AboutDylan Pemberton Expertise My area of interest is the holocaust with particular reference to the Auschwitz Birkenau extermination camp. I can answer most questions regarding the lead up to and the ultimate deployment of 'The Final Solution' including the Wannsee Conference, ghetto liquidations, the Nuremberg Trials, post-war 'Nazi Hunting' by the likes of Simon Weisenthal etc. My knowledge / experience is perhaps best suited to someone who - for example - had a homework / coursework assignment in this area as opposed to a professional interest in which case there are, naturally, recognised experts and historians available.
Experience Lifelong interest in ensuring the events of the holocaust are never forgotten, visits to Auschwitz Birkenau and extensive literature on the subject.
Education/Credentials 10 GCSE's, several A-Levels, BTEC National Diploma Graphic Design, 15 years senior level business experience.
Expert: Dylan Pemberton Date: 8/25/2007 Subject: Hitler's "brilliance"
Question Were Hitler's speeches "brilliant," as some have claimed, that is to say, were they on the order of Churchill's or Lincoln's or JFK's speeches?
Answer Great question. I guess any speech is benchmarked against the content / objectives so we go to the good versus evil debate; JFK is famed for speeches about improving black rights and most famously sending man to the moon so delivery aside - that is a more noble objective than Hitler who tended to preach bile. Churchill was a fairly good speaker, especially in Parliament but he was considered somewhat of a plagerist.
Hitler's speeches were clearly briliant enough to mobilise and brainwash an entire nation into following his perverse ideology. He was however a naturally poor and nervous speaker who in fact received a great deal of coaching in his early days. He studied patiently the means that commanded authority and respect: words, gestures (movements of the hands), stance, posture, attitude. What he was also very good at was reading the audience reaction and aiming his considered delivery very precisely in almost staccatto like chunks.
Some would say he had a magnetic power that attracted the huge crowds whereas others would cite the fact many attendes were almost compelled to be there and prompted to react at key points in an almost staged fashion - the Nazis were after all the pioneers of political spin. Although he became famed for his fiery monologues that appealed to the basist nature of the audience; those who approached him near the end of his life noticed that his charisma had all but disappeared - likely due to Parkinsons disease.
I have to admit I have not seen many of Lincoln's speeches so I would find it difficult to compare him to Hitler but I would say that Hitler was a decidely ordinary man who became a brilliant orator at an important time. I understand he was personally very competitive with Churchill who regularly vexed him so that is probably s strong compliment about Churchills oratory prowess.
