You've probably seen the grainy black-and-white image floating around the internet or tucked away in a history textbook. It’s a bit of a "wait, what?" moment for most people. In 1938, Time magazine named person of the year Adolf Hitler. It sounds like a bad joke or a massive editorial mistake, right? Honestly, when you first hear it, you might think the magazine was actually endorsing him.
But history is rarely that simple.
The truth is that Time has a very specific, and frankly quite cold, rule for how they pick their "winner." It isn't about being a "good" person or even a likable one. It's about influence. Pure, raw, world-altering impact. For better or, in this case, for much, much worse.
The Logic Behind a Notorious Choice
Back in the late 1930s, the world was basically staring into an abyss. Hitler had just spent the year systematically dismantling the peace of Europe. He had "stolen" Austria in the Anschluss and then proceeded to strong-arm the leaders of Britain and France at the Munich Conference. By the time the editors sat down to pick their man for 1938, Hitler had become the single most dominant—and threatening—force on the planet.
Time didn't put a smiling portrait of him on the cover.
They didn't even use a photo.
Instead, they commissioned an illustration of him as a tiny figure playing a massive, demonic pipe organ in a cathedral of hate, with corpses dangling from a St. Catherine's wheel in the background. It was a visual "yikes" if there ever was one. The magazine was basically screaming that this guy was a monster, but he was a monster who was driving the bus of history at the time.
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The criteria for person of the year Adolf Hitler (then called "Man of the Year") was—and still is—the person who has done the most to influence the news and our lives, for good or ill. In 1938, nobody influenced the news more than him. He’d torn up the Treaty of Versailles and rearmed Germany while the rest of the world mostly just watched in horror.
What People Get Wrong About the 1938 Cover
There is a huge misconception that being on that cover is an "award." It's not. It’s not a Nobel Prize. It’s more like a "Most Wanted" poster with a very high production budget.
If you actually go back and read the original 1938 article, it’s pretty chilling. The editors called him a "moody, brooding, unprepossessing" man. They described his rise as a tragedy. They didn't pull any punches about his "ruthless, methodical" destruction of civil rights or his "hymn of hate."
The magazine basically predicted World War II would start the very next year. They wrote that he might make 1939 "a year to be remembered," and boy, were they right. By September of '39, he’d invaded Poland.
Kinda makes you realize how different journalism was back then. They were trying to be "clear-eyed" about the world, even when the world was terrifying.
Influence vs. Popularity: The Eternal Debate
This selection set a precedent that Time has struggled with ever since. Whenever they pick someone controversial, the public goes nuts. They’ve done it with Joseph Stalin (twice!), the Ayatollah Khomeini, and Vladimir Putin.
Every time, the mailroom gets flooded with angry letters.
"How could you honor this person?"
"I'm canceling my subscription!"
The editors usually just point back to their rulebook. If a person changes the world, they belong on the cover. Period. Honestly, if they only picked "good" people, the list would be a lot shorter and probably a lot more boring. It would just be a list of philanthropists and scientists. While that sounds nice, it wouldn't be an accurate reflection of what actually happened in any given year.
Why 1938 Was Different
- The Visual Style: It was one of the few times they didn't use a standard portrait.
- The Tone: The writing was exceptionally dark, even for a news magazine.
- The Outcome: Usually, the "Person of the Year" goes on to have a mixed legacy. Hitler’s legacy was absolute destruction.
By the time 1941 rolled around, Time named Franklin D. Roosevelt for the third time. They actually had a cover ready with "Dumbo" the elephant as the "Mammal of the Year," but then Pearl Harbor happened. They had to pivot fast. It shows that they weren't just looking for villains; they were looking for whoever was at the center of the storm.
How to Understand the "Person of the Year" Today
If you want to understand the impact of person of the year Adolf Hitler, you have to stop thinking of it as a Hall of Fame. Think of it as a time capsule.
When you look back at these choices, you're seeing what the world was obsessed with—or terrified of—at that exact moment. In 1938, the world was terrified of one man. Ignoring him wouldn't have made him go away. Putting him on the cover was a way of saying, "Pay attention. This is happening."
Key Takeaways for Today
- Impact isn't moral. You can change the world for the worse and still be the most "influential" person of the year.
- Context is everything. You can't just look at the cover; you have to read the fine print.
- Media isn't always endorsing. Sometimes a magazine is just holding up a mirror to a very ugly reality.
If you ever find yourself arguing with someone about why a "bad guy" is on a magazine cover, just remember 1938. It’s the ultimate example of journalism trying to document power without necessarily respecting it.
To really get a feel for how these selections have evolved, you should check out the digital archives of Time. They have most of the original articles from the 1930s and 40s available. Reading the actual prose from that era gives you a much better sense of the atmosphere than any 280-character tweet ever could. You'll see the fear, the tension, and the cold realization that the 20th century was about to take a very dark turn.