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Hitler speech

Spiderman

Veteran Member

I find the man to be unhealthy and unhappy. Anger and hatred causes much suffering especially to those who are filled with it. He probably didn't experience much joy.

What are your thoughts about Hitler? Do you think such a person will rise to power in Europe again?

His speeches are interesting and he was the epitome of a cult figure. Its kinda crazy watching the control he had over the minds and hearts of his people.

The crowds cheered for him like he was a messiah. He definitely was an unusual figure in History. He destroyed much of the continent and brought about much grief and agony, so im not even remotely saying he was a good leader, or good for anything, but sometimes monsters are interesting.

Do you think history will repeat itself?
 

Spiderman

Veteran Member
Hitler was on meth

"According to a 47-page U.S. military dossier, a physician filled the Fuhrer with barbiturate tranquilizers, morphine, bulls' semen, a pill that contained crystal meth, and other drugs, depending on Hitler's momentary needs, the Daily Mail reports. By this account, Hitler downed crystal meth before a 1943 meeting with Mussolini in which the Fuhrer ranted for two hours, and took nine shots of methamphetamine while living out his last days in his bunker."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/17242185
 

Jumi

Well-Known Member
Hitler was on meth
Lots of soldiers, both allies and nazis were on drugs in ww2. Many decisions of life and death were made in a drugged haze. Same has been said of ISIS, they pumped themselves up with drugs to fight and kill... the fight against one's conscience is strong.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
With the right circumstances I think history will indeed repeat itself. Germany was desperate for a leader. Someone to save them from the consequences of WWI.
There is rhetoric similar to Hitler's today, ensnaring the minds of the dejected and those who probably want to protect themselves.
I find Hitler and his hold over people rather fascinating. I've decided that this October I will endevour to truly learn the ins and outs of his regime.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member

I find the man to be unhealthy and unhappy. Anger and hatred causes much suffering especially to those who are filled with it. He probably didn't experience much joy.

What are your thoughts about Hitler? Do you think such a person will rise to power in Europe again?

His speeches are interesting and he was the epitome of a cult figure. Its kinda crazy watching the control he had over the minds and hearts of his people.

The crowds cheered for him like he was a messiah. He definitely was an unusual figure in History. He destroyed much of the continent and brought about much grief and agony, so im not even remotely saying he was a good leader, or good for anything, but sometimes monsters are interesting.

Do you think history will repeat itself?

Hitler was a product of the society into which he was born, which was highly nationalistic with a significant dose of racism and anti-semitism. The hearts and minds of his audience were already geared towards believing what he was saying, and he knew how to play the crowd and tell them what they wanted to hear.

History goes in cycles, although it doesn't actually repeat itself exactly. In Hitler's case, he was able to capitalize on what was happening in the country at the time, where people had to haul a pile of cash in wheelbarrows just to buy a loaf of bread. People had to sell all their worldly possessions just so they could eat another day.

When so many people are pushed to the breaking point like that, there's no telling what they might support. Any human can become a monster if they're pushed far enough.
 

Spiderman

Veteran Member
Hitler was a product of the society into which he was born, which was highly nationalistic with a significant dose of racism and anti-semitism. The hearts and minds of his audience were already geared towards believing what he was saying, and he knew how to play the crowd and tell them what they wanted to hear.

History goes in cycles, although it doesn't actually repeat itself exactly. In Hitler's case, he was able to capitalize on what was happening in the country at the time, where people had to haul a pile of cash in wheelbarrows just to buy a loaf of bread. People had to sell all their worldly possessions just so they could eat another day.

When so many people are pushed to the breaking point like that, there's no telling what they might support. Any human can become a monster if they're pushed far enough.
It's sad that people like Hitler often come forth from countries that are are suffering tremendously, just to cause the nation far more suffering.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hitler was a product of the society into which he was born, which was highly nationalistic with a significant dose of racism and anti-semitism. The hearts and minds of his audience were already geared towards believing what he was saying, and he knew how to play the crowd and tell them what they wanted to hear.

History goes in cycles, although it doesn't actually repeat itself exactly. In Hitler's case, he was able to capitalize on what was happening in the country at the time, where people had to haul a pile of cash in wheelbarrows just to buy a loaf of bread. People had to sell all their worldly possessions just so they could eat another day.

When so many people are pushed to the breaking point like that, there's no telling what they might support. Any human can become a monster if they're pushed far enough.
I think you have this inverted. Hitler was a racist first and a nationalist second. In his book Mein Kampf Hilter he is clear he was about “blood” as the driving force. Nations served as a tool of race, in his ideology, not the other way around. Consider that he would destroy nations, including his own, in pursuit of his evil racist ideas. In particular he hated Jews, of course. He literally would gladly bankrupt and destroy his own country and willing die himself if he thought he could kill more Jews. Now that is true hatred.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
OP: Hitler was a singularly evil person. He lived in a simpler time when oration was more relevant. Hitler was certainly evil. He monomaniacally thought he was right and in his mind could dehumanize others, especially the Jews, and see others as inhuman. Such people have existed throughout time and exist today. In Hitler we just see a quintessential superlative example of what happens when such a person attains power. I doubt we will see such a person as an out in the open leader in our time. But I could envision a nightmare where such a person could work similar evils from behind the scene or amongst the shadows.
 

