Chapter 61
May – June 1934
“How is Eva?”
Wolf had returned to Berlin from Berchtesgaden. “She could not have been happier. And what about your trip to Usedom?”
“I never went.”
“I gathered as much . . . when you saw your special friend,” he said with a twinkle.
Hitler never surprised me anymore, but how could he already know about Trude?
“When did you find out?”
He patted me on the back. “The person in charge of the birthday celebration called to tell me everything went quite well. Then added that you bumped into Trude Mohr. I was hoping you two got back together. Is she the reason you didn’t go to Usedom?”
“I didn’t go to Usedom because Emil Maurice visited me over the weekend. If you can believe it, he’s madly in love with a medical student and wants to marry her. When he sought approval as racially pure, it was discovered that Emil had a distant great-grandparent who was a Jew. Now Heinrich not only turned him down, he is drumming him and both his brothers out of the SS.”
“It’s taken care of. Himmler came to me soon after he discovered this. I would not let Himmler deny the marriage nor have him ask Emil to leave the SS. I ordered him to make an exception. You can imagine how much this infuriated Himmler.”
“Then you let Emil needlessly stew?”
“I haven’t forgotten the lawsuit . . . and other things he did to me.”
“What about his brothers? Do they have to leave the SS?”
“No. I made all three honorary Aryans. You can give him the news, if you like.”
*
At the beginning of June, as the last sands of Hindenburg’s life drained out, the old field marshal retreated to his estate at Neudeck. Little time was left for Wolf to implement his agreement with the army to deal with Röhm and, at the same time, contain Papen’s ambitions to become the next president.
Men were detached to surveille the comings and goings of Papen’s faction: Herbert von Bose, Papen’s press chief; Edgar Julius Jung, his political consultant; and his ally, Erich Klausner, at the Ministry of Transportation. Others in his faction were also placed under watch. Simultaneously, Wolf persuaded Röhm to give the entire SA a month’s leave. Their furloughs were to commence at the end of June.
June 17, 1934
“Friedrich,” said Hitler, “I want you to go to the University of Marburg. Papen is giving a speech. I need to know what he says.”
“Can’t you ask for a copy of the text?”
“What if he says something different?”
*
Every seat in the auditorium was filled. Papen began his speech by declaring his “obligation” to render his opinion of the current government. He took Goebbels to task for false propaganda and suppressing opposition newspapers.
I marveled at the duplicity of this man who, as chancellor, illegally took over the Prussian government, crushed the Social Democrats, imprisoned Bernhard Weiss, launched prosecutions of homosexuals, and welcomed the Nazi party. Now, campaigning to succeed Hindenburg, he advertised himself as a liberal alternative to Hitler.
The meeting was a success . . . at least for him. With each statement, Papen received a roar of approval. He said, “If democracy is to be saved by the NSDAP, they are a temporary fix pending the emergence of new intelligentsia that is made up of the politically elite.” Papen’s meaning was clear: he and the aristocracy were prepared to take over the government once Hindenburg passed.
*
“What else did he say?” Wolf asked.
“That he was convinced that Nazi methods would lead to the destruction of Germany.”
The more I spoke, the more infuriated Hitler became. When I finished, he jumped up.
“This is the signal I’ve been waiting for,” he shouted. “Papen and his clique are about to move to take power.”
For a moment, I second-guessed myself. “Are you certain?”
“After what you told me, I am. Papen thinks he can lull me to sleep. Right after the speech, he had the audacity to send me a telegram that pledged his support. His next move will be to go to the army and to Hindenburg. He will position himself as an alternative to me.”
“Given those scenarios, which will he do first?”
“There is no doubt: Hindenburg. Once Papen has Hindenburg’s support, the army falls into place.” Then Hitler did something rare: he asked for my opinion. “What do you think?”
As I was about to answer, Hitler’s adjutant knocked on the door. “Vice Chancellor Papen is here to see you, mein Führer.”
I moved toward the door. “Should I leave?”
“Nein. You were at the meeting. If he sees you, he can’t embellish.”
Papen stormed into the room. He ignored me. “What is the meaning of banning my speech across the country? I just learned that all radio broadcasts were terminated two minutes after I started.”
“Goebbels thought it best that your remarks remained in Marburg.”
“I spoke as the president’s emissary to the ordinary people, mein Führer. You should have heard the roar of approval when I said that you needed to break away from the men corrupting your ideas.”
Hitler glanced to see if it were true; I nodded.
Papen continued. “The very notion that Goebbels, a junior cabinet member, banned my talk is an insult not only to me but to Reich President Hindenburg. It also insults the gewöhnliche Menschen, as you call your fellow German citizens. I am left with no choice. My resignation as your vice chancellor will be on your desk in the morning.” Papen pivoted to leave.
Hitler reached for his arm. “Don’t be rash, Franz. Goebbels has blundered. He thought he would lessen tensions across the country by not broadcasting your speech. I agree with you. It was a mistake. Don’t resign until you and I journey to Neudeck to see the old man. When we’re with him, we won’t limit the discussion to just the ban on your speech. We will entertain any topic you wish to bring before him.”
“When can we see the Reich president?” Papen asked as fast as he could.
“Slow down. I am not going to go back on my word. I will arrange it as soon as practical.”
Assuaged, Papen turned to leave.
“Franz, I have one last question,” Hitler said. “Who wrote your most excellent speech?”
“They were my words.”
“Oh, I am sure they were. But who wrote the speech?”
“My private secretary, Edgar Jung.” With that, the mollified Papen withdrew.
“That was good. You placated him for the moment. Had he resigned, it would have brought everything to a head. But why take him to see Hindenburg?”
Hitler grabbed me by both shoulders. “Friedrichen, my dear friend, I have absolutely no intention of taking him to Neudeck. But, as long as he thinks we’re going together, he will delay going alone, until it is too late. Regarding his speech, we will do what we can to keep it under wraps.”
Two weeks later, it would be too late for Papen . . . and many, many others.