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He was an absolute nobody in WWI. After WWI, the political situation in Germany was pretty volatile. Lots of extreme politics. Hitler started giving talks abou

He was an absolute nobody in WWI. After WWI, the political situation in Germany was pretty volatile. Lots of extreme politics. Hitler started giving talks about German politics and how Jews were to blame for everything. At this point, his only income was a soldier's pension iirc. He was the 55th person to join the Nazi party (he later forged his membership card to say he was #7). But the Nazi leadership (more organizers at that point) were impressed with Hitler's speaking abilities and thought they could use him to promote the party. So they started setting him up at different venues and events. He developed a reputation for being a guy with strong opinions about politics and his speeches were pretty entertaining for people, so more showed up. All of this was pretty local to Munich at this point. Eventually Hitler and some of his friends got this idea that they could overthrow the government, hence the Beer Hall Putsch. He wasn't really famous at the time, but he was a popular figure in certain circles, so when the Putsch failed, he was sent to prison instead of being executed for treason. In prison he wrote Mein Kampf, essentially painting himself as a figure who loved Germany persecuted by a government that had sold Germany to foreign powers. As a best selling author, he became a celebrity. Ian Kershaw's Hitler Hubris and Nemesis is really good if you're interested in the topic.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> painting himself as a figure who loved Germany persecuted by a government that had sold Germany to foreign powers I wonder just how popular the "sold homeland to foreign powers" narrative was throughout history. Kind of reminds me of the sentiment some of the people I know have towards the situation in Poland - the narrative is that all our industry was sold off to foreigners and that the government should reverse this process to bolster the economy.
- pavlov 10y ago
  Today the only country in the world that never sold anything to foreigners is North Korea, and it's not a shining model of prosperity.
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    True, but the complaint is real - I guess it's the disconnect between the perspective of regular people vs. the factual state of things. Which seems to be a big issue these days.
  - oh_sigh 10y ago
    North Korea sells things to foreigners...coal, opium, food&services, etc.
    - sorokod 10y ago
      And high quality synthetic drugs.
  - InclinedPlane 10y ago
    That's not even true, North Korea has many exports. It exports raw materials, textiles, and garments "above board" to China and South Korea. It exports technology and weapons less legally. Drugs, counterfeit currency and pharmaceuticals, small arms, ballistic missiles, fighter jets, etc.
    - RugnirViking 10y ago
      While I understand you are listing things in a general sort of way and may not quite mean it but I'd love to see a source that they export (or have developed manufacturing capability) for a fighter jet or jet engine
- Bluestrike2 10y ago
  It's a pretty common narrative. And it's an easy one to exploit. Hitler used anti-semitism to make it an even more poignant narrative. Instead of a distant foreigner, the Nazis got to point at foreigners who were living amongst them: Jews. And that, in particular, was a very, very old narrative that the Jewish people had been forced to suffer many times before. One of the most interesting classes I took as an undergrad was a history course that focused on the challenges that faced Jews during and after the diaspora, and how they met those challenges while somehow managing to preserve their culture, faith, and a shared sense of identity over the course of--literally--millennia as a minority group inside other cultures and empires. Maristella Botticini's The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492 is one of a few rather fascinating books on the subject.
  - Pica_soO 10y ago
    I sometimes wondered whether it is this focus on education and a religion that rewards gambling authoritarian-rule-systems that lead to continued persecution, while other not-integrating minorities where completely ignored.
watwut 10y ago
The putch was almost succesfull and by that time Hitler was already leader of the party. Not just some guy speaker, but leader able to give commands to SA. I think that the way you describe the putch as some joke attempt you are underestimatig support Hitler had in Bavaria.
Jean-Philipe 10y ago
> As a best selling author, he became a celebrity. I thought the book only became a best seller after 1933, or am I wrong?

TeMPOraL 10y ago

> painting himself as a figure who loved Germany persecuted by a government that had sold Germany to foreign powers I wonder just how popular the "sold homeland to foreign powers" narrative was throughout history. Kind of reminds me of the sentiment some of the people I know have towards the situation in Poland - the narrative is that all our industry was sold off to foreigners and that the government should reverse this process to bolster the economy.

pavlov 10y ago
Today the only country in the world that never sold anything to foreigners is North Korea, and it's not a shining model of prosperity.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  True, but the complaint is real - I guess it's the disconnect between the perspective of regular people vs. the factual state of things. Which seems to be a big issue these days.
- oh_sigh 10y ago
  North Korea sells things to foreigners...coal, opium, food&services, etc.
  - sorokod 10y ago
    And high quality synthetic drugs.
- InclinedPlane 10y ago
  That's not even true, North Korea has many exports. It exports raw materials, textiles, and garments "above board" to China and South Korea. It exports technology and weapons less legally. Drugs, counterfeit currency and pharmaceuticals, small arms, ballistic missiles, fighter jets, etc.
  - RugnirViking 10y ago
    While I understand you are listing things in a general sort of way and may not quite mean it but I'd love to see a source that they export (or have developed manufacturing capability) for a fighter jet or jet engine
Bluestrike2 10y ago
It's a pretty common narrative. And it's an easy one to exploit. Hitler used anti-semitism to make it an even more poignant narrative. Instead of a distant foreigner, the Nazis got to point at foreigners who were living amongst them: Jews. And that, in particular, was a very, very old narrative that the Jewish people had been forced to suffer many times before. One of the most interesting classes I took as an undergrad was a history course that focused on the challenges that faced Jews during and after the diaspora, and how they met those challenges while somehow managing to preserve their culture, faith, and a shared sense of identity over the course of--literally--millennia as a minority group inside other cultures and empires. Maristella Botticini's The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492 is one of a few rather fascinating books on the subject.
- Pica_soO 10y ago
  I sometimes wondered whether it is this focus on education and a religion that rewards gambling authoritarian-rule-systems that lead to continued persecution, while other not-integrating minorities where completely ignored.

watwut 10y ago

The putch was almost succesfull and by that time Hitler was already leader of the party. Not just some guy speaker, but leader able to give commands to SA. I think that the way you describe the putch as some joke attempt you are underestimatig support Hitler had in Bavaria.

Jean-Philipe 10y ago

> As a best selling author, he became a celebrity. I thought the book only became a best seller after 1933, or am I wrong?