HITLERS MENTOR: DIETRICH ECKART, His Life, Times, & Milieu

He was a "roughhewn and comical figure with his thick round head, his partiality for good wine and crude talk. A well read man, he was crude in his manner of speaking and his weakness for the Bavarian dialect, but was always able to throw out a quote or an eloquent response. Never caught without an answer, he was a skilled debater, and won over many converts to his nationalistic views.

Money, as would be wont of someone who took Peer Gynt to heart, never meant much to Eckart. If he had it, he would spend it. Rosenberg writes that Eckart could simply not say "no" to a friend, and would give up his last cent even if it meant he would go without. He was accused by some of living off his girlfriends, and even of pandering. Once, flat broke and downing what appeared to be his last glass in a local beerhall, he met a salesman for a well known tonic remedy. Offered a thousand marks if he could come up with a good advertising jingle, the poet excused himself.

A few minutes passed. He returned with a four line stanza and handed it to the astonished salesman.

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He had composed it while in the lavatory. He was paid the money. He slowly evolved into an anti-Semite. Well educated and a skillful orator, he became known as a so-called Judenspezialist. He was one of the first members of the Fichte Bund , founded in ; and he contributed to Theodor Fritsch's anti-jewish paper, Der Hammer. He cofounded a short-lived paper titled Unser Vaterland in after becoming convinced that there was a 'jewish attempt at world mastery. To me it appears that the thing so disastrous for our nation, an attack that one can do practically nothing about, is the demonic thirst for power by the Jews who tolerate no other leadership but their own: He explained he saw the world in terms of 'good' and 'evil,' with the German and Jew representing opposites.

This idea was a common thread which ran through the 'folkish' movement, but with erudite quotes from Schopenhauer and others Eckart was a prime mover of this belief. In short, he saw two impulses inherent in man, 'world-affirmation' and 'world-denial. World-denial was its counterweight, the constant striving for something more than earthly desires, the faustian wanderlust which could not be explained, only felt. Eckart thought man must have an occasional respite from his inner strivings, but that a firm balance must be kept between the two extremes.

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Later he described it thusly: Both directions of the will are important to the maintenance of life Rather than attack the Jew on a religious or biological basis as most anti-semites before him, Eckart placed importance on the spiritual aspects. He felt every man had some 'jewishness' within him, and that one's first priority was to repress and purge this spirit. For perhaps the first time blame was laid on everyone's foibles instead of on 'the Jew' alone.

This was a revolutionary if not refreshing approach to the 'problem,' and Eckart was articulate enough to advance it successfully. Ironically, Munich was a main destination and refugee center for White Russians fleeing Russia. The city was a hotbed of pro and anti communist agitation. Among the mass of refugees was a young Balt, Alfred Rosenberg. I came to Munich without knowing a single person. Chance brought me into contact with a Baltic woman to whom I told my plans to fight the spread of Bolshevism in Germany.

Hitler's Mentor: Dietrich Eckart, His Life, Times, & Milieu by Joseph Howard Tyson on Apple Books

She informed me of a man who had already begun a similar fight for the same principles. To this end he distributed a small propaganda newspaper. I noted the name and address. The next day I spoke to Dietrich Eckart. I asked whether or not he could use another fighter against Jerusalem. He laughed — sure. Did I have anything written to show him? I lay a prepared manuscript and drafts before him. The very next day he called my Pension , the stuff pleased him greatly, and I was to come to see him again. Behind a desk stacked high with papers arose a tall figure, a clean shaven head, a wrinkled brow, dark-framed glasses in front of blue eyes.

The nose slightly bent, somewhat short and fleshy. A full mouth, a wide, yes even brutal chin. Double issues of 32 pages were sometimes printed, and cost one mark. Eckart put his own finances into the printing and distributed it personally. He printed his Lorenzaccio drama and numbered it "Issues Eckart wasted no time in attacking his favorite targets.

