Adolf Hitler was a very naughty boy, and one of the worst individuals in history.
He killed a lot of people and… you know the drill.
But many are of the opinion - including numerous historians - that we can’t understand this
guy at all.
He’s so evil, and so monstrous, that we aren’t even on the same wavelength as him.
He’s not human, and since we are human (well, most of us are), how can we possibly understand
Hitler’s reasoning?
Worse, there’s this weirdo online who has a YouTube channel that’s pushing the idea
that Hitler wasn’t actually completely insane.
I mean, a lot of people are complaining about this.
Just listen to one of his commenters:
“Please quit constantly defending madman Hitler.
It is something you do in nearly every episode and it comes off kind of sketchy after a while.
I'm sure Fanboys are going to have a lot to say about this opinion of mine.
I really love the detailed assessment of very important campaigns of world war II but the
constant defense of Hitler's sanity worries me.”
That’s right!
This YouTuber must be a secret Nazi or closet Fascist or something else I do not like but
cannot define.
“I have no problem with him explaining in detail events of the Stalingrad campaign or
any other campaign.
But if you repeatedly make the point that Hitler was [sane] you are playing to The freaks
and weirdos that are out there on the fringes.
The neo-nazis and anti-semites.
That's why I'm a little put off by the narrator constantly promoting Hitler's sanity.
If you believe he was [sane] in his war maneuvers then you could also believe he was [sane]
in his desire to wipe out races that he felt were inferior.
I don't think that tik feels that way but people like that who are watching these episodes
may get the idea that he's in line with them.”
So, by rejecting the ‘Madman Hitler’ idea, this YouTuber is “defending Hitler”, and
is pandering to the neo-Nazis and anti-Semites, and might even be a closet Nazi himself, and
might be saying that Hitler’s desire to wipe out groups of people was “sane”.
I mean, this is pretty damning stuff, so I wonder what the YouTuber’s response would
be to this.
[Pause.]
Oh nuts!
It’s me, isn’t it.
[sigh] Okay, let me get my To-Do list out.
Let’s see: get a Swastika tattoo on my forehead, go to my secret Nazi occult meeting on the
moon, teach my dog to do the Hitler salute, spell out to the YouTube censors that this
list is satirical…
Oh, and here it is: point out that calling Hitler ‘a madman’ spares him of responsibility
for what happened and lets him off the hook for the crimes he committed.
[Pause.]
Huh, I guess I’m not a secret Nazi then.
Well, in that case I’ll scrap my plans to be the next head of the World Economic Forum.
Okay, let me explain.
If Hitler is “insane”, then that means that he’s got a mental disability.
And since we don’t chastise disabled people for being disabled - we actually feel sorry
for them because it’s not their fault that they’re disabled - then, we must, therefore,
feel sorry for Hitler for being disabled, since it’s not his fault.
And everything he did can be dismissed as an “accident” since his disability was
what drove him to do what he did.
And he can’t take responsibility for his actions since he couldn’t control his disability.
Therefore, if he was a ‘madman’, what happened wasn’t his fault.
So the irony of all this is that those of you who are saying I’m “defending Hitler”,
are themselves defending Hitler.
You are excusing him of his crimes, and it’s actually me who is damning him.
Rather than saying that Hitler was a madman and that he should have been in a mental hospital,
I’m saying that he was sane, and that he was responsible for his actions, and that
this makes what he did that much worse.
He did what he did based on his core beliefs, not by accident or by some disability.
So, I think, instead of being put in a mental hospital, Hitler should be put in jail, or
sent to the gallows.
I think he’s a criminal and is responsible for what happened, not someone we should feel
sympathy for.
The same applies to the neo-Nazis of today; people are quick to call them ‘insane’
or whatever, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true, or the right strategy.
I think the ideology of National Socialism is bad and has corrupted these people.
They’re misguided.
They have fallen for the ideology for various reasons, but by explaining why their core
beliefs are incorrect, we can convert them away from National Socialism so they can be
normal people again.
