Was Hitler really all that bad of a guy?

Question

I would say Yes. I don`t see how you can responsible for the murder of 6 million people, and not be morally evil. But my stepgrandmother who was from Germany actually liked Hitler. Unfortuanetly I was young when she told me and she passed away long ago so I never really got a chance to ask her why? But it makes me think does anyone else think that Hitler was an alright guy?

Answer 1

Yes, he was undoubtedly a bad guy, But some people living in Germany in the 30s would have liked what he did for the country. His policies controlled inflation (protecting people's savings and allowing them to buy the necessities), ended unemployment (large public works projects put Germans back to work), and restored pride in the nation (he told them WWI was not their fault, and that Germans were the master race). So, a person who had been upended by the problems faced by the Weimar government (especially after the Great Depression hit) might well have liked the good things he did enough to overlook the bad things he did. Either that, or they were simply in denial over the bad things he did. Maybe both...

Answer 2

Interesting that you would ask a question that people would consider as sensitive. Hitler is no doubt not the most fantastic guy in the universe and he has ordered others to perform many bad deeds. The killings and the ruthless hold he have over Germany have really hurt many, physically and mentally.

However, i suppose one can argue that he had given Germany a sense of belonging, hope and life when he ruled. His charisma and good use of propoganda led the citizens of Germany to once again, rise above all others. One must admit, the Treaty of Versailles was indeed unfair to the Germans. Them feeling unjust and rebellion can be understand. Hitler was just providing them a way out of it all. How wrong is he to do so?

I believe him killing the weak, the "unpure" and the "sinned" is wrong. But was he just doing something that the Germans want? We were not living at that time frame. And bias-ness in history would never let us understand. The true question here is: Was Hitler just doing something the Germans wanted? I know that he did indeed wished to "clean" their race. But the power of a man alone is not enough. There must have been people who are supportive of it all and who are willing to commit such a crime. How can we then blame all of it on Hitler himself?

Lastly, i believe that without Hitler, our world will not be as it is. I must state, i do not support him nor do i shun him. But my stand is, if there was no Hitler and none of this horrors happened, then where will we be now? WW2 would not have happened. America would not rise as a super power. Britain would not have release Singapore from her control. Many industralisation would not occur. We will all be living a very different life from what we have now. That is truly unthinkable. Things happened for a reason and there is a consequence to everything that was done. I believe many think that he was wrong is doing so many things we consider immoral. But without Hitler, life would be different. So i think that it all depends on one's viewpoint.

Answer 3

Hitler was charismatic and there was a definite duality to him.
I spent 10 years in Germany. It wasn't a subject that was easily broached with Germans like say my age or my parents age, they refused to speak of it, it was like insulting to them but, the Germans who were older and lived through it were much more open. He was liked by everyone. By all accounts I heard he was actually a likable guy, good sense of humor, was attractive by German standards of the time, girls liked him. Was he evil definetly, but the media was state controled, and his public appearances were orchestrated, many Germans were simply not informed until it was too late a vengeful Red Army was beating down the door, according to what I was told. The most important thing to remember is that the Treaty of Versae that ended ww1 really was an unfair treaty, the French & English bent them over, and Germany had to sign it. It devistated them economically to such a degree that had they stayed a Democracy at that time they never would have gotten back on their feet. Hitler came along at a time when they were starving and had no jobs. He was charismatic and gave them a purpose, he jumped started the economy and got the factories going again, albeit to make weapons. He helped restore their economy, feed them and give them a sense of pride back that was taken from them. To most Germans he was a savior and in many ways he really was. The most often overlooked lesson of ww2 is this, if you forced unfair terms on a defeated party and don't treat them with some respect and dignity, there is a real good chance that a devil may become a saint and atrocity follows.

It happen in Iran in the 40's and Afganistan in the 80's. Both became power vacuums that monster seize as saints.

Answer 4

Actually, to my understanding. If you compared Hitlers life style to Ben Franklin's.. Hitler would make a better impression on you. Not that Franklin killed anyone.. He just was a drunk, and cursed and such. Hitler always read the bible, never drank, and never cursed. So it would seem like Hitler would be a better person but he went out and exterminated 6 million Jews.

