One, to study Hitler from the perspective of a person.
l Hitler's character is generally paranoid on the spiritual level, and this paranoia is exactly opposite to the spirit of moderation emphasized by the Chinese tradition. Hitler's character is unconciliatory and has a consistent consistency, as shown in a scene in the film: Hitler firmly disagrees with the slightest revision of his program in order to strengthen the power of party cooperation. This character allowed Hitler to persist in his personal goals. Of course, on the other hand, this persistence brought not only a certain quality like firmness, but also cruelty, at all costs. From this point of view, Hitler's character has a certain characteristic of the Germans. Although he does not always make decisions wisely and rationally, once he makes a certain decision, he always goes to the end unswervingly. Germany may not always be as sung in the German national anthem: Deutsch uber alles (Deutsch uber alles)! But Germany should be loyal, but loyalty can sometimes be irrational. In fact, this kind of spiritual attachment is not the characteristic of Hitler. It should be said that this kind of attachment should be a quality that all professionals need in common. If it is said that this kind of attachment is "Hitler", then this should be a phenomenon everywhere. The "head" of the world is gone. Moderation can create some social geniuses, perceptual analysis and coordination. In popular terms, it means high emotional intelligence and good negotiation. Most of the diplomats belong to this category; paranoia mixed with consistent implementation enables people to indent their own. Thinking about one-sentence issues for a long time in a small space is the reason for many specialized talents, such as scientists and some writers or philosophers. Of course, this does not mean that we should be encouraged to strive for moderation or to strive for paranoia, because extreme moderation and extreme paranoia are extreme elements that must be filtered and opposed in the social system, except in very few specific cases to become masters in certain fields , most of these people are abandoned by the social system.
l The paranoid and consistent implementation mentioned above was embodied in Hitler with a so-called "spiritual purity". There are mainly two aspects: the purity of obedience and the purity of leadership. Hitler was a man of spiritual cleanliness. He would spare no effort to support and defend the ideas and propositions he admired, and he would ruthlessly sweep away the things he hated. The purity of obedience here is mainly reflected in Hitler's sense of national honor, his love for the German motherland and his sense of obedience as a soldier. The first part of the film about World War I contrasts Hitler with other soldiers. Hitler's heartfelt love for war and his reverence for the Iron Cross Mantua medallion made him worthy of his oath and honor in his role as a soldier. The purity of leadership is mainly reflected in Hitler's decisive struggle for and grasp of leadership. The purity of leadership is the premise to ensure that Hitler's personal "spiritual purity" can be realized. The opinions of other people are actually unimportant, Hitler's personal spiritual beliefs are all he has, otherwise Hitler will feel that the spirit has been "polluted". The purge of Roma and the stormtroopers, the rejection of all Strasser's suggestions, and the slaughter of Jews were all carried out under the guidance of this personal "spirit of purity".
In general, Hitler's paranoia and consistent implementation need to be achieved through "spiritual purity". Hitler's leadership and obedience were a space for personal paranoia, and he persisted in his actions. We actually have many people in our daily life who have their own code of conduct and inner thinking and stick to it, either positively or containing something terrible. They are not friends with everyone, but "the Tao is different and they do not conspire with each other", and they are not smooth enough, and they are not "smart people" as traditional Chinese call them. But they tend to be more persistent and resilient, and may have amazing execution under certain circumstances.
In fact, in the chaotic era, which of those great or evil people have achieved their careers by being slick and shrewd?
l To fade away the spiritual level, Hitler had a religious worship or hatred of things, which was embodied as a strong desire to control. Wagner's music, German mythology and irrational philosophy together constitute the shrine of Hitler's character. For these things, Hitler's religious worship has actually risen to the level of worship, and when he accepts all new knowledge and new events, he always selectively absorbs or selectively interprets. A strong love or hatred of things is accomplished through extreme control. When he grabs something, he becomes his slave. The miserable situation of his niece seems to be a portrayal of this character. In fact, many artists and philosophers have this kind of religious control, like Nietzsche or Van Gogh.
Second, from the students' understanding of the film to analyze the reactions that Hitler-like images may cause around us.
l The first thing I want to mention is the image of “angry youth” that often appears among our young students, with a tendency similar to cynicism, accustomed to criticizing everything and doubting everything, as if this is the way to have individuality and ideas. They ridiculed the people who followed Hitler in the film and thought they were ridiculous, but they never considered the predicament that really existed in the life of the German people at that time, and they could not propose any solution that could solve the social problems of Germany at that time better than Hitler. means. Blindly complaining will not solve the problem, and blindly laughing will not be able to elevate oneself. Maybe students in higher education should not only be used to using advanced electronic equipment to tease and ridicule. Be more creative. The poverty of the German people in the pre-Hitler era, the social and economic collapse is an objective fact, the people must seek some kind of change, the National Socialist Workers Party provides the German people with some explanations for the crisis (like the destruction of the Jews, etc.), while at the same time Putting forward some programs that benefit the people, in fact, it has indeed changed the predicament of the German people's lives to a large extent after taking office. In this way, if you think from the standpoint of the people at that time, a series of Nazi decisions against the Treaty of Versailles are very inflammatory. Similarly, in China in 1919, didn't our students and all walks of life also have the same movement like a flood? The biggest problem with angry youth is not ridicule or dissatisfaction, but selfishness. Selfishness makes the angry youths not only dissatisfied with various social phenomena, but also dissatisfied in their communication with each other, and always feel that their own ideas are everything (this is a bit like Hitler, but it lacks Hitler's consistent implementation and spirit. Purity), the result is a kind of noise scattered throughout society. When any social torrent comes, these independent and selfish angry youths will be mercilessly swept away. They will not be the leaders of the torrent and no one will make them allies of the new social trend of thought. Sweeping role.
l What exists more widely among our students is a spectator perspective, a bystander mentality. People no longer take the serious and almost cruel history seriously, but look at everything with a mentality of "entertainment to death" described by Lippmann. Hitler's bewitching speeches were seen as nothing but Chaplinian hilarity in the eyes of these wide audiences. In fact, they do not have a clear stand and point of view, nor do they have the perspective of independent thinking, and they rely on the group to survive. For them, everything that has nothing to do with them is regarded as an entertainment existence, which is actually a kind of selfishness in essence. One might argue that the existence of such a group would be difficult to incite by propaganda like the original Hitler. On the contrary, they are weak in the face of Hitler's Nietzschean will to power that appears and acts directly on the audience. Because they originally lacked a firm stand and looked at everything with an entertaining mentality, now when a will to power is exerted on them, a blind obedience beyond reason spreads among the spectators. These people laughed at Hitler's hilariousness in books and films, but when a new Hitlerian figure arrived, they were the first fanatics.
Hitler is first of all a mortal, not a demon. Only by looking at Hitler in this way can we analyze some of the relationship between his character, spirit and behavior, his paranoia, consistent implementation, spiritual cleanliness and strong desire to control things. Formed the inner elements of Hitler's character. From this level, Hitler is not necessarily just a special case. Under certain social circumstances, such people can be produced again. The attitude of our young students towards such characters and their associated phenomena should not be ridiculed or entertaining, but should be rationally recognized and learned to discover with an independent soul. In this way, even if Hitler himself reappears, we will not be afraid and hopeless.
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