Hitlers Table Talk, 1941 1944: His Private Conversations - Term Paper Example

 Hitler’s table talk, 1941 – 1944: His private conversations Contents Contents 1 Introduction: 3 Night of 11th – 12th July 1941 3 The natural piety of man—Russian atheists know how to die—No atheistical education. 3 Night of 2 nd~3rd January 1942 4 Memories of Obersalzberg—Professor Hoffmann—The paintings of Rottmann 4 Night of 8th-9th January 1942 5 Childhood memories—Religious instruction—The Abbé Schwarz—"Sit down, Hitler!"—Preparation for confession—The story of Petronella. 5 Comparison of the traits of Germans and Americans 8 Conclusion: 9 Works cited: 9 Introduction: Hitler, the German dictator was notable for his fiery speeches which inspired the Germans. This is a book containing private conversations with his aides from 1941 – 1944. This book provides insight about the views and opinions of Hitler and also his dominant character and personality traits. After perusing through the entire book, I find a few paragraphs which have intrigued me. Night of 11th – 12th July 1941 The natural piety of man—Russian atheists know how to die—No atheistical education. Hitler’s conversation about the exploitation of people in the name of God has roused my interest. According to him there is a Supreme Being in which everyone believes. But, the priests take advantage of this feeling and exploit persons in the name of God. The priests threaten people with punishment and face dire consequences if they refuse to accept the doctrine imposed by these priests. He further supports his point of view with examples of how elders successfully instill fear in a child. The previous conversations contain the arguments that he wanted to give in order support of his viewpoint. In the last paragraphs he strongly asserts that Russians have no Supreme Being or God and yet they die. Hence, there is no need to educate a person to be an atheist (Cameron & Stevens 5 – 6). This conversation reflects his strong persona and the power of expression. Hitler was one of the most charismatic leaders and his conversations intrigued people. He had the art to captivate the audience and very successfully make others believe in what he actually wanted to achieve. The small conversation he had on this night proves this point. Night of 2 nd~3rd January 1942 Memories of Obersalzberg—Professor Hoffmann—The paintings of Rottmann Obersalzberg is a place where Hitler’s mountain residence, the Berghof was located. Situated near the Austrian border this quaint plateau had a picturesque landscape. Hitler spent his time to find solutions to his problems. His house, the Berghof is the place where he has taken many important decisions. Hitler goes on to mention that he finds it easier to find a solution when he considers the problem somewhere else. According to him, his house at Obersalzberg is the perfect location which helped him to carefully think and strategize. This shows that he had certain pride for this place and he loved the solace at home. It helped him to think of ideas and work accordingly. He provides a lucid sketch of the first election campaign and the strategy he adopted to defeat the rival party. Heinrich Hoffman was Hitler’s official photographer. Hoffman perhaps had the best collection of Hitler’s photographs. This paragraph shows Hitler’s love for paintings. Hitler also asserts that he misses Professor Hoffman, who is very close to him. One comes to know that Hitler was a lover of art and he wanted to own a painting by Rottmann. It is a reflection of Hitler’s aspirations and an insight into the other side of Hitler – that of an art lover (Cameron & Stevens 164 – 165). In this excerpt, one comes to know that Hitler was not only a great politician; but also a painter. He loved art and paintings. In this private conversation, he talks of his love for art. Hitler was a great thinker and he shared with his aides how he hit upon plans and ideas. This small excerpt gives us immense insight about the likes of Hitler. He first shares his love for his house and then his love for paintings and art. When he shared his childhood memories with his aides, he mentioned that he loved the architecture and hence visited cathedrals to admire them. This is just a small conversation in which he discusses his hobbies and refinements with his aides. He was a people’s person. Night of 8th-9th January 1942 Childhood memories—Religious instruction—The Abbé Schwarz—"Sit down, Hitler!"—Preparation for confession—The story of Petronella. Perhaps the memoirs of Hitler’s childhood memories are one of the most intriguing conversations that he had with his aides. These are some precious memories that Hitler shared with his comrades on the night of 8 – 9th January, 1942. It reveals a lot about Hitler’s dominant personality and his quality to tell the simplest of tales in the most interesting manner. He shares his memories in school and about his act to challenge everything he felt was wrong. In one such incident, he gives a very strong argument as to why he never gets drunk. According to him, a drunken person is akin to doing the most serious mistakes. He goes on to give an example of how he got drunk and ended up tearing up his certificate by simply mistaking it for toilet paper. He goes on to state that it was the first and the last time he ever consumed alcohol. After this incident he decided not to touch it again. Hitler also mentions that he loved to challenge his teachers and fathers. He even challenged the law. At the time, the concept of civil divorce was not prevalent in Austria. However, a group of people formed an association named “persons physically separated”. Hitler joined this