Hitler Analysis

[sleepless]

I searched here and there on the net and was quite surprised that many people seem to think of Hitler as an MBTI idealist - INFJ, ENFJ and even INFP (!) are some of the various suggestions I encountered. (Among other things I read through an old thread on INTJforum and some people even said he was a sensor.) From how I understand MBTI and the eight functions this is nothing but ridiculous, but then, it seems like people understand the functions differently, or they don't understand them at all but are happy with just the letters.

I thought about this some time ago before I had checked with anyone or anything, and my conclusion was - and still is - that he was INTJ, and I'm quite sure of it. I don't really get it when even some of the "experts" think he was ENFJ (so I read... somewhere).

Okay, here's his functions, one by one:

Introverted Intuition
Anyone who doesn't agree with this? Well actually, this far people does seem to be agreed, more or less. Hitler was driven by an inner vision, Deutschland Über Alles, Lebensraum, World Domination, all that crap. When he was younger, hanging out with his NSDAP buddies, he could be silent for long periods of time, and then suddenly burst into speech, and when he talked he could do so for hours.

Extraverted Thinking
Secondary function, according to me then, is Te - organization, efficiency, decisiveness, toughness. Te is impersonal and sees what needs to be done (whatever that is) and how to get there, no matter if other people will protest or, ultimately, get hurt by it. It doesn't, like Fe, stop and say: "Is everyone okay with this?" People are secondary to the project at hand.

Introverted Feeling
This third function, sadly misdirected, undoubtedly helped to fuel the little moustasche-man's feeling of humiliation and thirst for revenge: "The jews didn't let me in to their art's school, so I hate them", "The war was unfair and so was the Treaty of Versailles, just wait till next time", and so on. And yes, the Versailles-thing was very unfair, but in a more balanced person, and with a more developed Fi, the hurt feelings would have had a chance to transform into acceptance and forgiveness, instead of being a source of sheer hatred.

Extraverted Sensing
The least interesting, and same for all INJs anyway, but if I'm not mistaken Hitler was yet another of all these INJ people who cared about what he ate (his doctor suggested that he eat less meat, or something like that). Also, he was in fact an painter in his youth, also potentially INJ-ish (expressing one's Ni through one's Se, as discussed in my last thread).


So, this is how I see it, and I just can't understand why people think of him as NFJ! Let's look at some descriptions of NFJs and of Extraverted Feeling:

INFJ Characteristics - Dolphin Cove

They are activists there for the cause, not for the power, fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless [...] They can become aware of another's emotions/intentions before that person is conscious of them. This leads to strong empathic abilities, an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others [...] When working with others, they are very sensitive to conflict and cannot tolerate it very well. They will prevnt/avoid it at all costs.

"Oh my, I am so sensitive to conflict, I better start a World War...?"

Extraverted Feeling

The process of extraverted Feeling often involves a desire to connect with (or disconnect from) others and is often evidenced by expressions of warmth (or displeasure) and self-disclosure. The “social graces,” such as being polite, being nice, being friendly, being considerate, and being appropriate, often revolve around the process of extraverted Feeling. Keeping in touch, laughing at jokes when others laugh, and trying to get people to act kindly to each other also involve extraverted Feeling. Using this process, we respond according to expressed or even unexpressed wants and needs of others. We may ask people what they want or need or self-disclose to prompt them to talk more about themselves. This often sparks conversation and lets us know more about them so we can better adjust our behavior to them. Often with this process, we feel pulled to be responsible and take care of others’ feelings, sometimes to the point of not separating our feelings from theirs. We may recognize and adhere to shared values, feelings, and social norms to get along.

OK, now, this might not be _the_ definition, but it says pretty much the same as others I've seen. What more is there to say?? Hitler was so NOT Extraverted Feeling! He was so NOT caring, nice, friendly, considerate and he was definitely not sensitive to conflict! Everyone knows Te is the forceful function; brutal, aggressive, insensitive people are often unbalanced Te-users, I think. There is a risk for unbalanced Fe-users, and especially NFJs, to become manipulative, that is true, and maybe why many think this ought to be the Führer's type. But Hitler wasn't *manipulative* like an NFJ, he wasn't a "people-person"; he was rhetorical, his speeches were passionate, fierce and aggressive, and lots of people were moved by it.
YouTube - Adolf Hitler - Speech (1932)

In the INTJ-forum-thread I looked over lots of people seemed to think Hitler was F, and also, thinking of these anti-feeling threads which have been going on now ever since (and before) I joined the forum, there seems to be a common understanding that F = emotion, and that to act on emotion is per definition dangerous, chaotic and best avoided. My understanding of the MBTI is that F/T is a difference between personal/impersonal reasoning. After that, the difference between Fi/Fe and Ti/Te makes it hard to generalize any further. But to act on emotion is not really Fe, which concerns itself with interpersonal connection and harmony, it is Fi, and to some extent Te. Fi-Te are on the same axis, remember? (my latest thread again) In the Hitler speech above, what function is he using? Clearly he's using both. Fi alone doesn't make an aggressive speech, Te alone doesn't make a speech at all. "Oh German people, we have been humiliated - now we shall have revenge!"

