Category: Hitler

The birthplace of Hitler was Braunau. This was an insignificant town found in Austria. He was born to Alois Hitler, his father and Klara Hitler, his mother who was a third wife to Alois Hitler. Adolf Hitler was a very bright student. He did very well at primary school and seemed to have secured a strong foundation for a bright academic future as he grew.

At school, he had fame and pupils envied the qualities of leadership that they saw in him. Adolf was also religious to the extent that he thought and considered the possibility of him becoming a monk (Toland, 16).

In the secondary school, academic competition was tough for him. When he discovered that he could not excel in classwork, he stopped trying. Adolf Hitler became stubborn. He never listened to the counsel of his seniors who encouraged him to continue with education. His father, Alois was disturbed and disappointed by his son. He had thought that Hitler would emulate him and become a member of the Austrian military once he finished school (Nicholls, 23).

Everything about Hitler started changing. His fame with other students started to fade away as they started dismissing him as one of their leaders. He became bossy because he gave orders and spent most time with small pupils. He was into games that involved fighting, bullying, and harassing.

He only liked Leopold Potsch among other teachers. Potsch was Hitler’s history master. His teacher liked many people who lived in Upper Austria because he was a German nationalist. The teacher taught his students about the wars won by German in early 1870s. The chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, was one of Adolf Hitler’s early historical heroes. The other main interest he had in school was art. His father was shocked when Hitler told him that he wanted to pursue a course in art (Waters, 135).

At the age of fifteen, he was incompetent in academics, and his performance in exams was pathetic. He did not like the idea when he was told to repeat. He successfully persuaded his mother to drop out of school without a secondary education certificate. He had no vision because instead of feeling bad, he celebrated by drinking. Nonetheless, this experience was not satisfying, and he swore to refrain from drinking (Waters, 136).

On receiving the inheritance from his father’s will, he relocated to Vienna. He had dreams of studying art, but the dreams were shuttered down when the Vienna Academy of Art rejected his application for not having a school leaving certificate. He regretted the fact that he was unfocused (Jones, 24).

Adolf Hitler was unwilling to serve Austria. He instead volunteered for the German Army during the outbreak of the First World War. He regarded the German Army as the most superior to other European countries. Adolf Hitler could offer himself in dire situations and lead from the front. This character of Adolf captivated his seniors in the military ranks. During the First World War, he won five medals. However, despite the fact that he was decorated in the war, he only reached the rank of corporal (Weber, 323).

The war ended, and Hitler was posted in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. He opposed the leader of the Independent Socialist Party when he declared Bavaria a Socialist Republic. The German soldiers entered Munich and overthrew the BSR. Hitler was promoted to become a political officer after convincing the soldiers that he was against the party. He made political speeches and taught soldiers on matters concerning politics. This was a great start for Adolf Hitler to venture into politics (Weber, 325).

After a long involvement in politics, Hitler realized that he had skills as an orator, and this gave him confidence to challenge Anton Drexler, a leader of the Nazi Party. He swiftly managed to become the new leader. Hitler was capable of instigating hatred and anger amongst his followers.

In this case, he was could influence them to engage in violence. He was imprisoned for beating a rival politician. Hitler was selfish and greedy. This is portrayed when he promised to occupy Russian land if he won. In his mission to overthrow the government, he took three top commandants into a separate room and forcefully made them to collaborate with him. This happened because he was to be the next new leader of Germany. He used force to get what he wanted without caring for others (Weber, 325).

He was arrested for another year, and upon his release, he pretended not to be committed to politics. He took most of his time travelling and touring different places in Germany. His party Nazi gradually grew through the efforts he put into a campaign for power. He looked determined to take over the leadership of Germany. Hitler avoided being asked to explain how he would improve the German economy (Nicholls, 80).

After being elected as the chancellor of Germany, Hitler developed a dictatorial character. He also ordered all media that supported the other parties to be closed during the general elections in 1933. In spite of all those means to shutter the other parties, his party still did not win (Nicholls, 80).

When Hitler took control of power in Germany, he used a divide and rule method due to the fear of being overthrown. He knew he was a dictator. He did so much for German, but this did not outdo the damage he had caused. He was a racist and did not mince his words of hatred towards other races. For instance, in Mein Kampf, he made it clear that he hated the Jewish race. Being an opportunist, Hitler tried to fight the nations that surrounded it.

