[WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

[ajardoor]

I thought Unfazeable and Indomitable were unrealistic traits?

Besides, Hitler didn't really have Will higher than about 14, I believe.

But he also had plenty of mental and social advantages - Charisma, Sensitive, Smooth Operator, Luck...

Also? Mental disadvantages all over the place. I'd say Callous, Delusion, Megalomania, Intolerance, Selfish...?

[trans]

I don't like being in the position of being an apologist for Hitler, but Will was really his defining feature, misguided though it was. Charisma too, of course. What other human would you say had more Will? Maybe some serious military heroes, religious fanatics or top athletes. But Hitler had a claim to belonging to the first two of these categories, anyway.

[Anaraxes]

Quotes from testimony at the Nuremburg trials:

Originally Posted by Jodl

Hitler was a leader to an exceptional degree. His knowledge and his intellect, his rhetoric and his will power triumphed in the end in every spiritual conflict over everyone.

Originally Posted by Ribbentrop

His thoughts and statements always had something final and definite about them, and they appeared to come from his innermost self. I had the impression that I was facing a man who knew what he wanted and who had an unshakable will and who was a very strong personality.

Originally Posted by Schacht

He was a man of unbending energy and of a will-power which overcame all obstacles...Only those two characteristics - mass psychology and his energy and will-power - explain that Hitler was able to rally up to 40 per cent, and later almost 50 per cent, of the German people behind him

Who's Who normally leans to the cinematic, does it not?

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by trans

Charisma too, of course.

Probably not. Given the way GURPS defines Charisma, Hitler probably didn't have any. What he would have had would be an absurd Propaganda score, probably in the 21-24 range.

Originally Posted by Who's Who 2; Hitler's Write up

But Hitler’s most elusive quality is the vaunted “charisma” that never showed up in interpersonal situations, only in public addresses. Even that remains nigh inexplicable: His voice irritated the ear and his text wandered turgidly. Part of the appeal stemmed from the show he put on – all drab thugs and flashy banners – but the secret (say those who observed him) lay in his ability to size up an audience and address their innermost needs. (He may also have mastered a form of stylized German rhetoric that he cast into disgrace by his use of it, so that it is no longer much recognized or effective.) To reflect this, he has been assigned Performance and Psychology rather than Charisma.

[vicky_molokh]

Hmmm. Maybe he's a candidate for Attribute Substitution (Public Speaking based on Will). Because his Public Speaking is definitely epic, judging both by people's accounts and by the short video clips of him making performances.

[trans]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

But Hitler’s most elusive quality is the vaunted “charisma” that never showed up in interpersonal situations.

Hmm, I don't know the source for that, but Guderian and Speer, who both had a lot of contact with him, say quite the opposite.

Edit: Even if he didn't write anything about it directly, Goering would probably have agreed. And he was one smart cookie, despite his other faults.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Can't someone with Unfazeable pretend to have emotions, via the Acting skill?

I didn't think Unfazeable meant the character didn't have emotions but that specific ones like fear didn't over overwhelm them?

[trans]

When I listen to Hitler's speeches in German, it does take a minute or two to get "in the groove". The German would probably be "gleichgeschaltet".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung

I think this is because his speeches were so laden with emotion that if you are looking for rational content, you look in vain.

[trans]

Just to drive the nail in deeper, Rommel also fell under Hitler's spell, and eventually died for it.

[Anders]

Maybe Smooth Operator is a better fit?