A Tormented Childhood Leads to a Life of Anger

Obviously, Hitler wasn't a fun-loving, young child when growing up in  Austria-Hungary. After reading an article from the New York Times analyzing the connections between Hitler's dysfunctional childhood and his actions later in life, it is quite clear to me that much of Hitler's crimes against humanity may have never occurred had he had a different home life. The article goes on to explain that Hitler grew up with a violent father who often beat both his mother and him. This combined with Hitler's confusion about his sexual identity, gave Adolf a fear of weakness. Even though there was resentment towards his father for the pain that he caused both him and his family, Hitler always looked up to his father's masculinity. There is no way that Hitler's lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem were simply coincidences based on how his life turned out. His struggling artist stage was him embracing his more feminine and sensitive ways. When that failed, he gave up on embracing himself. He wanted to prove to himself that he could be tough and strong. After being bullied his whole life, it was his turn to bully. And that he did. Hitler wanted a masculine identity, no weakness, no failure. He got so caught up in proving to himself that he could be an authority, and that he could be a man, that he ended up changing the world for the worst. So can we go as far to say that if Hitler's father had spared his wife and son of a beating, that our world as we know it would be without World War II? Possibly. 

Hitlers Inauguration

Through being a very influential public speaker, Adolf Hitler gained power, this has become common knowledge. He promoted his ideas and grew his very own following. However, in the end it was the previous Chancellor that had to give him the reigns over Germany. This was the turning point, and this is exactly what is discussed in the times article titled “Hitler into Chancellor” which can been seen in the February 6th 1933 edition of time magazine. This article goes through both a historical background of what got Hitler to where he is currently (meaning feb. 1933) along with a fair amount of dialog straight from the “inauguration”. This was truly a huge turning point for not only Germany but for the world. Little did we know that just a few years later we would be fighting yet another world war. Throughout the ceremony in which Hitler was being made Chancellor, he brought up recent events, such as Mussolini and his march on Rome.
“‘With what power, Herr Hitler,’ growled Old Paul, ‘do you seek to be made Chancellor?’
‘Precisely the same power that Mussolini exercised after his March on Rome!’ chirped cheeky Adolf.”
Not only did this article give a summary of the ceremony, but it also described Hitler’s struggle for power, which included defeating Germany’s Communist party. The most interesting part about this article though, is how it is written in the past. This gives us America’s view on Hitler before the concentration camps and the slaughter of 6 million Jews. Surprisingly enough this article doesn’t display nearly as much hatred as articles today, in fact it displays virtually no feelings at all about Hitler and his Socialist movement. However, this isn’t to surprising because, at this time, Hitler had not done very many things that would be important enough to be heard by the entire world. So in this point in time, people had no opinion on Hitler, which is why this article simply displayed the facts and the story line of Hitler becoming Chancellor rather than an opinion.

Once Upon a Time Hitler was not a Threat

William C. White discusses in his article, Adolf Hitler, The Man and His Program, the threat of Hitler before WWII. White inaccurately compares Hitler to the “racket” the Klu Klux Klan once made in America. In March 1932, when this article was written, the Klu Klux Klan was the most concrete comparison to Hitler and his followers. From the tone of this article, I sense that America allowed Germans to idolize Hitler and his ideals because the Germans were helpless from the depression. Hitler was their hope, and the consensus in America was that there was no harm in letting Hitler reassure the broken Germans. This idea was completely misguided, yet it was supported by the impressions of Hitler reporters published. The Germans, in the eyes of the Americans, were suffering from the inheritance of reparation payments for a war they did not fight in or cause. Hitler did not try to pacify the anger of the Germans, instead he “offer[ed] someone to blame for their misfortunes— the Jews.” Hitler gathered the people’s anger and hurled the combined fury into the most destructive accusation in history.
Hitler himself did not have a proper German citizenship until after he was released from prison, and not long before his nomination for the Presidency of the German Republic, yet he later condemned people that did not fit within his Aryan racial state.
The article argues that Hitler is only a threat if he manages to take power, which at the time was completely improbable because Hitler had vowed he would not take the reins of power through illegal means, and statistics provided evidence proving that Hitler could not win the majority in an election. Whoever calculated those numbers focused on mathematical laws and forgot to account for the capabilities of the human mind: people are unpredictable, especially in a state of perpetual desperation. Turning to Hitler was not a rational decision, but none of these people had asked to be subjected to the Treaty of Versailles either.

