There is no doubt Hitler was successful in mesmerizing the German masses to vote for the Nazi party in 1933. It is fair to say that a madman who was not under public scrutiny could become Chancellor. But there is no doubt that behind Hitler's ability to arouse the German people through fiery, nationalistic speeches, he was as argued a total demagogue who became delusional with the notion that he had the last word on every matter.
He was not an expert on economics, military affairs, and foreign affairs. Initially unemployment fell as Germany began recovering on the economic front. The Nazi party implemented four programs: the creation of the autobahn highway, investment in housing and government buildings, and finally the largest investment went to reviving the nation's military. According to Kitchen, Germany spent 90 thousand million marks on defence. This proved to be a bad idea in the long run, the Nazi regime soon faced severe shortages of raw materials and food. Kitchen wrote, "In 1938, meat consumption was still below the 1929 level and there was a shortage of quality consumer goods." Hitler was so focused on Germany avenging it's humiliating defeat in World War I, that his regime made sure that by all means, money and all the resources would be devoting in re-arming the German military.
This leads to my second point, money was poured to give Germany a better army, an improved navy, and exceptional airforce, the Luftwaffe. The only problem was Hitler was not a brilliant military strategist and his decisions to lead Germany to invade Britain and the Soviet Union was nothing short but a fiasco. Hitler was obssesed with expanding the Third Reich that he himself made the decision to invade Soviet Union. His strategy costed Germany and became a turning point in World War II.
The last point, Hitler was not an expert on foreign affairs. He did invade Czechslovikia and annexed Austria. But when he invaded Poland, it was then that Britain and France declared war on his country. Hitler's army did enjoy the early victories, but these victories soon turned out to be defeats when the Fuhrer decided to ignore the German-Soviet Pact which promised that neither country would invade one another.
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Assessing Hitler's policies is always difficult because there is the sense of 'madness' that plays into the arguments. Military enthusiasts often debate the 'what ifs' of World War II and consider how certain actions or inactions (not invading the Soviet Union) might have altered the course of history. I have often heard and participated in the 'what if Hitler were rational' types of conversations. Lately, I increasingly think that Hitler's 'madness' or 'irrationlity' cannot be separated from eith his accomplishments or his failures.
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