ment of Göring, his principal lieutenant, to the Prussian minis-
try of the interior. Göring seemed disposed to accept these
terms, because on August he telephoned Lufthansa’s Milch
and talked about making him his Staatssekretär (undersecretary
of state). But Hitler demanded all or nothing, and when he and
Göring went in to see the venerable old president on the thir-
teenth, he did not get his way. In vain Hitler lectured the field
marshal again about unemployment, agriculture, national
unity, and alleged Jewish domination of the German way of life.
Hindenburg had been distressed by the Nazi party’s uncouth
behavior both in the Reichstag and in the streets (although he
told his secretary the next day that he had found much to ad-
mire in both Hitler and Göring). Yet during the months of en-
suing political intrigue, Hindenburg would remain in touch
with Göring, often using Pili Körner, Göring’s dapper adjutant,
for this purpose.
With the necessary support of the Center party and the
Bavarian People’s party, the Nazis unanimously elected Göring
as speaker (Präsident) of the Reichstag when it opened on
August . The office gave him direct access to Hindenburg.
Göring would retain it in fact until parliament’s heart ceased to
beat in Germany ten years later. “I thus occupied,” he would
emphasize, “the third-ranking position in the Reich.”
Von Papen’s position as chancellor without an effective
majority was impossible right from the start, and the Nazis did
nothing to make it easier. In fact, he would be the only Reich
chancellor in history who never managed to speak from the
floor of his House. In a meeting of the top Nazis at Göring’s
apartment on the last evening in August, they plotted how to
humiliate Papen and hound him out of office. The opportunity
to do so came on September , the very first session. The Com-
munists had tabled a vote of censure. “Papen,” recalled Göring