"Working Towards the Führer"

[J. Duncan]

Hello All - "Working Towards the Führer" is a theory that has been extensively developed by the historian Ian Kershaw, although I do not think he can be credited with it's invention. It's a historical theory which is used to explain how the Third Reich actually functioned. The crux of the theory is that the Third Reich (or "Großdeutschland" as the nazis called it) operated from below rather than from the top. Since Hitler appointed men (and in some cases just had the best men "take over" positions) to posts which in many cases overlapped in power, chaos ensued since the men of power spent most of their time fighting each other...Hitler would become the final arbiter in their disputes. Since the men of power had their own fiefdoms and spent much time fighting for their various powers, they often had to rely on their own initiative and often had to interpret their own policies according to what they themselves THOUGHT Hitler would have wanted. This is where the term "working towards the Führer" comes into play. For example, in the case of Euthanasia, a letter intercepted by Philip Bouhler wound up on Hitler's desk from a father of a child who was crippled in mind and body (keynote: Bouhler had determined this letter was deserving of Hitler's attention - Bouhler "worked towards the fuhrer" guessing that hitler would be interested). Hitler sends Dr. Brandt to investigate the case and if determined to be true, to have Brandt order that the child be put down. Brandt has a "mercy killing" performed and Brandt and Bouhler later set-up T-4 with Victor Brack etc...thus begins the chain of events which led to systematic policy of "mercy killing". Both men "worked towards the Führer"....Martin Bormann is a perfect example of this theory because not only did he determine the correspondance that deserved attention, he also issued the orders based on what he thought Hitler would have wanted (which was further based on what he heard Hitler say on any given moment). What we have here is a very good theory which explains many of the excesses of the regime. It also to a certain extent exculpates david irving who is moslty vilified in the standing academic community because he insists that Hitler may not have known all that was going on, although this slant on it has not gotten any notice (not even from Irving as i far as i am aware). I'm surprised no one has pointed this out to Kershaw, that his theory actually can be used to defend Hitler to an extent and acquit him of some of the crimes committed by the Third reich. I am curious to know what others think of the theory. I myself find validity in the theory and I think it was probably more accurate than not that Hitler was not informed of EVERY ugly fact or policy, especially since Bormann did much to shield hitler from unpleasantness so he could focus his attention on winning the war. Just like it's almost impossible for a boss of a gigantic corporation to know every detail which is going on below him and when scandal erupts from a corrupting employee or underling, sometimes the bosses are cuaght unawares, the same thing can be said of the Third Reich and Hitler.

[J. Duncan]

Calrification : "Hitler would become the final arbiter in their disputes" - this was only in the case if the two or more fighting parties could not resolve their issues, which in more cases than not was not brought to the Führer for arbritration anyway...one could say that a dictatorship is very much like a corporation...think about it? Does anyone want to bring to their boss one's petty grievances against other employees?

[Simon K]

It is an attractive theory when seen as the "structure" of NSDAP decision making, but does it hold up in the military and economic sphere? Can it be proved to function there?

[J. Duncan]

Very perceptive question and one which I'm not sure of entirely since Kershaw (Browning and others) use mostly examples of Party and State although it is entirely plausible that especially in the field of economics Hitler was mostly
disinterested. I remember reading somewhere that Hitler admitted this in private and simply said that he confines himself to telling his economic advisers that "This is what i want and this is what I must have". I doubt seriously that hitler knew much of what went on in the SS Wirtschaft of oswald pohl for example...even Göring admitted at nuremberg that he didn't know much about what transpired within the SS organization. i thinks it's very bigoted of historians to assume that "Hitler had to have known everything", and by that i mean also certain ugly aspects of the holocaust, although if one studies MK and hitler's public and private utterances one can discern he was the author of the anti-jewish measures. Kershaw's theory (one which is highly touted as "definitive" with even a book published titled: "Working Towards the fuhrer: Essays in honor of Ian kersahw"!) lends credence to what david irving has often been vilified for, namely that Hitler may not have known about what went on at auschwitz (the particulars, although Irving believes he may not have known about the holocaust at all, which takes the theory to the outer limits). In the case of irving, the historians are somewhat hypocritical, as they trash Irving publicly and then use his works as source material!

[Simon K]

Tooze touches on this tendency repeatedly (if I have identified it correctly) in WAD. I will have to check it out again for possible examples in the economic sphere.
I still dont buy the Irving thesis,especially as some of his "findings" and methods have been called into some doubt (its on another thread)
the recent opening up of the "Hunger plan" by Tooze and Ferguson just makes it all the more implausible.
Cheers

[phylo_roadking]

Martin Bormann is a perfect example of this theory because not only did he determine the correspondance that deserved attention, he also issued the orders based on what he thought Hitler would have wanted (which was further based on what he heard Hitler say on any given moment)

He'd have made a GREAT U.S. Secretary of State, then...

On a more serious note - Hitler was himself personally lazy; not only do we have all the anecdotes about the lack of work done when at the Obersalzberg...it doesn't appear as if his timetable in BERLIN (before the war anyway) was actually any more crowded. There are plenty of reports of him not doing any more than a couple of hours deskwork a day, and see Philip Metcalfe's 1933 for a pretty good description of how he and other leading Nazis spent notable parts of their day...eating cream cakes or Campbell's tomato soup on VERY long social lunches! His work pattern certainly does not reflect the efforts of a person who had a finger on every pulse...as opposed to the hyperactive Churchill, for example.

[Simon K]

AH forced himself during the war to be a diligent and methodical worker, and this just affected his mind and body adversely.
AH was a bit of delicate flower really, not like the older,tougher Churchill (who had terrible nerves on occasion but the strength to overcome it) and the invincible Stalin. FDR killed himself in the job.
If AH was delegating his wicked plans to others unsuspectingly,and he still looked as rough as he did..he should have got a sick note

[jackane24]

Old thread but I googled 'Working towards the Führer' and this was one of the top results.

In response to the theory, I find it highly credible. National Socialist Germany's (including Hitler) dictator was National Socialism. In 'working towards' him, you must consider that person's desires. Hitler desired a few choice things - the priorities being Lebensraum and getting rid of 'world Jewry', ideological facets which existed far before his years. It's not like Hitler's ideology was a new, unpredictable thing which only he understood.

In response to the latest posts, I find it unfeasible, although not impossible, that after having 'worked towards the Führer' and been so successful at doing exactly what he'd called for in Mein Kampf, his second book and twice in 1941, nobody would tell him what had been done in 'his' honour. His response would have been one of pure glee.