Hitler's speech at Siemans factory, Nov. 10, 1933

"Perhaps some of you here are unable to forgive me because I eradicated the Marxist Party. But my friend, I also eradicated all the other parties."

This was the first speech that Hitler broadcast live on all German radio stations, and took place only nine months after his take-over as Chancellor of the German Reich. It is a perfect illustration of the way he was able to create a sense of community between himself and his audience.

Hitler was aware that many in this working-class audience were likely to have left-wing sympathies, yet within a minute he had won them over with a reference to his wartime service as a corporal in the trenches.

The chief aim of the speech was to promote rearmament, without regard for international restrictions. Hitler wanted Germany to leave the League of Nations, which opposed rearmament; in November 1933 he organised a national plebiscite, in which Germans were intimidated into agreeing that they too wanted rearmament.

A referendum on withdrawing from the League of Nations was held in Germany on 12 November 1933 alongside Reichstag elections. The measure was approved by 95.1% of voters with a turnout of 96.3%. It was the first of a series of referendums held by the German cabinet under Chancellor Adolf Hilter.