Heroes Against Hitler (Overview)

On July 20, 1944 the German Resistance nearly killed Adolf Hitler at his military headquarters near the city of Rastenburg, in the province of East Prussia in (then) northeastern Germany. After the war, East Prussia was divided between Poland and the U.S.S.R. In honor of those who attempted to rid the world of "the nutcase in chief," I'm republishing this article, which I first published on October 31, 2011 as part of a series "Heroes Against Hitler."  

"Heroes Against Hitler" Part One/"Overview"

In Hitler's Germany resistance to the government and to the Nazi Party was not easily accomplished, especially on an organized basis. A person confiding anti-Nazi feelings to anyone, even to a family member, could bring about their own arrest and imprisonment in a concentration camp, or even their own execution. The Gestapo (the secret police) had agents throughout society, and Nazi supporters were apt to report people of anti-Nazi sentiment to the police. Even citizens less than thrilled with the Nazis might report others for "inappropriate" remarks, simply out of fear of guilt by association. Much of the more serious resistance to Hitler came from within the ranks of the army. One reason for this was the army was such a respected institution in German society, even Hitler had to tread lightly where it was concerned, and it was several years into his rule before he really felt confident enough to try to dominate the army.*

With army leaders thus having a bit more freedom of expression than other segments of society, this provided a kernel of resistance to the Nazis. Further, many of the army's officers, especially the higher ranks, came from some part of the German nobility, a group never collectively quite as supportive of Hitler, with some members actually being hostile to the Nazis.** Initially though, the army was supportive of Hitler due to his desire to expand the army and to restore Germany's lost territories and position in Europe; however, as Hitler's policies became increasingly aggressive, many in the upper levels of the army began to worry that he would get Germany into a war with Britain and France, a war, they believed, Germany would lose. This was especially true over Czechoslovakia, but when Hitler came away with a settlement over the German areas of the little nation, without a war, the resistance within the army diminished. Other members of the army, and of the armed forces intelligence service, known as the "Abwehr," contained not only men concerned about Hitler getting Germany into a war, but these men were really more "anti-Nazis" in general; and thus they were opposed to the regime, including to its anti-Jewish policies.

Hitler's successes early in the war kept a lid on resistance, but the failure to capture Moscow in 1941, and most certainly the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43, energized the German resistance, as many desperately wanted to save Germany from total defeat and annihilation as a matter of patriotism and morality.*** Various plans were developed, including one in 1943, where a bomb, disguised as a bottle of liquor in a box, was carried aboard Hitler's plane in Russia. The bomb failed to explode, seemingly because of the cold temperature in the cargo hold, and the supreme nutcase lived to bring death and destruction to millions more. Of course, the most famous attempt on Hitler's life came on July 20, 1944. That day Colonel Graf (Count) Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg attended a meeting at Hitler's military headquarters in a heavily forested area of East Prussia in northeastern Germany. Stauffenberg carried two bombs in his briefcase, but he was only able to activate one of the bombs due to time constraints and fear of discovery. Upon entering the meeting, Stauffenberg placed the briefcase beneath the conference table and told officers nearby he had a telephone call to make and that he would return shortly. One of the officers found the briefcase was in his way as he leaned over to see the maps spread out on the table. He moved the briefcase to the opposite side of the heavy table support; that is, AWAY from Hitler, who was not far away. This action undoubtedly saved Hitler's life, as the force of the explosion went in the opposite direction from the sturdy table support.

Next I'll do a little biography of some of the key members of the German resistance to Hitler. These men deserve our respect, as they tried to get that son-of-a-bitch, and they gave their lives in that effort. Understand, these men were NOT perfect and it took some of them quite some time to open their eyes to the evil doings of Hitler and the Nazi regime.

* The 1934 purge of the Storm Troopers by Hitler was largely (but not exclusively) an attempt to placate the army, which was uneasy over a possible takeover of the army by the Nazi Storm Trooper organization (commonly called the "SA," for "Sturmabteilung").

** There were Nazi Party members and supporters from the nobility, but I'm saying the overall support was less than from many other groups or segments in German society.

*** By this time there was general knowledge among many in the military of crimes committed in other countries, especially in the Soviet Union, against civilians, including Jews; thus many in the resistance not only wanted to save Germany from catastrophic defeat, but they also wanted to put a halt to the atrocities and to restore Germany's honor. (Note: Initially, removing Hitler in some way can be seen as the main basic objective, but as the military leaders learned of numerous atrocities, the realization developed that not only was it important to eliminate Hitler, but it was necessary to remove other Nazi leaders too; that is, that the government had to be taken over. Further, many of the plotters undoubtedly feared that the deteriorating war against the Soviet Union could bring communist domination of Germany and much of Europe, if the Russians weren't soon held back.)  

