Hitler hated Jews because in fact he considered them superior not inferior to Germans

[Borachio]

Isn't it possible he was over-compensating for his sense of inferiority?

 

[Domen]

If Jews were superior in his eyes, then why kill them all? Jealousy?

Not jealousy, but rather something like fear combined with great hatred.

He considered Jews a threat to Germans, becuse of their superiority and their "Zionist conspiracy to rule the world".

Remember that Hitler believed that the Soviet Union was a state ruled by Jews and that Communism was a Jewish ideology.

He thought the Aryan race was superior

He thought the "Aryan race" to be vastly superior morally, but inferior intellectually to the "Jewish race".

In other words, he saw his struggle against Jews as "very good but silly Aryans" against "very evil and very cunning Jews".

I know how it sounds when I say that Hitler considered his kind to be "superior morally", but that's what he thought!

 

[nokmirt]

Not jealousy, but rather something like fear combined with great hatred.

He considered Jews a threat to Germans, becuse of their superiority and their "Zionist conspiracy to rule the world".

Remember that Hitler believed that the Soviet Union was a state ruled by Jews and that Communism was a Jewish ideology.



He thought the "Aryan race" to be vastly superior morally, but inferior intellectually to the "Jewish race".

In other words, he saw his struggle against Jews as "very good but silly Aryans" against "very evil and very cunning Jews".

I know how it sounds when I say that Hitler considered his kind to be "superior morally", but that's what he thought!

I don't think there is any real answer to what exactly he thought. Nobody really knows it depends mostly on one's opinion and what they have read or learned about Hitler. I watched one documentary that said Hitler had a mother who was a clean freak and disturbed him during his potty training period. That did it for Hitler, supposedly it ruined him for life. Would most people believe that? Probably not, but who knows.

One thing I would love to ask you though. If Hitler thought the Jews were so evil, brilliant, and cunning, why not have them in the army? After all they fought bravely and gallantly in WWI. That cannot be denied.

 

[Domen]

After all they fought bravely and gallantly in WWI. That cannot be denied.

This is actually what Hitler was denying, claiming that Germany lost WW1 due to Jewish betrayal, lack of obedience and loyalty, and their devotion to the Revolution of 1918 in Germany.

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So according to Nazi propaganda Jews in the German army were responsible for German defeat in WW1, while later Polish, English and French Jews were responsible for "starting" WW2.

Check this peace of Goebbels' propaganda:

This excerpt is what narrator says between 2:48 and 3:17 of the video posted below:

"(...) Polish Jews in many cases turned out to be guilty of inciting to crimes against German population. Out of these circles [i.e. Jewish] were recruited criminals and murderers, who after 1918 deluged defenceless Germany, and their names, Barmad or Putiska, remain deeply in our memory. Brothers and sons of these Eastern Jews are nowadays sitting in England and France, inciting to war which is supposed to destroy the German nation. (...)"

So according to this propaganda there was a global Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germans. In another fragment of this video narrator, when refering to perpetrators of alleged crimes against Germans, says:

"(...) Polish bands, heavily saturated with Jews (...)"


Link to video.

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Also English Secret Service agents were involved in supposed crimes against Germans:

According to "Deutsche Rundschau" article dated 12.09.1939 (see the scan below):

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Of course Hitler is one thing, and ordinary, average German person is another thing.

Obviously propaganda was not telling them what Hitler was really thinking.

So average, ordinary German citizen or soldier had different views on Jews:

Below are excerpts from the book "... Die Wehrmacht in Polen 1939" by Jochen Boehler:

From a report by a platoon commander within German Artillerie-Regiment 31 - the town of Krzepice:

"With interest we were looking at many sticky of dirt Jews."

Chronicle of Infanterie-Regiment 51, about the capture of the town of Mława:

"The city was burning in many places, there was not a single sign of enemy forces. Only Jews were swarming in the streets, greeting our forces with funny words 'Chail Chitler' and plundering houses."

From the chronicle of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 136, describing the town of Maków on 06.09.1939:

"These pseudo-Aryans were the majority here. Isak Buchsbaum, Aron Leiber, Israel Fischlib and similar surnames on signboards of shops were clear proofs that these types were racially pure."

