It is a Socratic type of irony which borders on sarcasm because it has atte ntion drawn to it to make it clear so lower classes could easily identify and understand wha t was really being said. It is the same theory behind good writing. You do not tell the audience everyt hing but give them enough to igure it out for themselves, yet at the same time you cannot make the puzzle too dificult to igure out. It was a technique Hitler used to mai ntain interest in speeches and to make people accept what he was telling them as factual. Less intelligent listeners often cannot distinguish between irony, cynicism , a quip(nasty term which says a false premise as true for the purpose of hurting another’s fee lings) and sarcasm. Sarcasm is often described as the lowest form of wit but that is incorrec t, it is parody that without doubt takes that position. Quips are often confused with sarcasm even by t he user. They think they are intelligent and sarcastic when in fact they are ignorant and quippy. Quip is a way of indirectly expressing aggression towards others. The humor of complexity shields the speaker from vulnerability related to openly st ating an opinion and standing behind it. “What a great car” can be a quip if the car i s clearly not a nice one but this is not sarcastic. Quip’ers only show a supericial pa rt of themselves and avoid expressing deep opinions as opinions. Users of sarcasm want to make thei r opinions very clear through their vocal tone(shown by “quotes” in the text). Sarcasm, true sarcasm, as used by Hitler, is a sign of intelligence and is used to express anger and aggression towards what he sees as unfair, dishonest, or deceiving elements. S arcasm is highly appropriate in this expression for him. Spitting out an insult would not have the same effect as targeted use of sarcasm which combines a jab plus humor which makes a more entertaining statement than t he merely negative one would be and it also leads his audience to accept his conclus ion and allows them to feel smart because they can igure out what he is saying even though he is not absolutely literal. Sarcasm can also stimulate the ego of the user by a sserting themselves as intelligent and powerful. Heavy users of sarcasm are usually aggressive on s ome level, more than the average person. This can be part of a power game which makes the user feel powerful and can make followers view them as intelligent and powerful which ma kes them want to follow. Quips put people down, sarcasm does not, it expresses a hidden opinion in a blatant fashion MEIN KAMPF 38 MEIN KAMPF as if it is a shared secret between the speaker and the listener. It probably made his speeches more interesting and attractive. The idea that less intelligent people do not get sarcasm is only partly true. If they are unable to understand sarcasm, then they lack the ability to understand deep meaning anywa y. Hitler’s use of sarcasm most likely attracted lower elements of t he population because they could listen and say ‘yeah, I get what he is saying, what he is really saying’. Some have criticized Hitler for his use of sarcasm but this is unfair and results from a poor understanding of Hitler and of sarcasm itself. Hitlers use of sarcasm was to illustrate a point by saying the opposite which could be construed as aggressive in most cases based on his usage. His use of sarca sm is very speciic and focused. Here is an example: ‘He is a “real” nice guy’ is aggressive and beli ttling but this is not the type of sarcasm used by Hitler, he used the form ‘These “wonderful paciists” were leading us to war.’ German Race References Explained What did Hitler really say? This is important when understanding his writing. Many people assume Hitler’s speeches were hate illed, vulgar episodes comparable to speeche s by Neo-Nazi’s or the Ku Klux Klan. In fact, Hitler was careful about his public language. He would likely criticize such offensive speeches if he heard one today as being