Thus the law that formally appointed him Hitler’s “commis-
sioner for the Four-Year Plan” on October , , gave him the
key to the treasure-house. He controlled the Reich’s entire for-
eign-exchange reserves. No corporation could purchase imports
without his approval. Haranguing his Little Cabinet on the
twenty-first, he uttered the bald statement that his Vollmacht
(authority) was “unlimited.” A week later he addressed a mass
audience in the Sport Palace on the need to put guns before
butter. “Too much fat,” he roared into the microphones, and
pointed at his own midriff, “means too-big bellies.”
On October , he circulated his decree setting up the
Office of the Four-Year Plan. The appended organization chart
filled six pages. As economic dictator in an authoritarian coun-
try he now enjoyed advantages that liberal economists could
only dream of, and he began to succeed on a spectacular scale.
His wiretappers gave him a winning edge. The rigid wage and
price controls of the National Socialist economy did the rest.
“Trust this man I have selected!” appealed Hitler, speaking to
the leading industrialists on December . “He is the best man I
have for the job.”
Schacht blistered with anger. At the same conference he
heard Göring advise the leading businessmen to go out and use
any means, “fair or foul,” to harvest foreign currency. Schacht
protested sternly, but Göring was now above the law.