Adolf was close with his mother but she died when he was seventeen. His father was a horribly abusive person to almost everyone. Dad was certainly not kind to his illegitimate son Adolf. Adolf wanted to be an artist. He tried and failed twice to enter the Academy of fine arts. He was deemed physically unfit for the army and had to ask for special permission to serve. He was injured while serving and later gassed! Despite his injuries and seeming lack of aptitude as a soldier he was at the front lines a huge amount of time as a headquarters runner. He sure as fuck earned his iron cross.
After WW1 Germany was treated quite horribly. Hitler loved his country but his country was humiliated and put under terrible onerous conditions. When he got into politics after the war he was finally good at something! Obviously he had views I find abhorrent but lots of people have views I quite seriously dislike. Things escalated. Its easy to get swept up in things, even if you are also contributing to the dynamic. It is especially easy if you have good reasons for feeling hurt. Adolf was vegetarian. I wish he had been given a better life. Here is a poem he wrote about his mother:
When your mother has grown older, When her dear, faithful eyes no longer see life as they once did, When her feet, grown tired, No longer want to carry her as she walks -
Then lend her your arm in support, Escort her with happy pleasure. The hour will come when, weeping, you Must accompany her on her final walk.
And if she asks you something, Then give her an answer. And if she asks again, then speak! And if she asks yet again, respond to her, Not impatiently, but with gentle calm.
And if she cannot understand you properly Explain all to her happily. The hour will come, the bitter hour, When her mouth asks for nothing more.
If there is any reason for hate it is to spur action. Im a proud Communist. I’m very proud of my comrades in the Garman communist party. A shocking fraction of German communists took active action to resist the Reich. Many were awarded medals. Their bravery makes me cry whenever I think about them. But Hitler is dead, he cant do anymore harm. In my heart of hearts, I hope that on some other spin of the wheel we can be friends. I love painting. My father abused me too. If Hitler is in any sense around, perhaps in some other world I wish him only the best. If I ever simulated Hitler I would only give him the most joyful life I could.
On 14 May 1938 a copy of this poem was printed in the Austrian weekly Agrarische Post, under the title ‘Denke es’. It was then falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler.
In the Hitler biography of John Toland (1976) it appeared for the first time in English translation. Toland made the mistake in identifying it as a true Hitler poem, supposedly written in 1923.
I hope you feel better with time. I think it’s important to note that universal love, including compassion for those suffering, is always a pleasant feeling. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
But Hitler is dead
This is an important point. While unconditional love has no boundaries, including time, it can be a major complication to start the effort with past beings or hypothetical future ones as the object. It’s usually easier to start with one (or many) of the countless beings who are experiencing life right now. For the exercise of this post, a better case study than Hitler might be Putin or Trump (or Biden, etc.). This way, we don’t have to additionally posit time travel, simulations, alternate universes, or what death entails.
I hope that on some other spin of the wheel we can be friends.
I love this sentiment and the personal details you shared. Learning about Hitler’s good qualities was great too. Thank you!
. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
While true, I think there’s a caveat that often the thing preventing the feeling of true love from coming forth can be unprocessed grief that needs to be felt, or unprocessed pain that needs to be forgiven.
I think there’s a danger in saying “if love feels painful you’re doing this wrong” as often that’s exactly the developmentally correct thing to be experiencing in order to get to the love underneath.
In order to get to the love underneath, it’s wonderful to forgive pain, as you say. But forgiving pain feels good. It isn’t painful.
Unconditional love has no conditions. Feeling grief is not required. Everyone’s invited, as they are. If grief arises, the best thing to do is to let it go as soon as it’s noticed. Maybe that’s what you mean by “process” it, in which case we agree.
I think oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away, in doing that, it may be felt more fully, which once the message is received, can allow you to let it go. This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away
Agreed! Grief itself is often just the pushing-it-away habit in relation to unpleasant thoughts or sensations.
This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
It may. But just as grief need not be pushed away, neither should it be sought. “Fully feeling pain” and “fully feeling love” are two different activities. If the pain takes time to change, I’m all for the patient and forgiving approach you suggest.
