Did I miss something in my WW II history regarding Hitler?

[Bullseye07]

As others have said, Hitler was a great leader with Terrible ideals and beliefs. The bigger issue I see is that this is absolutely not a discussion that should be had in lower level education. Most kids won't be able to differentiate between a good leader and a horrible person and will leave the class thinking that the history books are wrong about Hitler.

Not even close.

Edit: Sorry I thought your post said THE most evil man in history.

He was absolutely one of the most evil human beings ever to walk the earth.

So who's the most evil person?

[Flex]

I'd give him top 5. My book:

1. Alexander the Great
2. Alexander the Great's dad
3. Stalin
4. Hitler

Whoa, I think Vlad and Genghis Khan need a mention. You know that a huge percentage of Asia still shares DNA because Khan took advantage of so many women?

[DTala]

Hitler was maniacal and crazy as a s***house rat. IF you ever watched his speeches he would tremble and roll his eyes back in his head like a "touched" preacher. The German people were in just the right mood to accept his promise of redemption and rebuild.

I personally have zero respect for this mass murderer of millions of men, women, children, and babies. Zero.

[Crazy Horse]

There are several evil men throughout history, but surely Hitler is top 5. I'm curious who you rank above him?

Ahhh........never mind. Just saw your edit

Not sure how Hilter isn't #1....

1) Hitler
2) Stalin
3) Pol Pot
4) Ishii Shiro

[Gunnyart]

He was extremely successful because he was so charismatic. Some might confuse that with being a great leader.

[txhunter007]

So, I consider myself something of a history buff and often discuss history with both of my boys who show a similar passion and can hold their own in a discussion on the subject.

Yesterday my 12 year old comes home and tells me he had an interesting conversation with a "not be named adult" at the school yesterday while having a group discussion on racism. The "not be named adult" proceeded to tell the group of boys Hitler was a great leader and good for his country until be got mixed in with the racist at the end of WWII.

Needless to say I was a little floored and asked him if he was sure the"not to be named adult" said Hitler and not Hillary or someone else. He said nope, Hilter and proceeded to tell the "not to be named" adult that was stupid and Hitler was a Nazi from the get go.

So, my question is did I miss something in regards to Hitler's being a great leader? The only thing I can think of is rallying his people behind a cause. Any other thoughts?

Also, would I be out of line send the said "not to be named adult" a copy of good WWII History Book and a copy of Mein Kempf with a note saying there is not greatness with this guy.

I can almost see what the "not to be named adult" could have been trying to say. Hitler was fantastic for Germany (rebuilding) for a short while but was always a racist and a terrible person. He was Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1938. He didnt get "mixed in with racists", he was the racist. He was also crazy and got even worse in the end. He was commanding ghost regiments and divisions against the russians just before he died. He did all sorts of nasty and horrible things. A Harry Potter movie quote might explain (not sure which movie), when the headmaster is refering to the main bad guy (voldermet or something?) "He did great things, but they were terrible". The guy was never a good or decent human.

[Flex]

Also, Hitler was technically "a great leader" Took Germany from ruins and united the people, boosted economy, and became a super power in a short time. However his ego, mental instability, racist ideology, and twisted psyche only got worse as his power increased.

Then throw in horrible "friends" and advisors, him having anybody who disagreed with him taken out, and a shady Dr that had him on an unbelievable neverending cocktail of drugs. It snowballed into WW2 and all of the other despicable things he did.

Luckily he was an awful military strategist. If he had let his generals take over operations he may have taken over the world.

[Hocks & horns]

Hitler was not a great leader but a great speaker, which he practiced constantly. He didn't start becoming racist until the death of his mother who was being treated by there Jewish doctor. Hitler had failed at just about everything he did until after WWI. Germany was in bad shape and he managed to be in the right place at the right time. He basically became the spokesperson for the group he was spying on after standing up during one of there meetings. The people around Hitler where the leaders he was the preacher.

[tvc184]

Germany was suffering from hyperinflation. It might be equivalent today of a loaf of bread costing $500. I heard there was a joke that a German was heading downtown in Berlin during that time with a wheelbarrow full of 2 million Reichsmarks. He was on the way to buy dinner for his family. He tripped and the 2 million German dollars spilled on the ground. A large crowd quickly moved in and there was a big brawl. The crowd suddenly left and the 2 million was still on the ground but the wheelbarrow was gone.

Hitler brought them out of that and economic stability to the country.

All it cost was 50,000,000 lives and almost 50 more years of the Cold War at the cost of trillions of dollars to the rest of the world. Quite the bargain for a great leader.

[Clay C]

As others have said, Hitler was a great leader with Terrible ideals and beliefs. The bigger issue I see is that this is absolutely not a discussion that should be had in lower level education. Most kids won't be able to differentiate between a good leader and a horrible person and will leave the class thinking that the history books are wrong about Hitler.




So who's the most evil person?

Not sure I can rank them as it is fairly subjective. If I had to, I would hoist Muhammad in the top spot of evil historical figures. I would also rank Mao and Stalin above Hitler. They have the blood of hundreds of millions more than Hitler on their hands.

There is even an argument to be made that Hitler wasn't the most evil within his ranks. Hitler's original plan was to ship German Jews back to the Middle East. He was convinced otherwise by his allies within the Muslim Brotherhood. The likes of Heydrich and Eichmann then constructed the Holocaust (with Hitler's blessing of course). Eichmann believed so strongly in the pure Germanic blood line that he continued the camps and murders after he was ordered to stop. If Hitler would not have been the leader at the time, Eichmann would probably be the name everyone associates with the Holocaust.

It is unfortunate that so little is taught about the Holocaust. It is a very in depth and interesting (although obviously very disturbing) historical topic.

Before anyone accuses me of defending Hitler that is not at all what I am doing. He was obviously a deeply evil human being. I just enjoy historical discussions.

To the OP, whoever told your child that should not be educating children.

[Clay C]

Not sure how Hilter isn't #1....

1) Hitler
2) Stalin
3) Pol Pot
4) Ishii Shiro

This is a good list.

[WItoTX]

Whoa, I think Vlad and Genghis Khan need a mention. You know that a huge percentage of Asia still shares DNA because Khan took advantage of so many women?

I totally forgot Genghis Khan. Good call. He could be put at 1, 2, or 3.

I did actually. There is a theory about Khan that he had red hair and green eyes too, and was originally descended from western Europeans (Roman if I remember right). In fact, middle easterners you see with green eyes are considered most likely Khan descendants as well, or at least share Mongol blood.

[WItoTX]

Not sure how Hilter isn't #1....

1) Hitler
2) Stalin
3) Pol Pot
4) Ishii Shiro

Hitler body count is far less than any of the rest. Like 10's of millions less.

[flywise]

Would ( edit Margaret Sanger) get a place at the table of evil

[systemnt]

Not sure how Hilter isn't #1....

1) Hitler
2) Stalin
3) Pol Pot
4) Ishii Shiro
5) Cast of The View

added one.