My political testament.
More than thirty years have passed since 1914 when I made my modest
contribution as a volunteer in the First World War, which was forced upon the
Reich.
In these three decades
love and loyalty to my people have guided all my thoughts, actions and my life.
They gave me the strength to make the most difficult decisions ever to confront
mortal man. In these three decades I have spent my strength and my health.
It is untrue that I or
anyone else in Germany wanted war in 1939. It was wanted and provoked solely by
international statesmen either of Jewish origin or working for Jewish
interests. I have made too many offers for the limitation and control of
armaments, which posterity will not be cowardly enough always to disregard, for
responsibility for the outbreak of this war to be placed on me. Nor have I ever
wished that, after the appalling First World War, there would ever be a second
against either England or America. Centuries will go by, but from the ruins of
our towns and monuments the hatred of those ultimately responsible will always
grow anew against the people whom we have to thank for all this: international
Jewry and its henchmen.
Only three days before
the outbreak of the German-Polish war I proposed a solution of the
German-Polish problem to the British Ambassador in Berlin - international
control as in the case of the Saar. This offer, too, cannot be lied away. It
was only rejected because the ruling clique in England wanted war, partly for
commercial reasons and partly because it was influenced by the propaganda put
out by international Jewry.
I have left no one in
doubt that if the people of Europe are once more treated as mere blocks of
shares in the hands of these international money and finance conspirators, then
the sole responsibility for the massacre must be borne by the true culprits:
the Jews. Nor have I left anyone in doubt that this time millions of European
children of Aryan descent will starve to death, millions of men will die in
battle, and hundreds of thousands of women and children will be burned or
bombed to death in our cities without the true culprits being held to account,
albeit more humanely.
After six years of war
which, despite all setbacks, will one day go down in history as the most
glorious and heroic manifestation of the struggle for existence of a nation, I
cannot abandon the city which is the capital of this Reich. Since our forces
are too meager to withstand the enemy's attack and since our resistance is
being debased by creatures who are as blind as they are lacking in character, I
wish to share my fate with that which millions of others have also taken upon
themselves by remaining in this city. Further, I shall not fall into the hands
of the enemy who requires a new spectacle, presented by the Jews, for the
diversion of the hysterical masses.
I have therefore
decided to stay in Berlin and there to choose death voluntarily when I
determine that the position of the Fuhrer and the Chancellery itself can no
longer be maintained. I die with a joyful heart in the knowledge of the
immeasurable deeds and achievements of our peasants and workers and of a
contribution unique in the history of our youth which bears my name.
That I am deeply
grateful to them all is as self-evident as is my wish that they do not abandon
the struggle but that, no matter where, they continue to fight the enemies of
the Fatherland, faithful to the ideals of the great Clausewitz. Through the
sacrifices of our soldiers and my own fellowship with them unto death, a seed
has been sown in German history that will one day grow to usher in the glorious
rebirth of the National Socialist movement in a truly united nation.
Many of our bravest
men and women have sworn to bind their lives to mine to the end. I have begged,
and finally ordered, them not to do so but to play their part in the further
struggle of the nation. I ask the leaders of the Army, the Navy and the Air
Force to strengthen the National Socialist spirit of resistance of our soldiers
by all possible means, with special emphasis on the fact that I myself, as the
founder and creator of this movement, prefer death to cowardly resignation or
even to capitulation.
May it become a point
of honor of future German army officers, as it is already in our Navy, that the
surrender of a district or town is out of the question and that, above
everything else, the commanders must set a shining example of faithful devotion
to duty unto death.
Before my death, I
expel former Reichs-Marshal Hermann Goring from the party and withdraw from him
all the rights that were conferred upon him by the decree of 29 June, 1941 and
by my Reichstag statement of 1 September, 1939. In his place I appoint Admiral
Donitz as President of the Reich and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Before my death, I
expel the former Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and the Minister of the Interior
Heinrich Himmler from the party and from all his state officers. In his place I
appoint Gauleiter Karl Hanke as Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and Head of the German
Police, and Gauleiter Paul Giesler as Minister of the Interior.
