The Signs of the Times

Michael Fitzgerald has written an interesting study of a man who made an enormous impression upon the twentieth century. Adolf Hitler - A Portrait contains a series of essays upon aspects of Hitler's life and work. For example, Fitzgerald includes subjects such as Hitler the Artist, the Politician, the Messiah, the Warlord, and the Murderer. A fascinating chapter looks at Hitler the 'Green' leader and sees, in National Socialism, the first shoots of modern environmentalism. There were, apparently, many ways in which Germans were better off under Hitler than they had been under the Weimar Republic. Hitler made great strides in overcoming poverty, and in improving diet and general health. Nazism aslso swept away many if not all of the old class distinctions. Advancement on the basis of merit became the norm. Of course, such improvements were costly. The rapid, wholesale restructuring of society was only achieved because it was, largely, imposed by an authoritarian regime. That regime was, fundamentally, socialist. In this, Hitler was not a conservative, he was a radical. If his program had not been tainted by extreme anti-semitism, then he may have been remembered as a great innovator. Tragically, however, Hitler was driven by an anger that consumed millions of lives including, eventually, his own.

I recommend this book. Fitzgerald does not avoid the hard questions. He does not fail to denounce Hitler as a mass murderer on a truly horrific scale. He does, however, move beyond the rhetoric to capture more than a caricature. An important question deserves our attention: Why did the German people elect to office a man who had already demonstrated a tendency to use violence? Did they not realize that, by voting for the National Socialists, they were condemning their nation to yet another war?

Various reasons have been suggested for the short-sightedness of the German people. Some have argued that the Second World War was a necessary postscript to World War One, and that the injustices perpetrated by the victors at Versailles led to the re-assertion of a militaristic Germany, bent on revenge. Others have drawn attention to the failures of the proportional representative electoral system, which allowed government to be manipulated by those at the extremes. Some commentators have noted the threat of communism and the reactionary forces that propelled Hitler into power. For others, the weakness of Weimar, the vacillations of its leaders, and the senility of Hindenberg seem to explain the rise of Nazism's star. Still others have blamed the policy of appeasement adopted by Europe's grand old men, allowing the jackboot to swagger its way past every obstacle.

Whatever the reason, the fact of the matter is that the German people, voters and politicians, allowed a psychotic meglamaniac to gain the reins of power. If there is a lesson for us it is surely the importance of vigilance. Within a relatively short space of time, the new German Chancellor had outlawed all associations other than those of which he approved. He came to dominate every aspect of national life, including those that had, initially, vigorously opposed him, including the army. Is it not possible that a modern Hitler could dupe us in just the same way?

Hitler benefitted from weak government, fear of foreign power (Soviet communism), and the financial havoc caused by the Great Depression. Many people either supported him, or failed to oppose him, because he was strong and confident, and because they believed that they would be better off with Hitler at the helm. It is the cancer of self-interest that allows charlatans and despots to claim authority to which they have no right. One could argue that six million Jews perished because ordinary people were more concerned about their standard of living than about doing what was right.