Since Bollinger brought up the comparison to Hitler and the man-of-peace thing will undoubtedly become a talking point in certain dingbat circles here and abroad, I thought it might be worth noting that Hitler cast himself — with great success — as a man of peace in the 1930s. Here a couple excerpts from Ian Kershaw’s The Hitler Myth (I happened to have quite a few of them already typed up):
“[Hitler] set the tone for his peace propaganda aimed both abroad and at home in a major speech on 17 May 1933, in which he effusively declared that there could be ‘only one great task’ for himself and the German leadership: ‘to secure peace in the world’ As he was on later occasions so frequently to proclaim with apparent sincerity, the goal of restoring German honour was, he stated, based on the deep respect for the rights of other nations with whom National Socialist Germany wished ‘from its innermost heart to live in peace and friendship’. Two years later, Hitler repeated almost word for word: ‘National Socialist Germany desires peace from its innermost ideological convictions… Germany needs peace and desires peace.’ — Page 124-125
Hitler on the ‘peace image’ in secret address to German press (November 1938):
“Circumstances have compelled me to speak for decades almost solely of peace. Only through continued emphasis on the German desire for peace and intentions of peace was it possible for me…to provide the German people with the armaments which were always necessary as the basis of the next step. It goes without saying that such a peace propaganda which has been cultivated for years also has its doubtful side; for it can only too easily lead to the view being formed in the minds of many people that the present regime identifies with the determination and the will to maintain peace under all circumstances.”
Kershaw on Hitler in 1939:
“Since the Munich Agreement, there was, it seemed, little room for doubts about Hitler’s diplomacy, and his speeches in the spring and summer of 1939 – especially his highly effective rebuff of president Roosevelt on 28 April – made a considerable impact, seeming to confirm to many Germans that his underlying aims were to preserve peace, not to wage war.” (Kershaw, 141)