WORD HISTORY:
Boat-This word goes back to Indo European "bheid," which meant "to split," which by extension had the notion of "split wood into planks to make something, woodworking." This gave Old Germanic "bait(an)," which apparently meant "water going vessel made from planks." Now, it is "possible" this only remained, or took this semantic course, in North Germanic, and then it was borrowed into Old English,^ a West Germanic language, as apparently the other West Germanic languages, and even Old French, borrowed forms of "boat" from English, or perhaps from Old Norse; at least in some cases, with French, especially, being a likely candidate, as Old Norse speaking raiders, often called "Northmen," frequently landed along the coast of what is now France, eventually settling in one particular area thereafter named for them, "Normandy." Anyway, Old English had 'bat," with a long "a," with the meaning "boat." This then became "boot" with a long "o" sound, and then "bot," (also long "o") before the modern spelling. Low German "Boot" (long "o" sound) was likely borrowed from English (then it was borrowed by High German as modern "Boot," long 'o'), plus Dutch "boot" was probably borrowed from English. West Frisian has "boat," but this may have the same basic history as the English word, not because of the spelling, although Frisian is the closest living relative of English, along with some Low German dialects, but rather, like English, Frisian had much contact with Old Norse and the word likely came to Frisian by way of Old Norse. Forms of the word are common in the North Germanic languages, all directly from their Old Norse ancestor: Icelandic has "bátur," Norwegian has "båt," Swedish has "båt," and Danish has "båd."

^ Norse raiders harassed the English coast, even settling in some areas, and providing English with a reinforcing shot of Germanic vocabulary, although from the North Germanic branch. Old Norse had "beit," which meant "boat," an important word for a seafaring people. The Frisians also had much contact with Old Norse.

Heroes Against Hitler, Part One, Overview

This was first published 10/31/11


"Heroes Against Hitler" Part One/"Overview"

In Hitler's Germany resistance to the government and to the Nazi Party was not easily accomplished, especially on an organized basis. A person confiding anti-Nazi feelings to anyone, even to a family member, could bring about their arrest, imprisonment in a concentration camp, and even death. The Gestapo (the secret police) had agents throughout society, and Nazi supporters were apt to report people of anti-Nazi sentiment to the police. Even citizens less than thrilled with the Nazis might report others for "inappropriate" remarks, simply out of fear of guilt by association. Much of the resistance to Hitler came from within the ranks of the army. One reason for this was, the army was such a respected institution in German society, even Hitler had to tread lightly where it was concerned, and it was several years into his rule before he really felt confident enough to try to dominate the army.*

With army leaders thus having a bit more freedom of expression than other segments of society, this provided a kernel of resistance to the Nazis. Further, many of the army's officers, especially the higher ranks, came from some part of the German nobility, a group never collectively quite as supportive of Hitler, with some members actually being hostile to the Nazis.** Initially though, the army was supportive of Hitler due to his desire to expand the army and restore Germany's position in Europe; however, as Hitler's policies became increasingly aggressive, many in the upper levels of the army began to worry that he would get Germany into a war with Britain and France, a war, they believed, it would lose. This was especially true over Czechoslovakia, but when Hitler came away with a settlement over the German areas of the little nation, without a war, the resistance within the army diminished. Other members of the army, and of the armed forces intelligence service, known as the "Abwehr," contained not only men concerned about Hitler getting Germany into a war, but these men were really more "anti-Nazis," in general; and thus they were opposed to the regime, including its anti-Jewish policies.

Hitler's successes early in the war kept a lid on resistance, but the failure to capture Moscow in 1941, and most certainly the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43, energized the German resistance, as many desperately wanted to save Germany from total defeat and annihilation as a matter of patriotism and morality.*** Various plans were developed, including one in 1943 where a bomb, disguised as a bottle of liquor in a box, was carried aboard Hitler's plane in Russia. The bomb failed to explode, seemingly because of the cold temperature in the cargo hold, and the supreme nutcase lived to bring death and destruction to millions more. Of course, the most famous attempt on Hitler's life came on July 20, 1944. That day Colonel Graf (Count) Schenk von Stauffenberg attended a meeting at Hitler's military headquarters in a heavily forested area of East Prussia in northeastern Germany. Stauffenberg carried two bombs in his briefcase, but he was only able to activate one of the bombs due to time constraints and fear of discovery. Upon entering the meeting, Stauffenberg placed the briefcase underneath the conference table and told officers nearby he had a telephone call to make and would return shortly. One of the officers found the briefcase was in his way as he leaned over to see the maps spread out on the table. He moved the briefcase to the opposite side of the heavy table support; that is, AWAY from Hitler, who was not far away. This action undoubtedly saved Hitler's life, as the force of the explosion went in the opposite direction from the table support.

