"The Rhetoric of Hitler's 'Battle'"

Citation
Burke, Kenneth. "The Rhetoric of Hitler's 'Battle.'" The Philosophy of Literary Form. 3rd ed., University of California Press, 1941, pp. 191-221.

Summary
Burke proposes the study of Hitler's book Mein Kampf in a different way from how it has been recently undertaken; the recent trend of criticism is to dismiss the book or provide superficial critiques, which fail to truly understand the rhetorical power of the thought contained within. A more effective critique, according to Burke, would allow readers to "watch it carefully [...] not merely to discover some grounds for prophesying what political move is to follow Munich, and what move to follow that move, etc.; let us try also to discover what kind of 'medicine' this medicine-mane has concocted, that we may know, with greater accuracy, exactly what to guard against, if we are to forestall the concocting of similar medicine in America." (191)

Throughout his analysis, Burke focuses on the ways in which Hitler creates a sense of identification between himself and his reader, positioning himself on the side of the German people and the German people in opposition to the Jews, who are reduced to a cultural Other. Burke also notes the ways in which Hitler appropriates religious discourse for his purposes, with attention to the historical and cultural context in which he is writing.

Significantly, this analysis views taking Hitler's work seriously as a necessary precondition for being able to most effectively refute it. This might be considered a contemporary version of Burke's call to study the historical "Documents of Error" in order to better learn from them, without at the same time presuming any form of exceptionalism. This analysis enables Burke to acknowledge the impressive rhetorical power of Hitler's writing and express admiration for his goal of national unity, while at the same time rebuking that goal as not a true unity. Burke reiterates his purpose at the end of the essay, that "Our job, then, our anti-Hitler Battle, is to find all available ways of making the Hitlerite distortions of religion apparent, in order that politicians of his kind in America be unable to perform a similar swindle." (219)