Why would you join the Nazi's? Because it meant POWER. Hitler had all the power and everyone would join him. Your Grandmother probably agreed with Hitler when he first was elected Prime Minister and then followed everything he did following that.. sorta mindless.

I hope that helped. Hitler wasn't a good man and everyone knows that but yet people seem to join him even to this day.

Answer 5

Hitler was the worst of fiends. However, he came along at the right place at the right time -- for him. Germany was recovering from the first World War, which they were humbled. Much of the world was in the grips of the Great Depression. And Germany was chafing under the Treaty of Versaille. So when a smooth talker with charisma comes along (that would be Hitler), promising to change the country for the better and bring it back up to its former glory, what desperate person wouldn't fall for him? Also, you have to remember, many of his actions and proposals at the beginning -- creating a Master Race, forcing Jews and other "undesirables" into ghettos -- were met with, at best, lukewarm negativity. In fact, according to The Argument Against Perfection, Hitler was actually *praised* in the U.S. for his ambitions in eugenics and creating the Aryan race. Also, if you read any literature pre-World War II, most Jews are portrayed as the villian (Picture of Dorian Gray and Merchant of Venice spring to mind). So really, what Hitler was *saying* wasn't all that radical, for that time. The world didn't start to wake up (and I stress "start") until the attack on Poland in 1939. It was only MUCH later, when we found out the true extent of what his regime was doing, that we as a world became appalled.

Answer 6

I way beyond don't think he was a good guy. The thing is he had so much hatred on Jews when the thing was he was Part jewish. & He didnt have blonde hair and blue eyes.He only didn't kill people for there looks.6 million people died because of one mans choice.But those 6 million people, are right now in heaven and ya'll know where hitler is right??! down down there. But i fel so bad when i watched those peole die, young kids parents . Even for anne frank. What if you were one of those people that died from disease or died from being shot etc... just because you were who you are and no one acceppted it. It's just so stupid that someone had the idea to do something so wrong.Hitlers mom wanted to do abortion on hitler but the doctor said no it's bad and blabla bla. So she decided to keep the baby, & This is how the world grew up on it's hatred racism and all things.

Answer 7

He likely didn't start out in the fashion we know him. He was off kilter to be sure and a lot of external stimuli affected his already damaged psyche, a hungry nation ate up his words looking for glory. The insane leading the desperately blind. In the end Hitler was nothing more than a diseased drug addled psychopath with delusions of grandeur. Yes, there are those out there who think he was alright, and that the holocaust never happened, they are wrong. Your grandmother probably had selective memory or had forgotten how terrible the end became for Germany and her citizens, as we age our memory gets funny that way...

Answer 8

What a ridiculous fact, that Jews have been attempting to smash Europe. It basically demonstrates how little or no you already know regarding the Europe of the Nineteen Twenties and Nineteen Thirties. Jews have been an important component to each and all of the cultural and political strikes, and worked in all countries - maximum particularly in Germany and Austria - with all different areas of society to make existence greater perfect for each man or woman. yet HItler controlled to harness each and all of the gruesome prejudice to do what he did. in case you do no longer think of aiming to kill an entire group of people basically for belonging to that group is undesirable, heaven help us. And precisely how do you artwork out (a) that Jews are liable for multiculturalism and (b) that multiculturalism is undesirable? of direction, it easily relies upon on the kind you define the term. in case you do no longer think of Hitler replaced into undesirable, then you certainly are.

Answer 9

I had a neighbor who insisted that Hitler was a hero because he "removed" the Jews from resorts in the mountains and made them available for Hitler youth, and she was one of those who benefited. Hitler tried to lift up Germans who had been suffering after WWI due to economic devastation. The problem is with his methods which did not respect human rights.

Answer 10

Your step-grandmother was subjected to all of the propaganda that Hitler's regime put out. She was under the impression that Hitler was what Germany needed, like most everyone else her age. She had been fed lies and misinformation for many years and she believed it.

I visited Dachau Concentration Camp near Munich last year. I saw the ovens where over 300,000 bodies were burned. I saw the gas chambers which had just been built and were ready to be turned on. I read poetry written by Jewish prisoners. I saw the barracks and toilet facilities where the prisoners were kept.

Bad guy? Yes. No question in my mind.