Who Started WW2? Kristallnacht Part Three

Part 1, Part 2

In this article I will be exploring the claims that Hitler authorized Kristallnacht via Holocaust Denial on Trial (HDoT).

HdoT’s entry on Hitler’s authorization begins with this:

What is this evidence that HDoT has? Nov 9th, after Ernst vom Rath had died as the result of injuries from his attack and the unrest had begun, Gobbles informed Hitler of anti Jewish demonstrations. Witnesses describe Hitler and Goebbels having an intense discussion. Then Hitler left after dinner at 9pm, having Goebbels give a speech in his stead. HDoT calls it strange that Hitler would not give the speech as he had done for the past 5 years. Why exactly is it strange to alter traditions under extraordinary circumstances?

Next HDoT states:

The report of the Supreme Nazi Party Court, held after the pogrom, stated that Goebbels gave a rousing speech in which he informed the Gauleiters (party district leaders) of the disorder already erupting in parts of Germany. Attendees recalled that Goebbels invoked Hitler’s approval of the violence, including future violence against Jews: “on his briefing, the Führer has decided” that future demonstrations should not be stopped. The Gauleiters at the meeting understood their orders as such: “the Party should not appear to the outside world as the originator of the demonstrations, but should in reality organize them and carry them out.” After Goebbels’ speech, they rushed to the telephones and issued orders to their subordinates across Germany that they should directly incite and/or encourage the violence.

The following is an except from Goebbels diary that HDoT provides:

I go to the Party reception in the Old Town Hall. Colossal activity. I brief the Führer about the matter. He orders: let the demonstrations go on. Withdraw the police. The Jews must for once feel the people’s fury. That is right.

The question is, what did Goebbels tell Hitler? Did he disclose the violence, or did he try to paint it as peaceful demonstrations? One could hardly fault Hitler for allowing his people to vent their frustrations via legal protests. Remember, this is coming from Goebbels’ diary. The only person that knows exactly what Goebbels is talking about is Goebbels.

From Hitler and Goebbels having an intense talk, Hitler not giving a speech, and a passage in Goebbels diary we are supposed to draw the definite conclusion that “Goebbels fully informed Hitler of antisemitic disturbances in the early evening of November 9, 1938; during his dinner with Goebbels, Hitler authorized more widespread pogrom activity. This activity was organized and encouraged by the SA (Stormtroopers) and SS. Hitler left the dinner so that the international community could not hold him directly responsible for the resulting destruction and violence. With Hitler’s blessing, Goebbels gave Hitler’s keynote speech for him, rousing the Gauleiters into action. They put the plan into effect promptly after his speech.“

Putting the fact that HDoT never established how the unrest was established and encouraged by the SA and SS, this conclusion is nothing but speculation. In fact, one can only speculate from the given information. Without knowing what Goebbels and Hitler said to each other, there is just as strong of a case for Irving’s conclusion. There is nothing here to rule out that Goebbels gave the “rousing speech” to further violence against Jews with Hitler’s knowledge or blessing.

We must also consider Hitler’s actions up to this point, which you will be familiar with if you’ve been keeping up with the series. Hitler had reunited Austria and annexed Czechoslovakia not with bloodshed, but with diplomacy and careful political maneuvers. Hitler would have known that open and unabated violence against Jews from the German people would be disastrous for his efforts of peaceful reunification of the German speaking people. Of course, the Holocaust fabulists that are banking on the ignorance of the populace when it comes to the full story of the interwar period.

One more thing, just like with the alleged genocide of Jews, there was no written order from Hitler to authorize the violence or to tell law enforcement not to interfere. Just throwing that out there since HDoT won’t.

Wait, there’s even more! I found it quite interesting that HDoT did not mention the testimony given at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (IMT) by Hans von Eberstein, the Police President of Munich. Especially considering HDoT’s only source mentions Eberstein:

 Irving completely fails to mention the report of the Munich police chief Eberstein, whose testimony he uses in other instances, of Hitler’s intense discussions with Goebbels at the dinner, after supposedly receiving the news of vom Rath’s death.¹⁴ 

So I read Eberstein’s testimony given at the IMT and discovered that something had been left out:

VON EBERSTEIN: On that day, in accordance with my official duty, I had to accompany Hitler to the meeting of the “old fighters” in the old City Hall. There Hitler was told that Legation Counsellor Vom Rath had died of his injuries. Hitler was very strongly affected by this and refused to speak, as he had always done before. During this dinner he had a very serious discussion with Goebbels. I could not understand what was being discussed. Shortly thereafter Hitler drove to his apartment. I had to accompany him there on my official duty. Immediately afterward I had to direct the security measures and the blocking-off of traffic on the Odeon Platz, a job for which I was responsible. Every year, on the night of 9 to 10 Novem-ber, a meeting was held there and new recruits were sworn into the Waffen-SS. When I came to the Odeon Platz it was reported to me that a synagogue was burning and that the firemen were being interfered with. (my emphasis added)

None of Eberstein’s testimony or reports claim to know what Hitler and Goebbels discussed the night on November 9th. In fact, no direct testimony from the Nuremberg Trials or other historical records reveals the specific content of the private conversation between Hitler and Goebbels that night.

What’s even more interesting is the IMT President not wanting von Eberstein to go into detail about how he tried to stop the violence:

VON EBERSTEIN: Shortly thereafter I received a telephone call from the Chief Magistrate (Landrat) of Munich who told me that Planegg Castle on the Munich city limits, which belonged to the Jewish Baron Hirsch, had been set afire by unknown persons. The, constabulary asked for assistance. This was about 11:45 p.m. At midnight Hitler came to the swearing-in ceremony. Since I could not leave my post, I sent the next highest SS leader, Brigadefuehrer Diehm, to the synagogue to establish order there. Besides that, I sent a police raiding squad under an officer to Planegg in order to ascertain the perpetrators and put out the fire.

Immediately after the roll call, after the recruits were sworn in, the other higher SS leaders and myself were ordered to report to Himmler. There in the hotel the Deputy Gauleiter Niepolt informed me that following Hitler’s departure from the Rathaus, Goebbels had made a wild speech attacking the Jews. As a result of this con-siderable excesses had occurred in the city. I immediately drove through the city in a car in order to survey the situation. I saw shop windows which had been smashed; a few stores were burning. First, I immediately intervened myself and then threw all the avail-able police on the streets with instructions to protect Jewish busi-ness establishments until further notice. In addition to that, in co-operation with one of the municipal offices of Munich, I saw to it that the shop windows were boarded up to prevent thefts and so forth.

THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Pelckmann, the witness is saying that he took every step to prevent these excesses. I don’t think we want the details. I don’t think that we want to hear the details of the steps he took to prevent these things and to keep order. The Prosecution can cross-examine if they want to.

HERR PELCKMIANN: Mr. President, is it not possible for me to submit to the witness just what he will be asked by the Pros-ecution? I consider it important that the witness himself should …

THE PRESIDENT: The witness has been telling us, for several minutes, what happened on the 9th and 10th of November 1938, and we think we know enough. We know the general nature of what he said and we don’t want the details of it. If you think that he has not said that the SS did not participate in the excesses, you can ask him that question. He says as far as he is concerned that he did not take part, but that he tried to stop it. We don’t want to hear the details of how he tried to stop it. (my emphasis added)

Now, this opens a whole other bag of worms that extends beyond the current topic. In part three I will be addressing HDoT’s further claims that Hitler did not try to stop the violence and more. Stay tuned!