Would it be true to say that Adolf Hitler was a nihilist (especially near the end of the World War II)?

Question

I am a hisatory buff and I just read a book by Joakim Fest that dealt with the last months of World War II. I am just trying to determine if Hitler could have been considered a nihilist or not. In the last year of the war, in his bunker, he kind of had the attitude that the only purpose of the war was destruction for the sake of destruction. He would also send massive amounts of troops on what could have easily been considered suicide missions. And his generals knew it. It seemed as if he wanted to destroy everything in his path near the end without any purpose.

Answer 1

Watch the movie 'Downfall'. It's a German film about Hitler's last days in the bunker. I believe it may have been somewhat based on the book you read. But yes it has the same argument that Hitler's military strategy was senselessly suicidal and he wanted to punish the German people for their failure to win the war. I also read an article that disputes this view, but I cannot remember the title. But watch 'Downfall', it's a great movie even if you disagree with the argument. It's also controversial because Hitler is portrayed in a more human light, rather than as an evil monster.

Answer 2

I just don't see his theories of a superhuman master race and a thousand year reich matching up very well with the "why bother" roots of nihilism.

His scorched earth policies were simple a military strategy, and his decisions at the end were those of a demented madman who refused to accept that his armies had been decimated.

Nutcase, yes; nihilist, I don't think so. But it's an interesting idea.

Answer 3

Hitler was no nihilist.  Not in the beginning and not in the end.  

Every concept Hitler had was about building.  Even in destructive and cruel policies, the outcome was always to achieve what he believed would be a greater good.  They were usually grandiose and with an eye for the cultural, social, and human evolution of the Germans to be one of ascendency.  Even his hatred of the Jews was partially based on his belief that they were not capable of creating new things, and were devoid of any transcending spirituality.

The end of the war did show a tired, ill, and delusional Hitler who had accumulated enemies that would not rest until he and his plans were erased.  Even then he would, perhaps knowing full well he was fooling himself, hope that the death of Roosevelt, or some secret project would come to the rescue.

Faced with the onslaught at the end and the hopeless position he and Germany faced, he was certainly a believer that he would rather die than accept the world his enemies had in store.  He even might have believed Germany was better off destroyed than suffer that fate...

Certainly even then though, he was anything but a nihilist.