Adolph Hitler - Speeches and Rise to Power
Hitler's Oratory Not the Sign of a Madman but of Great Manipulator
Mar 16, 2009
When Hitler’s contemporaries in Britain and the US saw newsreels of his speeches, they saw a gesticulating, wild-eyed man shouting and apparently raging uncontrollably. Today, as then, such film clips create the image of a madman. However, like any brief sound byte, these snippets give a false impression.
Hitler Was Not a Lunatic
Hitler was certainly a megalomaniac, power-hungry, and so obsessed with racial purity that he had no qualms in exterminating millions of innocents. These gross crimes against humanity were, however, clearly and coldly reasoned and cannot be excused as the actions of a raving lunatic.
Hitler’s speeches, far from revealing his insanity, are examples of his careful, clear-sighted planning, and intelligent (if Machiavellian) strategies in communication and audience manipulation.
Hitler the Orator
Hitler was a natural orator. His first public utterance, a fiery rebuttal from the back row of a point made in a Worker’s Party meeting, so impressed the party leader, Anton Drexler, that he sought Hitler out to recruit him. According to Marshall Cavendish in History of World War I, Drexler told a colleague, “Goodness, he's got a big mouth. We could use him," and very shortly appointed Hitler manager of propaganda. As spokesman for the party, Hitler soon challenged for leadership and changed its name to the Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) Party.
Hitler Practiced his Oratorical Skills
There is evidence that Hitler honed his skills as orator. According to Chris Hick of Munich Walk Tours, there are extant photos taken by Hitler’s best friend and official photographer Heinrich Hoffman of Hitler practicing gestures to one of his tape-recorded speech. Hitler had ordered him to destroy them but Hoffman disobeyed. Like many good public speakers, Hitler prepared and practiced his speeches, often in front of a mirror.
Audience Manipulation
The few seconds of seemingly hysterical ranting that are preserved in old newsreels do not convey the full extent of audience manipulation in a Hitler speech. Many of Hitler’s speeches were made in beer halls such as the Hofbrauhaus where he first outlined the party policy to a crowd of 2000. Beer Hall speeches were a long-established tradition in German politics.
Beer would flow freely and the mood of the audience might change considerably over the course of the evening. Hitler would use these conditions cleverly. He would often address a crowd for two hours, commencing in a calm, friendly manner, winning the crowd’s approval with his precise, logical arguments that took his opponents statements and cut them into shreds.
As the audience warmed to him and steadily got drunker, Hitler’s voice became mesmeric. Chris Hicks explains that this was no accident. Hitler was extremely interested in mesmerism (hypnosis) as was Hess, and employed a voice-trainer who had studied mesmerism.
By the time Hitler started to rant and rave, the crowd was ready for it. His listeners had been led through the movements of an oral symphony and this was the final rich crescendo that would inspire them to action.
The Speeches of Hitler as Fuhrer
Once in power, Hitler has the resources of the state at his disposal. He built impressive public domains, employed grand ritual, mythic symbolism, and displays of unity and power to boost the nation’s self-esteem and confidence and his own position as undisputed leader. His spectacular public appearances were orchestrated and his entrances carefully timed.
Hitler was a master of self-presentation and audience manipulation . Far from being the spittle-flinging loony preserved on film, Hitler was a clinical strategist who used a range of devices, including his carefully designed speeches, to woo his audiences and intimidate his enemies.
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