Hitler was the perfect boss: Former maid breaks her silence on the 'charming' dictator

I recall a movie, I don’t know the name, in which the character who played the Devil (yes, the real Devil) was a handsome, charming man. It is important for us to keep in mind that people who seek to acquire political power never look like monsters or act like monsters. In most cases, they appear to be the exact opposite: charming, witty, compassionate and above all charismatic. Monsters know how to move crowds. That is why I prefer my politicians “pedestrian.”

Ignoring Godwin’s law, it is instructive to study the rise to power of Hitler from the inside. Not from the people who hated him, but from the people who supported him, from the people who put him in power and believed in him. Only from this perspective can we develop an understanding that will prevent us from making the same mistake the Germans made in the 1930s.

From the Daily Mail:

History has condemned him as the megalomaniac who brought death and misery to millions.

But for one woman, the name Adolf Hitler evokes a smile not a shudder.

She is Rosa Mitterer, who worked as a maid for the Fuhrer at his mountain retreat in Bavaria in the 1930s.

Rosa is 91 and until now has kept a vow of silence about her experiences. She has chosen to break it after realising she is the last survivor of the circle who served the tyrant in the years before he launched the Second World War.

And her verdict on her former master: 'He was a charming man, someone who was only ever nice to me, a great boss to work for. You can say what you like, but he was a good man to us.'
...
Recalling her first direct request from her master, she said she was drying some porcelain cups when he came down the stairs.
'Hello,' he said softly. 'Sorry to trouble you, but could you make me some coffee and bring some gingerbread biscuits to my study?'

Nor do all tyrants live lives of opulent splendor, in fact Hilter's lifestyle was rather Spartan:

'In those days, Hitler slept in his study. In it was an iron bed, one wardrobe, one table, two chairs and a shoebox. It was very modestly furnished. Beside the bed hung a picture of his mother.'

A man who loved his mother.

A generous neighbor:

Part of her duties involved sorting out the fan letters and presents that were delivered in their thousands to the house.

'There were cigars, jars of jam, flowers, pictures,' she recalled. 'We gave most of them away to poorer peasant families nearby on Hitler's orders

So how do we defend against the would-be Hitlers in our midst? Keep a very careful limit to the powers of the governments they head. And try to avoid electing people who appeal to your emotions, your grievances and your fears.