Hitler's Death

The New York Times piece that I read was about the day that Hitler died. That day, hitler realized that the war was going to end and he was going to be on the losing side. Only days earlier, Mussolini was captured and killed in Milan. He knew that there was nothing that he could do to retaliate from his defeats, but he didn't want to fall into the hands of the Russians, so he decided to commit suicide. His personal pilot suggested that he flee to another place where he could be hidden and safe like Jerusalem, where he had many followers. He didn't want this though. During his final dictation, he proclaimed that everything he had done and all the decisions that he made where for the greater good of Germany. He also said that he had to make more difficult decisions than anyone else ever in history. Before he committed suicide, he ordered his followers to burn his body once he was dead and dispose of it in the Elbe River. Personally I believe that the reason that Hitler wanted to commit suicide was because he couldn't accept that he was defeated. He never wanted to see the day that he lost once and for all so he made sure that he never would. Also, i think that the reason he wanted his body burned is because if he had a corpse, people would later find it and he never wanted anyone to ever find him. Unfortunately for him, it is believed that his skull was found recently with the bullet hole in it. It was believed to have been removed before cremation and sent to Moscow. When it was finally unwrapped, the women holding it said that her hands were shaking.

Jesse Owens Captures Olympic Title

When I think about the Olympics, I think of the world uniting to compete in friendly competitions, the one time that the world stops fighting with each other to come together to have athletic contests. Sadly, the Olympics always seem to start controversy whether it is good or bad press towards a country. In the article I just read by Arthur J. Daley was written in 1936, a day after Jesse Owens had just acclaimed the title of "worlds fastest human". The 1936 Olympics were being held in Germany and while Hitler had attended the Olympics, his view toward them did not seem to be the same as many other citizens around the world. Daley had addressed the Olympic scores for that day, and along with the scores had brought up an issue of Hitler refusing to shake the two African-American track stars hands, Owens and Metcalfe. The article addresses this issue in a more calming manner than I would have expected. The take that Daley has given the issue was a bit more sarcastic, saying "If Hitler is going to avoid the Afro-Americans, he is going to have his work cut out for him." In order for Daley to still continue the positive approach and light attitude towards the Olympics it was probably important for him to not dwell on such a shameful act. However, the article finishes saying Jesse Owens title was reclaimed, saying the Germans had found a way to deny the African-American of his world record. The Germans have said that Owens mark was disallowed because of a wind, Daley said, "From the stands the breeze looked like a crosswind, but one can never tell about those things." To me, it sounded as if Daley had agreed with the Germans, or simply trying to make sense of what they had done. I would have expected a different reaction from the media, I know today it would have been very different, giving the Germans bad press for what they have done. While reading this article, I immediately thought of the issue in Dubai regarding the UAE, United Arab Emirates. The UAE has denied access to the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer who is ranked 48th in the world for female tennis players, Peer has said "Politics should be kept separate from sports" which I agree entirely. It is hurtful to see athletes denied access to compete or to a record they clearly won because of their race or where they are from.  

