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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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| Was Hitler a genius? |
| Yes |
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44% |
[ 22 ] |
| No |
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55% |
[ 27 ] |
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| Total Votes : 49 |
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| Author |
Message |
Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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 Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:08 am Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| mithridates wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| He never made a living off painting, that was just a conceit of his. He was just a down-and-out who sold a couple of sketches to get by, and nobody liked him. |
Except that he did make a living (not a great living but he paid the rent for a few years that way) off painting and everybody liked him in the place where he lived in Vienna. They thought he was quiet and polite - he would sit in the corner and make paintings, and only every once in a while when they would talk about politics would he suddenly get all excited and join the conversation. "Nobody liked him" couldn't be further from the truth. |
I believe much of what is said about his Vienna period is speculative but it is known that he got by on a small legacy from his parents and frequently slept in down-and-out shelters, so I think the picture you're painting of a man who paid his own rent through his own work is misleading. By the way, it is often said that he made 'paintings' but what he did in fact was paint postcards. |
That's right, mostly postcards because they sold well. Hitler didn't do any of the selling himself of course, it was the other guy that teamed up with him. Hitler didn't move into the place until he had exhausted all of the small legacy he had lived on for a while, and he first spent about two or three months just sleeping in parks and wandering about until he happened upon the place where he could stay in a small room and sell things thanks to the guy he knew there. |
I see. So do you have a source for the claim that people generally liked him? Seems hard to believe to me. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| Privateer wrote: |
| mithridates wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| mithridates wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| He never made a living off painting, that was just a conceit of his. He was just a down-and-out who sold a couple of sketches to get by, and nobody liked him. |
Except that he did make a living (not a great living but he paid the rent for a few years that way) off painting and everybody liked him in the place where he lived in Vienna. They thought he was quiet and polite - he would sit in the corner and make paintings, and only every once in a while when they would talk about politics would he suddenly get all excited and join the conversation. "Nobody liked him" couldn't be further from the truth. |
I believe much of what is said about his Vienna period is speculative but it is known that he got by on a small legacy from his parents and frequently slept in down-and-out shelters, so I think the picture you're painting of a man who paid his own rent through his own work is misleading. By the way, it is often said that he made 'paintings' but what he did in fact was paint postcards. |
That's right, mostly postcards because they sold well. Hitler didn't do any of the selling himself of course, it was the other guy that teamed up with him. Hitler didn't move into the place until he had exhausted all of the small legacy he had lived on for a while, and he first spent about two or three months just sleeping in parks and wandering about until he happened upon the place where he could stay in a small room and sell things thanks to the guy he knew there. |
I see. So do you have a source for the claim that people generally liked him? Seems hard to believe to me. |
Yes, it's right in front of me. It's the first major Hitler biography (or I think the most comprehensive one at the time) written by John Toland. Unfortunately the book I have on my lap is the Chinese translation of the original so it wouldn't mean much to type it out here. It's true that people were a bit creeped out with him when he was in the army but after all he wasn't even German, kept on avoiding death and seemed to really like being in the trenches. Some people liked him there too though and he also had a pet dog. During his time in the small paid shelter (not sure what the word for it is but pretty much like a Goshiwon I think) though was before the war and in his own country, and all the quotes from people that lived there with him were positive. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:17 am Post subject: |
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| The only thing I will say In Der Fuhrer's defense, is that he was apparently not physically a coward. He recieved the Iron Cross for his participation in the Great War. Like Ronald Reagan, he had a gift for public speaking. Overall, he had many shortcomings. |
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numazawa
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: The Concrete Barnyard
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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| yodanole wrote: |
| Overall, he had many shortcomings. |
I'd say at least six million or so, yes. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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| dbee wrote: |
Indeed depending on how you look at it, he was either the 2nd or 3rd most bloodthirsty ruler of the axis/allies powers, in terms of numbers of non-combatant, non-military related people killed.
Stalin killed tens of millions of Russians in military and economic purges. Churchill sat by and let 5 million Bengalese die, in order to facilitate his scorched earth policy near Burma, as well as using gas against tribes people in the middle East. Hirohito oversaw the rape of Nanking and Unit 731 in China.
Also Eisenhower of course, dropped two nukes on Japan. |
1. Might want to add Mao. He was actually responsible for more deaths than any of the others. I realize he's after WWII, but he certainly fits in with that crew. The gas bit you mentioned was prior to World War II I believe.
2. It was truman, not eisenhower, that dropped the nukes.
and no, Hitler was not a genius, he just knew how to operate. Don't forget Goebbels, the one who did all the propaganda. |
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