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 

Göring’s Pet

Toward midnight on election night, March , , the Nazi
party notables came together in Göring’s Kaiserdamm apart-
ment to await the results. Industrialists in evening dress, like
Thyssen, and princes in SA rig, like August-Wilhelm, rubbed
shoulders with Richthofen Squadron aviators and brown-
shirted party infantry, stuffing themselves with canapés and free
liquor. But the voting figures were still nothing to celebrate.
With  Nazi seats this time, backed up by Hugenburg’s ,
they were still a long way short of the  that Hitler would have
needed for a two-thirds majority.
For several days Hitler and Göring pondered ways and
means of bridging the gap. In the Cabinet on March , Göring
suggested, according to the minutes, “that the majority could be
attained by ordering a number of Social Democrats out of the
Chamber.” In the end, by ensuring that the Communist depu-
ties did not attend (all  were on the run or in custody), Hitler