# Did Anybody Really Like Adolph Hitler? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361 "2010-02-17T17:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/1 "2010-02-17T17:43:06Z")
I have just been reading the German-American radio journalist H.V. Kaltenborn’s memoirs (“It Seems Like Yesterday”). Kaltenborn was one of the very few foreign journalists who ever interviewed Hitler-and he did so several times. In Kaltenborn’s words, Hitler was a very unlikebale guy, who clearly disliked answering questions. Many years after the war, Kaltenborn recalled how nastly Hitler was. In contrast, Mussolini was a vey affable, friendly guy-who would crack jokes with Kaltenborn. He was also a polite host-provided you didn’t criticize the fascits party. Now, outside of a few close associates (like Eva Braun)-did anybody actually like Hitler? Goebbles probably did, but many army officers found him unlikeable-and most recalled meeting him as a very unpleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/2 "2010-02-17T17:47:50Z")
I think [Hanna Reitsch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Reitsch) was genuinely fond of him. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/3 "2010-02-17T18:04:25Z")
[Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Hanfstaengl). He and Hitler were friends for years, though eventually fell out. From interviews I saw of him later, it was clear he still liked Hitler as a person, though. ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/4 "2010-02-17T18:29:16Z")
I’ve been fascinated with the Mitford sisters, big tabloid figureheads in the 20th century, and read a lot them. Two of them, Unity and Diana, were big Hitler fans, and traveled to Germany to befriend him. They even brought their mother and little sister Deborah (now the last surviving Mitford sibling) to have lunch with him, and both were charmed by the man. Lady Redesdale (the Mitfords’ mother) refused to believe Hitler was evil even as World War II went on and her son was killed in Burma, because the dictator was so charming when she met him. Plus, after Unity attempted suicide on hearing that England and Germany had declared war, Hitler paid to have the now-brain-damaged young woman safely returned to her parents. So, Lady Redesdale also felt obliged to the man for that. But she wasn’t the only one. Lots of English aristocrats seemed to like Hitler’s politics and thought of him as a smart guy. There was even a fascist party in Britain, the BUF, headed by Diana’s second husband Oswald Mosely. Of course, the pair were imprisoned during the war for this, but they remained unrepentant about their politics, and admiration of Hitler, to their dying days. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/5 "2010-02-17T18:34:40Z")
Everybody that didn’t like Hitler, generally had some agenda against him. Or, vice versa. The professional military was against him because he wasn’t of the aristocracy, and the professional military class. He was generally affable, from what I’ve read. He was fairly introspective, but had enough charm to charm those that he chose to. He wasn’t the sullen, crazy person that he perhaps became in the closing months of the war. He didn’t kill people just because they disagreed with him, and didn’t run around goosestepping 24/7, shrieking “I hate Jews.” hh ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/6 "2010-02-17T19:17:06Z")
Of course, his extreme flatulance did nothing to add to his charm - and his manners were alleged to be horrible, too. [http://www.metro.co.uk/news/544020-hitlers-flatulence-revealed-in-new-papers](http://www.metro.co.uk/news/544020-hitlers-flatulence-revealed-in-new-papers) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/7 "2010-02-17T20:57:40Z")
He could be quite charming when he wanted to be. Some of his inner circle, such as Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels, were absolutely devoted to him. Traudl Junge, his personal secretary (featured in the fascinating interview documentary _Blind Spot_, and the lead female character in the excellent in-the-_Fuhrerbunker_ drama _Downfall_), thought the world of him. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/8 "2010-02-18T01:54:27Z")
Cleveland journalist Dorothy Fuldheim once interviewed Hitler. Years later, she commented that, though she despised everything he stood for, she found him to be one of the most charismatic people she had ever met. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/9 "2010-02-18T02:06:33Z")
And what a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in a day, two coats! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/10 "2010-02-18T02:21:17Z")
