Adolf Hitler
Hitler is the driving force behind the holocaust and the murder of millions of jews. His brilliant ways of manipulating people lead many to follow in his footsteps and adopt his beliefs. His powerful ability to speak and persuade alongside the drugs present in Germany at the time allowed Hitler's flame to burn strong. Anti-semitism fueled his actions and led him on a journey to exterminate as many jews as possible. He's a uniquely twisted human being who impacted many people's lives in horrible ways.
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889. He is the fourth child of six from parents Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. After his father's death he dropped out of school and moved to Vienna where he worked regular jobs, was very poor, and even homeless. During his time in Vienna he was often exposed to anti semitism ideas. These ideas were the ones that set the foundation for what he later became. During World War I Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army. He fought in four different battles during his service in the war and was eventually awarded both the iron cross and the black wound badge. After the end of World war I Hitler worked as an officer where he was influenced by anti semitic ways. These influences eventually led him to join the Nazis. Upon joining the group he decided to make it his own. He designed the red and white swastika logo that he made famous later in his life. “The swastika is at the centre of the propaganda discourse of recognition, of national awakening in which the symbol is first of all seen as a foreign and distinctive object, a challenge and a threat to existing order, and then accepted as a revelation of the germanic race consciousness within a german political context”(Quinn 5). The swastika become more popular due to Hitler showing off the flag at big occasions like his speeches and eventually took over. He began gaining popularity for his speeches against jews, politics, and the treaty of versailles.
The political state of Germany presented Hitler with an opportunity. In the heart of the Great Depression many germans were unemployed, homeless, and on the brink of starvation. Many had lost faith in the current government's ability to take care of them so they looked for other options. They needed a savior to pull them out of this major depression and were open to new ideas on how to do so. Hitler acted as their savior gaining traction with his promises of a better tomorrow. He promised to find jobs for the unemployed and provide everybody with what they needed for a better life. Hitler used his speaking ability and manipulation skills to create a voice for himself strong enough to grab the attention of many others. “Manipulation of the population of germany had been the foundation of the success of the Nazis”(Schulz 169). The underlying reasons for him wanting to gain power did not show until later on. He disguised his horrible murderous plan under lies of wanting to make germany a better place. Once he gained more presence in politics he bagan to blame the existing problems that germany was suffering from on politicians and jews. He claimed it was their fault and that everything would be better without them. He introduced these ideas slowly and confidently making them seem less extreme. Hitler knew that germany was in rough shape and many people would do whatever it takes to escape their problems.
In the election of 1932 Hitler ran for president against Paul Von Hindenburg.“The last year of the weimar republic would witness an epic battle between these two men as each, the first an icon who valued the traditions of all that was associated with Germany's rise to greatness and the second, a self proclaimed prophet of Germany’s return to great power status”(Jones 83). Hitler is the prophet spoken of that was supposed to be the great change that Germany was looking for. He did not win the election but collected a third of the votes. Due to Hiters strong presence in politics Paul Von Hindenburg assigned him as Chancellor in hopes of a having a well balanced political team mate. During his time as chancellor Hitler manipulated the system to gain more control. Hitler created the Enabling act which gave him full power political powers for four years and simply allowed him to do almost anything he wanted. Once he gained this power he began to attack other political opposition making himself the only political party left at the time. The day before president Paul Von Hindenburg died, a law passed which combined the political powers of the president and the chancellor. This meant Hitler was now the captain of everything and had full control of everything including the military. From this point on Hitler had the power to do anything he wanted, so he started to put his true plan into action.
