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Dual Results: World Domination and Self-Deification In 1933, having flown across Germany in a massive publicity campaign, having been greeted at every stop by overwhelming crowds, and having been appointed the new Chancellor of Germany, Hitler s popularity was undeniable. Soon after becoming Chancellor, Hitler made public his goals to unite the German people as one, his Lebensraum. Five years later, the entire German populations of Austria, Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia were united under Germany's sphere of influence. Ten years after becoming Chancellor, Hitler s program to exterminate the remaining Jewish people had been fully implemented. Although many people believe that Anti-Semitism was of only secondary significance in forming the bonds between F her and people (Kershaw 250), it was an integral part of Hitler s propaganda campaign ultimately aimed at elevating Hitler and his program of National Socialism from ruler of Germany to ruler of the world. Along with the myth he created of himself, Hitler s charisma and his policies relating to Lebensraum and anti-Semitism were tangible ways he attempted to make a personal connection with the people in his quest for world domination and self-deification.
Kershaw concludes that even though Hitler s personal anti-Semitism was one of the two backbones of the Nazi party, it ultimately failed to unite the German people as it was designed to. His argument compares the effects of the two main policies of the Nazi regime, Lebensraum and anti-Semitism, with the personal charisma and myth Hitler built around himself. Lebensraum was the belief in a German manifest destiny, and ranged from a desire to retake what was taken in the Treaty of Versailles to plans of ruling the world. Kershaw concludes that neither anti-Semitism nor Lebensraum forged a bond between the F her and the people to the extent that Hitler s publicity campaigns did, saying It would, for example, be easy to exaggerate the drawing power of anti-Semitism as the determining element in winning support for the Nazi movement And for a population concerned with improving material conditions from the depths of the slump and overwhelmingly frightened of the prospect of another war, the idea of a coming war for Lebensraum was unlikely to have a dominant appeal. (Kershaw 2) Kershaw continues on to argue that Hitler s popularity was due primarily to the myth that he created around himself, a myth that he was infallible, omniscient, and destined to lead the German people to glory. Though Kershaw speaks often of the personal myth that was erected around Hitler, Triumph of the Will, demonstrates the religious undertones of Hitler s message.
The visual imagery in Triumph of the Will is the most compelling link between the Nazi propaganda machine, Hitler, and the deification of the F her. For example, when Hitler s plane is flying at the beginning of the movie, its shadow casts an undeniably cross-like image on the city below, likely signifying that a god was to arrive in the city. In addition, when the crowds of people gather to watch Hitler speak, they extend their right arm towards him, as though worshipping him. There are also a number of churches in the movie; given the deliberate nature of the movie, their appearance cannot be discounted. Though the deification of Hitler is most obvious in Triumph of the Will, it occurs throughout Hitler s interaction with the German people.
For instance, he often spoke of a German destiny and the process of healing Hitler is vaguely reminiscent of worship along the lines of Islamic prayer. Finally, the fervor with which his birthday was celebrated speaks of the devotion of the German people to him. Much as a myth developed around Hitler, religious imagery was also present. There were three main elements in Hitler s plan to dominate the world: his personal charisma, Lebensraum, and anti-Semitism.
Each of them was used in a different manner in both Hitler s campaign for world domination and in the deification of Hitler. Hitler s personal charisma, what Kershaw believes Hitler built into a Hitler Myth, was the most apparent and prevalent form of propaganda throughout World War II. The best example of the Hitler myth that developed was Hitler s trip across Germany by plane to personally reach out to as many Germans as he could. As chronicled in Triumph of the Will, Hitler made many appearances across the country, often greeted with massive parades and fanfare. Through these appearances, Hitler was able to gain a personal rapport with the people of Germany. For example, one former communist said of the good economic times that followed Hitler s ascension At first things become tough because you know yourself that we were branded communists.
But when you re for four years you become radical. For two years my husband has been working in T ging. Look here, there s the picture of the F re hanging in our one-time communist hovel (Kershaw 66). In addition, by making numerous speeches in remote areas of the country, Hitler was the first Chancellor to make an attempt to personally see people and to speak to their interests. This attempt demonstrated to the people that he was not simply the Chancellor, but that he was also their Chancellor. For instance, the personal relationship people felt was demonstrated when Hitler was credited with honest intentions, and it was said he could do nothing for the maladministration of his underlings (Kershaw 65).
Finally, the F re was the first German politician to make widespread use of an amplified microphone, enabling him to reach even more people with his personal touch. In addition to the relationship between Hitler s desire to rule the world and his personal charisma, there also exists a clear relationship between his deification and his personal charisma. For example, Hitler embraced the most basic of all qualities attributed to Jesus Christ when he went through the German countryside to meet the people, a personal relationship. Much as Jesus Christ sought to teach people about the virtues of Christianity through his actions, Hitler s trips throughout Germany accomplished a similar goal as he developed a similar personal rapport with the German people. In essence, Hitler developed a personal rapport with his flock. Hitler s actions to develop personal relationships with the German people can also be seen in a religious light.
For example, when Hitler gave winter food aid to the needy, many people sang the praises of the Winter Aid as the greatest deed of the F re (Kershaw 66). Undeniably, these actions resembled Jesus Christ feeding the poor. In addition, the people s feeling that he was being betrayed by his confidants and that he was devoid of sin is reminiscent of the relationship between Judas and Jesus, in that Judas was one of Jesus apostles yet he ultimately betrayed Jesus to the Romans. In addition to Hitler s desire to reach out to Germans on an individual level, Hitler also used the ideal of Lebensraum to accomplish his goal of world domination.
