Career
His phrase "working towards the Fuehrer", which he used in a 1934 speech, has become a common description of Nazi bureaucracy in the literature. Willikens enrolled in the German Imperial Army in 1912 and served in World War I as a battery commander. An early Nazi Party member, he was farmer by profession and organised the first training course for Nazi farmers in 1926.
In 1930 he was appointed deputy chairman of Agrarpolitischer Apparat, Agricultural Affairs Bureau of the NSDAP and also chaired the Agrarian League.
After Adolf Hitler came to power Willikens was appointed as a State Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry. Ian Kershaw has argued that a speech made by Willikens in 1934, in particular his use of the phrase "working towards the Fuehrer", was important in laying the framework for the Holocaust.
Kershaw argued that the speech recognised the aloofness of Hitler"s charismatic leadership and thus encouraged officials to second-guess Hitler"s wishes and act accordingly. Kershaw suggests that Adolf Eichmann"s rise from minor functionary to a leading role in the Steamship was built on this principle of working towards the Fuehrer".
Indeed, such was Kershaw"s use of Willikens" phrase that his tribute book even bore it as a title.
The speech itself was made in Berlin on 21 February 1934 to representatives of the regional agriculture ministries.