Adolf Hitler: TIME Person of the Year 1938

by Time Inc.

Führer of the German people, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, Navy & Air Force, Chancellor of the Third Reich, Herr Hitler has reaped the harvest of an audacious, defiant, ruthless foreign policy he has pursued for five and a half years. He had torn the Treaty of Versailles to shreds. He had rearmed Germany to the teeth— or as close to the teeth as he was able. He had stolen Austria before the eyes of a horrified and apparently impotent world.

All these events were shocking to nations which had defeated Germany on the battlefield only 20 years before, but nothing so terrified the world as the ruthless, methodical, Nazi-directed events which during late summer and early autumn threatened a world war over Czechoslovakia. When without loss of blood he reduced Czechoslovakia to a German puppet state, forced a drastic revision of Europe's defensive alliances, and won a free hand for himself in Eastern Europe by getting a "hands-off" promise from powerful Britain (and later France), Adolf Hitler without doubt became 1938's Man of the Year.

This story is part of the TIME Person of the Year Collection from Time Inc. This is a reproduction of a story that appeared in the January 2, 1939 issue of TIME magazine.

Time Inc. is one of the world’s most influential media companies – home to 90 iconic brands like People, Sports Illustrated, Time, InStyle, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and Fortune. The Spotlight Stories in this collection aim to provide you with a quick read on a single subject, highlighting our readers’ most popular stories and featuring great reporting from our Time Inc. journalists.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

18 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2016

About the author

TIME is a global media brand built on 100 years of unparalleled trust and authority, with an audience of more than 100 million people worldwide across our platforms. Created in 1923, TIME began as the first weekly news magazine: a digest of world events, for busy people to read. Today, TIME includes a website; a magazine; a social media footprint of over 51 million; TIME Studios, an award-winning film and television division; live events; Red Border, an award-winning in-house branded content studio; TIME CO2, a climate action platform; TIME Stamped, a recommendations and e-commerce platform created in partnership with Taboola; and TIME Sites, a customer-experience platform.

TIME’s mission is to provide trusted guidance about the ideas and people who shape and improve the world. This promise lives at the center of our award-winning editorial work, fast-growing new divisions, innovative new products, and partner solutions.

Reviews

[Bobby Daugherty]

Typical "bad man" piece by the media.

[Ben Taylor]

A timely reread

The text characterizes a continent on the eve of world war, gives a glimpse into the mindset of the time; given the United States is not quite two weeks from electing one of two megalomaniacal candidates with historically high negative ratings, this article bears rereading.

[John Boyda]

Is history repeating?

I read this in light of current events (2022) in Ukraine. Putin seems to be following the same path. He already has a repressive government, has annexed Crimea, and is now trying to take over the Ukraine. Admittedly, his efforts are meeting more resistance than Hitler encountered in Czechoslovakia but other nations are using words rather than bullets to stop Putin. I guess that humanity is really that stupid.

[Lindsay S]

A fascinating and macabre historical prequel captured in infamy by Time. The warning signs, despite being so alarming even in 1939, parallel much of what we see today as a people. It's a sobering reminder that extremism, inaction and conjecture is not always enough to prevent atrocities.

[Derrick Monk]

Interested times back then, winning time magazine person of the year. It goes to show you how much like the past it feels like we’re closely becoming like

[Karen Burkey]

A great article on a time and person many of us know nothing about. An insight to an era when one very flawed man mesmerized an entire nation, to their everlasting disgrace.

[Lahu Kunjir]

I like

[Salmon Pilot]

It provides a viewpoint from Time Inc before the eve of WWII. The author was ironizing Hitler by sparing no effort. Though it was filled with worries in the articles, it might not foresee such a world war would happen later.
Some may argue that authoritarianism and democracy are like two rivalries throughout all human history, which were filled with struggles and conflicts, and sometimes a short period of peace (like the cold war and what's happening now). But what Hitler did at that time is definitely not only authoritarianism but also evil. (Guess that's the reason Churchill could even cooperate with Starlin to defeat Fascism. )

[Stephanie S. Tackett]

Where are the last 3 pages?

Overall, an interesting glimpse into a timeframe of history that we now see more clearly in hindsight. My only complaint is that the concluding paragraphs are not there.

[Samir]

Interesting article

Good read about a terrible human. I am incredibly glad he lost the war. I wish magazines still has articles this good.