It’s interesting to hear the things that Hitler had to overcome and his ability to do so. Early in his life, he did not seem to deal with defeat well. He appeared to just do nothing about not getting what he wanted, to ignore it. Although this seems to be what kind of works for him later in his life. His inability to get it through his head that he’s being jailed and this slow build up to him becoming the leader, something that at first doesn’t even seem to be a thought at the beginning. But once the idea is there, he holds steady on his course to become a leader. He started to view himself as the people viewed him, as a leader.
I think its very interesting how people even who liked him even say he is kind of awkward and was not 100 percent sure what he was doing. He is able to overcome his awkward mannerisms with his ability to speak well. While he could get everyone feeling things, he was not sure how to really be a leader and attain power. Kurt Ludecke says, “I had found myself, my leader, and my cause.” That’s a very strong feeling, for someone to instill that in another person in pretty amazing. Another point of the book points out how he was “greeted like a savior.” In what people at the time are saying about him, its like he was perceived as a higher being.
Its also interesting to look at the way he works everything in his favor, his ability to captivate people and really say what they want to hear. He was great at using propaganda, it seems to really be his strong point. He turned his own trial into a big propaganda event, he glorified what he did. He arrived in a limo wearing suits and he ended up serving his light sentence in more like hotel conditions then prison conditions. And from this his he only got stronger, he really became viewed by the public as a leader. Despite all of the letters not recommending parole, he got paroled.
It is really interesting to look at this evolution of him being part of something, to him becoming a leader. And the way he realizes this within himself. Reading about his childhood you do not get the feeling that he has leadership potential, or that he even views himself as someone who could be a leader. Its really built by his inability to realize he’s getting knocked down and not wanting to take no for an answer. He was also able to work with what people wanted at the time and present himself as the leader they wanted. He promised action. And the people feed him into him, giving him more power and more confidence within himself.
I definitely agree that Hitler`s ability to be a great orator who pandered to the needs and wants of the public was what propelled him to leadership. I think he was able to do this despite his actually lack of leadership ability which can be seen in his failed putsch attempt or his appointment of Rosenberg as leader which Kershaw describes as “hasty and ill-conceived decision, under pressure and in a depressed frame of mind.” (p.224) I think what was crucial to Hitler’s success is the help he received that enabled him to hide some of his faults. I think the example of his writing of Mein Kampf shows this. Kershaw writes that “Badly written and rambling as the published version of Mein Kampf was it was a considerable improvement on what Hitler had initially produced” and that “Muller, Hess and Hanfstaengl all had a hand in altering and revising the text.” (p.242) This shows that Hitler was a master of ideas and rallying the masses but lacked the refined nature and sophistication that is usually expected from a leader. For this he relied on his close support group.
ReplyDeleteHitler's oratory skills were no doubt vital to his rise in power. It seems weird that he would have such powerful speaking skills.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if he naturally lacked leadership, there was definitely a drive within him from a young age to control; especially with his interactions with Gustl. Hitler had this ability to manipulate people and situations. This chapter really saw the combination of his manipulation with his natural instinct to control.
Hitler was no doubt 'rough around the edges' for a leader, the original drafts of Mein Kampf show that, as well as the finished version. He lacks the education, presence, of the traditional leader. Yet, somehow, he used the skills he did have to alter history.