Charismatic Authority Hitler

Authority – the word alone instills a certain type of reaction in a person; a reaction that either commands obedience or disobedience. Some people command authority through violent means while others through lawful means. Why do certain countries still have kings and queens while others are ruled by parliaments or congresses? When studying the German sociologists Max Weber and his theory of authority, it can be observed that there are certain types of authority and reasons in which people choose to respect. When applying Max Weber’s theory of authority practically, one leader in particular stands out – Adolf Hitler. This essay will explain how Adolf Hitler came to power first through charismatic authority and how he stayed in power via a combination
of traditional, charismatic, and legal authority. According to Weber’s theory of authority, there are three types pure authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal. Traditional authority is authority that “is legitimated by the sanctity of tradition” (SOURCE), in which an example would be a king or queen which is chosen on tradition or bloodline, rather than other factors. Charismatic authority however, is characterized as authority that is “rests on the appeal of leaders who claim allegiance because of their extraordinary virtuosity, whether ethical, heroic, or religious” (SOURCE). An example of charismatic authority would be the rise of slick speaking dictators or even evangelical preachers such as Jonathan Edwards. Finally, legal authority is defined as authority that is granted by lawful and legal means such as through elections. When looking at the rise of Adolf Hitler, one can observe that looking at his rise from an outside perspective; Hitler rose to power via legal and lawful means. Reeling from a depression and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was in a desperate political and economic shape. As the communist revolution began taking form in Russia, a nationalistic and anti-communist party called the Nazi Party was born. By 1932, the Nazi Party had 230 seats in the Reichstag and was the majority party. The German chancellor, unable to contain the fervor, appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany, hoping to appease the Nazi Party temporarily. Hitler immediately proceeded to make himself absolute ruler of Germany, using Article 48 of German Constitution (SOURCE).
Looking at the rise of Hitler through the lenses of the theory of authority, it is observed that Adolf Hitler used a combination of charismatic and legal authority to gain power. First, Hitler was an excellent and charismatic public speaker. Capable of uniting and sparking excitement in a crowd, he used his fiery, nationalistically charged speeches to gain popularity with the German people. Helped by a cunning and fierce propaganda campaign waged by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler was able to ride a charismatic wave of almost unanimous support from the German people. Hitler however was not able to win in an election. He instead, was appointed legally as chancellor of Germany. This shows that Hitler not only used his charismatic authority to gain public office, but also legal authority. The appointment of Adolf Hitler required election, in this sense, we see that this is a requirement in which invoked legal and traditional authority. Adolf Hitler however, using his charismatic authority was able to bypass the laws of Germany and was directly appointed as Chancellor instead of via election. After becoming chancellor, Hitler immediately made himself absolute chancellor. He proceeded to invoke Article 48 of the German constitution (Source) effectively using traditional and legal authority to obtain absolute power. To stay in power, Adolf Hitler needed to use his charismatic authority in order to obtain legal-rational authority to appeal to the people of Germany in a more civil way.
Using a series of carefully choreographed and propagandized events such as honoring the then sitting President Hindenburg, Hitler produced a series of rhetoric in which he convinced President Hindenburg to sign off on key political powers. Slowly, but legally, Hitler asserted his power through his combination of charismatic and legal authority. Finally, when Hitler obtained absolute power through his charismatic means, he used fear and oppression to keep his authority. Installing a dictatorship, he would go on to use his charismatic and legal authority to go to war with Europe and the United States. Looking at history, the successes of his early war campaign in Europe helped fuel his charismatic legitimacy and further established credit in his
authority. When comparing Adolf Hitler to other leader’s legitimacy of power in his time such as Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Benito Mussolini, it can be observed that Adolf Hitler aligned himself with nations and leaders with similar authority styles.
An example would be Benito Mussolini, who rose as a Fascist dictator in Italy through similar charismatic and legal means, with an end goal of a total dictatorship. On the opposite side of the spectrum however, when compared with Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union and Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, the legitimacy of their power is almost all traditional and legal. However when exercising their respective authority they may use a combination of all three types of authorities. In conclusion, although the theory of power was published some time ago, the theory still holds today as the basic skeleton for defining and identifying the types of authority and the relationship between power and legitimacy. The theory of power has set forth the three basic tenets of pure power: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational. More often than not, these principles are intertwined with each other and leaders and governments often show all three characteristics
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