people, but its every action is dictated by service to the welfare of the people, even though a majority would not approve it.  The mission of the Fuehrung is received from the people, but the fulfilment of this mission and the exercise of power are free and must be free, for however 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 Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, is always right.”  Developing the same idea, Ley wrote in an article in the Angriff on April 9, 1942 (document 6, post p. 184):  “Right is what serves my people; wrong is what damages it.  I am born a German and have, therefore, only one holy mission:  work for my people and take care of it.”  And with reference to the position of Hitler, Ley wrote: