Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Hitler's speech sells the collective will

Hitler’s message in his final speech from Triumph of the Will is largely focused on framing National Socialism and the German Reich as a glorious and almost holy cause, in the sense that it will live on beyond the lives of individuals and be a monument to their greatness. He conveys that joining the cause gives a person not only the glory and power that the collective Party possesses, but a kind of afterlife – they would be helping to build something greater than themselves, and would be part of the “symbol of eternity.”

His speech is also heavily laced with themes of right and duty, and, as a related concept, sacrifice. He mentions that those with the “best blood” have a right to exert their power over those who do not, and makes this sound as natural as one saying that those with engineering degrees should become engineers, as opposed to those without such credentials. In the speech, this all sounds like a natural aspect of a well-ordered society. However, he goes on to say that for some exceptional people, it will not be enough to say that they believe—instead, they must also fight. With this, he ties in the additional idea that it is not only a right, but an obligation, that those who are best qualified (i.e., with the “best blood,” etc.) will assume their rightful place and do their duty within the Party. He goes further with this when he says that the idea of the Party can only be realized if we give of ourselves to it.

The entire thing is somewhat reminiscent of evangelical preachers promising glory in the afterlife if we just give up our individual wills and let Jesus take over. Except in this case, we have Hitler as the shepherd of the sheep, rather than Jesus.

1 comment:

  1. In relation to your comments, how does Hitler use audience/individual identification, if he in fact does?

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