INTRODUCTION

Many historians perceive Adolf Hitler’s leadership of the Nazi Party to be a, “fundamental influence on the course and nature of the [Second World] war” , especially after 1938 when he appointed himself as the Commander in Chief, a position he held until 1945 when he committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. Hitler appointed himself to this position after being disappointed with the efforts of the previous commander, Blomberg, and with Hitler’s new title and power, he was, “totally responsible for the conduct of the war; a powerful and organised nation was at the mercy of one man’s will” . He became known as Führer, and his, “image [was seen] as the saviour of Germany” . In the first years in this new position, Hitler gained many supporters throughout Germany and the military as he managed to release the strict rules that had been placed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. Moreover, with the failing leadership of the existing Weimar Republic, Hitler’s following increased even further. Ian Kershaw states that, “in his public portrayal, he was a man of the people...he embodied the triumph of true Germanic virtues” . The widespread support for Hitler began to increase with his successes in Central Europe between 1939 and 1940, however as Richard Overy stated, “the rise of Hitler was neither inevitable nor irresistible. Initially, Hitler’s ideas, including the blitzkrieg method of attack, were highly successful for Germany with the Wehrmacht conquering numerous Central European countries including Poland, Norway, France and Denmark between 1939 and 1940. As the Wehrmacht conquered Central Europe, Hitler was viewed by the majority of the German people as heroic, and as a result, many German men registered for the Wehrmacht to fight. However, Hitler and the power of Germany began to crumble in 1942 and 1943 beginning with the Battle of Stalingrad which saw the first major defeat of the Heer, which was a result of Hitler, “avoid[ing] all contact with reality” , and making judgements and decisions based on idealistic views. Although there were signs of Hitler’s failing leadership of Germany in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Furthermore, as the war progressed and Germany began to suffer numerous defeats, the heroic image of Hitler was destroyed and many people, including the military personnel on the Front Line, striving to take unrealistic objectives and forced to endure horrendous conditions, became impatient as they could see no progress was being made and they wanted to surrender to the Allies. Thus, initially Hitler was portrayed to the German people as the saviour of Germany, but in the latter stages of the war his image was tarnished with many people losing faith in his ability to lead the nation in a positive manner, especially in the role as Commander in Chief.