Mein Kampf – My Struggle

Odlomek iz knjige: 

A member of the German Reich could not understand at all, at least at that period of time, what kind of importance exerted this fact on the daily life of an individual in the state of that kind. After the glorious victories of the German armies in the German-French war, people of German Reich gradually became estranged from the Germanness inside foreign countries; they partially did not appreciate them or know them anymore. People were confusing, especially with regard to German Austrians, much too easily, the depraved dynasty with the nation, healthy in its core.

People could not understand: if a German in Austria really did not possess the finest blood, he could never own the strength which enabled him to put such a strong mark to a 52-million nation, that an erroneous opinion emerged even in Germany itself, Austria would be a German country. A nonsense with severe consequences, yet a brilliant proof for 10 million Germans in the Eastern March (German: Ostmark). Very few Germans inside the German Reich had any notion about the everlasting relentless fight for German language, German schools and German being. Only nowadays, when this sorrowful misery has been imposed to many millions of Germans in Germany itself, where people are dreaming about a mutual country, yearning for it and to preserve at least the holy right of speaking their mother tongue, German population starts to understand more and more, what it means fighting for their nationhood. Now maybe one or two will know to appreciate the greatness of the German spirit in the old East Mark of Reich, which for centuries has been shielding it, first towards East, and finally keeping the German language-border during the demoralizing small war at a period when the Reich was interested in colonies, instead of taking care of flesh and blood before its own doors.

As everywhere and always, in every battle, during the fight for mother tongue in the old Austria, three layers were formed: the fighters, the lurks, and the traitors.

This sort of screening began already at the school. For the tongue battles it is remarkable that generally its waves pour perhaps particularly heavy over schools, the sites where new generations grow up. This is the fight for the child, and on him the first plea of this dispute will be directed:

“German boy, do not forget that you are a German!”, and “Girl, do not forget that you will become a German mother!”

Everyone who knows the youth’s soul will apprehend that especially it will listen openly to such a battle cry. It can participate at such struggle in hundred and one form, in its way and with its weapons. It refuses to sing non-German songs, it fancies all the more the German heroes, the more someone tries to alienate it from them; it deprives its mouth of small coins and collects them for the battle treasure of the giants; it is very keen-hearing to non-German teachers, but at the same time rebellious; wearing the forbidden emblems of its own nationality it would be happy when being punished or even beaten for that. It is therefore in a small scale a faithful reflection of the giants, yet often with a better and more sincere attitude.

During my rather early youth I also have had once the opportunity to participate in the battle of nationalities in the old Austria. At that time we raised money for the South March (German “Südmark”) and School Society, we emphasised our attitude by cornflowers and black-red-golden colours, saluted with “Heil”, singing “Deutschland über alles” instead of emperor’s song, no matter the warning and punishments were. The youngster took the lesson of politics in a period when a member of the so-called national state hardly knew something else about his nationhood but the language. It is clear that I would not belong to the tepid ones at that time. I became quickly a fanatic German nationalist, whereby this term is certainly not identical with our today’s party name.