Hitler was Time’s “Person of the Year but because of His Negative Influence”

The claim that “Time” selected Hitler as the “Person of the Year” showing that history and events repeat themselves like in a textbook, making direct comparison with Zelensky as the “Person of the Year” has nothing to do with reality. Time explained that the selection criteria were based on the influence – good or bad – that a person has on the news and the lives of others. Hitler was the choice in 1938 because of his negative influence

 

 

Post on Facebook tries to make a parallel between the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, referring to the Time magazine’s choice for “Person of the Year”.

Recently (07.12.2022), Time selected Zelensky as the Person of the Year. The post reminds that Hitler was also Time’s “Person of the Year” in 1938, comparing him to Zelensky.

Events unfold like in a history book. I will not post the cover with Hitler because of previous experience, since sanctions will follow immediately.

But, what the post fails to mention is the context in which Hitler was selected Person of the Year. It is true that Time selected Hitler for its cover in 1938 – not in a positive, but in a negative light.

Time magazine’s Person of the Year franchise began in 1927, then known as “Man of the Year”. The first person to appear on the cover was Charles Lindberg in 1928, after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic.

A decade later, it was Adolf Hitler’s turn. The magazine selected the Nazi leader as the “Person of the Year” for 1938.

Truly, Hitler was selected as Time’s “Person of the Year” for 1938, but that was not an expression of praise.

The magazine’s criteria are “the person or persons who influenced the news and our lives the most, for better or for worse.”, wrote Time in 2014.

The Australian Associated Press revealed that the claim that Hitler was “Person of the Year” has been circulating online since 2016.

Like previous claims, the currently reviewed post is misunderstanding the nature of Time’s choice which makes it pointless to try and draw conclusions about the legitimacy of Time, or the media in general, or again, to make any comparison with other characters, like the case with Zelensky.

Time’s selection of people with the greatest influence on the news is not always an honor and a privilege.

A 1939 issue of Time described Hitler as “the greatest threatening force for the democratic, freedom-loving world today”. It says that, Hitler’s actions “threatened civilized people” and he is described as “the man mostly responsible for this World’s tragedy” as “an unassailable, 49-year-old Austrian-born ascetic with Charlie Chaplin moustache.”

In the 2019 article on Hitler, Time noted that even the portrait of the 1939 issue was not a typical cover.

He was depicted as a small figure with his back turned to the reader, playing a huge organ with his murdered victims turning on the wheel of St. Catherine.

The Nazi leader was one of Time’s most controversial picks, but he was not the only negative figure. Others included the former Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, the former Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev, along with the former supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, wrote US Today.

The claim that “Time” selected Hitler as the “Person of the Year”, shows that history and events repeat themselves like in a textbook, with direct comparison with Zelensky as the “Person of the Year” has nothing to do with reality. Time explained that the selection criteria were based on influence – good or bad – that a person has on the news and the lives of others. Hitler was the choice in 1938 because of his negative influence.

Therefore, we can conclude that the reviewed post is lacking context.

 

 

 

 

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