The Rise of the Führer
Raymond Villegas
Regarded as one of the most notorious dictators, Adolf Hitler has cemented their place within history. When generally speaking of Hitler, negative connotations are often placed; Hitler is seen as a cruel dictator, responsible for the countless lost lives of the Jews. However, not much is talked about Hitler’s leadership and speaking skills that took over the German hearts. This historiography paper is not meant to justify, endorse, or celebrate Hitler’s actions, but rather, focus on how Hitler used propaganda to take advantage of Germany and allow for the Nazi regime. Throughout different monographs, they showcase Hitler as an evil dictator, while other monographs go against the idea that Hitler was a villain. Instead, many modern-day monographs acknowledge the methods Hitler used that led to some Germans painting Hitler seen as their savior. Although people and their history books have perspectives on who’s the true villain of the second World War, it must be remembered that every villain is a hero in their own eyes.
Generally, Adolf Hitler is mostly known for his cruel deeds; many modern historians recognize Hitler as a genius who used propaganda against weak Germans to his advantage. George Stein’s Hitler (1966), St. Martin’s Hitler: A study in Personality and Politics (1979), and Alan Bullock’s Hitler a study in Tyranny (1955), all provide historical insight on how Hitler rose to power and how events shaped historians’ and citizens’ views on Hitler. Within the three monographs, the authors take a different approach to examine Hitler’s actions, rise to power, personality, and social impact in light of German history and the second World War. In some cases, Hitler was praised by some Germans; modern day monographs acknowledge the praise, but speak on how Hitler was actually just a cruel man. Within the monographs, there is a common theme found; Hitler is the root of evil and nothing more. The authors of the different monographs also explain how Hitler would lie in his autobiography Mein Kampf. Stein, Carr, and Bullock all criticize Mein Kampf and reveal how Hitler would strategically exaggerate events to appeal to the public. Despite the Second World War happening decades ago, monographs are being written to showcase the cruel and upbringing of the Hitler regime. Although the upbringing of the Nazi regime was very cruel, it has been acknowledged that Hitler was a phenomenal leader- with an amazing display of leadership and propaganda skills. In no way shape or form are the monographs trying to justify the horrors that Hitler brought, but to educate the readers how a man, equipped with proper leadership, can rise to power through propaganda, manipulation, and greed.
With Stein’s monograph, Hitler, scholars are able to reshape how Hitler is perceived. Stein offers readers both sides of Hitler’s regime upbringing, showcasing both the negative and positive tales of Hitler’s regime. As mentioned and emphasized earlier, historians think that Hitler was a purely evil man. Although this is true for the most part for most scholars and the general audience, Stein’s monograph acknowledges and praises Hitler’s work as a leader. It has to be remembered that Stein is not praising Hitler for the genocides and the wars, but showing how Hitler’s excellent manipulative skills allowed him to gain control in a weak Germany. As their monograph develops, Stein gives readers different stories and scenarios that aids in their understanding of Hitler. Within these stories, readers are able to understand Hitler’s childhood and his development in German politics. With this in mind, Stein allows scholars to analyze how
Hitler aided Germany, but also caused plenty of chaos. However, Stein’s monograph points towards the idea that Hitler was actually praised in Germany. Especially after the first war, the Germans needed a savior, which many of the Germans found in Hitler. Despite the many positive talks, Stein also talks about the cruel stories of Hitler.
Within Stein’s Hitler, Stein offers three different views on Hitler. Stein gives insight about Hitler’s regime through Hitler’s own words, through the opinion of his contemporaries, and through retrospective.[1] According to Stein, he mentions that Hitler regarded himself as a great man, nonetheless, the historian Stein recognizes both positive and negative greatness of Hitler’s rise.[2] As mentioned previously in the introduction, Stein analyzes Hitler’s words to understand how the villain of the story viewed himself as the hero. Even though the different ideas that Hitler was a monster, Hitler’s perspective on himself was nothing short of great. With the help of Stein’s Hitler, Stein’s monograph contributes toward an understanding of both sides of Hitler’s power; the devoted and the non-believers.
