On 4 July 1926, Weimar witnessed something strange. An infamous firebrand called Adolf Hitler stood on the town’s ancient market square, as hundreds of his brownshirts marched by. Elevated on a platform, he held his arm raised in the fascist salute. Yet far from issuing the angry rhetoric he was already known for, Hitler’s mouth remained firmly shut. No matter how much his men goaded him, he stood in rigid silence. Hitler was complying with a pub