The Only Dead Man Still Feared

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. He killed himself only 56 years later. In those 56 years on this green earth he changed history forever. His spot in history will be tainted forever. Before moving to Germany, Hiter was an artist. He moved to Germany in 1913 and after being in WWI, he joined the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. He was appointed chancellor in 1933 and became complete dicatator the following year. He then began to radically change Germany by creating ghettos and concentration camps. After it was all said and done, Hitler and his Nazi Party had killed nearly six million Jews. Many ask what sparked Hitler to do such brutal and disgusting things. We have a few pieces of evidence to help us understand this sick and vile man. These reasons were represented in the article I read in Time Magazine titled Adolf Hitler. The author, Elie Wiesel, explained, "We think we know everything about the nefarious forces that shaped his destiny: his unhappy childhood, his frustrated adolescence; his artistic disappointments; his wound received on the front during World War I; his taste for spectacle, his constant disdain for social and military aristocracies; his relationship with Eva Braun, who adored him; the cult of the very death he feared; his lack of scruples with regard to his former comrades of the SA, whom he had assassinated in 1934; his endless hatred of Jews, whose survival enraged him--each and every phase of his official and private life has found its chroniclers, its biographers." All of these reasons are given to sympathize with Hitler. Well I don't buy it for one second. Everyone has problems. There is not one person in this world who is perfectly content. He is the worst man ever to live. He ended six million innocent lives. He felt Jews didn't deserve to live. He felt that Jews were not human. This concept is represented in the begining of Maus when the author displays for us, "The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but theey are not human." For this exact reason, Art Spiegelman depictes all Jews as mice and all German as cats. In the article I read the author also discusses Hitler's sucess and how compared to other leaders in his time such as Mussolini and Franco; Hitler was far more sucessful. He was able to convert an entire nation: economically, judicially, educationally, and industrially. Sadly, not only was Hitler crazy, however he also was smart. He used his intelligence to gain power of Germany and later Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. Others ask how so many people were fooled and tricked by Hitler's propaganda tricks and why so many people let what was going on happened. And the answer to this is that many people were fooled with his false sense of hope, others were scared away by the S.S. and gustapo, and finally some tried to stop all of this but their attempts were too feeble to affect the Fuhrer. The main point that I think is important for everyone to understand is that Hitler was a paranoid who when received power ran with it a lot farther than any sane person would. The sad thing is that Hitler knew what to do with this power and how to convert non-believers. His main tactics were hope and fear. The scariest thing is that not only do I and many others still fear Hitler but I believe our world has not moved on from this horrific event. A perfect example of our modern day Hitler is Obama. He has used what I believe is false hope to win over our country and also instilled fear in our citizens of what republicans would do if elected. I am not completely against Obama, however I think he may be leading us down the wrong path as a nation. I know that Obama will not do anything like Hitler did I just hope he doesn't do anything to ruin his spot in history like Hitler did.

Hitler - Man of the Year?

On January 2, 1939, Time magazine published its article on The Man of the Year for 1938. Today, we often think of this recognition as an honor and an award that goes to a person who has made a difference in the world. We assume this difference to be good, but 1938's man of the year was Adolf Hitler. While much of it is simply background on Hitler's life and his rise to power, this article provides an interesting view on what people at the time of Hitler's rule who were not from Germany thought of Hitler. The writer portrays Hitler's actions as "ruthless, methodical" and shocking, but he also describes Hitler as the most powerful man in the world who achieved this status though determination and his incredible ability to speak. He talks about how Hitler was a "genius" for being able to so throughly suppressed all expressions of free will and for being able to develop an army strong enough to hold off the forces of an "apparently impotent world." So, while he does portray Hitler as an evil man, he also seems to almost admire Hitler's genius and his ability to cast a shadow over the rest of the world - a world unable to stop him. He closes the article on the note that Hitler will also probably be a prominent figure in 1939 and the years to come. Even during the time of Hitler's rule, people realized how impactful his actions were going to be for years to come.

The Rise of Hitler

The day after Hitler was appointed chancellor is one that is not mentioned often. However, it is an important moment in Germanys history that hints at what is yet to come in their future. When Hitler was appointed, it was much to the dismay of the current Chancellor, Hindenburg. He had not approved of re-elections and only allowed Hitler to become Chancellor if he was allowed to appoint the vice-chancellor. He, as well as other anti-nazis, thought that this would hurt Hitler. They thought that he would become Chancellor but not have any power, and then eventually be pushed out. Everyone under estimated him, however.

"By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."

- the telegram to Hindenburg from Ludendorff stated.

The business men were thankful, for they thought that Hitler would remove any aspects of communism and allow business to flourish. The military was also excited, for Hitler had promised to remove the Treaty of Versailles and rebuild the army.

Hitler becoming Chancellor was just the first step of many, yet it was the turning point that eventually allowed him to become a complete dictator.

