er surely and forcefully a healthy people may be able
to make decisions in the larger issues of its destiny, its
decisions in all smaller matters are confused and uncertain.
For this reason, _Fuehrung_ must be free in the performance
of its task ... The Fuehrer does not stand for himself alone
and can be understood not of himself, but only from the idea
of a work to be accomplished ... Both the Fuehrer and his
following are subject to the idea which they serve; both are
of the same substance, the same spirit, and the same blood.
The despot knows only subjects whom he uses or, at best, for
whom he cares. But the first consideration of the Fuehrer is
not his own advantage nor even, at bottom, the welfare of
the people, but only service to the mission, the idea, and
the purpose to which Fuehrer and following alike are
consecrated.[53]

The supreme position of Adolf Hitler as Fuehrer of the Reich, which
Huber and Neesse emphasize in the preceding quotations, is also
stressed in the statements of high Nazi officials. For example, Dr.
Frick, the German Minister of the Interior, in an article entitled
"Germany as a Unitary State," which is included in a book called
_Germany Speaks_, published in London in 1938, states:

The unity of the party and the state finds its highest
realization in the person of the Leader and Chancelor who
... combines the offices of President and Chancelor. He is
the leader of the National Socialist Party, the political
head of the state and the supreme commander of the defense
forces.[54]

It is interesting to note that, notwithstanding the generally
recognized view as expressed in the preceding citations that the
authority of the Fuehrer is supreme, Hitler found it necessary in April
1942 to ask the Reichstag to confirm his power to be able at any time,
if necessary, to urge any German to fulfil his obligations by all
means which appear to the Fuehrer appropriate in the interests of the
successful prosecution of the war.[55] (The text of the resolution
adopted by the Reichstag is included as document 5, _post_ p. 183.)

Great emphasis is placed by the Nazi leaders on the infallibility of
the Fuehrer and the duty of obedience of the German people. In a
speech on June 12, 1935, for instance, Robert Ley, director of the
party organization, said, "Germany must obey like a well-trained
soldier: the F