Kershaw frequently introduces Hitler as an opportunist. He was a man who never shied away from any occasion to speak freely and vehemently about his own opinions in the Men's House in Vienna, and he definitely did not shy away from "whatever opportunity presented itself to stay in the army as long as possible."(117) Hitler's role in the Bavarian army greatly differed from the role he had previously played as the "nobody of Vienna."(87) He was provided for with food and shelter, and after some time had earned the respect of his wartime comrades. His strong feelings about the war he was fighting in allowed him to find meaning in his daily activities as opposed to the life of a wanderer he had previously led, and when he heard the news of “defeat and revolution” as he was recovering from his temporary blindness in Pasewalk, he called it “the greatest villainy of the century.”(97)
Perhaps Hitler’s keen sense as an opportunist was the impetus of his career as the Fuhrer, the single most influential man a nation, or world rather, has ever seen. His great country, Germany, that “needed and deserved an empire”(79) had been defeated and humiliated. The country was vulnerable, and Hitler could “speak”. He had discovered this ability along with the idea that he should enter politics. These two revelations along with the beaten and worn country he loved so much made for a frightening combination of opportunity. This idea shifts the credit from Hitler’s personal ability to the state of the nation and some pretty lucky timing. Yes, Hitler had a way with words, but a good speaker alone is unable to lead an entire nation toward moral destruction, unless the nation itself was already in the process of it’s own destruction. Without Germany’s recent domestic political polarization, economic downturn, and devastating defeat on the First World War, Hitler’s rise to power would not have been successful.
The thought of Hitler as an opportunist with strong nationalist ideals in a country in need of a scapegoat causes one to think about what may have happened if just one of these factors had not existed. The “What if?” What if Germany had not lost the war? What if Franz Ferdinand was never assassinated? Or What if Bismarck was relieved of his duty just one year later? The list goes on..
While I was reading, there were so many "what if?" questions swirling around my head. If one factor change leading up to World War I, would the world be as we know it today? Would Germany still be so broken that Hitler could rise to power? Maybe just one change could have prevented Hitler's rise to power. Unfortunately, what is done is done. The situation is Germany was right for Hitler to come into power. He had nothing but his skills of an orator, which he honed in the men's house, to stir up the nation. Hitler was one lucky man. Germany was broken and he seized the opportunity to become the leader of the country he greatly admired.
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