Was Hitler actually evil?

[Jetfire]

Just found this discussion.

As many of you have pointed out, "evil" is a nebulous concept.

Philip Van Rindt wrote a fictional drama where a elderly Adolph Hitler came forward and was put on trial for war crimes (a little more definitive than evil).

The prosecution had to try to find cases where Hitler had personally ordered the deaths. While fictional, the story dealt with some real events and some real legal issues.

Personally, I do believe that what Hitler did was evil, but we turn a blind eye to many other cases of evil.

The 6 million Jews who died should not be forgotten.

There is also the American Holocaust.where an estimated 10 million to 114 million Native Americans died since the Europeans came the new world. At one time, the government paid for Native scalps and germ warfare was used.
Sounds evil to me.

Ancient history? How about Guantanamo Bay at present time?
Evil violations at Guantanamo Bay include:
- jailing of children
- torture
- no representation for detainees
- held without any charges like one person held 6 years before a trial

These actions are in violation of international laws signed by the US.

In 9/11, 2001, 2,985 people died. The terrorists were definitely evil.

In 2001, 42,116 people died in car crashes. Are car makers evil?

In 2007, 45.7 million Americans (about 15%) had no health care coverage. Sounds like some growing evil there.

We should learn from the evil of the past and make sure we don't let the evil of the present go unchallenged.

Agreed.

 

[James Wright]

So I have been doing some thinking regarding the morality of World War II, and each time I conclude that the allies really were the "good guys" in this war. (As much as there can be good guys in a war) A lot of times this conclusion is based on the motivations of one Adolf Hitler. I'd say the Japanese were pretty "bad" too, with the way they treated POWs, and even civilian prisoners on the Philippines, but their culture was very different from that of the West at that point in time. Hitler, on the other hand, was born and raised in the West, and thus had to have had the same moral upbringing as anyone else in the Western world of the time.

Knowing that, were Hitler's mandates actually evil? Did he think that some of his actions were really for the greater good? What did he mean to achieve by the Holocaust?

Basically I'd like to discuss whether or not the guy actually had any redeemable qualities. Had Germany's Third Reich survived WWII, would Hitler currently be viewed as a German hero for bringing glory to his people, kind of like an Alexander the Great or a Julius Caesar?

Just read the book Mein Kampf and you'll see Hitler's intentions

James

 

[Captain Pike]

It's so weird reading your posts in this thread... The Great Mambo Chicken was a previous username of The God Thing, who holds markedly different opinions about the Nazis and their deeds.

Yeah I kept thinking someone had hacked TGT's account or something for a short time..

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

It's so weird reading your posts in this thread... The Great Mambo Chicken was a previous username of The God Thing, who holds markedly different opinions about the Nazis and their deeds.

Yeah I kept thinking someone had hacked TGT's account or something for a short time..

I don't recall The Great Mambo Chicken incarnation of TGT -- only the Mr Stinky Pants one -- so I guess it must have been many years ago.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

"Evil" is a descriptive terms for specific actions. I don't believe Hitler was "evil" but he did many "evil" things. He wasn't "evil" or doing "evil" things when he brushed his teeth, for example.

I hate when people throw the term "evil" out there like it is an entity of itself. The same people often believe that Bible is more than merely a collection of stories.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

A childhood friend of Hitler's tackled him about the extermination camps -- those were more widely known about than some like to pretend -- he exploded verbally at her that it was necessary to balance the losses of German lives on the Eastern front. I think I'd call that evil ingrained in its reduction of people to profit and loss columns on a balance sheet.

 

[bbally]

Yes, he was evil. Now, while I do think many wars don't represent good vs evil, World War II was one of the closest to actually being good vs evil, if the Nazi had won then many nations would've been screwed.