Within the first part of Hitler, readers can understand how Hitler rose to power through the eyes of the man himself. Inside this section, readers and scholars alike can learn about Hitler through the way that he expresses himself. By analyzing Hitler’s word choices and actions, Stein helps shed light on the hatred, the greed, and manipulation that led to Hitler’s rise. When it came to tactics and propaganda, Hitler is credited to be a smart man; Stein blames most of Hitler’s ideologies on generalized anxiety, frustration, and the need to find his own identity.3 In order to understand Hitler and his successes, historians must examine the techniques and methods that Hitler used. More importantly, it is important the propaganda and leadership skills that tricked a nation into believing the Nazi regime. In order to understand Hitler’s techniques and methods, Mein Kampf can be studied to understand how Hitler gained the trust of the public. Despite being seen as a fearless and ever powerful dictator, Hitler paints himself in a different way in his autobiography, Mein Kampf. Within this autobiography, Hitler portrays himself as a poor, struggling student who diligently earned his meager by hard work.[3] Here, readers can see the comparisons of Stein’s work and Hitler’s own. Stein’s monograph starts off criticizing Hitler’s autobiography and calls out Hitler for manipulating people for sympathy. Hitler would use sympathy to relate to the millions of Germans who were poor and affected by the First World War. In reality, this was all a propaganda tactic as Stein claims that Hitler was born into a middle-class family that provided everything he needed. Tying back to the idea of spreading propaganda, Stein argues that Hitler would make himself appeal to the Germans. Especially coming off, and losing, the war, Germans faced poverty and seeing their newfound hero go through similar circumstances gave them a false sense of sympathy; hope that a poor child can achieve anything with hard work. Being a manipulator, patience and false sense of sympathy were key techniques to Hitler’s rise. With a combination of coercion and false promises, Hitler managed to force through the Reichstag laws that allowed him to deviate from the constitution, whenever he thought it necessary.[4]
Although Hitler had various leadership techniques, his sense of propaganda enabled him to appeal to the Germans. According to Stein, Hitler used propaganda to reach greater masses of people with a lower intellectual level.6 In other words, Hitler found a way to understand the general emotion of the public and used it to his advantage. Hitler would strategically use this understanding to convince lower intellectual Germans that his ideology matched theirs. With the help of Stein’s arguments and monographs, readers are able to understand how propaganda
played a major role in Hitler’s success. Although Hitler’s propaganda can be seen as a terrible tactic, it shows how Hitler’s master plan of manipulation enabled him to get control of the masses through his ideologies.
In Section 1, Part 5 of Hitler, Stein explains how Hitler rose to power through his hatred for the Jews. Stein refers back to Mein Kampf to show how Hitler’s hatred for the Jews helped him gain the support of the public. Through brainwashing and public manipulation, Hitler was able to put the blame of the war on the Jews. In this aspect, Hitler can be painted as a genius, as his usage of patriotism enabled him to convince the Germans that they must be prepared to be ready to lay down their lives for their country.[5] Stein highlighted patriotism as a positive trait, as Hitler viewed himself as a leader who would do anything for his country. With a false sense of patriotism, Hitler would cleverly pick and blame people to convince Germans that they should support his cause
When the topic of Hitler rises, there is a mixed bag of reviews. By this, historians, as well as the general public, view Hitler as evil reincarnated. However, Stein argues that many Germans had a positive outlook on Hitler. Despite being a manipulator, liar, and cruel, Stein discusses how sources claim that Hitler was charming, even endearing; that he was sensitive and capable.[6] Hitler is generally regarded as an evil dictator; with the help of Stein, historians understand a new side of Hitler and his characteristics. Within Stein’s monograph, it was found that followers viewed Hitler as a genius who was organized and cared for his fellow companions.9 Stein offered a perspective that painted Hitler as a person who seemed to care about the welfare of others.
Although society views Hitler’s psychopathic personality as the root for evil, many of Hitler’s followers praised his personality to make him appear as a genius.[7] Whether the persona be artificial or genuine, Hitler would use his likeable persona to brainwash the German nation.
