‘From Hitler to Hitler’: A New Paradigm of Wyndham Lewis’s Fascist Insights in Hitler (1931) and The Hitler Cult (1939)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Language, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Alborz, Iran.

Abstract

The present paper examines the juxtaposition of Wyndham Lewis's polemical and disputatious works Hitler (1931) and The Hitler Cult (1939) under the theoretical framework of the political trajectories of Fascism to present an intriguing lens through which to examine Lewis's evolving views on fascism and Adolf Hitler during the tumultuous peak and trough of the twentieth-century authoritarian regime. By delving into the nuanced language of Lewis's notorious writings on fascism, the conjectural boundaries of his intuitive, conceptual, and artistic framework established his reputation as an avant-garde advocate of fascism. In this fashion, the paper encapsulates Lewis's vision of his manifestation of the political insights of fascist predispositions, which reveal a loading towards specific socio-political matrixes over the course of the interwar period (1919-1938). Building logically on this political concept, the present study is meant a) to reflect Lewis's initial fascination with the fascist movement and its charismatic leader, Adolf Hitler, to portray him as a dynamic and transformative figure who embodies the spirit of the times and offers a viable substitute for the perceived failures of liberal democracy and socialism; and b) to represent a critical reassessment of Hitler and the fascist movement in light of the escalating tensions and atrocities of the late 1930s. In The Hitler Cult (1939), Lewis adopts a more skeptical and condemnatory stance toward Hitler and the cult of personality surrounding him by exposing the contradictions and hypocrisies of Hitler's regime and criticizing its propaganda techniques, suppression of dissent, and expansionist ambitions.

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 18 December 2024
  • Revise Date: 23 January 2025
  • Accept Date: 17 August 2025

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