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Though Hitler was indeed racist and anti-Semitic to the core, a man who without compunction could commit murder and genocide, he was also an individual of great courage, a soldier's soldier in the Great War, a political organizer of the first rank, a leader steeped in the history of Europe, who possessed oratorical powers that could awe even those who despised him...Hitler's success was not based on his extraordinary gifts alone. His genius was an intuitive sense of the mushiness, the character flaws, the weakness masquerading as morality that was in the hearts of the statesmen who stood in his path.

Adolf Hitler#201

HistoryPoliticsLeadershipHitlerPowerStrategyHuman nature

About this quote

What does it mean?
The quote acknowledges Hitler's talents and leadership abilities while noting how he exploited weaknesses in other leaders.
In plain terms
Hitler had skills and understood how to use the flaws of his opponents.
What can you take from it?
Political success can come from understanding others' vulnerabilities.

Where it applies

  • biographical analysis
  • political strategy discussions
  • leadership studies

Putting it to work

  • studying historical leaders
  • analyzing political tactics
  • understanding human psychology

Questions to consider

  • What makes a leader effective?
  • How do flaws in leadership enable rise of dictators?

Another view

The description sanitizes his atrocities by focusing on personal traits.

More from Adolf Hitler

  1. Springtime for Hitler and Germany Deutschland is happy and gay! We're marching to a faster pace Look out, here comes the master race!

    Permalink to quote #200
  2. Was there no resistance to his disastrous projects? There was. But it was too feeble, too weak and too late to succeed.... The fact is that Hitler was beloved …

    Permalink to quote #202
  3. Unlike Mussolini [Hitler] spurned the 'proletariat' and its Marxism, which was as bad as Christianity in his eyes, for it, too, was the faith of the downtrodde…

    Permalink to quote #199

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