Hitler's Unofficial Speeches; how often did he address the Reichstag?

by EarthenEclipse

Hello all!

I was researching for a relatively short and light paper when I came across a quote; I loved it! Perfectly fit the paper, easy to cut down, but alas....no citation other than "Adolf Hitler, 1938". I did some digging - tons of websites, books, and articles quote this speech. Some offer a few more details; the speech allegedly occurred in November, 1938, was given to the Reichstag, and is referred to somewhat consistently as Hitler "addressing" the Reichstag.

Here's the quote: "These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years . . . And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months . . . And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left . . . the Wehrmacht [armed forces] will take care of that."

While the original speech details would be much appreciated, my large question is one of personal interest, not academic assistance. Did Hitler give informal addresses, speeches, etc. regularly? How did this play into parliamentary power dynamics, oaths of allegiance, and the general air of power that he seemed to try to maintain?

Thanks!

droysean

The speech you are looking for was held in Reichenberg (Liberec), "Sudentenland" on December 2, 1938 (ca. two months after the "Munich Agreement"). It was printed in the "Völkischer Beobachter" on December 4, 1938 (note the differences to the audio version). Today, the excerpt you mentioned is often quoted in school books as it shows how Hitler used mass organizations as a means of life-long indoctrination.

The speech was also recorded (Youtube). I believe you can get a digital copy of the original audio file at the German Broadcasting Archive (DRA) with the accession number 2590330. One particularly interesting note about this excerpt is that Hitler actually closes his part about German youth in Nazi organizations with the remark: "...and they are happy with that" ("...und sie sind glücklich dabei."). This part is often omitted when the passage is quoted, maybe because Hitler's audience already started cheering at "They will never be free again in their whole life".

You can find most speeches by Hitler in Hitler: Speeches and Proclamations ed. by Max Domarus.