Hitler & the Great Condescension

I think what struck me most in reading Mein Kampf was how low Hitler thought of the general population of his fellow German peers. Hitler put himself on such a high pedestal in comparison to the rest of the German people to the point that it is almost comedic. Time and time again throughout these passages he refers to the “general imperfection and inadequacy of man” (211) the he believes himself immune to. He envisions himself as a potential leader who works towards German’s future in an uphill struggle because “the man who champions…rarely finds understanding among the great masses” (212) i.e. Germany’s general population is too stupid to see things his way. He continues, trying to illuminate how the Revolution could have ever occurred due to “blinded” (226) people who “tend to be corrupted rather than consciously and purposely evil…in view of the primitive simplicity of their minds” (231). Hitler proceeds to over-generalize his fellow citizens into three categories, the first being those who “believe everything they read” (240), which in his view is the largest section of the population, representing the dumbest of Germany. Essentially he flat-out calls most of Germany incompetent in the face of his ‘great’ mind. It just is really unbelievable that the majority of these people Hitler is referring to are the ones he A.) had to win over and B.) were the people that eventually put him in power. I recall from class Jeremy telling us that Mein Kampf was a popular gift among Germans at this time, even given at weddings. It’s just dumbfounding to me that more people weren’t outraged by the way Hitler portrayed the general public, but instead seemed to find his laughable and ridiculous ‘insight’ enlightening. Over and over again he condescends them by referring to them as a “great mass” (250) who are unable to see his warped and sick view of how to solve Germany’s societal issues. By portraying himself an unrecognized genius, one would think Hitler is not only alienating himself from the German public, but from mankind itself.

It may seem like a simplistic observation, but reading Hitler’s own words and being shown how highly he viewed himself is unsettling. The week’s reading opens up with Hitler toying with the idea of himself in power and how “if Providence had put (him) in the place of the incapable or criminal incompetents or scoundrels in (Germany’s) propaganda service, (the) battle with Destiny would have taken a different turn” (188). I was however intrigued by some of Hitler’s self-reflection and overall self-contradiction in the reading. As shown before, Hitler works tirelessly in Mein Kampf to paint a portrait of himself as a member of Germany’s elite: a critical thinker with the mental capability and leadership skills to put Germany on the correct path. He however recognized the fact that he was “numbered among the nameless” (224) and had a “lack of schooling” (224), though further on in his writing he harps upon the importance of reforming Germany’s education, though he lacks a proper education himself. He condescendingly writes off the educated people that would oppose him because he felt he was able to “distinguish between the eternal students and the men of real ability” (224), which frankly just makes Hitler come off as, for lack of a better word, an idiot.