Excerpt from a report of a German NCO, titled "Die 6. Battr. des Art.Rgt.3 im polnischen Feldzug" - describing the town of Zduńska Wola:

"A godforsaken hole, swarms of Jews!"

From the report of rifleman Robert L. (field post 19216), titled "10 Tage aus dem TB eines Gebirgsjägers", dated 08.09.39, describing the town of Biecz:

"One of our soldiers suggested that it must be a German city, pointing at signboards with beautiful German surnames, such as Rosenblatt or Osterduft. But then we saw several of such types. Little filthy Jews in gabardines and with side curls, you can't see such ones even in 'Der Stürmer'".

And one more excerpt from the chronicle of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 136 - describing the town of Krosno:

"Jews were plentiful, you could see their funny figures everywhere, dirty and dressed in eccentric clothes."

Kriegstagebuch of Inf.Rgt.31., a note from 06.09.1939, describing the town of Piotrków Trybunalski:

"The high number of despicable Jews is striking."

 

[Borachio]

I don't think there is any real answer to what exactly he thought. Nobody really knows it depends mostly on one's opinion and what they have read or learned about Hitler. I watched one documentary that said Hitler had a mother who was a clean freak and disturbed him during his potty training period. That did it for Hitler, supposedly it ruined him for life. Would most people believe that? Probably not, but who knows.

One thing I would love to ask you though. If Hitler thought the Jews were so evil, brilliant, and cunning, why not have them in the army? After all they fought bravely and gallantly in WWI. That cannot be denied.

I thought it was his drunken father who beat him and wanted him to join the civil service, while his mother over-coddled him in compensation, that was significant in his impressionable years.

Didn't he hold the Jews responsible for instigating WW1 in the first place, and for stabbing Germany in the back at its conclusion?

Also, something Marxism, blah, blah, blah.

 

[Traitorfish]

The Marxism thing seemed to fold into the Jew thing for Hitler. Virtually everything did, sooner or later. Bit of a one-track mind, that man.

 

[GoodGame]

Interesting opinion articles: http://www.historytoday.com/ian-kershaw/hitler-myth

http://www.historytoday.com/ken-rise/hitler-and-law-1920-1945


Reading those articles, I'd speculate:

1. Hitler was anti-semitic because it was a moderately popular concept in Germany at the time (historically a meme that was generations old), and fit in with Hitler's (and his propaganda machine's) scheme to be both popular, and an unassailable authority of the people's needs and vision. It definitely wasn't the main reason for Hitler's rise to power though, just one more convenient talking point for a politician.
2. Anti-semiticism was a historical cultural meme that was generations old, and intensified as a convenient scape-goat by the socio-political pressures of the population, to the point that it was a believable bogey-man of a counter-culture revolution that they should have a paranoid fear about. It was also a convenient bogey-man to incite the population with, for the political propagandists.
3. Gradually the paranoia intensified enough that it was convenient to act out destructively, either for real-politik reasons (to crush real dissenters by assigning them a convenient categorical label, e.g. like 'terrorist'), or just plain insanity.

So metaphorically, I'd speculate that anti-semiticism was the wood for a political bonfire that escalated into an uncontrolled wildfire.

 

[Tahuti]

I have to say my opinion has lately adjusted, and I have come to agree with the OP's essence.

 

[Domen]

Maybe Off-Topic, but here is an article about German treatment of Polish-Jewish POWs in 1939 and later (in English):

http://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft Word - 6566.pdf

Published by Yad Vashem.

 

[MaxPuster]

Former Polish President Lech Walesa recently proposed the merger of Poland and Germany into one state.

That would probably work out better then a merger with France, as the mentality in daily life is much closer, and would probably be the only way to end the debate wether Copernikus was Polish or German by making it a mute point.

The proposal was certainly more a brainstorming then a serious call for immediate action, but with a core of truth. Some European states will coordinate much closer beyond the framework of the EU, which will probably slacken. I cannot see Poland and Germany anywhere but in the midst of it, while I am not sure of France partaking and pretty sure of a couple of others who will not.