Hitler Leadership Good and Bad

Adolf Hitler
A Leader of Many

At the end of the First World War, Hitler was just an ordinary man in the military. As the war came to an end, so did Hitler’s duty; but when the Treaty of Versailles was signed a new man was born. Outraged that Germany would surrender so easily, and agree to the ridiculous terms of the treaty, he set off on a mission that very few would even think was possible. He wanted to become the leader of Germany and for Germany to become the dominant force in Europe.

He began his rise to power by using his personal charm and natural talent for public speaking. Gaining friends and followers by spreading his ideas and beliefs, Hitler became better known as time went on. Driven by passion, he could easily give his public speeches straight from the heart, making them all the more convincing. His ideas were crazy, but well directed to the needs of the people. His public speeches contained a few important elements that made them good enough to convince others to follow his ridiculous ideas. His speeches:

• Were well organized; • Used irrefutable logic; • Positioned clear and simple ideas; • Contained sharp dialect; • Appealed to the feelings of the masses; and, • Had an electrifying emotional appeal that was used sparingly.

These elements combined would reach out to the souls of the masses in a way that could not go unanswered. Not everything he said was good and true, but like Hitler said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”

Germany was in a serious economic depression due to the reparation payments they had to make following to World War One. They even decided to print more money to make the payments. This reduced their currency rate and put them into an even deeper economic and social depression. Hitler used this to his advantage when persuading the German people to follow him. They were poor, starving, and infuriated; and they wanted someone to blame. Hitler directed this hate and blame at those whom he despised. He slowly began to turn people against those of other races (especially Jews) and other countries. He gained many followers by playing to what the people wanted and continued to rise in popularity until he was finally voted into a position of power.

Once in power, Hitler put his plans to work getting the whole country on his side. He and his associate, Joseph Goebbels, effectively used propaganda to turn the citizens of Germany against Jews and other nations. Hitler once said that, “Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise”. A good example of his propaganda happened in 1936 when Germany hosted the summer Olympics in Berlin. He choreographed the games to show the superiority of the Aryan, or “master race”, over all other nations. He also used fear and terror to keep the non-believers under control. If anyone tried to speak out against him or his ideas, his secret police would get rid of them. Soon the people understood not to go against what Hitler said. All of the teachers in Germany were Nazis who believed Hitler’s ideas of white supremacy. The education system was changed; as children grew up, they would learn Hitler’s beliefs while they were young and vulnerable. The boys were trained in the military so they would be ready to fight at as early as age twelve or thirteen.

He made slight improvements to the economy by violating the armistice condition and rearming Germany. This provided Germany with an army and provided its citizens with more opportunities for jobs, further increasing Hitler’s popularity. He claimed he was not a dictator, but simply a guide for the German people. His guidance, however, became a little clouded when he started letting his early victories in the war go to his head.

He began by taking back the Rhineland, followed by his invasion of Austria. When he next invaded Poland it drew Britain into the war; causing a slight challenge, but nothing Germany couldn’t handle. As Hitler continued his domination over many smaller countries in Europe, his confidence continued to grow; so much he said, “I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.” This feeling of greatness caused him to break Germany’s non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Soon thereafter, Germany declared war on the United States in support of their alliance with Japan. Now up against three superpowers, Hitler would need something of a miracle to save Germany and win the war.

As Hitler was a master of public speaking, he did his best to utilize this skill to rally his troops for war. He would gather thousands of military units in a giant arena where a large band of musicians would be playing loud, exciting music to get the crowd in the right mood for Hitler’s entrance. When he finally entered, surrounded by his guards, the drums would play harder and faster to make everyone’s hearts race and their voices scream. Hitler would wait on stage, sometimes for minutes at a time, letting the crowd’s noise completely die before beginning his speech. He would start with a normal tone of voice and would quickly rise up to a shout at the perfect moment. He did not rush anything he said and knew exactly when to pause and allow the crowd to yell its approval.

However, Germany was in trouble and Hitler’s powerful speeches were not going to be enough. They needed a leader with a brilliant strategy and more than just a will to win. They also needed someone who trusted in his generals, senior officers, and military experts. Hitler, however, was not that leader. He believed his senior officers were over cautious and that his generals were cowardly and stupid. He rejected any information and ideas presented to him that did not agree with his preconceptions. Once Hitler had made up his mind about something, no one was going to convince him otherwise. Since no one could change his mind, he continued to have Germany produce only the best and most high tech weapons. These weapons took longer to produce which meant they had less to use in battle. So while the Allies were producing basic to moderate weapons at a much higher rate, it was eventually too much for Germany to handle.

Hitler never gave up even though he knew they had been defeated. He was determined to drag down all of Germany with him. He believed that since they had lost the war they had also forfeited their right to survive. Many of his generals disagreed with this and, luckily for Germany, Hitler committed suicide on April 30th, 1945 by shooting himself in the head. It was a dramatic end to one of history’s most powerful and dramatic men. Seen as one of the greatest leaders by some, and the worst by others, Hitler will be talked about for centuries to come. A hard working, dedicated man with a dream unlike any other, Hitler once said, “The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of flowing passion, but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in others.”

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Bibliography: "The Biggest Mistakes In World War 2." World War 2 Insightful Essays. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . Bytwerk, Randall. "Goebbels on Hitler as a Speaker." Calvin College - Minds In The Making. 1998. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . "Adolf Hitler." Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night. Nov. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . "Adolf Hitler Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . Megargee, Dr Geoffrey. "BBC - History - World Wars: Hitler 's Leadership Style." BBC - Homepage. 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . Castle-Clarke, Sophie. "Adolf Hitler and Charismatic Leadership: Hitler 's Conception of His Role as Fuehrer." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers ' Network. 04 Aug. 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . Hitler Pictures - A Large Collection of Hitler Pictures. Photograph. USHMM. 20th Century History. By Geoffrey Giles. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . Blog Chelsea Mia Di Alessio Altichieri. Corriere Della Sera. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. .