Next I'll do a little biography of some of the key members of the German resistance to Hitler. These men deserve our utmost respect, as they tried to get that son-of-a-bitch, and they gave their lives in that effort.

* The 1934 purge of the Stormtroopers by Hitler was largely (but not exclusively) an attempt to placate the army, which was uneasy over a possible takeover of the army by the Nazi Stormtrooper organization (commonly called the "SA," for "Sturmabteilung").

** There were Nazi Party members and supporters from the nobility, but I'm saying the overall support was less than from many other groups in German society.

*** By this time there was general knowledge among many in the military of crimes committed in other countries, especially in the Soviet Union, against civilians, including Jews; thus many in the resistance not only wanted to save Germany from catastrophic defeat, but also wanted to restore its honor. (Note: Initially, removing Hitler in some way can be seen as the main basic objective, but as the military leaders learned of numerous atrocities, the realization developed that not only was it important to eliminate Hitler, but it was necessary to remove other Nazi leaders too; that is, that the government had to be taken over. Further, many of the plotters undoubtedly feared that the deteriorating war against the Soviet Union could bring communist domination of Germany and much of Europe, if the Russians weren't soon held back.)  

WORD HISTORY:
Boat-This word goes back to Indo European "bheid," which meant "to split," which by extension had the notion of "split wood into planks to make something, woodworking." This gave Old Germanic "bait(an)," which apparently meant "water going vessel made from planks." Now, it is "possible" this only remained, or took this semantic course, in North Germanic, and then was borrowed into Old English,^ a West Germanic language, as apparently the other West Germanic languages, and even Old French, borrowed forms of "boat" from English, although French may have borrowed the word from Old Norse, as Norse raiders, called "Northmen," frequently landed along the coast of what is now France, eventually settling in one particular area now named after them, "Normandy." Anyway, Old English had 'bat," with a long "a," with the meaning "boat." This then became "boot" with a long "o" sound, and then "bot," (also long "o") before the modern spelling. German and Low German "Boot" (long "o" sound), plus Dutch "boot" were borrowed from English. West Frisian has "boat," but this may have the same basic history as the English word, not because of the spelling, although Frisian is the closest living relative of English, along with some Low German dialects, but rather, like English, Frisian had much contact with Old Norse. Forms of the word are common in the North Germanic languages: Icelandic has "bátur," Norwegian has "båt," Swedish has "båt," and Danish has "båd."

^ Norse raiders harassed the English coast, even settling in some areas, and providing English with a reinforcing shot of Germanic vocabulary, although from the North Germanic branch. Old Norse had "beit," which meant "boat," an important word for a seafaring people. The Frisians also had much contact with Old Norse.

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Himmler

"Heinrich Himmler"

Himmler was born in Munich (German: "München"), in the German state of Bavaria. He was only taken into the military near the end of World War One; thus his military career was very limited, something he "may" have tried to atone for later in his leadership role in the Nazi Party. After joining the Nazis, he became a "storm trooper," the organization being called the "Sturmabteilung" (Storm or Assault Detachment), or simply "SA," for short. A special section of the SA was charged with providing Hitler and Nazi leaders with protection at rallies. It was relatively small and was called the "Schutzstaffel" (Defense Staff or Section), or "SS," for short, and Himmler became a member and officer of the special force. Around this time Himmler became a chicken farmer to help earn a living. Himmler eventually became the commander of the "SS," a few years before Hitler took power, when it was still a part of the "SA," but even then he changed the uniforms from the typical "brown shirt" uniforms of the stormtroopers, to a black uniform. About a year and a half after becoming chancellor, Hitler purged the "SA" by having many of its leaders executed or imprisoned. To do so, he used the "SS" to carry out the killings and arrests; after which, the "SS" became a separate organization in its own right, with Himmler in charge. Within a few years, Hitler gave control of the German police to Himmler, too, although he had already gotten control of the "Gestapo" (Secret State Police), which had developed in the German state of Prussia by Göring.

Himmler was heavily involved in the study of the ancient Germanic tribe rituals and medieval Germany, as well as his belief in the "racial" superiority of the "Aryan," and especially the "Nordic" element of the Indo European peoples. As such, there was a lot of paganism and genetics involved in Himmler's "SS," as well as mysticism and the occult. You may have seen old film footage of Nazi parades with personnel dressed in the garb of knights and such, and this was all part of this retreat to the distant, distant past. Liking history is one thing, but taking it to the level of Himmler and the Nazis was another matter entirely. Much of it was pretty wacky stuff, in my opinion, but that's what can happen when you try to take people back to times long since gone, as fascism, in its various guises, attempted to do. The great leaders of history have led people forward, not backward, at least not back to long ago centuries.

