How did Hitler do it?

There are probably thousands of theories about this and hundreds and hundreds of books, articles and academic papers written on the subject. It’s not my job here to add to that particular bank of knowledge. Rather I’m exploring how it all seemed to an ordinary German woman.

Our story really begins on 9 October 1918. Women were granted the right to vote in Germany only on 12 November of that year. I’m painting Clara as intelligent but not particularly interested in politics. I have made her naïve in comparison with the young people she cares for. They know some facts about the man. An argument ensues with the following points raised:

·         He is not German – he gave up Austrian citizenship but did not become German straight away. He was stateless for a while.

·         He has been in prison.

·         He was treated well.  

·         He wrote Mein Kampf whilst there.

·         He has some good ideas about how to help the economy after the Wall Street crash – that did have huge repercussions in Germany - and the hyperinflation.

Clara reads up about him later.

Later Paul von Hindenburg wins the presidential elections, though Hitler gets a substantial part of the vote and Hindenburg is getting very old and too tired for this role.

Clara likes to think of herself as a very rational woman. However, she is actually very intuitive. In her investigations she sees several photos of Hitler. His eyes scare her, just like Rudolf Steiner’s used to. Both sets of eyes suggest power. Hitler’s also include evil.

Later Ernst points out that Hitler was loyal during the Great War.