• Hitler's Leadership Style
  • Hands-off: He wasn't deeply involved in administrative matters or daily decision-making.
  • Preference: Loved staying at the Berghof, his mountain retreat, over Berlin.
  • Shift in Focus: From 1936, turned his attention more to foreign policy.

🍕 Real-world example: Imagine a CEO who lets their employees run the company and rarely shows up at the office but makes major decisions about the company's future from a distance.

• Impact of Hitler's Detachment
  • Administrative Chaos: Ministers vied for power, decisions often impulsive based on fleeting chats with Hitler.
  • Peterson’s Observation: The regime resembled an anthill - everyone was trying to please Hitler without clear directions. It led to mini "empires" of power, unchecked by any law.

🍕 Real-world example: Think of school without teachers! Students might create their own groups, with some trying to dominate, others hiding, and nobody really knowing the main objective.

• Powerful Figures
  • Himmler: Controlled the police.
  • Goebbels: Oversaw propaganda.
• Hitler’s Pursuits: Despite the chaos, Hitler was ruthless and brutal about issues close to his heart. His radical views, especially regarding Jews, heavily influenced regime policies.
• Historians' Views on Hitler's Leadership
  • Mommsen (Structuralist view): Hitler’s lack of focus dispersed power among key Nazis like Himmler and Göring, reducing his control.
  • Kershaw (Intentionalist view): Hitler's seeming detachment was strategic. He maintained ultimate control and encouraged internal competition, ensuring everyone aimed to realize his vision.

🍕 Real-world example: Some parents might let their children decide everything (like what to eat, when to sleep) believing it's for their own good (structuralist). Others might let kids make decisions, but always have the final say, guiding their choices (intentionalist).

• The Police State: Atmosphere of Fear
  • No Constitution: After 1933, Hitler's word was everything.
  • Judicial Shift: Judges now aligned with Nazi beliefs.
  • Police Control: The SS and Gestapo became tools of control and terror.

🍕 Real-world example: Imagine a game where one player changes rules as they please, and others must adapt or face penalties. The fear of unpredictable penalties keeps everyone in line.

• The SS - An Overview
  • Rise to Power: Played a key role in the Night of the Long Knives.
  • Expansion: By 1936, controlled all of the police. Managed concentration camps and built a vast economic empire.
  • Members & Divisions: 240,000 members by 1939. Notable divisions include the Death’s Head formations (oversaw concentration camps) and the Waffen SS (mainly military).

🍕 Real-world example: Imagine a company department that starts small but then takes over other departments and ends up controlling major company functions. It becomes indispensable, and everyone fears its influence.

• Gordon Craig on the SS: Craig views the SS as the primary force of control in the Third Reich. It operated outside regular legal boundaries, directly answering only to Hitler. Its widespread atrocities and concentration camps were public knowledge, instilling deep-rooted fear in citizens.

According to Craig, the significance of the SS in the Third Reich was its unparalleled power and dominance. It acted without legal restrictions and was only accountable to Hitler. Its atrocities, especially the concentration camps, instilled a pervasive fear in the German public, ensuring their obedience to the Nazi dictatorship.

🎉 Remember, history isn't just about facts and dates; it's about understanding the dynamics and the implications of those events. Happy studying! 🎉