This chapter outlines Erich Ludendorff’s attacks, written in his paper, Ludendorffs Volkswarte, on Adolf Hitler, the National Socialists, and their new cabinet allies after the political party consolidated their power in the summer of 1933. It discusses the relations between Hitler and Ludendorff throughout the first two years of the Third Reich. Despite the many ideological similarities with Nazism, the chapter reveals how Ludendorff’s followers experienced persecution, including their lectures being banned at the last minute or disrupted by Sturmabteilung (SA) rowdies. Some Ludendorffers lost their jobs or chances for promotion because of their championing the Feldherr’s cause. Some spent time in jail or concentration camps because of their “subversive” belief in Deutsche Gotterkenntnis. The chapter then discusses Ludendorff’s Volkswarte as a “purely religious” journal after the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) banned his paper and the Tannenbergbund. The chapter also mentions Ludendorff’s refusal to attend the festivities commemorating the Battle of Tannenberg. Ultimately, the chapter assesses the impact of Hitler and Ludendorff’s reconciliation on Germany.
Concentration camps of Nazi Germany as a phenomenon. Opportunities and the problem of understanding