? most of his biographicalinformation from colleges,

? most of his biographicalinformation from colleges,

? Fest, Joachim.

Hitler. New York: Harcourt BraceAdolf Hitler was one of the most celebrated yetfeared man of his time. Hailed for hisaccomplishments, Hitler ultimately uplifted Germany toits highest realm. Hitler, however, in the eyes ofothers was the anti-Christ.

Fest describes Hitler as abuilder and a wrecker; a creator and a destroyer. Fest discovers Hitlers extraordinary complexpersonality and portrays him as a man of the mostcomplex contradictions in his literary work, Hitler. Fest obtained most of his biographicalinformation from colleges, friends, and family close toHitler from his early years to his suicide. Hitler isshown as an underachiever in his youth, butmagnificently climbed into a position to dominate andcontrol Germany.

Fest wants to show the governmentleader, consummator, and statesman Hitler was toGermany. He also wants the terror and destruction ofHitlers past known. Hitler built Germany to ultimatepower and lead it, head on, into destruction. Festdepicts the horror of Hitlers actions and hopes hisaudience can picture the images that brought tragedy toHitler was a poor academic achiever throughout hisearly life and in his adolescence.

He failed tograduate form highschool(20). He then tried to enrollin the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He failed inhis attempt, but later tried again. This attempt wasalso in vein(28). Hitler became bitter and depressed,Hitler then joined the German army. This is wherehe gained his savage hatred for the Jews. Hitlerbelieved, as many other did, that the Jewish peoplebetrayed them.

Fest states Hitler felt they werestabbing the Fatherland in the back. In Hitlerseyes the blame for WWI rested solely on the shouldersof the Jews, and him and many others wanted revenge forHitler formed the Nazi Party after WWI. Itsprogram was socialism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism. Fest shows Hitler struggled for power as he and hisparty became a political force.

Germans acceptedHitlers views and the party grew rapidly. Since hisideals were so widely accepted, he ran for President ofGermany. Even though Hitler was an under achiever, asa youth, his social skills and public speaking abilityuplifted him to extreme power due to the publicsHitler didnt receive enough votes for Presidentbut he did manage to worm his way into the position ofChancellor. He gained enormous amounts of publicopinion after every speech he gave as Chancellor.

Hitler invokes, the Law of Alleviating the Distress ofPeople, which gave him temporary authority in theland(398-406). Fest tells how Hitler starts takingrevenge on the Jews. He removes them from all civilservice posts and Jews in higher institutions arereduced.

Fest also states how Hitler gained even morepower. He sized union offices throughout Germany,which ended organized labor. He also outlawed theSocial Democratic Party, his biggest opposition. Hitler said the party was hostile to the nation andstate(414).

Other parties dismissed after the SocialDemocrats. This make Hitler and his party in totalHitler wanted to strengthen his country, and toinvoke Nationalism. Fest tells Hitlers achievementsthat ultimately strengthened Germany. Hitler built anetwork of Autobahns, as well as a compact andinexpensive car for the average German. He expandedproduction and curbed unemployment. He built parks andtried to stop pollution.

Hitler introduced programs toincrease social functions like: dances, films, andperformances. Germans were blinded by his achievementsand his plans of power and destruction went unnoticed.Hitler started WWII with his ideal to dominatecountries and add territories to Germany, which theyhad lost after WWI. He didnt stop with lostterritories. He wanted vast amounts of land andnumerous countries. This was the reason for Germanysdownfall. Hitler spread his army over an enormouspopulation and tried to wage war with too manycountries at once.

His actions to dominate the worldlead to Germanies utter destruction.Before Hitlers suicide, when his empire wasfalling around him, he had managed to exact his revengeon the Jewish nationality. Fest explains the horrorcaused by Hitler toward the Jews. Hitler called theJews parasitic germs.

It was his duty to exterminateall Jews and wipe them off the Earth. He had Jewsarrested and sent to concentration camps. Herethousands of Jews were gassed with deadly toxins,others were used in wicked experiments that usuallyresulted in death, and the rest were left to starve. Like Fest, I feel Hitler greatly benefittedGermany, but ultimately destroyed what he had built. Fests work was an unbiased biography about the lifeand times of Hitler.

Fest portrayed Hitlersaccomplishments and the devastation he caused. Moreemphasis was put on the negative aspect of Hitlerslife and the tragedy he caused, but he did cause moredevastation on human life than benefits. Fest feelsthat most individuals dismiss Hitlers anti-Semitismand struggle for world domination as his youthfulfantasies. This is why Hitler is so controversial,some think he is great and others a demon reincarnate. Bibliography: