The German Question, Part One Hundred Twenty-Three

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/B
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part Four/3)
"Hitler Goes Home; Austria Joins Germany" (Part 3)

Just a little over a week after Hitler and Schuschnigg signed their agreement in February 1938,* Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag (the German Parliament).** He thanked Chancellor Schuschnigg for his efforts over their recent agreement, but he also threw in lines about how Austrian sentiment to join Germany after the Great War (World War I) had been stopped by the Versailles Treaty, and how "ten million" Germans were being kept separate from other Germans.*** The speech brought more calls by Austria's Nazis for joining with Germany. By March, Schuschnigg made a decision that brought everything to a head. He announced on March 9th that a plebiscite (referendum) would be held on March 12th! Whether such a vote could have even been held on such short notice is questionable, but he cleverly worded the ballot issue to make it almost impossible for anyone to vote "No."****

Having thus tweaked Hitler's nose, Schuschnigg now paid the price. Hitler met with his military commanders and ordered them to cross the border into Austria early on March 12. German forces, aided by Austrian border guards, took down the barriers and streamed into Austria, to the jubilation of much of the populace. Hitler followed soon afterwards, driving through hysterical crowds who presented him with bouquets of flowers. He visited his birthplace just over the, now previous, border in Braunau-am-Inn and the city of Linz where he had spent much time as a boy. German radio and press reports (controlled by the Nazis) stated that German troops were only helping to restore order, but during a speech in Linz, Hitler announced that Austria was being incorporated into Germany. It was then on to Vienna and ecstatic crowds, and ringing church bells. The call to German nationalism was strong, and in Austria, where unemployment was high, people hoped for a better life. They got it in many ways, as unemployment dropped dramatically in less than a year, but they also got the ugly side; Jews beaten and arrested, anti-Nazi politicians (including Schuschnigg*****) arrested, and worse was to come.

Just a few weeks later, Hitler, in an ironic turn of events, used a national plebiscite to sanction Austria's absorption into Germany, with more the 99% voting "Ja." (Interestingly, the "Ja" vote in what had been Austria was a couple of tenths of a point higher than in the rest of Germany.)

* Schuschnigg later claimed he had been bullied into signing the agreement, and that is undoubtedly true, but he also signed the agreement undoubtedly to keep himself in office.

** Hitler kept the Reichstag to use for important speeches and ceremonial purposes. It was really no longer a true legislative body, and of course, it had only one party represented, the Nazis. After the damaging fire to the Reichstag Building in 1933, the Reichstag met in the Kroll Opera House ("Krolloper," in German) in Berlin, but only when summoned by Hitler.

*** Austria had about 6.5 million people and the German population of Czechoslovakia was about 3.5 million. He seems to have already been setting up a situation to deal with Czechoslovakia.

**** He used terms like "independent, German Austria," and "Fatherland."

***** Schuschnigg was not freed from captivity until the end of World War II. He later went to America, where he was a teacher, but returned to Austria where he died in 1977, just short of his 80th birthday.

WORD HISTORY:
Hail-This is the noun meaning "frozen rain/frozen precipitation/ice pellets." It goes back to an Indo European word for "pebble," which was "khaglo/kaghlo." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hag(a)laz," which meant "hail." This gave Anglo-Saxon "haegl" and "hagol" (according to dialect). The "g" sound eventually died out, leaving English with "hail." The verb came from the noun and in Anglo-Saxon was "hagolian," and meant "to hail." Common throughout the other Germanic languages: German has "Hagel" (originally "hagal"), Low German also has "Hagel," and some dialects "hoagel," West Frisian has "heil" (notice the missing "g," as in English), Dutch has "hagel," Norwegian, Icelandic and Danish have "hagl," and Swedish has "hagel."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Twenty-Two

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/B
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part Four/2)
"Hitler Goes Home; Austria Joins Germany" (Part 2)

Kurt (von)* Schuschnigg, the Austrian chancellor, cracked down on the Austrian Nazis, and he had a number of them imprisoned. Seemingly, the sentiment, however, in a good deal of Austria, and in much of Germany, was for "Anschluss;" Austria joining with Germany, and this was NOT just among Nazis. Schuschnigg met Hitler in 1936 and an agreement was the result. Schuschnigg agreed to release Nazis from prison and to permit Austrian Nazis and other political opponents into his government** and he agreed that Austria was a "German nation;" thus attempting to keep Italy at arms length. Hitler, for his part, agreed that Austria was an "independent nation." Hitler undoubtedly assumed that once Nazis and other proponents of "Anschluss" entered the Austrian government, Austria's joining Germany would soon follow, in spite of his stating that Austria was an "independent nation" in the agreement.

Over time, the Austrian Nazis grew in strength and stridency and Austrian public sentiment became overwhelming for "Anschluss." In February 1938, Schuschnigg met Hitler at Berchtesgaden,*** which was just over the Austro-German border. Hitler demanded that Austrian Nazis be given important positions in Schuschnigg's government, especially the "Minister of the Interior" position, which controlled the police, and the "Minister of Finance." His goal seems to have been to begin a process of coordinating Austrian policies with Germany, even though Austria would be left sovereign, at that point in time. Schuschnigg agreed, indeed, Schuschnigg signed another agreement, as did the Austrian president.**** Hitler's part of the agreement condemned the rowdy and belligerent tactics of the Austrian Nazis, and he agreed to accept unwanted Austrian Nazis in Germany, which he did.***** "Anschluss" drew closer.

* "Von" is used in German to denote nobility; for example, Rudolf "von" Habsburg; that is, "Rudolf of Habsburg." It means "of or from." If you have read (or seen the movie[s]) "Ivanhoe," then you should recall the equivalent in English, "Wilfred of Ivanhoe." Following World War One, the Austrians terminated the use of "von" in names (Germany did not), even for the Habsburgs; thus, Schuschnigg dropped the "von" from his name. It is also spelled "van" in some northern dialects.

** Austria was ruled, literally, by the chancellor. He issued decrees, and there was only one political party permitted, the "Christian Social Party" (German: "Christlichsoziale Partei"), initially a nationalist party that became ever more a right wing party that gradually assumed some of the characteristics of Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy. (Note: Austria was overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, and there was much "mixing" of religion and politics.) The Christian Social Party formed a sort of alliance with the "Heimwehr" ("Home Defense"), a right wing paramilitary and political group, which provided "muscle" to the alliance. One of the Christian Social Party's weaknesses, however, was its ties to Italy, including Italian support and "protection" of Austria. Remember, Mussolini sent Italian troops to the border to prevent Hitler from sending German forces into Austria in 1934. The reason I say this was a "weakness" is, Italy and Italians were not popular in Austria. Italy had been the major enemy of Austria-Hungary in World War One (and a major enemy even before), and upon the end of the war, for her participation on the Allied side, Italy was given the South Tirol, which contained a substantial German population, with large German majorities in the northern areas and some Italian majority areas in the southern districts.

*** Berchtesgaden is a small Bavarian town in the Alps, literally right near the border with Austria. Hitler had his villa there, called the "Berghof." The city of Salzburg lies less than 20 miles away, and after the Anschluss, the Salzburg airport was used by many of Hitler's visitors to his villa, but Hitler also used Klessheim Palace to host many foreign dignitaries. The palace, still in existence, is just outside the Salzburg city limits.

**** Austria had a president who served as "head of state," and he therefore had to sign all international agreements. Wilhelm Miklas was the president at that time, and he too was a member of the Christian Social Party.

***** Hitler got the Austrian Nazi leaders and lambasted them for their behavior, but apparently even he had trouble controlling them.

