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History   >   Germany – Adolf Hitler: Rhetoric

Hitler and Public Speaking

 
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Germany – Adolf Hitler: Rhetoric

In this course, Professor Henk de Berg (University of Sheffield) explores the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler. In the first lecture, we think about Hitler as a public speaker and his views on public speaking. Next, we think about Hitler’s rhetorical strategies. In the third and final lecture, we think about the concept of narrative untruth.

Hitler and Public Speaking

In this lecture, we think about Hitler as a public speaker and about his view of public speaking, focusing in particular on: (i) Hitler’s self-control as a key factor in his successful self-staging; (ii) Hitler’s trick of always arriving late, and his calculated use of silence, to psych up even further his already worked-up audience; (iii) the seven key convictions underlying Hitler’s public speaking: first, speaking is very different from – and much more powerful than – writing; second, a speech should not be assessed on the basis of criteria developed for the written word; third, a speech can only be successful if it appeals to the lowest common denominator in the audience; fourth, a speech should target the heart rather than the mind (a conviction inspired by French author Gustave Le Bon and Mayor of Vienna Karl Lueger); fifth, the visual aspects of a speech are at least as important as its words (which is why Hitler tried out his gestures, facial expressions, and clothes in the studio of his private photographer Heinrich Hoffmann) – a conviction based on Alfred Roller’s productions of Richard Wagner’s operas and on the spectacular nature of the debates in the Austro-Hungarian parliament; sixth, a speaker must be intimately familiar with the media and its narratives; seventh, successful speeches require extensive preparation.

Cite this Lecture

APA style

de Berg, H. (2025, January 24). Germany – Adolf Hitler: Rhetoric - Hitler and Public Speaking [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://massolit.io/courses/germany-adolf-hitler-rhetoric

MLA style

de Berg, H. "Germany – Adolf Hitler: Rhetoric – Hitler and Public Speaking." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 27 Jan 2025, https://massolit.io/courses/germany-adolf-hitler-rhetoric

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Lecturer

Prof. Henk de Berg

Prof. Henk de Berg

Sheffield University