Adolf Hitler's cult of personality

Based on the Führerprinzip ideology, that the leader is always right, spread by incessant Nazi propaganda, and reinforced by Adolf Hitler's success in fixing Germany's economic and unemployment problems by remilitarising during the global Great Depression, his bloodless triumphs in foreign policy prior to World War II, and the rapid military defeat of the Second Polish Republic and the French Third Republic in the early part of the war, it eventually became a central aspect of the Nazi control over the German people.

It was weaponized as a tool to unify the German people behind the personality, opinions, and goals of Hitler and was also insurance against the Nazi Party fragmenting into warring factions or a coup d'etat by the Wehrmacht.

[4] After the failed Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923 and Hitler's imprisonment, he set out to construct an image of himself that would appeal to all sections of the German people.

Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels' newspaper, Der Angriff ("The Attack"), played a large role in the creation of the Führer myth.

[19][20] Hitler's oratory skills were enhanced by his ability to be able to continually raise the pitch of his voice, sometimes by octaves, leading to a crescendo; it has been speculated this was as a result of the mustard gas attack that damaged his larynx during World War I.

[21] During the 1932 German presidential election the Nazis pioneered new campaigning tactics, such as direct mailing and transporting Hitler across the country by airplane, allowing him to perform at several rallies in a single day.

[22] The events would last for several hours, with Hitler's actual appearance being delayed (through continual and misleading announcements on his time to arrival) in order to generate further crowd anticipation.

[22] As Germany's economic crisis – caused by the onset of the Great Depression – continued and grew, and as the Nazis gained political power by virtue of the number of seats they held in the Reichstag, Goebbels' propaganda machine created an image of Hitler that personified the people's anger at the Weimar Republic's inability to solve their problems.

In it, he wrote: Hitler stood for at least some things they [German people] admired, and for many had become the symbol and embodiment of the national revival which the Third Reich had in many respects been perceived to accomplish.

This principle can be most succinctly understood to mean that "the Führer's word is above all written law" and that governmental policies, decisions, and offices ought to work toward the realisation of this end.

The power of the myth was so embedded into German society that the ballot cards for elections and plebiscites in the early 1930s did not refer to the "Nazi Party" but rather the "Hitler Movement".

[37] Most Germans approved of his socio-economic policies and the draconian measures against those regarded as "enemies" of the state because the Nazis appeared to have the solutions to all of Germany's problems.

[37] The Führer myth enabled the Schutzstaffel (SS) to carry out terror among the German population, because it went largely unnoticed, due to the enthusiasm for Hitler and the Nazi regime.

[37] The myth helped Germans to view Hitler as a statesman who was determined to "save" Germany from the scourge of "Jewish Bolshevism", which is how the Nazis and other ultra-nationalists referred to Marxism and communism.

With the Führer as the embodiment of the Party's ideology and the people's hopes for national salvation, held blameless by the public when things went badly, it was virtually impossible for any of Hitler's paladins to attempt to replace him via a palace coup.

[56] For example, in 1938 after the Anschluss one report by the Social Democratic Party of Germany concluded: The Führer's foreign-policy statements strike a chord with many workers too; especially with young people.

[59] This was preceded by the myth of Hitler's diplomatic and foreign policy genius, which was spawned by his triumphs in the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, the Anschluss with Austria, being given the Sudetenland by the Western powers in Munich, and the bloodless invasion and partition of Czechoslovakia.

Since we know how holy the foundations of our legal system are to the Führer, we and our people’s comrades can be sure: Your life and your existence are secure in this National Socialist state of order, freedom, and justice.The various racial definitions of "Aryan", "German blood" and so that were used during Nazi Germany were all said to be determined by Hitler himself which prompted Nazi author Andreas Veit to write that "All with a truly German sense know to thank the Führer".

[28] On April 26, 1942, Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag in which he declared himself to be the supreme judge of the German people, the survival of the German people was not to be bound by any legal matters, he would intervene when sentences did not match the severity of the crimes and declared that, "I will take a hand in these cases from now on and direct the order to the judges that they recognise that as right what I order".

[65] Shortly afterwards, a decree was issued by the Reichstag which stated: There can be no doubt that the Fuhrer [sic] must during the present time of war in which the German Volk is engaged in a battle for life or death, have the right which has been assumed by him, to do everything that serves the achievement of victory or contributes thereto.

The Fuhrer, therefore, must – without being bound by existing rules of law – in his capacity as Fuhrer of the Nation, as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, as Chief of the Government, and as supreme possessor of executive powers, as supreme lord of the judiciary, and as Fuhrer of the Party, at any time be in a position to order, if necessary, any German – be he a common soldier or officer, low-class or high-class officer or judge, executive or ministerial functionary of the Party, laborer or employer – with all means which he deems suitable, to fulfill his duties, and to visit him, in case of violation of these duties, after conscientious examination, with the punishment which is due to him, without regard to so-called vested rights, and to remove him from office, from his rank, and his position without the institution of prescribed procedures.

[69] The primary reason that Hitler and the Nazis did not openly advocate anti-Christian views before gaining power was because they knew that it would have alienated so many Germans, since the vast majority of them were religious to some extent.

[69] During Nazi Germany, German children were told that Hitler was "sent from God" and that he was their "faith" and "light", which portrayed him as a divine prophet rather than a normal politician.

[77] Thousands of German women would wait outside of his Berghof home at the Obersalzberg just to get a glimpse of him; once they saw him, many would become hysterical and would shout to him things such as "Mein Führer, I would like to have a child by you!

[79] Eleven year olds entering the Deutsches Jungvolk were told on their first day of induction, "from today onwards your life belongs to the Führer".

I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God.Nazi propaganda indoctrinated Hitler Youth members to denounce anyone who showed any form of criticism about the Nazi regime.

The Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer wrote in his memoir Inside the Third Reich that in 1939 there was a sense that the myth was waning since the Nazis had to organize cheering crowds to turn up to speeches: The shift in the mood of the population, the drooping morale which began to be felt throughout Germany in 1939, was evident in the necessity to organise cheering crowds where two years earlier Hitler had been able to count on spontaneity.

"[86]The Führer myth began to become exposed after Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which he thought would last a little longer than six weeks.

[61] Nevertheless, hatred of the Allies for the terror caused by bombing campaigns, and promises of new wonder weapons which would ultimately win the war, prompted some Germans to remain faithful to Hitler for a short period of time.

[89] The Old Party fighters who had been keen supporters of Hitler during the 1920s were the last Germans to still strongly believe in the Führer myth, even when it was obvious that the war was lost.