"Hitler's only kidding about the antisemitism" New York Times, 1922

Asaroth

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"Several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler's anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and that he was merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as a bait to catch masses of followers and keep them aroused, enthusiastic, and in line for the time when his organization is perfected and sufficiently powerful to be employed effectively for political purposes."

"You can't expect the masses to understand or appreciate your finer real aims. You must feed the masses with cruder morsels and ideas like anti-Semitism. It would be politically all wrong to tell them the truth about where you really are leading them."

EDIT: I didn't really expect the comments to be this misled. Yes, this is, in fact, a genuine news article that came out in 1922 on TNYT. Hitler was a prominent figure in Germany in that time period and the U.S was very well aware of his existence.
(Source: http://www.snopes.com/1922-new-york-times-hitler/)

Also, this article was published PRIOR to the Holocaust, which mainly occurred from early 1933 to mid 1945. They didn't mention the Holocaust simply because it hadn't HAPPENED YET. I highly doubt any Holocaust deniers could ever use this article in any form or means to defend their views. I simply posted this to illustrate just how wrong TNYT was about Hitler when they published this article, or to be more accurate, the politician who claimed so.

BoooBerry

"... Several reliable, well-informed sources..." So what we've seen from NYT over the last several decades hadn't been a fluke. Reassuring.

9 years ago |

HaroldStewartIII

"Just a prank bro!" - Hitler, probably

LordOfTheMollusksIsntEvenARealLord

Nccoffee

Hitler 2020

JohnDillingersPenis

That movie is fucking hilarious.

uponstrangeshores

Wait does anyone actually think this isn't accurate?

hitlershairydick

TheInternetNeedsMoreCats

Well, you of all people would know.

macron696

I call bullshit. Doubt the NYT knew who Hitler was in 1922. Also the allies weren't called the allies before WWII

captainfantasticfasterthansupermantheflashandthehulkcombined

Yeah everyone knows Hitler appeared from a rift in the ground in 1939. No one had ever heard of him before!

CalicoThePirate

Yes they were. WWI happened, remember? Also, Hitler was an up-and-coming with loud, radical ideas in 1922. He would have been noticed.

They weren't known by the name Allies in WWI. You couldn't be more wrong.

Look up the Treaty of Sevres. Try google.

guannabislord

The Crusader in Chief

Heh, he doesn't look like much, but the guy is sharp as a tack.

A drunk bully, antisemitic, hate monger , a white supremacist, but I guess you had to be sharp to be at NSC above 4 star generals

Can you cite these assertions to an objective and impartial source?

ratfinkfuck

Man how smart would this have seemed if it was right and everyone else was crying wolf

You're missing the point imo. It is accurate. The events that followed don't automatically mean his anti-semitism was heartfelt.

EzraFell

Ugh. That's disgusting to imagine Nazis just using antisemitism as an excuse to kill millions, take their resources, and use them as slaves.

Note: I say it's disgusting, as if they just used any excuse, that would mean they were more socio/pyschopathic.

I don't think all of that was the goal. I think the goal was power and national pride. The other things came in the process. But yes, it is.

shaggykx

Nah some politically correct nazi sympathisers/supporters were simply trying to condone his actions and intent.

I think the point of the article was just to call him manipulative, or something similar. Either way, the order and pace of events that 1>

followed suggest that his anti-semitism wasn't as militant as the end result would make one think. There was gradual escalation. 2>

It's quite likely therefore that his primary driver was nationalism, and that he was using anti-semitism to rile people up. Probably. 3/

I agree, but the article says the anti semetism was ONLY to rile the ppl and wasnt meant as such. As we can see, thats not how it went down

Subsound

When I'm kidding about something, I don't end millions of people's lives in gas chambers. This seems like it dismisses that business

It's was published prior to that.

This was published in 1922, when Hitler was just the leader of the Nazi Party. He wouldn't become Chancellor of Germany until 1933.

Yes, and? Saying Hitler was kidding about antisemitism without mentioning the holocaust at all is fucked up

PooPooPrincess

Are you retarded

Nope, just have watched holocaust deniers use this letter for decades to deny what happened. People's lives matter

How would someone use an article written before the Holocaust to deny the Holocaust

This article was written before the Holocaust occurred...no one here is saying Hitler was kidding. It's pointing out how wrong the press was

Where does it say anything about pointing out the press was wrong? It wasn't only the press back then too...

The article doesn't. That is clearly OP's intent.

Comments (46)