WORD HISTORY:
Home-This noun is common in its various forms throughout the Germanic languages. It is related to "hamlet," a word borrowed by English from French, which had it from Germanic Frankish. The ultimate origin of "home" is not agreed upon by everyone, but it "appears" to go back to the Indo European root "tkei/tkey," which meant "to dwell, to settle, to live in a place," which produced the extended form "(t)koimo," which meant "settlement, village, home." This gave Old Germanic "haimaz," or perhaps "(k)haimaz," with the "k" not being prominent, at least in theory, and with the broad meaning of "dwelling, village, settled place." This gave Anglo-Saxon/Old English "ham," not pronounced like the pork product, but with a long "a" sound. Later the spelling/pronunciation had changed to "hom," before the modern spelling. Over time, too, the meaning narrowed to "residence, place were one or a family resides," although the earlier broader meaning of "village, settled place" lives on from those times in place names like "Birmingham" and "Buckingham," which denoted a village. An Old English verb form, "hamian," also developed from the noun, with the meaning "to set up or build a home," then later with the modern spelling, but meaning "to go home," and it still exists, as it was used in refence to pigeons, and with the form "homing pigeon." The verb is now more associated with "signals that guide a missile to its target; that is, "home." German has "Heim" (as do some, but not all, Low German dialects), Dutch has "heem," "West Frisian "hiem," Norwegian has "hjem" and "heim," Swedish "hem," Danish "hjem," and Icelandic "heimur."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Twenty-One

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/B
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part Four/1)
"Hitler Goes Home; Austria Joins Germany" (Part 1)

An overview:
Austria now re-enters the picture, although it had been on the periphery since the end of World War One. Talk about a people with an identity crisis! As I've shown in this series, Austria had been THE leading German state among a multitude of German entities, and indeed, the Habsburg family of Austria provided the German emperors (Kaiser) of the old German Empire for centuries. Austria's defeat by rival German state, Prussia, in 1866, brought about the exclusion of Austria from German affairs, and left Austria out of the new German nation formed by Bismarck. While ties remained close between the two nations (Austria then shared its former exclusive rule of its multi-ethnic territories with Hungary, as Austria-Hungary), the fact was "they were two separate nations." After suffering defeat in World War One, Austria-Hungary was broken up into various new nations, leaving the German part simply as its own sovereign nation, but seen by many as a nation without purpose. Many Austrians then sought to join Germany, and numerous German leaders wanted the same, but the victorious Allies forbid such unification, unless approved by the League of Nations, which, at that time, was highly unlikely, as France, in particular, opposed it. Attempts by democratic forces to unite the two German entities failed, leaving the situation unresolved when Adolf Hitler, an Austrian by birth, and certainly NOT democratic, became leader of Germany.

The Austrian Nazi Party agitated for "Anschluss," that is, "union with Germany," especially with the onset of the Great Depression, as Austria was staggered by the economic collapse, and unemployment soared. The Nazis assassinated the chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934, but the attempted takeover of the government failed, and Mussolini, at that time no close friend of Hitler, sent Italian military forces to the border to intervene if Hitler sent troops into Austria. Kurt Schuschnigg became the new Austrian chancellor and events cooled down for a time, but that would change.*

* Also rendered as "von" Schnuschnigg, but this nobility indicator was done away with in Austria after World War One and even the once powerful "von" Habsburg name became just Habsburg.

WORD HISTORY:
Autobahn-This compound was borrowed into English from German during the 1930s, but it consists of two words with English forms. First, "auto" is simply an abbreviated form of "automobile," which was borrowed into both English and German from French. "Auto" goes back to Greek "autos," with the meaning "self," so "automobile" means "self mobile;" that is, animals were not used to make it go. Where Greek got "autos" is not known. German, too, borrowed "Auto" from French, and for those studying German, the noun is neuter; thus, "das Auto" (all German nouns are capitalized). German "Bahn" and English "bane" are related, although the meanings have diverged. They go back to Indo European "gwhen," which meant "to hit, to beat, to wound, to kill (presumably by beating/hitting)." This then gave the Old Germanic spinoff "bano(n)" (remember, it is assumed that sounds in ancient times were not very specific, and indeed, we all don't pronounce things the same today, although in most cases there are some modern standards), with the same basic meanings. This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "bana," with the meaning "killer," and also "benn," meaning "wound that kills." The idea of "killing" gave modern English the meaning "something that causes serious harm or death;" thus "wolfbane" is a "poisonous plant." The same Old Germanic word above gave Old High German "bano," which also meant "killer," but also had a slight variation in meaning for non-human items as, "knock down, strike, cause destruction by striking." This secondary meaning gave Old High German the notion of "path cleared by knocking things down by striking." Later in German the word was spelled "bane" (short "a"), with the meaning "pathway, road," and this then became "ban" (still short "a"), and then modern "Bahn," with the meaning "road, pathway, railroad tracks." The German national rail system is called "Die Bahn" (it is feminine; thus, "die," pronounced "dee"). So, "Autobahn" is literally an "autopath;" that is, a "highway/motorway." This meaning was only present in German, Low German and Dutch, but Danish and Swedish borrowed forms of the word from Low German. This "seems" to indicate that the "road, pathway" meaning developed AFTER the Anglo-Saxons left continental northern Europe for Britain, where they founded England; thus, the secondary meaning was left out of English. 

The German Question, Part One Hundred Twenty

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/B
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part Three)
"Spain Brings Hitler and Mussolini Together"

The events leading up to the Spanish Civil War are highly complex and they are well beyond the scope of this series. This article is "super" simplified, but for those interested, there are many good sources to get further information. This article is really only concerned with Germany, and how Hitler and Mussolini moved toward becoming allies, although a little background information is important.

During the early 1930s, a contentious, to say the least, bout between socialist/left-leaning/ communist groups and right wing/conservative/fascist/Catholic Church groups was ongoing in Spain. A "republic" was declared after the abdication of the king, but the situation was absolutely volatile. Eventually "rightist" elements, led by officers of the army, attempted to overthrow the "leftist" government. Unfortunately, there was not much middle ground, and the "left" frequently saw opponents as fascists, and the "right" saw opponents as "communists," and to be quite honest, there was a great degree of truth in both assertions. The clash between these forces brought other nations, or specific groups from other nations, to choose sides, although Britain and France remained (officially) neutral. During the early fighting, General Francisco Franco, a right wing officer, was named to lead a new government by the "Nationalists;" that is, the fascist-supported side.* Such an ideological war brought about atrocities by both sides.

Hitler and Mussolini saw the struggle as a chance to defeat communists, and to install another fascist or fascist-supporting leader in a key area of Europe, and they both declared their support for the Nationalist cause. Italy provided a great deal of naval support in the Mediterranean, as well as "regular" military units, deemed to be "volunteers," a term which fooled no one. Hitler mainly sent air units and equipment, as well as men to help train Nationalist military personnel. The Soviet Union mainly sent equipment and military advisers to aid the Republicans. Groups of volunteers from various countries, including the U.S., appeared in Spain, mainly in support of the Republicans.** The cooperation between Hitler and Mussolini in Spain, following on Hitler's support of Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia, made the two fascist dictators new allies. The military lessons learned by the Germans would aid them later when World War Two started. The Spanish Civil War was eventually won by the Nationalists; that is, the fascists, although the war didn't end until 1939.

Next... "Hitler Goes Home; Austria Joins Germany"

* The pro-government (the Republic) supporters were called "Republicans" (absolutely no relation to the U.S. Republican Party).

** Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" is about an American volunteer (played by Gary Cooper in the movie version), who supports the Republic. If you like books, please read this one, if you haven't already; it is a GREAT one. Also rent or buy the movie version, which is quite good and faithful to the book. The characters portrayed by the wonderful performers are just unforgettable.

WORD HISTORY:
Luftwaffe (Part Two)-Now I'll deal with the "Waffe" part of "Luftwaffe." For those studying German, this noun is feminine, so it is "die Waffe," and because it forms the second part of the compound "Luftwaffe," it also makes that compound noun feminine, "die Luftwaffe." Further, "Luft" is also feminine; thus, "die Luft." "Waffe" is simply the German form of English "weapon." Old Germanic had "wepnan," with the meaning "weapon," but where Germanic got the word is uncertain. All forms of the word, unless borrowed by other languages, appear only in the Germanic languages. Germanic "wepnan" gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "waepen," which then became "wepen," before the modern spelling. The original Old Germanic also gave Old High German "wafen," as a sound shift in some of the continental Germanic dialects changed the "p" sound to "f." In modern German "wafen" became "Waffe." Another form of the same original Germanic did not undergo the sound shift and was "wapen," and then modern "Wappen," and it means "coat of arms;" with the obvious tie to "weapon." I "suspect" this form came from the northern dialects (now known as Low German Saxon, Dutch, and Frisian), since those dialects did not experience the sound shift, nor did English (Anglo-Saxon), which, by the time of the sound shift, was already in Britain. Besides the English and German forms of "weapon," Dutch, most Low German and Frisian have "wapen," Norwegian has "våpen," Swedish has "vapen," Danish has "våben," and Icelandic "vopn."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Nineteen

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/B
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part Two)

