A COMPARISON/CONTRAST BETWEEN A COMPARISON/CONTRAST BETWEEN
At first glance, the similarities between these two men may not beevident, but surely the differences are quite obvious. Professionally, bothMahatma Gandhi and Adolph Hitler were political leaders of high caliber,one being the leader of the Nazi Movement before and during World War IIand the other being the political/social leader of the people of Indiaduring the time when the country was under the control of the BritishEmpire. And like most leaders, both Gandhi and Hitler were highly admiredand often imitated by those who either knew them personally or were part oftheir environment. Both men also changed forever the very face andcharacter of their individual countries, with Gandhi initiating and leadingthe movement to force Great Britain from the control and manipulation ofIndia which eventually led to complete independence, and Hitler as thesupreme master of the Nazi Movement and instigator of some of the mostatrocious crimes against humanity ever recorded in world history. It isalso a fact that both men were highly driven by their individualpersonalities to achieve certain goals that would in effect influence thepolitical and social environments of the entire world.
For Gandhi, this passion was directed towards liberatinghis people from the bondage of the British Empire, and for Hitler, the"divine focus" was upon liberating Germany in order to make it one of themost powerful and feared nations on earth, not to mention the annihilationof cultures and ethnic groups. In conclusion, both Mahatma Gandhi and Adolph Hitler exhibited manysimilar traits, but in essence, both of these historical figures are polaropposites. Of course, leadership is a prime ingredient forboth of these men, and a list of traits which outstanding leaders tend topossess would aptly describe their characters, behaviors and beliefs. In 1936, Adolph Hitler enjoyed the support of theoverwhelming mass of the German people, even those "who had not voted forhim before 3he became Chancellor" (Toland, 195). Gandhi, as well as Hitler, had them all-a sustained energy, deftness andtimely ruthlessness in handing and manipulating people, the capacity tothink to the purpose and somewhat intuitively, a zest and fluency withideas, the ability to bounce back constructively when thwarted orcriticized, a love of running things as they see fit, and a never-despairing passion for a cause which inevitably affects all those in theirorbits. But Hitler's character, at least according to the availabledocumentation, exhibited none of theses traits, for he was utterlyegotistical, power-hungry, full of narcissistic self-glorification andobviously viewed himself as the inheritor of the supreme race. Hitler's legacy, as well as that of Gandhi, standsas a unique order, with Gandhi's legacy being one of triumph over adversityand Hitler's one of utter destruction. With Gandhi, descriptions such as "Hindu saint" and"father of his country" are empty and misleading, and if one was to pin alabel upon him, it would surely suggest that he was one of the keypublic figures of the 20th century as a manipulative idealist, or a personwho reshaped 2society for good or ill. Gandhi has "out-soared immortality as no otherhuman being (and) his social impact has been unequaled" (Fischer, 67). At the onset of World War II, Germany entered into the greatestgamble in the nation's history, being to acquire the complete domination ofthe European continent. In addition, both Gandhi and Hitler hadspecial meaning for other nations besides their own. With both of these leaders, "the innermost secret to theirpersonalities was not merely passion, but passion with a divine focus"(Fischer, 178). Gandhi'sbeliefs were based on religious principles handed down for centuries, whilethose of Hitler were apparently non-existent. But unlike Gandhi, Hitler stands asthe quintessential hate-figure of the 20th century. Although the backgrounds ofthese two men do bear some resemblance, it would be better to say that bothof these 4men stand as examples of how things can go perfectly right and how they cango perfectly wrong.
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Acceptance Essays
