Question 1- A case study on Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler, one of the most relived and renowned figures in history, lived between April 1889 to April 1945. Among the most astonishing facts about him is how he leads the Holocaust and World War 2, that lead to deaths of at least 40M people (Longerich, 2019). He has been and still is, subject of television shows, countless documentaries and political books. As Longerich (2019) puts it, Hitler is commonly referred to as the most notorious political dictator’s in the 20th century, who led Nazi political party and who often took advantage of woes in the economy and infringement in Germany’s politics to gain total power over Germany in the early 1930s.
In his early life, Hitler chose to pursue Arts and moved from his hometown Linz to Vienna, to pursue this dream. He initially got rejected in Linz by Academy of Fine Arts in the city, tainting unsatisfactory work. This remarks caught him off-guard. As described in Volker’s biography in 1939, Hitler believed he was set for success in the Art industry (Sarah Pruitt, 2019). This turn of events prompted Hitler to lead a lowly life to the point of living in a homeless shelter before he began earning some money by making water and oil paintings. He is said to have a nook for reading, as he often multitasked reading and painting. His stay at Vienna and adoration for Vienna’s mayor at the time- Karl Lueger is said to have shaped his oratorical and anti-semitic mindset and skills. He later moved to Munich and used his experiences and frustrations as an artist as the myth-making to drive his political ambition. At the same time, his growing art career came to a halt when he joined World War 1 as a volunteer- even after being deemed weak and incapable of firing weapons in the military regime. Some of Hitler’s artwork is labelled controversial, with a recent example being an action event that took place in 2015, which fetched over 450,000 dollars in Nuremberg- with the auctioneers marking the work historically significant. Others have labelled his work as fraud some and unauthentic. It is, however, illegal to sell any of his work that does not have the Nazi Symbol (Sarah Pruitt, 2019)
Hitler’s rose to be a political leader in 1933, upon joining Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP) party which propelled him to power. Hitler was one of the party’s speakers, and this notably put him on the forefront. He asked to be made leader, or otherwise leave. His willingness to use violence in leadership and to recruit people who would do the same aided him in the administration. The party, in the 1920s, participated in electoral battles with Hitler being at the forefront. The name later changed to Nazi Party, which opposed the democratic post-war government, Republic of Weimar and Treaty of Versailles respectively. Popular attributes linked to the Nazi Party are anti-marxism, extreme nationalism, pan-Germanism and anti-Semitism. Nazi became the biggest party in Reichstag through Hitler’s lead, they grew into a politically deceptive, acute and cunning group and became a non-majority but plural powerhouse in the republic of Weimar-1933 (David Michael,2016)
Adolf Hitler applied Aristocratic type of leadership as his domineering attribute. He endeavoured to give commands solely, with authority extending downwards to the appointed leaders. The superiors have given the power to dispense orders, and the subordinates the mandate to follow them to bits. Others term his leadership as ‘Laissez faire’ dictatorship, with him giving out a goal to be met and subordinates delivering, irrespective of which method used. However, he was noticeably micromanaging the military to detail, when he took over High Command mandate. The generals had no option but to comply (Takala, 2016)
Hitler often resented what he called ‘twin evils’, Judaism and communism. He emphasized his plan of dispensing them, in the process, unite Germany as a country.
How he gained and kept control over Germany
His ambitions
Achievements
The dark side of his leadership
Hitler’s Legacy
References
Longerich, P. (2019). Hitler: A Biography. Oxford University Press, USA.
Kreder, J. A. (2017). Analysis of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016. Chap. l. reV., 20, 1.
Takala, T., & Auvinen, T. (2016). The power of leadership storytelling: Case of Adolf Hitler. Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, 14.