He expanded the size of Germany and tried to take control of Europe. There is a time when he felt ill, but this could not stop his army. He was so inhuman that he used to laugh whenever he was told about the deaths of his soldiers at war. His reign came to an end when the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Britain combined forces to fight back leading to his overthrow. When he heard that the Soviet troops had entered Germany, he decided to commit suicide to prevent them from humiliating him (Nicholls, 82).

Adolf Hitler could have overcome this humiliation if he had good qualities of leadership. A good leader should know how to communicate. Despite the fact that Hitler was a good orator, he was not a good listener. He never listened to any advice especially when his army was at war. Even when things were hard for them, he commanded them to fight to the death. This shows that he never recognized the value of others. Being an opportunist, he used them as a bridge to his success (Iorg, 28).

A good leader should also be truthful and honest. Adolf lied to his mother that he had joined an art school. At one time while at war, Hitler was shot and ran into hiding. However, he lied that he had rushed a shot boy to the hospital. If he had a focused mind, Adolf would not have dropped from school.

This made him appear as an incompetent leader. Hitler escaped from responsibilities. For example, he avoided explaining how he would raise the economy of Germany. A good leader should have a vision. With a positive attitude towards his nation, he would have realized the harm he had caused the people he led (Iorg, 30).

If Hitler was a respectable leader, he would not have had an affair with his niece. Being a family man would have helped him from possessing bad characters such as dictatorship and being disrespectful. By being approachable, accessible and accountable to all, he would not have hate given speech against the Jews.

The Jews were of great importance to Germany. An intelligent leader always makes wise decisions and thinks deeply before judging or acting. Adolf killed one of his allies after being fed with false propaganda by other “supportive friends” who were against the victim. He should have used tactics to know whether they were lying. Adolf Hitler failed because he did not possess the qualities of a good leader (Iorg, 32). A leader of the people by the people and with the people should have strong and good characteristics.

Works Cited

Iorg, Jeff. The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities That Define Great Leaders. Nashville, Tenn: B&H Pub. Group, 2007. Print.

Jones, J S. Hitler in Vienna, 1907-1913. New York: Stein and Day, 1983. Print.

Nicholls, David. Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion. Oxford: ABC-Clio, 2000. Print.

Toland, John. Adolf Hitler. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 1997. Print.

Waters, Christopher. Australia and Appeasement: Imperial Foreign Policy and the Origins of World War II. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. Print.

Weber, Thomas. Hitler’s First War: Adolf Hitler, the Men of the List Regiment, and the First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.

Introduction

Adolf Hitler rose to power as the chancellor of Germany in 1933 through a legal election and formed a coalition government of the NSDAO-DNVP Party. Many issues in Hitler’s life and manipulations behind the curtains preceded this event.

Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power propelled by various factors that were in play in Germany since the end of World War I. The weak Weimar Republic and Hitler’s anti-Semitism campaigns and obsession were some of the factors that favored Hitler’s rise to power and generally the Nazi beliefs (Bloxham and Kushner 2005: 54).

Every public endorsement that Hitler received was an approval for his hidden Nazi ideals of dictatorship and Semitism regardless of whether the Germans were aware or not.

Hitler’s pathway to power was rather long and coupled with challenges but he was not ready to let go; he held on to accomplish his deeply rooted obsessions and beliefs; actually, vote for Hitler was a vote for the Holocaust.

Hitler joined the German Worker’s Party in the year 1919 as its fifth member. His oratory talent and anti-Semitism values quickly popularized him and by 1920, he was already the head of propaganda.

The party later changed its name to Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartel (NSDPA) and formed paramilitary groups in the name of security men or gymnastics and sports division.

It was this paramilitary formed by Hitler that would cause unrest later to tarnish the name of the communists leading to distrust of communism by the Germans and on the other hand rise of popularity of the Nazi (Burleigh 1997: 78).

A turning point of Hitler took place when he led the Beer Hall Putsch, in a failed coup de tat and the government later imprisoned him on accusations of treason. The resulting trial earned him a lot of publicity, he used the occasion to attack the Weimar republic, and later while in prison, he rethought his approach to get into power.

The Weimar Republic

The military defeat and German revolution in November 1918 after the First World War saw the formation of Weimar republic.The military government handed over power to the civilian government and later on revolutions in form of mutinies, violent uprisings and declaration of independence occurred until early 1919.

Then there was formation of constituent assembly and promulgated of new constitution, which included the infamous article 48. None of the many political parties could gain a majority vote to form government and therefore many small parties formed a coalition government.

