There are quite a few reports that he could be when it suited him. Polite and old-fashionedly gentleman-like with his typists, for instance, with children and with susceptible foreign admirers (especially if female). Just so long as you weren’t on his enemies list or weren’t some subordinate who had let him down or hadn’t been as ruthless as he wanted.
Just “playing with notions”, not seriously suggesting anything – but, re Hitler and his fellow-dictator / tyrant / mass-murderer Stalin. I get the impression that Hitler, in his “leisure time” from being Total Evil Personified, displayed some – potentially endearing – traits of ordinary human softness / kindness / geniality / silliness. But I’ve never heard of anything the slightest bit ordinarily-humanly-endearing, reported of Stalin: who gives to me anyway, the impression of having been a totally and completely cold customer.
I recall a post “somewhere, sometime” on SDMB, where the idea was floated – I think, not as propounded serious fact, just as a “what-if”: that whereas Hitler was a monster, but a thoroughly human one, with human attributes; Stalin was an alien, disguised in human shape, but belonging to a race from elsewhere in the galaxy – sent by them as an agent to disrupt human society, and to set up a scenario involving nuclear war, which would reduce Earth’s human population and weaken mankind, so as to facilitate the alien race’s invading and subjugating Earth. Luckily for humanity, this design on the part of the aliens mostly failed of its purpose. Ridiculous fantasy, etc. – but I have had moments of wondering whether those who suggest this stuff, might just possibly be onto something.
I agree, I have read some accounts of Hitler being a nice guy in his dealings with others on a purely social level, despite the monstrousness of his policies, but never of Stalin.
Yes. See the very good movie Downfall for some examples of that.
You guys might want to try reading Young Stalin by Simon Montefiore. Interesting stuff, icluding the fact that young Iosef was pretty much a good fun party guy with a lot of close friends in his younger days. Some of whom, at least, he did not later turn on and have killed.
Stalin was no less human than Hitler, by any means, and would have been much better company than Hitler in the early days.
Also that’s a far more human smile than I ever saw on Hitler.
Not a U.S. soldier, but Hitler definitely met an allied soldier while a state of war existed with that soldier’s country.
And there is film documenting the encounter.
Place: Compiegne
Allied soldier: General Charles Huntziger
Film clip can be found at:
http://www.ushmm.org/online/film/display/detail.php?file_num=4129
The two men are present together at about 01:17:15 on the time stamp recorded on the video clip.
New to me, and interesting – I’ll allow that it could be, that old Joe as an individual gets somewhat more of a bad rap than he deserves. His conduct as a statesman, vis-a-vis a fair number of those who’ve written about him, was not such as to be likely to encourage them toward impartiality concerning him.
Another “Hitler encounter” (though not as far as is known, with sometime-person-in-arms-on-Allied-side) which comes to mind from family lore. Passed on at a couple of removes, from a member of our family in the “young in WW II” generation, all such in our family now dead.
Said family member had been acquainted with a Jewish lady, originally German or Austrian – it would seem, born around beginning of 20th century. However it came about, she didn’t perish in the Holocaust, and lived to an advanced age somewhere west of Central Europe. This lady was at a social gathering in the 1920s, at which Hitler was present. They met, and exchanged pleasantries – it emerged that Adolf was active on the political scene, in connection with which he asked the lady if she had heard of him. She, not being heavily into politics, replied, “I’m afraid not”. Hitler responded, with calm confidence, “You will”. An anecdote which cries out for the punch-line, “Oy veh ! Did we ever !”
Little miss D18 (who is in her late teens) saw that picture before and confirms he was quite dreamy! 
He was quite the rogue in his early days, robbing banks and the like, probably quite attractive to a lot of women.
Was he not accused of rape once? Or was that Saddam? Or maybe neither.
But Stalin was just a thug; Hitler had his thugs work for him back when he was just an up-and-comer.