Hitlers Table Talk - Term Paper Example

 Assignment 1) “I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social inequalities ... my feelings against Americanism are feelings of hatred and deep repugnance ... everything about the behaviour of American society reveals that it's half Judaised, and the other half negrified. How can one expect a State like that to hold together?”  Adolf Hitler believed in oneness – creating a state that would hold itself together because of a unity among the people arising from their roots. According to him, if there were various kinds of people living within a community, they would not be able to survive with each other because of the differences between them that would lead to turbulence. Therefore, he stated that America was a ‘decayed’ country, or a country that was rotting its way towards development because of the different religions and classes that existed within the country. He talks about negative feelings of hatred and repugnance towards Jews and Negroes or black people which portrays inhumane traits about his character – it merely goes to show that his hatred towards different kind of people within a society living together was irrational simply because he never was able to understand the kind of strong impact that such a diverse society could have on each other as well as rest of the world, and the kind of harmony that it could bring about by unifying itself. America today is one of the most diverse and developed countries in the world – something that goes against Hitler’s ideas of a perfect state. 2) “I shall never come to terms with the Christian lie . . .”, “Our epoch will certainly see the end of the disease of Christianity”. There have been many philosophers and critics that have denied Hitler of being Christian; he often spoke against the Church and the religion of Christianity as in his comments in the Table Talks but despite this, there are many proofs of him being a god fearing Christian and many also state that his comments were merely a ruse for the Nazis. He wanted to create a reign where he was the man that people would fear and feel terror when they heard of him; he desired to be the omnipotent figure in the lives of all the people around the world and thus created propaganda of hatred towards Christianity as a religion. However, there is no evidence of him creating a ruse but there is reference in his other writings and manuscripts about him having faith in God and intertwining and basing his Nazi beliefs upon ideas of Christian theism. From his words, one might be under the impression that Hitler believed Christianity to be a disease inflicted upon the people and that it should end as fast as possible however, in another literal translation from his talks in German, it boils down to this: “I have never found pleasure in maltreating others, even if I know it isn't possible to maintain oneself in the world without force. Life is granted only to those who fight the hardest. It is the law of life: Defend yourself! The time in which we live has the appearance of the collapse of this idea. It can still take 100 or 200 years. I am sorry that, like Moses, I can only see the Promised Land from a distance.” He thus talks about the necessary evil of making use of force rather than Christianity as a ‘disease’ to be wiped out. 3) “Stalin is one of the most extraordinary figures in world history. He began as a small clerk, and he has never stopped being a clerk. Stalin owes nothing to rhetoric. He governs from his office, thanks to a bureaucracy that obeys his every nod and gesture. It's striking that Russian propaganda, in the criticisms it makes of us, always holds itself within certain limits. Stalin, that cunning Caucasian, is apparently quite ready to abandon European Russia, if he thinks that a failure to solve her problems would cause him to lose everything. Let nobody think Stalin might re-conquer Europe from the Urals! It is as if I were installed in Slovakia, and could set out from there to re-conquer the Reich. This is the catastrophe that will cause the loss of the Soviet Empire.” Hitler talks about Stalin and states that Stalin had an ample number of opportunities to avert the war in 1939 and establish peace by merely providing Poland with the guarantee of being safe. On the other hand, Stalin also had the option of seeking recluse with Britain and France and thus pose a threat to Hitler that even if he would invade Poland and be able to establish his reign there, the rest of Europe would be against him. However, he took the decision to partition Poland and offer a friendly hand to Hitler at the same time in order to stop his aggression and carry out the negotiation. Leaving all of Poland for Germany was not an option for the Soviets as Germany threatened to turn Eastern Polish territories into puppet regimes to foment another threat for the Soviets. Stalin thus was a cunning fellow, able to please all sides by keeping himself safe from any kind of failure even though Britain, France and Germany were on the brink of a massive struggle with each other. 4) “An uneducated man, on the other hand, runs the risk of going over to atheism (which is a return to the state of the animal)...” This comment makes clear that Hitler believed in God, whether or not that was his belief in Christianity is a debate still mooted upon by critics’ world over, however he was a sure god fearing man with a belief in a supreme divine being that governed all men upon earth. Hitler was very prone towards education and awareness and despised those that were not aware, especially did not have a set faith in something. That went to show their nonchalance towards life and the callous manner in which they were living. He states that atheism, or non-belief in God might as well make a man an animal and not separate him from the same because animals do not have thoughts or beliefs in his opinion and are not educated or earn respect from others within a society. In order to earn respect and be educated and have repute within society, a man must be God fearing for believing in God converts his beliefs and transports them towards a single direction of justice. Hitler said: “The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and co-operation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life....” This goes to prove the tremendous assuage that he posted on religion and how a man would be no different than an animal if he was not educated regarding the same. 5) “We do not judge merely by artistic or military standards or even by purely scientific ones. We judge by the spiritual energy which a people is capable of putting forth, which will enable it in ten years to recapture what is has lost in a thousand years of warfare. I intend to set up a thousand-year Reich and anyone who supports me in this battle is a fellow-fighter for a unique spiritual-- I would say divine-- creation.... Rudolf Hess, my assistant of many years standing, would tell you: If we have such a leader, God is with us.” This particular comment of Hitler’s depicts the kind of strong ambition that he held for himself within the confines of his mind; the plans and strategies that he had drawn up in order to truly rule the world, despite the despotic manner in which he did the same. Any person that would have read the entire book about his table talks would understand that Hitler was in no way an atheist and on the contrary, believed a great deal in God. He believed that God had managed to create a strong hold over His men and that was what Hitler was set out to do. He talks about the spiritual side of a man by stating that if one puts all his faith and energy into something that he wants to do - in this case, follow and be a part of Hitler’s reign – would be able to do so quite easily, with some concentration and pure belief. His intention was to establish something that the world would be a part of and remember long after he was gone, a ‘thousand year Reich’, and all these thoughts arose from the high respect that he had for Jesus Christ and His teachings. "If anyone can lay claim to God's help, then it is Hitler, for without God's benevolent fatherly hand, without his blessing, the nation would not be where it stands today. It is an unbelievable miracle that God has bestowed on our people." - Minister Rust’s speech to mass meeting of German Christians, June 1933. Works Cited Hitler, Adolf. Hitler's Table Talk,1941-1944: With an Introductory Essay On the Mind Of Adolf Hitler by H.R.Trevor-Roper. [S.l.]: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1953. Print. Read More