Today, we demonize the historical figure of Hitler; it's true, it is his own fault, after all he did do all the things he did. However, we forget that Hitler, in the end, was a person. And I'm not going to sit here and start preaching humanitarianism; no, that is not what I mean by person. I mean, he is complex and deep. We think of Hitler as just this "evil man" that "murdered millions", but we never show empathy nor do we attempt to delve deeper into his mind. Hitler was a man of great ambition; he had an entire world in his own head. He had desires, he had likes and dislikes, and he had an unconquerable will. He must have had so many thoughts going on in his head, craving so much perfection, and so much power. And that's only natural, after all; the greatest Human achievement is not wealth, but power. Hitler had those that he admired, and revered; and, he had pains in his life. He wasn't some generic "face value" man. Hitler was an entire, unique individual that, in the end, achieved more than many ever do. Not that genocide is achievement; what I mean is, Hitler's mind was so full and so complex and so unique, instead of the generic average person that you find. Hitler was, in the end, beyond many of us in terms of depth of mind. At least, that is how I view it. I do not think he was as basic as we portray him to be. I would love to have dinner with him and learn more about him, from him himself. i.e, to really "get to know" the guy. That doesn't mean I like him but he is interesting. In a way, I pity Hitler. After all, he is the product of circumstance. Hitler was not a spoiled prince. He grew up in hardship; his father was cruel and his life wasn't that great early on, if you read his history. Not to mention, his failed abmition of becoming an artist. Imagine, the kind of impact that would have on somebody, and that was the impact it had on Hitler My point is, Hitler is not black and white; he's a deep, complex, unique individual.
I would agree. In fact, what scares us most about hitler is probably the fact that he was human and just a man with wacky ideas that found opportunity and resources.
I think what's scarier is all the righteous men throughout history who have lived. All of the accomplished intelligent men who gave benefit to humanity...countless. Still you choose to obsess on Hitler. Who brought nothing but death and sadness to humanity.
There have been MANY Hitler's in our history. The odd thing, is his rise in the era of Macro-Politics.
I don't think so. Hitler was obsessed with hatred for the Jews, and also had psychological problems with other groups in society. He was a failed artist who craved personal approval. Explaining Hitler's motivations is not difficult. There's not much depth there. He was a small-minded bigot who couldn't think outside the box he lived in. That is highly debateable. I won't even start. Enough said. Nah. Just about any idiot could be a Hitler, given half a chance. No. He was in a powerful position. He was effectively a dictator. He made his choices; nobody else made them for him. Hardly an excuse for genocide.
I agree with the OP. He was bad, but also smart and complex. It's not an excuse for him to do all those things, of course.
I have to agree with James. The deep and complex person that you describe could not be so uniform in his actions.
yup; he was deep and is now even deeper underground where he belongs, the machiavellean wormPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hitler was a leader, he led his people out of a great depression by uniting them in a common goal. Back then there was alot of poor people living in Germany, and they all hated thoose in their own country who allways seemed to have money nomatter what. Those people were the jews. Jewish people have allways had a good ability to gain wealth. Hitler acted upon the hate of the people towards the jews, it was not as if Hitler forced the German people to hate them. For some strange reason, people who live in countries where most are poor or lower middle class tend to unite in wartimes. Look at the US. They are allways in some war somewhere in the world. Hitler was a smart man, or else he would not have gotten to where hi did. Having alot of poor and ignorant of people helps when you try to take over the world, because they do not know any better that to follow. The scary thing is that so many people in the US today is poor and ignorant. The mistake of the past might happen once again because of this fact.
Lordy! I never thought a day would come that I would agree with Cheski. And yet, this day has arrived. There was nothing complex or deep about him. He was a hateful little man (in every sense of the word) who did murder millions and he was as evil as they come. That was his mind and his thoughts. Everyone has pains in their life. Some more than others. Many, more than Hitler. And yet, he went on to commit genocide. What does that tell you about him as a man? What kind of man orders the death of innocent men, women and children? What kind of man orders horrific medical experiments on innocent children and disabled people? He was not a man. He was a coward in every sense of the word. Such as what? What exactly did he do that could be considered an "achievement"? He was a generic person with a flare for dramatics when speaking to the public. He had a flare for generating fear and hatred amongst people. He wasn't "beyond many of us in terms of depth of mind". He was beneath the majority of us because of the way his mind worked. He was a genocidal bastard. Psst. You wouldn't be allowed to grace his table. You're not the type he wanted or allowed in his home or at his dinner table. You might have provided some after dinner amusement for him in the form of you being killed in front of him. I honestly don't think that would allow you to "get to know the guy" though. There are many people in this world who had a worse upbringing than he ever had. They did not become genocidal maniacs. Many people fail as artists. They did not become genocidal maniacs. Pity should be given to those who deserve it. He does not deserve pity. As much as any individual. What sets him apart from the majority is the fact that he was a bigoted and hateful genocidal maniac who took joy and comfort in the mass slaughter and pain of innocent men, women and children. So much so that he wanted and demanded for the ability to get rid of more innocent men, women and children at a faster rate.
No, what's truly scary is that people are afraid to enter public a discourse about hitler that dares humanize him. And, instead make comments designed to poison the well of discourse by implying something must be wrong with the discussant for daring to broach the topic.
Bells. Hitler was an entire, unique individual that, in the end, achieved more than many ever do. Such as what? What exactly did he do that could be considered an "achievement"? How about The V2 rocket? http://www.metacafe.com/watch/243002/german_v2_rocket_launch_failures/ How about human transplantation?
The german roadsystem. Also he ordered a cheap, durable people's car from Mr. Porsche. You might have heard of Volkswagen...
OK, he was human, but fuck him. It's not significant enough just to get power, how you use it shows who you are, and he was a murderous bastard.
Yeah, I agree. Also it is apparently a crime to consider that he had human attributes, for example: http://www.slate.com/id/2160283/pagenum/all/
He was an enemy of virtually all modern art: In 1937, Nazi officials purged German museums of works the Party considered to be degenerate. From the thousands of works removed, 650 were chosen for a special exhibit of Entartete Kunst. The exhibit opened in Munich and then traveled to eleven other cities in Germany and Austria. In each installation, the works were poorly hung and surrounded by graffiti and hand written labels mocking the artists and their creations. Over three million visitors attended making it the first "blockbuster" exhibition. So who was included in his purge? Marc Chagall Max Ernst Paul Klee Käthe Kollwitz...
Hitler was an idealist, a sentimentalist, a vegetarian. He loved animals, children and silly films. He believed in progress through science. He was a patriot and loved his country. He wanted the best for his people. If you can figure out how and why he became one of the greatest tyrants and murderers in world history, you are smarter than me.
Nazi officials purged German museums of works the Party considered to be degenerate. Did they send the works to the Fuhrer for passing muster?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
"If you can figure out how and why he became one of the greatest tyrants and murderers in world history, you are smarter than me." here is the first link that popped up in a google search: http://www.mrdowling.com/706-socialdarwinism.html
