Hitler's Insulation of Loyalty

Having recently lived in Berlin for several years, Kershaws Hitler myth was an interesting analysis of not only Hitler's tactical success as a ruler, but the innate social and political values among Germans. These strong cultural tendencies of the German people were taken advantage of by the dictator. Hitler was not some hypnotic manipulator, but instead was loved by the citizens of Germany. The primary attraction was that the German people were in love with the idea of the Fuhrer as oppose to the unstable government of the Weimar. The Germans were so beaten down that they needed an angelic figure that would rise above political parties, ideologies, and even historical disgrace. In many ways Hitler surpassed his own party, as no matter what the situation he was truly deified; seen as the liberating angel on the shoulder of the powerful beast of the party. Some dared to grumble about the Nazis, but never made the correlation with Hitler. He was ‘excused’ of all dilemmas, and citizens were more likely to think ‘if only the fuehrer had known about this, his subordinates are keeping the truth from him.’ Even after the war, there were many that continued to insist that the man couldn’t have known about the decisions made by lower-level bureaucrats. This of course, is largely due to the clever hierarchical construction of the party.

This illusion was of course not true. One of Hitler’s great strength as a leader was his value of personal loyalty. He realized that meticulous selection of his subordinates and their loyalty was the true basis for his own personal power. This is reiterated in his affection for his fellow fighters that were with him from the ‘time of struggle.’ The fuehrer thus created an insulated coat of mini-Hitlers, aiding him not only to manage his empire, but also to uphold his mythic image. Anyone that dared to threaten this act by betraying the mutual loyalty the party was fueled by was severely dealt with, as seen during the Night of Long Knives.