Mao also killed 73 million people. Regardless, I remain unconvinced of Hitler's incompetence as a short-term leader. There is no debate that Hitler was a very poor long term leader, and if he had not been ousted from power he would have been horribly devastating for germany. But saying that he is incompetent or that his rise to power is accidental is not a solid approach to the subject. First and foremost, no rise to power is accidental. In historical terms, accidental is generally going to be taken as without cause. Even in the classical definition, it doesn't make sense - the reason for his rise was an anti-communist mentality and desire for change. When you say that Hitler was generally incompetent, you do need to cite broader trends. There is evidence to support that position but I can bring no challenge to the evidence if there is no evidence presented. And yes, I do tink that the groups who support Hitler are probably very racist.
an assertion not based on a feeling? I assert that most things in history are accidents given meaning post hoc. (historians need jobs.) The Myth of the Kampfzeit is propagandist nonsense Hitler stumbled into power just like he sleepwalked through the rest of his life. Fascist movements were rampant throughout the world. Fascism requires the myth of the great man the nebish Adolph was the head of the local movement ... pow he is a great leader? Just like Franco, Salazar, Pinochet, Churchill and the rest of them, the great man is just a totem and actually does not require, greatness or any discernible skill, to be worshiped.
We are dealing with myth here Fascism is an aesthetic movement more than a political system you just have to pretend to be powerful and folks believe you.
It the the government of the swindle. but don't take my word for it take Dolphy's
First and foremost, no rise to power is accidental.
I go the way that Providence dictates with the assurance of a sleepwalker.
Adolf Hitler
People do not generally stumble through politics. Technology is a slightly different story; discoveries have been made accidentally, but politics is not technology. It is the difference between activities governed by mental laws versus physical laws. Technology is influenced by physical laws; air pressure, for instance, was only investigated because pumps in Europe originally couldn't lift water beyond 37 feet per pump. This lead to a wide range of technologies, but there was a set rule of physics for the technology to develop from. Politics is different; politics has no rules to abide by except for that which it creates, and to a degree human nature. Neither of these things are solid. Saying that something is accidental, putting it all on chance, is just not how something entirely mental works. History is neither accidental nor does it happen by design. There are very few times when grandiose conspiracies exist to create the world in a set image, but just because something is not designed does not make it happenstance. Hitler's rise to power was not chance, it was the culmination of a vast web of events we BARELY understand, and its one of the most studied segments of history. You need to figure out why an event happened, not just that it did happen, and that is the crux of history. What, where, and when an event happened, or whether or not that event was right is mostly irrelevant; what's important is understanding why. The reasons are not as simple as "the people were tricked." Yes, they were, but why? How did they not see through it? How did Hitler rise in his local group? How did Germany recover, and was that recovery something people would have noticed? People are actually a very keen organism, and humans pick up on bullshit pretty fast. Now while you can bully people in to silence, you can't do so to the majority of the population, and Hitler was popular. So there has to be a reason for it, because people behave according to information processed through their personal values. Even if his popularity wasn't universal, it was able to pull a country through war and keep a very powerful army from revolting and killing him. Also, Hitler wasn't exactly the best source of information about himself.I assert most things in history are accidents given meaning post hoc.
Let A = your post
I believe -A I believe people only stumble through politics. (politic science is an oxymoron). I think history is just one thing after another and that most historiographies are bullshit especially great man theory. I don't believe in any conspiracies. Why does one need to know why a thing happened? Mr. Applegate said how is much more interesting. Humans in my opinion are bullshit believing machines more Americans believe in Angels than climate change or evolution. Occam's razor tells me the answer to all your questions is folks are dumb and you can control them by lying to them.
http://www.pewforum.org/other-beliefs-and-practices/many-ame... This was Adolph's opinion as well if he can be trusted.