liberation. They were not dreaming of doing so ! A Marxist is as little likely to turn from treason as a hyena will turn from carrion !
The situation in 1923 was very similar to that of 1918. The first essential to whatever form of resistance was decided upon was expulsion of the Marxist poison from the body of our nation. I was convinced that the very first duty of any truly national government was to seek and find forces determined on a war to destroy Marxism, and to grant those forces a free hand ; it was their duty not to pay court to the folly of “order and tranquillity” at a moment when the foreign enemy was giving the death-blow to the Fatherland, and at home treason was lurking at every street corner. No, a truly national government ought to have wished for unrest and disorder, if the resulting confusion was the only method for a final settlement with the Marxist enemies of our nation.
I have frequently implored the so-called Nationalist Parties to give Fate a free hand and allow our Move¬ ment the means to come to a reckoning with Marxism ; but I preached to deaf ears. They all thought they knew better, including the Chief of the Defence Force, till finally they found themselves face to face with the most miserable capitulation of all time. I then realized deep within myself that the German bourgeoisie had come to the end of its mission and could be called upon to perform no further task.
At that period—I confess it frankly—I conceived a fervent admiration for the great man south of the Alps, whose deep love for his nation forbade him to bargain with Italy’s domestic enemies, and who fought to destroy them by every possible means and method. The quality which ranks Mussolini with the world’s great men is his determination not to share Italy with Marxism, but to save his country by giving enemies of the nation over to destruction. How dwarfish our sham statesmen in Germany appear in comparison with him !