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Excerpts from Hitler’s Speech before the first "Greater German Reichstag" (January 30, 1939)

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And I don't need to assure you, my delegates, men of the German Reichstag, that we will not tolerate it in the future, either, if western states try to meddle in affairs that concern only us in order to hinder natural and reasonable solutions with their interference!

We were therefore all pleased that it was possible, thanks to the initiative of our friend Benito Mussolini, and thanks to the likewise much-appreciated willingness of Chamberlain and Daladier, to find the elements of an agreement that not only allowed for a peaceful solution to a matter that admitted no further delay, but also served as an example of the possibility of a reasonable handling and resolution of certain vital problems.

But without the determination to resolve this problem one way or another, such an agreement among the great European powers would have never come about.

[ . . . ]

The politically and socially disorganized German Volk of previous decades squandered the better part of its inherent powers in a domestic war that was as fruitless as it was irrational.

The so-called democratic freedom to give expression to opinions and urges did not lead to the development, or even to the release, of special values or powers, but only to a senseless wasting of them, and finally to the paralysis of any truly creative person who still remained.

By putting an end to this fruitless battle, National Socialism liberated the powers previously tied up internally and set them free to represent the vital interests of the nation, both in the sense of tackling great communal tasks within the Reich and in the service of securing the common necessities of life in the world around us.

It is nonsense to believe that obedience and discipline are necessary only for soldiers and have little significance for others in the life of nations. On the contrary: a Volk-community that is disciplined and raised in obedience is in a position to mobilize powers that facilitate the assertion of the existence of peoples and thereby successfully represent the interests of all.

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