After Hitler left jail, he was a changed man. While his ideals, persistence, and ego remained the same what seemed to change was his ability to interact with people. He seemed to have gained the capability to gain the support of people in high positions as well as the common man. With this talent, he was able to rebuild the NSDAP and more than double the amount of members of the party in a time when the conservative right wasn’t favored. Instead of getting lucky in situations such as right wing judges giving him small sentences, he made connection with higher ups to get rid of the ban on his party, which made those in his party respect him all the more. Even those on the right who didn’t like or agree with Hitler started to realize they needed his cunning and public relation skills. As Ian Kershaw states,
“At first, especially in southern Germany, there were difficulties where local party leaders refused to accede to Hitler’s demand that they break ties with volkisch associations and subordinate themselves totally to his leadership. But increasingly they went over to Hitler. Most realized the way the wind was blowing. Without Hitler, they had no future.” (269)
Hitler managed to overthrow his main competitor Ludendorff for leadership of the party, who used to be his partner and highly respected, conservative right figure. Hitler’s change in his plan to in fact work with the parliament and those involved with the government made it possible for him to become more successful then he was before he went to jail. Hitler learned how to work the system instead of constantly fighting against it. This was the beginning of the rise of Hitler within German politics and he very quickly became a force to be reckoned with. However, there are some things about the rise of Hitler I couldn’t grasp. With Germany being as prosperous as it was in the time Hitler left jail, I found it surprising that he was able to convince people that the way the country was being run was not the way it should have been. How could they agree to start another war after just recovering from one that devastated the country?
I do agree that Hitler was a changed man after his time in jail. He tried to make himself seem more mysterious and untouchable. He calculated his actions to "to emphasize the sense of awe and admiration in those admitted to his presence" (280), and he was "happy to encourage the sense of mystery and fascination" (280). He also began to constantly "act out a role" (281). Even when he was not in front of a huge crowd, he was always conscious of his actions (firm handshake, 'manly' eye-to-eye contact 281). Even though this doesn't seem like a postivie change, NSDAP's idea became more ambigous. It "recognized the possibility of a widened appeal to a variety of social grups not previously addressed in any systematic way in party propaganda" (301). In order to appeal to more people, NSDAP needed to combine number of ideologies together.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at the same time, he didn't change that much. "There was nothing new in the speech"(304). Also, He still used people's distress and desire to blame their misery onto others to stir up a huge crowd. Hitler's main drive for his participation in propagnda and politics did not change. "Hitler's aim was to gain power. Any weapon to that end was useful." (302).
Also, to answer your question in the end, I'll brng in what Kershaw said. About German democracy, he says, unlike other European countries' democratic system, "Even in its 'golden' age, Weimar democracy had never won the hearts and minds of large numbers of Germans. And even in those years, powerful sectors of society......had tolerated rather than actively supported the Republic...Now, as the crisis started to unfold, such groups began to show their true colors at the same time as the mass began to desert the Republic in droves" (317). I think even in those 'prosperous' years, German public was never satisfied enough to overlook Hitler's promise to establish a new and stronger Germany.