Did Adolf Hitler speak any other language besides German?

 

It is rather a myth that Hitler was only familiar with German. People do not know how sneaky he was about it. He acted as a character who was only concerned with Germany yet in the background, he employed language as a hidden weapon to remain in power.

At large gatherings with foreign leaders he would feign ignorance of even a single word of English or French. He would sit there and watch the face of the other person or the way they moved their hands when they were talking. He had a head start because he actually knew a good deal of what they were saying. He was able to think of his response as the translator continued to speak. This made him appear a great deal quicker and smarter than he was.

He acquired these skills in his life. He studied French at school and served four years as a soldier in France in World War I. He was also very good at remembering and enjoyed watching American fillms or reading the English newspapers. He was not a genius at these languages, but he was not ignorant.

So why did he hide it? Mostly, it was about his ego. He was afraid of appearing ridiculous or committing an error. He did not want to stumble on a word and lose his tough guy image. It was safer to appear as a hard boiled patriot who would not utter a single word other than a student who could make a mistake.

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