Volker Ullrich Quotes & Sayings

Hitler was without a doubt exceptional in his criminal deeds. Yet in many respects, he was not at all out of the ordinary. — Volker Ullrich

Hitler's unusually improvisational and personal style of leadership, which created constant responsibility conflicts and an anarchic tangle of offices and portfolios, was anything but an expression of political incompetence. On the contrary, it served to make Hitler's own supremacy essentially unassailable. — Volker Ullrich

Who cares whether they laugh at us or insult us, treating us as fools or criminals?" Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf. "The point is that they talk about us and constantly think about us. — Volker Ullrich

Hitler was an avid reader, a passion that stayed with him through all the phases of his career. — Volker Ullrich

Hitler was never more than average as an artist. His great talent was for the games of politics. — Volker Ullrich

Count Harry Kessler noted laconically: "It's a sad New Year, the end of a catastrophic year and the beginning of what looks to be an even more catastrophic one. — Volker Ullrich

To understand Hitler's power as a speaker, we must consider that he was not just the bellowing tavern demagogue we always picture, but in fact constructed his speeches very deliberately. — Volker Ullrich

If there is one thing we admire about National Socialism it's the fact that it has succeeded, for the first time in German politics, in the complete mobilisation of human stupidity."30 — Volker Ullrich

We will never be able to understand the terrible things that happened between 1933 and 1945 if we deny from the outset that Hitler also had human characteristics, and if we fail to take into account not only his criminal energies, but also the appealing qualities he had. — Volker Ullrich

Hitler always styled himself as a man who renounced all personal happiness in the service of his people. There is no conclusive evidence of this, but I believe that behind the smokescreen of discretion, Hitler had a very normal love life with Eva Braun. — Volker Ullrich

Hitler was "someone seduced by himself," someone who was so inseparable from his words "that a measure of authenticity flowed over the audience even when he was telling obvious lies. — Volker Ullrich

Very few recordings exist in which Hitler can be heard speaking normally. But in those that do exist, it's evident he possessed quite a warm, calm voice. It's a completely different tone from what he used in his public appearances. — Volker Ullrich

The remarkable thing about Hitler was his talent for dissimulation. His formidable abilities as an actor are often overlooked. There are only very rarely situations where we can say he was being genuine. — Volker Ullrich

In his book Defying Hitler, written in British exile in 1939, Sebastian Haffner recalled the "icy fright" that had been his first reaction to the news that Hitler had been named chancellor: "For a moment I almost physically sensed the odour of blood and filth surrounding this man Hitler. It was a bit like being approached by a threatening and disgusting predator - it felt like a dirty paw with sharp claws in my face." But — Volker Ullrich

Kershaw did not minimise the historical role played by his insane, ideological fixations, but he did illustrate that without the readiness of many people to work for the man in charge, there would have been no way he could have achieved his murderous aims. — Volker Ullrich