Another aspect of the Nazis which attracted Canaris was their views on Communism. Many of his friends joined the Nazi crusade and Canaris "likewise came to be regarded as an enthusiastic National Socialist." Former SS general Werner Best once described Canaris as an "inveterate nationalist", correspondingly asserting that he (Canaris) felt the Nazis were much better "than anything that had gone before." Even after the Night of the Long Knives, Canaris "preached wholehearted cooperation with the new regime." Canaris once said, "we officers...should always recognize that without the Führer and his NSDAP, the restoration of German military greatness and military strength would not have been possible...the officer's duty is to be a living example of National Socialism and make the German Wehrmacht (armed forces) reflect the fulfillment of National Socialist ideology. That must be our grand design."