And some have actually done that - they’ve watched my videos on National Socialism and
realized that I actually had a point, and then they stopped being Nazi or Fascist.
(And yes, that has actually happened.
I don’t want to name any names, but if they’re willing to say it, there might be a couple
of them in the comments below.)
Whereas, I think by dismissing them as insane and pushing them away (or just “punching
a Nazi”), you’re just going to radicalise them and make the problem worse.
“I don't really agree with your central point, but I certainly enjoy being challenged…
Having said that, your most central point of all, that the "madman Hitler" routine is
at best lazy, is spot on.
The logic of Nazism is compelling to people to this day and needs to be understood.
Dismissing it makes it considerably more powerful in the underground and that has consequences,
aside from simply being wrong.
I cannot thank you enough for your work on this point.”
And if Hitler was a Madman, why did so many people support him?
“Although I totally despise Hitler and the Nazis, I've always believed it's a mistake
to dismiss Hitler as "insane" or a "madman".
This is far too simplistic in understanding who this man was, and how he was able to come
to power in Germany and do all the things that he did.”
By dismissing Hitler and National Socialism as insane, what people are doing is opening
the door to misinterpretations of history.
Despite everyone calling each other “Fascist”, nobody knows what the definition of Fascism
is.
And the reason why is because they think that if they read up about this ideology, they’ll
somehow get converted into being a Fascist and then end up being Hitler.
Well, no, that won’t happen.
Secondly, Hitler was a National Socialist, not a Fascist.
And yes, there is a difference between the two ideologies, even though Wikipedia and
many historians can’t distinguish the two, or even clearly define either of them.
They can’t define them because they’ve dismissed them as insane ideologies that are
unfathomable to normal human beings.
Only monsters can understand these ideologies, apparently, which is why anyone who does understand
them (like me) is instantly dismissed as crazy, or insane, or a secret Nazi and a monster...
Well, I think this is a lazy narrative at best, and deceitful at worst.
The reason they’re willing to do this is because they’re pushing their own ideological
agenda.
Also, by dismissing Hitler as a monster-raving loony bourgeoisie, what you’re doing is
saying “he’s not human, he’s a monster, and since none of us are monsters, Hitler
was a one-off, and such things will never happen again”.
Well, I’ve got news for you.
Hitler was a human being.
What he did can happen again, and has happened multiple times in history.
From Lenin to Stalin, to Mao, to Pol Pot, as well as North Korea and modern day China,
we see the exact same things playing out again and again.
Persecution of the Judeo-Bourgeoisie, concentration camps, kidney farming, and mass starvation.
History repeats, and the reason it does is because we’ve dismissed Hitler (and others)
as some mythical monsters who we just can’t possibly understand.
No, they are human and we can understand them, and it means that any human being can become
the next Hitler, and that we’re all just as capable of committing the crimes that were
committed before, because they were committed by human beings.
“I don't think people brand Hitler as a madman because they are lazy, or that they
are trying to hide something.
My suspicion is that they simply cannot accept that he was a rational man but that his rationality
led him down some evil pathways that resulted in horrific outcomes.”
“They cannot accept that any reasonably intelligent person can manoeuvre their thinking
into what became the Third Reich, because to believe that is to believe any of us could
become Hitler.
That sort of thinking is just too much for a lot of people and thus it is better to simply
assume he was a loon.”
But while Hitler wasn’t a madman (and therefore was responsible for his crimes) that doesn’t
necessarily mean that he didn’t make a bunch of stupid decisions throughout the war.
And, since I’m saying he didn’t make all the stupid decisions that the German generals
said he did, I must, therefore, be defending Hitler, right?
“Hi Tik, Long time subscriber here.
I just wanted to tell you that its a pity you spend so much energy to convince (also
yourself?) the audience that the revisionist view that Hitler was right (and the general
staff wrong) is the correct one.
It takes away form the good work you do providing historical content at an umpresedented high
level, never seen before in such visual documentary format.
