Did Hitler Pay Attention in History Class? Everyone has watched movies or studied texts about Adolf Hitler and therefore witnessed the powerful actions and decisions he placed on the population throughout his reign of Nazi Germany starting in the early 1930’s. When he seized power on January 30, 1933, many thought his incentives seemed to be creations of his own ideas, but his views and opinions show a structural model because they were based off of several significant periods of time throughout German history. These eras include the ancient, medieval and renaissance eras of German history. In the ancient eras, the Germans were barbarians, real savages who were inferior to the Romans. In the medival era the Germans were still developing but they fluctuated into a group with more overall power when they gained power through decimating the Jewish population. Finally in the renaissance era, the Germans were able to expand and mature their society to the point where they were feared by other nations. Within the pages of Mein Kampf, Hitler idolizes the Roman history. He educated himself with the understanding that in the beginning of the ancient era, the Romans overtook the German tribes. It wasn’t a defeat by the slimmest of margins; the Romans completely beat up the Germans. This was because the Germans “had no military organization; war was entirely a game of personal heroics” (Jones). At a time where the Roman military was top of the line, the Germans started off with little to no chance when they didn’t even carry a sword but a framea (spear) with a narrow and short head (Jones). On the other hand, the Roman army was the best of its time and the Roman society profited off a strong economy. Everything was going right for the Romans and nobody bet on the Germans being able to keep close to the powerhouse Romans. However, through discipline and urgency comes success and this is a valuable lesson that Hitler learned and showed throughout his reign. This was present in two battles where the Germans became victorious. The first was the clades Lolliana or Lollian disaster, a battle in 16 BC. Marcus Lollius Paulinus, a Roman senator and military officer, was defeated by Germanic tribes along the Rhine. This success the German’s proved was quickly continued in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. This was one of the most memorable battles in ancient history because a country in Germany that was inferior in every aspect defeated the Roman general Varus and all his men. Transitioning to Hitler, this battle and the raw determinationg of the Germanic tribes really influenced him. It was raw determination because the Germans remained independent and were never included in the Roman Empire because of this victory. Hitler integrated this never give up attitude in his reign as a Nazi leader. Within Mein Kampf he acknowledges this fact when he says, “The conflict of our time is one that is being waged around great objectives. A civilization is fighting for its existence” (Mein Kampf). He is indirectly speaking about this battle where the Germaninc tribe conquered and beat the Romans. Furthermore, moving into the medieval ages it was clear that the Germans began to mature as a nation. This was mainly noticeable in their command over weaker religious groups like the Muslim and Jewish. Particularly the Jewish population got wiped out by the Germans when they were killed in thousands. Soloman Bar Sampson, most likely a Jewish Rabbi was a Hebrew writer in 1140 who wrote that he was even personally concerned with the persecutions of Jewish communities in the Rhineland area. It ended up getting extreme to the point where either people converted or they killed themselves before the Germans would slaughter them. He shared a story where a Jewish lady named Rachel killed her child because she didn’t want the Christians to kill them (Soloman Bar Sampson). This demoralization was a tactic that Hitler used when he was in command of Nazi Germany. He