William Carr’s Hitler: A Study in Personality and Politics presents Hitler in the light of modern historical science. Despite this monograph being written in a different time period, Stein and Carr both agree that Hitler’s expertise in manipulation and mind control enabled him to gain control of Germany. Similar to Stein, Carr believes that Hitler cast a spell over millions of Germans desperately seeking reassurance at a time of unprecedented crisis.[8] Despite both monographs being written years apart, one thing stays the same- Hitler brainwashed. Hitler was well known for his leadership and manipulation tactics, many of his notable traits include the usage of dogmatic assertion, repetition, biting sarcasm and emotional appeal to win over his followers.12 Going back to Stein’s claim, most of the Germans who appealed to Hitler’s words were those lower- and middle-class people; specifically, the lower-class intellectuals.
With this in mind, readers are able to understand how Hitler’s main followers came from the lower levels of society, those of which, that lacked the proper education. Carr sheds light on how the middle-class people yearn for a father figure, and Hitler used that to his advantage. Hitler perfectly created his persona around the idea that he was the father figure that was able to support Germany in times of need and the Germans were manipulated into believing it. Similar to Stein’s approach, Carr argues that Hitler’s targeted propaganda allowed Hitler to take over Germany. Carr praises Hitler for his use of propaganda, as he claims that Hitler had an extraordinary instinct and understanding of it.13 Being a master of propaganda isn’t an easy feat, as Hitler would perfectly cater in his speeches and arguments to appeal to the Germans. With this in mind, Carr argues that Hitler knew what the general appeal was and used it to negotiations; Hitler tricked the people of Germany and countless people into believing in him.
Going back to Mein Kampf, the autobiography is once again being called out for its fabrication and lies. By this, Carr also criticized Mein Kampf for painting Hitler’s fake persona and upbringing as a fabricated story. Hitler would complain about his poor life- when in reality, he had favorable conditions growing up. The fabrication of Hitler’s autobiography was done on purpose, Hitler once again wanted to appeal to the middle and lower class. Stein limited his view to just the German lower and middle class, while Carr gives more insight on how Hitler manipulated the government to come into control.
Carr provides a new perspective on Hitler’s persona. With their new claim, Carr argues that Hitler is not the one to fully blame for many events in history. However, the ones to blame are shifted towards Hitler’s accomplices. Although the Nazi regime and motives were Hitler’s vision, Hitler only provided the foundation for the plans. In other words, Hitler provided the blueprints but his accomplices did the work to carry out the plans. Historians can see this as Hitler and his associates were not in possession of a blueprint for aggression as the Nuremberg Tribunal believed.14 In reality, one of Hitler’s goals was to avoid
However, this is not to excuse any of Hitler’s plans or motives, but to acknowledge that Hitler was not the sole person responsible for many of the crimes. Carr’s monograph reveals new details about Hitler’s personality. Prior to Carr, little to nothing was known about Hitler. With the help of modern history, historians can learn more about Hitler’s complex personality. Prior studies believed that Hitler was a person with the Oedipus complex; when a son loves his mother while showing hatred for his father. With recent studies and monographs, historians concluded that this is not fully true.
Carr argues how Hitler never really loved his mother, and how he really never hated his father.[9] Instead, it was found that Hitler would have to constantly reassure his mother, which caused him to be spoiled and dependent on her. Carr refers back to Stein, as they agree that Hitler’s personality came to be a result of trauma and not the Oedipal complex.17 Hitler’s personality isn’t seen as an Oedipus complex anymore, instead, it can be seen as a man imprisoned in a shame-guilt cycle. With the help of new Historical evidence, it can be confirmed that Hitler experienced his major identity crisis between the age of eighteen and twenty.18
Since Hitler was dependent on his mother, her death caused Hitler to break away from the world. Historians point towards the idea that Hitler’s time in the military played a role in shaping Hitler’s trauma. Within his military time, Hitler would have a personality crisis and tried to pinpoint a scapegoat for all of the problems being faced. By using brainwashing techniques, Hitler would help Germans to find a way to cope with their troubles instead. By manipulating the Germans, Hitler was able to overcome his trauma by offering to aid the weak Germans.
