Hitler's Charisma Read Free Page B

Marxism,” he said. And whilst he said he had at one time been a “drummer,” he now “demanded for myself the leadership in political struggle.” As a consequence, he announced that he was the “hero” who would save Germany: “I demanded that the leadership of the organisation for which we all longed and for which you inwardly long just as much, should go to the hero who, in the eyes of the whole of German youth, is called to it.” 24
    Hitler’s supporters in Bavaria saw his conduct at the trial as evidence of their leader’s strength of character. “I said to myself that he’s come out of it well and behaved decently before the court,” says Emil Klein. “It’s important that a man stand up for himself, even if he is doing something wrong, and I had the impression that Hitler stood up for himself at this trial.” 25 The court case was widely reported and Hitler became known to large numbers of people across Germany for the first time. Many of them now judged, as Emil Klein had done, that he was a man of integrity, bravery and courage—a “charismatic hero” in fact. This transformation took place largely because of Hitler’s defiant conduct at his trial for high treason, and in the face of compelling evidence that the coup itself had been badly misjudged.
    But Hitler knew before he spoke at the trial that it was likely that the judges would go easy on him. The presiding judge, Georg Neithardt, had already shown in a previous case 26 that he was sympathetic to Hitler and the Nazi cause, and Hitler was also aware that he was sitting on potentially embarrassing revelations about Kahr and the Bavarian authorities. Hadn’t Kahr himself agreed to participate in this act of “high treason” in front of an audience at the Bürgerbräukeller?
    For those privy to this knowledge, the lenient verdict of the court could not have come as a surprise. The London
Times
reported that “Munich is chuckling over the verdict” which proved “that to plot against the constitution of the Reich is not considered a serious crime in Bavaria.” 27
    Hitler received the minimum sentence possible—five years—and was likely to be back on the streets of Munich much earlier than that, released on probation. Meanwhile, he would benefit from his time in prison. For whilst incarcerated he would spend his days plotting how to portray himself—unequivocally—as a charismatic “hero” with the “mission” to save Germany.

4

DEVELOPING A VISION
    In order to be perceived as truly charismatic, a political leader must possess a coherent vision of the future—a picture of how the world ought to be, based on a special insight into the nature of reality. For as Max Weber said, a charismatic leader needs to be not just a “hero” but a “prophet.” 1 In 1924 Hitler attempted to outline his own credentials in this regard in
Mein Kampf
(“My Struggle”) and despite the crudity of the work, despite the appalling writing style,
Mein Kampf
is of paramount importance in understanding the development of Hitler as a charismatic leader.
    Hitler had faced problems three years before when senior figures in the Nazi party had flirted with the idea of a partnership with Professor Dickel, author of
Resurgence of the West
. And though Hitler had seen off that challenge and emerged with his authority enhanced, the memory of how this “intellectual” had shown up the paucity of Hitler’s political thinking must still have been raw.
Mein Kampf
was designed to show that Hitler was no mere beer-hall agitator, but a political thinker with a wide-ranging vision.
    The book certainly does present a coherent vision of the world, albeit a horrifying one. To Hitler, we live in a cold universe where the only constantis struggle. And if you cannot win in this struggle then you deserve to die. There is no moral structure beyond the harsh reality of the fight between different people for supremacy. “Those who want to live,” said Hitler, “let