The Nazis held annual rallies in the city of Nuremberg (Nürnberg). In 1935, Hitler convened a session of the Reichstag in Nuremberg, where it had not met since the 1500s! The purpose? To pass laws aimed at Germany's Jews. The two laws passed by the Reichstag in Nuremberg were collectively called "The Nuremberg Laws" ("Die Nürnberger Gesetze"), and they passed by (surprise, surprise) a unanimous vote. These absolutely racist laws stripped German Jews of citizenship and prevented marriage between Jews and Germans. The Nazis also laid out the definition of a Jew: a person with three or four Jewish grandparents, while those people with one or two Jewish grandparents were termed "Mischlinge;" that is, "mixed," or in plain old racist American English, "half breeds."*

Around that same time, Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy, sent troops into the East African nation of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The League of Nations voted sanctions against Italy, these sanctions essentially being a ban on weaponry being sold to Italy (and Abyssinia) and the prohibition of loans to Italy. The two powerhouses of the League of Nations, Britain and France, kept any sanctions from being too severe, as they wanted to remain on good terms with Mussolini, and to continue to use him to maintain a firewall, so to speak, against Hitler moving into Austria or southeastern Europe.** The League of Nations, however, still wanted to show it opposed Mussolini's aggression. This attempt "to have it both ways" failed miserably. The League, along with leaders Britain and France, was seen as too feeble to prevent aggressive wars, yet the sanctions against Italy, mild though they were, coupled with Hitler's verbal support of Mussolini's war in Abyssinia, moved Mussolini and Hitler closer together. The next time, the two fascist dictators worked in conjunction with one another to support Spanish fascism (the Falangist Party) and right wing strongman, General Francisco Franco, in the Spanish Civil War.

* For non-American readers, a bit of an explanation: When white American settlers came to this country, dating back to colonial times and through the westward expansion, some had children with the native population here. For quite some time these children were very much looked down upon by many (but not all), and the term "half breed" was essentially a derogatory term. We've come a long way since those times, and "many" Americans are now proud to claim "American Indian" heritage, at least many people I've talked with over the years, but I'm sure there are still some holdouts. They probably want to get even for "Custer's Last Stand," not being satisfied with the sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series.

** In 1934, the Austrian Chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, actually a dictator and a fascist himself, wanted to model Austria after Mussolini's Italy. Dollfuss stood in the way of any attempt to merge Austria with Germany (the term in German for this merger was "Anschluss," which means "merger, joining"). Mussolini guaranteed Austria's independence, and when Austrian Nazis assassinated Dollfuss in 1934, Mussolini sent Italian military reinforcements to the border with Austria to discourage any attempt by Hitler to achieve an "Anschluss." So it is important to remember, Hitler and Mussolini were not always "friends," but that was about to change.

Next... "Spain Brings Hitler and Mussolini Together" or alternate title, "Tapas and a Bullfight For Two?"

WORD HISTORY:
Luftwaffe-English got this compound from German, as it was the name for the German air force. Its component parts, "Luft" and "Waffe," both have related words in English, so I'll begin with "Luft," and its closely related English words "lift" and "loft." The ancient origin of "Luft" (and also therefore of "lift" and "loft") is unknown. Old Germanic had "luftuz," which meant "air, atmosphere, sky, heavens, even roof." This gave Old High German (the direct ancestor of modern German) "luoft," then "luft," and meaning "air," which then later was spelled with a capital "L," as all German nouns are capitalized. The same Old Germanic "luftuz" gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "lyft," and with the same meanings. "Lyft" then "seems" to have altered under the influence of the related Old Norse (North Germanic) word "lopt" (the "p" was pronounced "f"), which had the same general meaning, but also with more emphasis on the extended meanings "roof, ceiling, and then upper room, room by the ceiling." By the 1200s, English had borrowed the word "air" from Old French (from Latin, which it got from Greek), and it overtook "loft" in that meaning, leaving "loft" with its secondary meaning "room by the ceiling, upper room." Besides German "Luft" and English "loft," some Low German has "Loft" and some have "Luft," Dutch has "lucht," Frisian has "loft," Danish, Norwegian and Swedish have "luft," Icelandic has "loft." Of all these related Germanic words, only English "loft" no longer means "air," in general usage; however, Scottish English dialect still has "lift" for "air." German also has the verb "lüften," which means "to air out, ventilate;" just as English uses the verb form of "air" (air out a room). Lift, the verb, traces back to the same Old Germanic word "luftuz" (see above). This then gave off a verb form, "luftjaz." German has the verb "lüften," as noted above, Old Norse "lypta," seems to have used the notion of "air rising" to give its form of the Germanic verb the meaning "raise," and this then was borrowed into English in the late 1100s or early 1200s.^ Dutch has "lichten," which means "to empty out;" apparently the notion being "to lift items out of something." Low German Saxon has "lüchten," Norwegian has løft, Danish has "løfte," Swedish and Icelandic have "lyfta." The "Waffe" part of "Luftwaffe" will be in the next article.

^ The noun use of "lift" for elevator goes back to the 1850s.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Eighteen

The Word History was edited 11/5/2015


"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/A
"Foreign Policy & The German Question" (Part One)

Well, we've seen how Germany's first attempt at democracy was circumvented and then destroyed. Now comes the part where Hitler and the Nazis tried to turn the clock back, not just a bit, or to right, even what some in other countries believed to be, recent wrongs, but to essentially turn the clock back to ancient times; to the time of the old Germanic tribes, and to try to unite these Germanic peoples under one leader. Generally, fascism tends to glorify the past, the distant past, and in Italy, Fascist leader Benito Mussolini also looked to the distant past and to the days of the Roman Empire. To achieve their extreme nationalist goals of returning to ancient times, the two fascist dictators had to deal with more recent history first.

One of the first signs of Hitler's intentions to pursue an aggressive foreign policy took place in the fall of 1933 (during his first year in power), when he took Germany out of the League of Nations (essentially the forerunner to the United Nations). By 1935, Hitler announced that he would no longer abide by the Versailles Treaty's limits on the German military. Conscription (a "draft") was reintroduced and Hitler announced that the German army would be expanded beyond the one hundred thousand man limit of the treaty. He further announced that there would be expansion of the navy and that a military air force (the "Luftwaffe") would also be established. While many countries protested, nothing happened.

Also in 1935, a plebiscite (referendum) was held in the Saarland region, as per the agreements made after World War One. The region had been under French (primarily) and British occupation since after the war. More than 90% voted for a return to German rule. In March of 1936 Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland. The Rhineland had been demilitarized since the end of the First World War, but it was a part of Germany, simply no military forces had been permitted to be deployed there. Again, lots of protests and denunciations, but no action against Hitler's bold move.

We have to remember, the 1930s were the years of the Great Depression, and many nations were turned inward to deal with their own economic matters. Many Europeans were far more worried about the advance of communism in their own lands, rather than Hitler's or Mussolini's moves. Further, the 1914-1918 war and its aftermath had been so traumatic for many, they didn't exactly long to see a new war break out; thus Hitler was able to push the envelope relatively quickly, and get away with it.

WORD HISTORY:
Lead (Leader)-The origin of "lead" goes back to an Indo European form "leith," with the overall notion of "forward movement." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "lithjan," with the notion of "go," and it had a variant form, "laithjan(an)," which meant "cause to go;" thus the meaning of "lead" (Get it? "Cause to go;" thus "lead"). This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "laedan," meaning "to lead, to guide, bring along with." Later the verb was spelled "leden," before the modern spelling. Very common in the other Germanic languages: German "leiten," Low German Saxon "laiden/leiden," some other Low German has "leide," Dutch "leiden," Frisian "liede," Norwegian and Danish "lede," Swedish "leda," and Icelandic "leitha." Leader-comes from an alteration of the verb, with the common "er" ending, and Old English had "laedere." Also quite common in the other Germanic languages: German "Leiter," Frisian "lieder," some Low German has "Leida," Dutch "leider," Norwegian and Danish "leder," Swedish "ledere," and Icelandic "leithogi." German has both "Leiter" and "Führer," which are synonyms.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Seventeen

Hitler Rules Germany, Part One/C
"Consolidation of Power/Hitler Gets Full Power"

The Nazis banned German labor unions, and in their place, they established the "German Labor Front" ("Deutsche Arbeitsfront"). The Labor Front set policies for workers and employers, and strikes were forbidden. Labor front officials also arranged special low cost tours and cruises for worker vacations.

