2009 - The Year for 'Change' - 2009 2009 |
Economy in a freefall. Political
rhetoric. An apathetic electorate dismayed by the slide of their country
into irrelevance. Theological liberalism. Doctrinal indifference.
America, 2008?
No. Germany, just before electing Adolf Hitler to lead their country, with the apparent support of the majority of those who considered themselves Christians.
Did you know that Hitler was elected to power through a democratic process? He only became a dictator after he had risen to power through the voting process. And the people elected him in large part because they were convinced he would fix the deteriorating economy and restore Germany to the prominence and prosperity it had once enjoyed.
Writes Lutzer: ...he would give the appearance of being one of the masses, but in reality he would be quite another... At times he could be charming and forgiving... Privately (and sometimes publicly) he prided himself in his honesty, yet often he reveled in his ability to deceive. "The German people must be misled if the support of the masses is required," he mused.
Hitler holds a fascination for us because his dictatorship enjoyed such wide support of the people. Perhaps never in history was a dictator so well liked. He had the rare gift of motivating a nation to want to follow him. Communist leaders such as Lenin or Mao Tse-tung rose to power through revolutions that cost millions of lives; consequently they were hated by the masses.
Hitler attracted not only the support of the middle class but also of university students and professors.