When it comes to Hitler, as much as it may look difficult for you to believe, he had
no grand strategy objectives nor good grasp of tactical flexibility to achieve them.”
No, he did have grand strategic objectives - he wanted to take the land and resources
of the East (Lebensraum) for reasons I’ve explained in detail in several videos, including
this one, backed by sources at the bottom of the screen (link in the description).
You may not have watched these videos because you are under the false impression that TIK
doesn’t understand politics or economics (a view promoted by blatant ideologues pushing
their own biassed agenda).
But by saying that Hitler had no grand strategic objectives and his ideology cannot be defined,
you have confirmed that it is YOU who doesn’t understand politics or economics, or history.
Don’t “stick to tanks” - educate yourself.
“The simple proof is that, if Germany had no oil and Hitler was right to go to the Caucasus
to get it, why didnt he just provide another panzer corp to Rommel in 1942 to get the Egyptian
and Middle Eastern oil while also capturing Malta?
[blah blah blah]...”
Well, if you hadn’t dismissed the economics and politics, you would understand.
“Literally watch any of the previous videos on oil, logistics and everything else.
The Afrika Korps could barely be supplied as is, and "more forces" would just make their
overall situation even worse.
Besides, the middle east didn't have much oil at the time unless you drive all the way
to South Iraq and Iran, then somehow transport it back across the Mediterranean when the
axis didn't have much shipping capacity and infrastructure for that anyway.
Not sure why you're against an objective view of what [...] Hitler, [and] his generals actually
said and done.
TIK is only presenting the history, and then it's up to you to make of it what you wish”
And this is Geky’s high-IQ response:
“I think you are confused”
Great response bruh!
In a nutshell, Hitler was the one who decided that Autarky was the way to go, which meant
he needed Lebensraum (living space in the East), which brought him into conflict with
most of the world.
Hitler was ultimately responsible for all this.
However, his generals helped him along.
They then later claimed their innocence, and blamed everything on Hitler.
And since Hitler was dead, he wasn’t there to defend himself or explain why they were
wrong.
I’ve taken the view that, while Hitler did make some bad military decisions, a lot of
the bad decisions were actually made by his generals who then blamed ‘Madman Hitler’
instead of admitting their own mistakes.
But, of course, this has led some to jump to false conclusions.
“I love your videos I have been watching all of them!
However, there is one issue that irks me and which you keep bringing up again, and again,
and again ... "Madman Hitler".
According to you, all the mistakes made by the Germans were made by his subordinates.
[I never said that.]
Yes, all of them, [I never said that.]
whether that be tactical or strategic, whether by Corps Commanders (Heim, Seydlitz), Army
Commanders (Paulus), Army Group Commanders (von Weichs) or the Chief-of-Staff of the
OKH (Halder).
I have yet to hear you blame Hitler for anything or even acknowledge that as Commander-in-Chief,
the ultimate responsibility lies with him.”
The ultimate responsibility lies with Hitler.
He started the war, and led the European Axis powers to a path of destruction.
He also did make bad military decisions.
However, his generals were not innocent, and a lot of myths have crept into the narrative.
Let’s take Barbarossa for example.
I did a poll a couple months back where I asked: “How could Germany have beaten the
Soviet Union in 1941?”
The first option was “By going straight for Moscow (Halder's strategy)”, the second
option was “By going straight for the Caucasus (Hitler's strategy)”, and the third option
was “By retreating all the way to Berlin (Manstein's strategy)”.
Now, many of you took this poll seriously, and were confused by the Manstein plan.
You know - ‘How can retreating all the way to Berlin help you win the war?’
Exactly!
That’s why I put it in there!
This poll was tongue-in-cheek!
“...it’s a reference to how Manstein always suggested giving ground [to] the Red Army
before counterattacking.
Hitler wanted to just keep the land captured because he considered it economically vital,
both to Germany and the Soviet Union.”
And as lots of you pointed out, none of these options were really great, and many said that
they couldn’t have won now matter what they did.