Eckart thought the work "Krumme" particularly well suited for the analogy, as in German it has the double meaning of 'hunchback' - a disfigurement he attributed to a certain breed of banker. The tormentor of the German people is international finance, a financial militarism. On God's earth there is no more coldbloodedness or lies than that which hides behind the invisible empire of global economics. With a complete lack of scruples which defy description — and even a simple knowledge of which would chill one's bones — the furtive Princes of Gold mix their pernicious brew, which makes mankind not only serve them, but crazy and blind enough to mistake evil for good and good for evil The Great Hunchback "der Grosse Krumme " , a Hydra sucking up millions of our peoples' savings through his many banks, and fattening himself with ever increasing influence.

Go ahead and put your last dime down, what kind of interest do you get for it? The Great Hunchback, however, bears fruit a hundredfold. Shut him out, bring the State to your side, and you will have a double benefit: Now let's take up the Jewish Question. There are numerous Germans who go out of their way [to avoid it] as if it doesn't exist. And yet it is the question of mankind, which envelopes all other problems. Nothing on earth would remain obscure if one could throw light on this mystery.

Eckart had heard of the Russian Revolution first-hand from Rosenberg, had witnessed the Eisner dictatorship in Munich, and saw in the terror of Bela Kuhn's Hungary proof positive that the Jews were conspiring against the world. The correspondence of the Russian Revolution to our own leaves nothing to the imagination.

It depends only whether or not it will be our end too. It took courage to distribute the flyer in public as the Red guards were prone towards violence and summary shootings. He, Rosenberg and others drove through the streets of Munich, throwing the sheet from their speeding autos.

Hitler's Mentor: Dietrich Eckart, His Life, Times, & Milieu

A public notice of the Eisner regime acknowledged: Since the proclamation of the Red Republic, public safety has been threatened on the most part by anti-Semitic agitators, cowardly types who throw flyers from speeding automobiles, who without any doubt will be, in the shortest period of time, brought by the government to the Revolutionary Tribunal, as will all persons who disturb the peace. He was arrested for his involvement, but an eloquent speech gained him freedom.

His experiences during this time convinced him that the middle class had failed miserably, and that only a broad-based appeal to the workers could rectify the situation. Through folkish circles Eckart met Ulrich Fleischhauer, a well-known racist. The best educational material at present is your three illustrated issues of AufGut Deutsch. I always have them with me when I travel and find persistent contacts and buyers for them.

At the famous Berne, Switzerland trial of which ruled on the Protocols' authenticity, Fleischhauer was its chief defender. The Welt- Dienst was the closest thing to a fascist "International" ever conceived, and Fleischhauer himself credited Eckart with the original idea.

Dietrich Eckart then spoke to me alone, in a wine-cellar where we were sitting, about the subject which could today describe the Welt-Dienst. He said something to the effect: And if that's no use, then try to ruin us through wars and revolutions. Adolf must therefore have an international movement that can help him from the outside, just as the Stahlhelm and other groups help the Party from the outside today.

He traveled to Nurenberg with Gottfried Feder and spoke on the 'breaking of interest slavery. Its founder was Willibald von Zezschwitz, one of the Nazi Party's first lawyers. Eckart was convinced that the nation only lacked a suitable leader and often spoke of the "coming Leader. The rabble has to be scared shitless. I can't use an officer, the people no longer have any respect for them.

Best of all would be a worker who's got his mouth in the right place. He doesn't need much intelligence, politics is the stupidest business in the world, as any washwoman in Munich can tell you. As far as he was concerned, the leader who could give a juicy answer to the Reds is better than a dozen learned professors who sit trembling on the wet pants seat of facts. Eckart quickly realized Hitler's potential as a speaker and leader, and proclaimed: General Kapp staged his ill-fated Putsch in Berlin on March 13, Hitler and Eckart flew to the city to witness the event.

Their pilot was Ritter von Greim, who took charge of the Luftwaffe in after Hermann Goring's dismissal. But Hitler was thereafter the strongest national leader. During the months that followed, AufGut Deutsch came out with three special issues devoted entirely to the "jewish problem.