With Bullock’s Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, Bullock explores the role of Hitler and how he rose to power. Bullock begins his monograph with two questions in mind, what great part did Hitler play in the Third Reich and how did Hitler rise to power? Bullock takes a different approach as Bullock’s theme is to study the dictator and not the dictatorship. In other words, Bullock is focusing on the personality and characteristics of Hitler instead of the evil deeds committed by the Nazi regime. Much like the previous authors, Bullock criticizes Mein Kampf as he believes that Hitler makes his story much more dramatic than it actually was. By being overdramatic, Hitler seeks to gain the sympathy of the German citizens. Bullock explains that Hitler attempted to be seen as a poor child, but he agrees with Stein and Carr that this is not true. In line with Carr, Bullock debunks the idea of the Oedipus complex and explains it as a more dramatic response by Hitler. With constant fabricated stories, Hitler is seen trying to gain the support of the Germans by gaining petty points on his upbringing. This tactic was one of Hitler’s most common tactics, as he would relate back to German struggles.
With Bullock’s monograph, readers are able to understand how Hitler would often falsely sympathize with the public. Although Hitler wrote about Vienna’s working-class misery, it was evident that his words produced no sympathy.[10] Despite Hitler showing false support and sympathy, it was used to show how he attempted to care. One of the tactics Hitler used was to learn the working-class hatred towards the higher class. By understanding this concept, Hitler used this to his advantage to gain the support of the working class. Bullock tells readers that Hitler found the solution in the “discovery” that the working men were the victims of a deliberate system.20 In other words, Hitler’s discovery of working men led towards his attempts to gain the support of the poor. As previously stated earlier, the lower class was also seen as having lower intellectual abilities, Hitler’s main targeted group.
A new study shows that Hitler did not entirely hate the Jews, but fabricated the propaganda to appeal to the Germans. In Mein Kampf, Hitler would have pages that references Jews. However, in the devoted pages towards Jews, Hitler failed to provide any facts to support his reasoning to hate the Jews. Although the Jewish population was the main victims of the Nazi regime, historians learn that Hitler used the Jews as a fantasy where he projected all that he hates and fears. With recent studies, it shows that the Jewish people were seen as the scapegoats for Germany. In other words, Hitler used Jews as scapegoats to find closure after losing resources and power after the first war. Hitler wisely used this tactic, as he knew finding a scapegoat would allow him to gain support of the Germans.
Hitler is praised for his leadership skills, but Bullock reveals that Hitler’s nationalism was both unoriginal and highly motivated by propaganda. By this, the ideas that Hitler executed were not Hitler’s own original ideas. Instead of being original, Hitler was able to derive previous ideas from old sources for his movement.[11] Hitler is depicted to be seen as a mastermind, when he really has no originality in himself; Hitler was able to use his sources and prior ideas to his advantage and appeal to the public. Studies prove that Hitler believed propaganda was key to success, as Hitler observed the successes of English propaganda. Many of the monographs talk about how Hitler emerged from fixed ideas and prejudices, stemming from his traumatic life.
Hitler is seen as a genius for his ability to use propaganda and target the right people. Throughout the monographs seen within this paper, propaganda is a key talking point in every single one of them. The three authors are all in unison to agree that propaganda was the main driving force within Hitler’s rise to power. As mentioned earlier, Hitler had no original ideas, but properly presented himself to gain support. Hitler’s genius was seen when it was time to exploit the weaknesses of the Germans. With recent studies, historians found that Hitler came to know Germany and the Germans in hopes of exploiting their weaknesses. By 1933, Hitler had spoken to almost every single town in Germany, targeting the lower class towns the most. By using his powerful words and leadership skills, Hitler aimed to appear as the hero Germany desperately needed. Bullock provides a new insight on Hitler’s rise to power, as his advantage was that he became a well-supported public figure.
Hitler rose to power through the powerful messages sent out through his political movements. In order to properly understand the rise of Hitler, the Nazi regime and their movement must be analyzed from a psychological perspective. Hitler’s strength came through his gaining of the public trust, where Hitler properly knew what the masses needed. During his movement, Hitler explains his movement must avoid everything which may lessen or weaken its power of influencing the masses.[12] In other words, Hitler would avoid any obstacles that might have hindered his image or the image that the Nazi regime was trying to portray. Bullock explains in his monograph that Hitler uses constant repetition which succeeded in imprinting an idea on the memory of a crowd.[13] Hitler manipulated the collective memory of the messages, as Hitler would enforce specific memories towards the masses. By enforcing specific memories, Hitler would manipulate the feelings that the masses had towards the Nazi regime. Repetition was seen as key towards Hitler’s success as Stein reveals that Hitler would constantly repeat the same idea over and over.
