Adolf Hitler's ideal German was tall, athletic, blond, and blue-eyed. As we all know, he was dark-haired, swarthy, and unathletic. So was Rudolf Hess. Plus, Hermann Goering was morbidly obese. And not only that, but there was no room in Hitler's Germany for the physically and mentally disabled, but his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, had a club foot. None of these guys looked like Norse gods, so how could they think that they were members of the Aryan "Master Race" they thought was the only one fit to inhabit Germany?
2006-10-31 03:28:25 · 11 answers · asked by tangerine 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
This is a question about German history, not American politics.
2006-10-31 03:36:22 · update #1
An interesting question! Actually tied to the idea of "Survival of the fittest" (Charles Darwin) and Fredrick Nietzche, who writings on the so called master race preceeded the rise of the Nazi 'psyche'. The idea of a master race is as much an objective as it is a description; this in part confirms the anomality of doing away with the infirm and the mentally unfit. This exclusivilty of the select few is a philosophy that many have used and continue to use throughout history as well as today. The idea of being 'one of the elect' or select few tickles our human arrogance to the exclusion of others.
2006-10-31 08:21:34 · answer #1 · answered by Geneo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Great question. I don't know what Hitler thought but I can guess the reasoning.
Hitler didn't believe he embodied the definition of master race. He was a man in power with a goal. The ideal that a pure German was athletic blond etc had already been a part of the culture. Look at any culture and some form of this exists relative to the population. I went to Vietnam and all the young women cover their heads and arms to stay pale. Every culture tends to prefer fitness over unfit. Pale (no outside work = wealth) or less common looking. Americans have gone the other way on pale though. We have it so good we Exercise to LOSE weight and tan with a lamp! It's all about setting yourself apart. Being special.
At that point it was a great thing to rally people behind, then he could just use charisma and power to identify to people who was not considered acceptable. This stuff would not be pure logic but actually shades of Grey. And basically just what fit the needs of the agenda. Hitler was very smart, very charismatic and understood people. But best of all he was angry enough to have the drive to bring it together and do the terrible things he did.
I think trying to understand the meaning behind something that was so emotionally driven, so awful, and disgusting excludes any chance of dissecting it logically. Hitler was using the Aryan people for his gain as much as he was the Jews.
2006-10-31 11:59:44 · answer #2 · answered by Pedro Smith 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Who says they actually believed any of that? If anything, they were master psychologists. After WWI and the German defeat the German people were struggling. They had lost a war, they were looked down on by the rest of the world, and they were in a deep dark hole financially. Hitler and his cronies knew they had to do something to a) bring the people back from despair and b) gain control of the German people. They started targeting the Jews and putting it into peoples heads that the Jews were at the bottom of all their troubles. Anti Semitism was nothing new to Europe and it wasn't too hard to convince the Germans that the Jews were at fault. Besides, they needed to blame somebody other than themselves. And the tall, athletic, blond, blue-eyed ideal was the totally opposite of the German Jew. Think about it - if someone says something loud enough and often enough, people will start to believe it - no matter how stupid it is.
2006-10-31 11:54:49 · answer #3 · answered by hoosiergal0946 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The idea of a master race was founded in an interpretation and prediction of Darwinism that existed among some philosophers at the time. "Only the strong survive" was taken to mean that human beings would be killing each other until only one race survived. Hitler took this concept to an extreme but he never specified that only blond haired blue eyed people could be a member of his master race. This was an interpretation of his ideology by the rest of the world. Having had bad experiences with Jewish people in school, business, and the military, he resnted them and used his ideology to attack them.
2006-10-31 12:25:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, for one thing, Old Adolf was high on methamphetamine and cocaine most of the time...and consulted astrologers to plan his battles,
The best and the brightest left Germany when Hitler began to rise. The rest of the country was beaten so badly from WWI that they wanted revenge. It was a recipe of ignorance and despair simmered together with hate. They were CRAZY.
2006-10-31 11:39:09 · answer #5 · answered by Buffy Summers 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is the same logic that people use thinking Hillary Clinton should be president.
2006-10-31 11:32:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
they where all a load of nutters . not one of them was a full dollar
2006-10-31 12:35:16 · answer #7 · answered by annewithafan 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
hitler thought that others were somewhat forced to believe it.
2006-10-31 11:31:49 · answer #8 · answered by eli_prkns 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Hitler was also a bastard child. His real father is believed to be Jewish.
2006-10-31 11:38:21 · answer #9 · answered by MoMoney23 5 · 3⤊ 4⤋
you could also ask this question of george bush...dick chaney...and donald rumsfield....the 3 IRAQATEERS
2006-10-31 11:34:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