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Volume VI · Page 1171
| the truth is sought, the facts must be sifted from these myths. Far
be it from me to blame the deluded masses. Wise and enlightened statecraft does
not consist in making people responsible for their errors and in blaming them
for them. Were this to become the fashion, the profession of statesmen would
become impossible, for the world is governed through error more than through
wisdom. But I feel it to be my duty to resist here any possibility that myths
might blur the view of the judges in their search for truth. As regards the much discussed 3 million marks donation of the business world in February 1933, which has also been made a subject of the accusation, the fact is overlooked that it was paid after the seizure of power, and on account of its ridiculous amount for such a purpose could hardly have brought about much strengthening of this power. I refer in this respect to Schacht's testimony. It would better serve the purpose of finding the truth, and with it the enlightenment of the peoples, and also the reeducation not only of the Germans but also of all nations, if the search would be directed elsewhere. As a sort of marginal note I shall now read another short passage from the same. Bruening letter (page 22) ; I quote: |
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"One of the main factors for Hitler's rise, which I have only mentioned in passing, was the fact that he received large sums of money from foreign countries in 1923 and subsequently, and that he was well paid for the sabotage of the passive resistance in the Ruhr district. In later years he was paid for provoking unrest and for encouraging revolutionary tendencies in Germany by men who thought this would weaken Germany permanently and render impossible the existence of any constitutional central government. Those who have tried so long to suppress these facts, are mistaken if they believe that they could do so permanently." |
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| One should turn to this witness, and to other equally well-informed
witnesses, if one wants to get to the bottom of the question as to what the
circumstances, powers and men were who helped Hitler to power, and one should
not take as one's starting point a "resentment" which is mainly conditioned by
considerations of internal policy. In the sanctified atmosphere of this
courtroom, where one strives for truth and justice, these problems must be
removed from the bitterness of persecution and from high-sounding phrases.
I conclude by acting upon the advice contained in the poem of Goethe's Permanency in Change, and going back to the opening words of my opening statement and to the authority of the man who is recognized by all constitutions and communities based |
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