Kershaw mentions that Hitler has this all or nothing mentality. When things do not go the way he wants to, he is very unwilling to compromise. After the fiasco on the first of May, he begins to make hasty and childish decisions when he felt people did not respect him as much. Kershaw writes, “Hitler’s star was now on the wane” (197). His actions at the May Day demonstration led to a decrease in Hitler fanatics. After being on the down low, Hitler realizes that this was his chance at redemption. Yet he should have listened to Lossow to wait a couple of weeks so that they can have the district commanders on their side. Not having the officials on his side was the reason why the May Day demonstration failed. However, he still hastily threw together a plan and then implemented it immediately. He could not wait a little longer until he was certain that he could have the proper backing because he felt like if he did not act now, he was going to loose everything. The people that were in the know about the plan became disorganized. He should have waited a bit longer to make sure everyone was on the same page before charging on.
Hitler feels like he is the unspoken head. He finally has achieved the greatness he always dreamed of for himself and he cannot let that go. When his position as the golden boy is threatened, he resorts to childish ways to remain on top. This was clear when he was in prison. His party wanted to merge with the DNVP. Hitler felt like his position at the top would be compromised so he was reluctant to give a definitive answer whether or not he was in favor of the merger. He kept refusing to comment on what was happening politics wise. He did not want to be a follower; he wanted to be the head. While he should have been concerned about his party falling apart, he was content because he wanted to be the one to swoop in and save the party. For him it was all or nothing.
I agree with your opinion that Hitler had this "all or nothing" mentality. In a lot of ways, he was like a child because he wanted everything done his way, thinking that his ideas are the only ones that were best in the interests of the party. Hitler knew that he was an important figure in the party, as he was the one who could "bring in the crowds for the NSDAP" (147), and this arrogance certainly allowed him to veto all the suggestions that he did not agree with.
ReplyDeleteThe Munich public was captivated by him; they believed that he symbolized the essence of the NSDAP, saying that he was "its voice, its representative figure, its embodiment" (156). Even Drexler thought that Hitler was the only man capable of leading this party. Such praise evidently led to Drexler offering Hitler the chairmanship of the party, to which he refused to be, citing that he was only good at "mobilization of the masses".
This is reminiscent of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, when Caesar refused the crown three times, which only led the masses to believe he was best fit to rule because of his humbleness. Like Caesar, I believe that Hitler might have used the same tactic because he eventually became the "undisputed leader of his party" (175), even after saying that he didn't want it. When he resigned from the party on the grounds that party statutes were violated, people realized that they lost their star figure and would be a fatal disaster to the NSDAP.
Before, Hitler had a significant amount of opposition from within his own movement who doubted his approach, but this strategy landed him in the hearts of more supporters. This obviously showed when there was only one vote against Hitler having dictatorial powers over the party; his chairmanship was nationally accepted. His position was then cleverly secured.