Adolf Hitler: Hatred driven destructive leadership

Abstract

This study proposes a social identity theory-based and multi-level model that describes destructive leadership as contingent on social categorization of the in- and outgroups and mediated by hatred. We describe Adolf Hitler’s destructive leadership behavior as contingent on his social categorization of non-Aryans, and as mediated by his hatred for the outgroups of Jews, Communists, Roma and Sinti, Disabled, Freemasons, Gay men, Jehovah Witnesses and Blacks. We propose that Hitler’s hatred for the outgroups was motivated by cognitive commitment, negation of intimacy and reaction to fear. His destructive leadership included institutional behaviors such as legislation and the encouragement of the development of a scientifically defunct race theory, symbolic behaviors, such as gestures connoting disrespect, rude epithets, slurs, and hatred-associated symbols, and physical behaviors, such as threatening, imprisoning, inflicting injuries, starving, torturing and annihilating members of the outgroups, he instigated the ingroup members to commit. Hitler believed Aryan Nazi Germany would achieve a national triumph; his leadership, however, ended in the obliteration of the European continent and Holocaust of the Jewish people, among others. The proposed model may be applied in the context of cross-cultural management to discriminatory behaviors, biases, or outright hostility in multi-cultural teams, which affects the leadership process, employee engagement and retention and organizational effectiveness.