What made Hitler such a charismatic leader that he was able to control such a vast number of people? What qualities must he have had?

How was Hitler able to completely control an entire country?

This is a good question. It seems almost unbelievable to me that so many people followed him. I would like to hear what others think is the reason.

Hitler controlled through fear. That is a simplistic answer but a thorough answer could easily make a book in itself.

Hitler also stirred up hatred, bringing out prejudice in the native German, Aryan people. He was able to convince a lot of people (the blonde-haired, blue-eyed "perfect specimens," though he wasn't blonde or blue-eyed, ironically) they were better than the Jews, many of whom lived in ghettos. It's much like the KKK, in that way. Western European Christians pitted against those of another race, practicing a different religion, ignorantly believing the Jews killed Christ, when Christ himself was a Jew. Funny how people seem to forget that.

Fear and hatred and scare tactics...still seen in today's world.

Hitler was very bright, deeply motivated and ruled by fear. His plans were first issued in small stages, people wanted to believe the best were optimistic as long as they could be..even then they found it very difficult to believe.

Hitler did control through fear, but also he was able to maintain that control because people like to be a part of something.... An example of that on a smaller scale would be Charles Manson, who was also able to convince a group of people to slaughter others. I am sure that some of his followers actually agreed with him (Hitler), but some may have been "convinced" because they needed to be. Many people were most likely, as pointed out, being controlled through fear and could not go against him. It is certainly scary what one person can do.... But on the flipside of that coin is the positive: there are always people who attempt to use their "charisma" (great word, by the way) for the good of the people.

After reading many books on Hitler, Nazisum, and the Holocaust I understand that Hitler used his personal magnetism and an understanding of crowd psychology to his advantage while engaged in public speaking; he had a hypnotic effect on large audiences mesmerizing the nation with his speeches and his eyes which seemed to capture the crows in a trance.

Its an interesting question. By all accounts Hitler was a small, unimposing, rather ugly, awkward man. I am sure his need for power rose out of his insecurities. Why he was able to be a leader of men and to inspire men to do such unspeakable things is one of the fascinations about this period and why there is so much literature. He caught Germans at a time when they were ready for change. Its mind boggling

rebajane's post above made me think of something: since by most accounts Hitler was a dynamic speaker but not very attractive, it may have been a good thing--for him, not the rest of the world--that he was around when there was only radio, not TV. Although some people were able to see him on newsreels, not everyone had access to these, not the same way we have access to TV today.

Good point, dorothyt. I was just reading, in another novel, that women were attracted to Hitler purely because of his power and wrote love letters/marriage proposals to him all the time. I guess that's like the women who fall in love with prison inmates, despite the fact they've done horrible things. That's a phenomenon I can't understand but I know it exists.

The German people were in a bad way after WWI and Hitler told them what they wanted to hear about the greatness of Germany. That's only one factor, of course.