hitler’s predecessor--9/29/26
Today's selection-- from Churchill's Citadel by Katherine Carter. In the 1930s, Winston Churchill kept close tabs on Adolf Hitler by connecting with his predeccesor as Chancellor, Heinrich Brüning:
“For insights and analysis of the political goings-on in Germany in the 1930s, there were few better-informed individuals who made the journey to Chartwell than Heinrich Brüning. As a leading politician during Germany's post-war Weimar Republic, and Chancellor of Germany from 1930 to 1932, he witnessed Hitler's political ascent from an uncomfortable front-row seat. By 1937 he had long since fled his country, out of fear for his life after the Nazis came to power. He travelled to Churchill's country home in August 1937, accompanied by Gottfried Treviranus, his former Transport Minister and close personal friend. Treviranus was lucky to be alive, having escaped an attempt on his life by the Nazis in June 1934. The two men visited Churchill, convinced that Hitler's regime could be overthrown. Their insights into potential opposition to Nazism within Germany planted a seed in Churchill's mind that there could be a bloodless way of averting yet another global war, though the two men's testimonials brought into sharp relief the extraordinary risks faced by anyone who opposed Adolf Hitler.
“Churchill's keen interest in post-war politics in Germany had long pre-dated the rise of Hitler. Prince Bismarck, grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, remembered meeting Churchill in London in October 1930 where the pair discussed the latest political developments. Churchill had apparently been following recent newspaper reports and was ‘extremely well informed’ and ‘pleased about the parliamentary victory of the Brüning government.’ This high opinion appeared to have diminished, however, when the Chancellor visited London in 1931. He met many of the British political establishment, but Churchill's presence was notably lacking. Bruning supposedly thought that this snub was because Churchill held him responsible for the German rearmament that began during his time as Chancellor. Brüning's own position became increasingly precarious against a backdrop of rising unemployment and electoral success for the Nazi Party. He made one last attempt at redeeming himself in the eyes of the German electorate at the disarmament negotiations of April 1932, but, when he returned to Berlin empty-handed, his fall swiftly began. On. 30 May, in what has since been described as 'a pathetic interview’, President Hindenburg told him to resign.
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| Brüning c. 1930 |
“Following the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor in 1933 Bruning became increasingly nervous about the constant surveillance he was subject to, and began to change his lodgings every two or three days. Fortunately, there were those who regarded him as one of Germany's greatest statesmen and were willing to provide refuge for him. The following spring, one acquaintance observed that he had begun to resemble 'a hunted animal, constantly startled and already exhausted, just waiting for the final bullet'. In May 1934 Bruning burned what was left of his personal papers and fled Germany, initially crossing the border into Holland. Within a month, on 12 June, he was in London, lunching with British political figures, including Archie Sinclair and Bob Boothby. His timing meant that he escaped one of the most terrifying ordeals faced by Hitler's opponents, the Night of the Long Knives, and one of his closest associates would see first-hand the terror this entailed.”
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