Apart altogether from
their disloyalty to me, Goring and Himmler have brought irreparable shame on
the whole nation by secretly negotiating with my enemy without my knowledge and
against my will, and also by attempting illegally to seize control of the
State.
In order to provide
the German people with a government of honorable men who will fulfill the task
of continuing the war will all the means at their disposal, I, as Fuhrer of the
nation, appoint the following members of the new cabinet:
President of the
Reich: Donitz
Chancellor of the Reich: Dr Goebbels
Party Minister:
Bormann
Foreign Minister: Seyss-Inquart
Minister of the Interior:
Gauleiter Giesler
Minister of War: Donitz
Supreme Commander of the Army:
Schorner
Supreme Commander of the Navy: Donitz
Supreme Commander of the
Air Force: Greim
Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and Head of the German Police:
Gauleiter Hanke
Trade: Funk
Agriculture: Backe
Justice:
Thierack
Culture: Dr Scheel
Propaganda: Dr Naumann
Finance:
Schwerin-Crossigk
Labor: Dr Hupfauer
Munitions: Saur
Leader of the
German Labor Front and Minister without Portfolio: Dr Ley.
Although a number of
these men, including Martin Bormann, Dr Goebbels and others together with their
wives have joined me of their own free will, not wishing to leave the capital
under any circumstances and prepared to die with me, I implore them to grant my
request that they place the welfare of the nation above their own feelings. By
their work and loyal companionship they will remain as close to me after my
death as I hope my spirit will continue to dwell among them and accompany them
always. Let them be severe but never unjust and let them never, above all,
allow fear to preside over their actions, placing the honor of the nation above
everything that exists on earth. May they, finally, always remember that our
task, the consolidation of a National Socialist state, represents the work of
centuries to come, so that every individual must subordinate his own interest
to the common good. I ask of all Germans, of all National Socialists, men and
women and all soldiers of the Wehrmacht, that they remain faithful and obedient
unto death to the new government and its President.
Above all, I enjoin
the government and the people to uphold the race laws to the limit and to
resist mercilessly the poisoner of all nations, international Jewry.
Berlin, 29 April,
1945, 4 a.m.
Adolf Hitler
More than thirty years have passed since 1914 when I made my modest
contribution as a volunteer in the First World War, which was forced upon the
Reich.
In these three decades
love and loyalty to my people have guided all my thoughts, actions and my life.
They gave me the strength to make the most difficult decisions ever to confront
mortal man. In these three decades I have spent my strength and my health.
It is untrue that I or
anyone else in Germany wanted war in 1939. It was wanted and provoked solely by
international statesmen either of Jewish origin or working for Jewish
interests. I have made too many offers for the limitation and control of
armaments, which posterity will not be cowardly enough always to disregard, for
responsibility for the outbreak of this war to be placed on me. Nor have I ever
wished that, after the appalling First World War, there would ever be a second
against either England or America. Centuries will go by, but from the ruins of
our towns and monuments the hatred of those ultimately responsible will always
grow anew against the people whom we have to thank for all this: international
Jewry and its henchmen.
Only three days before
the outbreak of the German-Polish war I proposed a solution of the
German-Polish problem to the British Ambassador in Berlin - international
control as in the case of the Saar. This offer, too, cannot be lied away. It
was only rejected because the ruling clique in England wanted war, partly for
commercial reasons and partly because it was influenced by the propaganda put
out by international Jewry.
I have left no one in
doubt that if the people of Europe are once more treated as mere blocks of
shares in the hands of these international money and finance conspirators, then
the sole responsibility for the massacre must be borne by the true culprits:
the Jews. Nor have I left anyone in doubt that this time millions of European
children of Aryan descent will starve to death, millions of men will die in
battle, and hundreds of thousands of women and children will be burned or
bombed to death in our cities without the true culprits being held to account,
albeit more humanely.
After six years of war
which, despite all setbacks, will one day go down in history as the most
glorious and heroic manifestation of the struggle for existence of a nation, I
cannot abandon the city which is the capital of this Reich. Since our forces
are too meager to withstand the enemy's attack and since our resistance is
being debased by creatures who are as blind as they are lacking in character, I
wish to share my fate with that which millions of others have also taken upon
themselves by remaining in this city. Further, I shall not fall into the hands
of the enemy who requires a new spectacle, presented by the Jews, for the
diversion of the hysterical masses.
