Thursday, August 19, 2010

Is in unsual that Hitler, did not have von in front of his name, like many other german politicans at the time

No. The "von" in German names indicates that a person is a member of the Junker class, an old Prussian aristocratic line. Notice that most of the top Nazis, not just Hitler, but also Goering, Hess, Goebbels, Himmler, Speer, Heydrich, Borman, etc., also did not have the "von" in their names. The German foreign minister, von Papen did, as did some of the top generals (von Runstedt, von Kleist, von Arnim), but it was actually unusual among the top Nazis to have this designation. The Junkers, accustomed to ruling Germany for a long time, thought they could control this Austrian upstart (Hitler) and his party of commoners. They were wrong.

Is in unsual that Hitler, did not have von in front of his name, like many other german politicans at the time
actually it isn't unusual at all. having von in front of your name showed that you had high status and that you were well off. Hitler grew up in a home that was not well off at all, and where people with von in front of their name were stuck up. He was proud of the fact that even after he grew up and became powerful, he never lived with von in front of his name
Reply:No, not unusual at all, because he did not come from a family that was entitled to use the 'von'. That term, in Austria and German, meant the person was a landowner - something like being a Duke or a Lord in England. And Hitler's family was definitely not in that class.
Reply:He wasn't German, he was Austrian, and the "von" denotes minor royalty in German.


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