Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)

Mercifully easier to read than the interminable noodling dreck that is Mein Kampf, this book of Hitler's Wartime Conversations (more commonly known as Hitler's Table Talk) is still very heavy-going. Hitler's supposedly magnetic charisma refuses to translate into English on the page, and those history buffs like myself seeking to gain insight into the mind of the individual who started the Second World War will find themselves facing a wall. It's a wall with the occasional crack in it, allowing light to shine through in fragments, but a wall nonetheless.

The greatest value of the book is in revising and remedying our view of Hitler. Not rehabilitation, of course, though it's the unfortunate lot of the World War Two buff that you may inadvertently raise a few eyebrows among your peers if you reveal you have committed to reading a full book of Adolf Hitler's conversations. Rather, the revision is welcome because it has become commonplace in our culture to present Adolf Hitler as a sort of cartoon villain, whether that's the unhinged ranter of the Nuremberg rallies and popular culture, the lucky provincial buffoon painted by the propagandists and the commentators, or (a view that has become more common nowadays) the empty vessel into which dupes poured their own hatreds and prejudices and saw them made manifest. Even many otherwise astute historians fall into one of these traps. The obvious alternative – that Hitler was an intelligent politician who acted rationally (by his own lights) in pursuit of a grand design – is one that people are still reluctant to acknowledge.

Hitler's Wartime Conversations reveal an individual far more multifaceted than the cartoonish personification of evil we are often presented with. There's little discussion of the war then being prosecuted (most of the conversations are from 1941-42, with some from 1943-44, almost twenty years after our last direct insight via Mein Kampf), but that makes sense considering these conversations took place in personal moments, not the councils of war. Instead, we get Hitler's opinions – sometimes educated, sometimes trite – on art, architecture, his plans for German colonisation in the East, his memories of his rise to power, and numerous other asides. Much of the content will therefore be predictable for those who already have a basic education on the man (and who, choosing to read this book, wouldn't?), but there are still a few surprises. It's peculiar to read Adolf Hitler of all people speculating about life on other planets, but alongside such goofiness there are also some illuminating revelations. For one thing, I'd never appreciated Hitler's deep hatred for Christianity, and the Catholic Church in particular, until I read him seize every available opportunity to express it in these Conversations.

While it's not the full picture of the man and comes with some caveats (not least that they were originally compiled – and therefore curated – by Hitler's fanatically loyal secretary Martin Bormann), Hitler's Wartime Conversations is perhaps the closest primary source we have for an insight into one of the most dangerous radicals in history. Hitler as shown here is banal, intelligent and in full awareness of what he is doing, has done, and will do. And that, to me, is far more educating, revealing – and unnerving – than the cartoon villain that so many still cling to.… (more)

En la primera parte de este ensayo panfletario, Hitler comenta en forma extensa -y adaptada a lo que sería luego la propaganda oficial- su vida hasta entonces, desde su nacimiento, infancia y adolescencia en el pueblo austriaco de Braunau, pasando por sus años de “artista” y “sin techo” en Viena, su participación como soldado en la Primera Guerra Mundial, sus años de post-guerra y cómo llegó a formar parte y luego a liderizar el Partido Nacional Socialista de los Trabajadores Alemanes.
Explica como llegó a la conclusión personal de que los judíos constituían la “plaga moral” que enfermaba Alemania, que la democracia representativa es un error y que la propaganda es un elemento indispensable para conquistar a las masas y alcanzar el poder.
El movimiento nacionalsocialista, la segunda parte de Mi lucha, Hitler explica los postulados “ideológicos” sobre los que se sustenta el partido nazi, ya bajo su férreo control:
La existencia de una raza superior, la alemana, con derecho a dominar a las más débiles. En este sentido, la nacionalidad alemana no debe ser otorgada sino a quienes forman parte de la raza aria.
A su vez, el Estado no es otra cosa que un medio para alcanzar la felicidad de la raza, no un fin en sí mismo, y debe estar supeditado a este objetivo. Hace falta además un gobierno de mano férrea, a cuya cabeza debe estar un Führer (en alemán: [fy.ʁɐ] ) es una palabra alemana que significa "líder, jefe, caudillo, conductor".
La necesidad del pueblo alemán de ganar cada vez más espacio vital (Lebesraum), extendiéndose hacia el este y controlando los recursos humanos y materiales de estos nuevos territorios.
También es destacable el ataque al marxismo que se hace en Mi lucha, como uno de los mayores peligros para la consecución de los fines del nazismo. Adolfo Hitler consideraba que era la única ideología que en la práctica podría competir contra el nacionalsocialismo para ganarse el apoyo de la masa alemana.… (more)