surplus Popul~tion as a Springboard

in all the decisive actions for which-during

The Forerunners of "Mein Kampf"

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AND I T S MlRROR

THE THOCSASD-TEAR CONSPIRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AKD ITS MIRROR

first aecessary to attuck one's neighbor before

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPlRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

THE TIIOUSAKD-YEAR CONSPIRACY

T H E CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

THE THOUSLVD-Y EAR CONSPIRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

The Origin of the "Lebensraum" Theory

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY

AND ITS MIRROR

Defense Witl Not Win a War

THE THOUSAND-YEAR COXSPIRACY

THE CONSPIRACY AND ITS .MIRROR

The "Ideal Pmssiun"

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIR4CI'

THE COKSPIRACY AND ITS MIRROR

THE THOUSAND-YEAR COSSPIRACY

AND 1 7 ' s ,MIRROR

THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

Junker, bewails rhe pass-

THE CAVALCADE OF T H E TEUTOXIC KNIGHTS

THE THOUSAND-YEAH COSSPIRACY

THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

A Conspirational Community is Born

Emperors Against Popes

THE CAVALCADE OF THE TECTONIC KNIGHTS

The Crusades are Born

THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KXIGHTS

A Charter for Future Action

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY

THE CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

"A Paraphrase of the Real Goals"

THE THOUSAND-YEAR CONSPIRACY

CAVALCADE OF THE TEUTOXIC KYIGHTS