Link

Plots to Kill Hitler

In the article I read called "Britain Reveals Elaborate Plots to Kill Hitler as War Neared End", talks about how british special forces were planning to kill Hitler. These plans included multiple blue prints on Hitler's houses and marked sniper towers from where hitler could be sniped from. But, after reading this article it seems that this is just a mere excuse that they did not try to assassinate Hitler earlier in the war. Also, in the 150 page document with these plans included other ways to kill Hitler. There were three main plots to kill Hitler, by poisoning his tea, shooting him, and impregnating his clothes with anthrax. These elaborate plans were created by the S.O.E (Special Operations Executive) to destroy the Nazi party. The S.O.E thought that Hitler had a "mystic hold" on the German people. "Remove Hitler, and there is nothing left," concluded Vice Marshal Ritchie the Special Operations Executive's air adviser. Throughout the article I wondered why these plans were not used earlier in the war to save millions of lives, but it showed me that people really were plotting and trying to kill hitler from the inside. Lastly, if anyone has seen the movie Valkyrie this directly relates to that because Valkyrie was about plots to kill hitler from the inside by exactly these ways. If anyone would like to learn more about these plots I would recommend Valkyrie.

By Bobby Pender

Hitler, Democracy's skeleton in the closet

This Op-Ed by The New York Times is centered around the link between democracy and Hitler's rise to power. In the article it states that Hitler's sudden leap into power was in part due to democracy and its liberal values. He says because of the economy crash in 1929 the people felt that democracy had failed them. They were looking for alternatives and Hitler was in a prime spot to tap into these upwellings of fear and anger. He also provide the Germans with an easy scapegoat to be blamed with all their troubles: the Jews. I think that this article has quite a few good points, on such being that in another form of government less tolerant than democracy Hitler may never have been able to place his Nazi party in opposition with the current government. Also, the Wall Street crash made people willing to listen to anyone who seemed to have a quick plan to fix the economy.

A Dicatator's Hour

On April 14,1941 and article on Adolf Hitler's intents on proclaiming war called A Dictator's Rule was in Time Magazine. The article talks about how the spring of 1941 was the biggest moment in Adolf Hitler's carrier, because it had potential to lead to his total dominance of the world if he went about it correctly. The reason spring was so important was because that was when Hitler announced that Germany was at war with the Belgrade Government. That spring as put in the article was Hitler's building season. Hitler no longer utilized the pleasures of life such as his car, and nights to the movies, he only devoted himself to war. Hitler put all of his year of work, and his accomplishments of expanded Germany, as well as the army, making the navy strong, and lastly his 3,000,000 followers. All of this was put on the line during the war. Sure it may be easy to look at his statistics, as well as all of his accomplishments and be fooled that he was a good man with good intention. However, this is far from the truth, and I feel that this is what helped him gain followers. The people were so focused on how well he spoke, and how everyone was following him, that they forgot to pay actual attention to what he was saying, and his intentions to make an Aryan state. In addition I think that the people were so relieved after the great depression that they wanted to believe that someone could take them out of the slump they were in and make a quick turn around. Furthermore Hitler used tactics to basically brainwash the people into thinking that he was actually doing good, when he really was doing the exact opposite.

Hitler's Psyche- Revisited

This New York Times piece discusses what may have led Hitler to do the atrocious acts during his rule in Germany. The article takes into account Hitler's many documented physical illnesses and how they could have impacted his rule. The experts behind the research ultimately decide that while Hitler did suffer from many mental diseases that may have swayed his rule, it was his own set of beliefs that led him to commit his crimes towards humanity. I too believe that this is the most probably cause for Hitler's actions, and that even if he was mentally ill to any degree, that he is still guilty of his actions.

Time Magazine-August 1938

I read an article from the August 1938 issue of Time entitled JaJaJaJaJaJaJaJaJa: Nein!. Though I can't explain the title, I can say that I was utterly shocked when I read the content of the article. It's from the week that Hitler seized power from Paul von Hindenburg. The question that comes to my mind is "How could the German people be so naive as to believe these things that he said?" All the people quoted in the article, whether important politicians or citizens of Germany, agreed that Hitler would unify Germany and solve all the economic and political problems Germany faced. How did they not see through that? How were they so easily manipulated into believing these lies he fed them? Hitler was incredibly good at knowing what people wanted to hear, but it scares me to think that nobody predicted the mass destruction his dictatorship would cause. Even worse, it scares me to think that someone like Hitler could come along in the future and fool people into blindly following his regime. Reading this article after knowing the true devastation Hitler caused is eye-opening because the same thing could happen to the U.S. or another country in the future. 

