I respect what Hitler accomplished

[oiram]

Is it wrong for someone to claim they respected Hitler for all he accomplished he made both good and bad?

Here is what I mean, Hitler was nobody and was even in jail where he wrote a bestselling book. He was released and in a very short time rose to become one of the most powerful men in the world and became a defining man in all of history. He created so many good things and help advance so much, but along with those good things he was committing genocide, which isn’t a bad thing if you’re not one of the people in line at the gas chambers.

So is it wrong to recognize him for the good things that were accomplished under his leadership?


*Note: I am using this question as a debate

 

[Thoreau]

I think he was a highly intelligent, talented, and brilliant man in the area of politics. However, he lacked wisdom and kept a very narrow mind. His success was already destined to be temporary because he lacked the capacity to adapt to the world around him and instead tried to adapt the world TO him.

The world keeps turning even if you don't, and that is something he would not or could not accept.


Sure he brought Germany up from ashes and made it into a great empire, but in the end it was nothing but ash again.

 

[oiram]

Life itself is temporary compared to time

Hitler was a very brilliant man and I think he was on the right tract and wish he would have been successful because of all he wanted to do would have been very helpful to mankind in the long run. I can forgive the cleansing he did as this is just part of his plan and no different than what other leaders like Bush has done. I mean if you can justify killing 100 people whats the difference in one million?

 

[nietzschefan]

As long as you live in a free country, that is not Germany, you can think anything you like about Hitler.

He was tragically...a skilled orator, with radical opinions in a radical time for Germany. He was never going to be a success, his plans were always doomed.

 

[Repo Man]

Trying to sift out the "good things" Adolph accomplished reminds me of the joke, "So other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

 

[S.A.M.]

If we put him in the context of history, he was no different than any people who decided to form a perfect society by eliminating the undesirables.

There are many people in Europe today who want to remove the undesirables and regain what they believe is a perfect society.

 

[Asguard]

Trying to sift out the "good things" Adolph accomplished reminds me of the joke, "So other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

"it gave me a terrible headache"

ops scrach that, missread your joke

 

[GeoffP]

If we put him in the context of history, he was no different than any people who decided to form a perfect society by eliminating the undesirables.

There are many people in Europe today who want to remove the undesirables and regain what they believe is a perfect society.

True. And especially in Egypt, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and elsewhere too.

 

[Repo Man]

If we put him in the context of history, he was no different than any people who decided to form a perfect society by eliminating the undesirables.

There are many people in Europe today who want to remove the undesirables and regain what they believe is a perfect society.

Immigration quotas are just the same as death camps. Gotcha.

 

[GeoffP]

And the extirpation of native cultures is only the extirpation of native cultures in areas other than anywhere between, say, Turkey-Pakistan-Sudan-Morocco. Quite so! Class dismissed.

 

[S.A.M.]

Which "native" "culture" do you see extirpated "anywhere between, say, Turkey-Pakistan-Sudan-Morocco"? And what does it have to do with Hitler who was an upholder of the native "Aryan" values?

Immigration quotas are just the same as death camps. Gotcha.

I didn't realise the rise of right wing extremism was a synonym for immigration quotas.

 

[spidergoat]

Let's see, his actions resulted in half of Germany being occupied by the Russians for 50 years, he ruined the reputation of the Wehrmacht, and his actions led to the deaths of over 50 million people. I'd say he was one of the biggest losers on the planet. What did he ever do that was admirable?

 

[nietzschefan]

Well...uhh he's ummm pretty much the cause of all the incredibly fucked laws in Germany now? :shrug:

It's gotta be pretty much the most pussified nation on Earth...some people might think that's good.

 

[EmmZ]

Well...uhh he's ummm pretty much the cause of all the incredibly fucked laws in Germany now? :shrug:

It's gotta be pretty much the most pussified nation on Earth...some people might think that's good.

In what respect nietzschefan?

 

[Mrs.Lucysnow]

The proof is in the results. Whatever talents the man may have had they were misused. He didn't drive his country into greatness just the opposite. He was a narcissist and like all narcissist he couldn't see past himself long enough to have a really sane vision for the future of his nation. They came out of war dogged and defeated and he built them up only to drag them into another useless war. He was twisted and infected his country with his same disease.

 

[Norsefire]

I have a very deep respect for Hitler, not for what he did, but that he was able to do it. Here was a man that rose, and imposed his will and took the world by the reigns, and submitted to no one. I respect his ego and his strength, as much as I may not approve of what he actually did. The fact that he did it, that he made something of his life, earns him my respect.

 

[Asguard]

i wonder what we would all be saying if he had won. I dont like the man but all of you seem to be basing your assesments on the fact he lost, if he hadnt been so stupid as to atack russia he might well have beaten the allies

 

[Norsefire]

Then the man would have achieved godhood.

 

[Tiassa]

Means and ends

So is it wrong to recognize him for the good things that were accomplished under his leadership?

I would counter with the question of whether method has any effect on how we perceive accomplishment. As MZ3 noted, Hitler was very intelligent. He was also fucking bonkers, though.

For instance, let us consider the Egyptians. They pulled off something that we have a hard time understanding. Just how did they build those pyramids?

So maybe I might build a massive pyramid someday, just for the hell of it. Just to say, "See? It's not impossible. There's no mystery about it."

And you'll all say, "Oooh," and clap.

But is the person who stands up and says, "Yeah, but you used a hundred thousand slaves, half of which died in the process," really being a pinko, naysaying prig for making the point?

I'm an American, and while we're not quite on par with Hitler, I ask a similar question almost every day. Yes, we've built a really cool society with lots of bells and whistles, possibly the most impressive in human history. But, to the other, in order to pull that off, we require a massive poverty class at home and abroad to support our efforts. And that involves a lot of death and suffering.

So the underlying question that seems to emerge is the classic dilemma of means and ends. And it's the twenty-first century. People aren't quite as impressed by dazzling ends that come about through appalling means.

And Hitler's way of doing things was appalling.

 

[Meursalt]

His success was already destined to be temporary because he lacked the capacity to adapt to the world around him and instead tried to adapt the world TO him.

Umm. However, many men have achieved greatness in the eyes of history whilst displaying those very same characteristics.
Adolph Hitler's downfall was due to him being born into a time period which had both conflicting ideals and the power to enforce their intolerance of him.

So the underlying question that seems to emerge is the classic dilemma of means and ends. And it's the twenty-first century. People aren't quite as impressed by dazzling ends that come about through appalling means.

And Hitler's way of doing things was appalling.

And that is the essence of humanity in this age.
Given the current climate and the social leveling of mankind, it is highly doubtful that a single individual will ever achieve the same level of personal "accomplishment" as those who have gone before.

I do not believe that this is a good thing.

My poker game went awry. Pocket aces are sometimes the devil hand.