Enigma of Hitler

[Inevitable Droid]

Enigma of Hitler - http://www.newsnet14.com/2010/11/20/the-enigma-of-adolf-hitler/

The question of whether Hitler was atheist came up on another thread.  Either the author of the article referenced above is lying or Hitler believed in God.  As an added bonus, the article offers other interesting facts about Hitler, assuming, again, the author isn't lying.

Incidentally, I don't place any importance on whether Hitler was atheist or not, aside from my desire to set facts straight to the extent possible, because I like facts to be straight, regardless of topic.  Believing in God is neither necessary nor sufficient for being moral, nor for being immoral, nor amoral; disbelieving in God is neither necessary nor sufficient for being moral, nor for being immoral, nor amoral; finally, striving to be moral is neither necessary nor sufficient for being on the side of practical goodness, which is the rendering of earthly benefit to earthly creatures, nor for being on the opposite side thereof.  Hitler rendered practical evil to a great many people, and while doing so he apparently viewed himself as striving to be moral and as being on the side of Providence.  Stalin rendered practical evil to a great many people, and while doing so he apparently was amoral and apparently was atheist, or at least that's my best guess based on what I've read.  What Hitler and Stalin teach us is this: knowing whether a person believes in God or not, or even whether a person is striving to be moral or not, is of no help at all in predicting the practical goodness or practical evil of the person's future actions.

[Sophus]

What Hitler and Stalin teach us is this: knowing whether a person believes in God or not, or even whether a person is striving to be moral or not, is of no help at all in predicting the practical goodness or practical evil of the person's future actions.

Of course.* But a difference is that atheism doesn't claim to make you a good person whereas faith is considered the highest virtue there is by the religious and even many of those who aren't but respect faith anyways. There are some crazy, immoral and out right stupid atheists out there. I do think the world would be better without religion but losing religion is not enough, nor is it a solution to end all problems in the world.


* - Although it's worth noting it wasn't atheism, per se, that was used to justify his persecution of the religious but his demented ideal of how to achieve communism.

[Gawen]

Throughout his 13 years in the chancellery he never carried a wallet or ever had money of his own

.This is not true. He recieved quite a bit of money through sales of both his books.

Impressed by the beauty of the church in a Benedictine monastery where he was part of the choir and served as an altar boy, Hitler dreamt fleetingly of becoming a Benedictine monk. And it was at that time, too, interestingly enough, that whenever he attended mass, he always had to pass beneath the first swastika he had ever seen: it was graven in the stone escutcheon of the abbey portal.

This is not true either. It was his mother that wanted him to go into the church.

His love of music, art and architecture had not removed him from the political life and social concerns of Vienna.

Partially true. There was a great deal of music and art that he banned when becoming Chancellor.

Did Hitler believe in God? He believed deeply in God. He called God the Almighty, master of all that is known and unknown.

Propagandists portrayed Hitler as an atheist. He was not. He had contempt for hypocritical and materialistic clerics, but he was not alone in that. He believed in the necessity of standards and theological dogmas, without which, he repeatedly said, the great institution of the Christian church would collapse. These dogmas clashed with his intelligence, but he also recognized that it was hard for the human mind to encompass all the problems of creation, its limitless scope and breathtaking beauty. He acknowledged that every human being has spiritual needs.

The song of the nightingale, the pattern and color of a flower, continually brought him back to the great problems of creation. No one in the world has spoken to me so eloquently about the existence of God. He held this view not because he was brought up as a Christian, but because his analytical mind bound him to the concept of God.

Hitler’s faith transcended formulas and contingencies. God was for him the basis of everything, the ordainer of all things, of his Destiny and that of all others.

This...I understand to be true.

The author of this article, Léon Degrelle, was a Walloonian SS member. He was a proponent of the neo-nazi movements after the war. He was apparently Catholic, but became in opposition to Catholicism.
From Wiki:

...while expressing his pride over his close contacts and "thinking bond" with Adolf Hitler.

Sorry, but he embellishes here. Degrelle was not part of the General staff. Hitler had very few 'close' contacts.
and:

He received the Ritterkreuz (Knights Cross) from Hitler's hands (he later claimed Hitler told him "if I had a son, I wish he'd resemble you").

I would believe this. Apparently, Hitler said this to many soldiers that received medals from him personally.

Except for the above, the rest of the article, much to brief, really, seems accurate.

Notice, however, the neo-Nazi and white supremacist replies after the article. Is there a "puke" smilie for the boards?