Methamphetamine and other drugs played a huge role in the time of hitler's control. Methamphetamine was sold as an over the counter drug in germany. It was used to treat everything from a cold to depression. Hitler called for the manufacturing of this drug and for it to be distributed to his soldiers. Many of them regularly consumed large amounts of the drug. This kept them awake for days at a time without being tired, gave them adrenaline rushes, and allowed them to go into battle fearless. The general public combined with an army of soldiers hyped up on meth allowed for Germany to go crazy and lose track of reality. The drug was not only consumed by the public and the army but by Hitler himself. He was a drug addict who consumed and injected several different drugs. The two most severe being methamphetamine and heroin. It is said that at the time of Hitler's death his veins were collapsing and he was an absolute drug fiend. “Hitler frequently took flight from reality and entered his world of fantasy”(Ohler 39). His decisions were made under the influence of adrenaline pumping drugs pulling him away from the reality of the world. His decision making became more extreme and he acted on impulsive thoughts with less careful thought behind them. Hitler became delusional due to the intensive drug use, which could have single handedly prolonged the war.
Hitler used his powers to run a legal dictatorship. His true colors and his hate for jews showed showed after his rise to power. Hitler and his nazi views led to many anti jew laws being implemented. His promises of getting rid of jews to make germany a better place were finally falling into place and taking effect. Hitler began attacking his plan by taking control of jewish business. He stripped jews of their businesses, fired them, and made sure they were not hired. He then began attacking jewish education. He only allowed a certain number of jews to be present at schools and colleges. He wanted all jews to be excluded from every aspect of life. They were not allowed to attend social events, like enternaimnet events and sports games. Those places were considered aryan zones and no jew was allowed to enter or attend those places and events. Jews identify themselves by carrying required identification cards to prove who they were. Hitler truly despised the jews in every way. “The language Hitler used to describe the jew suggests one of the means he had in mind. They were “Bacilli”, “spongers”, “parasites”, “poisonous mushrooms”, “rats”, “leeches”, and so forth”(Fischel 5). The words used to describe jews ways showed what he truly thought of them and how worthless he believed they were.
Shortly after Hitler gained control he implemented concentration camps. Concentration camps included labor camps, hostage camps, and the famous extermination camps like auschwitz. These camps were put in place to mass murder as many jews as Hitler and the nazis could get their hands on. The main method of extermination was by poison gas. Train cars and specified gas chambers would be loaded full of people and gas would be pumped into the chambers poisoning and suffocating them to death. Some camps combined the labor and extermination factors by forcing prisoners to work extensive labor hours while being supplied with no food essentially starving them to death. “The fate of the inmates was to die, through starvation, physical abuse, lack of medical attention or total apathy”(Caplan 64).
The able bodied would be sent to the labor camps while the weak would be immediately exterminated. Dead bodies would be buried in deep holes created by tractors and excavators, before methods changed to burning the bodies to hide the evidence of the exterminations. Other methods of extermination included being shot to death, stabbed or beaten with mallets, and death due to chemical experiments on the body. Camp doctors would run tests on select prisoners by injecting them with chemicals and undering tests to see how the body reacted. Camps did not only hold jews but they held homosexuals and the disabled. Homosexuels were forced to wear pink triangles to distinguish themselves from others. This was all part of Hitler's vision when coming into power. His hope was to completely wipe the jews off the face of the earth.
During Hitler's control he implemented a program for Nazi youth. It included children from the ages of ten to eighteen years of age. The program was set it place so that the younger generation would carry on the values of hitler and the nazis to future generations ensuring their beliefs never die. They wanted them to carry on the persecution of jews and beyond the time of hitler's life. They were required to wear matching uniforms including the swastika Hitler created on their left sleeves. The youth group rapidly grew to over eight million members. Hitler continued to manipulate the children by putting in place a law that all aryan children are required to become a member. If they chose not to do so they would be assigned with homework with subject matter influencing them to become a member. Young children listening to their parents would quickly change their minds and become members of the group growing it even larger and instilling those values in future generations. Prominent leaders would teach the youth their ways and would arrange meetings to do so. Due to the group becoming so large it eventually became a military backup to fill the spots of dead soldiers who had lost their lives fighting.
Hitler's speeches for a brighter future were all lies to gain control. His promises for a better tomorrow were a nightmare for many people. His ways of Anti-Semitism led him down a horrific murderous life. Drug addiction combined with his position of power led to delusional thinking and decision making. His decision making took many lives and impacted many more in horrible ways.