Some sort of popular sentiments, beliefs and prejudices have always existed in every known human society. And whether these sentiments and prejudices are based on logic and historical accuracy or not, the people would generally have strong emotional attachment towards these feelings(as if these are inseparable parts of their psyche). The emotional attachment would be so strong that most would not even hesitate to lay down their lives or take lives in order to protect and preserve these ideas and beliefs whether they are wrong or right.
Therefore, for anyone from within or outside that society, it would be considered extremely dangerous and treacherous to say anything against these prevalent ideas let alone going against them. It would be risky and revolutionary even for an insider of the society to go against its own popular beliefs and prejudices. But for an outsider who is in that society either temporarily or permanently, it would be even more dangerous and unruly to say or do things that are against the prevalent ideas and beliefs of that society. So, for an outsider trying to fit into an alien community, he has to be extremely cautious before he says or does anything in that community lest he lands in troubled waters. I guess this is the reason why it is said, “While in Rome, do as the Romans”.
Now let us reflect on an astonishing case of a highly civilized and sophisticated nation falling prey and submitting to the whims and fancies of a total outsider who came to their land from nowhere, literally brainwashed the whole people and rose to the pinnacle of power by cleverly capitalizing on the prevalent prejudices and sentiments of that nation.
Many Germans felt that their country was betrayed, maltreated and insulted by the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. This armistice had 440 clauses and out of this, 414 clauses were devoted to punishing Germany. It was signed in November 1918 and this is why the German leaders who signed the document came to be known as the November criminals. Perhaps it was really a bit too much to lay the whole responsibility and burden of a world war on a single nation. This was why, after 1918, most Germans felt betrayed, angry and infuriated at the way they had been treated by the victorious countries. This feeling of resentment and frustration was widespread in Germany throughout the 1920s. And soon an outsider would appear to add fuel to this fire of resentment and frustration.
Right up to the middle of the 20th century, the Jews were a people without a country.And the tragedy was that there had never been a dearth of people who hated the Jews. Perhaps, for reasons unknown, the Jews had been the most hated and condemned people in all of history. And this hatred for the Jews was so much a reality that it even led to the invention of a term called “Anti-Semitism”. The phenomenon of hating the Jews came to be known as “Anti-Semitism” and a person who hates the Jews came to be known as an anti-Semite. Anti-Semitism had always existed all over Europe and it was a very forceful phenomenon at the turn of the 19th century right up to the middle of the 20th century. It was especially noticeable and vociferous in central European countries like Austria and Germany. Anti-Semitism had always existed in Germany despite having only a negligible Jewish population. And in the 1920s as well, Anti-Semitism was a real phenomenon which was deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of most Germans. But what the Germans did not know was that, soon a man would appear from nowhere and take full advantage of this prejudice for his own personal agenda.
After the success of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917, there was a widespread fear throughout Europe that the communist ideology would spread and engulf the whole continent. Most European nations became wary of this new Marxist Idea. And Germany was no exception. In the 1920s, fights and clashes with communists in the streets became a regular part of German life. And as such, most Germans were totally engrossed in the mission of educating the German citizens to be wary of this ideology and were willing to do almost anything to stop the communists from gaining a permanent foothold in Germany. And soon an outsider would appear and grasp hold of the people’s fear and threat of this foreign ideologyand proclaim himself as a great crusader against the communist ideology. And thus, he would cleverly play with the prevalent mentality of the people and finally make the people believe and consider him as the only safe-bet against the menace of communism.
In the 1920s, as a result of the armistice of 1918, unemployment and poverty were rampant in Germany. And the people felt that their present leaders who were at the helm of affairs did not have the capability to pull them out of this poverty. And just when things appeared to be improving a little in the late 1920s, the New York stock exchange crashed and the Great Depression began and Germany happened to be the worst victim of this unforeseen phenomenon. As is rightly said, “New York sneezed, London caught cold and Germany almost died of influenza”. After 1929, unemployment almost doubled and prices of essential commodities sky-rocketed. And in such a scenario, the only hope for most Germans was the emergence of a strong leader who could not only drag them out of this depravity and misery but could also somewhat restore their former glory and pride. And they would not have to wait long because an outsider amongst them was already promising all that the Germans wanted.
I call Adolf Hitler an outsider here because, though he is usually known as a German dictator, he was initially not even a German citizen but an Austrian. As is rightly said, “a prophet is never accepted in his own hometown” and “it is always easier to accept a message that comes from across the seas rather than the one hatched in your own backyard”. Perhaps the Germans accepted Hitler because he exhibited this idea of an outsider coming to the rescue of Germany during its most turbulent times.
Yes, if we look at the story of Hitler, we would see that he did not invent any new idea or brought from outside any new ideology or revelation. He simply played with and manipulated the popular sentiments and prejudices that were already prevalent in Germany. He did not reveal to the Germans that they had been maltreated and insulted by the Treaty of Versailles. They already knew it. He did not invent Anti-Semitism. It had always existed in Germany. He did not warn the people against communism. They were already wary and afraid. Hitler just appeared on the scene, read the rhythm and mood of the time and people and added fire to the already prevalent sentiments and prejudices.
If we look around we can see that many in our society are doing what Hitler did to his people for his own personal agenda and ulterior motives. They don’t have anything new to say or do. They do not have the capability to invent anything new or bring in anything new from outside. But they have become experts in playing games with the popular sentiments and prejudices already prevalent. And it has become a matter of who can play the bestwith the sentiments and prejudices of the people.
In his 56 years of life, Adolf Hitler went from being a tramp to becoming the most powerful man on earth in 1940 to destroying the country he loved and everything he had fought for over his career. He had, in his early life, been a little more than a way-stroller who was only given a chance of notoriety by chance happening. And after gaining that notoriety, he played on the prejudices of the German people to seize power and later conduct a war he had neither the resources northe intellect or talent to win.
God forbid our society goes down such a path as this because we have no dearth of people playing with the popular sentiments and prejudices prevalent in our society. It is also so easy to get carried away by success, glory or notoriety in any field and do things which are nothing short of madness or absurdity. Thus we should learn to bite only what we can chew and swallow. Popular sentiments and prejudices may be close to our hearts but it can be played upon by vested interests from both within and outside of our society. So the conclusion here again is, “Be informed but do not be deceived”. ….