association. He came to know that there were certain people who committed shameful acts. Despite this, their wives were compelled to stay with them since there was no provision of a divorce. Hitler wanted to stage a play supporting divorce and spread awareness among the public. From this small conversation, we come to know that Hitler’s handwriting was illegible and he made his sister write the acts of the play. Unfortunately, the play could never be staged. He describes in pride the type of reforms he wanted to bring out at the age of fifteen. This was one such example he put forward to show that he cared for the people of Germany. He cared for all those women who were oppressed and wanted to give them freedom. He further shares with his aides his quest to challenge the current system. He challenged his teachers about the very existence of God. He speaks about Father Schwarz, his teacher and how he challenged his teacher. In fact, Father Schwarz wanted to bring about a revolution. The more the father stressed on the love for God and Christianity, the more Hitler became a rebel and started questioning embarrassing queries to the teacher. He asked questions on the Bible to his teacher, Father Schwarz and even maintained that he did not pray. This showed that Hitler did not believe in God. He was an atheist. Hitler also maintained that he was not interested in the classroom study which made students learn the gospels. He, in fact read books on diseases and any other subject, in class, which was not a part of his curriculum (Cameron & Stevens 188 – 195). Hitler was a very practical man and the examples he gave made sense to even the commonest of the commoners. He explained the most complex things in the simplest manner. His art of giving examples before coming to a point is one of the strategies which captivated the attention of a person. He was a true diplomat. Prior to voicing his own opinion, he builds the ground for forwarding his views by means of examples. He puts forward his arguments in a convincing manner. In the end, he voices his opinion. By this time, he knows that the audience (in this case his comrades and aides) will fully agree to him. Among all his private conversations, Hitler’s childhood memories impressed me the most. This private conversation showed that Hitler was a rebel and challenged everything he thought was wrong. He was not afraid of anybody or anything. He was a man of principals and it was very difficult for people to fine tune him the way they wanted. He had a way of proving his point and went to the point of rebellion to attain this objective. This is one of the most descriptive accounts of his childhood and provides the reader immense insight about his strong and dominant personality. Hitler was a radical thinker and a great diplomat. He was an expert in voicing his opinions in such a way that people would be compelled to agree with Hitler. He had the art of delivering the most charismatic and fiery speeches. People were intrigued and captivated by his speeches. He made promises to make Germany one of the leading nations of the world and the Germans believed him. He was one of the most loved and respected dictators of his times. The people of Germany loved him and regarded him as God. Comparison of the traits of Germans and Americans After going through the book, Hitler’s table talk: his private conversations, we have had considerable reflection on the personality traits of Hitler. The conversations that were held actually were a reflection of the character of the German dictator. Here we will discuss about the general differences which can be observed in the personality traits of Germans and Americans. Germans are not friendly people. In fact they are very cold and like to maintain formal conversations. Americans are totally different as they are friendly and love to interact with people. Germans are creative people and the country has always produced famous inventors and builders. Hitler himself talks about admiring architecture, building museums and other buildings in the conversations held with his aides from 1941 – 1944. The Germans are very hard working and rarely like to sit idle. On the other hand, Americans are those who work hard; but are not creative people. The Americans love to make money by working hard. They do not have a knack for creativity. Another trait of the Germans is that they are very sincere and loyal people. They display utmost loyalty to their nation, friends, family and organization. The example of their loyalty and sincerely to the nation has been witnessed when many German soldiers lost their lives in the year 1940 to display their loyalty towards Hitler. Americans do not have extreme feelings of loyalty and sincerely as compared with the Germans. Another trait that the Germans display is that they love to practice a hobby. Take the case of Hitler. Painting was his hobby and he found time to practice this. Americans do not attach any importance to pursue their hobbies. Another difference is that Germans take pride in their nation and value their honor above all else. They love to flout their achievements. Hitler made everyone know when he planned to pen down Mein Kampf. Americans are not such haughty people. They have a simple and down to earth nature. Conclusion: From the above book we can actually compare and contrast the personality traits of Germans with those displayed by Americans. The personality traits displayed by Hitler and the typical ones which an average German citizen displays. Works cited: Cameron, Norman and Stevens, R. H. Hitler’s table talk 1941 – 1944: His private conversation. New York City: Enigma Books, 2000. Print. Read More