It was another manifestation of his contradictions that while he appeared to Goerdeler and others to be the real master of Germany he was so unsure of his position that on his return he continued to take every opportunity to bring himself to Hitler’s attention and to propose schemes which arose as much from his need to impress as from his fanaticism. Thus, as he and his rivals, Göring, Goebbels, von Ribbentrop and, recently, Martin Bormann circled around each other, their competing fantasies drove out what was left of reality about the Führer.
