The Road to the New Germany – an early publication aimed at paving the way for the Nazi Party’s rise to power. ...

The Road to the New Germany – an early publication aimed at paving the way for the Nazi Party’s rise to power. Essen, 1931

"Der Weg zum neuen Deutschland" ("The Road to the New Germany") by Ernst Graf zu Reventlow. Published by Zentralstelle für den deutschen Freiheitskampf (Central Office for the German Freedom Struggle), Essen (Germany), 1931 – First “expanded” edition, intended to portray Adolf Hitler as the “savior” of Germany, leading the Nazi Party’s rise to power. Extremely rare.

An early album-format publication intended to serve as a central propaganda tool to persuade the German public, particularly the upper and educated classes—that the Nazi movement was the only solution to the crises of the Weimar Republic. In essence, this is a political and historical manifesto surveying the state of Germany after World War I. Reventlow fiercely attacks the postwar peace treaties, which he describes as a “humiliation” of the German people. He condemns the Weimar Republic’s system of government, portraying it as weak, corrupt, and imposed upon Germany by foreign powers, while presenting Adolf Hitler as an almost messianic “savior” and framing his political path as the sole route to national restoration. The book offers extensive explanations of the connection between the German people and their land, alongside racial ideologies emphasizing the “purity of the nation” (Volksgemeinschaft). The subtitle, "Ein Beitrag zum Wiederaufstieg des deutschen Volkes" (“A contribution to the resurgence of the German people”), highlights the book’s purpose: a return to imperial glory through authoritarian rule. The author, Ernst zu Reventlow, was a well-known figure on the far-right in Weimar Germany, a nationalist journalist, outspoken antisemite, and later a member of the Nazi Party. He was known for his attempts to give Nazi messaging an intellectual-historical veneer. This work represents an effort to outline a “political-spiritual vision” for the “renewal of Germany” under Hitler’s leadership. Throughout the book, the theme of “the German people’s rebirth” is conveyed through a mix of ideology, nationalism, and calls for a new order, interwoven with direct quotes from Hitler’s writings and speeches. A pronounced cult of personality around Hitler is evident throughout—he is portrayed as a transcendent figure who intuitively foresees all outcomes and guides the movement’s successes. In the chapter titled “Hitler, Social Democracy, Jews, Revolution”, Hitler is described as a genius who instinctively recognized the nature of the Jew and found it repulsive. He is presented as the right man at the right time to resolve the “Jewish problem” at its root. The book attempts to draw a contrast for the “beginner reader” between Jews and Aryans according to the Nazi worldview. This is one of the most influential propaganda publications disseminated in the period leading up to the Nazi rise to power, aimed at establishing ideological and public legitimacy for the emerging regime. Its rhetoric is tailored to the anti-democratic bourgeois layers of German society and strengthens the bond between Hitler’s personality cult and the “destiny of the German people.”

The book is richly illustrated throughout with numerous photographic plates documenting the early years of the Nazi movement, from 1920 through the early 1930s. Many of the images were taken by the party’s official photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. The photographs include various scenes from the annual Nazi Party Congress, Adolf Hitler at party events, “Hitler’s soldiers, ” images from the Stahlhelm (“Steel Helmet”) days, the 1931 marches of the Brownshirts (SA), and many others. At the end of the book is a large panoramic photograph measuring 90x28 cm, showing a massive crowd gathered at one of Hitler’s speeches. The caption reads: “The greatness and glory of the National Socialist movement! Tens of thousands listen to Adolf Hitler at the Stuttgart Town Hall.”

Extremely rare. Only a single copy is listed in the global library catalog WorldCat, held by a library in Germany.

321 [1] pages + 55 photographic plates + large panoramic photograph at the end of the book (90x28 cm). 28 cm. Original binding with gilt lettering. Very good condition.