Eight Commandments

On parade grounds all over Germany last week squads stood stiffly at attention, hands slapped to trousers' seams. Non-commissioned officers strutted back & forth in front of them.

"Where are the roots of the army's might?" a sergeant would bark.

With eyes shut, the squad bellowed in unison:

"The roots of its might lie in the glorious past, in the German race, German earth and German toil. Service in the army is service of honor to the German nation."

"What is the highest military virtue?"

The answer came like a roar: "The highest military virtue is the fighting spirit. It demands roughness and determination. Cowardice is despicable, while hesitation is unmilitary."

Holding a vast fountain pen in his flabby old fist, President von Hindenburg, as a last duty before leaving for his summer home in East Prussia, had just signed eight commandments or precepts, a military code which Reichswehr Minister Werner von Blomberg promptly ordered every German soldier to memorize. The new commandments supersede the military code of May 9, 1930. There are notable changes. The soldiers' code now has no reference either to the constitution or the German Republic. Omitted is the formal prohibition against soldiers' playing an active part in politics. The old democratic right of German soldiers to file complaints against the acts of their officers has also been dropped. Cancelled is this old promise: "The road to the highest posts stands open to all according to capacity and achievements."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.