Focus on Peace

In this week’s reading of The Hitler Myth, Kershaw points out that a strong basis of the ‘Fuhrer myth’ was the absence of major conflict during the early years under his rule. His ability to maintain peace, and the focus of the propaganda on the importance of continued peace, boosted Hitler’s popularity and strengthened the ‘Fuhrer myth.’ Early signs of “potential crisis of confidence in Hitler” did not come to light until the ‘Sudetenland crisis’ in 1938. The people’s reaction was anxious, illustrating “how much the popularity of the Fuhrer depended upon continued success.”(135) Though Hitler’s image as Fuhrer separated him from the doings of the Party and the “troubles of everyday life”, the people’s belief in him was highly superficial.(151) After the Munich Agreement, a “new wave of relief, admiration, and gratitude...poured out for Hitler,” and “a new basis of trust and confidence in his genius” was established.(138) Admiration for Hitler continually grew stronger, but his popularity “still rested upon his preservation of peace.”(143)

The image of Hitler as distanced from or above his party and its daily activities was another contributing factor to the illusion that Hitler had his people’s best interests at heart and would therefore strive to maintain national unity, and more importantly, peace. Through his peaceful facade, a mere tactic to strengthen and keep the support of his people, Hitler was able to enter into war with the backing of his people, at least at first. The intentional focus on peace illustrates Hitler’s keen sense of the masses and the extent of their faith in him. 

Hitler was obviously unable to maintain peace as he led his country to war, and though he emphasized the need to end war soon in order to return the nation’s peace, he was unable to ultimately secure the faith of the masses, thus leading to the dissipation of the ‘Fuhrer myth’. The extent of popularity Hitler was able to achieve through the ‘Hitler myth’, however, allowed for the nation’s smooth entry into a fateful war with enthusiasm and support rather than resistance.