Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler example essay topic

Adolf Adolf Hitler ADOLF HITLER Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in a small inn in Austria. His father was a customs officer until he retired to become a farmer and beekeeper. Adolf spent his early years in provincial towns. He was subject to much abuse from his father because he defiantly refused to become part of the customs service and be "stuck in a stool his whole life filling out forms. ' He had aspirations of becoming a famous artist, and did not want to become a simple "prole' as he saw his father, despite his relative success at what he did. In his lifetime, Hitler went from literally begging on city streets to becoming the "Messiah' of sixty-seven million people.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he almost took over the world. He pretended to be infallible and in a psychotic way may even have believed himself to be. He often compared himself to Christ, and even spoke of "voices' telling him what he needed to do. The "religion' that he created was in direct opposition to the peaceful ethic of Christianity. He was physically diminutive, awkward, and ugly, yet he was able to portray himself as perfection itself. His ability to manipulate and deceive may easily have been the greatest the world has ever known.

Through propaganda, brilliant oratory, and an uncanny sense of personal emotions he created a movement on the same scale of that of Jesus Christ, the Buddha, and Mohammed. He was the quintessential cult leader. If he were allowed to continue the entire history of the world would have been dramatically altered. From early in his life, the signs of Hitler's character were obvious. No one, however, could have imagined that he would be capable of amassing so much power and success.

His personality was puzzling. All of his teachers admitted that he was extremely intelligent, while at the same time his grades were mediocre at best and his teachers held him in much contempt, saying that he was "notoriously cantankerous, willful, arrogant, and irascible. ' (Seward 1989, 31) Opinions of popularity among classmates vary to both extremes. One classmate, Joseph Kiplinger, states "We all liked him, both in the classroom and on the playground. ' (Seward 1989, 31) Hitler tried to promote the impression that he was a leader among his classmates as well. His teachers are recorded as observing that he was unpopular among his classmates and only a leader in his own mind.

It is most likely that Hitler's intelligence coupled with his hatred of authority other than his own gave him the ability to make fools of his teachers, causing much resentment. As this would have been greatly admired among many boys with more fear of authority, he could have created a following. It is also likely that the same fanaticism with which he ran the Nazi's was apparent here, and boys that would not obey absolutely were cast out. These were only the beginnings of a personality that convinced his world (Germany) that he was born to lead it.

In 1936, after he had taken power, Hitler announced to his people, "I follow my course with the precision and security of a sleepwalker. ' (Langer, 1972.32) This statement may seem very strange, as a sleepwalker has no precision or security, but it exemplifies his attitude about himself and his abilities. Simply put, he either believed or merely presented that he believed that any move he made, no matter what it was, was right. He did not need plans or strategies because his moves were infallible. He often remarked to other officers that he considered himself to be the greatest German (and therefore greatest human) of all time.

He fancied himself the absolute authority on everything. He thought he was the world's greatest architect, regardless of the fact that he was denied admission to architectural school. His attitude about all endeavors is exemplified in this quote during an interview: I do not play at war. I do not allow the "generals' to give me orders. The war is conducted by me. The precise moment to attack will be determined by me.

There will be only one time that will be truly auspicious, and I will wait for it with inflexible determination. And I will not pass it by. (Rauschnig, 1940.16) It is amazing that he was able to achieve so many victories early in the war with this approach. It is significant, however, that many of his generals remark at how much input they had which was openly disregarded at the moment and implemented later as the Fuehrer's own idea. Hitler did not believe that his strength was of his mind, however superior it was. He did not believe that really great men (as far as he believed in great men other than himself) lived by their intellects.

He is recorded as making many comments along the lines that the intellect is a nuisance while instincts are essential. This attitude directly supports his "Messiah complex'. Hitler often spoke of voices guiding him and appeared to believe that he was under Divine protection. These voices are what he regards as his instincts, which he believed made him great.

On several occasions he made direct comparisons between himself and Jesus Christ. These comparisons are not with Jesus the martyr. One of his most memorable comparisons was during a denunciation of the Jews and their "Jewish materialism', he proclaimed: I nearly imagined myself to be Jesus Christ when He came to His Father's temple and found it taken by the money changers. I can well imagine how He felt when He seized a whip and scourged them out. (Langer, 1972.38) This Jesus is an angry and vengeful one. Hitler denounced Christianity as a whole immediately after his Catholic mother's death, because of its "effeminate pity-ethics', but he made many references to Jesus and the Bible.

This was a smart strategic move on his part because the Germans as a whole were Christian and religion is a difficult thing for true believers to give up. His choice of references was quite deliberate. The excerpt above describes Christ with a whip, as the Nazi's taking revenge on the scapegoated Jews. He was able to use the "religion of pity' to justify grand-scale murder. Hitler only compared himself to Christ to manipulate his audiences. In reality, he saw Christ as inferior and that he was the real "Chosen One'.

