Adolf Hitler to Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Essay by num1qutieUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, October 2007

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When Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" in the 1500's, his intentions did not apply to the twentieth century. Some very important figures of the twentieth century used basic ideals from "The Prince" to obtain and maintain their position in power. One of these individuals was Adolf Hitler. Hitler used numerous Machiavellian ideas to win his respective place in Germany's government. The two most important Machiavellian principles that Hitler used were winning the people and how he dealt with cruelty and murder.Adolf Hitler, the self-proclaimed "savior" of the German people, was an insecure, egotistical man, who ominously controlled the German people. Hitler thought that he could change things with force, which soon got him into trouble, and landed him in jail. During his time in jail, Hitler had turned over direction of the Nazi party to Alfred Rosenberg. Rosenberg edited the party's newspaper, Popular Observer, but had no administrative ability.

As a result, Hitler easily resumed complete control of the party upon his release in December 1924. In the years from 1925 to 1930; Hitler built up a network of local party organizations over most of Germany. Hitler's mass of followers began to grow, and soon those who didn't follow him became the minority. Hitler gained political power soon after his reign of terror began, ending with the deaths of over 6 million Jews that were persecuted by the Nazis, because they were supposedly the problem in Germany (Schramm 13).One of the Machiavellian principles that Hitler used to rise to power was gaining the full trust of the German people. Hitler was able to do this through his powerful public speeches. He is often referred to as one of the world's greatest speakers (Schramm 13). He believed that everyone should hear his speeches. In order to make this...