[Temho]

Hitler was most scary probably from a single reason: The appealed to both the "rationalist" and the "faithful". In his book Mein Kampf, he outlined evolutionary superiority, and thus it would but unfit to allow "lesser" species of homo-sapiens to interbreed with their more evolved cousins in risk of contaminating the race further and delaying evolution. Hitler's list: "Arians" (blond hair blue eyes) were close to completely pure. Germanic peoples where mostly pure. Asians were half ape, half human. Blacks where mostly ape, part human. Jews were close to 100% ape. He ALSO claimed divine authority from God, and sent out plenty of archeological digs to find religious artifacts for the purpose of reinforce this, though it probably wasn't necessary since most of the people weren’t really listening to the few churches that weren’t afraid of the government. Anyone who gripes about religion being used as an excuse for conquest needs to read that book. You don't need a religious excuse to claim superiority. All you need is human nature, since allot people like to believe they're superior anyway. Just give em a logical reason, and you got a war. And before anyone starts saying I'm a religious nut that supports faith wars, no I'm not. I'm just tired of people assuming getting rid of religion would solve allot of the world's problems just because it's one of the louder excuses leaders use.
And just because I can, random Hitler quotes:

Great liars are also great magicians.

He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.

How fortunate for leaders that men do not think. (Even though they think they do, they don't. :P)

It is not truth that matters, but victory./The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.

The art of leadership... consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention.

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it

All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.

The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes. (And thus, why I am, or at least try to be a history geek)

Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live.

Success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong.

I do not see why man should not be just as cruel as nature.

Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future. (Scary ain't it?)

Any alliance whose purpose is not the intention to wage war is senseless and useless.

Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction. (This I sadly agree with, since govermnet mandated education can easily turn into brainwashing.)

The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of flowing passion, but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in others. (What's one of the biggest complaints about our current generation? Apathy.)

The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.

Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and fields blue ought to be sterilized. (Sad thing is I actually know where he's coming from.)

Sooner will a camel pass through a needle's eye than a great man be "discovered" by an election. (I'm thinking back and wondering why most of our better presidents where war heros...)

The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence (Well at least it keeps peoples' attention...debates and speaches get ignored after a while, and the passes don't generally pay attention to most of the subtle political changes.)

For there is one thing we must never forget… the majority can never replace the man. And no more than a hundred empty heads make one wise man, will an heroic decision arise from a hundred cowards. (As much as I'd love for democracy to work...)