Der Führer Adolf Hitler - Ein Selfmade-Mythos

Was the rise of the Austrian Adolf Hitler to the Führer of the German Reich foreseeable, and could it possibly have been prevented through proactive actions by the key political actors of the Weimar Republic? Did his radical views actually reflect a majority-supported image of societal expectations in the turbulent years following Germany's defeat in World War I? The childhood and youth of the future dictator, when considered against the backdrop of contemporary history, reveal no clear indications of an atypical development. Although the existential crisis of his years in Vienna had a lasting impact on the extremist worldview of the young man, it does not provide a sufficient explanation for the radicalization of his thinking that began after the war. The economic crisis undoubtedly favored his political career; however, a real option for power did not necessarily arise from the dire social conditions. It was only the power-political intentions and misjudgments of anti-democratic leading politicians of the Weimar Republic that ultimately paved the way for Adolf Hitler to the Reich Chancellery in a tragic manner. They enabled him and his associates to unleash a monstrous tyranny, war, and genocide.