When people refer to Hitler they always only mention the genocide of all the nationalities, thats right, it wasnt JUST jews that dies in WW2 but many other nationalities aswell that dont even get a mention.....why? I wonder?
anyway, put the genocide aside for a minute and lets look at Hitler the man, as the Leader of his nation and what he achieved -
His most amazing achievement was his uniting the great mass of the German (and Austrian) people behind him. Throughout his career his popularity was larger and deeper than the popularity of the National Socialist Party. A great majority of Germans believed in him until the very end. In this respect he stands out among almost all of the dictators of the 19th and 20th centuries, which is especially impressive when we consider that the Germans were among the best-educated peoples in the 20th century.
He actually managed to unite the enitre german peoples who were living in seperate semi autonomous states at the time.
and also this-
what contributed to this support were the economic and social successes, for which he fully took credit, during his early leadership: the virtual disappearance of unemployment, the rising prosperity of the masses, the new social institutions, and the increase of German prestige in the 1930s—achievements unparalleled in the histories of other modern totalitarian dictatorships. In spite of the spiritual and intellectual progenitors of some of his ideas there is no German national leader to whom he may be compared. In sum, he had no forerunners—another difference between him and other dictators.
By 1938 Hitler had made Germany the most powerful and feared country in Europe (and perhaps in the world). He achieved all of this without war (and there are now some historians who state that had he died in 1938 before the mass executions began, he would have gone down in history as the greatest statesman in the history of the German people). In fact, he came very close to winning the war in 1940; but the resistance of Britain (personified by Winston Churchill) thwarted him. Nevertheless, it took the overwhelming, and in many ways unusual, Anglo-American coalition with the Soviet Union to defeat the Third Reich; and there are reasons to believe that neither side would have been able to conquer him alone.
He achieved in a decade what no other leader has....taking into account where his nation was when he came to power to where it was just before the outbreak of war.
And now, an exert from the Fuhrer himself -
members.tripod.com...
In a speech on April 28, 1939, Adolf Hitler presented the following list of what he felt were his accomplishments.
"...I overcame chaos in Germany, restored order, enormously raised production in all fields of our national economy...I succeeded in completely resettling in useful production those 7 million unemployed who so touched our hearts...I have not only politically united the German nation but also rearmed it militarily, and I have further tried to liquidate that Treaty sheet by sheet whose 448 Articles contain the vilest rape that nations and human beings have ever been expected to submit to. I have restored to the Reich the provinces grabbed from us in 1919; I have led millions of deeply unhappy Germans, who have been snatched away from us, back into the Fatherland; I have restored the thousand year old historical unity of German living space; and I have attempted to accomplish all that without shedding blood and without inflicting the sufferings of war on my people or any other. I have accomplished all this, as one who 21 years ago still an unknown worker and soldier of my people, by my own efforts..."
And finally, here is how Hitler managed to rebuild the german economy into the powerhouse that it had become -
www.angelfire.com...
Another one of Hitler’s great accomplishments was German economic property under his rule. Since Germany had no colonies, their most pressing concern was to find a way to trade for raw materials. Hitler circumvented the normal trade methods, Hitler found countries to trade with. To make the deal more attractive for these countries, Hitler would subsidize the exports. They could also distribute the raw materials to whoever they wanted, but most importantly they could vary the value of the mark depending on the state of the global economy. This gave Hitler and the Nazis tight control over the German economy. Between 1933 and 1936Germany prospered and their standard of living rose to be higher than that of Britain.
Other German accomplishments that occurred under Hitler are the creations of the Autobahn and the compact car. Another accomplishment of Hitler was the efficiency of the German State. Unlike our present system here in the United States, Germany ran like a finely tuned machine. Government transportation ran on time or even early. It was said that you could set your watch to the trains. Government, banking, and all other government programs were efficient and effective. Hitler was a dictator and a very demanding one. This level of efficiency made it easier for Hitler to first off bring Germany back to a powerful and prosperous state, and secondly it made it easier for him to retain his power. So long as everything ran efficiently and effectively the people were happy. The result of a happy power base is that Hitler gained a carte blanche, and his people would follow
So in conclusion, yes, he was the leader of a political party that was involved and ran massive crimes against humanity, no denying that, but like I said in my intro, take that out of the equation and look at his leadership and his ability to turn Germany around so quickly........kind of makes me think that the US could do with somebody like Hitler to turn their economy around out of the gutter where it currently is.
As a leader he will never ever be appreciated for his accomplishments for it was the actions of his party from his own orders that he will be marked in history for.
