Was Hitler Smart? (You’ll be surprised...)

Since Adolf Hitler was one of the most controversial figures in history, it should not come as a surprise that there are people who argue about the extent of his intelligence. Was Hitler smart? Well, the interesting thing about Adolf Hitler is that he seemed to be way smarter than anyone else thought.

Adolf Hitler and his relationship with his parents

In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler was one of the most influential leaders of the world. He was a dictator of a major European nation, and his word was law to the people. 

Though he was one of history’s most infamous figures, it turns out that Adolf Hitler was actually a lot smarter than many people give him credit for. His background was a very interesting one. 

He was born in Austria, his father was a customs officer, and his mother was a dutiful homemaker. While Hitler’s father, Alois Hitler, was stern, authoritative, and bad-tempered, his mother, Klara Hitler, nee Pozl, was quiet and shy but a person with great strength of character. She is credited as the reason Hitler had pursued his love for the arts, the reason why he went to Vienna. 

Hitler and his Academic Track Record

Adolf Hitler is known for many things: the concentration camps, the hatred, the racism, the genocide, but what is less known is his academic record. 

Adolf Hitler may well be the most infamous man in the history of the world, but his academic achievements are surprisingly underwhelming. His academic record was a total mess. His father wanted his son to follow him, but he wanted to attend a classical high school to become an artist. With this, the father sent his son to a secondary school, Realschule in Linz. Instead of studying harder for himself, he rebelled more; he intended to perform poorly at school. After the sudden death of his father and her mother’s support and approval, Hitler pursued his dream of becoming an artist.

The dictator only attended the University of Vienna for a short period of time. Hitler attended the University of Vienna, where he obtained a law degree and never expressed any interest in politics. He also attended the Technical University of Vienna, where he studied architecture and engineering.

High IQ = Dangerous Intelligence

The debate over Adolf Hitler’s intelligence is one that has been ongoing since the early 1990s, and it’s likely to rage on for many years to come. 

But come to think of it, Adolf Hitler was a successful orator, writer, and statesman who rose to power in Germany. Among his most important achievements were the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws, the annexation of Austria, and the Sudetenland’s occupation. So, having these achievements, you would already perceive him as an intelligent person.

Adolf Hitler had a photographic memory. His memory ability went way beyond mere memorization and included the ability to retain information for an incredibly long time. He was even able to read academic books and newspapers. He could easily recall passages and information that were read out to him several weeks or even years before while being unable to read the books he had read previously.

If Hitler’s IQ were measured, it would fall somewhere between 141 to 150. Well, this range is an assumption of his IQ level since he didn’t take the IQ tests administered on Nazis held in Nuremberg. It was found out from the test that every one of them had above-average intelligence. So, there’s a big possibility that their leader, Hitler, would fall at least 140 or 141, or even as high as reaching 160. No one can tell, but if we will be questioning if he is smart, he is intelligent but not wise.

He is Fond of Reading 

The world was shocked when they realized that Adolf Hitler, the evilest man in history, was well-read. In fact, the truth became apparent after World War II. He didn’t just collect books; he reads them – he’s indeed a serious as well as a systematic reader. He read all sorts of magazines from agricultural sciences to art, from popular science to war reports, from literature to drama, from philosophy to poetry, from history to economics, from astronomy to zoology. 

His fondness for reading and collecting books led him to have a large personal library in the 1920s. With this, it only proves that people with high IQ have dangerous intelligence that is either putting themselves or, in Hitler’s case, millions of peoples’ lives in danger.

He was also a Writer

Most people have heard that Adolf Hitler was a talented writer, but was Hitler really that good? To answer that question, we have first to understand why he was famous, to begin with. After all, he wasn’t considered a great writer at the time, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. As a young man, he tried to make a living as a writer, but his attempts were mostly mediocre, even for his time.

The assumption that Hitler was unintelligent is partly due to an unwillingness to accept uncomfortable truths about the man. The “Hitler Diaries,” which were purported to be the private diary kept by the man himself, reveal that Hitler was highly intelligent. Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) reveals that he was ahead of his time. He was able to make insightful observations about science, technology, and culture while possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of history, literature, and geography. He was an early adopter of technology.

Conclusion 

Hitler was an incredible leader, with his mesmerizing speeches, the Nazi Party, the Holocaust, and his dedication to preserving the German race. From his academic track record, love for books, and writing, we can conclude that he is intelligent but not wise. His intelligence brought the dark time in history.

He was an amazing military tactician and was extremely intelligent, yet it is difficult to be able to understand what made him the man he was.