Hitler’s Right Hand Man: Himmler’s Speech on Vermin
In a speech to his men and fellow officers, Himmler accomplishes much more then this. Himmler for the first time exposes his weakness, fear. To the Himmler and the SS, this speech was more then just a moral booster, it was a speech to justify the righteousness of their cause. For one of the first times in known history, Himmler made a speech conveying his cause, thus trying to convince those around him that everything he and the SS had done and continued to do had the honorable intentions. The people of the SS at this point in the war were probably having doubts about what was happening in Nazi Germany. Himmler, in trying to boost the moral of his men, and trying to make it look like everything was happening according to plan. The Nazi’s were constantly giving speeches to the German people trying to justify what even they knew was not a moral or even a just cause, and by giving these speeches they felt they could push away the mind set of what was coming, the loss of one of the worst wars in history. Himmler gives me three prime examples of how the Nazi’s and more importantly he would justify the righteousness of their cause by talking about an event in October of 1943. The vermin Jews, and the Russian people and what low class of people they were considered to the Nazi’s, but in reality Himmler gives us an eye into his mindset, how scared he really was, and the only way he could deny this fact was to try and justify the righteousness of their cause.
Himmler in his speech decides to go into the event that happened on June 30, 1934 also known as the Night of the Long Knives, or for the Germans Rohm-Putsch, also known as operation Hummingbird [1]. This was a way for Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party to get rid of the Strasserism. These people were radicals who did not want to take their time like Hitler with the removal of the Jews and it called for a more radical National Socialism [2]. It was against what Hitler intended for his country and since he knew that he could do no wrong in the eyes of those around him, they were expelled and eventually killed. For most people this would have been a very tragic incident for all the deaths that took place, but for Himmler it was merely progress. The progress the SA was making was not progress at all for Hitler, it was merely side stepping what he wanted and his authority. Hitler could see that these men were going to be socially damaging to his image as a leader, so he set up a purge that took at least eighty-five lives [3]. Himmler uses this event in history to boost his men by using it in a way that he shows his men that they did not hesitate and that Hitler was confident in everything he did. Hitler felt he knows what is going to benefit his country, as well as what would hurt his cause and the cause of the Nazi’s in general. The Nazi’s tried to keep this event quiet because it shows us how they acted outside of the people’s perception. Whenever the Nazi’s tried to do a harmful and what they knew was an illegal act, they would do their best to brush it all under the carpet and cover it up as if nothing ever happened. When a leader tries to keep secrets from the people he is ruling it says a lot about the way he rules, it speaks volumes about the people of the country they are ruling. How was it possible, for something to happen like this without some rebellion. What is even worse is the fact that Himmler used this in his speech to show how righteous both the event were, and the fact that they tried to keep something like this secret and away from the people. This act shows two things about the Nazis, but more importantly the SS as a whole, that they were extremely secretive about what they did, that they could always find a reason to show the just cause for what they were doing during Hitler’s reign.
During Himmler’s speech he talks about the Jewish race and what it means to them, vermin [4]. For both Himmler and Hitler to justify and find the righteousness in their cause, they would both described, the Jews and the Jewish race in general as “vermin” so they could justify all that they had done. “Cleansing” of the Jews took place before, during, and after this speech. Himmler tried to justify what he was doing constantly both to himself and to the people that he was ruling over, the SS Gestapo, by making the Jewish race look like a despicable one. In almost every letter or speech that Himmler gives, he speaks about the Jews, and for some reason feels the need to mention how despicable or some other adjective that describes the Jews in general. In his speeches he tries to justify the every day exterminations in Nazi concentration camps of Jews from all shapes, sizes, and ages were being killed all for what seemed like a just cause, and in doing so justifying righteousness of their cause.
The last major topic of his speech was regarding the Russian people, or at the time the USSR. They tried to insult the Russian people as much as they could to justify the new war that Hitler had just begun with them. Himmler, Hitler’s right hand man, tried so hard to justify this tragic mistake as to give a speech to the German people and went so far go as to mock the people of Russia the same social class as he was from, just in a different country, but just like with the Jews, he had to mock them behind their backs so he could justify the new war that had just been started2. Again even though Himmler tried to justify the new war, even he could see how wrong it really was. This speech was one of the most prominent times in history Himmler made it clear that he was scared and no matter how hard he may try to cover how he feels up, the reality is, it will always be prominent. Himmler to try and justify the war with the Russians he goes as far to say, “What happens to a Russian or to a Czech does not interest me in the slightest. What the nations can off in the way of good blood of our type will take, if necessary by kidnapping their children and raising them here with us.” Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. This is a sign of a man who is either too confident, or scared of a certain race of people. To justify what the SS were doing was something with only the worst intentions, or somebody that is trying to escape reality, somebody who is scared.
