australia wrote:You have to realise that he didn't just hate jews. He hated slavs, poles, blacks, gypsy's, homeosexuals, etc. He didn't really like the Italians much either but he tolerated them because Mussolini would spread facism to Northern Africa.
I don't believe that Hitler is a one off. With the right conditions, a person like Hitler can thrive. In todays world conditions, he would never be able to gain popularity. But if you have absolute economic depression(not recession but deep deep depression where there are queues a mile long in freezing cold just for a loaf of bread), extreme high unemployment where is hardly any work, and an ethnic population in the country that have economic prosperity, then a person like Hitler can gain power. People in desperate postions look for hope.
All true, just want to add the one exception: though the prejudice of "the rich Jew" was rampant at the time (which does explain part of the rage you describe), most Jews in Germany at the time were in fact as dirt poor as the rest of the population.
And though what you write about how those who were driven to desperation by the depression is true, it would need to be expanded a little to explain how Hitler also attracted most of the shopkeepers and small business owners -
especially them, actually - whereas (I believe) most of the factory workers stayed true to the Socialdemocrats or Communists (Walter?).
