Lately, I've been fascinated with World War II. It's a fleeting obsession for me I suppose, something catches my attention and I'm stuck there for a while; analyzing technological advances, catastrophic collapses, political discourse, or tactics. Could be anything really, the period from 1918 to 1945 is filled with events that are hard to fathom, many of which are documented in film.
My latest foray into the war has revolved around Hitler's seemingly strong grip on the German people. I haven't been so much into the technical aspects of his rise, rather I've been interested in sort of philosophical/political questions. How did he convince people to vote for him? How did he maintain power despite his policies? Why do the German people seem so complicit in the Holocaust?
There are certainly different aspects to each of those questions. It basically boils down to Hitler learning the art of presentation, to having a true iron grip on the population, and to keeping the dirty details as secretive as possible. People make their living writing about these things. There is, however, one philosophical thread that seems to run through all of these questions; a lack of skepticism.
All people by nature are to some degree both skeptics and believers. It's the believing person that make the world work whether it's believing in an investment, or believing in the potential of another person, or believing that a motion will produce the same results as last time. It's the skeptical person that keeps the believer from going in an unacceptable direction. It's the skeptic that wonders "are they burning bodies?" It's the believer that says "there is so much ash, they must be powering something"; the alternative being unbelievable.
In a skeptical world, nothing would work. People would always question, and never get into action. There were many assassination attempts on Hitler, each one of those attempts were made by both a person skeptical of Hitler's ability to correct himself, and a person believing they had to do something about it. One person; a skeptic turned into a believer. It took that spark, that skepticism, to cause that alternative belief.
In the late twenties there was a catastrophic economic collapse nearly world-wide. Germany had many political factions offering utopia, and many ex-military angry about the end of World War I. The citizenry of Germany desperately wanted to believe that their state could once again move onto the international stage; proud and economically strong. The gains of the twenties melted away, and Germany was primed for Hitler's rise to power.
From the perspective of a German citizen, Hitler made Germany work. He grew the military and created huge public works projects. The aim was to get Germany out of The Depression, and in large part he succeeded. He was exactly the type of person that many Germans wanted.
To many Germans, Hitler's antisemitism was understandable. Many believed the rhetoric involving Communism and Judaism. Many believed Germany's defeat was caused by the "insidious nature" of Communism. Those same citizens also believed the films showing prisoners at Dachau exercising; apparently well fed. From a loyal citizen's perspective, "How could this great man do anything wrong?"
The German people wanted to believe. It's not an exclusively German story; it's how people work. The tougher it gets, the more people start reaching to believe in something. That's the lesson of Hitler: Adolph Hitler may have been only a historical footnote, if there had been a few more skeptics.
My latest foray into the war has revolved around Hitler's seemingly strong grip on the German people. I haven't been so much into the technical aspects of his rise, rather I've been interested in sort of philosophical/political questions. How did he convince people to vote for him? How did he maintain power despite his policies? Why do the German people seem so complicit in the Holocaust?
There are certainly different aspects to each of those questions. It basically boils down to Hitler learning the art of presentation, to having a true iron grip on the population, and to keeping the dirty details as secretive as possible. People make their living writing about these things. There is, however, one philosophical thread that seems to run through all of these questions; a lack of skepticism.
All people by nature are to some degree both skeptics and believers. It's the believing person that make the world work whether it's believing in an investment, or believing in the potential of another person, or believing that a motion will produce the same results as last time. It's the skeptical person that keeps the believer from going in an unacceptable direction. It's the skeptic that wonders "are they burning bodies?" It's the believer that says "there is so much ash, they must be powering something"; the alternative being unbelievable.
In a skeptical world, nothing would work. People would always question, and never get into action. There were many assassination attempts on Hitler, each one of those attempts were made by both a person skeptical of Hitler's ability to correct himself, and a person believing they had to do something about it. One person; a skeptic turned into a believer. It took that spark, that skepticism, to cause that alternative belief.
In the late twenties there was a catastrophic economic collapse nearly world-wide. Germany had many political factions offering utopia, and many ex-military angry about the end of World War I. The citizenry of Germany desperately wanted to believe that their state could once again move onto the international stage; proud and economically strong. The gains of the twenties melted away, and Germany was primed for Hitler's rise to power.
From the perspective of a German citizen, Hitler made Germany work. He grew the military and created huge public works projects. The aim was to get Germany out of The Depression, and in large part he succeeded. He was exactly the type of person that many Germans wanted.
To many Germans, Hitler's antisemitism was understandable. Many believed the rhetoric involving Communism and Judaism. Many believed Germany's defeat was caused by the "insidious nature" of Communism. Those same citizens also believed the films showing prisoners at Dachau exercising; apparently well fed. From a loyal citizen's perspective, "How could this great man do anything wrong?"
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