HITLER ADOLF: (1889-1945) Fuhrer of the Third Reich 1933-45.

HITLER ADOLF: (1889-1945) Fuhrer of the Third Reich 1933-45. An historically important Autograph Manuscript, unsigned, two pages, 4to, n.p. (Munich?) n.d. (February 1925), in German. The holograph notes were prepared by Hitler in advance of a speech (the first following his release from prison) he delivered in Munich's Burgerbraukeller on 27th February 1925. In the upper left corner Hitler has penned the year 1918 followed by the questions 'What had happened?' and 'Just what went wrong', continuing with a diagram separating the political parties 'on the Left "Proletariat"….Marxism….finished for good due to criminality' and 'on the Right "Bourgeoisie"……bourgeois parties….broke down due to cowardice' and also including the 'Volunteer Corps - Nationalist Organisations, Citizens Defending Themselves', the manuscript continuing with other relevant points he intended to deliver within the speech, 'Stick to the facts. Parties reject violence (cowardly). Associations are non-political (stupid. They keep pulling their chestnuts out of the fire). During all this the nation is destroyed, plundered domestically and internationally. Could anything still help? Founding of the NSDAP [National Socialist German Workers' Party, more commonly known as the Nazi Party] Goal. Programme', and to the second page Hitler writes further notes, 'Development. 1919-20-21-22-23. 8th November Result: Inflation. 1924 Parliament. Struggle within the movement. Did anyone care about us? No. My release. December 1924, February 27th 1925. Buttmann. The division is impending. I and Held. I and Rohm. I and Ludendorff. Lies. The old movement……The movement? In a different Germany. Here.' Autograph material of Adolf Hitler is extremely rare in any form, and the present notes are of particular significance in Hitler's rise to power, this particular speech representing a landmark moment in the re-establishing of the Nazi Party and Hitler cementing his position as 'der Fuhrer'. A couple of extremely minor, very small holes at the intersection of a couple of folds, VG'If anyone comes and tries to make conditions to me then I say to him: friend, wait and see what conditions I have to make to you. I am not wooing the masses. After a year you shall judge, my party comrades; if I have not acted correctly, then I shall place my office in your hands again. But until that moment this is the rule: I lead the movement alone, and no one shall set me conditions so long as I personally bear the responsibility. And I once more bear entire responsibility for everything that happens in the movement' (extract from Adolf Hitler's two-hour speech delivered at the Burgerbraukeller, Munich, 27th February 1925)Hitler joined the tiny German workers party in 1919, He quickly became its leader. On 9 November 1923, at the height of the great German inflation (on 20 November, one U.S. dollar was equal to four trillion German marks), Hitler risked a coup. He led his followers through the streets of Munich to the Feldherrnhalle, a war memorial, where waiting police opened fire. Sixteen of Hitler's followers were killed; Hitler himself was arrested, and after a trial that he turned into a political platform, he was sentenced to four years in prison. The party was banned, and its remnants degenerated into squabbling factions. Hitler stood outside the fray, using his time in prison to write Mein Kampf. He was released in December 1924 after serving only nine months of his term, and set about rebuilding the party. The authorities lifted the ban on the Nazi Party on 16 February 1925. Hitler now arranged one of his rhetorical masterpieces: a mass meeting on 27 February to re-establish the party. He chose the same beer hall from which he had launched his abortive revolution fifteen months earlier. Three thousand people packed the hall, and several thousand more were turned away. He entered to the passionate applause of the audience, and gave [a] two hour speech….Its first three-quarters offered nothing that most in the audience had not already heard, and would hear again in Hitler's future speeches. He reviewed Germany's history, claiming that past conservative parties had no contact with the masses, and that leftist parties pretended to address the problems faced by ordinary Germans, but actually served the interests of the Jews who controlled them. He also outlined his views on propaganda. In the last quarter of the speech, he moved to re-establish his control of the party. He claimed absolute authority. Anyone unwilling to obey could go his own way. Hitler 'forgave' those who had made mistakes in his absence, and demanded that there be no criticism of him or the party for a year. The audience responded with enthusiasm. After the speech, Hitler had arranged…..'a piece of pure theatre'. The Nazi leaders who had fought for supremacy while Hitler was in prison all 'mounted the platform and, among emotional scenes, with many standing on chairs and tables and the crowd pressing forward from the back of the hall, shook hands, forgave each other, and swore undying loyalty to the leader'……The speech succeeded. Hitler once again was absolute leader of the party' (from Landmark Speeches of National Socialism, edited by Randall L. Bytwerk, Texas A&M University Press, 2008)