....compared to Charlie Chaplin in 'The Great Dictator'

Adolf Hitler was bar far the greatest speaker in recent history, quite possibly of all time.
I don't speak German well, but you don't need to speak his language to realize how great he was at speaking it. Just listen to one of his speeches and the sheer emotion in every word. Not to mention the fact that he turned a 50 man political party into the sole party of Germany through his speeches.

Hitler is easily the greatest orator of all time. Hitler went from being a poor Austrian peasant, the son of an abusive customs officer and his grossly under aged wife to the the German Chancellery. All of this thanks to his remarkable ability to manipulate and subsequentely control those around him due to his prodigious oratory skills (and a hell of a lot of wily stratagems and countermines). I am Jewish, a member of the race of people this man almost annihilated and yet I am still uttery transfixed on with this mans genius and ability to deliver some of the greatest and most theatrical speaches of all time (the Nuremberg rally kicked the hell out of the million man march).

Greatest orator of all time.

People are always remarking on this site what a great orator he was.  I don't really know--  I don't speak German.  Always seemed like a schmuck to me.

He was such a good speaker that he was able to rally a great nation to attempt the mass murder of a perceived internal enemy and to a pursue a suicidal war against most of the world. That's powerful! Totally out of his mind, but what a salesman he was.

I hate to give the guy 4 stars,  but if its a rating on Orators he deserves it.  He had a high IQ and was insane,  a dangerous combination.  That said,  he knew what people wanted to hear,  and he knew how to say  it, with confidence and a forcefullness that many at the time found convincing.

I don't think that his skills as an orator are much in dispute.  The content of his speeches, and the effect of his policies was despicable, but he said it with an electrifying, motivating force seldom seen in politics.

Which always makes me concerned when people sing the praises of politicians based solely on their oratorical skills.

He vass a great painter, ja, he could do a room in two hours.  Two coats!!!  He vass a fine dancer, too.  Remember dat jig he done venn his troops invaded Poland?  Die Beste muss voreingehen!!!  Und er war eine gute Freund to da Vatican!!!   So vott he only hat vone nut.  Und you say he caused da Holocaust?  Vott's a challah cost?  Three, mebbe three-fifty?  Dann und vann, er machte eine kleine spass...

Greatest Man of all...the adventurist...

There's no denying he was a superstar.

Those who believe it can't happen here should take a moment to consider the fact that most of his rants were about returning Germany to Family Values, creating a Moral Nation and exhortations to Support The Troops.


He didn't have anything nice to say about liberals either.

All those who cannot even concede that he was a great orator basically have their opinions swayed by other facts, merging the conclusion into a mush - "He was a bad man so he can't be a great orator." These are the types of people who cannot think objectively and are susceptible to propaganda.

From some of the speeches I've heard, he is a magnificent speaker. He began in a calm and controlled fashion, then injected passion and it turned into a full-blown chant. Considering what he convinced the German people to do, you can't really dispute his charisma...

I guess you had to be there.  Thank God I wasn't.

Oration is his saving grace!!

hes my hero!!!

HITLER WAS THE BEST MAN THAT EVER LIVED!!!!!! SCREW THE JEWS!!!! THEY WILL ALL DIE SOMEDAY AND WHEN THEY WILL I WILL BE THE CAUSE OF IT ALL SO U JEWS BETTER WATCH YOUR ASS!!!!!

As horrible as this man was, he was a hell of a public speaker. Even listening to his speeches in German - not speaking it myself - they are still riveting with that angry, almost guttural, speaking pattern. Some even say he was able to subject people to mass hypnosis with his speaking. Also, few people know, he was also quite funny. In the late 1930's, the British government released a statement advising Germany not to annex the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Hitler addressed the Reichstag advising the world that Germany had no plans to invade Czechoslovakia...or Brazil...or Mexico...or Australia...

