Adolph Hitler
A man that brainwashed a Nation

It seems inconceivable to me that this man could be a great leader. Even more so by looking at the picture above. What made Hitler great was his speaking ability. The skill of the orator, in a few short minutes he could get a feel for his audience and have them hooked. File footage also tells a tale. Many of the speeches I have seen have shown him in great halls. Further more, always far from the audience. Any shortcomings could not be seen at this distance. It has also been speculated that he was trained by an actor on how to gesture correctly. Posturing, getting the right gesture, in line with what is being said. It can be said that he accomplished this quite well.

My Fascination with Hitler

Many things fascinate me about him. One, his hatred of the Jewish people. A myth once told to me is that Jews bullied him as a child, or maybe a single Jew. I discount this, but cannot really come to terms as to what the real reason was. Other than the reason of  'we are many, they are few, they are the haves, we are the have-nots. Generally Hitler and is ilk needed a scapegoat, and through time the Jews have shown to be readily available, see Anti-Semitism. Also within reason, The National Socialists concentrated much of their propaganda against Bolshevism, which they characterized as a conspiracy of international Jewish financiers. That falls into the 'they are the have's we are the have-nots'. In 1923, Hitler, then Leader of The National Socialists had the Storm Troopers, some 600, attempt to over throw the government known then as the Weimar Republic. This attempt failed and Hitler was sent to prison. In prison, Hitler wrote with Rudolf Hess, "Mein Kampf" (My Battle) the book that pretty much lays out what Hitler's plans for the future were. There is speculation that Hitler knew nothing of the expulsion and execution of the Jews, Mein Kampf refutes that. It has also been speculated that Rudolf Hess penned the book solely. These speculations are just that.

Hitler Youth

The History Channel ran a documentary on the subject of Hitler Youth. I have had my fascinations, this is beyond that. This was captivating. If you were a young Nazi and could pass the physical, which included measuring every aspect of your face you could be a Hitler Youth. However, you had to fit the mold. You also had to supply a background check. They had to be certain of your origin. There could not be any Jewish in your ethnic history. If so, no telling what your future was.

The allure of the Hitler Youth was overwhelming for these young boys. So much was given to them. So much was taken away. These boys were taught many things. Much was the principle of war, the physics of war. File footage was shown of them launching a little rocket and studying the trajectory. The Schutzstaffeln or SS were also interested in these boys. Little soldiers were made out of them. By the end of WW2, they were used. It is said that the youngest might have been 8 years of age. The youngest seen in file footage looked to be no older than 14. Very sad, when caught by the allies and debriefed these children were found to be quite uneducated. For all the drills, posturing and hate orientation, they taught these children, nothing else. What was also interesting is the stories of the survivors. In the documentary, they told their story in their own words. Talk about disillusion. This is the early reference to something being taken away, Childhood. One story relayed by an ex-Hitler Youth was the tale of tracking down Jews that have fled from a train and hunting them down. Now, this man was quite disturbed by this, this memory of his past that I assumed he would rather not have. This former Hitler Youth retelling the story also remembers that when German authorities were asked why they had ordered children to shoot the prisoners, the response was: "We want to train the young to become tougher still and not to hold back from any cruelty."  In short, desensitize.

Many of these poor souls lost so much. Lost in the rhetoric that was what they were taught and lost in reality of what really was: The cold-blooded act that was war and the "cleansing" that was the massacre of a people. What better group to brainwash than youth.

A reference

That scene was from "The Sound Of Music" and is, to me the most memorable. The movie did touch on Hitler Youth. The character in question is Rolf. Rolf is in love with Captain Von Trapp's daughter, Liesl. Another scene at a gazebo is where Rolf is declaring his love for Liesl. This is well ahead of the scene above, but makes it that much more hard to understand. I was young yet and never understood how Rolf could do what he did. Nevertheless, now I do. History is more important to me now. In my years of schooling, did I get this, was I told about it? To be sure, I was informed about Hitler, the Holocaust, and the well-documented persecution of the Jewish people. However, was I ever taught about the Hitler youth? Possibly, as a side note.

Going back to the above scene from The Sound of Music. I remember that scene so vividly. Rolf was in the Hitler Youth uniform of the period, much the same uniform that was in the said documentary. I would like to refresh my memories and see "The Sound Of Music" again. Although it is a musical. Funny how Hollywood has to sugar coat a Historical reference. Of course, there is Schindlers List, a rather un-sugar coated film. Another film that touches briefly on Hitler Youth is "Swing Kids", a group of German youth that would rather tide away the hours dancing to Swing Music than doing much else. I would assume that they too succumbed to Hitler's movements, as most had to. There were a few groups or organizations at the time for the younger people. However, these groups were not tolerated by the Nazi's. Anybody who had a thought outside of the doctrine of Nazism was considered enemy.

During The War

Not just Jews were locked up with all rights taken away, including living, but intellectuals as well. Britain won its war with Germany by amassing its better intellectuals in deciphering code from Germanys Enigma machines. An Enigma machine was what the Germans used out in the field with radio transmissions. For all its advanced technology, it was used poorly. Many of the troops would wish Hitler a happy birthday in frequent transmissions, when the allies broke the code they had most of it. Furthermore, the Germans would change the Enigma settings every 24 hours. Once broke the allies were good for the day. However, the allies could not get too far ahead of the broken code as far as acting on the information. They did not want this hand to show. Hitler's war machine was probably the worst in history by my summation. He had many opportunities at victory, many to lose by one way or another. Many a blunder was made by Germany's military leaders. Nutrition of leaders went unheeded as well, many by Hitler's orders. An attempt was made on Hitler's life by his own staff. That lead to a great nutrition of leaders. Some that had to take over were much too young for the job. However, that said, the Hitler Youth is about all that was left to fight. In my assumption, I would have to conclude that Germany had but one outcome in World War 2 and that was losing.

In Closing

Hitler was not and is not alone in his hatred of a people. Hitler was not and is not alone as far as being a dictator. The human species and its illnesses have not changed. We have become tolerant, but not enough. The worlds past is another topic for another time. I could go on and on about similarities between Hitler and current world leaders. The Jewish people are still the most persecuted people. In some lands, the people are persecuted not because of origin like Hitler but due to religion. The landmass that sometimes sets these people apart is less than 200 miles. This never makes sense. However, it is the way things are and have obviously been.

Alas, America as well has its inhuman, hatred induced past and is a topic for another time. The similarity of our past and the rest of the world are not much different. Some of the remnants sadly remain. However, I have hope for us. We have grown fast and our ideals as a whole have too. The KKK once a very large 200,000 plus members has dwindled to as many as 5000 today. The people that call themselves KKK today are actually something else entirely. They are the remnant of Hitler. They find themselves posturing like the Hitler Youth of the past. They do the raising of the arm just the same. They may call themselves KKK, but remember they are lost. Sadly, they educate their children much the same way that Hitler educated his so-called children. Educated in hate, and not much else. One would believe that you could ask a skinhead Nazi fascist KKK hate mongering idiot the question, "why do you hate these people"? I would also gather they could not come up with an appropriate answer. They do not know. Hatred is simply taught. I believe this with all my heart. Hitler is a perfect specter for these people, an undead leader to their cause.

September 8, 2001 "In addition Hitler was not and has not been alone in running a nation on the premise of hate. It seems to me that Arab countries thrive on this. Up this down on that."
Toppers Tap 

A few new notes here, first the dates, upcoming event not with standing. And the unknowing comparison that was yet to be made of a Mad Man and a US President. And little did I know of 9/11 the bombing of The World Trade Centers lower levels was fresh in my mind .