This subservient attitude is also obvious in his use of titles. This 
is well described by Lania (148) reporting on Hitler' s trial: 

"In the course of his peroration he came to speak of Generals 
Ludendorff and von Seeckt; at such moments, he stood at attention 
and trumpeted forth the words 'General' and 'Excellency'. It made no 
difference that one of the generals was on his side, while
the other, von Seeckt, Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, was his 
enemy; he abandoned himself entirely to the pleasure of pronouncing 
the high-sounding titles. He never said 'General Seeckt', he said 'His 
Excellency Herr Colonel General von Seeeke, letting the words melt 
on his tongue and savoring their after-taste."

Many others have also commented on this tendency to use the 
full [0010077.GIF Page 71] title. It also fits in with his very 
submissive behavior to his officers during the last war which has 
been commented upon by several of his comrades. It seems safe to 
assume that this is a fundamental trait in his character which becomes 
less obvious as he climbs the ladder but is present nevertheless.

The Fuehrer is also ill at ease in the company of diplomats and 
avoids contact with them as much as possible. Fromm (369) describes 
his behavior at a diplomatic dinner in the following words:

"The Corporal seemed to be ill at ease, awkward and moody. His 
coat-tails embarrassed him. Again and again his hand fumbled for 
the encouraging support of his sword belt. Each time he missed the 
familiar cold bracing support, his uneasiness grew. He crumpled his 
handkerchief, tugged it, rolled it, just plain stage-fright."

Henderson (124) writes: 

"It will always be a matter of regret to me that I was never able to 
study Hitler in private life, as this might have given me the 
chance to see him under normal conditions and to talk with him as 
man to man. Except for a few brief words at chance meetings, I never 
met him except upon official, and invariably disagreeable, business. 
He never attended informal parties at which diplomats might be present, 
and when friends of mine did try to arrange it, he always got out of 
meeting me in such a manner on the ground of precedent... But he always 
looked self-conscious when he had to entertain the diplomatic corps, 
which happened normally three times a year."

Hitler also becomes nervous and tends to lose his composure when he 
has to meet newspapermen. Being a genius of propaganda he realizes the 
power of the press in influencing public opinion and he always 
provides the press with choice seats at all [0010078.GIF Page 72]
ceremonies. When it comes to interviews, however, he feels himself on 
the defensive and insists that the questions be submitted in advance. 
When the interview takes place he is able to maintain considerable 
poise because he has his answers prepared. Even then he gives no 
opportunity to ask for further clarification because he immediately 
launches into a lengthy dissertation, which sometimes develops into 
a tirade. When this is finished, the interview is over (0echsner, 665). 

He is also terrified when he is called upon to speak to 
intellectuals (Wagner, 487) or any group in which he feels opposition 
or the possibility of criticism.

Hitler's adjustment to people in general is very poor. He is not really 
on intimate terms with any of his associates. Hess is the only associate, 
with the possible exception of Streicher, who has ever had the privilege 
of addressing him with the familiar "Du". Even Goering, Goebbels and 
Himmler must address him with the more formal "Sie" although each of 
them would undoubtedly be willing to sacrifice his right hand for the 
privilege of addressing him in the informal manner. It is true that 
outside of his official family there are a few people in Germany, 
notably Mrs. Bechstein and the Winifred Wagner family who address him 
as "Du" and call him by his nickname, "Wolf", but even these are few 
and far between. On the whole, he always maintains a considerable
distance from other people. Ludecke, who was very close to him for a 
while, writes: 

"Even in his intimate and cozy moments, I sensed no attitude of 
familiarity towards him on the part of his staff; there 
was [0010079.GIF  Page 73] always a certain distance about him, that 
subtle quality of aloofness...."(180) 

And Fry (577) says: 

"He lives in the midst of many men and yet he lives alone."

It is well-known that he cannot carry on a normal conversation or 
discussion with people. Even if only one person is present he must do 
all the talking. His manner of speech soon loses any conversational 
qualities it might have had and takes on all the characteristics of 
a lecture and may easily develop into a tirade. He simply forgets his 
companions and behaves as though he were addressing a multitude. 
Strasser (297) has given a good, brief description of his manner:  

"Now Hitler drew himself erect and by the far-away look in his eyes 
showed plainly that he was not speaking merely to me; he was addressing 
an imaginary audience that stretched far beyond the walls of the 
living room."

This is not only true in connection with political matters. Even when 
he is alone with his adjutants or immediate staff and tries to be 
friendly he is unable to enter into give-and-take conversation. At 
times he scans to want to get closer to people and relates personal 
experiences, such as, "When I was in Vienna," or "When I was in the 
Army,". But under these circumstances, too, he insists on doing all 
the talking and always repeats the same stories over and over again 
in exactly the same form, almost as though he had memorized them. 
The gist of most of these stories is contained in MEIN KAMPF. His 
friends have [00010080.GIF  Page 74] all heard them dozens of 
times but this does not deter him from repeating them again with 
great enthusiasm. Nothing but the most superficial aspects of these 
experiences are ever touched upon. It seems as though he is unable 
to give more of himself than that (Hanfstaengl, 898). 

