The Meaning Of Hitler By Sebastian Haffner: An Analysis

Adolf Hitler, a cruel man who let his self-ambitious and drive for power get the best of him? Or a leader who used his ambition to create a better Germany? Either way, it is clear to see that Adolf Hitler played an important role in our history. In the novel, The Meaning of Hitler by Sebastian Haffner the author comes to a conclusion that in the end Hitler achieved the opposite of what he had ultimately wanted. Therefore, the author is labeling Hitler as a failure. Although the author believes that Hitler did not fulfill his goals, he fails to realize that even though Hitler did not anticipate the results of the war ending the way they did, Hitler still managed to successfully execute his main goals. Hitler was able to take total control of a nation and expanded his territory into a “German Empire”, he increased nationalism within Germany which allowed him to gain more supportive people, and because he had

The first chapter of the novel is about the overall life of Adolf Hitler. In this section, the author refers to Hitler as an overnight sensation. “For thirty years Hitler was an obscured failure, then almost overnight a local celebrity and eventually the man whom the whole world policy revolved” (2). Despite the many failures Hitler had in his early years he possessed two great skills, a knowledge of “military affairs and military technology” (3) and a “hypnotic ability as a mass-audience orator (speaker)” (5). These two skills Hitler possessed would ultimately foreshadow his future influence in the political world. Even at a young age Hitler believed that he was a part of something greater. He concluded that Austria would eventually break apart and in this time of distress a Greater German Reich would emerge to embrace