I have four letters before me from a comrade, a fellow party member. They are letters from one of the countless party members who are serving in the armed forces, all of whom stand proudly by their words and their ideals, even in the toughest test of fate and at the risk of their lives. Each was written “On the Western Front.” The first found its way back to the homeland during Christmas, the last was written on the Führer’s birthday. It was written in some disorder, as the French artillery was making music over the West Wall.
“Each of us carries with us as our deepest treasure faith in the Führer, in his Führer, in our Führer. There is no doubt in him!” That is from the first letter, which sounds eager for battle, soldierly. Every line rings with conviction.
The last line of the final letter says” Heil Hitler! Everything for the Führer!”
A newspaper article lies alongside the letters. The Iron Cross was awarded for the highest fulfillment of duty and brave death as a soldier in the historic battles of May 1940. The same name that signed the letters is under the simple words: “He died for Führer and Nation.” It is the same name that followed the oath: “Everything for the Führer!”
The company buried their noncommissioned officer in the earth on which he had fought for the freedom of his people and for the eternity of his faith. He sealed his loyalty with his blood during an attack. The successful attack, the hammering of the machine guns, the explosions of the hand grenades, the smoke of the mortars, these were the worthiest memorial. The death announcement cites a Reichsleiter of the party in praise of the fallen political leader, comrade and fellow worker. It is the most obvious, but also the deepest, that the movement that created Germany can do for its fallen fighters. The word, the order, which they all followed, which guided their lives was: “For Führer and nation
The letters from the front reveal the personal thinking of a soldier facing the enemy, looking death in the face, but who carries a faith in his heart that is stronger than death. The death announcement has transfigured his words, raising them to the legacy of a fallen National Socialist. The personality has faded, but as the voice of one of the Führer’s unknown soldiers he speaks of obligation to the nation. The spirit of the German people’s army that the Führer created rises victoriously from the words that a soldier wrote along side his comrades, in the few minutes he had to spare. He had the urge to say what moved him, what made him strong, and why he fought with such pride and faithful confidence.
These are the letters of a young soldier who held himself to the highest standards. He can no longer speak of the faith he felt and displayed. I feel that I owe it to him to pass on his undying love for the Führer and his faithfulness unto death. He is one of the unknown, the spirit of the front in the historic year 1940.
He did not write about himself. He spoke of the common faith that sacrificed for victory. He left a memorial to the virtues of National Socialist fighters that towers immortally far above his distant grave. He fell convinced of the immortality of the sacrifice that he made in serving the party, for the world view that he had experienced and known a thousand times. He has the right to be heard after his death. The purpose is not to praise his life and his heroic death over those of his fallen comrades, rather to make his death obligate the community to be loyal as he was, strong as he was, faithful as this unknown soldier of the Führer.
*
This is his legacy, revealed in his letters from the front, and from his hero’s grave:
“…In seeing death before our eyes, we often realize more clearly the meaning of our existence. Nature is a parable for us. In the middle of winter, everything seems to die and to have bloomed in vain. Yet the falling of the old leaves is necessary for the coming of the new ones, and the falling of the last stalk makes room for the new seeds. Our sacrifice should and will be the source of new strength for our people, whatever sorrow and pain may be involved!”
“…In the flourishing of that life we find the meaning of battle. The fight for a secure future is hard, often seemingly unbearable. But as bearers of the faith, as true National Socialists, our obligation is to do our duty and believe in a brighter future for our people. In hardship and death, we see the foundation for a new, purified future.”
“…Today our company was between two villages in Lorraine. All the jokes stopped and our faces were grim. Nature seemed in accord, with a slow, steady cold rain. It is quiet all around. We were quiet and deep in thought, since this morning we lost two comrades who were scouting out an important enemy position. Some others were wounded. A severely wounded comrade with pale, but calm face was just carried over from No Man’s Land across our two lines of barbed wire.
Few words were spoken, but we still talked with each other. This event turned our thoughts again to the larger meaning of our fight, for which we must bleed and die if necessary. With even more determination, we are doing our duty, far from comfort, family and homeland.”
“… The Führer is the unfailing compass point and the eternal model for us soldiers out here in the field. However great the difficulties, however unpleasant the artillery shelling — no matter what the task or mission, we are proud of doing our duty and in being bound personally to him: The Führer!”
“… Each feels under his protection, and faith in him is unshakable. The Führer’s determination, his bravery, his intelligence, and his successes have given even the weakest the will to win victory with him!”
“…We never forget his name, nor let his ideas fade. We are not only the bearers of his banner and symbols, but also of his faith, and as long as one of us remains alive to fight, he will be ready to fight and die for the Führer.”
“…Well, after six months at the Front, with its many dangers, I confess as a soldier of Adolf Hitler: It is a joy to be alive! Above all under such a Führer and in such an age!”
“…That is what is most splendid and beautiful: No one can take away this Führer who has given German greatness and victory. His example will live from generation to generation. From generation to generation, our cry of affirmation will also remain the same. In it is grounded the will of the entire people and its confidence in victory: “Heil Hitler! Everything for the Führer!”
*
Everything for the Führer. He gave his all, his blood and his young life. His words are holy for us all. “The epitome of sacrifice is to give one’s own life for the life of the community!” — This statement by the Führer was the law of his young, yet full life.
These words by a German soldier and fallen National Socialist answer the questions the world has about the roots of the absolute German confidence in victory and the irresistible power of our weapons — an answer that leaves no doubt about the outcome of the war. The enemy is fighting for material possessions that are not really his. The German soldier is fighting for life, justice, and the eternity of his nation.
This marks the true soldier of a people and of a faith. We know that they will win not only because they have the best training, the best weapons, and the beat leadership, but above all because they have the best hearts.
And if they fall, the show the nation the way to a victory that they may not experience, but that belongs to them.
They are immortal, and with them also the Reich, for: “As long as one of us remains alive to fight, he will be ready to fight and die for the Führer.”
The faith of a fallen National Socialist places an obligation on all the living.
