Did Hitler ever admit to any error?

[Dachs]

He wasn't an awful artist. Most of his surviving pieces are actually pretty boring and normal.

 

[Traitorfish]

Apparently he went back and forth on his own art. At one point the NSDAP brought out a coffee table book of his work, and then he later had it banned.

 

[Dachs]

Hell, I feel the same way about thing I write.

 

[LightSpectra]

In this thread, Dachs compares himself to Hitler. That's the only thing that anybody on this forum will ever remember lololol

 

[ParkCungHee]

There's a joke about Godwin's Law in there someplace.

 

[classical_hero]

I think he admitted that he was never going to be a Catholic Priest.

 

[Traitorfish]

When did Hitler ever suggest that he was going to a priest? Are you sure that you're not mixing him up with Stalin?

 

[Antilogic]

Hell, I feel the same way about thing I write.

Everybody who has any dose of humility does. Anyone else can be described by colorful language the forum filters will likely catch.

 

[classical_hero]

When did Hitler ever suggest that he was going to a priest? Are you sure that you're not mixing him up with Stalin?

His parents were Catholic, so I must have confused that.

 

[Masada]

When did Hitler ever suggest that he was going to a priest? Are you sure that you're not mixing him up with Stalin?

Catholic =/ Orthodox. I actually like the latter.

 

[Traitorfish]

Catholic =/ Orthodox. I actually like the latter.

I meant that Stalin was a seminarian in his youth, while Hitler, as far as I know, never showed any such intentions.

 

[Quackers]

I'm reading Albert Speer's inside the 3rd reich atm and Hitler pretty much deferred to artists/architects quite a lot. I remember he wanted to buy some French Art for a gallery and the curator was all like "oh no this isn't in keeping with the gallery!" and Hitler agreed. So by complying with this curator is a way of admitting he was wrong.

Although teh OP is probably asking about political errors

 

[Masada]

I meant that Stalin was a seminarian in his youth, while Hitler, as far as I know, never showed any such intentions.

Ehhhhh granted. Except Stalin never intended to become a priest either.

 

[Traitorfish]

Ehhhhh granted. Except Stalin never intended to become a priest either.

That's what I mean. Classical Hero said that Hitler "admitted that he was never going to be a Catholic Priest", and I suggested that he was getting mixed up with Stalin.

 

[Masada]

Ah, rite.

 

[rilnator]

In the end I think he lamented keeping Goring in his role for so long.

Mind you that wasn't till after Goring stabbed him in the back.

 

[Lord Baal]

In the end I think he lamented keeping Goring in his role for so long.

Mind you that wasn't till after Goring stabbed him in the back.

You know, removing Himmler from command of the the Army Vistula might count.

 

[Agent327]

Just starting a class on Hitler and Stalin tomorrow. The text book is The Dictators by Richard Overy and he says something in the introduction that piqued my interest, even more than it is already piqued. Ovary references The Testament of Adolf Hitler in which F. Gernoud quotes Hitler on 26 Feb 1945 apparently lamenting that relations between himself and Stalin turned out so poorly. “In a spirit of implacable realism on both sides” he and Stalin “could have created a situation in which a durable entente would have been possible” (Gernoud, p.100). I can only imagine that if Hitler ever said any such thing he meant it as an insult to Stalin for failing to appreciate the benefits of cooperating with Hitler’s Germany because I would be shocked to discover that Hitler ever admitted to making any errors himself.

So was “oops,” “sorry,” or “dang” in Hitler’s vocabulary? Did he ever admit to any error of judgment or express regret for anything he did: should have let the Panzers roll into Dunkerque, should have used more trains to supply to troops instead of death camps, should have worked closer with Japan, should have married Eva Braun earlier…

There is a simple and a complex answer to this one. First, as mentioned, there is a audio recording from the first year of war I believe, where Hitler discusses Barbarossa, saying: `If we had known how many tanks the Soviets had, we might have thought twice about attacking them...´ So then the answer is yes. If you ask however, would Hitler ever admit an error to the general public, then the answer must be a clear no. (The recording, for instance, was not meant for broadcast.)

In Downfall he laments that he didn't have all of his officers shot before the war like Schztaleen had done. Don't know if he actually said that though.

Slightly incorrect: he laments the fact that Stalin simply had his failing generals shot - whereas he did not have that possibility, and misses the obvious fact that it wasn´t the problem that his generals were failing, but he himself, as he had taken over supreme and general command early on in Barbarossa.

Then there is the more complex answer, which goes to Hitler´s psychology or state of mind, and some posters have let us peer into this. Hitler, unlike Stalin, was a fanatic, obsessed with his (distorted) image to history, and fanatics rarely admit to being at fault in public. True, Stalin would never admit to being at fault in public, but he did not need to, as his word, will alive, was law - and anyway, he never had the kind of grandiose ambitions Hitler did, as he was, if anything, a pragmatist.

 

[rilnator]

There is a simple and a complex answer to this one. First, as mentioned, there is a audio recording from the first year of war I believe, where Hitler discusses Barbarossa, saying: `If we had known how many tanks the Soviets had, we might have thought twice about attacking them...´ So then the answer is yes. If you ask however, would Hitler ever admit an error to the general public, then the answer must be a clear no. (The recording, for instance, was not meant for broadcast.)

If he was discussing Soviet tank production I doubt very much it was from the first year of war as Barbarossa didn't commence until 1941.

I have heard a simmilar admission from Hitler during a conference he had with Von Mannerheim that was secretly recorded by the Finns. He corrects himself by saying that while he had no idea of Soviet armoured production he still would have gone into the venture but with a heavier heart.

**sigh** just like to say what a sad state of affairs this forum has fallen into when a topic that has 'Hitler' in the title goes untouched for 3 weeks.

 

[Agent327]

If he was discussing Soviet tank production I doubt very much it was from the first year of war as Barbarossa didn't commence until 1941.

I have heard a simmilar admission from Hitler during a conference he had with Von Mannerheim that was secretly recorded by the Finns. He corrects himself by saying that while he had no idea of Soviet armoured production he still would have gone into the venture but with a heavier heart.

I´m not quite following your first sentence, but apparently the recording was one and the same. Despite extensive reconnaissance the German intel on the Soviet military was seriously deficient - resulting in the absurd idea that the war on the Eastern Front would all be over in 6 months. (Ofcourse none of this was ever admitted in public, although no amount of propaganda could hide the fact that the war in the East was not going well - to put it mildly.)