was adolf hitler a genius?

I have heard that, although to see news clips of him, etc. it is hard to believe. It is also hard to believe how the normally intelligent Germans (yes, I have a little German in my ancestry) could fall for him. I don't know if he was a genius or just came to Germany at the right (or wrong) time and place.

He had an ability to get people to pay attention to him, maybe just because he was so 'weird' by most standards, people were just curious about what he had to say. Antisemitism was certainly not unusual in Germany, or the world in general (America had some pretty restrictive laws when it came to Jews in some cases), the Germans were reeling from the loss of WWI, the collapse of their economy, etc. They were vulnerable to go for a person who under normal conditions would may been laughed off the stage. But when he could put the blame for everything gone wrong in Germany on the Jews and/or Communists, people listened.

He started out just acting like Jews would be restricted from some activities, occupations, etc. I've never heard this but he may have actual been influenced by American "Jim Crow":laws restricting the activities of African Americans. Then pretty fast, but gradually, Jews had property taken, they were 'relocated' and eventually put into camps and killed.

Its unfortunate how some people with little historical knowledge make such a bold statement about hitlers character, personality and mental state.

No he wasn't a genius in the true sense.

He showed Brilliance in some aspects of his character. Some people state he was a military genius, this he was not. His generals that first used the Blitz Creig were, he took recognition for that fighting style, but it was Heinz Garderian who wrote Actung Panzer that laid the basis for the Germans strategy. He took full control of the german army at the end stages of the war, and failed miserably because he didnt listen to his experienced commanders, Which showed lack of foresight and ignorance. He made some very bad descions and went agaisnt the addvice of his advisors and millitary commanders. Invasion of Russia, D day invassion, Battle of brittan and the closing stages of the war which is to much info.

Intelligent, maybe. Highly intelligent, No! This can be confirmed by people close to him who have added their comments in biogrphies.

Its easy to read one of the many biographies out there to get a snapshot of the real person.

But to call him a genius, and place him in the same stead as Einstien, Gallelao, Davinci is not right, once you read a biography on him you will realise he was a sick puppy.

The only thing that got him to where he was, was his intense hatred, his dillusional mental state, His warped reality of the facts, the money and support from wealthy manufacterers, and an underlying sense of all germans feeling agrieved, and needing someone to unite and restore German pride.

There is a fine line between Genius and insanity.

I'd say neither. He was a man with a great talent for public speaking, a talent he actively worked at. he also had an innate understanding of propaganda and how to use it. He was charismatic, at least to most Germans. He was physically courageous, which was a good tool when dealing with political enemies(the Nazis were not the only ones to use thugs and fighting to combat other parties). He also definitely had some psychological issues. He was self educated on many subjects, and showed no interest in others. He set about to move an entire nation in the direction he wanted it to go, and he succeeded in doing so. Unfortunately he did so at the cost of hurting or killing those he deemed sub human or unworthy of basic human rights. And by the time the war started, he was being pumped full of poisons and drugs by a quack doctor, making his decisions during the war years cost millions in human lives. (on the other hand, that did help bring the war to an end a bit sooner). He's an object lesson in both how far a person can rise by their own efforts, and how dangerous a single man can be.

There are many examples in history that seem to demonstrate that tremendous intelligence isn't required to be a dictator. The social currents of the time, opportunity and being at the right place may have quite a bit to do with it. "(such as taking Advantage of nationalism, antisemitic, capitalist, and communist party)" Did he really take advantage of it or just benefit from it? Even while the nazi party was small there were several characters involved. I dont have complete faith in the great man in history theory that one person alone is responsible for significant events. The things that the party took advantage of werent new either. Racism has been around since long before recorded history. History comes in cycles. Always repeating itself with a slightly different flavor. Its a human flaw to think that the short span of our life time has unique events which have never been seen before or equalled. I think you would be on a better track to identify some of the factors that led to hitler riding the wave to power.

Yes and No.

He is more a good con artist. He saw a people that had potential but needed a push.

Hi my name is Adolf i see you are having problems with vacations. What would you say if i can have you travel 3 hours instead of 10 hours and you are at the beach It will cost you less and you will have more family fun.. WHAM auto bahn is built its a very large highway. Adolf really wanted this so he can move tanks and ammo from one place to another very fast however he didnt tell you this when he was saying vacations.

Next I under stand my fellow germans that you do not have jobs, you can barely feed your family. I also understand my fellow christians while you go hungry the jews are fat and rich. well like a robin hood he gets you to uprise against the jews, take their money, take their food, and kick them out. He told the jews to get out of germany. The part in your history books you dont read about or see is the years, before jews were killed in concentration camps many jews were told to leave, well some didnt want to, would you want to leave your home. well those that would not, or could not leave were killed for not leaving. many jews fled to America but America also said ok enough is enough and no more. research Harbor shut downs and jews turned back.

Well now you have a germany mostly jew free, with highways, gold to fund a fantastic medical system, which was also used to experment on people to make the perfect soldiers and advance medicine which is being used today.