Now that the Nazis had achieved their "revolution" of gaining power, a split in the party began to become more obvious. Remember, the Nazi Party had both "Socialist" and "Worker" in its full name, "The National Socialist German Workers Party," and the true "socialist" wing of the party wanted that part of the party's ideology to be implemented in German society. As part of this continued "revolution," there was talk of the Nazi Stormtroopers,* which by then had a couple of million active members, actually taking over the German military. The army was extremely conservative, and such talk made German military leaders very uneasy. The head of the Stormtroopers was Ernst Röhm (also spelled "Roehm"), and he coveted the notion of his becoming the head of the German military. By that time too, the Stormtroopers were also making many in the public nervous, as they bullied or assaulted civilians known, or thought to be, Nazi opponents. The rowdy and often crude behavior of many in the SA made the more conservative elements of the government, as well as businessmen, protest to Hitler.

Hitler was only somewhat interested in the "socialist" aspects of the party, and he knew he needed the support of the German military if he were to remain in power, and then to begin a reversal of the Versailles Treaty. In late June of 1934, Hitler and the most trusted part of the "SA," a branch known as the "Schutzstaffel," began a purge of the "SA" and certain party leaders, claiming a conspiracy to overthrow the government. The "Schutzstaffel," which simply means "defense, or protection staff," was responsible for Hitler's protection dating to when he gave speeches in numerous beer halls in Germany. Although little known at that time, it would become all too familiar in the years ahead under its better known initials, the "SS." How many people were killed during the purge is not really known, but certainly dozens, and perhaps hundreds. Röhm was killed, as was former German Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and his wife, and former Nazi leader Gregor Strasser, who had been more inclined to the socialist side of the party. Hitler's dramatic action against members of his own party showed everyone that he was in charge, and that he would not hesitate to act ruthlessly. With the Stormtroopers subdued, conservative forces, including President von Hindenburg, approved the action. (The Stormtroopers lost their overall prominence in the Nazi movement, but the organization remained to provide "muscle" and for ceremonial purposes at Hitler's public speeches and at Nazi rallies. Many prominent Nazis held some high ranking position within the Stormtroopers, although these positions were often more "honorary" in nature. The organization never again held the power it had had up until the purge.)

On August 2, 1934 Paul von Hindenburg, nearing age 87, died. Hitler's last obstacle was gone. He now took over the presidency, combining it with the chancellorship. The German military had to swear an oath to Hitler personally, not to Germany. Hitler was now truly the Führer of Germany.

* The Stormtroopers were actually a Nazi organization called the "Sturmabteilung" (storm or assault detachment), or "SA" for short.

WORD HISTORY:
Fuehrer-This word came into English during the first half of the 1930s because it was the title used by Hitler for himself, and it simply means "leader;" obviously patterned after Mussolini's title, "Il Duce," "the leader." Since English does not use the umlaut; that is, the two dots over certain vowels to indicate a variation in pronunciation from the standard vowel, we spell the word with the "ue," which can also be used in German, but much more commonly in German it is "Führer," with the "u" with umlaut being the equivalent of "ue." For those learning German, the word is masculine, making it "Der Führer." The word goes back to Indo European "per/por," with the basic idea being "go/going, passage/pass over." This gave the Old Germanic spinoff "faranan," with the meaning "travel, go."^ From the idea of "traveling/going," came the further development of "lead;" that is, "travel takes; that is, leads you somewhere," and this gave Old Germanic a variation of "faranan," which was "forijana," with the meaning "to lead." This then gave Old High German "fuoren/fuoran," and then later "vueren," then modern "führen," and the noun was derived from this verb. Low German Saxon has "föhren," with several related meanings, including "to lead."

^ This is the source of numerous English words, for example: "fare," "the charge you pay to travel" or also "a person who pays for travel, most often in a taxi;" "farewell," which means "travel well;" that is, "have a good/safe trip;" "fare," as in "how are you faring?" (Literally, "how are you going along"); "wayfarer" ("someone who travels"), "seafarer" ("one who travels by sea"), and "ferry" ("a boat that transports people, usually for pleasure travel"). The other Germanic languages have various forms of the Old Germanic word too, for example, German has "fahren," the cognate equivalent to English "fare," and the German verb means "to travel, to drive," and the noun "Fahrer," which means "driver," "Fähre," "ferry (boat)," "Fahrrad" meaning "bicycle," and the phrase "Fahrrad fahren," "bicycle riding, ride a bike."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Sixteen

Hitler Rules Germany, Part One/B
"Consolidation of Power/The Nazi War On Jews Begins"

German Jews undoubtedly "hoped" the Nazis would settle down and govern the country now that Hitler was "empowered" to rule Germany, by law. Any such hopes were soon to be dispelled, but far worse was to come. Shortly after passage of the "Enabling Act" (see previous article for more info), the Nazis instituted a boycott of Jewish business concerns. There were more than five hundred thousand German Jews at that time, most living in major cities, especially Berlin. The Nazis posted signs everywhere, "Germans, defend yourselves. Don't buy from Jews" ("Deutsche, wehrt euch. Kauft nicht bei Juden"). Stormtroopers shouted anti-Jewish slogans from cars or directly from the streets, while crude paintings of the "Star of David" were often painted on windows of Jewish shops and stores. Many Germans, not yet frightened enough of the Nazis, continued their shopping habits at various Jewish shops and department stores, and the boycott was ended after just a couple of days.

It didn't take long for other measures to come into effect. Laws were decreed that prohibited non "Aryans"* from holding positions in the German civil service, thus forcing Jews to leave these types of positions, and shortly thereafter, Jews were prohibited from holding any type of positions in government. Further, Jewish lawyers were restricted in the practice of law and even Jewish doctors and dentists had their professions restricted. Jewish children were put on a quota system for admission to German public schools. Albert Einstein, the brilliant German-Jewish scientist and thinker** left Berlin and settled in the United States, as did many other "fortunate" German Jews who feared what was coming. Another prominent immigrant to America was film maker Fritz Lang, whose mother was a Jew who had converted to Catholicism (Lang was raised Catholic). Billy Wilder, the famous movie director, and of Jewish heritage, also left Germany. Unfortunately, there were those who left, but who did not go far enough, like the Frank family of Frankfurt am Main, whose daughter, Anne, became famous for her diary kept during the family's hiding from the Nazis in World War Two Holland.

Next..."Hitler Gets Full Power"

* "Aryan" was a term much abused by the Nazis and other racist groups. These groups believed (believe) Indo European speakers; that is, original speakers of languages from the Indo European family of languages, were also a specific race of people who were so highly talented and well-bred, that they were genetically predestined to rule the world, as a sort of "master race." There are variations of this nonsense, but that's the gist of it. The term actually only relates to a specific branch of the Indo European languages, one of the major components of which is "Hindi," one of the main languages of India. Therefore, Mohandas Gandhi, better known to most as "Mahatma Gandhi," should never have been discriminated against, since he was part of the "master race." As I have noted in various "Word Histories" here, "Hindi" is Indo European, and thus related to English, but further down the family tree.

** Einstein was born in Ulm in southwestern Germany (the region known as "Swabia"), also the home of someone who would later become famous for his military exploits, Erwin Rommel (he was born not far from Ulm). Rommel later came to oppose Hitler, and he was forced to commit suicide for his knowledge of the most famous plot to kill the son-of-a-bitch...ah...I mean Hitler. Then again, I believe I'll let that stand..."the son-of-a-bitch!"

WORD HISTORY:
Might-This is a slightly updated history for the noun form meaning "power, strength." (The original history I did was for Part 77 of this series on "The German Question," published 2-10-11, https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/02/german-question-part-seventy-seven.html ) It goes back to the Indo European base word "magh," which had the notion of "be able to do, have power, have the power to do." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "maghtiz" or "mahtiz," with the same basic meaning. This gave Old English "maeht," and then later, "miht," then "might," and the "gh" was once pronounced in English. Common in the other Germanic languages: German and Low German have "Macht," Dutch and West Frisian have "macht," Norwegian and Swedish have "makt," Danish has "magt," and Icelandic has "máttur." Over time, the meaning "influence" as a form of power has also developed in virtually all of the Germanic languages. In the previous article, the title of the law known in English as "The Enabling" or "Empowerment Act," is "Ermächtigungsgesetz," in German. You can clearly see the German word so closely related to English "might" within the entire word. The "ä" has an umlaut in this specific case, which modifies the sound of a typical "a."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fifteen

Hitler Rules Germany, Part One/A
"Consolidation of Power"

As I have done so frequently throughout this series, I like to remind readers that the information provided here is very basic, and for those interested in further information and in greater detail, there are many, many books and articles available concerning these events. If you haven't been to your local library lately, make a point to pay a visit, knowledge is awaiting you.