The Unperson

"When I think of Adolf Hitler, nothing occurs to me." This article discusses Hitler as an "unperson". Even after all of these years of studying him, his motives remain hidden. The article explores why people are so fascinated with Hitler--the inexplicable unperson--and how Hitler studies continue even though his public life has been extensively documented. Personally, I think that studying Hitler's life more will not unearth any new discoveries about him. I don't think that anyone is going to find something that explains him or his reasoning from just studying and re-studying the facts of his life and power. Maybe analyzing him psychologically could shed some light on his behavior, but I doubt it. Honestly, I think that Hitler was--as the article says--inexplicable. He was an "unperson" in the sense that no one, past of present, really understands his motives. We cannot relate to him, so to us he lacks the qualities of a person.

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.

The Solution to Reconstructing Germany

Although Hitler was born into a very poor family and had a

troublesome love life, he started showing leadership ability from a young age, and was

able to gain enough power to get people on his side and destroy innocent culture. 

The article I found on Adolf Hitler is from the April 13, 1998 issue of TIME Magazine.  The author, Elie Wiesel, explains that Adolf was pure evil and a madman with cruel intentions. She uses an interesting word to describe Hitler. She says that Hitler had a hypnotic gaze, which I believe is true. Hitler's hypnotic gaze, is another way to say that he gained followers (by hypnotizing or brainwashing them). I believe the people of Germany were so torn down by WWI, that when Hitler came to power, the only thing that would raise them back up was this leader, Hitler. Little did they know at the time, since people were so desperate for help, that this man - with a troublesome life- would completely destroy anything that stood in his way to becoming powerful. 

Like Wiesel said, the people did not see the cruel intentions hidden under Hitler's passionate speeches. It was not the people's fault although they did make him powerful by supporting him. He completely brainwashed every one of "his" citizens. And as I stated before, people truly believed that with Hitler they could reconstruct the broken pieces of Germany. I also agree with her main point that Hitler redefined the word "evil" by his despicable actions and decisions. This is evident in the lasting impact of his actions on people today.

Hitler liked money- a lot.

Apparently, as has been revealed by a new German television documentary called "Hitler's Money", Hitler liked money. The author of the New York Times article says that Hitler had a large amount of wealth at the time of his death, much of it from income generated through his writing and photographs. Although he appeared to be very thrifty and penny-wise publically, in private, he loved money's power a good deal. Money, as he said, could be used to get almost anything one wanted in this world- a concept that is still well-understood some 60 years later. That is, in essence, all that the article says.

Although I did not know Hitler had such a deep, profound love for money (due to our held belief that Hitler was very frugal, etc.), I do not find it surprising. When one such as Hitler reaches such a high level of power that the very treasury of a nation is open to them, it is expected that human greed will kick in, and cause them to take advantage of their power and position.

Humans are funny things, ne?

P.S.: Forgive me for the short post. It's 11:30PM.

A New Chancellor

This is an article from when Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on August 2, 1934. Essentially, this is just a historical article in the sense that it is summing up Hitler's arguments as a leader and his tactics in persuading the people to rally support for the Nazi party. He claims that his party will stay as rulers for a thousand years and more, and that they will act for the sake of Germany and its people. In my opinion, looking back, this was undoubtedly a scary time for Germany. They have just appointed someone who basicially plans to take over the government with his extreme views and install that system at first to a country, and plans to do so around the world. 

This article predicts that Hitler "will be reckoned among the greatest of his people." Hitler also predicted that a dictatorship would be the only way to help Germany. He also said that he saved Germnay already.

In my opinion, this article shows how messed up he was. This is before he even got out of prison. His comments seem like rhetoric and propoganda and nothing more.

War Plan

I'm not sure what most people think about when they think of how WWII was conducted, but you can get a look at a top secret, well I guess not anymore, letter from Adolf Hitler to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.  Included are details about where and when the war is conducted, and what Hitler sets as rules for what Germany can and can't do.  Hitler made sure that he retained control in the war and he made sure that a lot of Germany's possible war movements were under his strict control.  The letter addresses different countries and what their roles are in the war, as well as how they should be treated considering neutrality vs. possible reactions against Germany.  Hitler has different plans for the Navy and for the Army and has stationed each in a different position in the countries best interest, offensively or deffensively.  