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Leading marxist and jewish figures in government were attacked. Levine, a top Red leader, personally led an assault on the paper's office but a tip from sympathetic police saved it from destruction. He was arrested and his papers confiscated on numerous occasions. His controversial writing aroused much bitter protest in jewish communities. He was taken to court for slander and libel eleven times in three years. In one such case, a Rabbi Freund of Hannover was awarded one thousand marks. Eckart was forced to pay after having promised this amount in print to any Jew who could prove that he had had three sons serve in the trenches of the war for at least three weeks.

This medieval term, obscure in modern German, is quite untranslatable into English, but it was ruled by the Munich court that it implied a "friend of the Jews through stupidity" or "a friend of the Jews for personal gain. It was renamed the Volkischer Beobachter. Eckart was instrumental in helping obtain the heavy financing required. He was apparently able to convince Freikorp General von Epp to contribute sixty thousand marks. The poet also contributed from his Peer Gynt royalties. His pivotal role in this momentous step for the Nazi Party was acknowledged by Hitler himself.

A letter to Eckart dated December 18th runs: After the finally successful transfer of the Volkischer Beobachter to the Party, I want to, dear Eckart, express my warmest thanks for the great help you provided at the last minute. Without your assistance the matter would probably not have come off, and I believe that we would have lost the opportunity to have our own newspaper for many months to come. I am so devoted to the Movement body and soul, you could scarcely believe how happy I am, as a consequence of reaching this much desired goal, and I cannot refrain from expressing my deep-felt thanks for this present good fortune.

In true admiration, Yours, A. Hitler [44] At this time Eckart wrote the words to his song Deutschland Erwache! General Hans von Seeckt wrote in his memoirs that "Eckart's word has become a slogan to us. Lasting six weeks, it grew out of a personality struggle between party founder Drexler and Adolf Hitler. The Fuhrer resigned and then rejoined three days later when his demands were met by the executive committee. This was a crucial test for Hitler, one he could not afford to lose if he were to be unchallenged as Party leader in the future.

Eckart's role was decisive. Munich police reports state "The dispute was finally smoothed over by the mediation of Dietrich Eckart. Eckart was a vigorous agitator. Eckart's political life had kept him away from home so much that in March of his wife Rose had been granted a divorce. After eight years of controversy surrounding her husband's views and actions, she had had enough.

After the 'summer crisis' had been settled, Eckart's newfound freedom took him south to the small mountain village of Berchtesgaden, near Salzburg, where he escaped the pressures of city living and rested. It was there that he was to write his famous Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin and there that he was to die. During the remaining two years of his life, Eckart's influence on Hitler and the growing Nazi Party began to wane. It was no longer a small circle of comrades meeting in an obscure beer-hall, but a multi-faceted party with thousands of members and many local units. Alfred Rosenberg took over the editorship of the Volkischer Beobachter in , though Eckart continued to write regularly for it.

His health suffered from overdrinking and his almost absolute dependence on morphine, and he helped the Party when he could. In the fall of , for instance, the S A had grown so much that it was necessary to acquire trucks for its transportation. Transportation Leader Christian Weber recalled that "after consulting with Hitler I bought two such [trucks] for the Party.

The sum of payment was loaned to me by Dietrich Eckart. A warrant for Eckart's arrest was issued by the Leipzig courts, and he again went to Berchtesgaden under the alias of "Dr. During this time, he was often visited by Hitler and other leading figures. He was charmed by the mountains and vowed to someday build his own retreat there. It was built during the Third Reich about ten kilometers from Eckart's hut. Though Eckart was absent from the Munich political scene his influence was still opening doors for Hitler. Eckart's close friend Dr. Emil Gansser, whose brother had set "Deutschland Erwache!

He invited Adolf Hitler to give a speech before a group of industrial leaders at the " Nationale Klub " in Berlin. The speech was delivered on May 29th, and substantial support was won for the growing Party. Hitler with armbancl, front left is standing to the right ofEckart. The June 8, issue of the Volkischer Beobachter carried a small classified advertisement for a "cozy, well-situated house in the country.

