Ask me about Adolf Hitler.

[ThaSaltCracka]

yes, this thread has thus far delivered completely. Well done AC.

[Hamish McBagpipe]

The Wannsee conference began the outlining of the Final Solution in January 1942. Some have said that in early 1942 Hitler rebuked his ministers over questions such as who is a half-jew saying that there is a war on and such questions should be answered later and that he needed Jewish labour to build roads and other constructions in occupied Russia. Hitler was, of course, ultimately responsible for Heydrich holding this meeting and the murder that followed. But my question is how much feedback do you think Hitler got back once the mechanics of this "solution" got going? Do you think he knew exactly about the move from roving einsatzgruppen killing squads to efficient death camps? Did he just say "Make them go away and I don't care how" or was it more a side issue for him?

[ThaSaltCracka]

Hamish seems like you are suggesting Hemmler(sp) is probably more to blame for the holocaust.

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
How would you characterize Hitler's religious beliefs? Discuss how he would likely self-identify himself and/or what his beliefs actually were.

[/ QUOTE ]


Like I already stated his belief's centered around Wagnerian Operas and Schopenhauer Philosophy.


From the Life and Death of:


'He said later that during WW1 he read only one book, but he read it again and again, finding in it the solutions to many problems that perplexed him. The book was [i]The World as Will and Idea, which celebrates the primacy of the will, seeing it in romantic isolation, detached and inviolable. The will alone rules; all else is illusion. Nevertheless, the assertive will finds itself endlessly frustrated, and the only salvation lies in renunciation through art and asceticism, in the comtemplation of the eternal ideas. Hitler's asceticism and his belief in himself as an srtist found powerful justification in Schopenhauer, whose extravagant romanticism helped him to endure the miseries of war.'


Hitler was not a literate one trick pony. It is very possible that Hitler was more widely read than just about anyone that ever lived (if not it would be close.) And he remembered everything he ever read. For the years when he was busto all he did was read books from the library. He read everything he could on art, theatre, opera, architecture, politics, history, etc.

This is why everyone had such trouble disputing his arguments, he had such a voluminous knowledge of everything that he could just exhibit pedantic displays of information overload until the opponent would retreat, feeling intellectually inferior. And yes a lot of the knowledge was based on kooky eugenics theories and a lot of the books he simply absorbed from them what he wanted and discarded the rest.

But a lot of people in Germany at the time believed these eugenics theories and the myth of the Aryan superman. He could not preach to an audience these kooky theories unless they held a bias towards these ideas.


(Somehow this all ended up in italics, I apologize.)

[esad]

I have had an interest in Hitler for a long time and know tons about him as well.

With that said I think the OP's use if respect is misguided. I generally tell people that I acknowledge his abilities to do what he did and his rise to power. But I hardly respect or admire the man.

Hitler's greatest skill was understanding the use of propaganda or what we would call today spin. As a matter of fact I would say Hitler is responsible for the propaganda now having a negative meaning. You people should asks questions about that aspect of Hitler.

One of the reasons I think Hitler is such a interesting person is because of his ability to constantly use propaganda to mold people's perceptions. Because of this it's hard to get a real handle and what he really believed.

Also, Hitler was a military idiot. He caused Germany to lose the war almost single handily.

[Hamish McBagpipe]

[ QUOTE ]
Hamish seems like you are suggesting Hemmler(sp) is probably more to blame for the holocaust.

[/ QUOTE ]

Himmler and other underlings are not important. Hitler, of course, is responsible, and I'm sure the OP would agree that Hitler had shown a trend toward and eventual mania about anti-semitism and the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe. My question is perhaps related to the query about him not having fired a weapon at an enemy himself or having killed anyone himself. How much of the Wannsee conference and the results of that meeting were conveyed back to him? He says to Goering, "I want a final solution". Ok, then what? Was he getting updates? Or did Himmler/Heydrich et al. just carry out their own madness based on a loose framework?

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

In your opinion what things has hitler done, if any, that you believe are totally reprehensible?

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]


I don't know how to answer things like this, do you want me to say the Holocaust was reprehensible? Of course it was, so was the destruction of civil liberties. I want people to ask me about Adolf Hitler so they they will understand the man many view to be some kind of Mythic Supernatural Monster.

But it seems you want me to talk about myself and how I should feel guilty for having an interest in Hitler as a study in extreme human motivations.

Hitler is a perfect example of what can happen when you're always trying to "fix" the world and the people in it. The thrust of your intent should not be in trying to change the world. You should simply try to change yourself for the better. If everyone would simply do that then the world would will take care of itself.

[Toro]

Got anything on how he reacted when Jesse Owens won 3 Gold Medals in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin at which I believe he was in attendance?

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
Got anything on how he reacted when Jesse Owens won 3 Gold Medals in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin at which I believe he was in attendance?

[/ QUOTE ]

Only that he refused to meet with him which would have been customary for the head of state hosting the games to meet a 3 time Gold medal winner.

But I bet I could guess Hitler's argument when asked how a black man could defeat his Aryan Supermen. He probably would have said the superior atlethcism of the blacks were due to only the strongest ones being breed together during many generations of slave captivity.

[Toro]

No that was Jimmy "the greek" Synder who said that, lol.