Hitler's definition of democracy

Hitler, February 1945

Hitler, in speeches in Nuremberg and Munich, has given us definitions of democracy, yet these definitions are nowhere near explicit or conclusive. “Democracy in our eyes is a regime that is supported by the will of the people.(My New Order, 554) It is unclear as to whom Hitler means by “our eyes…”; one can assume he is talking of the German people. Furthermore, according to Webster, a regime is simply “a form of government or administration”. Hitler’s definition, in turn, becomes simple and obvious; the above definition taken literally does not waver from the consensus definition mentioned in the introduction; in fact it is broader, leading one to suggest that the word “regime” had negative connotations that were lost in the English translation.

Fortunately, Hitler has given us a more intricate definition of democracy, even likening it to an aqueduct or blood vessel: “Democracy is the canal through which bolshevism lets its poisons flow into the separate countries and lets work there long enough for these infections to lead to a crippling of intelligence and of the force of resistance.(My New Order, 405)