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墨書 Inktalez
"Selling newspapers! President Albert was assassinated last night! Shot eight times! Presidential Guard completely wiped out!"
On a street in Munich, a young boy was shouting loudly, knowing that today's big news could earn him a lot of money.
Obviously, his words attracted many passersby, and many people took out bundles of Mark from their bags and threw them into the bamboo basket carried by the boy.
Indeed, a newspaper costs one hundred thousand Marks, which reflects the inflation situation in Germany in 1925. The news of President Albert's assassination was sensational; within just a few minutes, only a few copies of the boy's newspaper were left for sale. The 7-year-old boy counted the money in his bamboo basket, estimated its weight, and felt quite pleased. He decided to go to the store immediately to buy food, as the inflation rate in Germany was measured by the hour.
"Give me one."
A middle-aged man in a black trench coat and a hat tossed a coin into the hands of the young man.
"Thank you for your generosity, sir. God bless you."
The young boy immediately handed over a newspaper. Although the price of five pence was roughly equivalent to one hundred thousand Marks today, he knew that tomorrow it would be worth two hundred thousand Marks or even more. Even though prices were rising, he could take advantage of the time difference.
The middle-aged man said nothing as he picked up the newspaper and left. He walked straight across the street and then turned left into Landsberg Prison. After passing through a long corridor, he arrived at the door of an office, opened it, and walked inside.
"You're here? Franz, do you have news?" asked Hitler, sitting on the sofa.
"President Albert is dead," Gutnach got straight to the point.
"Great," Hitler said, raising his fist with force.
"Immediately send out a statement in the newspapers announcing that this assassination was carried out by the Nazi Party of Bavaria, and then throw a few irrelevant individuals out to take the blame."
"We will meet with President Hindenburg this afternoon, not Field Marshal Hindenburg."
Hitler was already preparing for his activities after being released from prison. He had spent several months in jail, longer than in history, and he knew he needed to get out quickly. Without his leadership, the Nazi Party in Bavaria was nothing but a scattered mess.
Although Hitler did not see Strasser from the north as a threat, for someone with such a high desire for power, any uncontrollable factor was intolerable.
At that moment, Hitler's assistant in prison, Rudolf Hess, knocked on the door and entered.
"Heil! meinFuhrer!"
Hess saluted and began to report the news.
"Führer, a telegram from Berlin states that Ernst Röhm reports it was not him who killed President Albert yesterday, but rather the head of Berlin, Gregor Strasser. They carried out the operation together."
This clearly took Hitler by surprise.
"Strasser? Why is he involved in this operation? Didn't I tell Rom not to inform him?"
“Rom happened to run into Strasser while on a mission, and after coordinating, they decided to act together,” Hes replied truthfully.
“It’s not impossible. Berlin is Strasser's territory, and I’ve heard he has developed the party to ten thousand members there. It’s quite possible that Rom's actions were discovered by them,” Gutnach analyzed.
“What I’m worried about isn’t that,” Hitler said, leaning on his elbows on the desk.
"It is already difficult to keep such a large operation under wraps in Berlin, and he knows that participating in the operation does not necessarily indicate any ambition on his part, nor does it necessarily demonstrate his loyalty. But I am worried that some people might have leaked information."
Hitler pondered for a moment, then relaxed again.
"Regardless, it was we, the Nazi Party, who killed Albert; this credit is undeniable. Field Marshal Hindenburg must accept our goodwill, unless he has no interest in that position."
"Field Marshal Hindenburg really has thoughts of returning to politics? I thought he was enjoying retirement now?" Gutnach expressed some doubts.
"Well, you are completely wrong. You only see Field Marshal Hindenburg's present, but forget about Field Marshal Hindenburg's past. He is a very patriotic person. As long as country needs him, he will not hesitate. And those who support Hindenburg will also push him into that position," confidently stated Hitler.
What Ernst Röhm didn't know was that his seemingly self-serving actions were seen as blatant betrayal in Hitler's eyes. Hitler had already begun to fear this old comrade who refused to relinquish leadership of the stormtroopers, which also accelerated the future rift between Röhm and Hitler.
The assassination of President Albert shocked the entire nation; no one expected that the president of a country could be murdered on the streets. The day after Albert's assassination, more than twenty political parties across the country announced their responsibility for the incident in their respective newspapers. Their political spectrum ranged from far-left to far-right, and everyone sought to use this event to increase their visibility in Germany.
Despite the complete failure of the Presidential Guard, leaving no survivors at the scene, various clues pointed to the Communist Party and the Nazi Party as the culprits. In response to the police investigation, the new leader of the Communist Party in Berlin candidly admitted that while they were involved in the action, they had failed to successfully assassinate President Albert.
Thus, this honor fell upon the National Socialist Party, and the name of the National Socialist Party began to gain recognition nationwide.
Since President Albert was assassinated in Berlin, the main leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party in Berlin, Strasser, became the focus of public attention. In response to reporters' inquiries, Strasser stated that he would not hand over the hero responsible for the assassination of President Albert; if the National Socialist Party had to take any responsibility, he was willing to bear it alone.
This behavior clearly evoked memories of 1923, when Hitler had similarly claimed after being arrested during the Beer Hall Putsch. People were eager to see if Strasser could replicate Hitler's courtroom feats, and for a time, Strasser and the National Socialist Party's names were widely discussed in society.
However, it is clear that Strasser, Hitler, Rom, and others were correct in their judgments. Rather than focusing on who killed President Albert, the major political parties in Congress were more concerned about the power vacuum left after Albert's death. They merely symbolically dispatched the Chief of the Berlin Police Department to investigate the matter.
This Chief announced at a press conference that the attack on the Presidential Guard was orchestrated by foreign forces, and regarding President Albert, who was shot eight times, he attributed the cause of death to suicide out of fear of punishment.
It turned out that if Albert were not the President of Germany, hardly anyone would care about his life or death. People had no reverence for this president, except for the Social Democratic Party.
However, the Social Democratic Party has reacted very unusually to this matter. Aside from condemning the criminal's actions in the newspaper on the first day, they have remained silent and have maintained a strangely subdued state ever since.
On the other hand, for Strasser, this action has brought him considerable benefits. He gained national recognition, and people became aware that besides Hitler, there was also someone like Strasser in the Nazi Party.
The day after the news broke, many people expressed their desire to join the Berlin Country Social Democratic Party, and numerous individuals directly pledged their loyalty to Strasser.
He was not worried that Hitler would come after him. He was just completing the task that Hitler had given him to develop in Berlin, and his actions made Hindenburg accept Hitler's feelings. There was no reason for Hitler to punish him. He had to develop and grow himself while Hitler was still in prison. When he had accumulated enough power, Hitler's fear would be irrelevant.
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