Of course. A few years ago, I made some comments on an eminently unlikable HR Director for the place I worked for. How she deliberately fucked people over and seemed to go all out to destroy people who forced her to actually do her job. Kinda shocked me when one of the people I worked with, who had already clashed with her in a legal manner (and won) pointed out that she, like everyone else, had friends. I was kinda like “well of course”, but it drove home the point that even the people we think of as being universally despicable and unlikable are usually not so to everyone around them. That for all her pettiness and evil, she too went home at the end of the day and enjoyed the company of others. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/11 "2010-02-18T02:28:55Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Everybody that didn’t like Hitler, generally had some agenda against him. Or, vice versa. The professional military was against him because he wasn’t of the aristocracy, and the professional military class. > He was generally affable, from what I’ve read. He was fairly introspective, but had enough charm to charm those that he chose to. He wasn’t the sullen, crazy person that he perhaps became in the closing months of the war. He didn’t kill people just because they disagreed with him, and didn’t run around goosestepping 24/7, shrieking “I hate Jews.” > > hh Your sig of “hh” takes on a new meaning in this post. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Punkyova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@The\_Punkyova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Punkyova)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/12 "2010-02-18T04:21:10Z")
I read a memoir once (I think it was William Manchester, but can’t be sure), where the author, who had been a journalist in Berlin, met Hitler once. He and some friends were at the theater, and Hitler (who was the head of state, but not yet absolute ruler) came to the performance. The writer and his friends were kicked out of their box seats so that Hitler could have them. He came and met them, shook hands all around and said he was sorry, it was a security thing, and arranged for them to get free passes to a later performance. The author said he already despised everything Hitler stood for, but thought he was a very charming and pleasant person. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/13 "2010-02-18T04:36:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He could be quite charming when he wanted to be. Some of his inner circle, such as Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels, were absolutely devoted to him. Traudl Junge, his personal secretary (featured in the fascinating interview documentary _Blind Spot_, and the lead female character in the excellent in-the-_Fuhrerbunker_ drama _Downfall_), thought the world of him. +1 for these movies as fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/14 "2010-02-18T04:53:27Z")
In the newsreels I’ve seen of him with his dogs, the dogs appear to fear him. Am I reading the dogs’ body language correctly? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/15 "2010-02-18T05:05:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In the newsreels I’ve seen of him with his dogs, the dogs appear to fear him. Am I reading the dogs’ body language correctly? From what I’ve heard, dogs and children were the only creatures he was consistantly at ease with, and reliably nice to. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/16 "2010-02-18T05:19:22Z")
I read a history of Vienna in the early decades of the 20th C. and as I remember it said Hitler was pretty well liked at the hostel he was living in at the time. He was known as a bit of a crank for his political rants, but overall thought to be a good egg and the first to take up a collection when someone fell short on their week’s rent. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/17 "2010-02-18T08:42:03Z")
[Even Hitler Had A Girlfriend!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4GQCilyYjU) ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/18 "2010-02-18T10:13:12Z")
I am sure Blondie liked him before she was put down. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/19 "2010-02-18T21:58:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In the newsreels I’ve seen of him with his dogs, the dogs appear to fear him. Am I reading the dogs’ body language correctly? Here are some film of Hitler and his dog Blondi. I’m not really much fear there: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Jz3rx8OGE6o/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jz3rx8OGE6o?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iSepU6CbVn8/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/iSepU6CbVn8?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Here’s a film of Hitler and friends at the Berghof: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dZBAcU3jxg0/hqdefault.jpg "Rarest Document on YouTube?! 1939-Hitler and Friends-Col/Snd") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZBAcU3jxg0) ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361/20 "2010-02-18T23:04:31Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > From what I’ve heard, dogs and children were the only creatures he was consistantly at ease with, and reliably nice to. Albert Speer writes: > [@](#): > > I have often wondered whether Hitler felt anything like affection for children. He certainly made an effort when he met them, whether they were the children of acquaintances or unknown to him. He even tried to deal with them in a paternally friendly fashion, but never managed to be very convincing about it. He never found the proper easy manner of treating them; after a few benign words he would soon turn to others… His personality had no effect whatsoever upon my own children. As for the OP’s question: If we are to believe Speer, he certainly seemed to like Hitler, and vice-versa. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-really-like-adolph-hitler/529361.md?page=2)