H.R. Knickerbocker (1898 – 1949), foreign correspondent for the Hearst papers, recalled a 1938 conversation he had with the noted Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung concerning Adolf Hitler and his broad appeal among the German people:
"He is like a man who listens intently to a stream of suggestions in a whispered voice from a mysterious source, and then acts upon them... In our case, even if occasionally our unconscious does reach us in dreams, we have too much rationality to obey it - but Hitler listens and obeys."
Click here to read about the origins of Fascist thought...
Click here to read Dr. Jung's thoughts on the collective guilt of the Germans. For the sixth time in his life, Ken Magazine's far-flung correspondent, W. Burkhardt, found himself cast in the roll as guest of the deposed king of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859 - 1941). After exchanging pleasantries, their conversation turned to weightier topics, such as contemporary German politics and it was at that time that Ken's man in Doorn recognized his moment:
"Suddenly, sensing a chance I may never have again, I pose the question":
"And yourself, Sire, what do you think of him?"
"Nichts!"
Click here to read about the fall of Paris...
 |
German millionaire industrialist Fritz Thyssen (1873 – 1951) paid the way for the Nazi party from its earliest days all the way up to Hitler's place in the sun. When Hitler attacked Poland, Thyssen bailed. In this column he confesses all:
"I met Hitler for the first time in 1923... Ludendorf arranged my first meeting with Hitler at the home of a mutual friend. What a different character Hitler was then! He was deferential and anxious to learn. You may not believe me, but he had a sense of humor, actually telling many jokes... Hitler as a speaker was amazing. I asked him how he achieved such success addressing people. He said, 'I don't know, but after ten minutes, like a band leader, I usually make contact with the crowd, and then everything is all right.'" This article was written shortly after the French occupation of the Ruhr and at a time when Adolf Hitler did not have much of a following -he was something of a curiosity to the Western press:
"A principal reason why Hitler's followers have begun to doubt him, it appears, is that the 'dreaded gathering' of the National Socialists in Munich came and went without 'accomplishment.'"
Read about the earliest post-war sightings of Hitler: 1945-1955
This magazine article appeared on American newsstands not too long after Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor in the office of President Hindenburg (Paul von Hindenburg 1847 – 1934), and presents a number of opinions gathered from assorted European countries as they considered just what a Nazi Germany would mean for the continent as a whole: "'Whether or not Hitler turns out to be a clown or a faker, those by his side now, and those who may replace him later, are not figures to be joked with.'" "With this grim thought the semiofficial Paris 'Temps' greets the accession of 'handsome Adolf' Hitler to the Chancellorship in Germany. The event, it ads, is 'of greater importance than any event since the fall of of the Hohenzollererns.'"
Click here to read a similar article from the same period. | 
