Hitler...different podcast...

The podcast I listened to was a lecture on the "Legacy of Hitler" according to Sir Ian Kershaw, a professor at Sheffield University. The Podcast was titled Hitler's Place In History: The Lecture Podcast. The Podcast acted as a very interesting insight into Hitler's psyche. Kershaw discussed Hitler's suicide, his rational throughout his lifetime, how he incorporated his beliefs into German society, and how he manipulated Germany (in a sense) to achieve what he had always wanted. To begin the podcast Kershaw described the week leading up to Hitler's suicide as recorded by the defenders of the bunker. This portion was mainly included because it set up the feel for how Kershaw was to explain Hitler's rational. The most intrinsic piece of Hitler and his war, according to Kershaw, was his genocidal mentality directed towards the Jews. It is noted in the podcast that Hitler claimed frequently that the greatest years of his life were those he spent fighting in WWI. When Hitler discovered his nation had lost he, amongst other citizens, searched for a scapegoat and found it. In september of 1919 Hitler wrote that "the ultimate aim of a national government had to be the removal of the Jews altogether." The podcast then established more proof throughout expressing that the war wasn't about world domination, but instead it was about solidifying Germany in history and the genocide of the Jewish peoples. It is even acknowledged that the night before Hitler commit suicide he claimed that even though Germany had lost the world war, the war against the Jews must continue on forever more. Kershaw then began to drift away from the topic of genocide in his lecture and soon focused on how Hitler incorporated his beliefs into German society. He offers examples of Hitler's love of magic, mysticism, and demonic beliefs. He then showed how Hitler incorporated these mythological interests with scientific interest like survival of the fittest and Darwinism. This is all then incorporated with Nietzsche and his advocacy of Will to Power. Lastly, Kershaw, discussed how Hitler manipulated society to achieve his love of art all along. Hitler, had a fascination with structure, art, design, and architecture. These he incorporated into his leadership frequently. For instance, he helped establish ideas for war machines such as the Landkreuzer P. 1500. He also had ideas for establishing a new capital city, Gormenia. In this city he drew up plans for the worlds largest domed building, a building able to house 180,000 people. All of these designs were Hitler's passion, and he frequently spoke of his and Germany's legacy defying the test of time. Especially through architecture.

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/the-lecture-podcast