He wanted to eventually rid the world of Christianity and begin an enduring new religion with himself at its center. He wanted immortality and he believed that he was meant to achieve it. Physically, Adolf Hitler was small, weak, somewhat ugly, and apparently insecure. His gestures were awkward and everyone who met him remarked that he appeared very unsure of himself.

Nevertheless, Nazi propaganda presented him as strong and assured, only issuing the best photographs, and making him appear as the Fuehrer. This was his most powerful tool. Hitler was an absolute genius at manipulation. All the Nazi propaganda presented Hitler as superhuman, not subject to the weaknesses and fallacies of the mere mortal. That he did not drink, smoke, or eat meat were exploited to their fullest.

He used these to show that he was even beyond the need for willpower or help. He did not abstain from these things for health reasons, he was above that. He said: "It is a matter of will. Once I make up my mind not to do a thing, I just don't do it. And once that decision is made, it is taken for always. Is that so wonderful?' (Langer, 1972.55) As far as the German people knew, Hitler had no sex life.

He said he would never marry because Germany was his only bride. Again, this is in comparison to Christ's abstention from marriage because the Universe was his only bride. At the same time that it made him appear as a deity, Nazi propaganda also touched peoples hearts with his generosity and relation with real people. He was presented as a lover of children and would often have many young ones come to have ice cream and cake. There were many pictures issued of Hitler with children, and he was presented everywhere as a noble father, watching over all of Germany with a loving eye. He was also described as such a caring man that he was a vegetarian because he could not stand the thought of animals being slaughtered for humans to eat.

He was also described as incredibly patient and wanting to avoid the spill of blood at any cost. However, he was the world's greatest military leader and upholder of justice. The Nazi press turned him into the absolutely perfect human being. These descriptions are incredible considering the fact that he single-handedly sent three million people to their deaths simply because it allowed him to take power.

Hitler's most powerful weapon was his ability to speak. He was able to actually hypnotize his crowds with his oratory, even though according to critics, his speeches were extremely repetitive and ill-constructed. This did not change the fact that he was able to have every single person in his audiences in absolute awe of him and his power. He has been described as hypnotizing, and observers noted that when he would sway back and forth in emotional frenzies, the crowds would sway with him.

Even Jews who heard his speeches have admitted to being hypnotized by his words. Hitler's associates have uncovered a very different picture of this "superman'. They did admit that at times he did seem to be the father of all, telling jokes, working days without sleep, and handling things perfectly. They said that his memory was absolutely flawless and that he remembered distinct details told in passing as well as military facts about enemy equipment: He knows exactly what kind of armament, the kind of armor plates, the weight, the speed, and the number of the crew of every ship in the British Navy. He knows the number of rotations of airplane motors in every model and type existent.

(Shirer, 1941.13) They also related that often Hitler was a nervous wreck. Whenever his authority was challenged or he was confronted with a problem he did not expect, he panicked. His advisors said that he procrastinated constantly when he had to make decisions and he would wait for the "voices' to give him his answers. His method was to come up with the final result and then work to find things to support it or make it happen.

This made him very unpredictable and when emergencies occurred he went into fits of rage, especially when his associates offered input. He refused to accept other people's ideas, at least openly. As mentioned earlier, he often implemented the thoughts of his staff a while after they volunteered them and took credit for himself. When issues were settled, he became cheerful and outspoken in a loving way, making fun of those around him and laughing often. If anyone tried to make fun of him he got infuriated and couldn't handle it. The really secure man can handle being the butt of a joke as easily as he can poke fun at someone else.

Hitler also threatened suicide on several occasions. His moods were very erratic and he was noted for weeping at the slightest inconvenience. At other times this weeping would be a tirade of rage. One is inclined to believe that half of these idiosyncrasies are real while the other are manipulation. There is no doubt that Hitler was erratic and volatile. He was an insane genius that valued personal power and glory above all else.

To achieve his ends he was willing to sacrifice the lives of three million innocent people because he could use them as scapegoats. Many people doubt whether he even believed in his racism or if it was just a marketing tool. He was able to convince an entire nation that he was a new Messiah and that he was going to create a new and wonderful world by destroying millions of people. Personally insecure and unstable, he managed to amass as much power as any other man in history.

A failure at normal life (he was a beggar for a few years) he managed to create a following that unfortunately still exists in small numbers today. If he had succeeded, the world would never have been the same.

Bibliography

1. Langer, Walter C., The Mind of Adolf Hitler (New York: Basic Books, 1972.
2. Rauschnig, Hermann, Gespraeche mit Hitler (New York: Europa Verlag, 1940) 3.
Seward, Desmond, Napoleon and Hitler A Comparative Biography (New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1935) 4.
Shirer, William L., Berlin Diary (New York: Knopf, 1941) 320.