The Nazis mirrored the German government in organization; that is, the party had corresponding positions and departments to the German government, which, in theory at least, was separate from the Nazi Party, although to me, the aim was to gradually blend the two together to completely Nazify every aspect of German life. It is important to remember, the German Army maintained a certain independence of the Nazis until Paul von Hindenburg, the old field marshal and President of Germany (and thus the supreme military commander) died in August 1934. At that time, Hitler combined his position as chancellor with that of the presidency, and had army members swear an oath to him PERSONALLY, not to Germany!!! As part of the "mirroring" of traditional German government and institutions, Himmler set up a small, at first, military element of the SS, which became the Waffen SS, or "armed SS." This was an SS counterpart to the German Army.* He set rigid standards for this super elite force, although during the war, the rigorous standards declined dramatically, but the Waffen SS expanded tremendously, with about one million men going through its ranks, including notable numbers of Albanian and Bosnian Muslims, Frenchmen, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Dutchmen, Flemings, Walloons,** Estonians, Latvians, Italians, Russians, and Indians. The military quality of the various Waffen SS units varied considerably, but there is no question that the core units were exceptional, although it must be remembered that many an atrocity can be traced to these units too. Fanatical Nazi ideology together with virulent anti-semitism and anti-communism, combined to provide the foundation for no restraint murder for some Waffen SS members.

Himmler bears much responsibility for the terror implemented by his SS. The guards for the concentration camps and the execution units (the "Einsatzgruppen") that followed in the wake of the German military, to murder Jews, communists, intellectuals, and any other potential opponents, came from the SS. The symbol of the SS was a "death's head," that should tell you something right there!***

After the failed attempt against Hitler's life,**** centered in the German Wehrmacht, Hitler trusted no one outside of his Nazi faithful. He put Himmler in charge of the German Replacement Army ("Ersatz Heer"), where many of the conspirators had held positions. Later still, with the collapse of the German front in Poland in January/February 1945, Hitler put Himmler in command of the army group trying to halt the Soviet offensive, thus giving Himmler a chance to fulfil his early dreams of commanding military forces. It was a disaster! The inexperienced Himmler made matters worse, and the Soviets came to within about 40 miles or so of Berlin, before they halted from exhaustion, lack of supplies, and stiffening German resistance. Himmler was replaced.

As the end of the Nazi Reich approached, Himmler began to plan to save his own skin, as if such a mass murderer could make a deal with ANY respectable person or group. He tried to use Jews remaining in SS custody as a bargaining chip, but the Allies were not interested in deal making with this despicable son-of-a-bitch. Shortly before committing suicide, Hitler was informed of Himmler's attempts to negotiate a peace deal through neutral Sweden. Hitler went ballistic, and ordered that Himmler be arrested and then executed immediately, but the order was never carried out. Himmler shaved off his moustache, put a patch over his eye, put on the uniform of a dead policeman, and carried phony identification papers. He was picked up by the British in northern Germany, who did not know he was Himmler at first, but he bit into a capsule of poison after being recognized and while being examined. If there was a rival to Hitler for nuttiness and nastiness, it was Heinrich Himmler.

* The German Airforce, the Luftwaffe, was heavily influenced by the Nazis early on, as Göring was made its commander-in-chief, and it owed its expansion (against the provisions of the Versailles Treaty) to Hitler and the Nazis. The German Navy ("Kriegsmarine") was more traditional, but also owed its gradual expansion to Hitler. Remember, for men rising through the ranks in all branches of the military because of this, they had to feel a major degree of loyalty to Hitler for their newly elevated positions, only cementing them more closely to the regime.

** Walloons are from the French speaking part of Belgium, and Flemings are from the Flanders part of Belgium, where the Germanic (not German) language there, once classified as a separate Flemish language, has in more recent times been classified by linguists as a dialect of Dutch. Being Germanic, it is closely related to English.

*** For information on Nazi terror and murder, please check out this link, it is extraordinary: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holo.html

**** The conspirators had hoped to kill all of the top Nazi leadership; Hitler, Göring and Himmler, but the three were rarely together to provide such an opportunity.

