Adolf Hitler and his rise to power was a chain of events that intrigues us yet terrifies us; it makes us question how one man could acquire the power and influence to lead a mass genocide. “Power is the capacity to cause change, influence is the degree of the actual change in a target person’s attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors” (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2012). The Milgram experiment by S. Milgram (1963) is a well-known study that investigated how authority figures exert power and influence over the participants’ moral conscious and obedience to authoritative figures (Hughes, et al., 2012). Participants in this experiment were told to shock the other participant hidden behind glass when they gave the wrong answer, and while some found this absurd and withdrew from the study, 70% of the participants followed orders through the entire experiment (as cited in: Hughes, et al., 2012). Even with permission granted by the experimenter to drop out of the experiment without punishment, a significant portion of the participants chose to continue to take orders. While Hitler’s reign was responsible for the Holocaust and his authority led to real pain and death, the Milgram experiment gave us the perspective of how easily the Power and Influence theory can be applied.
Adolf Hitler is well known for his incredible speeches. He had the ability to vocally inspire millions and drew in his followers with his promises of a better Germany. It was inarguably convenient for Hitler to find many weak spots in Germany’s government as the depression had hit, unemployment was at an all time high, and Germany’s government lost the trust of its’ people (BBC, 2021). A large portion of Hitler’s rise to power was spent influencing people that he is the man the people of Germany needed to make the country thrive again. Influence tactics are the actions and methods an individual does to persuade and influence others, and Adolf Hitler was very fluent in most of them (PSU WC, L. 7, 2021). Hitler started with rational persuasion, using logic and known issues to influence more people to follow his lead, and his inspirational appeals drew in more crowds who were unhappy with the current democracy and agreed and supported Hitler’s ideas (PSU WC, L. 7, 2021). From around 1930-1933 the level of unemployment, starvation, and the citizen’s uncertainty with the government, people was rising and people starting to flock to the extreme left (communism) and the extreme right (Nazi). In 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, and his rise to power took a bolder turn, especially as more followers were cheering on the slow rise of the Nazi party (BBC, 2021). Hitler now had an actual position of legitimate power and authority and it was time to change his tactics to a more serious and urgent degree.
Due to his new position as Chancellor and the difficulties within the government during the time of his official position in politics, his influencing behaviors turned to more legitimized and pressure tactics. As Chancellor, Hitler held a legitimate level of power and the requests and propaganda he was letting out were now backed up with his authoritative title (Hughes, et al., 2012). Along with his newly heightened power and influence tactics, his ability to use pressure tactics grew as well. Since there was already an immense amount of pressure on the government as the Depression caused devastating results, pressure tactics worked in Hitler’s favor. People wanted jobs, food, and security, and Hitler found his opportunity to persuade the public that communism would destroy the country, and the Nazi party would bring Germany back to what it once was; follow him and you will be rewarded. Hughes, et al. (2012) states that the ease of influencing others increases with the level of power the leader employs. Hitler was able to persuade fellow leaders to pass a law restricting personal liberty which led to many communist arrests, and from there on he was able to pass laws and form an extreme dictatorship and complete control of Germany (BBC, 2021).
“Leaders usually can exert more power during a crisis than during periods of relative calm” (Hughes, et al., 2012). Hitler was recognized as a “savior” who was going to bring Germany out of poverty and lower unemployment rates, and this led to an increased referent power (BBS, 2021). Because he had incredible speeches that drew in crowds with inspiration and perseverance, he was respected and trusted by those who were looking for a government official who wanted to help. Referent power is the potential influence a leader has given the relationship they have with their followers (Hughes, et al., 2012). As previously stated, his legitimate power began when he was appointed Chancellor, and it reached absolute peak when he gained complete control. While legitimate power does add credentials to the individual’s reputation and ability, a leader needs much more, and Adolf Hitler was able to offer it all (Hughes, et al., 2012). Following his climactic career as dictator, he was able to control resources, peoples’ lives, newspapers, and an increasing amount of people’s previous freedoms (BBS, 2021). By having so much control and power over nearly every aspect of life, his reward power was at an extreme as he was able to use this control to increase his influence over the people (Hughes, et al., 2012). Lastly, and arguably most profound, is the coercive power that Adolf Hitler terrorized his followers, and secret opposers, with. Hitler was responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals he sent off to gas chambers, he placed curfews, made being a Jew practically illegal, and many offenses were punishable by death (The History Place, 2001). Hitler’s reign began with earning the trust of the people he aimed to rule, but it has now turned to terrorizing them into obedience.
