Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler probably exerted more direct personal power than any ruler in history. He created both his own political theory and a government that could not exist without him. It was he who set the standards for art, music, medicine, and poetry. His whim became national law. He dictated statutes which set forth the religion of household servants, the colors artists could use in paintings, the way lobsters were to be cooked in restaurants, and how physics would be taught in the universities. He decided whom Germans might marry, what they could name their children, where they could be buried.

As Sir Alan Bullock has noted in his superb biography, no statesman ever showed greater understanding of the irrational and emotional factors in politics or exploited them more masterfully. Few have had clearer insights into the weaknesses of opponents or greater ability to turn them to personal advantage. Adolf Hitler was adroit in the manipulation of his own charisma and used personal appeal with consummate artistry. As the occasion or audience demanded, he could be charming or brutal, generous or vicious. He was adored by housewives and artists, peasants and architects, professors and plumbers, children and generals. He was a ruthless opportunist with an almost perfect sense of timing, knowing instinctively the precise moment to strike.

Adolf Hitler was also a man with a faith that moved mountains. Like all really great political leaders, he combined political realism with unshakable belief in his historic destiny. Above all else, he had the capacity to make men want to follow him. David Lloyd George, himself a notable practitioner of the political arts, stood in awe of Hitler and, after an extensive visit in Germany, proclaimed him to be one of the truly great men of the ages.

Adolf Hitler's rise had indeed been one of history's great political success stories. The unknown and uneducated common soldier of World War I, who had been a failure in all his undertakings, had come to power in 1933 in a country that despaired of solving its social and political problems. Within five years he had given his nation stability and hope. A grateful people hailed him as the leader and savior who had eliminated unemployment, stabilized their currency, provided them with effective social legislation, and given millions of workers attractive vacations.

Any attempt simply to describe Adolf Hitler-his physical appearance and personal interests-immediately confronts the complexities of the man. We look at his unimpressive, even ludicrous figure and wonder how it was possible for a great nation to hail him as their leader and savior; we are perplexed by his preoccupation with the length of his fingers, the width of his nostrils, the shape of his skull, and the color of his eyes. His personal habits also seem odd. In this chapter we simply note some of his most striking characteristics and patterns of behavior, along with the themes which keep recurring in his written and spoken words.

Adolf Hitler's hair was very dark brown, almost black. He parted it on the right side, his famous forelock falling over the left temple. His nose was large and coarse. His bushy mustache was cut just wide enough to help conceal the offending feature. His teeth were brownish-yellow and covered with fillings and bridges. He shielded his mouth with his hand when he laughed.

Hitler himself often observed that his eyes were very like those of his mother. Her eyes, in turn, reminded him of the Medusa-whose glance, it will be recalled, turned men to stone or impotence. Adolf Hitler was second-class Viennese cafe. Barely five feet, nine inches tall, he weighed, during his better days, about 150 pounds. But he had a tendency to put on flabby weight, and his posture deteriorated through the years. His shoulders were narrow, his chest somewhat sunken with skin white, shiny, and hairless.