Essay on Adolf Hitler Evil Personified - 3870 Words

The persona of Adolf Hitler is, without question, an infamous one. He was a historically significant figure who, as national leader of Germany, staged the perpetration of arguably the most despicable acts of genocide in recorded history. Hitler’s role as the architect of the Holocaust places him at the top of the list of history’s villains. By committing atrocities that most of us find beyond comprehension, Hitler has for many people become the definition of evil, an example of absolute malevolence even to those who normally argue they do not believe in an absolute moral code. This twisted perpetrator of unspeakable wickedness has caused many to search for explanation of his evil. No other historical leader has had his motives,†¦show more content†¦To me, the answer to that last question is, at the outset, the only clear-cut one. It is indeed worthwhile to study Hitler. If we do not, if we do not understand how he became who he was or how he came to power, we cannot prevent another Hitler from demeaning and destroying the lives of millions in our own time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ â€Å"These people must not be allowed to find out who I am. They must not know where I came from and who my family is.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Adolf Hitler, 1931 Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunnau am Inn. He was the fourth child of Alois and Klara Hitler, although his three older siblings died before his birth. Adolf was therefore his mother’s oldest and favorite son, and so she favored him over his older half-siblings, and later over his younger siblings, Edmund and Paula. While the ancestry of Adolf’s mother is rather certain, his father, Alois, had a complicated life story which, to some extent, contributed to Adolf’s paranoia and anti-Semitism. Adolf’s father was born as the illegitimate child of Maria Schickelgruber, and despite the best efforts of historians, the identity of Alois’s biological father has never been firmly established. In addition to his mysterious paternity, Alois’s childhood was one marked by neglect. His mysterious father never acknowledged his son, and as a result, Alois bore his mother’s name for most of his life. When his mother’sShow MoreRelated Motives of Adolf Hitler in Audens Epitaph on a Tyrant and September 1, 1939761 Words   |  4 Pages Adolf Hitler was a very powerful man, and had a disturbing vision of how the world should be. W.H. Auden was interested in Adolf Hitler, and this interest can be seen in Auden’s poetry. September 1, 1939 and Epitaph on a Ty rant are two poems in which Auden scrutinizes Hitler’s actions. Auden uses symbolism in these two poems to illustrate the different aspects of Hitler’s life and actions. To begin with, Epitaph on a Tyrant personified Hitler’s obsession with â€Å"perfection of a kind.† The obsessionRead MoreAdolf Hitler And Joseph Stalin1872 Words   |  8 Pagesand the dark. The exact definition of good and evil is up for debate, but there are situations that are well known for being personifications of good and evil. For example, George Washington, Martin Luther King, and Abraham Lincoln are prime examples of the goodness in society. There are, however, prime examples of the evil in the world personified a few men. Examples of these men are Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Both of these guys are known as evil men who rose from humble beginnings to foreverRead More War Creates Social Division, Not Cohesion Essay5403 Words   |  22 Pagespassionate assertion these men knew they had to make, for if they did not now, they may not be able to ever again. Gary Gerstle also made the point that if the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor was one reason for wi llingness to go to war, the evil Adolf Hitler personified was another driving force. Hitlers ruthless aggression towards Germanys neighbors and the brutality of verbal and physical attacks on Jews shocked Americans. (191) As the United States continued to face this dual threat of such powerRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesâ€Å"civilized† states, which affirmed their status by adhering to this growing body of THE GENDERING OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS OF LAW †¢ 123 law. Formal membership in the international community was seen to diminish â€Å"the evils of war† as part of a broader quest for peace and, thus, â€Å"serve the interests of humanity and the ever progressive needs of civilization,† to quote the 1899 language of the Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land. But a Japanese diplomat