And I want to point that out - Fi alone doesn't make an aggressive or somehow "dangerous" person, though that is almost the feeling you get when reading those anti-feeling threads...

Having read this far I hope everyone agrees with me that Hitler was not an INFJ! (and yes, I admit this is something of an ego-thread)

Now I want a hundred comments

[Haphazard]

Hitler can't be an INTJ. It'd be too obvious.

[Magic Poriferan]

Hey man, I'm one of the people seriously considering that Hitler was an F, and I've been busting my ass sticking up for Feelers on this forum.

Anyway, I thought of him as being more Fi than Fe.

[ygolo]

I kind of thought he was an INFP myself, but I haven't done much analysis.

Whatever type he was, I think root of his rise to power and the ideology he picked up was the placing of responsibility one's situation on someone else.

Himmler, I think, was and NTJ of some sort.

[Dark Razor]

Here is Hitler's psychological profile, created by the OSS, maybe you'll find some hints there, it's at least a very interesting read.

I cannot really imagine him as an INTJ, he sucked too much at military strategy and he was better at understanding people and their motivations than at understanding logistics and strategy.

[Kanamori]

Well, how much have you really researched about Hitler?

[sleepless]

Haha, okay, you don't seem to agree with it that much then... ><

Originally Posted by Haphazard

Hitler can't be an INTJ. It'd be too obvious.

How do you mean?

Originally Posted by Magic Poriferan

Hey man, I'm one of the people seriously considering that Hitler was an F, and I've been busting my ass sticking up for Feelers on this forum.

Anyway, I thought of him as being more Fi than Fe.

Yeah, sorry I didn't mean all people are idiots to consider him to be F, if you or anyone thinks he could be F, then I am of course interested in hearing how you're reasoning.

He's Fi, yes, and the thing is, if we all agree that he is Ni (there is less disagreement on that) then he couldn't be a Feeler/Idealist. And also, what I think is that Te must be stronger than Fi to create this sort of agressiveness.

Originally Posted by Dark Razor

Here is Hitler's psychological profile, created by the OSS, maybe you'll find some hints there, it's at least a very interesting read.

I cannot really imagine him as an INTJ, he sucked too much at military strategy and he was better at understanding people and their motivations than at understanding logistics and strategy.

Hm, well, military strategy I can't say much about myself, as I don't know... but just because you're Te you don't absolutely have to be good at all Te-stuff. How was he good at understanding people? It seems to me he wasn't especially good with people at all.

Thanks for the link, I'll read it later.

Originally Posted by Kanamori

Well, how much have you really researched about Hitler?

Haha, well this is nothing professional of course, just some various facts I have picked up during the years, through documentaries, history class or whatever... but after all it isn't that hard to do get a feeling of how he was, I think. And the facts I've been using to support my understanding of him as INTJ are quite basic.

[Haphazard]

Originally Posted by sleepless

How do you mean?

You seem to be describing his political characterization, plus a few odds and ends from his personal life, but mostly you're just force-fitting that Hitler himself was the embodiment of the Nazi regime.

Okay, fine, the Nazis as a whole seem like they were trying to be INTJ. Germany probably wanted an INTJ, so the Nazi party worked hard to make sure they got what they want. But that doesn't necessarily mean that their leader is an INTJ. Considering how politics is, he probably wasn't. A politician's public persona is never the same as their personal one. In politics, you need to blow your 'at work' personality out of proportion and give the people what you think they want. Typing him to be the same as his public persona would be, well, too easy.

Also, there's the whole INTJs and charisma thing. They kind of suck at that.

[entropie]

I aggree, with him being not an iNTj. I have seen quite some biographical movies about Hitlers past now and I heard people talking, who actually have seen Hitler in person.

In the weimarer republic after the first world war, there was a strong desire among the population for a new government. Hitler new that and when he first spoke to a handful of people annoucing his ideology, he was completly on his own.

I dont think iNTj thrive for leadership of that sort.

My first guess on Hitler was eNTp or eNTj, while I tend more to think of him being eNTj. But when I dug deeper into the matter and became him to know through movies and historical books, I completly lost the track of Hitler being an NT at all.

I started to get intrested in the idea of Hitler being a F-Type. Bismarck the first Reichskanzler in the 1st World War was a T, he quit the war, when it was going nowhere, to not face total destruction. Hitler didn't.

I have come up with a completly new and hypertheorethical theisis on Hitler. When he was young he wanted to become a painter, but his paintings sucked and he was dismissed. That seemed to be a crucial point. Art in itself means expressing something, maybe your emotions, maybe your ideas. Or maybe your ideology. After being finished with arts, he started to write a book in wish he formed his view of a perfect world. And from this day on, he would have do nothing else than to pursuit his on drawn view of the world. He annected countries to widen his influence and killed all the people he didnt see to fit into his brave new world. On its peak he wanted to build the new center of europe a gigantic monumental office building in Nuernberg and it is known that his realtional connections to the artist, were of a profound personal nature.

In my opinion, Hitler was iSfP. It is hard to imagine that but those times were different and this personality was ill to the bone.

[scantilyclad]

Hitler was such an F.