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Now it was Lüttwitz’s turn to speak for the group. “You wouldn’t dare, Herr Hitler. You would be tried as a criminal, along with the rest of us.” Halstead gave one last smile as he half-turned to the door held open by a Reichswehr lieutenant, and redonned his hat. “Yes, tried by a justice system that despises the Republic and admires any and all of her enemies. We would all get off with light sentences, but the putsch would be over. And it might help my party later down the line if I were seen as a reasonable alternative to brute military force. Good day, gentlemen.” Halstead tipped his hat and completed his turn to the door. “Give careful thought to my proposals.” The door opened for the Darbeitpartei leader closed behind him with a thud, and he followed his armed escorts down the hall with light steps and childlike gazes of curiosity at the musty interior of the Reich Chancellery.
############At precisely noon the following day, every one of the five thousand men who composed the marinebrigade Ehrhardt brought their fists to their hearts, most of them awkwardly and for the first time, and uttered their oath of allegiance to Adam Halstead, who faced them standing in front of the scenic backdrop of the Brandenburg Gate: “I swear by God this sacred oath, that I will render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the Führer of the German Reich and people, and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for this oath.” After he had listened to this oath with a catch in his throat, an oath which was being repeated throughout Germany in the presence of Darbeitpartei officials by those armed forces who had previously pledged their loyalty to Lüttwitz and his co-conspirators, Halstead nodded to Captain Ehrhardt in a prearranged signal. This signal prompted the brigade’s commander to swivel back to his troops and order them to about-face to the crowd that had gathered to hear Halstead speak. |