Arguably the Caucasus option was probably the best in theory, but it’s logistically
impossible.
They struggled to supply their armies in the Caucasus in 1942, and that’s after improving
their logistics behind the lines over the previous year.
So, there’s no chance of this strategy winning in 1941, unless the Soviet Union collapsed
in the first few weeks, which was what Hitler hoped.
As Alex said:
“TIK a year ago I could have said A or B, but after your series I don't know.
Honestly, you opened my eyes on the whole logistics issues.
Battles are won in the battlefield, wars with logistics.”
But if you listen to Halder or the mainstream narrative (up until a few years ago), they
would have told you that going straight for Moscow was the best option, and that they
would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for that meddling Madman Hitler.
[Pause.]
No, it’s too cartoonish.
Hitler takes ultimate responsibility for having an autarkic economic policy that sent him
to war with the Soviet Union, which he didn’t have enough oil to win, which meant that they
had to choose from a handful of bad strategies, which Halder then dabbled with and ultimately
lost.
Halder is to blame for some of this, Hitler is to blame as well, and the same applies
to other generals and for other campaigns.
[Pause] His generals weren’t innocent - is basically the point here.
As Mango explains so eloquently:
“[The] Madman hitler thing was from the generals to save their asses at the end of
the war”
And there’s enough evidence to hang Hitler even if he didn’t make any mistakes in the
military campaigns (which he did), so let’s just look at what actually happened and stop
telling false narratives that make the generals or other ideologies appear innocent.
And ultimately, that’s what I’m trying to do here.
Maybe I don’t always get it right, but I’m challenging the old narratives for the right
reasons.
[Pause.]
Also, here is a long, but good quote, from historian Ian Kershaw who holds a similar
view on the ‘Madman Hitler’ idea.
“But although the strains of the last phase of the war took their toll on him, there is
no convincing evidence that his mental capacity was impaired.
Hitler’s rages and violent mood-swings were inbuilt features of his character, their frequency
in the final phase of the war [was] a reflection of the stress from the rapidly deteriorating
military conditions and his own inability to change them, bringing, as usual, wild lashings
at his generals… whom he could lay the blame that properly began at his own door.”
“In looking to the loss of ‘genius’ through pressures of overwork inappropriate
to Hitler’s alleged natural talent for improvisation, Speer was offering a naive and misleading
explanation of Germany’s fate, ultimately personalizing it in the ‘demonic’ figure
of Hitler.
The adoption of such a harmfully over-burdensome style of working was no chance development.
It was the direct outcome of an extreme form of personalized rule which had already by
the time war began seriously eroded the more formal and regular structures of government
and military command that are essential in modern states.
No other war leader - not Churchill, Roosevelt, or even Stalin - was so consumed by the task
of running military affairs, so unable to delegate authority.
The breakdown of governmental structures in Germany had gone yet further than their erosion
in the Soviet state under Stalin’s despotism.
The reins of power were entirely held in Hitler’s hands.
None existed… that could bypass the Führer.
All vital measures, both in military and in domestic affairs, needed his authorization.
There were no overriding coordinating bodies - no war cabinet, no politburo.
But Hitler, forced entirely on to the defensive in running the war, was now often almost paralysed
in his thinking, and often in his actions.”
“Far more gifted individuals than Hitler would have been overstretched and incapable
of coping with the scale and nature of the administrative problems involved in the conduct
of a world war.”
Friends, Romanians, countrymen, I have come to bury Hitler, not to praise him.
But I can’t bury him in lies.
So don’t confuse my rejection of the Madman Hitler myth as a defence of Hitler - it may
seem that way when you don’t understand the reason why I’m doing it.
But blaming Hitler for everything lets his generals off the hook and leads us to conclude
that Hitler was a Madman who was just misunderstood and should be forgiven because of his mental
disability.
No, not happening.
And now I’ve got to go to my secret Nazi occult meeting on the moon, so I’m going
to leave it there.
Thanks for watching, bye for now.