Through Lebensraum Hitler hoped to accomplish three main goals at the local level: the unification of the German people, the promotion of Nazi ideals, and the preparation of Germany for war. Hitler initially used Lebensraum to justify expanding the scope of German control and influence. For instance, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland bordered Germany. In each, the peace settlement had left trouble spots involving the status of ethnic Germans; in each the status quo was open to question (Noble 1020), meaning that Hitler had an opportunity and a motivation to unite Germans.
Once Hitler had begun to unite German people without resistance from the west, he was able to integrate his already popular programs into his newly gained spheres of influence. For example, once Hitler conquered Poland, he began to confine the Jewish people to ghettos, much as he had in Germany (Noble 1041). Finally, Hitler was able to better prepare Germany for the upcoming war that would be necessary for him to conquer the world. Within Austria, Germany gained many new citizens eager to exact revenge on France and England for the penalties imposed in the Treaty of Versailles. Additionally, Germany gained greater access to the North Sea when it invaded the area of Poland separating Germany from East Prussia. Thus, through Lebensraum, Hitler was able to unite and strengthen the German people, so that the new Germany and its sphere of influence were able to challenge any other state for dominance.
In addition to uniting the German people, Lebensraum also allowed Hitler to mask his true intentions from the international community. By making the goal of Lebensraum appear to be the unification of German people, Hitler was able to quell other European countries fears. For example, Germany had signed a non-aggression pact with Russia on August 22, 1939 stipulating that each would remain neutral in the event that either became involved in a war with some other nation (Noble 1024). On June 22, 1941, despite having a plethora of natural resources in the newly conquered countries of Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, Germany attacked Russia not only for its territory, but also for other resources required for a longer war against Britain, and, if necessary, the United States (Noble 1037). Though Hitler s grand-scale expansionist plans were most apparent when he conquered France and attempted to conquer England and Spain, they were nonetheless apparent as far back as Mein Kampf, written in 1924. At both the local and the international levels, Lebensraum was shrewd political move for Hitler s goal of world domination.
Though Lebensraum contributed greatly to Hitler s goal of world domination, it also contributed to his quest for deification. The basis of Lebensraum is the feeling that taken together the German people have a destiny to unite. Herein two major religious themes can be seen: brotherhood and destiny. The more blatantly religious of the two, destiny, can be seen in the widespread belief among German people that Hitler had emerged to lead them to a predetermined end.
During this time, Hitler s image had been significantly transformed. He was no longer the Party leader opposing the state and polarizing opinion, but rather-according to the now more or less uniform Party propaganda-the symbol of the unity of the German people (Kershaw 59). The belief was especially prevalent during times of prosperity between Hitler s appointment as Chancellor in 1933 and the start of World War II in 1939 and only grew when the German army easily won many battles. The sense of brotherhood is more difficult to find in Hitler s Lebensraum, although it figured prominently in his plans. Lebensraum was designed to unite the German people. By uniting the people, Hitler established himself as a unifier of people and bringer of brotherhood, another quality often associated with Jesus Christ.
By giving a sense of destiny to the German people and uniting them, Hitler s Lebensraum contributed to his deification. Similar to his personal charisma and his Lebensraum, Hitler s anti-Semitism also contributed to his effort to conquer the world, because of both its scapegoating nature and its ability to incite the masses. The Nazi Party propagated a belief that Jews play a special and negative role and that they were the virus keeping the community from a healthy natural footing (Noble 1009), giving the German people a clear motivation to hate Jews. In addition, Jewish people had vastly different lifestyles than the rest of the population, allowing Germans to accentuate their differences, further isolating them from mainstream society.
This isolation and blame gave the Germans a general purpose in the war: the elimination of Jewish people. It also gave them a motivation to do so: Jewish people s viral qualities that infected and polluted their communities. Hitler also used anti-Semitism in order to incite the masses. By convincing people that the Jewish problem needed a permanent solution and that he could provide one, Hitler gave his people a tangible goal when war started. According to Hitler, these were the people that had caused their misery and these were the people that had to be punished. Anti-Semitism, in addition to its military uses, played a role in the deification of Hitler.
Common myth attributes responsbilitity for the death of Christ to the Jewish people. As a result, by seeking revenge on the Jewish people, Hitler was able to portray himself as an avenger. Additionally, keeping in mind the general view that Jewish people infected society, Hitler could be seen as someone both righting past wrongs and insuring society s well being in the future. Furthermore, Hitler worked not only to depose Judaism as a viable religion, but also to eliminate Catholicism.
By eliminating the competing religions, Hitler eliminated religion as a competing force and legitimized himself at the expense of these other religions. Hence, through his concentrated attacks on other religions, Hitler was able to further deify himself, as no alternatives would exist. Though Hitler s charisma played the largest role in his path towards world domination, neither his Lebensraum nor his anti-Semitism can be overlooked. In addition, all three of these methods pointed to a deification of Hitler. By inciting the German people through his oratorical skills, uniting the German people with his Lebensraum, and directing the people against a target with his anti-Semitism, Hitler worked towards his goal of world domination.
Much as these goals aided Hitler in his campaign to dominate the world, they also served to deify him. By bringing out the ideals of leading his flock, uniting his people in brotherhood, and punishing the people who infect society, Hitler can easily be seen in a religious light. Though Hitler was certainly militarily focused, to discount the strong religious undercurrents in his regime misses much of his ideology.
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