So hitler moved forward and gave most of europe not just germany.

Medicine,

Highways,

and a way for modern day goverments to take natural resources from a people or country by spreading a good reason, we need to be in Iraq to get oil control and to hell with the people already there.

Read British historian Trevor-Roper: "Hitler was a genius, of course, a revolutionary genius. It would be useless to deny that..." Indeed. Only a real genius could rise to any kind of high status, let alone a position of absolute power, if he, like Hitler, was of humble origins, in the old German society of rigid class stratification. True, Hitler's rise owed much to luck e.g. the depression. But there can be no denying the efficacy, even brilliance, of his political approach. He knew the importance of oratory and organization. Likewise, after gaining power, his genius was often unmistakeable. Look how he sized up the western powers, enabling him to remilitarize the Rhineland and take over Austria and Czechoslovakia without a fight. Look how he divided his enemies in 1939, enabling him to conquer Poland without Russian opposition. And then, after routing the western powers in 1940, in part due to Russian neutrality, he turned on Russia, taking much of it without a western front. Of course Hitler goofed at times. But basically his ultimate defeat was due to bad luck--his reich didn't have anywhere near the population and resources of its enemies. What is truly remarkable is not that the reich was beaten but that it got as far as it did, considering how relatively small it was. Only a genius could've propelled it to such a status for any period of time. Essentially, Hitler transformed Germany from a demoralized, bankrupt state to a conquering juggernaut which rolled over most of Europe and, but for certain accidents of geography, could've taken the world. To rise from such lowly origins to such a pinnacle of glory was the work of a genius, beyond doubt.

Hitler was a charismatic madman. His only real power lied in his ability to manipulate people. That fact that he led Germany to the brink of global domination is only a testament to the industrious nature of the German people. He accomplished nothing on his own. He simply pointed a potent industrial machine in a tragically wrong direction.

For proof I would offer the several well-known blunders he made that cost Germany the war. Whenever he took the reins from the hands of his generals, things went wrong.

And to say that Hitler would be a hero if he had been American is one of the most patently absurd statements I have ever heard.

He was an evil genius in that he knew how to outwit his opponents, produced the biggest fraud on a nation in the history of germany and would stop at nothing to achieve his ambition.

Unfortunately all this led to complete disaster for the german people.

Even his so called economic miracle which so many people quote as a sign of his genius was a complete hoax funded by massive loans from American banks which Germany was unable to pay back.

In August 1939 Hitler told his Generals that without war against Poland ,Germany would be bankrupt by 1942.

His genius was like that of Bernard Madoff who lost billions of dollars for his clients who he fooled into thinking for a long time that he was a financial wizard.

The bigger the lie, the bigger the fool.

I do not think so. I do think that he was Intelligent and had the uncanny ability to understand what people wanted I can not say that he was a genius.

Einstein was a genius.

Leonardo was a genius.

Galileo was a genius.

Hitler in far from any of the above.

Read Mein Kampf look at Hitlers life and his plans. Hitler was a big picture thinker not a detailed thinker. In designing his version of the new Berlin with Speer he made designs that were not possible, one of his designs required more marble than what all the world produced in 10 years.

He seemed to borrow bits from others, racial purification Himmler, Gangster tactics from Roehm and Goering. He wanted the jews out of Germany, but then he invaded the countries that the Jews went to and got them all back. He borrowed a majority of his ideas from others, and twisted other ideas to make them his own. He seemed always to be distant to be caught up a deep thoughts, then he would say something without regard if it could be down and his subordinates would manage to do it.

I do not think he was a genius, but driven, ruthless, cunning, and with an uncanny ability to read people.

In the begining he was saying what the people wanted to hear. What the politicans wanted to say but did not dare to say. He said it, and the people followed the true voice who dared to say what should not be said, and he did what he said. Where others had promised he delivered, more followed. I believe that he started something that he soon lost control of, and tried to make things happen by force of mind. He understood weakness, and he saw that weakness in the governments of Europe.

I both agree and disagree. Adolf Hitler was very clever when it came to many things - propaganda was one of his specialities. Also, he was, as you rightly said, clever when he took power in Germany.

However, Hitler had many flaws. He was very vague when he was actually in power - ministers and officials competed for power with him, and his influence. rival factions all wanted the support of the Fuhrer and this led to many departments and ministries refusing to cooperate.

Furthermore, he often refused to listen to the advice of his military officials. He also regularly interrputed and modified his general's plans when it came to conducting the war, which led to mistakes made by the Wehrmacht - the German military. For example, when he invaded the Soviet Union he refused to allow General Paulus, the commander of the German forces at Stalingrad, break out of the surrounding forces of the Red Army and so the army was decimated.

Also, much of Hitler's good fortune came to luck. Firstly, he had the Great Depression when he was coming into power, and without it he would never have seized his oppurtunity. Furthermore, when he invaded Czechoslovakia and re-occupied the Rhineland, he was helped by the leaders of Britain and France's fear of another war.

Overall, I think he was a somewhat intelligent, but also very lucky leader.