Spiderman

Veteran Member
Lots of soldiers, both allies and nazis were on drugs in ww2. Many decisions of life and death were made in a drugged haze. Same has been said of ISIS, they pumped themselves up with drugs to fight and kill... the fight against one's conscience is strong.
People under the influence of drugs are not so culpable for what they do. I have done certain drugs that made me the exact opposite person that I am while sober. I'm very reckless under the influence.

When I'm sober I'm usually very kind and polite to people and reserved. I don't hurt people or break laws while sober. I have done so under the Influence many times and have been very obnoxious and no respect for boundaries.

When I'm under the influence, I do all kinds of stupid things that I wouldn't do while sober. I also start believing all sorts of stupid things that I would never believe while sober.

It makes me wonder how different the Nazi party may have been had everyone stayed sober.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I think you have this inverted. Hitler was a racist first and a nationalist second. In his book Mein Kampf Hilter he is clear he was about “blood” as the driving force. Nations served as a tool of race, in his ideology, not the other way around. Consider that he would destroy nations, including his own, in pursuit of his evil racist ideas. In particular he hated Jews, of course. He literally would gladly bankrupt and destroy his own country and willing die himself if he thought he could kill more Jews. Now that is true hatred.

Well, I won't quibble over whether he was a racist first and a nationalist second. Racism and nationalism go hand in hand - you can't have one without the other.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
It's sad that people like Hitler often come forth from countries that are are suffering tremendously, just to cause the nation far more suffering.
It is also natural, unavoidable even.

Suffering is a direct result of lack of wisdom, which is by its turn mightly enabled by suffering.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Well, I won't quibble over whether he was a racist first and a nationalist second. Racism and nationalism go hand in hand - you can't have one without the other.
I thoroughly disagree. Racism and nationalism are tangential.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
People under the influence of drugs are not so culpable for what they do. I have done certain drugs that made me the exact opposite person that I am while sober. I'm very reckless under the influence.

When I'm sober I'm usually very kind and polite to people and reserved. I don't hurt people or break laws while sober. I have done so under the Influence many times and have been very obnoxious and no respect for boundaries.

When I'm under the influence, I do all kinds of stupid things that I wouldn't do while sober. I also start believing all sorts of stupid things that I would never believe while sober.

It makes me wonder how different the Nazi party may have been had everyone stayed sober.
The root evil of Nazism is not due to drug use. Consider that Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while in prison and, presumably, quite sober. Nazism is evil because it’s core idea is that race is the prime motivation of humanity.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
As some of you know, I studied the Holocaust in Poland and Israel back in 1991, and I used much of the material when I taught a three week unit on it in my poli sci class that also included other acts of genocide as well, such as the mass killings of Amerindians, the "Killing Fields" in Cambodia, etc.

During my studies, I focused more and more on how is it that one of the most civilized countries in the world and the one that probably had the best educational system in the world could possibly have allowed itself to be manipulated the NAZI propaganda to the point whereas some historians believe that Hitler likely had around an 80% approval rating in Germany at its peak. To try and get a better understand of what they did and how it worked, I went through myriads of copies of Der Sturmer translated into English, which was the main written propaganda tool for the NAZI's.

Their approach: stereotype "undesirable" groups; label them as "not being true Germans"; demonize them through by accentuating their "many atrocities"; declare them the enemy of the "Fatherland"; say they should be deported; and then go after them when that latter didn't work.

Any similarities, minus the last point, between them and this current administration here in the States is just coincidental, right?
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I thoroughly disagree. Racism and nationalism are tangential.

Debatable. I see them as analogous to each other. Racism is to race as nationalism is to nationality. Race and nationality are separate concepts, so they're different in that sense, but both involve hatred, disdain, and/or indifference towards "the other."
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
Hitler strongly believed that history was written about and by the powerful, so the issue of "race" was used to mask what their real desire was. Playing the race card was more used to move the masses to support "defending the Fatherland".

IOW, race was more a means to an end than an end in and of itself. But they definitely did feel and say that certain "races" were inferior to the Aryan "race".
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Any similarities, minus the last point, between them and this current administration here in the States is just coincidental, right?
They aren’t similar. Hitler hated members of other “races” whether they were native born in Germany or lived anywhere else. He actively sought out to kill some of these races (in particular Jews) outside Germany, even if doing so hurt Germany. By “current administration” I assume you mean President Trump. Yet President Trump doesn’t do any of those things Hitler did. He doesn’t set policies based on race. He pursues non-racist policies. Quite the opposite from Hitler.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hitler strongly believed that history was written about and by the powerful, so the issue of "race" was used to mask what their real desire was. Playing the race card was more used to move the masses to support "defending the Fatherland".

IOW, race was more a means to an end than an end in and of itself. But they definitely did feel and say that certain "races" were inferior to the Aryan "race".
No way. Hitler certainly sincerely believed in the racial ideology he wrote about in Mein Kampf. It is a huge mistake to imagine he didn’t. Because Hitler’s form of racism is so vile some people can’t accept that anyone could actually think that way. But he did. And Hitler exploited that incredulity. Many of them remained in denial Hitler could really be that evil right up until they went into the gas chambers.
 

Shaul

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Debatable. I see them as analogous to each other. Racism is to race as nationalism is to nationality. Race and nationality are separate concepts, so they're different in that sense, but both involve hatred, disdain, and/or indifference towards "the other."
Debate away. There are examples of nations that used race as their basis, such as NAZI Germany and there are examples of nations that are neutral about race, such as the United States.
 
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