but his support of these "progressive ideals" must always be tempered with the knowledge of what he intended them for.
He was the first national leader to advocate universal physical fitness among both the youth and the adult population.
He was the first national leader to commission the building of an interstate highway system.
He was the first national leader to pursue fuel-efficient transportation for the masses -- the Volkswagen.
He was the first national leader to organize an anti-smoking campaign and to pursue health coverage for all citizens.
His purpose for these ideals, however, negate their limited usefulness under the Third Reich.
He needed physically fit soldiers for his wars and strong workers for his armaments factories. The initial autobahn routes went mainly west to east, supply lines for an extended two front war. Fuel efficiency for the masses ensured the Wehrmacht would have the resources it needed for the struggles ahead. And a healthy, outwardly happy populace was needed for the support of the master race he envisioned whose fathers would be the SS. Universal health care* also ensured universal knowledge of those who had debilitating, terminal conditions, so their "removal" could be more readily facilitated.
There are other examples, but it's late and Hitler bores me.
*Hitler contemplated during the war the introduction of a National Health Bill: "After national X·ray examination. the Fuehrer is to be given a list of sick persons, particularly those with lung and heart diseases. On the basis of the new Reich Health Law ... these families will no longer be able to remain among the public and can no longer be allowed to produce children. What will happen to these families will be the subject of further orders of the Fuehrer." It does not need much imagination to guess what these further orders would have been. The number of people no longer allowed "to remain among the public" would have formed a considerable portion of the German population.
- Hannah Arendt, Origins of Totalitarianism
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