As amazing as it seems that Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Time Magazine went one step further. Time usually names a man who has peaceful ambitions or has made great achievements in the name of mankind. But the reality is that Time names a person who has the biggest impact on world events, for good or evil. In 1938 they named a man who will forever be associated with mass murder, genocide and infamy. Adolf Hitler was Times man of the year.
In 1938 Time magazine named one of history’s most despised figures as their “Man Of The Year.” That man was Adolf Hitler. But why would Time name Hitler as their man of the year and be so critical of him at the same time? As we have already said, the person is selected for good or evil.
Well it really is quite simple and requires a little knowledge of the time and circumstances of the period.
Why was Adolf Hitler Times man of the year?
Germany had lost the First World War and had extremely harsh terms imposed upon them by the victorious allies. The nation was not only split in two by Poland, but had also lost territory that had been German. On top of that the armed forces were almost totally disintegrated and Germany had to pay reparations to the victorious allies, with terms that were almost completely impossible to pay. Germany had lost the war and had now been humiliated, even though they had not been defeated on their own land.
These harsh circumstances, and the Great Depression lead to the rise of Hitler and the NAZI Party. Hitler had rebuilt the army to be one of the largest in Europe, annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia without a drop of blood being spilled, brought Germany back from the brink of financial ruin and restored the German peoples feeling of self worth. All were in violation of of the Armistice agreement of 1919, but he did it anyway.
In 1938 following the annexation of Czechoslovakia European leaders met in Germany to negotiate an end to Germany’s expansion and seek reassurances from Hitler that he would not enter any other nation. Hitler was without a doubt the leading figure there. He had some of the most powerful nations on Earth at his heels. At that time the agreement had averted an inevitable war, despite the reality that he was enticing it.
It was for these reasons, maintaining a tense peace and having dominant control over the future of Europe, even though it was known that Hitler’s plans were not in any way peaceful, and leaving the other world leaders in his arrogant shadow that Hitler was Times Man Of The Year In 1938. Who else that year could have possibly been nominated?