WORD HISTORY:
Fly-This is the noun form, most commonly used for the "insect." It goes back to Old Germanic "fleugjon" ("flying insect"), which was derived from the Old Germanic verb form "fleuganan,"^ which meant "to fly." This had come from Indo European "pleu," which meant "to flow," as the "p" sound had become "f" in the Old Germanic spinoff. The Germanic noun gave Old English "fleoge," which at first seems to have applied to flying insects in general, but gradually became more specific to those pesky little critters that love to participate in picnics and barbecues. Later in English it became "flie," before the modern spelling, and the plural ended in "n," before the gradual change to "s." The idea of "wings flapping" gave rise in the 1800s to the flaps on tents being called a "fly," which shortly thereafter came to be applied to clothing, more specifically to pants, a term still in use today. Common throughout the close relatives of English, the other Germanic languages: German has "Fliege," Low German Saxon has "Fleeg," some Low German dialects have "Fläje," Dutch has vlieg, Swedish has fluga, Danish and Norwegian have "flue" and Icelandic has "fljúga."

^ For the history of the verb form, see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/10/german-leaders-of-nazi-erahess.html

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 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 Eleven

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-1
"A Beer Hall in Munich; the Beer Hall Putsch"

For those interested in more detail, and the various participants, there are lots of books and articles about this famous attempt to bring Hitler to power. Here are just the basics:

Hitler had courted the support of General Erich Ludendorff, the former German military leader during the Great War (later called World War One), who was firmly positioned on the far right of the political spectrum. In November 1923, Hitler and the other Nazi leaders, along with Ludendorff, decided to overthrow the Bavarian state government, and thus begin a series of government takeovers that would culminate in the takeover of the national government in Berlin. The whole thing was patterned after Mussolini's "March on Rome," which had occurred about a year earlier.*

Hitler's Nazi Party was headquartered in Munich, where beer halls, large and small, were often used for political speeches and meetings. One of the larger beer halls was the "Bürgerbräukeller," which could accommodate several thousand people. In November 1923, one of the Bavarian state leaders was giving a speech at the beer hall in the evening. Hitler and his inner circle, along with several hundred armed Nazi Stormtroopers,** charged into the hall and proclaimed that a revolution had begun. The Bavarian police and the German army, in spite of Ludendorff, remained loyal to the government. Without the support of either, especially the army, the "Putsch" was doomed. The next day, in an effort to revive the "revolution," Ludendorff and perhaps as many as 2000 Nazis, including Hitler and the other leading Nazis, marched through Munich, where a group of soldiers and armed police blocked their passage. There was firing from both sides and sixteen Nazis lay dead or dying, as well as some soldiers and police. Hitler fled, but Ludendorff continued to march forward through the gunfire, as no one in the government forces chose to fire on the general. Hermann Göring was seriously wounded in the upper leg, but managed to escape.*** Hitler was later arrested and was put on trial for treason.

Next..."Trial and Punishment Brings Fame"

* Thousands of Mussolini's Fascists, in an effort to show their strength, converged upon Rome from all over Italy during about a one week period in October 1922. At the end of the one week, the King of Italy, fearful of a bloody civil war, asked that Mussolini form a new government. The King, Vittorio Emanuele III (Victor Emmanuel), was the head of state, and remained as such, although docilely, throughout Mussolini's more than 20 years in power. It was only Italy's miserable performance in World War Two and war weariness by the Italian public that finally moved him to action, and he eventually dismissed Mussolini in late July 1943.

** The Nazi paramilitary force was called the "Sturmabteilung," or "SA," for short. Like its close relative, English "storm," German "Sturm" also means "storm in the sense of  'assault,' " besides the violent weather event. "Abteilung," in the military sense means "detachment," and depending upon usage, even "battalion." The SA is usually referred to as "Storm Troopers" in English, and even "Brownshirts," after their brown uniform apparel.

*** Göring's treatment with morphine for the severe pain led him on an intermittent, but life long, dependence on the drug.

WORD HISTORY:
Putsch-It is used in English primarily in reference to Hitler's failed "Putsch" in Munich. It is another word for "coup;" that is, an attempt to overthrow a government. It goes back to the 1400s and Swiss German dialect "bütsch" or "pütsch," which meant "hit, shove," and it seems to just have developed as an imitative word. That means humans try to put certain sounds or actions into words. "Crash" may well be one of those words, too. The dialect word spread throughout German, but without the umlaut; that is, the two little dots over the "u." It came into use in English during the 1920s, but gained usage later, as stories and articles about Hitler were common place during and since World War Two.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Ten

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-1
"Hitler & The Nazis March Toward Power"

