Adolf Hitler – The Greatest Individual in History?
Jul 5th, 2008 by MrSmart
World History AP Greatest Individual Blog Post – June 2008 (a controversial, but well written post!)
Who would have ever thought Adolf Hitler could be called the greatest person in history? Well, maybe it depends on how you define great, for Hitler’s purposes he was most definitely the greatest effecter in the history of the world. Not only did Hitler affect his own country, Germany, and the surrounding European countries, but he also made an impact on the rest of the world.
After World War One, Germany was in a mess both economically and politically. The Treaty of Versailles had left Germany without much of an economy and by 1933 there were over six million unemployed and the democratic government was crumbling. In 1929 Germany was completely bankrupt because it had to pay back money to America, which was experiencing an economic depression. The German people turned to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, the Nazis, whose strong leader, Adolf Hitler, became the political leader of Germany in 1933.
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The Nazi Party was a relatively small organization in 1919 when Hitler gained membership, but within a couple of years the party gained a small number of seats in the Reichstag, the German equivalent of the modern U.S. Congress. Although the party still only had a small support group, Hitler managed to gain enough support to obtain the position of Reich by 1933. Within the year of his election, Hitler managed to install a new government in Germany and replace most, if not all, Socialist Democrats with Nazi supporters. Under Hitler Germany headed towards becoming a fascist nation; the advancement of the state, not the individual, was the focus. By 1934, Hitler’s power in Germany was absolute, proven by incidents such as the Night of the Long Knives and the abolishment of all political parties other than the Nazi Party. The idea that one person, Hitler, was able to successfully alter the German government in only a matter of months definitely supports the idea that Hitler was an extraordinarily influential person.
Hitler’s all-or-none nature did drive some people out of Germany, but many times this was for the better because these people were able to contribute to other societies. “Over two thousand writers, scientists, and artists left Germany and enriched other lands.” (1)Brilliant scientists such as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein both stayed in the United States, offering great contributions that are used around the world. In a way, it was Hitler’s influence that allowed intellectual figures such as these to flourish.
Another impact of Hitler’s reign is the current prominence of the United States. During World War One the Allies realized they needed more power in order to defeat Germany. The United States provided this extra reinforcement, but before this it had become an important factor in war debts, holding the position of creditor to many of the European Allies. With World War Two following only about thirty years afterwards, the United States still held a strong position in the world and it took a larger role in leading the Allies during this war. Since the Second World War involved many of the nations that the Great War did, it confirmed the growing dominance of the United States. World War Two gave the United States a definitive sense of dominance in the world that it may not have gained without the war.
Adolf Hitler was also an artist, producing a vast collection of colorful works including paintings of buildings, landscapes, and flowers. As an inventor and designer, Hitler is accredited with the creation of the Volkswagen Beetle and the German system of highways, the autobahn. The design of the now-popular VW Beetle was inspired by Hitler’s desire for every German to be able to afford and drive a car. The story of the autobahn is actually quite similar to Roosevelt’s idea for the New Deal in the 1940s. Soon after his installation as Reich, Hitler started a highway building project designed to create more jobs for German workers and to connect Germany through a network of roads. This project built up the German economy and improved interstate relations, allowing Germany to progress as a nation. If Hitler had not taken the drastic action he did, Germany could have suffered several more years of economic depression and political turmoil.
Overall Adolf Hitler did many terrible things in his lifetime, but he also accomplished many credible achievements. Though Hitler may not be the greatest person in the traditional sense, it cannot be denied that he was a very effective leader, delivering hypnotic speeches that persuaded even the most stubborn critics.