I don’t have much trouble being empathetic or loving to Biden/Trump/Putin either. They are all people with many good and bad qualities. I can imagine myself trying to help. For example if they were ever subjected to solitary confinement I think I would at least call my Senator and ask they receive genuinely humane treatment. It is hard to imagine more idk ‘personal’ situations since im a normal person and they (current or former) world leaders.
I genuinely feel terrible for Adolf Hitler.
Adolf was close with his mother but she died when he was seventeen. His father was a horribly abusive person to almost everyone. Dad was certainly not kind to his illegitimate son Adolf. Adolf wanted to be an artist. He tried and failed twice to enter the Academy of fine arts. He was deemed physically unfit for the army and had to ask for special permission to serve. He was injured while serving and later gassed! Despite his injuries and seeming lack of aptitude as a soldier he was at the front lines a huge amount of time as a headquarters runner. He sure as fuck earned his iron cross.
After WW1 Germany was treated quite horribly. Hitler loved his country but his country was humiliated and put under terrible onerous conditions. When he got into politics after the war he was finally good at something! Obviously he had views I find abhorrent but lots of people have views I quite seriously dislike. Things escalated. Its easy to get swept up in things, even if you are also contributing to the dynamic. It is especially easy if you have good reasons for feeling hurt. Adolf was vegetarian. I wish he had been given a better life. Here is a poem he wrote about his mother:
If there is any reason for hate it is to spur action. Im a proud Communist. I’m very proud of my comrades in the Garman communist party. A shocking fraction of German communists took active action to resist the Reich. Many were awarded medals. Their bravery makes me cry whenever I think about them. But Hitler is dead, he cant do anymore harm. In my heart of hearts, I hope that on some other spin of the wheel we can be friends. I love painting. My father abused me too. If Hitler is in any sense around, perhaps in some other world I wish him only the best. If I ever simulated Hitler I would only give him the most joyful life I could.
That poem was not written by Hitler.
According to this website and other reputable-seeming sources, the German poet Georg Runsky published that poem, “Habe Geduld”, around 1906.
I hope you feel better with time. I think it’s important to note that universal love, including compassion for those suffering, is always a pleasant feeling. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
This is an important point. While unconditional love has no boundaries, including time, it can be a major complication to start the effort with past beings or hypothetical future ones as the object. It’s usually easier to start with one (or many) of the countless beings who are experiencing life right now. For the exercise of this post, a better case study than Hitler might be Putin or Trump (or Biden, etc.). This way, we don’t have to additionally posit time travel, simulations, alternate universes, or what death entails.
I love this sentiment and the personal details you shared. Learning about Hitler’s good qualities was great too. Thank you!
While true, I think there’s a caveat that often the thing preventing the feeling of true love from coming forth can be unprocessed grief that needs to be felt, or unprocessed pain that needs to be forgiven.
I think there’s a danger in saying “if love feels painful you’re doing this wrong” as often that’s exactly the developmentally correct thing to be experiencing in order to get to the love underneath.
In order to get to the love underneath, it’s wonderful to forgive pain, as you say. But forgiving pain feels good. It isn’t painful.
Unconditional love has no conditions. Feeling grief is not required. Everyone’s invited, as they are. If grief arises, the best thing to do is to let it go as soon as it’s noticed. Maybe that’s what you mean by “process” it, in which case we agree.
I think oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away, in doing that, it may be felt more fully, which once the message is received, can allow you to let it go. This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
Agreed! Grief itself is often just the pushing-it-away habit in relation to unpleasant thoughts or sensations.
It may. But just as grief need not be pushed away, neither should it be sought. “Fully feeling pain” and “fully feeling love” are two different activities. If the pain takes time to change, I’m all for the patient and forgiving approach you suggest.
I don’t have much trouble being empathetic or loving to Biden/Trump/Putin either. They are all people with many good and bad qualities. I can imagine myself trying to help. For example if they were ever subjected to solitary confinement I think I would at least call my Senator and ask they receive genuinely humane treatment. It is hard to imagine more idk ‘personal’ situations since im a normal person and they (current or former) world leaders.