About a month after Hitler became chancellor, and with a new Reichstag (parliament) election coming, a major fire broke out in the Reichstag building in Berlin. The source of the fire has always been controversial, with a number of historians favoring the notion that the Nazis (usually at Hermann Göring's direction) started the fire themselves to provide a reason for them to crack down on communists and other political opponents. The police found a Dutch communist named van der Lubbe inside the building that night. He had some mental problems, including a love of fire, and reportedly he had a prior record of arson. He confessed to setting the fire and not long thereafter he was executed (beheaded). There are various theories about this whole matter, including one that the Nazis got van der Lubbe to set the fire, and another that the Nazis set the main fire, but that to their good fortune, van der Lubbe was also setting fires in the building that same night, and that this provided them with cover. To be quite honest, no one really knows, but the consequences were the same, no matter how the fire started. 

The Nazis screamed communist plot to overthrow the government, and Hitler got President von Hindenburg to issue a decree revoking civil liberties. Many German communists, including their delegates to the Reichstag, were arrested in the aftermath of the fire.* When Hitler became chancellor, the Nazis and their right wing allies remained a plurality in the Reichstag, where they needed the more traditional conservatives to help pass legislation. With the communist delegates under arrest, the Nazis and their allies became a majority. Within a week of the fire, elections for the Reichstag produced the largest vote yet for the Nazis, but still not a direct majority, with the Nazis getting about 44% (combined with their allies in the Reichstag, they had a majority). But Hitler needed more than a majority for what he had in mind.

The next step in Nazi consolidation of power was to pass a law, usually called "The Enabling Act," by English-speaking historians (German, "Ermächtigungsgesetz," which is perhaps better translated as "Empowerment Act"),** which gave power to Hitler and the cabinet to issue laws and make changes to the constitution WITHOUT the vote of the Reichstag. Because of its extraordinary nature, the law required a two-thirds favorable vote by the Reichstag (with two-thirds of all delegates required to be present) to become law (and von Hindenburg's signature).*** The communist delegates had all been locked up as part of the aftermath of the Reichstag fire; thus removing an entire block of "no" votes. The Social Democrats were adamantly opposed, so Hitler needed the votes of the German Center Party, the Catholic-based party, to pass the bill.**** He made many promises to the Center Party about respecting Catholic religious practices and Catholic schools, and in the end, while not totally sold on Hitler or his promises, the German Center Party, hoping to stabilize Germany, voted for the bill, giving it the required two-thirds majority needed to alter the constitution. It should be noted, Nazi Storm Troopers were ominously evident inside and outside the Reichstag during the whole proceeding. While much respected, Field Marshal von Hindenburg still remained President of Germany, and thus an obstacle to all of Hitler's plans, but Hitler now had tremendous power in Germany. He would act against his own party to increase that power shortly.

* I would think Hindenburg and others from the upper classes hardly needed to have their arms twisted to support the arrest of many German communists, but their arrest and the harassment of German Jews started a very troubling trend for the direction Hitler and the Nazis would take the country, with opponents to the regime putting themselves in great peril. You don't have to like communists, but with the upper classes supporting their wholesale arrest, the Nazis began to silence all opposition.

** The "mächt" part of "Ermächtigungsgesetz" is closely related to English "might"=power; as in, "They fought with all of their might."

*** While President von Hindenburg issued many decrees without Reichstag approval, the Reichstag still did have constitutional power to pass laws, if majorities could be scraped together to pass them. So the German constitution of the Weimar Republic still remained in effect in certain respects at that time, but its days were really numbered.

**** The leader of the Center Party was a Catholic priest, Ludwig Kaas.

WORD HISTORY:
Fire-This word goes back to Indo European "paewr/pehwr," with the actual meaning "fire." The Indo European "p" sound became "f" in its Germanic offspring, and Old Germanic had "fuir," which then gave Old English "fyr." Later this became, "fir," and then "fier," with the spelling "fire" not really taking complete hold until the late 1500s or early 1600s, and English still has "fiery," as a remnant of the earlier spelling. Its various forms are spread throughout the other Germanic languages: German has "Feuer" (originally in Old High German: "fiur"), Low German has "Füür," Frisian has "fjoer," Dutch has "vuur," Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish all have "fyr," and Icelandic has "fúr." The verb, as in "to fire a gun," originally meant "to set fire to," developed from the noun back in the 1100s or 1200s. The later notion of "discharging a firearm" also led to the more modern, "fire an employee" (terminate an employee).

Farewell, Betty Ford

This was first published in July 2011 when Betty Ford died, age 93, and I added a photo 7-5-22

 

I sure liked Gerald and Betty Ford, and "liked" should be replaced by "loved." The Fords were really not all that well known to Americans until scandal forced Vice President Spiro Agnew from office, and President Richard Nixon appointed Ford to be the Vice President. It wasn't long before Nixon, too, resigned, making Gerald Ford President of the United States in August 1974. Ford had served for many years as a Michigan congressman prior to this appointment. The Fords brought a new openness to the White House, where Nixon's more secretive and secluded ways had prevailed since his inauguration in January 1969. While trivial, to say the least, we learned that President Ford liked ketchup on his cottage cheese, and while not exactly classified information, the new President took a good deal of ribbing for it. I can't imagine Nixon ever disclosing such a personal detail, but it showed that Ford wasn't afraid to make one of his eccentricities known to the public. While he did "battle" with Democrats in Congress throughout his two and one half years as president, not only did Gerald Ford not see those Democrats as the "enemy," he counted many of them to be among his dearest friends, like House Speaker Carl Albert and future House Speaker Tip O'Neill. If I remember correctly, it was Carl Albert who suggested to then President Richard Nixon that he appoint Jerry Ford, as he was known to his friends, to the then vacant position of vice president. In those times I was a registered Republican, but I was not a firm Republican, and I voted for many Democrats, so many in fact, most people in my staunchly Democratic neighborhood were stunned to find an "R" next to my name on the voter registration roll. hahaha  This was perhaps the biggest reason I loved Gerald Ford, he was close friends with Democrats, just as I was! 

Then there was Betty Ford. She didn't attempt to hide the fact that she had breast cancer and needed surgery. For those a bit younger, in those times, this was NOT something women talked about openly, and certainly not a public figure like a First Lady. She championed women's rights, and she didn't seem in the least bit concerned that the growing conservative movement swirling about the Republican Party didn't like some of her comments. Later she would openly say how she was addicted to pain killers and alcohol and needed treatment. Many in the public rallied to her, and that candidness gained her many an admirer. Afterward, she founded the "Betty Ford Center," to treat people with addiction problems. She worked to help people face their problems and to triumph over those problems.

The Fords were REAL people. Politics can make many a person alter his or her behavior to gain acceptance with this or that political group, and that is the way it is all too often, but by and large the Fords were who they were, especially Betty. They were Republicans who were a bit right of center on certain issues, a little left of center on others, and smack dab in the middle on others, but they weren't fire-breathing bomb throwers from the far right. They weren't stodgy, nor did they want to take humankind back to the days of "swinging in trees" (Hey, watch out! That branch up ahead looks kind of shaky!), and I have to believe they later cringed at some of the things advocated by a Republican Party moving further and further to the political right (Look at that ape swinging through the trees! Wait a second, that's no ape, that's one of those far right wing politicians!). There aren't many Republicans like the Fords anymore, and I regret it. I regret it so much, I will now make a confession: I actually contributed to Gerald Ford's campaign in 1976! That was the first and only time I ever contributed to a presidential campaign until the 2008 election, when I donated to Barack Obama. I have to tell you, I have NEVER regretted giving the money to President Ford, even though he lost.

So farewell to Betty Ford, a truly shining example of a human being, and a person who fought to overcome adversity, including some of her own flaws, and who inspired so many to do the same. I will miss Mrs. Ford, just as I miss President Ford. R.I.P.

