My Struggle with Mein Kampf

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is about the history of political thought; we've been studying the progression of thinkers from Plato to the present day. For my term paper, I have to write a comparison of the philosophies of Hitler and Stalin-- I chose the topic because I thought it would be a way to brush up on my history and would be interesting enough to spend some time writing.

As a result, I've spent the weekend reading Mein Kampf, Hitler's book about his life and political philosophy. (I'm not planning on reading the whole thing, since it's upwards of seven hundred pages, but just the sections related to political thought). I thought there would be entire sections where Hitler described his world view and ideal political state without reference to race-- where he spoke about the purpose of the state, for example, or perhaps the rights of citizens. This has proven not to be the case. I've been cringing as I'm taking notes; some of the things he wrote were so repugnant I don't even want to write them down. Yet as he describes the formation of the Nazi party, I'm struck by Hitler's perception of how best to manipulate the masses. It's all there-- gauging your audience and adjusting your speech accordingly, making sure your supporters gather in groups to form a sense of community. I'm only now fully realizing what a perfect storm Nazi Germany was.

Sorry for the non-Turkey related update, but I've been holed up doing this paper so there's not a whole lot of culture to report back. But soon, with any luck!