Power and influence can be used for the greater good, or it can be taken advantage of and turned into a fear based dictatorship. Hitler was responsible for influencing millions of people that he was going to save them from poverty, hunger, and government failure. The public that supported the nazi party were excited for change and trusted that he would bring it. His ability to influence all those people gave him a stepping stone to push his way through the gaps and take over an entire country in front of everyone’s eyes. Hitler claimed for himself what many powerful leaders want, and that is untimate control. Adolf Hitler is a morbidly perfect example of the disadvantagous side of the power and influence theory and how it can lead someone with the right amount of capabilities to high power.
References
BBC. (2021). The impact of the Depression on Germany – Hitler into power, 1929-1934 – OCR B – GCSE History Revision – OCR B – BBC Bitesize. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwmdfrd/revision/1.
The History Place. (2001). The History Place – Triumph of Hitler: The Nuremberg Laws. The History Place. https://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-nurem-laws.htm.
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2021). PSYCH 485 | Lesson 7: Power and Influence. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2137573/modules/items/32271438
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral Study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525
kmm7628 says
You bring up really great points about Hitler, a classic example of power and influence. One concept I found very closely related to power and influence was pseudotransformational leadership. In your second paragraph, you describe how Hitler was known for his speeches. It is certainly the truth that he was so good at public speaking because he was charismatic (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). So charismatic, in fact, that he was able to transform the social landscape of Germany and welcome one of the most horrific events in modern history and a world war.
While Hitler may meet general criteria for being a transformational leader, he doesn’t meet the element of raising the level of morality in others (Burns, 1978, as cited in Northouse, 2019). Hitler was transforming negatively, leading Bass (1998) to create the term pseudotransformational leadership. Bass & Riggio (2006) justify the term as referring who are, “self-consumed, exploitative, and power oriented, with warped moral values.” (p. 165).
There are four factors associated with transformational or pseudotransformational leadership (Northouse, 2019). First idealized influence, or charisma (Northouse, 2019). Because of Hitler’s ability in speech, he became a role model for a lot of Germans looking for hope (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). They identified with his vision for a new and better Germany, which led them to want to emulate him (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). He provided his followers with a clear vision and a sense of mission and purpose.
Second, inspirational motivation (Northouse, 2019). In order to inspire the public, Hitler released his memoir, Mien Kampf. It detailed for them his experiences and how he came to his own beliefs and opinions (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). Through his writing, he was able to refocus his follower’s energy to achieving goals as a group, rather than as individuals.
Third, intellectual stimulation (Northouse, 2019). A number of engineering and technology fields of study in Germany are more advanced today because of the pressures introduced by Hitler and the Nazi party (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). Advancement in technology was encouraged, and necessary, for Germany’s cause. This allowed followers to think on their own and carefully problem solve (Northouse, 2019).
Fourth, individualized consideration (Northouse, 2019). Hitler did not follow the definition of individualized consideration, which is when leaders offer a supportive climate and listen to the needs of their followers (Northouse, 2019). To his own demise, he did quite the opposite. Hitler’s intention was to destroy anyone that stood in his way. This led to a lack of lower level leadership and thus no ability to counter-attack, leading to his downfall (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).
References
Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Hitler’s place in history. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler/Hitlers-place-in-history.
Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.