862.00/3400
The Ambassador in Germany (Dodd) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 11.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that the official Reichsgesetzblatt of August 22 (No. 98, Part I) publishes a law, dated August 20, containing the text of the new oaths of allegiance to be taken by the armed forces and civil servants of the Reich, respectively. A copy of this Reichsgesetzblatt will be transmitted in the same pouch as this despatch, but for the convenience of the Department a copy and translation of this law are forwarded herewith.40 (See also despatch No. 1123 of August 3, page 4, and enclosure 841).
The radical difference in wording which distinguishes these oaths from those prescribed in the Law of December 1, 1933 (see despatch No. 347 of December 13, 193342), reflects of course the profound change which has recently occurred in the German Government through the death of President von Hindenburg. The Constitution disappears completely, and no mention is made of either the German people or the Fatherland as objects to which the person taking the oath must profess his loyalty. They are replaced by Hitler in his capacity of leader of the nation. The civilian official, however, is still obliged to swear that he will observe his country’s laws.
As stated in despatch No. 1123, the new oath has already been administered to the armed forces. Numerous announcements are appearing in the press, reporting that ceremonies are taking place in the various Federal ministries and offices, at which the personnel is required to swear undivided allegiance to the Fuhrer. On one of these occasions an address was made to the employees of the Reich Chancellery by Dr. Lammers, the State Secretary of this office. He declared that in the past the career official had always been bound to the monarch and thereby to the state, with bonds of indissoluble loyalty and obedience. The Republic of Weimar, however, had destroyed this conception. It was characterized by a constantly changing parliamentary majority [Page 249] and was therefore obliged to compel the official to swear allegiance to the Federal Constitution, “a succession of paragraphs the interpretation of which was characterized by sharp dispute, and the observation of which was frequently and freely set aside by the rulers of that time.”…43 “The soulless oath of the Constitution of Weimar must disappear in the authoritarian state, our present form of government, and be replaced by an oath in which the duty of personal loyalty and obedience to the Leader of the German Reich and People, our Leader and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, must be emphasized.”
Respectfully yours,
-
Not printed. The texts of the new oaths of allegiance read:
↩- “1. The official oath of the civil servants is
as follows:
‘I swear: I will be loyal and obedient to the Fuhrer of the German Reich and People, Adolf Hitler, observe the laws, and conscientiously fulfill my official duties, so help me God.’
- “2. The official oath of the soldiers of the
defensive force is as follows:
‘I swear this sacred oath by God that I will render unconditional obedience to the Fuhrer of the German Reich and People, Adolf Hitler, the Commander-in-Chief of the defensive force, and be willing at all times to lay down my life for this oath as a brave soldier.’”
- “1. The official oath of the civil servants is
as follows:
- Neither printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Omission indicated in the original despatch.↩