The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich is a book by British historian Ian Kershaw that was first published in 1987.

[1][2] In the demagogue aspect Hitler is presented as a figure that embodies and shapes the German people, giving him a mandate to rule.

The myth of Hitler as the savior of Germany from conspiracies directed against it by the Soviet Union and the West – especially by the Third French Republic – was an extremely powerful tool in binding together the German people in loyalty, obedience, and subservience to the State.

Thus, as Kershaw states, "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.

"[3] The myth was lent much credence by Hitler's huge successes in the regeneration of Germany's economy over just a few years, recovering it from what seemed like the unredeemable circumstances of the global Great Depression.