The 'Hitler Myth': How Hitler Won Over the German Peopl

Adolf Hitler managed to present himself as the ‘people’s leader’ who was fearless, extraordinary, and ‘savior’, but eventually, his flaws, selfishness, and weaknesses were exposed. People’s perception that Hitler was a ‘heroic’ leader and a ‘superman’ changed and viewed his policies as the major causes of the problems that befell them. While Hitler succeeded in reviving the country’s economy and building a strong military, he failed to protect the people when they needed him most. After the Stalingrad catastrophic defeat, it was apparent that Hitler was just a mere man. His military, ideology, and the perceived ‘military genius’ was badly hit. His reputation declined drastically, exposing his weaknesses and realities of mortality. The following discussion will focus on the review of The Hitler Myth , with the main focus being on the themes and personal analysis. The review will also address the question of credibility of the author’s claims. 

Book Summary 

Thesis and Themes 

The book The Hitler Myth focuses on the followers’ perception of Adolf Hitler’s leadership and personality and how it influenced his successes and later decline. The book demonstrates that Hitler’s perception as a charismatic, extraordinary, and heroic leader was just a façade. Nevertheless, the ‘superman’ image Hitler had managed to build enabled him to establish the Third Reich (empire), enhance totalitarianism, and a dictatorial government. Hitler used his influence and repress his ‘enemies.’ 

Ian Kershaw addresses several themes in the book. Hitler perceived as the people’s leader or savior dominates Kershaw’s work. The book does not concentrate much on Hitler, but on what people thought about him. Since the First World War, Germany had been struggling. The economy was crumbling. Millions of young men and women were unemployed 1 . The military had been weakened, which was attributed to the Treaty of Versailles. One of the treaties sought to stop Germany from rebuilding its military. This left Germany in precarious situation owing to the impeding external threats. Using his Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler depicted himself as the fearless, strong, uncompromising leader. He articulated issues that mattered most to the common people. He spoke of restoring the country’s glory by rebuilding the economy, strengthening the institutions, and forging a strong military that would defend the country. He also sought to address decisively the injustices of Treaty of Versailles. Like a majority of the Germans, Hitler felt that the treaty was unfair and the ruling regime had failed to address. Hitler knew how to play with the people’s psychology. He knew the real issues affecting the people. He depicted Weimar political system and leadership as a failed regime. The system did not defend the interests of the millions of the Germans, according to Hitler. Most people, apart from the majority of the bourgeois, shared Hitler’s beliefs and sentiments. 

The second and most important theme, is that Hitler was perceived as the only true and charismatic leader who represented the struggles of the common people. Hitler had a humble beginning like most of the common people in Germany. His sentiments and beliefs represented what the common people wanted to hear. Even those who did not believe in Nazis party’s ideologies began to view him as a potential leader who could address the real issues affecting the country. Despite his efforts to gain popularity, his party did not attract many members. It appeared that most of the people shared his sentiments, but were more willing to maintain the status quo. Again, her was perceived as a demagogue by the owners of the means of production, who were trying to protect their vested interests at the expense of the common people’s sufferings. 

The third theme is that of a determined, unfazed, and disciplined leader. Despite the discouragements and setbacks, including being imprisoned, Hitler’s vision of becoming the ‘people leader’ remained alive. In fact, he gained more popularity by being in prison. His party’s activities were at the highest level, with the main aim being to recruit as many people as possible. In 1932, his influence in the political arena was tested. Contrary to the bourgeois’ and other oppositions’ expectations, Hitler became the ‘People’s Chancellor.’ Approximately thirteen million Germans voted for him. The exercise was a show of defiance towards the previous regime. It was also a demonstration that people had faith in Hitler. He was the ‘heroic’ leader that they had been waiting for. His determined and disciplined character reinforced common people’s belief that he was ‘extraordinary’ and a man who would be able to fight the political evils of corruption, nepotism, and poverty that the other leaders had failed. 

The fourth theme was the Fuhrer cult. To establish his control, Hitler had to ensure that every success, activities, and even the media revolved around him. He wanted to establish a totalitarian government where the oppositions were persecuted, arbitrarily arrested, and intimidated. He managed to establish a huge fanatical following. The ‘Heil Hitler’ fascist style greeting was no longer confined within the party, but was slowly becoming the national symbol. As a charismatic leader (as his followers saw him), he succeeded in establishing the Fuhrer cult. In fact, some of his followers were ready to fight for him or die with him. The Fuhrer cult only helped to establish fascism in Third Reich. Fascism led to the authoritarianism, where Hitler was the main national leader. He achieved the goal of becoming a symbol of national unity, without any oppositions. He employed intimidation tactics to keep his political enemies at bay. 

The fifth theme is that of a performer and a promise keeper. As pointed by Max Weber, Charismatic leaders only thrive when they achieve goals. People have much expectation from them, especially because they perceive them (charismatic leaders) as extraordinary and ‘superman’ kind of leaders. Therefore, Hitler had to show results. One of his achievements was rebuilding the economy. In 1932, for instance, the number of unemployed was more than five million. A few years after he took power, the unemployment decreased significantly to less than three hundred thousand. For the first time in decades, Germany was becoming self-reliant. Young people had been empowered economically and the faith in their leader only grew stronger. The second achievement, was that of strengthening the army and winning major battles. As he had promised, Hitler contravened the Treaty of Versailles by militarizing the country and enhancing the belief that the country needed to militarize. actually, Hitler made the people believe that the country’s power and control lied in the strength of its military. Hitler was perceived as a ‘military genius’ after the Blitzkrieg victories. During this time, Hitler managed to defeat a number of countries, including taking over France, within a month. The achievement was the climax of his leadership. Previous leaders had not managed this kind of achievement, which now depicted Germany as a political power. Little did the Hitler know that he was on his way to self-destruction. Having broken the Treaty of Versailles, and threatening the Soviet Union, his leadership was slowly becoming to a decline. 

