Who the most inspirational leader of WW2?

[seattle]

Well, in HoI terms we're debating ministers here, not leaders.

Most inspirational leaders: Hausser, Patton, Rommel.
Most inspirational ministers: Churchill, Hitler, Goebbels.

 

[desiriel]

If we're going the "inspirational" route here, I'd say:
Political: Churchill
Military: Patton and Rommel

Churchill: I don't agree acritically with everything he was, said, did or planned (even in the context of those years) but I cannot but admire the man that cried alone in the desert that doom was coming, that British leaders were deaf and blind while the monstrosity was clearly growing in front of them and then in the darkest hour, without afterthoughts, took the pieces of the Western World, rallied behind him every man, woman and child and led them to endure hardships with "nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" before an unstoppable enemy.
Victory at all costs.
Thinking of it, Europe would need a Churchill just now.

 

[jovialmadness]

1. Hitler(inspiration, fear, struggle, fight, deception and hidden oppression)
2. Churchill(positive leader inspiration and extreme struggle)
3. Tito(struggle, inspiration and extreme dedication)
4. FDR(inspiration and fight)
5. Mussolini(created blueprint for nationalism and brittle inspirational image)
6. Hirohito(national dedication and inspiration through culture and not charisma)
7. Stalin (pure fear and oppresion with false inspiration created to save country)
8. The undisclosed leader that shall not be named to prevent this post from receiving the guillotine. Wink.

 

[seattle]

1. Hitler(inspiration, fear, struggle, fight, deception and hidden oppression)
2. Churchill(positive leader inspiration and extreme struggle)
3. Tito(struggle, inspiration and extreme dedication)
4. FDR(inspiration and fight)
5. Mussolini(created blueprint for nationalism and brittle inspirational image)
6. Hirohito(national dedication and inspiration through culture and not charisma)
7. Stalin (pure fear and oppresion with false inspiration created to save country)
8. The undisclosed leader that shall not be named to prevent this post from receiving the guillotine. Wink.

Mussolini an inspirational leader? His leadership and nation collapsed at the first sign of trouble. The Italian fighting spirit wasn't exactly legendary. An inspirational leader would have inspired his people to endure a bit more and fight back.
Hirohito was a poor joke. The Japanese people weren't inspired by him in the least bit, only by his position. Regardless of who the reigning emperor was going to be, the Japanese people would be willing to die for him.

 

[Kazansky22]

As far as leaders I would say Hitler, not because he was a nice guy but simply because my brainwashed an entire nation, and kept them fighting against the odds 1:47 odds if you look at it total population wise.

As far as military leaders I'll go with the obvious ones, Rommel, Patton, Monty, Zhukov. Out of all of those I would probably say Rommel would be the top of my list.

 

[ben606]

The brave resistance fighters and partisans who fought fascism in occupied Europe are more inspirational than any one of the leaders so-far mentioned. A single Belarusian partisan fighting the Nazis had more bravery and inspiration in his pinkie than the whole gaggle of them all.

 

[Duke Von Hannover]

On the Allies side churchill without a doubt, on the Axis Hitler

 

[teamgene]

Agree with others, Churchill. However, Daladier made a great anti-German speech in his brief time on the world stage.

 

[CocoCincinnati]

I agree with others that Churchill would have to be the one for political leaders. For military commanders I would submit Terry Allen and Teddy Roosevelt Jr, the CO and XO of the 1st infantry divion in Africa and Sicily. Their men absolutely loved them.

 

[The_Meme_Man]

This little guy

You have to admire him wanting to make Manchukuo into a rival Japan instead being the string puppet he was.

Then this guy

I mean, c'mon, everybody who has to embrace the shame of losing to Mussolini deserves sympathy.

 

[The_Meme_Man]

What's with all the "respectfully disagrees" against people who admire Churchill?

 

[WarPie]

Well, I say Miklós Horthy

 

[Axe99]

Have you all forgotten about the Little Orphan by the name of Annie?

A song to hold yourself together when despairing for the release date.

Hahaha, love it .