Image courtesy of Betty Ford Center (via Wikipedia)

 

                                                                                                                                                                      WORD HISTORY: 

Lady (Loaf)-This is a compound word which was then contracted into the modern word. So here is the first part, which became modern "LOAF." The ancient origin of this word is in question, but it is common in the Germanic languages,* although it is also present in some non-Germanic languages in Eastern Europe, where it is believed by many to have been borrowed from Germanic, but others believe Germanic got the word from an old form of Slavic, which was in Eastern Europe. Old Germanic had "khlaibaz" or "khlaibuz" (the "k" was not prominently pronounced) which seems to have meant "loaf of bread," or in some cases, just "bread" (some believe the original meaning of "loaf" in the Germanic languages was for unleavened bread only, and that "bread" meant leavened bread). This gave Old English "hlaf" (the "h" was not prominent), which then became "lof," before the modern spelling. German has "Laib"** (from Old High German "hlaib/hleib"), Icelandic has "leif." The second part of the word "lady", the "dy," goes back to Indo European "dheig(h)," which had the notion of "form, build, shape, make into." This gave Old Germanic "daigjon," which seems to have meant "a female servant who kneads dough and makes it into bread." This gave Old English "daege," with the same basic meaning, although it seems to have expanded in meaning, perhaps under influence of the related Old Norse, "deigja," to also mean "female servant in a house or farm." (The "dai" part of "dairy" is from the same source; thus the connection, at least in part, to a farm.) "Daege" later became English "dey," a word now obsolete. So, Old English put the respective word forms together as "hlaefdige," to mean "a female kneader/maker of bread," but then with the expanded meaning, "female head of a household," and then the meaning as counterpart, or wife, to a "lord," the "male head of household." "Hlaefdige" later came to be spelled various ways including "lafdi," and the "f" sound died out in the 1300s/1400s, leaving us with modern "lady," a purely English creation.

* Some of the Germanic languages now just use their related form of English "bread" to also mean "loaf," but they once had a form of "loaf."

** Long ago, what linguists call a sound shift took place among some of the continental Germanic dialects. This shift led to modern German, and part of that shift made what had been syllable ending Germanic "f" (or sometimes our "v") into a "b," which to confuse you more, is pronounced like a "p." So the German word is pronounced like "lye-p." What became Dutch and Low German did NOT undergo this change, nor did English, which was already established in England by the time of this sound shift. Another example is "life," the root of which in German is "Leb(en)," which because of the ending "en," does not have the "p" sound, but rather a standard "b."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fourteen

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-4
"The Nightmare Begins: Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany"

Germans looked around for a party that could stem the Great Depression, and besides the election gains by the Nazis, the German Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) also increased their share of  representation in the Reichstag, although less so than the Nazis. The largest political party during most of the Weimar Republic's existence was the Socialist Party (Sozialistische Partei Deutschlands), but they did not enjoy a majority. The German Center Party usually joined the Socialists and others in some form of coalition government.* By 1932, the Socialists became Germany's second largest party, as the Nazis surged ahead of them, but the Nazis too failed to receive a majority of German votes.**

With millions out of work, the government unable to get a grip on the situation, the republic besieged by extremists from both left and right, and the Reichstag often so divided that it couldn't pass legislation, President von Hindenburg frequently issued decrees instead. The constitution allowed for "emergency decrees" by the president, if he felt a crisis threatened the nation. These decrees were issued through the Chancellor and there were several such decrees during this tumultuous time. No question about it, this emergency power certainly weakened German democracy.

German businessmen and conservative political forces, some not all that taken with Hitler and the Nazis, felt the country needed someone who could maintain a stable government and thwart any possible communist takeover. Hitler's performance during the presidential election showed that he generated tremendous enthusiasm among working class and lower middle class segments of the population in all parts of the country, and that he was someone they wanted. President von Hindenburg was not a supporter of Hitler, but conservative leaders convinced him of the need to appoint Hitler as chancellor. To cement the deal, the basic idea was to give Hitler the chancellorship, but to load the cabinet with more traditional conservatives (including the Vice Chancellorship) to keep a check on Hitler, and only one other Nazi was given an actual cabinet position.*** The conservatives felt the situation was a winner, for if Hitler succeeded in stabilizing the country's political leadership and the economy, all would be well, and any communist threat would dissipate. If Hitler failed, and some thought he would, that would end his political career, and the country would be done with him. Seldom have men ever been so naïve. President von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. It was January 30, 1933, a nightmare was beginning.

Next..."The Nightmare Continues; Hitler Rules Germany"

* The German Center Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei) had started out as a Catholic political party to protect and represent the interests of German Catholics, who were a minority in Germany. Its name was a good one, because it really was somewhere in the "center" of the political spectrum, sometimes leaning left, and sometimes leaning right, and this gave them an ability to work with both sides. They pretty much received a reliable, but modest share of the vote.

** Hitler ran for president in 1932. His opponent was Field Marshal von Hindenburg, who, though 84, chose to seek re-election. Hindenburg won by a wide margin, but Hitler solidified his position as a national political figure. To qualify to run, Hitler officially became a German citizen (remember, he was born in the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary; thus, while "German" in background and nationalistic point of view, he was not a German citizen).

*** This was Wilhelm Frick, who was appointed Minister of the Interior. Hermann Göring was made "minister without portfolio," which simply meant he had no specific office.

WORD HISTORY:
Flag (continued, Part 2)-English also has "flag," which means "a piece of flat stone, a slab of stone," and while not commonly used anymore, it is "supposedly" still in use by some dialects in England. It "seems" to go back to Old Norse "flaga," which also had to do with "flat stone slabs," This was from Old Norse "flak" (not the anti-aircraft weapon), which meant "piece cut or torn from a larger object." This was derived from Old Germanic "flagon/flakon/flakan," which carried the notion of "flatness." This traces back to the Indo European "plak," also with the notion of "flat, flatness," which came from Indo European "pele." When Old Germanic "spun off," so to speak, from Indo European, the "p" sound became "f" in Germanic. This form of the English word "flag" came into English circa 1500, and it is closely related to "flake," "a piece cut or broken off of a larger object." A verb form also developed meaning "to lay down stones."

There is yet another English word "flag," meaning "a type of plant with sword-like leaves," and it is also likely to trace back to Old Norse, and perhaps to the same base above, as a sword is "flat-shaped," but this in not certain. Danish, one of the descendants of Old Norse, has "flaeg," a name for a type of "iris." Old Norse, another Germanic language of old, had influences on English, as Norwegians and Danes, raided the English coast on a fairly regular basis, and eventually settled in the northeastern part of England and southern Scotland. While English and Old Norse were related (both Germanic), the Norse brought some new words into English, thus enriching the language.

Further, there is the verb "flag," "to tire or weaken to the point of stopping," as in, "We will not flag in our quest to give tax cuts to the very wealthiest Americans, as they are the productive class." (I think I just came up with a new slogan for the Republicans!) Anyway, this form seems to have come about in English during the 1500s, and it is likely related to "flag, the piece of cloth," in the sense of the flag drooping. This shows how words can shift basic meanings, as "flag," the "cloth banner," came from a word meaning "to flutter," but "flag," the verb, came to mean "droop;" thus, "tire, weaken." 

The German Question, Part One Hundred Thirteen

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-3
"The Depression Gives Hitler A Boost"

I hope parts of this article aren't too "dry" for some of you, but the first German attempt at democracy and their basic political system of those times is important, and this article provides some continuity leading to Hitler coming to power, and his time in power will help us to answer, at least up until the present, "the German Question;" that is, "Who is a German?"

Paul von Hindenburg, the elderly field marshal and World War One hero, was elected president of Germany in 1925.* The German constitution provided for a president elected directly by a vote of the people, who, as head of state, would direct foreign policy, be supreme commander of the military, appoint the chancellor and other government ministers (cabinet members), and call for new Reichstag elections in advance of a scheduled election by dissolving any sitting Reichstag, if stalemate existed. The presidential term was seven years. The cabinet, led by the chancellor, was to manage the various governmental affairs on a day-to-day basis. The Reichstag (parliament) was elected, on a proportional basis, by a vote of the people.** The Reichsrat (Reich Council) consisted of representatives from the various German states to give them a more direct voice in governance. The interaction of these various entities is far too complex to cover here, but for a few years things worked fairly smoothly. With a large number of political parties on the ballot, and an increasingly divided electorate, no party was able to receive a majority, and thus lead a government backed by the public. Coalition governments were formed, and by the time of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Weimar system was again on shaky ground, and about to get worse.

Hindenburg, an old time conservative, was never all that friendly toward Germany's newly found democracy. He had grown up and served at a time of authoritarian government, and his position as one of the landed aristocracy (the "Junkers") surely didn't make him want to democratize anything; rule by the nobility was just fine with him. The government's use of right wing militias to help subdue communist uprisings in the early years of the republic only served to reinforce in a substantial part of the middle and upper classes the perception that the political right, NOT the democratic government, had saved the country from Bolshevism. Government bureaucrats and members of the judiciary, many having served under the Kaiser's government (authoritarian), tended to favor the political right, no matter their tactics. In the previous article, remember that General Ludendorff, Hitler, and other Nazi leaders involved in the failed "Beer Hall Putsch," all either got off without serving prison time, or got light sentences more appropriate for petty theft than for treason (remember, they tried to overthrow the government!). This shows how the political right still had control of the legal system, and it was really an enemy of democracy.

