Was Hitler a leader?

Answer

Yes, he was a ruthless leader- much like Stalin of the Soviet Union who may have been responsible for upwards of 40 million deaths of the Soviet Union's rural poor. Hitler did not only target Jews, but also murdered Gypsies, the physically and mentally disabled, homosexuals, and anyone he and/or his party considered "undesireables" and those he felt could not contribute to the State. Aside from his well documented violence toward the above groups, Hitler was seen as a great leader and hero of the German people of that time. Hitler had tried to instill pride and cooperation in the German people following Germany's defeat from WWI. Many Germans felt that since this defeat, they were treated badly by the US, France, England, and others and Hitler wanted to regain Germany's military power. Hitler was also a conservationist and set many laws to protect German endangered species, particularily bats. This is not to underrate Hitler's violence towards ethnic, religious, or disabled persons, but history dictates that there have been many leaders and others who have committed the same if not worse attrocities such as Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Hernan Cortez, Christopher Columbus, etc. The methods may have been different, but the result was at least the same if not far worse- millions of men, women, and children starved, tortured, enslaved, and murdered.

Observation

Yes, Hitler was the Leader (Fuehrer). More than that, he is widely seen as the archetypal moustachioed dictator - the leading 20th century icon of evil. In other words, he has a rather specific status that other 20th century dictatorship do not have.

It's very easy to talk about Hitler's 'achievements' in the 1930s, but he chose to throw them away again by invading every neighbouring country except Switzerland. What more, he did immense damage to Germany's reputation.

Joncey

• What is the role of the government in economic development?
• Why did the US want to open trade with Japan?
• How does an authoritarian government function?