How mild mannered and well rounded Germans were able to go along with his plan is a testament to his skills. His speeches won him the election, and his actions by way of industrialization and rearmament keep him in power, but the Germans still walked with him to war, confident in him because of many reasons, partial is ability as an orator. Almost unmatched in his generation, him and Churchill could both inspire an entire country with simply a short sentence. Though the way they spoke was much different, as Churchill spoke with a kind of controlled confidence with the ability to persuade anyone to his mindset, Hitler was able to do the same, but with a voice that could be heard a mile away and body language that spoke for itself. Its not what they said, its how they say it. Hitler was able to rally a crushed nation by a terrible war fought just decades before and prepare them for another. Some people seem to think that he persuaded the Germans as a whole of his 'Final Solution', which is simply absurd. He was able to convince them that the Jews were lesser humans, by scaring them into believing Jews were evil. Hell, GWB was able to do that with America and Muslims, or more importantly the Middle East. It is understandable that if well rounded Americans can believe such things well rounded Germans can do the same. Churchill on the other hand was able to gather the absoulete strength of a fallin empire in the darkest of its days, through blockade and bombing, through the blunders of the defense of France, Greece, Africa and Asia. Through the toughest WW2 had to offer to the glory days of the Allies, he was there. Hilter was also able to gain his people's strength in darkest. Through his greatest feats in France and 1941 USSR, to the darkest moments of Allied Bombing, starvation and Soviet encirclement, they were both able to organize their nation for war simply because the people (well, a lot of them through fear and being naive) trusted their ability completely, and that was a great tribute to their skills as orators. Both get 5 stars.

No doubt a powerful speaker, but you get no points if your insane in my book.

Don't take the five stars the wrong way, but through the minimal conversations I've had with some older, emmigrated Germans I've been left with the understanding that Hitler was a profound orator and propogandist. It has also been written that Hitler used to even find sexual gratification while giving speeches...sometimes even reaching orgasm. A very sick man, no doubt, but apparently a very persuasive one as well.

I have to agree with the comments of Drummond and Randyman below. Like the majority of fascistic racists, the philosophy of Hitler (just take a read through "Mein Kampf" if you doubt it) is boring and mundane beyond belief. And certainly, in terms of physical appearance alone, Hitler looked like a clown, with his Leiderhosen and his Bavarian-peasant's mustache (shades of Charlie Chaplin). But I remember the first time I watched "Triumph of the Will." It was in German, with no English subtitles, and was dull beyond belief, until Hitler came on. I didn't understand a word he was saying (although I'm sure it was along the lines of "The Jews and the Bolsheviks are responsible for everything bad happening in Germany") but he was undeniably mesmerizing, hypnotic, even diabolic, if you're of a religious bent. I've always thought the German people as a whole (and I'm speaking as someone of Irish-German ancestry) got far more of a break than they were entitled to after World War II. Their argument always seemed to be that they were "hypnotized" and "seduced" by Hitler and didn't really know what they were getting into. I always thought this was a spurious rationalization...Hitler was never timid about articulating what he intended for the Jews of the world, or those he regarded as "sub-human" (blacks, Slavs, Asians, etc.). But such rationalizations become a bit more understandable after watching Hitler in full-frenzy. He gives new meaning to the term "the charisma of evil."

The worst human being of the 20th century was, regrettably, a charismatic orator. . .the devil-incarnate knew how to move a crowd. Creepy to watch him speak on film while I was in college and notice the energy from the crowd. . .

Most of the raters rating him low are doing so because they don't want to give him any sort of positive credit, which is understandable. Fact is, the guy had a way with words. We always see him in his fiery oratories, but he was actually more effective when he appeared to be moderate. He could even appear to be humble. He convinced a nation to go on a murdering rampage. Can't do that without some oratory skills.

I hate to give this devil any credit. But it was his orating skills that sold Germany on his Master Race idea, the extermanation of millions of Jews, and the conquest of Europe and the world. Just for the record, I hate everything this evil man stood for.

Was He a good Orator, well he did manage to sway a lot of people to his way of thinking. That said what he spoke about was the ravings of a mad mass murderer. It all comes down to content!

You know, there's still room next to him and his croonies for you down in the Thirteenth Circle, Stuhr.

There was many worse leaders than him, he had a good plan for killing all those troublemakers(jews,) though , I still hate those jews, and those sub human arabs

His Taurean force was actually frightening. I think you would have to be a good orator to put that kind of fear into the hearts of those who did not follow the 3rd Reich, but who followed history. Net

mesmerizing. seduced a nation into war and mass murder.

Yawn. He was soooo boring......

Adolf sure knew how to get the crowd going!