Rhetorical Analysis

967 Words2 Pages

In February of 1933 the newly appointed chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler, stood before a crowd in Berlin to present his intentions to the public. During this time, Germany was struggling financially following the First World War. In his first public address as chancellor, Hitler sought to secure the support of the public by appealing to their economic desperation. By this time, Hitler had already developed a following; however, he had yet to personally address such a large number of citizens. According to Brummett (2015), “people struggle over power; therefore, they struggle over the words to express power,” (p. 5). In this case, Hitler was seeking to ensure his power over the German people by gaining their support. Not only was he speaking …show more content…

He was able to use his speaking skills to relate to the public and gain their support. Hitler ultimately had multiple audiences in mind while delivering this address; however, his primary audience was the people of Germany. In his speech, it was them that he was asking to take an active role in restoring Germany to its state prior to World War I. He explained that it was only with their help, not the assistance of other nations, that the economic hardship facing Germany could be repaired. Hitler used a combination of facts regarding the economic state of the nation and opinions on how he believed the nation could be restored to propose a plan of action to the citizens of Germany. The secondary audience of this address was the rest of the world. Hitler wanted them to be informed of the intentions of the new German leadership and aware that Germany would be making a comeback in the international market without the assistance of other nations. With this being his first official address as Chancellor of Germany, this speech would mark the beginning of an era that would drastically affect the future of not only Germany, but also many other nations around the …show more content…

He began by establishing credibility with the audience by reflecting on the events that took place leading up to his appointment as chancellor that established his ability to hold such as position. Next, and most importantly, he discussed the economic despair of the nation and grabbed the attention of his primary audience by describing the encouraging times that would lie ahead. Not only did he seek to provide solutions to prominent issues, he also made sure his primary audience realized that it did in fact apply to each and every individual. He made a point to demonstrate that he spoke for everyone in the nation, especially the lower and middle classes who were facing the greatest hardships at the time. By analyzing his audience, Hitler was able to determine the correct techniques that would propel the audience into not only agreeing with his perspective, but also into taking action. His overall purpose of this address was to establish that the change in power in the nation would lead to a more prosperous Germany, but only with the support of the citizens. Based on historical knowledge of the years following this address, it can be inferred that Hitler was able to accomplish his goal of inspiring his followers to take action and work solely in the interest of the German

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