Adolf Hitler: High-Profile Personality - Essay Example

YOUR DEGREE) OR COLLEGE) Adolf Hitler: High-Profile Personality The rise of Adolf Hitler as the itarian leader of the Third Reich during the 1930s was a monumental display of people’s preference for a socialist-oriented Germany and a prerequisite for an authoritarian nation under the political enthrals of Nazism. With Hitler as the emergent “big man” of the country, the stretch of a strengthened military with the brands of the Swastika and the label of Nazis had gone deep into the Reich leader’s close council.

A testament to this is his preference of powerful military entities as his most trusted advisers such the likes of Himmler, Goering, Hess and Fromm. Given such association, Hitler was basically untouchable at the height of his career as the leader of the Third Reich. His security, taken charge by the SS Guards, the Reichssicherheitsdienst (SD) to be specific, can be described as a strong arsenal against his conspirators. In line with the topic, this paper will venture into the tight formations of Hitler’s security and analyse the unique characteristics of his personal security which deem them as one of the elite forces in the Third Reich.

It will explore two aspects of the leader’s personal security: (1) the strong militarization of the bodyguards, and (2) the functionality of Western bodyguards as compared to those of the East. A remarkable and unique trait of Hitler’s personal protection is the obvious military orientation of the units assigned as his daily entourage. It seemed that the SS Guards and its military means dominated Hitler’s security. Due preparations of public rallies included the SD checking on the various branches of his entourage.

For example, the SS Guard’s Heinrich Himmler took management over the medical routines conducted before and after the travels and political rallies that the leader of the Third Reich attended to. Dr. Morell frequently reported to Himmler as his superior in the entourage. The quality of medicine, the application of such and the medical personnel in the medical sphere of Hitler was thoroughly investigated and inspected by the SD. When it comes to publicity and media relations, Hitler was always entailed by a single photographer who documented the daily public life of the Reich leader (Hoffman, 2000, pp.

xx-xxxv, pp. 1-5). Another example of the extreme militarization that the SS exhibits could be seen in the Sturmabteilung (SA). For example, in one of Hitler’s public discourses a riot had occurred within the discussion hall where tables and chairs were thrown and fires were shot at the speaker’s rostrum where Hitler was. While the mishap was happening, the German police had been saved by the Nazi SA who had restored order and pushed out 300 rioters (Hoffman, 2000, pp. 5-6). In these aspects alone, the militarized routine within Hitler’s entourage was duly executed.

This explicitly says that Hitler was an important figure, forever surrounded by death threats from possible enemies without. It was, indeed, intelligent for the SD to apply their strict military means which ensured the safety of their leader at all times. During rallies and public discourses, Hitler was always surrounded by uniformed men - leaders from different military units of the Third Reich. In so far as the militarized daily routine of Hitler’s entourage is concerned, the functionality of the SD Guards was, at the same time, manifested in the instances that their services were needed.

Aside from the strict military-oriented precautions that they applied in the Reich leader’s entourage, the SD had been more specific in their tasks as Hitler’s personal protection. They were concerned with the broadest up to the tiniest detail of Hitler’s entourage as what had been stated above. Hence it can be assumed that the SD’s means of security was one of the strictest in the world. Indeed, SD as the SS Guard’s premiere organization can be regarded as the strongest military force in the Western world.

The highly militarized aspect of the SD improved the functionality of the whole unit, proven by Hitler’s survival up to the 1940s amidst the significant assassination attempts. This made the Western world, under Germany’s example, the most reliable in terms of high profile protection. As compared to the East’s view of the holistic warrior, the West’s SD was more specific in its primary tasks. For example, Japan’s Samurai as the Emperor’s personal bodyguards embody both the military and religious sides.

The Third Reich’s SD only focused on Hitler’s protection. They stood detached from the SS’s mythical and religious sides. References Hoffmann, Peter. (2000). Hitler’s Personal Security: Protecting the Fuhrer, 1921-1945. New York: Da Capo Press, 2000.