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JoLee Galetka

Professor Moore

English 1302

30 January 2017

Understanding a Mad Man

On May 8, 1945, the world rejoiced at the end of the second World War. However, after

the initial celebration, many historians began to question the specific circumstances that

permitted such an atrocity to occur. The most particular point of interest was the rise of Adolf

Hitler. They strived to understand how a man with such radical views was legally allowed,

through the democratic process, to obtain power and orchestrate mass genocide within a country.

The fundamental building block of Hitlers political ascension was his masterful manipulation of

the German peoples emotional and economical state post World War I. An exceptional testament

to his pristine use of manipulation is Hitlers 1933 speech, Proclamation to the German Nation,

where he uses historical timing, provoking diction, and causal arguments to convince a nation to

abandon their humanity and allow for the unthinkable to persist.

Through the use of historical timing, Hitler is able to manipulate the audience into

adapting his ideology. He opens his oratory by referencing a time of severe economic standstill

in Germany, the Great Depression. Germany, with an already depleted economy, was in peril

when Wall Street collapsed. Their economy at this point was primarily based on foreign capital.

When the United States and other nations extracted their resources out of Germany, the middle

and lower classes in turn ruptured, leaving Germany on the brink of total economic collapse. By

reminding the people of this period, Hitler is causing their turmoil, anger, and desperation from

these times to resurface. This allows Hitler to capitalize on their emotions. Since the audience is
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reliving the painful past, they will cling on to anything that remotely resembles a hopeful future.

Because of this, it makes Hitlers proposal all the more appealing. He offers a plan that is

claimed to preserve the freedom and the very existence, of the German people (2). Rather

than focus on the ideology behind his offer, the people listen for words or phrases that can ease

their fear of the past repeating itself. This concept of resurfacing Germanys less than favorable

historical moments can be traced throughout the entirety of his speech, specifically because of its

effectiveness of clouding the audiences judgment with emotional distorters. It is through this

disoriented public, that Hitler initiates the first stage of collapse to the democratic Germany.

In conjunction, Hitler uses provoking diction to promote himself to the audience as a

critical factor in the successful restoration of Germany. Notably, in the beginning of Hitlers

political career, public and government opinion varied in regards to his political party.

Concerning parliament, Hitler was less than favorable. However, by appealing to the public in

his speech, he was able to rise in political stature to Chancellor of Germany. In his proclamation,

Hitler repeatedly applies the term we (11). The significance of this cannot be overstated. By

using such terminology, he is presenting himself as a man of the people and for the people. This

persona convinces the public that his intentions are pure and that his offer is a product of public

demand. This causes the public to be generally more accepting of his proposals from the

beginning. And to further convince those who remain unconvinced of his loyalty to the public, he

takes the diction a step further to portray himself as a true patriot and advocate for the betterment

of the German nation. He uses the terms revival and reconciliation to illustrate that his

dedication for change is not small scale (12). Rather that his dedication is so profound, that he is

ready and able to obtain the challenge of reforming the nation back to health (12). By
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identifying with the audience on all levels, Hitler is able to coerce a nation into adopting his

ideology all while sacrificing their humanity.

Most notably, Hitler provides causal arguments in the attempt to force the publics vote in

his favor. Throughout the speech, Hitler drills this concept that, unity is the tool needed to

implement his plan effectively (12). He understands that without out full consent of the

governed, he runs the risk of a political dissention or collapse of career all together. To prevent

such an occurrence, he provides ultimatums to the public. He claims that any and all other

possible forms of government would not only undermine Germanys cultural identity, but also

guarantee its collapse. In support of this, he speaks of the destruction left in the wake of the

previous Marxism government and declares that even a year of, bolshevism would destroy

Germany (3). This leaves the audience with a sense of desperation. Hitler understands that the

people are desperate to regain some semblance of their stable former state. To appease this,

Hitler contrastly offers his plan, all while insinuating that it will secure the survival and full

restoration of Germanys former glory. By deliberating the effects of all considerable plans, he

indirectly is propagating his own agenda. If the people establish their full conviction in him and

his plan, then they will in turn vow to see both succeed, regardless of the underlying ideology

behind his words of persuasion. By presenting causal arguments, Hitler was able to ignite the

publics instinctual desire to survive, and ultimately manipulate them into believing that he was

the one viable conductor for it.

With his words alone, Hitler single handedly gave Germany the motivation it had so

desperately demanded. Hitler understood that his power was rooted in the people and that to

achieve his goal, he had to paint the picture of a bright future. It was with that hopeful future in

mind, that a nation of people participated and allowed for such atrocities, like the persecution of
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Jewish individuals, to occur. And the chaos that followed was seen, by many, as a necessary step

to securing their own future. Because of this, Hitlers greatest weapon was never a man-made

machine, but rather his own mind. After all, it was through his extensive comprehension of

rhetoric, that Hitler was able to provide Germany with the one factor it needed most, hope.
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Work Cited

Hitler, Adolf. Berlin: Proclamation To The German Nation -- February 1, 1933. Berlin:

Proclamation To The German Nation -- February 1, 1933, www.hitler.org/speeches/02-

01-33.html. Accessed. 30 January, 2017