The arrest warrant was ineffective and eventually rescinded. In October he returned home. After the lifting of the decree Dietrich Eckart came back to Munich. He had aged somewhat and looked tired. His humor flashed less often than before, and when he was himself conscious of his new freedom and feeling better, he still looked pessimistically towards the future He lived in the company of good friends, aside from daily politicking.

It only lasted a short time. When I met him again later that night, he said, "We have been betrayed. I believe in Hitler. A star hangs over him. He was arrested and taken to Stadelheim prison. In his last letter from prison, written to Bavarian head of state Gustav von Kahr, the poet complained: I had to spend the rest of the day and the whole next night in an ice-cold cell of the policehouse. No stool, no table, only an uncomfortable dirty plank bed. Despite my constant shivering I couldn't decide whether or not to use this so-called bed, until early morning I sat half-dead from weakness on its outer edge.

Some hours later, about nine o'clock, I was brought by auto, at dire cost, to Stadelheim. My condition, I feel, is ever worsening. The careful attention which by all means I need, cannot be had here even with the best of efforts. Then there is the eternal solitude which, in my present condition, I'm simply not equal to, not to mention the 'robust' food.

At home lies an unfinished manuscript of mine. The question of whether or not I'll ever be able to complete it tortures me constantly. A few days later he was transferred again to Landsberg-am-Lech with Hitler and the others. His condition deteriorating steadily, prison authorities finally relented and set him free on December 20th. He was first driven to Munich, where he stayed overnight with friends. I met him there one evening. He lay in bed, we shook hands. His handshake was weak. Despite his attempt to laugh and make humorous remarks about his condition, Eckart had the appearance of an old man He did appear tired but made no complaints and said he looked forward to Christmas and quietude.

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While residing at the home of the Pfnuer family, he died of heart failure just six days after gaining freedom. The Nazi Party was banned, its leader in prison facing a treason trial, sixteen men had fallen at the Feldherrnhalle, and the future looked bleak indeed. Four days thereafter, Dietrich Eckart was laid to rest in the small cemetery in Berchtesgaden. Police from outlying districts were brought into the village, in expectation of trouble; but a raging snowstorm kept the attendance down to about fifty loyal friends and comrades. Some short speeches were made, and the burial went without incident.

Hitler and the others were not present, still awaiting release from prison. It was, as Konrad Heiden writes, "brilliantly" written. It was still being listed as available as late as by the Franz Eher Verlag , but was not actively promoted. Apparently Hitler considered it too blunt for mass consumption, for in it he and Eckart had agreed on the necessity of 'eliminating' the Jew from German life.

As historian Norman Cohn writes: His grave stands clearly marked today, unmolested and unforgotten. Eckart was a poet, author, dramatist, newspaper editor, and National Socialist. He was, in the field of literature, author of ten plays, translator of Ibsen's Peer Gynt from the original Norwegian, and a lyricist as well.

Though he took himself seriously, he would often as not dash poems and lyrics off on scraps of paper and give them away, as save them for future use. If it were not for friends such as Albert Reich, there would be little material in print at all. That was Dietrich Eckart' s nature. But when politics was concerned he was deadly earnest, especially about the "Jewish Question.

He was a good orator, a skillful fund raiser, a dedicated fanatic.

Diary of a Man in Despair. Life in the Third Reich. The Road to Rescue. Modris Eksteins Professor of History. The Plot to Kill Hitler. The Secret Lives of the Nazis. Hitler's War and the Horrific Account of the Holocaust. Anatomy of a Genocide. Who's Who in Nazi Germany. An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]. Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. The Courage to Care. And We Are Not Saved. Night of the Long Knives. The Massacre at Sosenki Forest, November Jews, Germans, and Allies.

The Memoirs of Doctor Felix Kersten. Children during the Holocaust. A History of the Holocaust. Fifty-Seven Years of Russian Madness. How to write a great review. The review must be at least 50 characters long. The title should be at least 4 characters long. Your display name should be at least 2 characters long. At Kobo, we try to ensure that published reviews do not contain rude or profane language, spoilers, or any of our reviewer's personal information. You submitted the following rating and review.

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