With this constant repetition, Hitler left a footprint within the crowds. Hitler’s best propaganda and manipulation skills were shown within his speeches. In his speeches, Bullock reveals that Hitler would use specific, emotion triggering words to get the Germans on his side. By emotion triggering, historians learn that Hitler would employ verbal violence and repeat the words “smash”, “force”, “ruthless”, to evoke an effect on the audience. With the constant repetition drilled in the Germans, historians found the effectiveness of Hitler’s speeches to actually impact society into believing that he was correct. Prior to the Nazi regime, Hitler was unknown to the large general public. The Germans were unaware who Hitler was, but he had recently become a familiar figure, thanks to a publicity campaign.24 Bullock explains how
Hitler’s popularity caused him to attract the attention of those who controlled the political funds from heavy industry and big businesses. Looking back at Hitler’s regime, historians learn that Hitler needed the support of both industrialists and big businesses to be able to control the funds for his organization and propaganda.
Within Bullock’s study of Hitler, Bullock discusses how Hitler’s personality was key in making him an effective leader. Regardless of the many troubles or situations that the Nazis found themselves in, Hitler was what kept his men together. Bullock establishes Hitler as a man with a striking leadership quality, a leader that was devoted to his soldiers and goals. Hitler would never let go, never lose faith in himself, and communicated this with his comrades- which ended up boosting their spirits. History does not credit Hitler for his leadership, even though he was the sole reason that the Nazi regime was not abolished sooner. Hitler was the glue within his army, as his constant leadership and positive outlook was a key factor in boosting esteem within the regime. Even while he was in prison, Hitler did not lose faith and constantly reassured his supporters. However, Hitler proves that a cruel movement can gain support through a person’s top tier leadership qualities.
Hitler’s tactics included a mixture of bribery, appeals, and threats. All throughout the German streets there were slogans plastered all over the walls and posters showcasing any sort of help to boost Hitler’s reputation. Stein and Carr explained how Hitler appealed to the middle- and lower-class Germans, but Bullock reveals that Hitler also aimed to target respectable bourgeois parties like the democrats. Much like the Germans of the time, the different political parties were crying out with crippling anxiety and depression. Hitler once again took advantage by offering a brand of extremism. Bullock mentions how Hitler never forgot his main theme in Mein Kampf, as he always targeted the masses, since “possession of the streets is key to the power in the state.”25 Hitler was a genius when it came time to target the masses, as he knew that the lower-class citizens, or streets, were crucial in the development of his regime.
After analyzing the three monographs, the historians are able to offer scholars and readers a new perspective on Hitler. Collective memory enables people to view Hitler as this villain, but fail to acknowledge the incredible grit and determination it took to become a leader. People often mistake Hitler’s manipulation as a negative trait, but the monographs shifted this view to be seen as Hitler’s outstanding traits. Manipulation is tied with a negative connotation, but when used wisely, manipulation can be seen as a positive trait. Although the manipulation didn’t lead to positive outcomes, it shows how it can be used to gain the support of masses. Through manipulation and propaganda, Hitler was able to accomplish great features. To convince thousands of people to follow a regime is outstanding, and Hitler had all the tools to convince the Germans. The monographs acknowledge Hitler’s skill as a genius trait, since many leaders would stumble when trying to convince the mass millions.
The new studies of Hitler coming to light, scholars are able to understand the true nature of Hitler. Before these monographs, historians had different ideas and outlooks on Hitler’s life- many of which mistakenly took Hitler’s personality as a result of the Oedipus complex. With the help of Stein, Carr, and Bullock, historians reframe their thinking of Hitler and how his personality came to be. It has been found that Hitler was not a product of the Oedipus complex, but a result from childhood trauma that came from his dependence on his mother. Contrary to popular belief, Hitler did not love his mother- debunking the Oedipus complex. To further debunk the Oedipus complex labeled on Hitler, Bullock mentions how Hitler did not hate his father but over exaggerated his story.
