World War 2 was a difficult time not knowing which of the leaders of the Nazi party Germans disliked most. The government was highly strict. Leaders could end up in serious trouble should people say bad stuff about them. Worse they could be sent to jail. So, there can be no comfortable knowledge of what the majority of the people actually thought.
Initially, people loved Adolf Hitler especially Germans. He promised that he would restore Germany. Things seemed good at one time. Trust was placed on him, particularly when Germany did not fail pretty early.
However, as the war continued Germany began losing. Their urban centers were bombed. Human beings got exhausted and frightened. Public support to the war and leaders lowered.
And when we consider who people did not like, certain names come to the mind:
The government told people under the direction of Joseph Goebbels. They would win!--he kept on repeating. People could have thought that he was deceiving them when Germany began to lose. Thus, there is a possibility that some of them might have silently hated him because he had pretended to give a false hope.
The leader of the air force was Hermann Goring. When the air force was unable to prevent enemy bombs, and when he was living a luxurious life whereas other people were suffering, many people were likely to develop hatred towards him.
Heinrich Himmler was a leader of SS and the author of dreadful concentration camps. Heretofore, most of the ordinary Germans were not aware of the severity of his crimes in the war. They could have been scared of him due to the fact that the SS was strong. It was only after the war that the horror of what he did was evident.
Majority of the people concealed their anger as they were scared a great deal. There is no one that everyone disliked the most. But Goebbels and Goring who were much in evidence and made errors when Germany was defeated were likely to be unpopular in unspoken fashion with many Germans.
Writer : Peter Alexander
