The Power of Public Speaking

Starting off, to be honest, I’ve always seen Hitler in a negative way because of what his image was for a “perfect” race of people, and the horrible things done to millions (or billions) of Jews on his behalf. However, I have since learned and cannot deny, that he was an extremely brilliant military man, and one of the most charismatic orators in history. So is the power of rhetoric; so is the power of language.

Burke states that, "Men who can unite on nothing else can unite on the basis of a foe shared by all" (Burke 193). To Hitler, this was the Jewish people. Germany was a fragile nation at this time, and the “common enemy” created by Hitler were these people. However deluded, now the German people were united, and this symbolism created by Hitler kept them all driven towards a common purpose. How did Hitler lead a nation to such actions? Burke suggests that not only with rhetoric, but Hitler seduced them in a Freudian way. The German people are "feminine" and since they are, they must be led by a dominating male, and this male is Hitler (Burke 195). It seems like taking over a country is pretty easy if you have a decent knowledge of public speaking and a common enemy to blame all the problems on.... This brings to mind the start of black slavery in America.

Hitler does not classify under his own standards of the perfect people (Aryans -- blonde hair and blue eyes), but since he has voted himself a new identity, the persecutor, he is able to pass by the brutal solutions he implemented (Burke 215). Hitler saw that his speaking ability was the true cause of power that allowed the Nazi party to take control of Germany and takeover of most of Eastern Europe. "The efficiency of Hitlerism is the efficiency of the one voice implemented throughout a total organization." (Burke 213). Hitler himself insisted the revolutions are made solely by the power of the spoken word, which basically sums up how he so easily seized control of Germany in its era of need.