Critique of Hitler's use of Machiavellan Principles
Uploaded by Scrplyr86 on Sep 16, 2002
Adolf Hitler: the Modern Machiavelli
In Adolf Hitler, the early twentieth century found a nearly flawless Machiavellian politician. He emerged from his nine-month imprisonment in 1924 a flawless tactician, not losing his ability to commandeer and expand a flourishing army until he attacked Russia. For Hitler had an extremely firm grasp on Machiavelli’s words: “A prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared.” Hitler inspired such a fear into his enemies and such a passionate exuberance into his followers that, domestically, he had few threats to fear as long as he continued to win battles.
One could compare the situation of the German people with that of the people of Milan in the late 15th century: “Louis the Twelfth, King of France, quickly occupied Milan, and as quickly lost it; and to turn him out the first time it only needed Lodovico's own forces; because those who had opened the gates to him, finding themselves deceived in their hopes of future benefit [, were the people of Milan].” The German people are, in a figurative sense, the same as the people of Milan. During the glory of Germany at the height of Germany’s World War I power, they were controlled by a somewhat satisfactory ruler, yet, after the treaty of Versailles, which was supposed to bring closure to the German people, they found themselves oppressed, divided, and unsatisfied with the Bohemian government. Then, like a light from heaven, which is a sadly sadistic cliché to use for their situation, Adolf Hitler appeared with the solution to Germany’s problem, which was the same as the Solution to the Jewish (, gypsy, homosexual, and handicapped) Question. Hitler brought himself closer to his people and earned their trust (and votes) in a brutally efficient manner. From 1928 to 1930, the Nazi party’s seats in the German Reichstag jumped from twelve seats to 128. The political situation, or “fortune . . . one of those raging rivers” gave itself to the Nazi’s success. By the late 1920’s, the Great Depression was swinging toward Germany, allowing the Nazi party to take advantage of the middle class’s worries about financial vulnerability and convert it into a huge dose of political capital. The world economic situation also allowed the Nazis to blame the situation on the “Jewry”, because since...