Hella kämpft für’s dritte Reich Roman Von Brigitte von Arnim – Hela Fought for the Third Reich. A novel by Brigitta von Arnim, published by A. H. Payneg. Leipzig, 1934 – First edition. German. An exceptionally harsh antisemitic publication disguised as a youth novel, dealing with two German sisters, one married to an Aryan German who is an enthusiastic supporter of Adolf Hitler, and the other married to a wealthy Jew. German. Extremely rare.
A plot story for young adults about two German sisters – Lotte and Hela Heinrot. The story follows Hela’s journey from an ordinary German girl without nationalistic views to a young girl with an active Nazi consciousness, who becomes a leader of a group supporting Adolf Hitler during the struggle of German youth for the rise of the Nazi party from 1931 until Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. This occurs while her sister, who chose to marry a wealthy Jew, experiences disappointment and suffering in her marriage and ultimately regrets having defiled racial purity, not following her sister’s path.
The plot opens with the event of Hela’s sister, Lotte, getting engaged to a Jewish lawyer named Siegfried Goldman. Lotte’s mother is pleased with her daughter’s relationship with the Jew because he is wealthy and will ensure a stable life. “She wanted to see her daughter settling down.” Meanwhile, Hela befriends a German boy named Will Patterson, who becomes interested in the Nazi movement. The book highlights the stark moral contrast between the Jewish Goldman and the Nazi Will Patterson: “Siegfried is a Jew who holds the view that the supreme goal of a person is to earn as much money as possible, whereas Patterson is interested in the national community and believes in one leader.” The relationship between Lotte and the Jewish Goldman is portrayed as a bleak one, with ups and downs, while the relationship between Hela and the German Patterson is described as the ideal one: “They walked side by side, two beautiful, young Germans…”.
The message of Aryan racial superiority and Jewish inferiority runs throughout the book as a continuous part of the plot. For example, in one of the encounters between Hela and Patterson in the forest, Patterson turns to her and says: “How can your sister marry a Jew?!” Hela now also became serious. “Yes, I don’t understand it either. I would never do that, even though I don’t really know why not. It’s probably a matter of instinct. But in your eyes, the Nazis, is it really a crime?” “Yes, ” said Will Patterson, “it is. A sin against blood. Animals are raised with great effort and maintain the purity of their breed. But when it comes to humans, these basic laws of nature don’t seem to matter, do they? We can allow ourselves to bring in bastards!? Animals avoid that.” And he continued preaching : “We will take care of it!” said Will Patterson, and again, that serious look she loved and admired appeared on his face. “That’s why we shout: Germany, awaken! One day, she will awaken, even if large parts of the people are still asleep today…”.
The relationship between Hela and Patterson strengthens, creating tensions between her and her sister, who is engaged to a Jew. The Jewish Siegfried is described as a hedonist with no purpose in life, while Patterson is portrayed as a hero fighting for a noble ideal. As the plot progresses, Hela discovers her Aryan roots with the help of her German friend: “He awakened her sense of history, so that little by little, she started to become interested in it herself. He asked her about her ancestors, and she had to admit that she knew almost nothing about them. ‘Here too, we will create change!’ said Will Patterson. ‘People have lost their sense of tradition. They forgot they are a responsible link in a long chain of generations. They need to reflect again on their ancestors, on the land of their home, the source of their strength…”.
The antisemitic message becomes more and more extreme as the plot progresses. In one instance, a debate takes place between the two sisters when Lotte tries to convince Hela to attend the birthday party of their friend Siegfried, the Jew, but Hela strongly refuses. She expresses vehement racist views, claiming that Jews belong to an “inferior race, ” that they are fundamentally different, like Africans or Chinese: “Think about it! He’s a Jew!” “So what?” Lotte Heinrot replied aggressively. “Why shouldn’t he be one? Are they second-class people?” Lotte tries to defend Siegfried, claiming that he is just like them – Protestant, born and raised in Germany. For her, there is no reason to see him as “other.” But Hela insists that it is a matter of race, not religion, and that he cannot change his identity. Eventually, Lotte is persuaded and attends the party. Siegfried’s Jewish friends are described as “terrible people.” When in their presence, “Hela suffers through it all in torment”: Siegfried and his Jewish friends talk about “the last spectacle” and “the last movie, ” “Hela Heinrot closes her eyes. She feels like she’s choking here. As if someone should come and throw all the windows and doors wide open to let in fresh air.” She imagines her Nazi friend: “And before her eyes, she sees him, tall, thin, brown hair, and blue and pure sailor’s eyes. And behind him, all the others, the men of the A and the Hitler Youth. Most of them are still boys, miserable, starving, poor, and yet strong in their unstoppable faith, pure…” All that remains in her is “contemptuous pity.” She watches her sister Lotte, following her with her eyes, feeling a faint sadness: “What have they done to you, Lotte!” Hela feels deep and genuine pity for her sister. But she doesn’t know how to free her from this false atmosphere.
