Why Hitler still has admirers in Pakistan

The worship of Adolf Hitler is morally unthinkable anywhere. Yet in parts of Pakistan, his name still appears in conversations with an oddly respectful tone. For Europeans encountering this situation, this reaction can be shocking. German journalist Hasnan Kazim accurately described the experience in a much-discussed article in Der Spiegel, in which he wrote that he repeatedly heard Pakistanis talking about Hitler as if he were a bold or admirable historical figure.The randomness of the encounter he describes makes one uncomfortable. Once, a barber, while styling his hair, commented approvingly that he looked like Hitler. Taxi drivers and acquaintances mentioned Hitler in conversations with Germans, assuming it would be taken as a compliment rather than an insult. The tone is not always ideological. Often it was simply admiration for what they imagined was a powerful leader who stood up to Western powers.This view is based on a grossly distorted understanding of history. In many of these conversations, Hitler is not the mastermind of genocide but a figure associated with strength, discipline, and resistance. The Holocaust is rarely mentioned. The scale of Nazi crimes was either unknown or ignored. Instead, Hitler became a vague symbol of power.The article recounted a particularly surreal image in Islamabad: a luxury car plastered with a swastika and the words “I like Nazis” written next to it. The symbolism seems almost arbitrary, without the horror it evoked in Europe. What shocks Germans about moments like this is not just the presence of Nazi imagery, but the lack of shame surrounding it.The origins of this phenomenon are complex, but not entirely mysterious. Anti-Western sentiments have long shaped Pakistan’s political narrative, particularly those rooted in dissatisfaction with former colonial powers and contemporary global politics. In this emotional landscape, figures who are seen as challenging Western dominance sometimes acquire an undeserved aura of admiration. Hitler is occasionally inserted into this narrative as a supposed opponent of Britain and the West, although the historical reality is far more complex and morally catastrophic.Another factor is the persistence of conspiracy thinking and anti-Semitic tropes. In some discussions, Hitler appears to be a figure associated with hostility to Jews and Israel, particularly in conversations shaped by anger over the Palestinian issue. In this context, the Holocaust faded from view and the dictator became a symbol in the political story with little to do with the reality of Nazi Germany.This distorted memory is not unique to Pakistan. Across the world, historical figures are sometimes divorced from the events that defined them. Distance, ignorance and resentment can turn a villain into a caricature. What is left is a simplified image of power without the moral weight that goes with it.The disturbing element is the arbitrariness. Hitler is sometimes seen as a rhetorical flourish or a symbol of strong leadership rather than as the person responsible for one of the worst crimes in human history. When this happens, the historical context breaks down. The genocide, ideology and destruction of World War II disappeared from the conversation.This article captures this disturbing contrast. For Germans, Hitler represents lasting national trauma and a warning about the dangers of extremism. However, in some parts of Pakistan, the same name appears to have been stripped of its historical significance and recast as an exaggerated image of strength.This gap in historical memory illustrates how easily symbols can travel across cultures while losing the reality that gives them meaning. Hitler became less a historical figure than a mythical figure, shaped by hearsay, resentment, and an incomplete education.The tragedy is that this admiration often stems not from ideological commitment but from ignorance. When people know little about history, the past becomes a collection of symbols rather than lessons. In that environment, even the darkest characters can be misinterpreted as heroes.The disturbing truth revealed in this article, therefore, is not just that Hitler had admirers in Pakistan. Admiration may exist even without a clear understanding of Hitler’s actual actions. When historical knowledge fades, even the most obvious villains can be recast in the imagination as symbols of strength.This is perhaps the most disturbing lesson of all.