Himmler was not just a man trying to lead a people, he was a man trying to do something never done before extermination of a race of people. On October 4, 1943 Himmler gave a speech to a group of SS officers and other Officials going over several topics, the Jews, the war that was beginning with USSR, as well as the incident that occurred in Germany in 1934 called the Night of the Long Knives, or for Germans operation Rohm-Putsch. All of these events were very controversial events, either because of the secrecy of these events, the gravity of these events, or even because of the fact that they were being justified constantly. Their cause for these events were so controversial that almost every time Himmler gave a speech involving any of these events, he would have to try and justify them. He tried countless times to show the people the righteousness of their cause simply because even he knew that it was a wrong cause, that what was happening would be against other people’s moral judgment. The righteousness of the Nazi and the SS cause is still in question today because of what these people were doing behind almost the entire countries back. The Nazi’s would try to keep the people in the dark because they knew what these events would do to their popularity, and for their popularity to decline would be an outrage. For people to justify their cause and the righteousness of their cause so much as the Nazi’s and the SS Gestapo, it calls into question, what did these people really think about what was happening in Germany and all around Europe. Himmler tries to justify the righteousness of their cause by mocking the Jews, talking about a controversial that Hitler ordered called the Night of the Long Knives, and talking about what he considered the scum people of the USSR, but in reality no matter how hard he tried he never could justify the cause for any of these topics and by giving this speech he only showed his subordinates how afraid he really was by trying to justify the righteousness of their cause.
Citations
1 Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
2 "The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
3 "The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
4 Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Bibliography
Primary Source
Simkin, John. Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Secondary Source
"Himmler on the Treatment of Ethnic Groups and Jews." Himmler on the Treatment of Ethnic Groups and Jews. Jewish Virtual Reality, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
"The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
Himmler in his speech decides to go into the event that happened on June 30, 1934 also known as the Night of the Long Knives, or for the Germans Rohm-Putsch, also known as operation Hummingbird [1]. This was a way for Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party to get rid of the Strasserism. These people were radicals who did not want to take their time like Hitler with the removal of the Jews and it called for a more radical National Socialism [2]. It was against what Hitler intended for his country and since he knew that he could do no wrong in the eyes of those around him, they were expelled and eventually killed. For most people this would have been a very tragic incident for all the deaths that took place, but for Himmler it was merely progress. The progress the SA was making was not progress at all for Hitler, it was merely side stepping what he wanted and his authority. Hitler could see that these men were going to be socially damaging to his image as a leader, so he set up a purge that took at least eighty-five lives [3]. Himmler uses this event in history to boost his men by using it in a way that he shows his men that they did not hesitate and that Hitler was confident in everything he did. Hitler felt he knows what is going to benefit his country, as well as what would hurt his cause and the cause of the Nazi’s in general. The Nazi’s tried to keep this event quiet because it shows us how they acted outside of the people’s perception. Whenever the Nazi’s tried to do a harmful and what they knew was an illegal act, they would do their best to brush it all under the carpet and cover it up as if nothing ever happened. When a leader tries to keep secrets from the people he is ruling it says a lot about the way he rules, it speaks volumes about the people of the country they are ruling. How was it possible, for something to happen like this without some rebellion. What is even worse is the fact that Himmler used this in his speech to show how righteous both the event were, and the fact that they tried to keep something like this secret and away from the people. This act shows two things about the Nazis, but more importantly the SS as a whole, that they were extremely secretive about what they did, that they could always find a reason to show the just cause for what they were doing during Hitler’s reign.
During Himmler’s speech he talks about the Jewish race and what it means to them, vermin [4]. For both Himmler and Hitler to justify and find the righteousness in their cause, they would both described, the Jews and the Jewish race in general as “vermin” so they could justify all that they had done. “Cleansing” of the Jews took place before, during, and after this speech. Himmler tried to justify what he was doing constantly both to himself and to the people that he was ruling over, the SS Gestapo, by making the Jewish race look like a despicable one. In almost every letter or speech that Himmler gives, he speaks about the Jews, and for some reason feels the need to mention how despicable or some other adjective that describes the Jews in general. In his speeches he tries to justify the every day exterminations in Nazi concentration camps of Jews from all shapes, sizes, and ages were being killed all for what seemed like a just cause, and in doing so justifying righteousness of their cause.
The last major topic of his speech was regarding the Russian people, or at the time the USSR. They tried to insult the Russian people as much as they could to justify the new war that Hitler had just begun with them. Himmler, Hitler’s right hand man, tried so hard to justify this tragic mistake as to give a speech to the German people and went so far go as to mock the people of Russia the same social class as he was from, just in a different country, but just like with the Jews, he had to mock them behind their backs so he could justify the new war that had just been started2. Again even though Himmler tried to justify the new war, even he could see how wrong it really was. This speech was one of the most prominent times in history Himmler made it clear that he was scared and no matter how hard he may try to cover how he feels up, the reality is, it will always be prominent. Himmler to try and justify the war with the Russians he goes as far to say, “What happens to a Russian or to a Czech does not interest me in the slightest. What the nations can off in the way of good blood of our type will take, if necessary by kidnapping their children and raising them here with us.” Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. This is a sign of a man who is either too confident, or scared of a certain race of people. To justify what the SS were doing was something with only the worst intentions, or somebody that is trying to escape reality, somebody who is scared.