What followed were a short period of political stability mainly because of the coalition government in place and the later the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. Many factors caused the rise of the Nazi party to power.

The most notable factor was his ability to take advantage of Germany’s poor leadership, economical and political instability.

The Weimar’s Republic collapse under pressure due to hyperinflation and civil unrest was the result of Hitler’s ability to manipulate the German media and public while at the same time taking advantage of the country’s poor leadership (Schleunes 1990: 295).

The period between 1921 and 1922, Germany was struggling with economic instability due to high inflation and hyperinflation rates prior to the absolute collapse of the German currency. The German mark became almost useless resulting into instability-fuelled unrest in many sectors of the economy. To counter the effects, the government printed huge amounts of paper money.

Germany had to sign the unforgiving treaty of Versailles, which the Weimar Republic was responsible for and was later to become the ‘noose around Germany’s neck’, a situation that caused “feelings of distrust, fear, resentment, and insecurity towards the Weimar Republic” (Bartov 2000: 54).

Hitler built on these volatile emotions and offered the option of a secure and promising leadership of the extremist Nazi party as opposed to the weak and unstable coalition government of the Weimar republic. Dippel notes, “Hitler’s ability to build upon people’s disappointed view of the hatred of the treaty of Versailles was one of the major reason for the Nazi party’s and Hitler’s rise to power” (1996: 220).

The Treaty of Versailles introduced the German population to a period of economic insatiability and caused an escalation of hard economic standards. The opportunistic appearance of an extremist group that promised better options than the prevailing situation presented a temptation to the vulnerable Germans to accept it (Dippel 1996: 219).

During the period of hyperinflation, unemployment rose sharply and children were largely malnourished. The value of people’s savings spiraled downwards leading to low living standards and reduction in people buying power.

People became desperate and started a frantic search for a better alternative to the Weimar Government. Germany in a state of disillusionment became a prey to the convincing promises of Hitler. Hitler promised full employment and security in form of a strong central government.

The Weimar republic also faced political challenges from both left-wingers and right-wingers. The communists wanted radical changes like those one implemented in Russia while the conservatives thought that the Weimar government was too weak and liberal.

Anti-Semitism

The Germans longed for a leader with the leadership qualities of Bismark especially with the disillusionment of the Weimar republic. They blamed the government for the hated Versailles treaty and they all came out to look for a scapegoat to their overwhelming challenges (Thalmann and Feinermann 1990: 133).

In their bid to look for scapegoats, many Germans led by Hitler and Nazi party blamed the German Jews for their economic and political problems.

Hitler made a failed attempt to seize power through a coup de tat that led to his arrest and imprisonment. In prison, he wrote a book that was later to become the guide to Nazism known as Mein Kampf (My Struggle).

The book reflected Hitler’s obsessions to nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism and he insisted that Germans belonged to a superior race of Aryans meaning light-skinned Europeans. According to Hitler, the greatest enemies of the Aryans were the Jews and therefore the Germans should eliminate them at all costs since they were the genesis of all their misfortunes.

These views on Semitism could trace its genesis in history from which it Historians suspect that Hitler’s ideas were rooted. In this view, Christians persecuted Jews mainly because of their difference in beliefs.

Nationalism in the 19^th century caused the society to view Jews as ethnic outsiders while Hitler viewed Jews not as members of a religion but as a unique race (Longerich 2006: 105). Consequently, he blamed the German’s defeat on a conspiracy of Marxists, Jews, corruption of politicians and businesspersons.

Hitler urged the Germans on the need to unite into a great nation so that the slaves and other inferior races could bow to their needs (Bergen 2003: 30). He further advocated for removal and elimination of the Jews from the face of the earth to create enough space for ‘great nation’.

He spread propaganda that for Germany to unite into one great nation it required a strong leader one he believed to be destined to become.

These Semitism views contributed to the sudden change of fortunes for the Nazi party and Hitler because the conditions were appropriate. The Germans were desperate for some hope in the midst of frustrating times due to the failure of the Weimar republic and rising communism (Stone 2004: 17).

They involuntarily yielded to the more appealing Nazism values especially with the promises of destroying communism and improved living standards.

However, in accepting the Nazi party and Hitler, the Germans were giving in to Semitism, which was deeply rooted in the core values of Nazism, and Hitler had clearly outlined them in the Mein Kampf, which laid out his ideas and future policies.