With the beginnings of the Great Depression and mass unemployment, these factors began to come together to besiege the German republic and its attempts to bring democracy to the German people. In Reichstag elections in 1928 (pre-Depression), the Nazis won only 12 seats out of nearly 500, but in 1930 (the sitting Reichstag had been dissolved, so another election was required) they won 107 seats of 577, and in the 1932 election (the sitting Reichstag had again been dissolved) they won 230 seats out of just over 600.

Next... "The Nightmare Begins: Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany"

* The first president of the republic had been Friedrich Ebert (a member of the Social Democratic Party), but he had not actually been elected by a direct vote of the people, but rather he was elected in 1919 by the National Assembly (a forerunner of the parliament), whose delegates had been elected by a vote of the nation. Since the new democratic governmental system was just forming, it was intended that his term would be only temporary, and a true national election for president would be held in the early 1920s. The political shakiness of Germany in the early 1920s (the government literally feared the right wing extremist groups, which actually carried out the murders of government leaders and government supporters) caused the postponement of that election, and the extension of Ebert's term. The Reichstag (the parliament, elected by the people) voted in large numbers for this measure, although it actually went against the constitution, but the measure passed by the constitutional legal requirement to temporarily override provisions of the constitution by a two-thirds vote. The Reichstag set the election for summer, 1925, and just a couple of months prior to that, Ebert died in office.

** Delegates were not voted upon directly by name, but rather by political party, and each party had lists of members who would claim seats in numerical order. The country was divided into election districts and delegates were apportioned one for each 60,000 votes received by that political party within any given district, with the actual delegates receiving seats according to their numerical place on that party's list. Delegates were to serve four year terms, provided that new elections were not called before that time. The overall number of seats in any given Reichstag was determined by voter turnout; thus the total number of delegates varied from election to election. What all of this boils down to is this example: Party XYZ received 182,000 votes in Electoral District 1; therefore, the party is entitled to three seats from that district in the Reichstag, and candidates 1, 2, & 3 on that party's list take those seats. The same party gets 120,000 votes (to keep this simple) in District 2, thus earning two seats from that district, with names 1 & 2 getting the seats. This is how it went for each political party in each district, and there were 35 districts. Just to confuse things, the 35 districts also were grouped into 17 larger, regional election districts, and further seats were apportioned from those larger districts, based upon "excess" votes. By that I mean, if Party XYZ received 220,000 votes in District 3, it only got 3 seats (3 x 60,000=180,000), but its 40,000 "excess" votes (220,000 minus 180,000) were combined with, let's say, 25,000 excess votes from District 4 to give it another seat in the larger grouping. Obviously the two districts had to be combined into a regional district for such to take place.

WORD HISTORY:
Flag-You may find this surprising, but there are four words of this spelling in English, some with both noun and verb forms, although by far the most common usage is the noun for a "cloth banner, usually square or rectangular, with some sort of emblem, of a nation, governmental entity, or organization." I'll deal with this one first. The ultimate origins of "flag" are unknown, which is more than a little startling, as it is very common in the Germanic languages in its various forms, and some of the other "flag" words I'll be covering are likely related to "flag" with this meaning. "Flag" may have been an English invention, initially as "flagge," derived from a relative of English "flicker," as Old English had "flacor," which had the notion of "flutter" (German still has "flackern," meaning "to flicker"). The idea then was, forms of the word spread along the coastal areas of northwestern Europe where there was much trade with the English. Dutch of circa 1500 had "vlagghe," and it meant "flag," Old Norse, the ancestor of the modern North Germanic languages, had "flögra," "to flap or whip about." English later developed a verb form, with the meaning, "to signal with a flag," but later in common usage also "by hand," as in "flag someone down." Further, the verb also means "to mark something with a flag." As I noted, it is quite common in the other Germanic languages: modern Dutch has "vlag;" German has "Flagge;" Low German Saxon and Frisian have "flagg," and some other Low German dialects have "flag;" Swedish, Icelandic and Norwegian have "flagg;" Danish has "flag." I'll deal with the other forms of the word "flag" in the next article of "The German Question."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Twelve

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-2
"Trial and Punishment Brings Fame"

So Hitler was charged with treason and he was put on trial in early 1924. The involvement of General Ludendorff in the "Putsch" made the whole thing a national news story and German newspapers covered the trial quite extensively. Ludendorff was still seen by many Germans as a hero, and his connection to Hitler helped Hitler during the trial, as with Hitler's gift for public speaking, he presented himself as a patriotic German and former decorated soldier trying to improve the country.* Many Germans, especially right wingers, took notice of the little man with the toothbrush mustache, and he now became more of a national political figure, rather than being limited pretty much to Munich. The judge was impressed by Hitler and the future dictator received a five year sentence, but he served less than a year, with no hard labor (remember folks, he was charged with treason, not with stealing a loaf of bread).

Hitler was confined to a prison in the town of Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria, which today has a population of somewhat less than 30,000. It was here that Hitler, with help especially from fellow Nazi Rudolf Hess, began writing a sort of combination autobiography and political manifesto, which came to be called "Mein Kampf," or "My Struggle."** It is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of the book, but it essentially laid down the details of Hitler's racist ideas, including about Jews and others, as well as his ideas about why Germans were so important to the world. I have never read the entire book, which is tedious, at best, and it has much nonsense, but I also have to say, unfortunately, that in those times, many people, not just Hitler, believed "blood" determined much about peoples' lives, without taking into account many other factors, like history, education and upbringing. When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, many Americans, primarily in my parents' or grandparents' age groups, had similar ideas. Hitler's "racial" ideology connected to many Germans, and later non-Germans, as it still does today, although hopefully on a far lesser scale. None of us is perfect, but please don't be a bigot or a racist. THINK!

Next... "The Depression Gives Hitler A Boost"

* It is also important to remember, the German Republic, the "Weimar Republic," was not all that popular in the era of the early to mid 1920s, especially among the political right. Well, the political right NEVER liked it, at any time.

** "Mein Kampf" sold well enough upon its release in 1925 to give Hitler some income, and sales would increase as he became a major player in German politics.

WORD HISTORY:
Vane (Fane)-This word goes back to Indo European "pan," with the general meaning of "fabric, cloth." This gave Old Germanic "fano/fanon," with the same meaning, although it "seems" that the developing Germanic dialects may have even then begun to use the word for "banner, flag." Old English had "fana," with the "banner, flag" meaning. Later it was spelled "fane," but in southern England it was spelled "vane," and that spelling finally prevailed by the latter 1400s. Gradually "flag, banner" overtook "vane" in that meaning, but it had by then come to be used as "weather vane" ("weather banner, flag") and also for the "flat part of a feather," and then for "a blade or blades in various machinery." Most, but not all, of the other Germanic languages still have the word, but as in English, forms of the word "flag" began to prevail, or at least to enter common usage, and in the modern Germanic languages, the two words often stand as synonyms. German has "Fahne," Low German has "Fahn," Dutch has "vaan," Swedish has "fana," Danish and Norwegian have "fane," Icelandic "fáninn." I did not find a modern form of the word in Frisian, as its form has apparently died out, and it now just uses a form of "flag." Interestingly, the German word "Fahne" (all German nouns are capitalized) is more common in usage for ''flag," than their word "Flagge." Also, an interesting little note, the German word "Fahne," pronounced like "fawn-eh," also is used in every day speech for someone who has the smell of alcohol on their breath; thus, "Er hat eine Fahne," means "He's been drinking rather heavily," or bluntly, "He reeks of booze."

A Diversionary Crisis, Part Two

I remember Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," a former Republican congressman, saying that during George W. Bush's term in office, Republicans "spent money like drunken sailors." I'm sure he took some heat for that comment from both Republicans and drunken sailors. I like Joe Scarborough, and while I don't always agree with him, I respect him. Unlike some Republicans, he doesn't suffer from the "George W. who?" question, as some GOP members do, in an effort to distance themselves from the Bush presidency, and from the responsibility for some, not all, of the problems we are now facing. Democrats also have their fingers in part of the run up to the collapse in 2008, just not quite as much.