Benito Mussolini is important to Hitler's rise simply because his Italian Fascist Party, which was very similar to the German Nazi Party, came to power in Italy in the early 1920s. Mussolini had been a member of the Socialist Party earlier in his life, but he began to alter his thinking on socialist concepts, moving toward a more "collectivist" idea of people from all walks of life having to join together for the good of the "state;" that is, the nation. So, nationalism trumps individual rights and self interest. In the post-World War One era, this basic concept was a growing view among many people in various parts of the world. The Bolshevik take over in Russia sent shock waves throughout Europe. Similar communist movements quickly developed in many countries, including Italy and Germany, scaring the absolute hell out of the upper classes, industrialists, and many middle class people. In those times, many of these people were willing to accept left-leaning programs to keep far more radical ideas from taking hold, especially things like confiscation of private property and major forced restructuring of societal wealth. In Italy, Mussolini and his paramilitary forces came to be seen by middle and upper class people as their defenders against the Communists, even though there were socialist-like elements in their program. These ideas and the appeal to Italian nationalism brought many working class and lower class people into the fold, as nationalism trumped self-interest.*

In Germany, the Nazi Party gained ground with the upper classes and business people, who also began to see the Nazis as a counter-balance to the communists. Gradually these people began to give money to the Nazis. This helped Hitler to promote the movement, and also to take on even more paramilitary forces to combat German Communist Party paramilitaries in the streets of German cities. Nazi leaders, like Hermann Göring, only reinforced the notion to middle and upper class people that the Nazis were a party of heroes who would stand up to the Communists.** This notion would only grow stronger.

Next..."A Beer Hall in Munich; the Beer Hall Putsch"

*Once in power, Mussolini naturally began to implement policies according to his beliefs, implementing "corporatism," as it was called, but it is a subject beyond these articles. The main thing to remember is, Italian fascism did provide a certain blueprint for fascist groups in other countries, including Germany and Austria, where a Nazi movement also took hold. ("Corporatism" was/is the collective organization of segments of society that are then "managed" by the state.)  

**Göring was a genuine hero as a pilot in World War One. He was highly decorated, and in fact, he became the commander of the same unit of the famous Baron von Richthofen, popularly known as "The Red Baron" ("der Rote Baron," in German), not long after the Baron's death. His name was quite familiar to the German public. There's no question that Göring's joining the Nazi Party gave it a certain credibility.

WORD HISTORY:
Marshal (mare + shalk) Part Two-The word "shalk," obviously not a word in common modern English usage, goes back to Old Germanic "skalkaz," which meant "servant." Indo European likely provided the root for this word, but what that root was, I do not know. The Old Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "scealc," also meaning "servant," and which later became "shalk." Now, some people believe Germanic already had the compound which has become modern "marshal," which is simply the combination of "mare" + "shalk;" and which originally meant "a servant who tended horses, a groom." It "seems," however, that while English had the two component words, it hadn't put them together into a word. If there was such an Old English word, it apparently died out. Meanwhile on the Continent, Old High German had put the two words together as "marahscale," with the general meaning of "servant who tended horses," and this is one of the reasons some believe Germanic already had the compound, BUT Old High German essentially developed AFTER the dialects that became English had left the mainland. Old Saxon, very closely related to Old English,  also had a compound, "marahscalc." Old Saxon was the Germanic dialect of the Saxons who remained in what is now northern Germany, after a large number of their kin migrated to Britain and helped to found England. Most believe "marshal" came to English via the French dialect brought to England by the Normans when they invaded, and then ruled, England, which had "marescal." This dialect had gotten the word from Old French, "marescal," which had inherited the basic word from Latin "mariscalus," which had borrowed the word from Frankish (a Germanic dialect) "mahrskalk/marhskalk." It had come to mean more than just "horse servant" in Latin and its offspring Old French. Horses were extremely important, and the word came to be applied to a man "in charge" of horse care; a "commander" of sorts. This eventually came to be extended to also mean "a military commander," a meaning also carried to England by the Normans. The word begins to show up in English in the 1200s. Of course later on, it came to be used as "field marshal," and, especially in America, as "a leading law enforcement officer." The word also gained a verb form in the 1500s, as in "we will marshal our forces;" that is, "our forces will be commanded to a particular location and be readied for battle."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Nine

"The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/A
"Hitler The Political Upstart"

The leadership of the German Workers Party liked Hitler and he quickly became one of its leaders. A few months later the name of the party was changed to the "National Socialist German Workers Party" (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) in hopes of attracting more members. The party tended to meet in beer halls in the Munich area, and Hitler began giving speeches at these meetings; something at which he excelled, and he eventually became the major speaker for the party at events. The Treaty of Versailles, highly unpopular in Germany, gave Hitler and the party new material to use against political opponents, and use it they did. Membership increased. By October 1922, Benito Mussolini became premier of Italy. Mussolini's Italian Fascist Party was strikingly similar to the now developing Nazi Party of Germany.* This gave Hitler and the Nazis hope that they too could come to power in Germany. The reparation payments and the subsequent occupation of the German industrial region of the Ruhr** gave more ammunition to right wing extremism in Germany, and the Nazi membership continued to climb, escalating from its few dozen early on, to perhaps somewhere between fifteen and twenty thousand, but still far from one of the major political parties.

