Hitler
Adolph Hitler’s rise to power in Germany is succinctly reviewed and explored in this brief book. A man with little actual work experience, a troubled childhood and youth, ascends to the highest office in Germany despite his doctrine of hate, which he put forth in his book, Mein Kampf, more than a decade before his election. Therefore, as the author states, there really is no way the German people can claim ignorance about what he intended to do. Perhaps the extreme lengths, to which he would go towards the brutal end of making Germany Judenrein, escaped them, but surely they knew he was espousing hate filled rhetoric. Appealing to the nationalistic instinct of the Germans who were beaten down by a world demanding recompense for WWI, effectively crippling them economically so that they were unable to recover, making promises to a broken citizenry which gave them hope, however unrealistic, and however unorthodox the methods, choosing bullies and thugs for important positions to dominate the people, instituting laws which effectively controlled the population in all aspects of their lives, mesmerizing audiences with an uncanny ability to present an idea and persuade people to follow him, he brought about the rise and fall of a country and created a nation of people who wore blinders in order to enable him to fulfill his promises.
Enormously conceited, arrogant beyond belief, he encouraged greed, envy and hatred for all but pure Aryans. His maniacal personality created more and more barbaric regulations to control those he deemed unworthy but he managed to take the country forward and please its citizenry, by improving the economy. He believed in Keynesian Economics which relies on increasing deficits to solve economic problems and increasing the size of government and control over the people. He used the government to provide jobs, repairing infrastructure and improving roads, rather than encouraging private industry. He encouraged class warfare, religious and racial hatred and injustice and created one of the most brutal regimes our history has seen, bringing about the unjust deaths of millions.
Reading the book, one can’t but help make a scary comparison to the world situation today, with the economies of several countries in turmoil and a man elected to the highest office in America who had little experience to face the job for which he was chosen. Today we see a similar atmosphere developing here in the USA with racial strife on the rise, economic crises causing envy and anger, causing half the electorate to choose the other half to pay the price for their indigence and failure to produce while giving themselves a pass. We are watching a government deficit increase astronomically and a government in turmoil with a divided Congress. We see class warfare raised to an art form and we are witnessing a government that is broken and broke.
We see that both men captivated their audiences with their oratory skills; both men wrote widely read pieces before their election, opening a window onto their souls; both men had little experience or background to qualify them for the job they achieved; both men divided the people, whether deliberately or by accident; both men believed in big government and Keynesian economics. However, there is a major difference between the two men. Hitler wanted a strong Germany, dominant in the world, but Obama seems to prefer America weaker, simply a player on the world stage, not the leader. Hitler espoused hate, Obama does not, although he has not been able to unite us. If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes. Compromise and compassion for all should be the order of the day, without one group preying upon another.
The author uses subtle witty remarks to lighten the topic and the excellent reader on this audio enhances the effectiveness of what might otherwise have been a mediocre novel too much like so many others that came before it.