Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The Plan...
Something we discussed ideologically in class the other day is how dictators rise to power when they have a plan--some sort of way to fix the economic or political quandary that a country is in. Does Hitler have a plan, in your understanding of Mein Kampf? How did he appeal to his followers like Kurt Ludecke and to what extent were Thomas Mann's warnings realized in Hitler's ascent to power?
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Hitler Seemed to have plan. A plan he executed with near perfection, given his rapid rise to power. This plan at its simplest was to return Germany to its former glory, especially after the Treaty of Versailles and World War I. Hitlers appeal came from his messages such as purging Germany to form a now famous term associated with Nazi Germany the "master race." For instance "He[Hitler] found his weapon in the Marxist masses."
ReplyDeleteIt is very clear that Hitler had an agenda to "take Germany back" and do so by eradicating those who did not contribute to the master Aryan race (with a specific target towards the Jewish population). He appealed to his followers with his oratory skills and enthusiasm. Ludecke said that "he was holding the masses, and me with them, under a hypnotic spell by the sheer force of conviction." The outpouring of emotion in his speeches could rally even the strongest opposition. As for Mann, the growing nationalism will lead to a "fanatical cult-barbarism...dangerous and estranging, with...power to clog and stultify the brain..." I love his point here because now that we look back at history it is so true. But the majority of the masses is too caught up in the emotions of the time that they fail to realize the harsh reality of Hitler's extreme nationalism.
ReplyDeleteHitler definetly had a plan long before he rose to power. The failed Hitler-Ludendorff-putsch shows that clearly. It always seemed horrible to me to think about his book and views being published and nobody took it as a warning. He actually acted out his plans so systematically that nearly nothing could have gone wrong ( For example how he gave himself overall power so nothing he did was illegal) And during all this time people loved him. It were the actual leader qualities that helped him too.
ReplyDeleteHitler most certainly had a plan for Germany during his rise to complete power. He wanted a stronger Germany in an economics sense but also a cultural sense. He created projects like building the Autobahn system to create many jobs. He also created Hitler Youth which made young people look up to him and want to put their bodies on the line for his cause, which became their cause as well.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned before, everything Hitler did was legal in this buildup to power.
He had a very clear plan of attach in his mind for how he planned to go about rising to power. He knew pretty well what aspects of Germany he wanted to bring back such as their economy and he knew how to do that. No only did he have a step by step plan of what to accomplish and why he also knew how to get it done. his followers were under Hitler's charismatic spell through which not many were able to see through.
ReplyDeleteHitler had a plan to "purify" Germany and to expand Germany through nationalization. He wanted all Jews erased from Germany and wanted as much power as he could gain. Kurt Ludecke said "He was holding the masses, and me with them, under a hypnotic spell by the sheer force of his conviction". This shows that Hitler's followers were "hynotized" adn mesmerized by his presence. They believe that Hitler honored Germany; "I felt sure that no one who heard Hitler that afternoon could doubt that he was the man of destiny, the vitalizing forece in the future of Germany". Hitler's followers admired his plan to move Germany forward and make Germany powerful. Hitler had the ability to spur emotion and enthusiasm in his followers.
ReplyDeleteHitler's message of hatred was spread throughout the 'German Homeland' through his book 'Mein Kampf". In the excerpt on the Jews he explains that he does not think that the Jews are worthy of anything and that they're useless, I don't think he does this in a very convincing way, but many Germans did. He hypnotized his followers with promises, many of which he followed through on. Also, unlike the government he replaced, he was loved by most everyone and was able to indoctrinate children in schools, public, private, and religious.
ReplyDeleteI think Hitler had a plan, though I felt he dodged around how he was actually going to do it. It seemed at some points (talking about how the jews ruin everything), that he hated them and wanted to wipe them out, but he didn't go into detail. It seemed to me that he was often justifying something that he was unsure of. Maybe Hitler didn't have a plan. Maybe he just had extremely prolific, twisted, horrible ideas that he believed could be justified. Hitler was somewhat of a mystery, and I believe there was a lot more to his thinking then this book alone.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely evident the hitler had a plan for Germany. And as Trent said, it was preformed to near perfection. This plan consisted of bringing his country from possibly the lowest it has ever been, to a world leader. Such time and care went into his plans. Constantly going through them taking out any possible reasons for failing. However, his followers thought nothing of it. He gave them benefits like more jobs and ultimatly more wealth that let them look past all the negatives of hitler.
ReplyDeleteOf course Hitler has a plan. He put forth a cause for the problems Germany was facing and proposed a solution that was filled with hatred and vitriol. This plan made the problem seem easily solvable and that Hitler would be the perfect person to do it. His message also invigorate a fledgling nationalistic movement that was spurred by the treaty of Versailles.
ReplyDeleteWhen people make a plan about some huge project that needs to be done, it is more likely to get done. We have all probably seen the TV show biggest loser and the 1st thing they do is make a weight loss plan. a plan that takes the opposition out(junk food) and this plan is enforced by the trainer and friends. This goes for Hitler and the rise of the third reich. he used his skills as a oratory master to harp on the woes of the Germain people and make them feel as if they had been robbed by the government and that he would bring a new world order in which pure aryans were to rule. many people hail hitler as a mastermind behind his plan to take power. a well laid out plan is just as essential as the means to execute that plan. Hitler rallied the beaten down germains and rose them up so that he could be risen up by them.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to infer whether Hitler had a definite plan. He presented some grueling ideas in Mein Kamf, but it is possible he did not originally plan to legitimatize what he was writing. As it says in the very beginning of the passage, Hitler "presented his views"; he didn't actually say, "I plan to...". However, his words in Mein Kamf are obviously ludicrous and bizarre, suggesting that he did have a plan. There is so much historical and evidential information that it's hard to believe Hitler wrote it solely "present his views". His followers such as Ludecke honored him because for one, they were desperate for a good ruler. Hitler seemed promising, trustworthy, and intelligent. Regarding Mann, it seems like his warnings were insignificant at the time. His last statement, "Fanaticism turns into a means of salvation, enthusiasm into epileptic ecstasy, politics becomes an opiate for the masses...and reason veils their face" implies this.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hitler had a plan for longer than he wanted the public to know. During his time under Mussolini, he adopted a very fascist set of ideals. He also was able to observe the way the Italian people completely ate up everything that Mussolini threw at them, before his ultimate dictatorship, when the opinion of the people didn't matter. Hitler knew the conditions of Germany following WWI, and he knew that the people were susceptible to promises of "returning Germany to its former glory."
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article, Hitler seems has got himself dedicated to fulfill the destiny to purify the Aryan race and revive Germany back to the top of the world. Its undisputed that he had such a enthusiasm and oratory skills to enforce his action, yet it is unclear that weather he truly had a specific plan or just a will or goal to work on.
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