The Faithful Spy: Chapters 3–4

When a leader allows himself to succumb to the wishes of those he leads, of those who will always seek to turn him into their idol, the image of the leader will gradually become the image of the "mis-leader."

Dietrich hated the way Hitler spoke in public, waving his arms, shouting and spitting as he talked (this is called "histrionics").

After the broadcast, the next months were nothing less than a seismic upheaval of German society.

Even more troubling to Dietrich, the German church itself was also buckling. First they accepted the Aryan Paragraph, then pastors began to wear the distinctive bronze eagle (a symbol of the Nazi Party, which had once topped the storm troopers' rally banners) on their coat lapels.

Dietrich wasn't fooled by the faulty premise of the Aryan Paragraph.

This paper was a blistering attack on the Nazi idols being built in the heart of Germany.

Question the state and its methods. A true church must protect itself and reject government encroachment on its beliefs.

His strident opposition had made him an outcast in most high-society circles.

While living in England, Dietrich traveled quite often across mainland Europe and Scandinavia, working outside Germany to rally ecumenical support for a theological stand against the Nazi church.

The document outlined the heresy of anti-Jewish policies and the false doctrine of Führer worship.

It was becoming clear that Hitler, even as the chancellor of Germany, was not in control of his zealots.

The ranks of the storm troopers were now millions strong, led by Ernst Röhm, one of Hitler's ambitious toadies.

The sitting military leaders had distrusted Hitler, but the idea of a crude hooligan like Röhm and his roughneck tactics leading the entire Reichswehr was a complete abomination to them.

The portly old Great War veteran Hindenburg had the constitutional authority to appoint a new chancellor at any time.

If Hitler's Nazi Party appeared unstable and mutinous, Hindenburg had the power to quickly dump Hitler from the chancellorship.

Hitler's blow came in the form of an audacious secret killing spree—a bloodbath that came to be known as The Night of Long Knives.

This savage betrayal would centralize his powers and take away any threat of being deposed.

Hitler, the feral wolf, was casting off the collar of domestication. It was evident he was capable of anything...even eating his own young.

As proud German soldiers, they were now honor bound to serve their Führer. Any smoldering hope of removing Adolf Hitler from power through traditional democracy was totally extinguished.

As a teacher, he was demanding, like his father. But as a leader, he had an unpredictable streak of whimsy. Dietrich would often cancel classes suddenly to take a day trip to the nearby beach dunes.

As young men in a country growing more militant by the day, conscription, drafted into military service, was possible at any moment.

As young men in a country growing more militant by the day, conscription, drafted into military service, was possible at any moment.

The brilliant sprinter beat out the German superstar Luz Long in the long jump, ruining Hitler’s perfect narrative of German dominance (especially considering Owens was both black and an American!). Owens went on to win four gold medals in the 1936 Games, something of an abomination to Hitler and his inner circle of strident racists.

Throughout 1937, the plight of the rebellious church became much more desperate.

They were held for seven hours while the Gestapo tore apart the walls and furniture, looking for hidden money designated for the confessing church. Finally, the Gestapo's fastidious nature paid off. They found 30,000 marks belonging to the pastors' emergency league in a safe hidden behind a painting in the house!

After this close call, Dietrich remained elusive.

Ever since the deal Hitler made to oust Röhm and his storm troopers, the army generals had seen Hitler as an ambitious but shrewd leader on the rise.

Many of the generals in the meeting were flabbergasted. They looked at one another in horror. For this, Hitler would bring the world's anger down upon Germany again!

There were many different circles of conspiracy against Hitler. They worked independently but generally were aware of each other.

In March 1938, he annexed Austria with nothing more than blustery speeches and the tactics of a schoolyard bully.

General Ludwig Beck, chief of the army general staff, resigned his position in protest of both Hitler's strategies and the other generals' passivity.

Even more important to understanding the generals' inaction was their total belief that Hitler could NOT sustain this high-wire act very long.

Many in the army leadership believed that Hitler was completely unhinged and that his risky game of chicken with a new world war could only end in his disgraced exit from leadership.

Empowered by the rapturous adoration of the German people, Hitler now believed he could do anything to anyone.

It began on November 9, 1938, with hours of remorseless terror that came to be known as “KRlSTALLNACHT."

The stark and remorseless aggression of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) was a shock, even to someone who saw the Nazis for who they really were.

All Jewish-owned stores were liquidated and the property seized by the government.

Not content with the small section of Western Czechoslovakia that he had seized in the fall of 1938, Hitler invaded the entire country by marching on the capital, Prague, in March 1939. By doing this, Hitler blatantly defied a peace treaty he had made with the British in the fall of 1938.

As Dietrich read the reports of Nazis marching down the streets of Prague, he knew that his time was running out. He could be forced into service any day now. In desperation, he decided to apply for a military deferment, for the allowed one-year term.

On his knees, Dietrich searched for the Lord's will in a long and meandering prayer of thanks and praise.