Most influential 20th Century German leader

[Hongfan91]

Which of these "big" German leaders in the 20th century shaped Germany's and the world's future the most in your view?

 

[HammerofWar]

Kind of hard to argue with Hitler. He changed the face of the world and how we live.

Wilhelm II does deserve credit, however, for his efforts.

 

[wtw]

Hitler, the man caused a war that killed tens of millions of people, and when it ended set up the cold war and then the world we have today

 

[TFSmith121]

In terms of having the greatest impact (positive or negative)

Kind of hard to argue with Hitler. He changed the face of the world and how we live.

Wilhelm II does deserve credit, however, for his efforts.

In terms of having the greatest impact (positive or negative), yep, Hitler would get it, although without Wilhelm II, doubtful whether Hitler would have come to power.

In terms of postwar leaders, I'd think Adenauer should have a spot; completely dedicated to Germany's engagement in the European and Atlantic communities, he's at least as important to European unification as Monnet, Spaak, and Schuman... and in comparison to (say) De Gaulle, Adenauer threaded the needle of both European unification and the Atlantic alliance.

My two pfennigs, anyway.

Best,

 

[Tom Colton]

To quote someone's sig, I'd vote for Hitler.

 

[Tyr]

Considering Hitler is still a byword for evil.....

 

[Perkeo]

I had to vote for Adolf unlike the other three, he actively canged the political system, unfortunately for the infinetly wose. Wilhelm screw up and failed to preserve the system, but he didn't do so alone. The other two aren't game changers, just players that had a good run or two.

 

[wietze]

i'd go with wilhelm, his actions put germany on the path to ww1, which had a lot of consequences

the direct casualty tally of hitler might be higher, but the indirect consequences of wilhelm's actions are much bigger. (for example the war that started the collapse of the british empire, and the rise of the bolsheviks in russia.)

 

[Captain Seafort]

Agreed - it has to be Wilhelm because it was his actions more than any other's (possibly even Princip's) that triggered the war, which has shaped the world ever since. Without that war, Hitler would have been no more than a substandard artist.