Interesting that all the Churchill suggestions are getting dislikes, his speeches alone...

I find the love for Hitler a little unsettling conversely... Post 1942, where arguably you'd need him to be the most inspirational he could be, he's lost his nerve (no public appearances, the drugs start post Stalingrad). Sure, he got the country moving and back on track (to disaster) but when you needed a Churchill figure in Germany to rally the troops and do the whole "we will never surrender" for the Germans, he wasn't there.
Stalin... I think Stalin's a better leader than Hitler, but not more inspirational. There's a few significant moments... but he spent the rest of his life trying to make himself out to be an inspirational leader, he probably had Churchill envy. The only significant moment for him personally where he is one show from memory is in his speech a week after Barbarossa, but what made that speech important was that it was all about defending Russa, not communism...
I don't know enough about FDR to comment on him.

Now... what about commanders? What about some inspirational commanders. Slim might be a good candidate for that, but I'm sure there are others. I'm most familiar with Soviet commanders who generally went in for more violent forms of encouragement than inspiration.
I do find Rokossovsky quite impressive, but not for being inspirational but for fighting exceptionally for a regime that had taken out all his fingernails and kicked out his teeth.

I wouldn't say it's love for Hitler - I'm not particularly fond of him at all - but if we're strictly talking about inspirational leaders, the devotion he inspired in the German people was pretty impressive. Churchill did well as well, as did Stalin (and FDR, although he had Pearl Harbour to help him along), but I'd have to give it to Hitler. Sure, he may have had a particularly manipulative way of inspiring people (which he surely did), but inspire people he did. Rather wish he hadn't of, personally! He'd be my pick for political leaders. If he'd been a wet squib, then HoI4 would look very, very different.

As for military leaders, I've heard good things about Patton and Rommel, and Monty was apparently fairly well liked by his men as well.

 

[BBBD316]

I agree, I would hope that we are just debating this from a within the war leaders had certain traits. Not I think Hitler is great and would vote for again 10/10.

I think for Hitler he bought into the myth of the German invincibility and the intelligence on the Soviet forces, once he found out the truth I think he was really out of the war as a true leader.

I also think that it was a different time, I am not sure that all of society thinks the same way about their nation as they did back then, you only heard from your leaders now and then, not 24/7 like we do now. So these force of nature personalities were able to use radio and film to inspire people in a way that would not happen today.

 

[Will Steel]

For me, it has got to be Erwin Rommel. Either that, or Subhash Chandra Bose and George S. Patton.

Basically who do you think is the most inspirational leader during WW2? I personally think Winston Churchill was the most inspirational leader of WW2 because he kept the United Kingdom the war and morale high for the people of England.

Churchill is about as inspirational as Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin and Hitler and the like. His actions certainly make him one of them, alongside his predecessors since 1803. But that is not surprising.

 

[thingol]

Hitler by far, he was a nobody with no future and nothing given to him, but with his will and ambitions alone he became the ruler of the strongest military power of that time.
What he did with said power is another story.

 

[The_Meme_Man]

For me, it has got to be Erwin Rommel. Either that, or Subhash Chandra Bose and George S. Patton.



Churchill is about as inspirational as Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin and Hitler and the like. His actions certainly make him one of them, alongside his predecessors since 1803. But that is not surprising.

You're bonkers.

 

[Will Steel]

You're bonkers.

I simply don't like genocide monkeys, that is all. If you love him for some reason, that is your choice. I don't.

Calling someone bonkers just because he doesn't worship and gladly lick the boots of the man of your personal preferences...oooh...

 

[The_Meme_Man]

I simply don't like genocide monkeys, that is all. If you love him for some reason, that is your choice. I don't.

Calling someone bonkers just because he doesn't worship and gladly lick the boots of the man of your personal preferences...oooh...

He wasn't a genocidal monkey though, that's the thing.

 

[Will Steel]

He wasn't a genocidal monkey though, that's the thing.

Well, he was and I won't elaborate it to you how he was on these forums, but you might do well to read some more about his life and how he treated non-Europeans.