Next..."Hitler & The Nazis March Toward Power"

* Nazi is simply an abbreviation of the "Nationalsozialistische" part of the party name, and the common terminology called members either "National Socialists," or "Nazis," as spitting out the whole party name every time could take the better part of an hour.

** For more on the Ruhr occupation, see:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/05/german-question-part-ninety-nine.html

and

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/05/german-question-part-one-hundred.html

 

WORD HISTORY:
Marshal (mare + shalk)-This word's meaning has changed considerably over the years, making it very interesting, and many of you will be surprised. It is a compound, so I'll deal with its two parts separately. The first part, "mar," is actually "mare," which seems to trace back to Indo European "markh(o)," although some sources believe it may have been borrowed into Indo European, or at least some dialects, from Asiatic languages, but its basic meaning was simply "horse," and was not gender specific; however, Old Germanic had "markaz," which meant "female horse." The Germanic dialects that became Old English gave Old English "miere," also "female horse," but interestingly the variant "mearh" meant "male horse." Later the word was altered to mare/mere," before settling on "mare." There are forms in other Germanic languages, and secondary meanings developed, often in derogatory form about "women," at times replacing the original meaning of "female horse." German has "Mähre," which is now archaic for "mare, female horse," having been replaced in modern times by "Stute." The German term came to be used for "old horse," as a secondary meaning, which then came to be applied, "unflatteringly," to older women. Low German Saxon has "Mähr," and it now means "an old horse." West Frisian has "merje," meaning "mare." Danish has "mær," which lost the "female horse" meaning, but not the "female" aspect, as it means "a loose woman, " and also "a woman difficult to get along with." Dutch has "merrie, "= "mare." Swedish has "märr"="mare." Icelandic has "meri"="mare." Norwegian has "merr"="mare," but also used in a vulgar way toward women.
The second part, "shal," in the next article.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Eight

"The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part One/E
"Hitler Finds a Political Party"

A number of groups and parties of many political persuasions arose with the defeat of the Kaiser's Germany, and with the change to a far more democratic form of governance. One of these parties began in Munich after the war and was called the German Workers Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei). It was a right wing party favoring strong German nationalism and "pan-Germanism,* as well as those who believed in the "stab in the back"** stories then circulating around the country. The "worker" part of the party name gave it a "socialist" tilt, mainly anti-capitalist, but also anti-Bolshevik. There were also anti-Jewish feelings espoused, as Jews were not seen as Germans by at least some elements of society. Apparently the party membership was quite small, perhaps fifty or less.

Hitler returned to Munich and chose to remain in the army after the war, as this was before the Versailles Treaty limited the size of German military forces. Hitler was part of a special unit of the army which quite literally spied on political groups. He was eventually sent to "spy" on the German Workers Party. He liked what he saw and heard, so he left the army and joined this new political party.

Next...."Hitler the Political Upstart"

* Pan Germanism supporters essentially wanted ALL Germans, regardless of their present country, to be united into one strong nation. It was an idea very much promoted by Hitler and the Nazis later on.

** The "stab in the back" legend, as it is usually called, was promoted by right wing army officers and politicians who claimed Germany had not been defeated on the battlefield, but had been "stabbed in the back" by socialist, Bolshevik, and Jewish led protests at home. It was all a bunch of absolute nonsense, but it played well with many Germans who were in denial about the country's defeat and who were devastated by the consequences of losing the war. Don't forget, whether you like the recent American health care reform or not, the charge of "death panels to kill Granny" was totally absurd, but a fairly substantial minority of Americans believed it, too. Like insurance companies don't make decisions every day affecting the life or death of Americans. If the Republicans get their way, and Medicare is essentially turned over to private insurance companies, talk about "death panels for Granny!" All part of what I call "the dumbing down of America." (10-8-22 note: This was written in 2011, when the health care law was still a hot issue.)

