When we think about Hitler we think about the horrendous acts that are associated with him, but have we ever stopped to think why he so easily manipulated people? It was his speech style of course. He made German's feel united, he had them feeling as if they were doing good. Hitler's choice of words and his appeal to the people Pathos was what made thousands of people follow him.
When we see words such as peace, and resurrection coming from a man like Hitler it is hard for us to believe him. That is why he was such a great manipulator of minds. He deceived people by telling them that they were not looking for war or trouble, they were just simply looking to resurrect their great city and to make peace with the world. But in order they had to kill hundreds of thousands of people right? He even humbles himself against them saying that he had an honor of leading them. Does he not sound like a good person who just wanted to lead a country out of dark times? There were no words in there about killing people, or fighting back. There were words of rising up, having peace, and going into a better future.
I could not locate the website which I got this speech from again, but lucky me I saved the speech on my email. so below is the speech itself. Take a look at it, don't think of it as Hitler speaking, think of someone good, someone you can imagine giving a speech about reconstructing a nation then you will see how well Hitler was able to make people feel in order to follow him.
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. . . A WRITER has summed up the impressions made on him by this time in a book which he entitled 'The Decline of the West.' Is it then really to be the end of our history and of our peoples? No! we cannot believe it. This age must be called, not the decline of the West, but the resurrection of the peoples of this West of ours! Only that which was old, decayed and evil perishes; and let it die! But new life will spring up. Faith can be found, if the will is there. Our leadership has the will, and faith is with the people....
So we have come together on this day to prove symbolically that we are more than a collection of individuals striving one against another, that none of us is too proud, none of us too high, none is too rich, and none too poor, to stand together before the face of the Lord and of the world in this indissoluble, sworn community. And this united nation, we have need of it. When was a leadership at any time faced with a heavier task than our German leadership? Consider, my comrades, what our Germany is, and compare it with other countries. What have we? One hundred and thirty-seven people to the square kilometer; no colonies; no raw materials; no foreign exchange, no capital, no longer any foreign credits; only heavy burdens, sacrifices, taxation, and low wages. What have we, compared with the wealth of other States, the wealth of other countries, the wealth of other peoples, with the possibilities of living that they possess? What have we? One thing only; we have our people. Either it is everything or it is nothing. On it alone can we count. On it alone can we build. Everything that we have created up to the present we owe solely to its goodness of heart, its capacity, its loyalty, its decency, its industry, its sense of order. And if I weigh all this in the balance, it seems to me to be more than all that the rest of the world can offer us. So this, I believe, can be our message to the other peoples on this first of May: 'You need have no fear that we want anything of you. We are proud enough to confess that we ourselves own that treasure, which you certainly could not give us - our people.' I could, as leader, think of no more glorious, no prouder task in this world than to serve this people. One might give me continents, but I would rather be the poorest citizen among this people. And with this people we must and shall succeed in achieving also the tasks that are still to come.
What we want lies clear before us: not war and not strife. Just as we have established peace within our own people, so we want nothing else than peace with the world. For we all know that our great work can succeed only in a time of peace. But just as the leadership of the nation in the domestic sphere has never sacrificed its honor in its relations with the German people, so it can never surrender the honor of the German people in its dealings with the world.
We know what we owe to the world. May the world come to understand what she can never deny to a proud people, and above all may she comprehend one thing: the Germany of today is not the Germany of yesterday - just as little as the Germany of yesterday was the Germany of today. The German people of the present time is not the German people of the day before yesterday, but the German people of the two thousand years of German history which lie behind us.
5 comments:
Hey,
It is true that many people strongly believe that Hitler was the worst man. He was obviously good at appealing to his audience's feelings and in a way you can say that Hitler's words were both mezmerising and hypnotizing. Although we know that Hitler was Aryan himself, he exhibited great national pride. He was at best the most influential man to many Germans during the world war and perhaps the man of respect. Whatever idea or thought you may have in regards to Hitler, it is undisputable that his effort to convince his audience was both effective and exact. I am not trying to praise Hitler's claims or ideas or whatever consent he may have presented during world war 2, but to really think about how well he was in terms of speeches.
Great job edwin and keep up the work.
I believe that in a time of darkness, poverty, and destruction a load of crap( sorry for my foul language) from a man like hitler made me people see a bright light in the end of the tunnel... People had no one to turn to in this age... They were left with nothing and the one person who rose up and told them that he could change the nation, that he could make Germany as strong and stronger than its ever been seemed to be a very promising compromise. I believe that with the proper words you can influence just about anyhting
Hey Edwin,
Thanks for finding my blog a way to learn something new. I would like to ask you to give me any recommendations that you think that will make my blog even more interesting. Maybe also tell me about words that you may not understand that will not only help me, but also help you and the readers as well.
Ok now i think that most people feel that Hitler was not a person that people should've of followed in the first place. I feel that hitler shouldn't have been born in the first place. But i don't want to get off topic so lets get to the point. If i never knew who Hitler was or what this speech really meant, then i would have thought that this speech was for a country who was really oppressed by a man who feels that the country needs to change. But as we all know with his type of word usage plus taking advantage of a time where people were looking for a change and someone to look up to, Hitler accomplished his main goal. But if Germany wasn't going through that period of time then Hitler would have gotten little to no people following him and his movement would died quickly. If you think about it Hitler was smart enough to convince people in a time when Germany was going down a turmoil . Great job on the speech choice. Fid better speeches so we can read more about them.
Edwin -- nicely chosen. It makes me ask myself, have we, Amereicans, ever been such an audience?
Dear Edwin,
After reading your blog I could see that Hitler was a really strong speaker. He was careful with the words he choose to make people believe in him and that everything will be right. Its kind of weird how people couldn't see what was occuring before their eyes and just trusted Hitler so much. Now thinking about it makes me think of the speech makers we've had in the U.S. and if many have put really good attention to what they've said and what it is that is occuring before us. I do agree that many have kept their promises and made changes, but how appealing their good speeches are.
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