The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third ReichFew, if any, twentieth-century political leaders have enjoyed greater popularity among their own people than Hitler did in the decade or so following his rise to power in 1933. The personality of Hitler himself, however, can scarcely explain this immense popularity or his political effectiveness in the 1930s and '40s. His hold over the German people lay rather in the hopes and perceptions of the millions who adored him. Based largely on the reports of government officials, party agencies, and political opponents, Ian Kershaw's groundbreaking study charts the creation, growth, and decline of the "Hitler myth." He demonstrates how the manufactured Führer-cult served as a crucial integrating force within the Third Reich and a vital element in the attainment of Nazi political aims. Masters of the new techniques of propaganda, the Nazis used "image-building" to exploit the beliefs, phobias, and prejudices of the day. Kershaw greatly enhances our understanding of the German people's attitudes and behavior under Nazi rule and the psychology behind their adulation of Hitler. |
Contents
Introduction | 11 |
The Hitler Image in | 13 |
The Propaganda Profile of Hitler | 48 |
Copyright | |
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Adolf Hitler Amberg anti-Semitism attack attitudes BA Amberg Bavaria Berchtesgaden Berlin Bolshevism bombing campaign Catholic cent Chancellor charismatic Church struggle Cited claimed criticism district Domarus Ebermannstadt election élites foreign policy Führer cult Führer myth German Germany's Gestapo Goebbels GSTA heroic Hitler cult Hitler image Hitler myth Hitler's popularity Hitler's speech Ibid ideological Jewish Question Jews July June Kitzingen leader leadership Lower Bavaria Machtergreifung MadR major March Marktredwitz mass Meldungen military mood morale Munich National Socialist Nazi Movement Nazi Party Nazi propaganda Nazism November NSDAP Nuremberg Party functionaries Party members peace people's comrades political Popular Opinion population reactions regime Reichstag Röhm RPvNB/OP RPVOB RPVOF/MF RPVS RPvUF rumours Schweinfurt SD report Sept soldiers Sopade Sopade reports Staatsarchiv Stalingrad StAM StAW Steinert success Third Reich tion triumph victory Völkischer Beobachter vorl Wehrmacht Weimar Würzburg