After a short time, Hela attends a rally of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) of the SA (Sturmabteilung), where the atmosphere is completely different: “Hela gradually feels the quiet excitement that rests upon these people… They all have the same expression, whether they are tall or short, fat or thin. They all have the same tense, combined, disciplined behavior, with a strong line of will around the mouth, fanatical eyes. They are already their own race, purified in the melting pot of a great and delicate idea, these brown-shirted soldiers of Adolf Hitler…” She watches in excitement as her friend Will Patterson walks into the hall alongside his comrades. She is swept up in the atmosphere of the salute, “Heil Hitler.” At this point, Hela herself joins the Nazi movement and becomes an active member, engaging in social activism for “Awaken, Germany!”.
Later, Hela’s sister, Lotte Heinrot, sets a date for her wedding to the Jew Siegfried Goldman. The wedding event is described as pathetic and hollow, with most of the guests being Jews with narrow interests. Will, her German friend, deliberately does not attend the wedding – on that day, he goes to Holstein for a Nazi party event. Shortly afterward, the wedding of Will Patterson, the Nazi, and Hela Heinrot takes place. In stark contrast, this wedding is described in vivid colors: “At the wedding of the young couple, the church was full of Nazis. Those who managed to leave the section appeared with a spirit of camaraderie like no other. It was important to honor the popular Sturmführer, the loyal party member. Many friends were there, all brown-shirted Nazis, the National Socialist women, the girls from the BDM (League of German Girls), even the Hitler Youth, and the young children. U. People of Will’s stormtroopers stood along the entire way: outside and inside the church. Men, through this forest of raised arms, marched the storm leader Will Patterson, his young wife on his arm. She: all in white, but he, in brown uniform, loyal to Adolf Hitler.” At the wedding, one of the SA men rises to give a speech, preaching faith in Adolf Hitler: “You are fighting for the great leader whom God himself sent to us, for Germany, our homeland!”
The newlyweds move to live on a small farm in Dahlnhof near Holstein. The two immediately join the fight in the March 1932 elections and establish an enthusiastic Nazi support group for Adolf Hitler at the farm where they live. There, they teach the principles of Nazi ideology, preach hatred of Jews, and Hela preaches to German girls to sacrifice their lives for Adolf Hitler. She becomes the leader of the Holstein girls, to whom she delivers fiery speeches about the righteousness of Nazi ideology and about “Awaken, Germany!”: “Her words are full of the same fervor as her husband’s; her heart speaks through them, her burning, passionate desire. But not only that, now she is trained enough to justify and prove her claims… How beautiful and full of life they are, they ask questions, and Hela answers them. Suddenly, unintentionally, she is the center of attention.” Hela’s circle of listeners continues to expand, and she brings more and more propaganda materials to the area, with the small community she creates becoming increasingly devout in its belief in the Führer. Nine months later, the couple has a son: “In the early days of February, Hela Patterson gave birth to a son. And after the small creature was placed in her arms, she said very seriously, as if speaking to an adult: ‘You will be born into the Third Reich, the Reich of National Socialism! You will belong to the Third Reich, my child!'”
The plot concludes with a triumphant victory as Hitler wins the elections in February 1933: “The new government took the reins of a state that had been dragged deep into the ground, the brown army of Adolf Hitler triumphed.” This is also Hela’s personal victory, as she is overjoyed beyond measure. During those days, she receives a letter from her sister Lotte, who is married to a Jew: “I would like to receive some new strength and a fresh outlook from you, ” she writes. “Things seem bleak for us right now. Siegfried is very depressed because he fears his income will decrease. I’ve convinced him well, and comforted him with the fact that I can manage with less financial support. But he doesn’t respond to any encouragement, no matter how good the intentions are. The thought that he must limit his lifestyle is almost unbearable for him. Now, he’s almost unbearable for me… I would never have imagined his heart would be so attached to the little wealth we’ve managed to afford so far…” Slowly, Lotte herself begins to internalize that “Siegfried (the Jew) is different from us.” Lotte comes to visit her sister’s house for a few days, feeling depressed due to her strained relationship with her Jewish husband. She admits that she made a mistake by marrying Siegfried the Jew, and begins to develop a sense of racial consciousness: “She said one evening when we sat together peacefully after work. Many people didn’t feel this way before. This is probably what you call racial consciousness…” She envies her sister for choosing correctly to marry an enthusiastic Nazi, and laments her misfortune in marrying a Jew.
Extremely rare. Three entries only in the WorldCat library catalog, all in libraries in Leipzig (one of them in microfilm).
147 [1] pages. Light stains on a few pages. Early owner inscription. Good condition.