WORD HISTORY:
Dagger-The origins of this word are uncertain, but I'll take a "stab" at it. Much of the history of this word is so uncertain or speculative, I will be using words like "seems," "apparently," and "perhaps" in many instances. The beginning documentation on this word only goes back to just before 1300, but it "seems" Latin had "daca," with a long "a," a form of knife or short sword used in what is now essentially modern Rumania, but then called "Dacia," after the Dacians, whose language was Indo European (as is English). Linguists and historians speculate that the Dacian language died out in the 500s or 600s A.D. Exactly where the term "Dacian" comes from is not clear. Did the term for the knife transfer to the people who used it?^ Or did the name of the people already exist and the knife took the name from them? Some linguists believe the term (for the knife) may be of Celtic origin (Celtic is also Indo European), and the Celtic tribes were spread over a large portion of Europe at one time, including in that northern area of the Balkans; that is, southeastern Europe. Or did the Celts name the "Dacians?" While the Latin connection is somewhat shaky, it does come onto firmer ground as Latin's descendants had similar words: Old French, a Latin-based language, had "dague" and "daguard," and Old Italian had "daga." Apparently it was borrowed into some Germanic dialects from French in the late 1300s, as the English of those times had "daggere," German had "Degen," Dutch "dagge" and modern Dutch "degen," etc. The German and Dutch terms mean "light sword." Modern Welsh, a Celtic language has "dagr," but that could be a borrowing from English. There was also in Middle English a verb "dag," which meant "to stab, to skewer," and apparently this came from the noun, and was an English creation. German and some other Germanic languages, but obviously not English, use a form of Slavic "tulich" as their word for "dagger." This borrowing from Slavic gave German "Dolch," some Low German dialects have "Dorjch," and Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian all have "dolk."

^ While not everyone agrees, some believe the name of the Saxons came from the name of the ax they used.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Three

"Germany's Weimar Republic" Part Six
"The Great Depression Shakes The Republic"

The Weimar Republic essentially stabilized for a period during the mid to late 1920s and it looked as if democracy would firmly take root in former authoritarian Germany, which was granted admission into the "League of Nations" in September 1926,*/** and German prestige was on the rise. Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty ("Treaty of Rapallo," named for the Italian city where it was signed) in 1922. The treaty had several clauses and it provided for extensive trade between the two nations. The "public" aspects of the treaty appeared to be relatively benign, but a secret agreement permitted the Germans to test new military technology (which was forbidden by the Versailles Treaty) in the Soviet Union.

The Wall Street Crash and the beginning of the Great Depression led to the beginning of the end for the German Republic. While the political right had scorned the Republic from its inception, linking the democratic government to the far left, this was untrue. The German government was certainly left-leaning, but it also was just as certainly not connected with the far left. In fact, when far leftist elements led rebellions in various parts of Germany during the 1920s, the government actually used right wing militias to help quell the disturbances. So much for the government being connected to the far left, but that didn't stop the right wing from the same accusations all the same. The problem was, by relying upon these right wing groups, the government only gave such groups credibility, and these groups were NOT democratic, nor did they fight the communists to save the republic. They fought to keep the communists out of power, with the hope of gaining power for themselves eventually. It was a pretty strange relationship to say the least.

The electorate was fractured, as a multitude of political parties appeared on the ballots, and delegates to the Reichstag (parliament) were apportioned by percentage of the vote; thus making majority rule almost impossible. The moderate Social Democrats continued as Germany's largest political party, but as the economy tumbled, so did the vote for moderation. The communists on the left and the National Socialists (Nazis) on the right began to garner increasing shares of the vote in regional and national elections. The Nazis, led by the man with the funny looking, Charlie Chaplin-like mustache, were suddenly becoming a political party to be reckoned with.

Next...."The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis"

* The League of Nations was the forerunner of the United Nations.

** Since Austria will be re-emerging as a part of this series, it should be noted that Austria joined the League of Nations in 1920.

WORD HISTORY:
Hide-This is the noun now meaning "skin of an animal," although it is also related to "hide," the verb, meaning "to conceal." These words are related to a number of other English words,^ as well as to words in the other Germanic languages. (I plan to do the verb form in the next article.) The word goes back to Indo Eurpean "(s)keut." which had the notion of "cover, covering." This gave Old Germanic "hudiz," which meant "skin, hide," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hyd," which meant "skin." Later it came to be spelled "hide" and it also took on the more specific meaning "animal skin." Quite common in the other Germanic languages as the general term for "skin" (although some Low German dialects use a form of "pelt" for "skin"): German has "Haut," pronounced "how-t," from Old High German "hut," with a long "u;" some Low German dialects have "Hüt;" West Frisian has "hud;" Dutch has "huid;" Norwegian, Swedish and Danish all have "hud;" and Icelandic has "húð," which is much like "huth."

^ "Hide" is related to "hoard" (noun and verb) and to "hose," words from the Germanic roots of English.