I found this book enthralling. I didn’t know much about Hitler before his rise to power, and to see his whole background is very interesting. Of course, the first thing almost anyone thinks about Hitler is, “How can someone follow a person like that?” This book answers the question beautifully. With the political climate at the time, the results of the First World War, the state of Germany, and so many other factors, it really was the perfect storm for Hitler to rise to power.
One of the most interesting aspects of the story I thought was his young adult years spent in Vienna and trying to make it as an artist. Imagine, if he had just gotten into art school, none of this would have ever happened. To hear how he struggled, how he hid his trials from friends and family, and how he was really was just a lost young man adds depth to a person normally viewed as simply a monster who hated for no reason.
Speaking of why he hated, I really liked that the book does not try to offer a definitive explanation for Hitler’s hatred of the Jews. It is simply unfathomable to think that someone could hate another person that much simply because of their religion, race, gender, size, or any other aspect of character that should have no bearing on how people are treated. And while the book does offer some possibilities, it does not try to give an outright explanation, knowing that it is impossible to do so.
After the question of hate comes the question of love. Is it possible to love someone so much that you will poison yourself, have your body burned, and even kill your own children because that someone will no longer be the leader of your country? The persons of Eva Braun and the Goebbels are arguably just as fascinating as Hitler himself. Who voluntarily goes to their grave over this? At no point did Eva Braun think to herself, “You know, we’re not even married, and this war really isn’t going that well. Maybe Hitler isn’t the best guy to be connected to right now”? And when the story is told of Magda Goebbels killing her own children with poison and saying, “A world without Hitler and National Socialism is not worth living in” (214) I could barely contain my rage. Really? A world without Hitler is not worth living in? He was one guy! He orchestrated the death of millions of people! And he’s the one guy that makes the world worth living in?! I feel bad enough when I accidentally bonk my son’s head with the car door, and she poisoned her kids on purpose! It just really shows the length to which these people were brainwashed.
Interestingly, I believe Hitler could be cast as a sort of tragic hero to the people who followed him and knew exactly how to get people to do what he wanted and how to get them to think a certain way. He was loved by so many for so long, but his pride became his tragic flaw. He refused to believe there was anything he couldn’t do, and started making decisions that were irrational out of pride. Everyone knew the move into Russia was a poor decision, but he went ahead with it and it basically cost him the war. He ordered troops not to surrender when that was really the only course of action. He thought he knew the military strategies of other countries, but didn’t. His downfall came because of his own pride, and had he not believed in himself so much, he probably would have won.
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Wow, I wanted to read this book and now I feel that I have to! I don't know much about Hitler myself, but I have read some accounts of Germans as they struggled with their identities after the end of WWII. I feel like that point of view is often forgotten, and I think it would be interesting to see how Hitler rose to power and was able to inspire a nation to the point of such infallible devotion (and lunacy). It is interesting to think about how one act in a person's life--say art school--can/could have potentially changed the course of history. I like the way you are able to think about Hitler as the tragic hero for his own people with his own defects and personal failures. It is frightening to think of what might have happened had he not been possessed of the type of pride that leads to one's downfall!
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