Life And Times Of Adolf Hitler Essay, Research Paper



Fest, Joachim. Hitler. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich, Inc., 1974

Adolf Hitler was one of the most celebrated yet

feared man of his time. Hailed for his

accomplishments, Hitler ultimately uplifted Germany to

its highest realm. Hitler, however, in the eyes of

others was the anti-Christ. Fest describes Hitler as a

?builder and a wrecker; a creator and a destroyer.?

Fest discovers Hitler?s extraordinary complex

personality and portrays him as ?a man of the most

complex contradictions? in his literary work, Hitler.

Fest obtained most of his biographical

information from colleges, friends, and family close to

Hitler from his early years to his suicide. Hitler is

shown as an underachiever in his youth, but

magnificently climbed into a position to dominate and

control Germany. Fest wants to show the government

leader, consummator, and statesman Hitler was to

Germany. He also wants the terror and destruction of

Hitler?s past known. Hitler built Germany to ultimate

power and lead it, head on, into destruction. Fest

depicts the horror of Hitler?s actions and hopes his

audience can picture the images that brought tragedy to

numerous lives.

Hitler was a poor academic achiever throughout his

early life and in his adolescence. He failed to

graduate form highschool(20). He then tried to enroll

in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He failed in

his attempt, but later tried again. This attempt was

also in vein(28). Hitler became bitter and depressed,

lost and without hope.

Hitler then joined the German army. This is where

he gained his savage hatred for the Jews. Hitler

believed, as many other did, that the Jewish people

betrayed them. Fest states Hitler felt they were

?stabbing the Fatherland in the back.? In Hitler?s

eyes the blame for WWI rested solely on the shoulders

of the Jews, and him and many others wanted revenge for

such treachery.

Hitler formed the Nazi Party after WWI. Its

program was socialism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.

Fest shows Hitler struggled for power as he and his

party became a political force. Germans accepted

Hitler?s views and the party grew rapidly. Since his

ideals were so widely accepted, he ran for President of

Germany. Even though Hitler was an under achiever, as

a youth, his social skills and public speaking ability

uplifted him to extreme power due to the public?s

opinion.

Hitler didn?t receive enough votes for President

but he did manage to worm his way into the position of

Chancellor. He gained enormous amounts of public

opinion after every speech he gave as Chancellor.

Hitler invokes, the Law of Alleviating the Distress of

People, which gave him temporary authority in the

land(398-406). Fest tells how Hitler starts taking

revenge on the Jews. He removes them from all civil

service posts and Jews in higher institutions are

reduced. Fest also states how Hitler gained even more

power. He sized union offices throughout Germany,

which ended organized labor. He also outlawed the

Social Democratic Party, his biggest opposition.

Hitler said the party was ?hostile to the nation and

state?(414). Other parties dismissed after the Social

Democrats. This make Hitler and his party in total

control of Germany.

Hitler wanted to strengthen his country, and to

invoke Nationalism. Fest tells Hitler?s achievements

that ultimately strengthened Germany. Hitler built a

network of Autobahns, as well as a compact and

inexpensive car for the average German. He expanded

production and curbed unemployment. He built parks and

tried to stop pollution. Hitler introduced programs to

increase social functions like: dances, films, and

performances. Germans were blinded by his achievements

and his plans of power and destruction went unnoticed.

Hitler started WWII with his ideal to dominate

countries and add territories to Germany, which they

had lost after WWI. He didn?t stop with lost

territories. He wanted vast amounts of land and

numerous countries. This was the reason for Germany?s

downfall. Hitler spread his army over an enormous

population and tried to wage war with too many

countries at once. His actions to dominate the world

lead to Germanies? utter destruction.

Before Hitler?s suicide, when his empire was

falling around him, he had managed to exact his revenge

on the Jewish nationality. Fest explains the horror

caused by Hitler toward the Jews. Hitler called the

Jews ?parasitic germs?. It was his duty to exterminate

all Jews and wipe them off the Earth. He had Jews

arrested and sent to concentration camps. Here

thousands of Jews were gassed with deadly toxins,

others were used in wicked experiments that usually

resulted in death, and the rest were left to starve.

Like Fest, I feel Hitler greatly benefitted

Germany, but ultimately destroyed what he had built.

Fest?s work was an unbiased biography about the life

and times of Hitler. Fest portrayed Hitler?s

accomplishments and the devastation he caused. More

emphasis was put on the negative aspect of Hitler?s

life and the tragedy he caused, but he did cause more

devastation on human life than benefits. Fest feels

that most individuals dismiss Hitler?s anti-Semitism

and struggle for world domination as his youthful

fantasies. This is why Hitler is so controversial,

some think he is great and others a demon reincarnate.