If you could timetravel - Would you kill Hitler?

[Gucumatz]

So random thread, if we assumed time travel were a real thing and only you were able to do it - if you were to be sent back in time to when he who shall not be named was a child, what would you do?

Would killing someone to save millions be the right thing to do?

Or would you try and change him from his path and since you have all the time in the world, would be able to fix him from becoming who he did? If you did kill him and were caught and were subsequently unable to time travel out - what would you tell authorities, the family, the community that saw/caught you killing?

 

[Rashiminos]

Nope, no point.

 

[Gucumatz]

Why do you think so? Would someone else take his place in your opinion*?

 

[Rashiminos]

Why do you think so? Would someone else take his place in your opinion*?

Not so much my opinion as the forces at work would find someone else to groom for the part. That is assuming the assassination would be successful in the first place.

For the sake of discussion, I'll try to not rail too hard against the assumption that no one else can time travel.

 

[Zelig]

Everybody kills Hitler on their first trip.

 

[Borachio]

Hmm. I'm not so sure, Rashiminos. Hitler was a uniquely gifted orator, imo.

 

[Leonel]

Even if I could, I couldn't. I'll either step on a branch while sneakily trying to shoot him in the back of the head during WW1 or the guard will drink the cyanide laced milkshake I prepared for Hitler while he was in jail or a temporal agent will stop me.

 

[Rashiminos]

Hmm. I'm not so sure, Rashiminos. Hitler was a uniquely gifted orator, imo.

Gifted is an accurate description. It could be gifted to someone else.

 

[Borachio]

True. I thought of that after posting.

But then this is a similar objection to Leonel's.

The question remains/becomes: would you if could and no replacement was available?

 

[Chiteng]

No man, should play God.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

What if one of the people who died in the gas chambers would go on to kill one of my parents or the guy who introduced them ?
On a less personal level: What if fascism had come to Germany anyway, but with somebody more sane and competent in charge ?
What if Hitler was put in charge by time travelers to kil/drive away the German-Jewish scientist who developed the nuclear bomb for Germany in the original timeline.

Too risky.

 

[Borachio]

No man, should play God.

Does this include Hitler?

 

[Rashiminos]

no replacement was available?

That's practically impossible.

 

[GenMarshall]

It would be pointless cause of this:

"If you time-travel into the past and then try to kill Hitler, it won't work as intended. It may even backfire."
— Rules of Time Travel

Not to mention causing a temporal paradox....


Link to video.

 

[warpus]

I wouldn't kill Hitler because then Israel would never be formed, and that would be anti-Semitic.

 

[Antilogic]

"If you time-travel into the past and then try to kill Hitler, it won't work as intended. It may even backfire."
— Rules of Time Travel

Exactly. And nobody wants Super-Hitler.

 

[Cutlass]

Hitler was competent at gaining power. But not in the use of it. What if you had someone competent in the use of it that was every bit as evil?

 

[Formaldehyde]

No man, should play God.

This is why I would be far more interested in traveling back in time to document the life of Jesus.

In regard to the OP, I certainly don't think you can blame what occurred during WWII on one man. Hitler told the German people and others what they wanted to hear, just like any other politician does.

 

[Antilogic]

If you were to travel back in time and kill Jesus would we then get Super-Jesus?

 

[BvBPL]

I like to think that I would never, under any circumstances, set out to kill anyone.

Helping JFK to shoot himself might be permissible though. Particularly if I can't get a good curry otherwise.. That's a tikka to ride if I've heard one.