I have therefore
decided to stay in Berlin and there to choose death voluntarily when I
determine that the position of the Fuhrer and the Chancellery itself can no
longer be maintained. I die with a joyful heart in the knowledge of the
immeasurable deeds and achievements of our peasants and workers and of a
contribution unique in the history of our youth which bears my name.
That I am deeply
grateful to them all is as self-evident as is my wish that they do not abandon
the struggle but that, no matter where, they continue to fight the enemies of
the Fatherland, faithful to the ideals of the great Clausewitz. Through the
sacrifices of our soldiers and my own fellowship with them unto death, a seed
has been sown in German history that will one day grow to usher in the glorious
rebirth of the National Socialist movement in a truly united nation.
Many of our bravest
men and women have sworn to bind their lives to mine to the end. I have begged,
and finally ordered, them not to do so but to play their part in the further
struggle of the nation. I ask the leaders of the Army, the Navy and the Air
Force to strengthen the National Socialist spirit of resistance of our soldiers
by all possible means, with special emphasis on the fact that I myself, as the
founder and creator of this movement, prefer death to cowardly resignation or
even to capitulation.
May it become a point
of honor of future German army officers, as it is already in our Navy, that the
surrender of a district or town is out of the question and that, above
everything else, the commanders must set a shining example of faithful devotion
to duty unto death.
Before my death, I
expel former Reichs-Marshal Hermann Goring from the party and withdraw from him
all the rights that were conferred upon him by the decree of 29 June, 1941 and
by my Reichstag statement of 1 September, 1939. In his place I appoint Admiral
Donitz as President of the Reich and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Before my death, I
expel the former Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and the Minister of the Interior
Heinrich Himmler from the party and from all his state officers. In his place I
appoint Gauleiter Karl Hanke as Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and Head of the German
Police, and Gauleiter Paul Giesler as Minister of the Interior.
Apart altogether from
their disloyalty to me, Goring and Himmler have brought irreparable shame on
the whole nation by secretly negotiating with my enemy without my knowledge and
against my will, and also by attempting illegally to seize control of the
State.
In order to provide
the German people with a government of honorable men who will fulfill the task
of continuing the war will all the means at their disposal, I, as Fuhrer of the
nation, appoint the following members of the new cabinet:
President of the
Reich: Donitz
Chancellor of the Reich: Dr Goebbels
Party Minister:
Bormann
Foreign Minister: Seyss-Inquart
Minister of the Interior:
Gauleiter Giesler
Minister of War: Donitz
Supreme Commander of the Army:
Schorner
Supreme Commander of the Navy: Donitz
Supreme Commander of the
Air Force: Greim
Reichsfuhrer of the S.S. and Head of the German Police:
Gauleiter Hanke
Trade: Funk
Agriculture: Backe
Justice:
Thierack
Culture: Dr Scheel
Propaganda: Dr Naumann
Finance:
Schwerin-Crossigk
Labor: Dr Hupfauer
Munitions: Saur
Leader of the
German Labor Front and Minister without Portfolio: Dr Ley.
Although a number of
these men, including Martin Bormann, Dr Goebbels and others together with their
wives have joined me of their own free will, not wishing to leave the capital
under any circumstances and prepared to die with me, I implore them to grant my
request that they place the welfare of the nation above their own feelings. By
their work and loyal companionship they will remain as close to me after my
death as I hope my spirit will continue to dwell among them and accompany them
always. Let them be severe but never unjust and let them never, above all,
allow fear to preside over their actions, placing the honor of the nation above
everything that exists on earth. May they, finally, always remember that our
task, the consolidation of a National Socialist state, represents the work of
centuries to come, so that every individual must subordinate his own interest
to the common good. I ask of all Germans, of all National Socialists, men and
women and all soldiers of the Wehrmacht, that they remain faithful and obedient
unto death to the new government and its President.
Above all, I enjoin
the government and the people to uphold the race laws to the limit and to
resist mercilessly the poisoner of all nations, international Jewry.
Berlin, 29 April,
1945, 4 a.m.
Adolf Hitler