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Feb 1, 1933 transcript translation of the interview of incoming Chancellor Adolph Hitler on the popular radio show Guten Morgen, Berlin, interview conducted by presenter Hilde Schmidt.
Hilde Schmidt: Good Morning, Berlin! Here’s me wishing you all a warm hug to go with your warm coffee! We have a special guest with us today. Our newly appointed Chancellor, Herr Adolph Hitler. Thank you for joining us.
Chancellor Hitler: It is my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.
Hilde Schmidt: Let’s get down to it. People are talking about some pretty controversial stuff in your book Mein Kampf and in Nazi Party literature.
Chancellor Hitler: [Laughing] You might say that Nazism 1.0 was a crazier time. I wrote that eight years ago. These are not certainly the terms and positions from which we would address these issues today.
Hilde Schmidt: So, for example, are you still for abolishing democracy in favor of all power being concentrated in a single leader? I think you used the term Führerprinzip.
Chancellor Hitler: Obviously I have not rejected democracy because I come before you as a democratically elected government official myself. [Laughs]
Hilde Schmidt: And Lebensraum, your call for Germany to seize territory from eastern neighboring nations? Is that still your position?
Chancellor Hitler: As part of the current government’s duty to manage peaceful relations with all our neighbors, it would be irresponsible to insert those particular notions into the current policy environment.
Hilde Schmidt: And what about the notion of Aryan racial superiority and the elimination of the Jewish race? Is that still a Nazi position or that of the current coalition government?
Chancellor Hitler: I make no apologies for being a member of the German people whose achievements and cultural excellence are undeniable. The best ways to promote, preserve and protect national pride is of course open to debate in our free parliamentary system or government. I invite you and all Germans to rethink our identity and heritage and then act accordingly.
Hilde Schmidt: Well that clears up a lot. Thank you, Herr Hitler.
Chancellor Hitler: Thank you, Hilde, and I appreciate your candor and professionalism.
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Historic note: Hilde Schmidt’s bullet-riddled body washed up on the bank of the River Spree sometime in 1934.
Discussion (5)
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That sort of thing just happens sometimes, like Putin opponents falling out of windows.
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Probably done by Communists in league with Winston Churchill, perhaps the same guys who killed Horst Wessel.
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More than likely.
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Love the title. The piece is sharp and on point while an appropriate length. One of your best posts
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Well done!