Letter: Reviewing Hitler’s ‘magic spell’

In his introduction to the American edition of “Hitler’s Table Talk” (1953), editor Gerald Ritter says the “magic spell” — “the strange fascination that radiated from Hitler in such a compelling manner” — rested on the fanatical belief that this man had in himself, on his pseudo-authoritative judgments about everything under the sun, and on the fact that his opinions — whether they dealt with the harmful effects of smoking or with Napoleon’s policies — could always be fitted into an all-encompassing ideology.

Ritter continued, saying that fascination is a social phenomenon, and the fascination that Hitler exercised over his environment must be understood in terms of the particular company he kept.

Society is always prone to accept a person offhand for what he pretends to be, so that a crackpot posing as a genius always has a certain chance to be believed.

In modern society, with its characteristic lack of discerning judgment, this tendency is strengthened, so that someone who not only holds opinions but presents them in a tone of unshakable conviction will not so easily forfeit his prestige, no matter how many times he has been demonstrably wrong.

So, it seems, the past may have yet another lesson for us.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Letter: Reviewing Hitler’s ‘magic spell’."