During the Weimar Republic, the government had instituted a public
day of mourning to commemorate the war dead. Under the National
Socialists, this holiday was renamed “Heroes’ Remembrance Day”
[Heldengedenktag]. The new name
corresponded more closely with Nazi ideology – the emphasis was no
longer on mourning and the avoidance of future wars but rather on heroes
and the glory of the fallen. “Heroes’ Remembrance Day” was just one of
many examples of the National Socialist glorification of the sacrifices
made by soldiers. The holiday was always celebrated on the Sunday that
fell five weeks before Easter. In 1935, “Heroes’ Remembrance Day” fell
on March 17, the day after Hitler reintroduced military conscription.
That year, the National Socialists made particularly good advantage of
the festivities surrounding the holiday. The photograph below was taken
during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Heroes’ Memorial “Unter den
Linden.” It shows (from left to right) Admiral Erich Raeder
(Commander-in-Chief of the War Navy), Senior General Werner von Fritsch
(Commander-in-Chief of the Army), Reich Marshal Hermann Göring
(Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force), General Field Marshal August von
Mackensen (Royal Prussian Army), Hitler, and Reich Minister of War
Werner von Blomberg. Mackensen was the last surviving field marshal from
World War I, and Hitler was only too happy to use his popularity for
propaganda purposes. At first, Hitler’s rearmament policy appeared to
correspond with the military leadership’s desire to see a revision of
certain provisions of the Versailles Treaty and his chancellorship was
thus welcomed. Soon enough, however, Blomberg, Fritsch, and other
members of the military elite came to realize that they, too, could
easily fall victim to Hitler’s totalitarian style of leadership.