As we progress into the second half of Kershaw's The Hitler Myth, we learn about the downfall of Hitler's status. During the war with Britain, pessimistic feelings arose, but even these feelings did not tarnish Hitler's standing. Most people believed that he would have a plan to defeat the British, once again demonstrating his military prowess. Hitler himself played a part in reestablishing the connection to the people by continuing to spread his confidence among the public; they did not question his certainty, but believed with everything they had that he wouldn't make promises that he couldn't keep.
The beginnings of his downfall began not in himself, but of the party that he represented. The gap between the Hitler's popularity and the Nazi party further widened in the wartime years. Hitler still retained his innocent image by the people's standards; it was just the party that slowly began to drag him down. And even though, during this period, patriotic unity was a universal belief, the people did not see the so called "people's community" that the party stood for. The party tried to revamp their image, but their political and social decisions had only alienated the people. As a result, the people started to slowly strip away the bindings that made Hitler and the Nazi Party so admired in the first place.
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