The "Hitler myth"

Description

Few, if any, twentieth-century political leaders have enjoyed greater popularity among their own people than Hitler in the 1930s and 1940s. Yet the personality of Hitler himself and his obsessive ideological fixations can scarcely explain his immense popularity and political effectiveness on his assumption of power in 1933. Hitler's hold over the German people lay rather in the hopes and perceptions of the millions who adored him: their admiration rested less on the bizarre and arcane precepts of Nazi ideology than on social and political values recognizable in many societies other than the Third Reich. Ian Kershaw charts the creation, growth, and decline of the "Hitler myth". He demonstrates how the manufactured Führer cult formed a crucial integrating force in the Third Reich and a vital element in the attainment of Nazi political aims. Masters of the new techniques of propaganda, the Nazis used them to exploit and build on the beliefs, phobias, and prejudices of the day. Their successful "deification" of the Führer in a modern industrial state carries a far from comfortable message. - Back cover.

First Sentence

'HEROIC' leadership was a significant element in the ideas of the nationalist and volkisch Right long before Hitler's spectacular rise to prominence.

Description

Kershaw examines how the deification of 'the Fuhrer' and the Nazi's propaganda machine effectively solidified the Third Reich's hold on German culture from the 1920's to 1945. "Hitler's personality alone can scarcely explain his immense popularity and political effectiveness during the 1930s and '40s. Behind his strong hold over the German people lay the hopes and perceptions of the millions who adored him and consequently imbued him with larger-than-life characteristics. Based on secret popular opinion reports compiled by both the Nazis and their political enemies, this study of the Nazi state charts the creation, growth, and decline of the "Hitler Myth." Kershaw demonstrates how the manufactured Fuhrer-cult formed a crucial integrating force in the Third Reich and acted as a vital catalyst in attaining Nazi political aims. Translated from German, this book affords readers a chilling look at how these masters of propaganda built on the beliefs, phobias, and predjudices of the day to create a popular image of Hitler that was at great odds with reality."--Publisher description.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The "Hitler myth": image and reality in the Third ReichClarendon Press1987-01-01
• The "Hitler myth"Oxford University Press1987-01-01
• The "Hitler Myth"PaperbackOxford University Press, USA1989-06-01
• The "Hitler Myth"PaperbackOxford University Press, USA2001-10-22