Propaganda

Hitler’s well timed and precise way of “introducing the secure option of Nazism at an appropriate time and taking advantage of a disjointed Weimar republic that faced unprecedented challenges” (Cohn-Sherbok 1999: 12) was one of the many reasons that underscored Hitler’s fame.

He promised a strong and united German nation very timely when the German nation had suffered a dent to their pride and union due to the defeat in the First World War. Hitler’s promise of a strong and powerful nation began to look very appealing causing a large proportion of Germans, who were in disillusionment, to divert their support the Nazi Party (Gordon 1987: 67).

Hitler’s opportunistic approach and perfectly timed cunning speeches as well as his manipulation of certain circumstance were significant reasons for the rise of Nazism and Hitler in Germany.

During the Great depression and release from prison, Hitler introduced large-scale propaganda and at the same time manipulated the media with his ideas. This led to the Nazi supporter’s increase of detests against their opposition and many Germans believed in the cunning lies of Hitler (Kaplan 1999: 45).

He managed to spread lies against the communist society and a case in point is when a communist supporter set the Reichstag building ablaze in one of the civil unrests in Germany, supposedly.

This event caused the communism society to loose popularity and allowed Hitler to activate the enabling act when he came to power. The act marked a turning point in the success of Hitler’s dictatorship and Historians accredit it as the foundation of the Nazi rule.

The communists later realized that the Nazis were responsible for the act at Reichstag building and the act meant to provoke hatred between the communists and Nazi supporters.

Conclusion

Hitler had a very charming personality that made him very easy to get along with people. His likable character and oratory skills enabled him to put forward the strong sense of authority that the Weimar Republic lacked.

This, in combination with other factors, made him very appealing to the desperate Germans, making them believe in the Nazi ideals like Semitism and supporting the Nazi party while concurrently fueling hatred of the ruling Weimar Republic.

Hitler’s ability to manipulate circumstances and situation in the favor of himself and his Nazi Party was reason for their success to rise to power. Hitler waited patiently to take hold of the realms of power before unleashing his full force of dictatorship and hatred for the Jews, which led to the holocaust. It is therefore just to state that every Hitler’s vote was a vote for the holocaust.

Reference List

Bartov, O., ed., The Holocaust: origins, implementation, aftermath, Routledge, London/New York, 2000.

Bergen, D. L., War & Genocide: a concise history of the Holocaust, 2^nd ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Bloxham, D. & T. Kushner, The Holocaust. Critical historical approaches, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2005.

Burleigh, M., Ethics and Extermination. Reflections on Nazi Genocide, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997.

Cohn-Sherbok, D., Understanding the Holocaust, Cassell. London/New York, 1999.

Dippel, J. H., Bound upon a Wheel of Fire. Why so many German Jews made the tragic decision to remain in Nazi Germany, Basic Books, New York, 1996.

Gordon, A. S., Hitler, Germans and the ‘Jewish Question’, Blackwell, Oxford, 1987.

Kaplan, M., Between dignity and despair: Jewish life in Nazi Germany, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Longerich, P., The Unwritten Order. Hitler’s Role in the Final Solution, Tempus, The Mill, GLS, 2006.

Schleunes, K. A., The Twisted Road to Auschwitz. Nazi Policy towards German Jews, 1933-9, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1990.

Stone, D., Histories of the Holocaust, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2004.

Thalmann, R. & E. Feinermann, Crystal night, 9-10 November 1938, Thames and Hudson, London, 1990.

In a piece of art, the artist presents the subject of his art to the intended audience from his point of view of the subject. The way the artist presents the subject of his work does not always rhyme with the way the subject of the painting sees himself. For instance, a person may believe that he or she is a friendly, ever smiling person. However, an artist paints his or her image as a furious stern-faced person. In most cases, the way people think of themselves is totally different from how other people think of them. However, the perception of an artist on his subject is important because it determines how the audience of the painting will perceive the subject.

Adolf Hitler is one of the people who during and after their life time, people perceive them differently from what they think about themselves. Hitler believed that he was a leader, who was always ready to fight for the right and welfare of the Germans. To him, all his actions were meant to restore the lost glory and position of Germany. Even though he believed that he was a leader mindful of other people’s welfare, artists depicts him differently. Breker is one of the many artists who have created artworks on Hitler. All this artworks have one common feature. They present Hitler as an aggressive, hostile, unsociable, scary person, who is not likely to think about other people. From this sculpture, Hitler is depicted as stern-faced man, who could break anyone who stood on his way. The sculpture has no even the slightest depiction of a man who was ready to die fighting for the welfare of the Germans.