The
text I will be analyzing is a political speech by Adolf Hitler, which was
delivered in January 1940 at the Berlin Sportspalast. We know this text is a
speech because it uses second person in order to address the audience. Further,
as it is a text spoken by a political leader, Adolf Hitler, we can further
ensure that it is a speech.
This
speech is directed towards Hitler’s “comrades” as mentioned in the speech
repeatedly, however we can infer that this is the German public. This can be
done in order to show unity between him as a leader and his public. Words like
“our people” are used several times during the speech, which further shows that
he is addressing the public. We know that it is directly focused towards the
German public because it alludes to them and their wellbeing several times. He
does this by talking about things such as the “German future” and referencing
“our German people”. The purpose of the speech is to create a sense of unity
between the German people and to cause them to support him as a leader. This
speech was given in 1940 and therefore during WWII and after Germany had
declared war on several countries. Hence, Hitler would be attempting to
persuade the German public to support him and stand with him against their
enemies. Overall, the speech was delivered in order to further rally support
and convince the public that his decisions were the correct ones.
The
main focus of the text is the idea of France and Britain hating Germany within
the frame of WWII. It begins by highlighting the difficulties that Germany
endured after in their victory in 1939. Then it goes on to reach its main part,
which is the relationship between Germany and other countries. The author
defines this as hatred towards Germany from the other countries. There is
particular focus on the idea of Germany attempting to avoid war. This gives
further emphasis on the idea of other countries hating Germany. He then goes on
to discuss the idea of Germany being on track for their victory in the war. The
whole of the text is simply discussing ideas related to WWII and the current
state of Germany.
The
tone used throughout the speech is a very formal, powerful one. It constantly
uses statistics and numbers in order to continue to back up the ideas. There is
a lot of reference to political ideas and therefore this would make the tone of
the speech even more formal. The vocabulary is formal with sophisticated words
however is clear and fully understandable. The speech also carries a lot of
words of call to unity and action, with things such as “to ensure the defense
of the Reich.” These types of words create a mood empowerment and unity. By
using these phrases, the speech appears to draw the public together in one mutual
interest. Because this is a speech that is related to war, it can be considered
as one that has a sinister mood. However this does not overpower the mood of
unity that was initially created. There is also a mood of strength and power in
the speech, which is a result of the strong, concise tone and diction. Finally,
it has a rather instructional tone where it is asking the public to believe in
the speakers’ ideas and to follow them. Since this is a political speech, it is
important for the words to have an instructional tone to them.
When
looking at literary devices, there are many instances, which allow the author
to further strengthen his points. Logos is used in the speech where Hitler
refers to statistics in regards to the armies they are against in this war. More
importantly, there is a great use of Pathos throughout the speech where he
attempts to project unity between the German people. In instances such as “made
us strong, internally strong” there is a reference to the strength that was
created within the German population. This focus on Pathos is further enforced
in phrases such as “the German people wanted only to live in friendship and
peace with them”. Additionally, there is use of rhetoric devices within the
speech. A metaphor is included where Hitler refers to the declaration of war as
that the “Western powers decided to drop the mask behind which they are
hiding.” This metaphor allows us the reader or listener to fully comprehend the
extent of the action and to focus fully on the idea. There is also a juxtaposition
of concepts in regards to the “Bible-studying Mr. Chamberlain” and the “atheist
Stalin”. This was done in order to contrast the two sides strongly in reference
to war and war aims. By using these contrasts closely together, Hitler is able
to fortify his points about either by giving the listener something to parallel
each to. Near the end of the speech, there is an occurrence of the device of
anaphora with phrases such as “Germany will live… Germany will emerge
victorious.”
In
summation, the political speech is a text type that is often full of different
literary devices and follows a certain structure and tone in order to fulfill
its message. This speech by Adolf Hitler does the same in order to accomplish
its aforementioned aim. The targeted audience is clearly the German people and
it attempts to project unity and call for support. This is done through
instances of Pathos, Logos and rhetoric devices such as metaphors and anaphora.
By using all these devices, the author is able to ensure that the text is a
successful, powerful one that undertakes the set aims of the political
speech.
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