In the days of increased social consciousness, it is seen as poor taste to mention Adolph Hitler with anything less than sheer contempt. The man was, after-all, responsible for one of the most gruesome and barbaric periods of modern history. Well over six million people died per his orders. However, Adolph Hitler can realistically be viewed as an evil hero, because of his contribution to the fields of psychology and medicine.
In the wake of the First World War, Germany was left a decrepit shell of the super power that it once was. The Treaty of Versailles left the nation depleted of resources and low on morale. The international community and the League of Nations turned their backs on Germany. Enter a young idealistic leader, with fire in his belly and passion in his speech. Over the next decade, he would rise through the ranks of the German government and restore pride and nationality to a country that so sorely needed it. Hitler made people proud to be Germans again, made them proud to go to work each day. He achieved all of this through his understanding of human psychology.
Any psychologist could make quite a career for himself studying the methodology of Hitler. The principals of groupthink, propaganda, and authoritarianism, were very much in full view for about two decades. How could any man be persuaded to round up and butcher herds of his fellow man? How could any decent person look upon a few races with such vile contempt as to wish them death and suffer?.
Perhaps the issue of psychology can best be illustrated in Triumph of the Will, a bone chilling black and white collection of real footage as Hitler toured the countryside. Young boys, donning tools, such as shovels and axes, stood for hours at attention to hear the speeches of Hitler. The boys made of a civilian work force, and throughout the tape, seemed literally drunk with enthusiasm for serving Germany. In order to channel propaganda, Hitler forced teachers to teach Nazi principles and rewrote history books to conform everyone to his version of past events.