Himmler was not just a man trying to lead a people, he was a man trying to do something never done before extermination of a race of people. On October 4, 1943 Himmler gave a speech to a group of SS officers and other Officials going over several topics, the Jews, the war that was beginning with USSR, as well as the incident that occurred in Germany in 1934 called the Night of the Long Knives, or for Germans operation Rohm-Putsch. All of these events were very controversial events, either because of the secrecy of these events, the gravity of these events, or even because of the fact that they were being justified constantly. Their cause for these events were so controversial that almost every time Himmler gave a speech involving any of these events, he would have to try and justify them. He tried countless times to show the people the righteousness of their cause simply because even he knew that it was a wrong cause, that what was happening would be against other people’s moral judgment. The righteousness of the Nazi and the SS cause is still in question today because of what these people were doing behind almost the entire countries back. The Nazi’s would try to keep the people in the dark because they knew what these events would do to their popularity, and for their popularity to decline would be an outrage. For people to justify their cause and the righteousness of their cause so much as the Nazi’s and the SS Gestapo, it calls into question, what did these people really think about what was happening in Germany and all around Europe. Himmler tries to justify the righteousness of their cause by mocking the Jews, talking about a controversial that Hitler ordered called the Night of the Long Knives, and talking about what he considered the scum people of the USSR, but in reality no matter how hard he tried he never could justify the cause for any of these topics and by giving this speech he only showed his subordinates how afraid he really was by trying to justify the righteousness of their cause.
Citations
1 Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
2 "The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
3 "The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
4 Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Bibliography
Primary Source
Simkin, John. Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Secondary Source
"Himmler on the Treatment of Ethnic Groups and Jews." Himmler on the Treatment of Ethnic Groups and Jews. Jewish Virtual Reality, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
"The Night of the Long Knives." The Night of the Long Knives. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
Primary Source
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERwaffen.htm
During this time in World War II, in the month of October, it had began to become much more prominent to the Nazi's that things were no longer going in their favor. Things for the Nazi's were starting to fall apart and there efforts started to become futile. Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS, seeing this in his men and seeing the overall doubt of their government, leader, and cause could begin to see the fast back track that was ahead. On October fourth Hienrich Himmler gave a speech to his fellow SS officers as well as some other officers and leaders that were all part of the Nazi government to try and boost the moral of his men and to try and get their mind off of what had somewhat recently happened, their loss in Stalingrad. Himmler could see the depletion of both his men and moral of his men and tried to boost their moral by talking about three widely talked about topics that seemed very prominent in both Germany and in Nazi culture altogether. He tries to use the mockery of both the Russians and their culture as well as talking about the Jews and their culture and what a vermin and menace they were to everybody around them. He also goes over something that did not seem to be relevant but he talked about about anyways and that was the Night of the Long Knives. He uses this event to show his men that Hitler was strong and that he knew best, and since he did the war was not lost, the Nazi's in general were stronger then ever, and that there was nothing to worry about. In the end it was Himmler showing off his true feelings of doubt and for the first time you could see the amount of distrust he really had in everything he was standing for.
During this time in World War II, in the month of October, it had began to become much more prominent to the Nazi's that things were no longer going in their favor. Things for the Nazi's were starting to fall apart and there efforts started to become futile. Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS, seeing this in his men and seeing the overall doubt of their government, leader, and cause could begin to see the fast back track that was ahead. On October fourth Hienrich Himmler gave a speech to his fellow SS officers as well as some other officers and leaders that were all part of the Nazi government to try and boost the moral of his men and to try and get their mind off of what had somewhat recently happened, their loss in Stalingrad. Himmler could see the depletion of both his men and moral of his men and tried to boost their moral by talking about three widely talked about topics that seemed very prominent in both Germany and in Nazi culture altogether. He tries to use the mockery of both the Russians and their culture as well as talking about the Jews and their culture and what a vermin and menace they were to everybody around them. He also goes over something that did not seem to be relevant but he talked about about anyways and that was the Night of the Long Knives. He uses this event to show his men that Hitler was strong and that he knew best, and since he did the war was not lost, the Nazi's in general were stronger then ever, and that there was nothing to worry about. In the end it was Himmler showing off his true feelings of doubt and for the first time you could see the amount of distrust he really had in everything he was standing for.
Gallery
This is Himmler at Poznan giving his speech. This is the full dialogue that Himmler said to all of his men. By the sound of his voice and tone he does not always sound confident in everything he has to say, but just like Hitler he puts great force and power into everything he said to show his authority.
This is Himmler giving his speech to the other SS officials as Poznan. The way that he stood in front of those around him it shows me that he had a mentality that he was bette then everybody else, and that he was constantly trying to his true feelings to hide his weakness.
This picture shows me what Hitler did not see. By kiling his own men that had been with him since the beginning, the lack of respect that he had for them to kill them off like trash is shocking. Himmler uses the Night of the Long Knives though to support his cause and to show how powerful he and Hitler really are.
No matter how tough the Nazi's always try and look to those around them, and try their scare tactics they could never escape this image. Before this speech was given the Nazi's had lost the battle of Stalingrad so Heinrich Himmler had to try and bring back what Nazi officials for the first time, confidence in the cause. The Nazi's had lost an extremely important battle so they had to try and slowly regain their men's confidence somehow.