“We are like a plant-breeding specialist who, when he wants to breed a pure new strain, first goes over the field to cull the unwanted plants. We, too, shall begin by weeding out people who are not suitable SS material.” [1]
Heinrich Himmler with his daughter Gudrun
In April 1940, it was discovered that SS Private, Walter Küchlein, had Jewish ancestry. He was forced to leave the organisation and received a letter of apology from Heinrich Himmler explaining his decision to expel him.
Himmler wrote:
I can understand your feelings, since anyone who was once with us, in an organisation which demands so many sacrifices from its members—can never leave it. But in the end we love this organisation precisely because it has always operated without compromise.
As for the source of the blood: each of us must prove the purity of his blood from the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War. If it is discovered that there is a Jew among his ancestors, he must resign from the organisation. I am less stringent with the wives of SS members, especially if they are older and can no longer bear children. I cannot, therefore, revise my decision, but I can tell you that even now, when you are outside the organisation, I will continue to consider you an SS man to the end of your days, and I expect of you that you will continue to preserve your loyalty to the organisation and your willingness to make the sacrifices demanded of you.
If you ask me on what basis I allow myself to demand this sacrifice of you, my answer is that we could, of course, allow ourselves to be more flexible with the rules: we live in the era of the Führer, founder of the movement, and I am sure that we would not be tempted to make the exception into a rule. The fear is that those who come after us will see it as a precedent. They are liable to say that what was done in Hitler's day can be done in theirs. This is the danger: what was exceptional in our day might become routine in the coming generations. I believe that you will understand this and be persuaded that even though you can no longer visibly serve in the SS, you may still be part of us in a spiritual way. You may be absolutely sure that if your fate is to lose your life in the war for your country, the SS will support your widow and children as if you were still a member of the organisation. Should you receive furlough and want to speak with me, I will be happy to receive you. I wish you all the best [2].
References:Heil Hitler,Yours, Heinrich Himmler
1. Robin Lumsden, Himmler's Black Order: A History of the SS, 1923-1945 (U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1997) 65
2. Bundesarchiv Koblenz, April 3, 1940, NS 19/Neu 453. Quoted in Soldiers of Evil; The Commandants of the Nazi Concentration Camps by Tom Segev, published by McGraw Hill Book Company, 1989.
