The Hitler Myth: an Understanding

This week, I really enjoyed the reading in The Hitler Myth. I felt that Kershaw did a great job giving the reader a closer look at what really got the party noticed and popular. In the introduction, it stuck out to me that Hitler was “aware of how important his ‘omnipotent’ image was to his leadership position and to the strength of the regime” (3). Hitler made sure to always look pristine and perfect, showing the rest of the country he was very put together. This concept of togetherness and unity of the people through the Nazi Party is also a recurring theme. He became the one who would soon “lead them from distress” (23), and we can see that many people had a lot of faith in Hitler and his power.

It came as a shock to me when I read that many other members of the Nazi party were privately skeptical of Hitler’s true power and abilities. Hitler was a “symbol of party unity” (27) for the rest of the country, but it seems as though some people had their doubts. I found it interesting that Dincklage was quoted saying it didn’t matter whether they believed Hitler or Luddendorff to be the greatest, even though as readers we probably believe that most of the party would have their full faith in Hitler because of his abilities as the Fuhrer.

I was interested in how Kershaw uses Hitler and the Nazi party to explain their takeover, but also looks at society and how that plays a huge role in the Nazis coming to power. Kershaw’s statement of the aims of the book helped me to see that he is explaining the ways in which the German people came to understand and respect the Nazi’s political and social values, not just on their radical ideology (10).