What if Hitler became a painter?

[Doctor What]

For whatever reason (luck, lenient professor, somebody owes him a favor, whatever) Hitler fulfills his dream and is actually accepted into the Academy of Arts in Vienna.

A few WI:

a) Does he become successful? Did he actually have any talent at all or was he truly a lousy painter as that supposedly mean prof that flunked him said?

b) Would his anti-semite and racist and nationalistic views be incorporated into his art? Would that had been toned down instead? How would the author of Mein Kampf have channeled all that emotion into his art?

c) This is the biggie--will Nazism still have arisen? If yes, would he have been involved in propaganda?

 

[Wendell]

For whatever reason (luck, lenient professor, somebody owes him a favor, whatever) Hitler fulfills his dream and is actually accepted into the Academy of Arts in Vienna.

A few WI:

a) Does he become successful? Did he actually have any talent at all or was he truly a lousy painter as that supposedly mean prof that flunked him said?

b) Would his anti-semite and racist and nationalistic views be incorporated into his art? Would that had been toned down instead? How would the author of Mein Kampf have channeled all that emotion into his art?

c) This is the biggie--will Nazism still have arisen? If yes, would he have been involved in propaganda?

Nazisim was really the invention of Hitler. Fascism will have gone along without him. I've always thought that Hitler as a painter would have moved to France.

 

[fhaessig]

There's a book about this. Translated into french as 'la part de l'autre'. Some interesting points on character developments, environment effects and butterflies. But not outstanding as an AH.

BTW In this book, Roehm takes power in Germany.

 

[Nosb]

Nazisim was really the invention of Hitler. Fascism will have gone along without him. I've always thought that Hitler as a painter would have moved to France.

In Mein Kampf Hitler talks about how he considered going to America at some point. I don't remember if it was before or after being rejected from the Vienna Acedemy. If memory survives me correctly, he actually was rejected twice at two different levels, once the piece he submittied was rejected and another time he failed the entrance exam, which included painting a human figure, something he couldnt do.

 

[MerryPrankster]

I saw some postcards Hitler had drawn/painted, and they're actually pretty good. Perhaps he was bad at figure drawing, but his landscapes seemed well-made.

 

[Norman]

There is a book written by Norman Spinrad (no Relation) called The Iron Dream about just this, at least in part. the premise is that Hitler becomes a painter, migrates to the US and becomes a writer of early science fiction, whose most famous book is called the Iron Dream.

 

[Hermanubis]

Hmm, Perhaps in an ATL were Hitler becomes a painter and immigrates to the US, his Grandson is a regular on this Board!

 

[zoomar]

The recent film "Max" deals with Hitler the painter and includes a (fictional) PoD which could have led him in other directions. (He is "discovered" in 1918-19 by a Jewish art dealer who believes his architectural fantasies for Nazi German future are a fascinating excercise in some type of regressive futuristic artistic vision. Unfortunately, plans for a showing of his work are cut short when the dealer is killed by a bunch of drunk Germans enraged by an anti-semetic speech Hitler had given)

 

[zoomar]

I saw some postcards Hitler had drawn/painted, and they're actually pretty good. Perhaps he was bad at figure drawing, but his landscapes seemed well-made.

I've read several books on Hitler's art. It is generally conceded his strengths were in architectural rendering and design. He apparently never attempted representations of people or animals. He had serviceable technique but was unable to convey any real emotion or feeling in dis paintings or drawings.

 

[Molobo]

This is the biggie--will Nazism still have arisen? If yes, would he have been involved in propaganda?

Hitler joined the Nationalist Socialist movement.He didn't found it.
From wiki :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_German_Workers_Party#Origins

In the beginning of 1918, a party called the Freier Ausschuss für einen deutschen Arbeiterfrieden (Free Committee for a German Workers' Peace) was created in Bremen, Germany. (6) Anton Drexler, locksmith and self-styled poet, formed a branch of this league on March 7, 1918, in Munich. In 1919, Drexler, with Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer, changed its name to the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers' Party, abbreviated DAP). This party was the formal forerunner of the NSDAP, and became one of many völkisch movements that existed in Germany after its defeat in World War I. In order to investigate the DAP, German army intelligence sent a young corporal, Adolf Hitler, to monitor party activities. However, he was impressed by what he saw, and he joined as Member Number 555 (although Hitler later claimed to be "Party Member number 7" to make it look like he was a founder). He was in fact the 7th member of the DAP's central committee. At this early stage, Hitler brought up the idea of renaming the party, and he proposed the name "Social Revolutionary Party" (4). However, Rudolf Jung insisted that the party should follow the pattern of Austria's Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei. As a consequence, the DAP was shortly renamed the NSDAP on February 24, 1920.

Other early members of the Nazi Party include Rudolf Buttmann, director general of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library), and Hermann Esser, editor of the Völkischer Beobachter.

Hatred for Jews, remilitarization, cooperation with Soviets the desire to destroy Poland, occulitsm was at the time widespread in Germany.Even without Hitler a Nazi-like movement would arise.

Postwar there was condemnation of Nazis-but they didn't get power alone.They formed coalition with Center Party and DNVP.

 

[Chengar Qordath]

Still, without Hitler the Nazi or Nazi-like leaders of Germany would probably do things a bit differentely. Even though Hitler didn't found the Nazi party, he certainly had a massive influence on it.

I have to agree though that the rise of far right militaristic revanchist party was extremely likely in Germany, all removing Hitler does is change who is in charge.

 

[Max Sinister]

Let me correct some minor details:

- Hitler officially became member 555 of the DAP, but as a matter of fact, the party only had 55 members - they started counting with 501. Bluff.
- The center party didn't really form a coalition with Hitler. They accepted his Ermächtigungsgesetz, though (he needed a two-thirds majority to change the constitution).