World War I was the complete turning point in Hitler's life. He found somewhere he fit in, and therefore built confidence and an incredible ego. These things made anyone who disagreed with him seem crazy, making Hitler so extreme.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Leading with Speech
Kershaw demonstrates that through war an revolution, Hitler thrived. He was able to put together a solid group of followers, so much so that speeches by other politicians became violent rallies in support of no one but Adolf Hitler. He knew he was a good speaker and therefore had the ability to control many people at a time. He was happy when the war broke out because for once in his life he felt accepted by the masses. Also, as we discussed in lecture, and is discussed by Kershaw, Hitler was a very proud German Nationalist, despite his Austrian origins. With the war came the pride of many others, giving him an opportunity to finally have a captive audience that would listen to his preaching. The outbreak of WWI was Hitler's break out in politics. This is where he entered and became relevant to the world, which leads to his eventual rise to power. Without this war, without people starting to follow him, Hitler would never have been able to later take control. If he had entered the war as a soldier, things may have gone differently, but although he was proud, he was a politician, not a fighter. He became angry at anything un-German and got other people to do the same, which is one reason that Jews, who were to him, un-German, were a big target of his.
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Discussing Hitler’s progression into hating everything un-German and the influence he is able to spread I thought it would be interesting to point out the speeches Hitler gives and the power he gains. All of Hitler’s speeches came from his ‘heart’ and were not just rhetoric but his real beliefs. Hitler’s public profile significantly grew because of his speeches. The political party membership grew over 12,000 people from 1920-1921 and that growth has been attributed partially to Hitler’s speeches.
ReplyDeleteHitler’s speeches lasted around 2 hours or more. He didn’t write them down but rather jotted a few notes to refer to. Hitler was not a well-educated man. He never did well in school rather he would just sit and waste money like he did in Vienna. However, Hitler was an amazing orator. He had charisma and hatred that translated into passion. The themes Hitler spoke about varied little. They all revolved around how great Germany used to be and how terrible it is now. Hitler hates all things un-German but he also hated current Germanic rule. Hitler’s extremity made him crazy and blatantly unaware of the fact that he was NOT Germany’s savior but rather a crazy man who gained power through rhetoric that people related to in a time of crisis.
Jaimie
It is likely that without Hitler's incredibly sincere and powerful orating skills he wouldn't have gained the amount of power and support that he did. One would not be able to tell that Hitler was actually quite a self-conscious individual when he spoke before thousands. Kershaw did make note that he was not as articulate in smaller meetings once he gained power, and this could be because the less amount of people he was speaking to, the more room there was for his insecurities to surfaced. Although Hitler lacked proper education, he disguised it from the population by speaking out of pure passion for his cause. During a time of war, with a hope-hungry population as his eager audience, Hitler's extensively passionate speeches were just what the country was looking for; and just what Hitler needed to gain the support to transform Germany under his power.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Hartke
I found this post extremely invoking in that it points out Hitler's need and desire to fit in somewhere. The War gave him that opportunity, and his charismatic speech only furthered him in his plans. I do not think that he would have ever been as successful as he was had their been no war. Although evil, and clearly delirious, he was smart. There is no real getting around it. He was able to play on the emotions of the German people. The idea of most wars is to be fighting for some sort of cause. If there isn't a cause that directly sticks out to an individual, they will fight for their roots. For Hitler to point out that the Jewish people were un-German allowed unsettled ideas to transpire in the minds of the German people. Was Hitler single-handedly responsible for such destruction. I don't believe so. I am not discrediting his violent and inexcusable corruption, but the War really set a tone for what people were willing to hear, what people were willing to do, and how far they were willing to push to be apart of a cause (even if it were a bad one). Hitler used circumstance to belong, and as stated in another blog post, was completely opportunistic because he was aware, just as Kershaw had said, of the power he had, and the destruction he could cause because the German people at the time, like him, were looking for somewhere to belong, and something to believe in.
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