Monday 18 June 2012

Random Thoughts from MeinKampf


Some Random Thoughts from Mein Kampf

Volume-1 (A Retrospect)
          I have few books in my wish list, which I will read in course of my life journey. The habit of reading book is thriving in me, in the recent past. I started hitting my wish list. Here I am writing this to share some thoughts from EVIL GENIUS Adolf Hitler’s MEIN KAMPF. Really, it is an awesome book.  All above being an autobiography, it speaks on various subjects. More often Hitler speaks in-depth of political struggle.

From Chapter-1: In the home of my parent
          While talking about his father, He explained the stubborn attitude of his father even in an arduous struggle. The lines as following
“With the tenacity of one whom misery & trouble had already made old when only half-way through his youth the young man of seventeen obstinately set out on his new project and struck to it until he won through”

“Thus he was able to fulfill the promise he had made as a poor boy not to return to his native village until he was somebody”

          Following this he talks on his Random Interests.  He had interest on painting, Architecture, History, Politics…etc. In the following lines, he explains the methodology to study history.
“To study history means to search for and discover the forces that are the causes of those results which appears before our eyes as historical events”
          He defines the term politics as Contemporary historical event.
“I will not ‘learn’ politics but let politics teach me”


From Chapter-2: Years of study & Suffering in Vienna
          After his mother’s death, his fate was made him to stay at Vienna. A month before his mother’s illness, he took an entrance exam for the Academy of fine Arts. Although they refused him to be a student of School of Painting, his aptitude towards architecture was been recognized. Hitler quote here be describing Vienna as a living memory of the saddest past.
“Obstacles are placed across our path in life, not to be boggled at but to be surmounted”

The Hungry stomach teaches many lessons. In that way Hitler had learned many things at Vienna while searching some unskilled labor to earn his daily bread.
“Honest work never disgraced anybody, no matter what kind it may be”
The fundamental deficiencies in our economic & cultural life are reasons for the degradation of the Individuals. Hitler stressed upon this to be eliminated.
“When the individual is no longer burdened with his own consciousness of blame in this regard the and only then will he have that inner tranquility & outer force to cut off drastically & ruthlessly all the parasite growth & root out this weed.”
Nationalizing the people & education: Hitler had a broad idea on almost every topic. It is very apt to call him an ‘Evil Genius’. In this chapter he stress upon the roll of education in nationalizing the people. He put forward an idea of nationalizing a people is first & foremost one of establishing healthy social condition. He insist the education must inculcate in the individual a knowledge of cultural, economic, and all above political greatness of his country. This will make citizen to feel proud of his country. The following lines explain the reason
“I can fight only for something that I love. I can love only what I respect. And in order to respect a thing I must at least have some knowledge of it”
Hitler had many question regarding social & political issues. In order to get answer for them, he started reading as many books that dealt with those topics, as an obligation the interest on politics started blooming in him. He points two chief purpose of reading books
1.     In responds to higher human aspiration.
2.     To get general knowledge of the world.
Hitler express in his lines
“Each little piece of knowledge thus gained must be treated as if it were a little stone to be inserted in to a mosaic, so that it finds it proper place among all the other piece and particle that help to form a general world picture in the brain of the reader.”
In the remaining part of this chapter Hitler started looking depth in to the political milieu. He brings in different views on Trade union, Jews part in political controversies, Social democrats. Hitherto he used to pass through the mighty cities astonishing at the architectural work but now he started scrutinizing the human being. The milieu kept him aloof of Jews. He look at the playing a leadership role in social democracy which was a reason for numerous political controversies. He saw many Jews played a part in the social phenomenon of prostitution & White slave traffic. He looked at them as filth carries.
I don’t want to scrutinize in to the nature & character of one particular community. This chapter some insight value from Hitler, I am not sure will this serve to judge the Jews but it will be serving us in many ways through our journey. He describes the purpose of trade union is to defend the social right of employee but it had been used as a political instrument by the party in class struggle. The following lines explain the true human nature.
“I found it difficult to understand how men who always had reasonable ideas when they spoke as individuals with one another suddenly lost this reasonableness the moment they acted in the mass.”

From Chapter-3: Political Reflections Arising Out of My Sojourn in Vienna
          In this chapter, Hitler gives different attributes of political parties and reason for their failure. It can be said this chapter is in particular for the political aspirants. He provides huge insight values for them.  He stress upon some criteria to be attained by one before entering politics. He says one must acquire general ideas & fit them together so as to form an organic structure of personal thought or outlook of life – a weltanschauung.
          Hitler says unequipped political life results in wrong stand on essential question which in turn affect himself to abandon his position or else make him to stick to it against his wisdom. Following this he says about the breakdown of Habsburg Empire, the influence of western Democracy and nobleness of the self-government by the people. He has written about the conditions of the parliament house, the following lines express his view on this institution.
“Up to that time I had believed that the disastrous deficiencies of the Austrian parliament were due to the lack of a German majority, but now I recognized that the Institution itself was wrong in its very essence & form.”
          He says the institution is primarily responsible for the crowd inrush of mediocre people into the field of politics.
“Man who is endowed with real qualities of leadership will be tempted to refrain from taking part in political life; because under these circumstance the situation does not call for a man who has capacity for constructive statesmanship but rather for a man who is capable for constructive favor of the majority. Thus the situation will appeal to small minds & will attract them accordingly”
In his point, another drawback of parliament house is “Majority”. Whenever important decision is to be made our politicians hide themselves comfortably behind the backs of so called “Majority”. The intellectual skill plays least role in this process. This will be the main reason why politics seems abhorrent to men of character, courage & diligent. He express in this line.
“The most important economic measures are submitted to a tribunal in which not more than one-tenth of the members have studied the elements of economics”
He further says
“Nobody will have the courage to say: Gentleman, I am afraid we know nothing about what we are talking about. I for one have no competency in the matter at all”
…….
“In certain circles honesty is taken as an Index of Stupidity”
          In the remaining part of this chapter, He express few points attribute to the wreck of pan German party in Austria and followed by the marvelous progress & failure of Christian socialist party. The reason for the failure of both pan German & Christian socialist party is quite opposite. The leaders of Pan German lack in the social perspective & they didn’t grasp the significance of truth whereas the Christian Social party had an “international” sense in their feeling but they paid too little heed to the social problem.
          At the end of this chapter, Hitler provides us a metaphor, explaining how one should act to reach his goal.
“An alpine climber who never loses sight of the peak he wants to reach, who has set out with the great determination & energy, but pays no attention to the road beneath his feet. With his eye always fixed firmly on the goal, he does not think over or notice the nature of the ascent & finally he fails.”


TO BE UPDATE

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