Is a Demon Humanized No Longer A Demon?

This article discussed the reactions to humanizing Hitler from the media (The Hidden Hitler, Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, Hitler's Skull, etc). One man, Claude Lanzmann, found that a humanizing Hitler would be an obscenity. The most interesting quote was taken from Ron Rosenbaum (in regards to Lanzmann's reaction), "To embark upon the attempt to understand Hitler, understand all the processes that transformed this innocent babe into a mass murderer is to risk making his crimes 'understandable' and thus, Lanzmann implies, to acknowledge the forbidden possibility of having to forgive Hitler.'' Regarding 'Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary', the reader discovers random facts that sheds new light on Hitler. The author summarizes, "She provides homey insights into his personal idiosyncrasies, like his refusal to wear shorts because his knees were too white and his affection for his dog Blondie, trained to sing in two octaves."

Initially, I found these facts a little unsettling. Generally I like topics that humanize history, but this article made me uncomfortable. However, while the secretary's insights certainly humanize Hitler, the relationship to his horrible actions are weak. There were some hints that Hitler was a reppressed homosexual or that he was mistreated as a child, but those don't really justify his actions.