Price (230) says: "When more than two people are present, even 
though they are his intimate circle, there is no general discourse. 
Either Hitler talks and they listen, or else they talk among 
themselves and Hitler sits silent." And this is the way it seems to 
be. He is not at all annoyed when members of the group talk to each 
other unless of course he feels like doing the talking himself. But 
ordinarily he seem to enjoy listening to others while he makes 
believe that he is attending to something else. Nevertheless, he 
overhears everything which is being said and often uses it later 
on. (Hanfstaengl, 914) However, he does not give credit to the individual from whom he has learned it and simply gives it out as his own.

Rauschning (266) says:

"He has always been a poseur. He remembers things that he has heard 
and has a faculty for repeating them in such a way that the listener 
is lead to believe that they are his own."

Roehm also complained of this: 

"If you try to tell him anything, he knows everything already. Though 
he often does what we advise, he laughs in our faces at the moment, 
and later does the very thing as if it were all his own idea and 
creation. He doesn't even seem to be aware of how dishonest he is." (176)

[00010081.GIF  Page 75]

Another one of his tricks which drives people and particularly his 
associates to distraction is his capacity for forgetting. This trait has 
been commented upon so much that it scarcely needs mentioning here. We 
all know how he can say something one day and a few days later say the 
opposite, completely oblivious to his earlier statement. He does not only 
do this in connection with international affairs but also with his 
closest associates. When they show their dismay and call his attention 
to the inconsistency he flies off into a rage and demands to know if 
the other person thinks he is a liar. Evidently the other leading Nazis 
have also learned the trick, for Rauschning (266) says: 
 
"Most of the Nazis, with Hitler at their head, literally forget, like 
hysterical women, anything they have no desire to remember."

Although Hitler almost invariably introduces a few humorous elements 
into his speeches and gives the impression of considerable wit, he seems 
to lack any real sense of humor. He can never take a joke on himself. 
Heyst (600) says, "He is unable to purify his gloomy self with 
self-irony and humor." Von Wiegand (492) says he is extremely sensitive 
to ridicule and Huss says (408) "He takes himself seriously and will 
flare up in a tempermental rage at the least impingement by act or 
attitude on the dignity and holiness of state and Fuehrer." When 
everything is going well he sometimes gets into a gay and whimsical 
mood in a circle of close friends. His humor then is confined almost 
wholly to a kind of teasing or ribbing. The ribbing is 
usually [00010082.GIF  Page 76] in connection with alleged love 
affairs of his associates but are never vulgar and only hint at 
sexual factors (Hanfstaengl 910). Friedelinde Wagner provides us with 
an example of his teasing. Goering and Goebbels were both present at 
the time that he said to the Wagner family: 

"You all know what a volt is and an ampere, don't you? Right. But do 
you know what a goebbels, a goering are? A goebbels is the amount of 
nonsense a man can speak in an hour and a goering is the amount of 
metal that can be pinned on a man's breast." (632)

His other form of humor is mimicking. Almost everyone concedes that 
he has great talent along these lines and he frequently mimics his 
associates in their presence much to the amusement of everyone 
except the victim. He also loved to mimic Sir Eric Phipps and later 
Chamberlain. 

Hitler's poor adaptation to people is perhaps most obvious in his 
relations to women. Since he has become a political figure, his name 
has been linked with a great many women, particularly in the foreign 
press. Although the German public seem to know very little about this 
phase of his life, his associates have seen a great deal of it and the 
topic is always one for all kinds of conjectures. Roughly speaking, 
his relations to women fall into three categories; (a) much older 
women; (b) actresses and passing fancies, and (c) more or less 
enduring relationships. 

A. As early as 1920 Frau Carola Hofman, a 61 year old widow, took 
him under her wing and for years played the part of [00010083.GIF Page 77]
foster mother. Then came Frau Helena Bechstein, the wife of the famous Berlin
piano manufacturer, who took over the role. She spent large quantities of
money on Hitler in the early days of the party, introduced him to her social
circle and lavished maternal affection on hm, She often said that she wished
that Hitler were her son and while he was imprisoned in Landsberg she claimed
that she was his adopted mother in order that she fight visit him. 
Strasser (300) says that Hitler would often sit at her feet and lay 
his head against her bosom while she stroked his hair tenderly and 
murmured, "Mein Woelfchen".

Home ·  Site Map ·  What's New? ·  Search Nizkor