The other theme was that of leadership decline and exposure of Hitler’s myth. The Stalingrad catastrophic defeat was the beginning of Hitler’s fall. His followers began to question his ‘supernatural’ leadership style. During the war, tens of thousands of Hitler’s soldiers were killed. They retreated after a major defeat. The military was weakened and allied forces including United States and Britain were against Germany. There was also the question of annihilation of millions of Jews. In the concentration camps, many people, including those perceived to be political enemies were exposed to inhumane treatments and murdered. People had a different perception of Hitler. In fact, they blamed him for bad policies that had plunged the country into more problems, including the internal and external conflicts. As such, the title The Hitler Myth is justified at the end. 

Book Reception 

The Hitler Myth has received accolades, leading to productions of similar works. The ideas and sentiments of the book has been borrowed by other authors . For instance , The Hitler Myth has been reviewed in the English Historical Review 2 and the European History Quarterly 3 . Additionally, the book has been reviewed by the Journal of European Studies 4 . The high interest in the book by various scholars demonstrates the uniqueness, originality, and the authenticity of The Hitler Myth . It is one of the books that has addressed a topic that the previous authors either ignored or failed to taking notice of. In the reviews, authors agree with most of Kershaw’s sentiments. One of the main strengths of Kershaw’s work is its reliability and validity. He provides valid sources to support his claims. This is what makes his work attract scholars and historians who want to understand Hitler’s mind. 

Analysis 

In my opinion, The Hitler Myth is one of the most authoritative texts I have come across. Unlike some history books that make wild claims without supportive evidence, Kershaw understood the importance of enhancing credibility of his work. Firstly, he provides the chronology of Hitler’s political career. He gives vivid accounts of Hitler’s political struggles, achievements, and the eventual decline. Kershaw borrows from the works of famous personalities, such as Max Weber to support his argument. In one instance, he attributes Hitler’s decline in popularity to what Weber said about charismatic leaders. The relevance of charismatic leaders, according to Weber, is on the results. Once they fail to achieve, their popularity and support declines. That was exactly what Hitler was suffering from after defeat by Soviet Union. 

Secondly, Kershaw’s arguments are relevant to the topic of his book. He has made it simple for a layman to understand what he meant by the title The Hitler Myth . He achieved this by vividly showing what people perceived Hitler to be and who he actually was. For instance, people thought Hitler was extraordinary, but his defeat by the Soviet Union proved otherwise. It was ironic as he was expected to vanquish all his enemies. He expected to bring justice, end corruption, and address the needs of the people, but ironically, he did worse than his predecessors. He murdered millions of Jews in concentration camps and threatened anyone who opposed his point of view. Eventually, his people, who had come to believe that he was the leader they had been hoping to bring positive change, began to doubt him. These examples demonstrate how Kershaw managed to support his claim that Hitler’s appearance was just an illusion. He was not the kind of a person the people hoped he was. He was just an ordinary man with flaws, which were even worse than most of the leaders. Therefore, I think the book offers valid arguments and should be read any historian who want to understand Hitler’s real personality. 

Conclusion 

In a nutshell, The Hitler Myth demonstrates the perceptions and the realities of Adolf Hitler’s personality and leadership abilities. Hitler was perceived to be extraordinary, courageous, and a person who represented the needs of the people. Having come from a humble beginning, people thought that he was the best person to address all injustices, including corruption. His ability to articulate issues affecting the people enhance fanaticism. People were ready to die for him. Hitler addressed the economic challenges in the country and strengthened the military. However, he failed to protect the country from the external aggression, because of some of his poor policies. Eventually, Hitler’s popularity declined drastically and was blamed for the challenges affecting the country. Hitler was no longer the kind of a leader that people thought he was. 

Bibliography 

Geary, D. "The 'Hitler Myth', Image and Reality in the Third Reich (review)". European History Quarterly . 19 (3): 385–390. 1989. 

Kershaw, Ian. The 'Hitler Myth' . Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280206-2. 1987 

Kater, Michael. "The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich by Ian Kershaw (review)". The English Historical Review . 103 (409): 1014–1016. 1988 

Merridale, C. "The Hitler Myth (review)". Journal of European Studies . 18 (4): 292–296. 1988. 

1 Kershaw, Ian. The 'Hitler Myth'. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280206-2. 1987

2 Kater, Michael. "The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich by Ian Kershaw (review)". The English Historical Review. 103 (409): 1014–1016. 1988

3 Geary, D. "The 'Hitler Myth', Image and Reality in the Third Reich (review)". European History Quarterly. 19 (3): 385–390. 1989.

4 Merridale, C. "The Hitler Myth (review)". Journal of European Studies. 18 (4): 292–296. 1988.