Prior to any monograph or stories, the only source scholars had on Hitler was through his autobiography. Although Hitler’s autobiography had over dramatic events, scholars were able to understand a glimpse of Hitler’s life. The three monographs help historians understand that Hitler’s autobiography is not entirely accurate. As mentioned before, Hitler would exaggerate his stories to manipulate sympathy from the public. Modern day monographs help reveal the true nature of Mein Kampf and expose some of the lies. All through-out the monographs, it is apparent that they credit Hitler’s rise to power due to his genius use of propaganda. Hitler would use his propaganda to target the middle and lower class who were desperately trying to find a hero. All three authors explain how Hitler painted himself as the hero and would lie in his autobiography to appeal to the people of Germany. The monographs shift history’s understanding of Hitler’s tactics by showcasing how Hitler used the desperation of the German people to his advantage.
In Bullock’s monograph, Bullock paints Hitler as a clueless person who used luck and manipulation to gain the trust of millions. Hitler had an incredible array of leadership skills and knew how to persuade people. There are countless examples of historical figures that had a part to play in the war, such as other Nazi members and the other Axis powers. As mentioned before, Hitler was the one to be the leader since he had the vocal and persuasive skills to be the leader. The other Nazi higher ranking members and Axis powers had similar ideas, but they just needed Hitler’s platform to reach new heights. The monographs show how Hitler’s manipulation, greed, and childhood trauma, allowed him to become the leader that society knows today. Hitler kept his ideas and did not back down from them, showing leadership qualities in tragic events. Although scholars and historians learn that most of Hitler’s ideas were not originally his, Hitler used prior platforms to his advantage.
Collective memories paint Hitler as a villain, but history must consider his genius as a leader that manipulated his rise to power. As Stein previously mentioned, historians must recognize the positive and negative aspects of the historical figure and the same must be done for Hitler. Although Hitler is seen as mostly negative, the monographs listed here enable scholars to analyze the rise of Hitler and compare it to other politicians. Despite being the villain in countless stories, Hitler is a hero in the eyes of the manipulated and gullible.
History as a Mirror: Connecting Hitler’s Rise to Modern Challenges
History does not just live within the textbooks or within a teacher’s lesson; history can be seen repeating in our modern-day life. A single man’s voice was able to manipulate and gain the attention of millions of blind supporters, a pattern that can be seen repeating constantly. Even the craziest of ideas can be accomplished through manipulation, propaganda, and other tactics. The historiography paper, The Rise of the Führer, can be used to analyze how Hitler’s tactics gave his voice the power to control the blind masses to go against the Jews. Teaching the rise of Hitler is important in any school curriculum where students are exposed to ideas that involve authoritarianism, manipulation, and dictatorship. Countless politicians and world leaders saw the warning signs of Hitler but failed to really put a halt to him. Relating it to modern day, the world is slowly seeing another Hitler on the rise: Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is seen using the same tactics as Hitler: manipulation, propaganda, and borderline authoritarianism. For educators, it is important to not only teach about how Hitler rose to power but also connect it to modern-day politicians like Trump. Students need to be educated on the rise of dictators and the consequences that can be faced if they are not stopped. Although The Rise of the Führer does not provide a solution on how to stop a dictator, the paper analyzes how easily the masses can be controlled.
References
Bullock, A. (1991). Hitler: A study in tyranny. HarperCollins.
Carr, W. (1978). Hitler: A study in personality and politics. Hodder Education.
Hitler, A. (2015). Mein Kampf (R. Manheim, Trans.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. (Original work published 1925)
Stein, G. (1968). Hitler. Spectrum Books.
[1] George Stein’s Hitler, 14
[2] Stein’s Hitler Introduction, 1
[3] Stein’s, 4
[4] Stein, 13
[5] Stein, 78
[6] Stein, 88
[7] Stein, 106
[8] William Carr’s Hitler: A Study in Personality and Politics
[9] Carr, 152
[10] Bullock, 32
[11] Bullock 40
[12] Bullock, 60
[13] Bullock, 63
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