Correspondence
Hitler in Office [To the Editor of TnE SPECTATOR.] STR,—The commotion produced in Germany by the nomination of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor has not yet abated. That this assertive newcomer from Austria should now control their destinies causes amazement to at least half the nation. Opponents (excluding, of course, the Communists) seem ready to give him time to make good some of the promises he distributed so abundantly when in opposition. Socialists deride him, although the epithet, " Carnival Chancellor " no longer finds a place in their abuse. When the police- president here allows it to appear, Voncaerts scourges the Nazis with a rare violence. From Liberal newspapers like the Frantfurler Zeitung the Chancellor gets better treatment. But the tightening up of the control of the Press, details of which have just been published, will rob newspaper comment of its present worth as a guide to what the public thinks.
I have the impression that the first week of power has not been without a sobering effect upon the Chancellor's outlook. Already in the National Socialist Press a distinction is being made between Hitler the Chancellor and Hitler the party leader. But it is doubtful whether he will ever be able to live down his past. He is the prisoner of his promises to an extent no modern politician has ever been. His campaign, extending over thirteen years, was an appeal to unreason. He reaches power without a comprehensible programme, without intelligent principles. Upon every single subject of foreign or domestic controversy he has advocated an extreme solution. He denounced men such as Dr. Stresemann and Dr. Briining, predicting that when he stood in their place the process of transformation would forthwith begin. That he will forget many of his promises may be assumed ; that he can forget them all is out of the question. He must break much crockery at an early date, and fragments arising out of the crash may lie flung across frontiers. France and Poland in particular will be called on to show much restraint.
Within Germany and in respect of matters which do not directly touch foreign interests an era of extreme reaction is to be expected. After the Communists have been driven underground the attack upon the Socialists will begin in earn- est and finally it will be the turn of the small band of German Liberals to bear the brunt of the onslaught. Drastic economic experiments pressing heavily on labour and capital alike will be tried. The shopkeepers and merchants of the towns are to be robbed to subsidize the peasants, particularly those of East Prussia. Stockbrokers are expecting stormy times. A system of forced labour will be introduced in the hope of reduc- ing unemployment. The question of the maintenance and payment of the Storm Troops, now the Chancellor's private army, may lead to complications with France. Their disband- ment is not a possibility, yet their incorporation in the service of the State will be an infringement of the Peace Treaty and may render illusory prospects of an early agreement upon international disarmament.
In foreign affairs Herr von Neurath, the Foreign Minister, will counsel caution, and Count Schwerin von Krosigk, the Minister of Finance, and, until he is displaced, Dr. Luther, the Reichsbank President, will do their utmost to keep the currency stable. The special task of Herr von Papen, the Vice-Chancellor and the President's man of confidence, is to see that France is not affronted. Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor have forgotten their feud of the summer and should get on well together. Each has mystical visions regarding a regenerated Germany, each has blurred views upon political economy. Quite recently, in an authentic Hitlerite manner, Herr von Papen delivered an attack upon high finance that deeply alarmed the bankers and industrialists who supported him so loyally during his chancellorship.
Toward Dr. Hugenberg, the so-called "'Crisis Minister" in the Cabinet, the Chancellor has always displayed an extreme antipathy, and their present truce may soon be broken. The Chancellor is an anti-capitalist, but Hugenberg is an extreme individualist, an upholder of private enterprise and an opponent of the trade unions. His burdens as Minister of Trade and as Minister of Agriculture, and incidentally as the economic dictator of Prussia, may prove too much even for the Nationalist leader. His tasks are more baffling than those confronting any one of his Cabinet colleagues. He will be the arbiter in the dispute between the peasants and the indus- trialists which caused the downfall of at least two Chancellors and has impeded reasonable government in Germany for years past. As Minister of Trade he will have to take steps to further German exports, yet as Minister of Agriculture he will have to face the demand of the peasants for the closing of the German market against foreign foodstuffs, a demand which if granted would lead to a world-wide boycott of German manufactured goods.
Until after the elections Ministers will not be able to get to grips with their many difficulties. The campaign must be a fierce one, although restrictions upon the Press and propaganda of the Opposition may make it one-sided. The result itself can have little significance, for the present masters of Germany have looked to Rome or Moscow for their principles of statesmanship, and their homage to par- liamentary forms is a sham. The next Reichstag should show little change in the position of parties. Centre and People's Party, the two non-socialist groups that are fighting the Government with kid gloves, ought to increase their poll slightly, and the Communists may gain votes at the expense of the Socialists. The desire to get the 7 per cent. higher poll that would give Nazis and Nationalists a clear majority in Parliament is the reason why the Reichstag was dissolved, and as the elections will be " made " this, purpose may be achieved.
But whether they increase their vote or not, there is little probability of Hitler, Hugenberg and von Papen relaxing their hold on power. The Chancellor's huge praetorian guard in the shape of the brown-shirted storm troops may have a more decisive word to say in German politics than the electors. Hitler dominates the German stage so com- pletely that von Schleicher is already forgotten. The down- fall of the soldier-Chancellor, the reputed "strong man" who as recently as December was hailed as the destined
" deliverer " of Germany, was an event charged with drama. Primarily, the result of the elections for the Diet of Lippe, Germany's second smallest State, three weeks ago to-day, brought it about. It was assumed the election would show the Nazis to be in decline, and upon that assumption General von Schleicher prepared a plan for finally getting rid of Hitler. Gregor Strasser, the brains of the National Socialist Party, was to be made the Vice-Chancellor of a reconstructed Cabinet, and it was believed that at least forty Nazi members of the Reichstag would secede with him. Lippe was a triumph for Hitler and this plan miscarried. The ex-Chan. tenor is to-day a broken man, and Strasser is the loneliest figure in German politics.—I am, Sir, &c.,
YOUR BERLIN CORRESPONDENT.
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