Mar 31, 2009

Swastika?

Lord Voldemort was great. Evil, but great.

- Ollivander the Wandmaker


Greatness is not something that should be equaled with goodness. No. As Rowling correctly points out here, one can be great and at the same time as evil. It is not the nature of your deeds that certify greatness but the magnitude.


Adolf Hitler was one such person.

A leader (or a dictator if you wish), an orator unrivaled, a believer. In something very wrong, yes, but believer nonetheless.


A horrible person I agree. Most people would probably cringe at the thought of finding anything positive about a man so despicable, but I did. I refrain from saying it out loud, as I’ve noticed it is not much appreciated. But I want to. Not to defend him, please don’t misunderstand. Just to understand.


Most importantly to learn. Not learn from him, learn about him. Actually know, how could a person single handedly bring about a World War? What went on in his mind when his minions were killing children and raping women? What could possibly lead him to believe that what he was doing was right? How could a person change the very meaning most ancient and one of the most holy symbols to an emblem of hate and death?


He didn’t only believe. That’s not his greatness. Not the least. He assumes the powerful position he has come to hold in my mind, because he made everybody believe. He convinced millions of sane human beings to irrevocably believe in his cause. A cause in the shape of such inconceivable cruelty; even after so many years it causes shudders. A cause which left a wounded religion and a bruised country behind. A cause which made a proud nation come down on its knees after the delirium was over. But they still haven’t recovered. The blood hasn’t staunched yet. The memories haunt still. How did he mange this?


How could one help but wonder about the perpetrator of it all? About how extraordinary a mind and will such a man must possess? One thing I have unfailingly read everywhere is the magic of Herr Hitler’s words. The spell he could weave with them. When he spoke you just had to listen and nod at what he was saying. When one reads his autobiography - Mein Kampf – one can almost get lost in his tale. One has to continuously remind himself of the pile of massacred bodies to not lose perspective.

This book is not to be read for enjoyment, not for literature, not even for information. This book is to be read as a guide. Of what to be and what not to be.


Hitler was not a good man. But we can still feel the heat of the power he radiated. In a sense, Hitler had what most of us who struggle with our blogs want to attain. He had the power of expression with him. A man who first used this very weapon to control all and then, only then annihilate. He had a warped and twisted mind, but he was clear about what he wanted to achieve and half of the world combined couldn’t stop him.


Sometimes I can’t even explain to myself about this raving fascination with Hitler. I am clear about the fact that I don’t admire him about his ideologies or principles. It’s just something I can’t explain.


The capsule of power, the clarity of thought, the power of words. Maybe that’s what I want to learn.


Not a thing more.


PS: This post is purely based on personal views. It’s not meant to offend anyone.


13 comments:

Sharanya said...

Watch The Reader Suchi. ASAP.

William Deng-Deng K. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
William Deng-Deng K. said...

OMG!!!! Hitler? 1. He was evil. 2. He was bad.
:|
He's far (as in light-years far) from admirable. :|
haven't u watched any of those nazis-kill-jews movies yet? just one of them is enough to give u the creeps.

Such! said...

@Sharan: I have! This was kind of rebound post. Something that was in my mind and just generated itself after the movie. I LOVED THE MOVIE.

@comment deleted: who are you?! and what do you want?!

@Deng: Oh dear. this is just the reaction i feared. plz read the post properly..i don't love him, i admire him for a particular set of skills. And i do hate his evil-ness for whatever he has done.

Urvashi said...

I know what you mean.

My friend tried telling this to me once and my reaction was exactly that of William.

He made those people believe.

A couple million.

I admire that. And simply that.
The nature of what he believed or its repercussions are irrelevant.

Such! said...

@alchemy16: i cannot explain how glad i am to see your comment. inexpressibly jubilant that you got what i'm trying to say.
thank you.

PS:BTW, doesn't that cover Germany? And Austria?

William Deng-Deng K. said...

i know exactly what u mean. its just difficult to digest the fact that he's still remembered so widely, even if its for all his skills, after what he did. got carried away by the impulse.

Ankit Poddar said...

suchi,

thanks for putting this up, coz we need to realize as rowling puts it, that greatness is not defined by the nature, but magnitude of our efforts!

in a similar vein, we have other greats like saddam (again a dictator of great proportions), bush (a great folly), obama ( a symbol of great hope), gandhi, sachin ( a great batsman, if i may add a great symbol of talented India), manmohan singh ( a great visionary, just for 1991)!

not considering the nature of any of their efforts, and by no way comparing them to each other or to hitler, it is just that i wanted to point out, how we could have greats in different aspects, not just for their skills, but also for what they represent!

Such! said...

@Deng: Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Non Nazi Me
:D

@Kits: As for you, i knew you would get it. Rmbr that orkut community?

Ankit Poddar said...

Suchi,

yeah, i do! Locha, was it? I still own it i guess!

btw, i was meaning to approach you to write a guest post for All Padded Up, lemme know if you game for it!!

Such! said...

@Kits: Hm, i guess i can, though i might sound all unprofessional in front of you guys..
Currently exams on, let's see...

Vyom said...

nice post and I agree with very first line of the post, which sets the tone for this wonderful post.
I would rather remember this line from now on :) And I guess you are quite good as far as the power of words is concerned. Great use of words throughout the post.

And you didnt give you gmail id so that I could have invited you for vg-perspective.

Ankit Poddar said...

suchi,

you kidding me?! dude, i am a fan, your fan for the way you write!

exams on?! all the best!!

and yeah, mail in your post, when you ready for it!