He ends his letter with:  "Preparations are to be made for attacks against the British mainland, bearing in mind that partial success with insufficient forces is in all circumstances to be avoided."  Which could mean that he thinks that he should attack Britian seperately.  The fact that Partial Success isn't an option probably means that he wants a big force behind him and complete victory.

Quick Note:  The link is from a Gale Database so I'm not sure if it will work everywhere.

How to rise to power

The most important way to get power as a politician is to have control of your people. Figure out a way to brainwash them, and you will quickly rise. The most effective way is through teaching the youth, but you have to get there first. First, brainwash your people through propaganda. Hitler did it; he used the very powerful media to make the people believe whatever he wanted them to believe. People have too much trust in the media. People believe a lot of what they see or read. Schools can be another very powerful tool. Manipulate your youth, and you will have years of a brainwashed society. Kids don’t know any better. Most kids are not independent enough to make their own decisions, so it’s a perfect time to further your own agenda. Why do you think the Taliban doesn’t want girls to go to school? Unless you can control the teachings of a school, schooling will backfire. Have a population of dumb, oblivious, overly religious, and poor people and your task becomes even easier. All of this will go to waste if you don’t come in at the right time. No one wants to change when the economy is great or when the country is thriving; however, people do want to change when you have a bad leader or when the economy is doing poorly (like after a war). Hitler rose to power in Germany when inflation was a problem from WW1. He used Jews and communists as their scapegoats. Another useful tool is fear. Fear can be used at many different times. You can use fear to get power, or you can use fear to maintain your power. The Taliban uses fear to maintain control. The have public demonstrations for people who go against the regime. They kill the person (or people) and leave them in the streets for a week or so, so people can see what happens if they break even their most ridiculous rule. Another tactic commonly used here is having some sort of police. Perhaps the most famous example is Hitler’s SS. The SS would enforce Hitler’s ideas. They made sure that people weren’t revolting. The Taliban is basically one big police group. One more important thing in rising to power is using the middle class. Ride the middle class to the top. Most famous rises to power throughout history have been through the middle class; even Obama did. The rest is easy. Just don’t go to war with the U.S. Remember getting power isn’t about you actually doing things. It’s about your people listening to you. Your people have to fight against themselves, and then you have achieved complete power.

The Different World

For a student surrounded by fields of turf, readily available schoolbooks, and teachers which are eager to teach and help, it is difficult to understand how one might live under conditions that include poverty, oppression, and the constant fear of death. These are the conditions that people have to live under in the world today, or during the oppression of Jews by the Nazis. What is going on in Swat Valley is considered to be fascism as well. The Taliban are using “scare tactics” and militarism to control the population of this valley. During the oppression of the Jews and the people in Swat Valley, innocent people were/are being hurt. Fascism is not effective and should not be used as a political system. Even though its ideals are good, such as a better economy, fascism is not practical when used due to the harm it brings. The harm overweighs the promises.
Even though America is in an economic crisis, it still holds great military power. This power could be used to stop the attacks done by the Taliban on schools for girls. We need to continue to fight this “evil” that arose out of the Nazis or the Taliban. Some people may oppose this plan, but overall, we would be making the world better.

Insane or Just Evil?

In an article found in the New York Times, Hitler is now being explored about whether his type of rule can be attributed to having psychological issues. It is a much debated topic and a new book by Dr.Fritz Redlich has been released stating that although Hitler had other physical ailments, he should not be classified as insane. The article quotes Dr. Redlich saying that Hitler knew what he was doing and did it with passion and enthusiasm and that he blames much of his physical issues on his half-Jewish father, thus partly a reason for his anti-semitism. Although Dr. Redlich would disagree with me, I think it is sad and wrong to try to explain and simplify Hitler because it would only bring out excuses. We may not ever really know how insane Hitler actually was, but we should look past his mental state nevertheless because it will never change or excuse his horrendous actions. 