Shortly after Barack Obama took office, Republican members of Congress, much diminished in numbers by the results of the previous two elections, were able, with the help of President Obama, to turn one of their negatives, "debt," into one of their selling points. The President's push for health care, while admirable, but also inadequate in several ways, gave Republicans a chance for a comeback,** and they took the ball and ran with it. The President's poll numbers tumbled; likewise for Democrats in Congress. The GOP began to emphasize "debt," and while the Congressional Budget Office* said the new health care law would not add debt, but even possibly reduce government debt, the public remained skeptical. After being pilloried for "spending like drunken sailors," Republicans decided to regain the issue of fighting government debt. The "Tea Party" movement, largely centered in the GOP, held rallies around the country with supporters waving tea bags and carrying signs denouncing Obama and Democrats as spendthrifts, as well as some...ah... other names. The Republicans made headway in turning the debt issue back in their favor, and some Americans seemed to suffer from collective amnesia about the "Republicans spending like drunken sailors." Incredibly the Republicans were able to sort of hit the "reset" button, and the tremendous government debt was laid at the feet of President Obama, in spite of the previous eight years of Republican rule, with two wars unpaid for, homeland security unpaid for, tax cuts (largely favoring the very rich) unpaid for, and a Medicare prescription drug benefit unpaid for. Lost in all of this, both Obama's health care reform and the GOP's debt targeting, was the economy and JOBS! I don't know of a reputable economist who doesn't essentially say, "You can't cut the debt big time, until people have jobs and the economy is back on firmer footing." With unemployment hovering around 9% for quite some time, jobless people collect benefits, and they are not paying taxes. It's a double whammy!

* Interestingly, one of the things Republicans "claimed" they didn't like in the Democrats' health care reform, the insurance exchange, they now champion in Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal. On the other hand, Democrats liked the idea when they proposed it, but now scoff at Ryan's use of it. You don't think.....nah....politics has something to do with this, do you? Nah, couldn't be.

** The Congressional Budget Office, also known by its initials "CBO," is a non-partisan office that crunches and analyses numbers for Congress.

WORD HISTORY:
Control-This is another compound word, so I will deal each part separately. "Cont" traces back to Indo European "kom/ghem," which had the idea of "beside, near, together." This then gave Indo European "kom-tr(a)," with the notion of "together" being expanded to mean, "opposite;" that is, if you and I are standing together, we are opposite of one another. This gave Latin "contra," but now more with the meaning "opposite one another, as in opponents; against, a counter to something else," as in, "The defense "countered" the other team's quarterback by rushing him." The "rol" part traces back to Indo European "ret(h)," which meant "run, roll." A variant form, "rot-a," with a long "o" sound, gave Latin "rota," with the meaning "wheel." This then gave Latin "rotula" and then "rotulus," meaning "small wheel." "Contra" and "rotulus" were then combined into "contrarotulus," which was a small wheel used to check one account against another in times long ago, as it had duplicate account information on it to "counter, check, verify" the other set of information by simply rotating the wheel (yes, "rotate" is from "rota"), rather than having to look back and forth over other methods of record keeping, like parchment. Old French inherited a form of the word from Latin as "contrerole." The Norman dialect of French took the term as "contreroller" to England where it was borrowed into English in the late 1200s or early 1300s as "conterolle," and a verb form "controllen," meaning "to validate, to verify, to check for authenticity, to regulate." The development of the further meaning "have power over" is easy to understand. German too borrowed the word, as "kontrollieren," with essentially the same meaning, but perhaps with more emphasis on the "to check, to evaluate," meaning. German also has a form of "rota," which is "Rad," which means "wheel," and some sources say it came from a Germanic source tracing back to Indo European, others say it was borrowed form Latin, and still others leave the ultimate origin as unknown. I'm inclined to believe German got the word from Latin, as it is not common in the other Germanic languages, including English, even more especially, Old English, a time when the vocabularies of the various Germanic dialects were much closer.

A Diversionary Crisis, Part One

How soon we forget. Sometimes it's a good thing to take a look back at events of the not too distant past so we jar our memories, and then hopefully our common sense, back into place.

In March 2008, large investment bank "Bear-Stearns" teetered on the brink of insolvency, largely as a result of the then developing mortgage and foreclosure crisis. Bear-Stearns could not get loans from other banks, as confidence in the old bank (the bank dated from the early 1920s) went out the window, and financial markets were shaky over the whole situation. The Federal Reserve (aka, "the Fed") stepped in and through a complex deal, including bailout money, orchestrated a deal whereby Bear-Stearns was acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase.* Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed's decision to intervene was made in order to prevent a spill over into the rest of the economy if Bear-Stearns went down. The "free marketers" nearly had a collective stroke, as this whole process went against their vaunted principles of "free market capitalism;" known to some of us as "dog-eat-dog capitalism." I also explain the concept as, "We can do ANYTHING to the public, and we mean ANYTHING, and they can't do a damn thing to us. We don't a give a good damn about people, only about money!" I actually think the public should return the "favor," and not a give a good damn about these miserable, insatiable merchants of greed.**

The Fed intervention didn't come close to righting the miserable shape of the American financial system, but it calmed things briefly. A few months later, it became more and more evident the American banking system, and, therefore, the entire American economy (and the world's, for that matter), was on the ropes, and that the predicament with Bear-Stearns had not been an isolated incident. We waited for the other shoe to fall. Lehman Brothers, another large investment bank dating to the mid 1800s (yes, 1800s!), was next to suffer the consequences of irresponsible capitalism. After serious declines in its stock price and announced layoffs of personnel, clients abandoned the bank in droves, withdrawing their money and assets almost instantly. The bank announced it would file for bankruptcy, and the DOW dropped 500 points in one day, with further staggering losses to follow. The Fed did not intervene, thus giving the "free marketers" their wish. With Lehman's collapse, the situation became so serious, the Bush administration, that bulwark of "free market capitalism," having oft essentially said to American economic problems, "we can't do anything about anything, because its a free market economy," announced, along with the support of the Fed, that they needed a special fund of $700 billion (with a "b") to shore up the financial system or that the country faced a new DEPRESSION, perhaps worse than the one dubbed "the Great Depression." With that name taken, what the hell would we call it?

Folks, having principles is one thing, but carrying principles to an extreme is lunacy. Driving off a cliff doesn't make you pure, it makes you NUTS, and then DEAD!

Part Two to follow, about debt.

* The actual deal is not the subject of this article, but for those interested, there has been plenty written about the subject, and you should have no trouble finding the details of the acquisition.

** The basic argument by the "free marketers" is, capitalists take risks hoping to make a profit on something. If that risk blows up on them, they should suffer the consequences, and government should do nothing to help them out. I would dare say, most of us probably agree with that whole concept "on paper." The problem is, these banks had become so big (remember "too big to fail?"), the failure of any one of them posed a threat to the entire economy and people's livelihoods. Further, suspicions were then rising that Bear-Stearns was not the only big bank in serious trouble.

WORD HISTORY:
Market-This word "may" trace back to Etruscan, a language primarily once spoken in central and northern Italy. Etruscan is not Indo European, or at least, linguists have not thus far connected it to Indo European. The modern Italian region of "Tuscany" is named after the Etruscans. Latin, an Indo European language related to English further down the family tree, obviously came into much contact with Etruscan in Italy, where "some" believe Latin picked up what would be the ancestor of "market," but not all agree with that hypothesis, and these people just feel the origin of the word is unknown. Whatever the case, Latin had "merx," which meant, "things for sale, wares." This spawned Latin "mercatus," which meant "trade, sale of wares; thus, "market." Now we enter another uncertain area, as some believe English acquired "market" from Old French "marchiet," which was "market" in northern French dialect. Old French had inherited, so to speak, the basic form of the word from Latin, as French is a Latin-based language. Another point of view is that English and other Germanic languages acquired the word directly from Latin, as the result of trade with the Romans, or rather their descendants in northern Italy, as apparently the word only shows up in Germanic AFTER the Roman Empire. To be quite honest, it could have come into the Germanic languages via both sources, with some acquiring it from Old French (I lean toward this for English) and others from the Latin dialects of northern Italy. The word shows up in English during the 1100s with the meaning, "a time and place set for buying and selling," with the word continuing when actual buildings were later erected for the sale of goods. The verb form came from the noun during the 1200s. German and Dutch have "Markt, although the Dutch word is spelled with a small case "m." Swedish has "marknad;" Icelandic has "markathi;" Danish and Norwegian have "marked;" Frisian has "merk."