Art historian Birgit Schwarz is making the case that Adolf Hitler, who considered himself an artistic genius, was motivated by the bohemian notion of many artsy types even today, in which they consider themselves above the norms that govern the uncreative masses, that ordinary rules donโt apply to them because they are so creative. From an interview in SPIEGEL ONLINE:
In my opinion, people have underestimated the notion that Hitler considered himself an artist, in fact, an artistic genius, and that much can be deduced from this self-image, this overheated artistโs ego. However, this has hardly played a role in the research to date. Thatโs the starting point, from my perspective, because it can help us gain a better understanding of Hitler as a person, as well as his system of power. Hitlerโs deluded view of himself as a genius is based on the confused system of thought emerging in the late 19th century, which centered on the idea that a genius โ a strong personality who outshone everything else โ could do anything and could do anything he pleased.