Article Review

The article I read was about how some of the Olympics' proudest traditions and symbols have a dark past.  The torch relay and the 5 rings were both created by Adolf Hitler as a form of propaganda to add prestige and glamor to the 1936 Germany Olympics.  The torch was supposed to be a representation of the "perfect" German nation and their accomplishments, and the rings were added as part of the pageantry as a representation of the first 5 Olympics.  I think that it is really a shame that 2 international symbols of the Olympics, one of the few events where every country can put aside their differences in the spirit of competition, were created by a person who wanted to dominate the world.

www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/sports/olympics/14torch.html?ex=1236142800&en=d2bd00907b9d4aaa&ei=5070

Equal Rights?

What is fascism? When I first heard this word I asked myself the same question. The dictionary definition of fascism is a single organization or group repression of opposition and extreme nationalism. It is also any movement, or tendency that favors a dictatorial government like Benito Mussolini practiced in Italy between 1922 and 1943.When I think of fascism I relate it to events that occurred during the 1900’s and not to today’s events. I never made the connection with fascism and the 21st century, until I read the article in Upfront called “The Price of Going to Class.” After reading this article I was shocked at how some people view women and education, especially the Taliban. The Taliban believe that a woman’s place is at home taking care of her family and bearing children, not getting an education. I don’t understand why an educated woman is a bad thing, while it’s the “norm” for a man. Women are entitled to have the same rights as men but in Afghanistan this is not that case. I find this disturbing because women and young girls are not living a life they choose. I am saddened by the thought that women like Inez Milholland, fought so hard for women’s rights and we have not made real progress for women worldwide. How is it possible that some women today are not allowed an education? Every young girl in America has the opportunity to go to school and be educated. We take education for granted. We feel entitled to it and why shouldn’t we? However we must remember that not all women have the same rights as we enjoy in this country. The girls in Afghanistan would do anything to go to school and stop the Taliban from banning their education. When I finished reading the article “The Price of Going to Class” the first word that came to mind was fascism. I believe the Taliban is a fascist group in the true sense of the word. They may not hold all the power quite yet but they are on their way to gaining complete control. It is frightening how fascist groups seem to succeed in gaining control even when their intentions are bad like Adolph Hitler. Even though what he did was horrible he remained in power and was able to convince people to join him and his fellow Nazi members.

Fascism

Through reading the article The Price of going To Class I proceeded to conclude that the Taliban was somewhat of a fascist organization. Although it did not fit all of the requirements of fascism like totalitarianism, and being militaristic, it did identify with other elements that are key to fascism. For example 80 percent of women are illiterate, as well as married underage. In addition women are banned from working outside of the home because they are needed to take care of the children, the household, and bare children to increase the population. The Taliban also has censorship and television, movies, and music, are banned. Censorship, along with not allowing education for women, is a major part of fascism in the case of the Taliban because this enables them to have full control over what the people know, as well as what they can learn. Lastly apart from censorship, and gender roles one of the most important elements of fascism, is having a single organization have complete power, which the Taliban had for five years, and to some extent still have currently.
Because the Taliban is a somewhat fascist group, it shares some similarities with the Nazis organization. First off the Taliban had, ultimate power for five years until the United States overturned them. This is extremely similar to Hitler being sent to prison after the Beer Hall Putsch uprising, which was an attempt to take over the Munich government. However, although the Taliban was overturned by the United States, and although Hitler was sent to prison they both managed to find ways to gain power once again. The Taliban ambushed Afghanistan with checkpoints, as well as the assassination of officials, and they were able to gain control over the countryside. Hitler, and the Nazis acted similarly and began to take over Germany region by region. Lastly both the Taliban, and the Nazis used threats in attempts to get what they wished. The Taliban didn’t want women to be educated, and so they made threats on women who did go to school, and threw acid on their faces. The Nazis didn’t want the Jews to own factories, and didn’t want them to have jobs because the Jews were making they most money, and so they placed threats on the Jews requiring them to give up their jobs, otherwise there would be consequences, which normally meant death.
This article illuminated the idea of how the Taliban is a fascist organization, as well as how similar the Taliban is to the Nazis. It is terrible to think that the horrific organizations that we are educated on to prevent them from occurring again, are still occur in the world today. Also it is clear that just because Europe, and the United States have dealt with, as well as experienced certain events. This does not mean that other countries are able to do what Europe, and the United States have done, and they are suffering from the lack of power to do so.