Hitler-A Genius and a Madman
...e descriptions of a failed Bohemian artist and a gifted orator too striking not to be descriptions of Adolf Hitler. In the third paragraph, Mann begins to describe the relationship between the vengeful, failed artist and a failed country. Mann depicts Germany as an Ultra-nationalist state with a chip on its shoulder; a country so obsessed with regaining its lost ‘honour’ that it would be seduced by this gifted orator and madman. Mann seems to be paralleling Hitler’s failures with those of Germany in general. Once Hitler becomes a ‘political animal’ he is ready to seduce a country that begs to be seduced. It seems as if post-World War I Germany and Hitler were made for each other. Once Hitler learned the trade of oration, it was inevitable that he would have Germany. Thoughout the essay Mann tries to convey his aversion for Hitler, while justifying his acceptance of the man as a genius. Mann is trying to be objective while discussing the concept of genius, which is a formidable task when talking about Hitler. Interesting to me was Mann’s depiction of the Artist as lazy, formless and pathetic; “a round peg in a square hole.” Is it this alienation that produces artists? Is it not this same alienation that produces tyrants a...