What did Hitler think of the ancient Romans?

Hitler explicitly connected the dots between the Third Reich and the Roman Empire. The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire founded by Charlemagne. read more

When issuing this, the ancient Romans would proclaim “Ave Caesar!” (“Hail Caesar!”). Copying this, the Nazis would say "Heil Hitler!" (Hail Hitler!), "Heil, mein Führer!" (Hail, my leader!)or “Sieg Heil!" (Hail victory!) Basically, Hitler saw the Roman Empire as an example of Aryan superiority and a period where Aryans dominated the world. read more

Teutonic history, as opposed to Roman, was celebrated in Hitler's Germany by several in the regime (Himmler being one) but others in the party were more circumspect. Speer and Hitler seemed to think all the Nazi emphasis on Teutonic (pre)-history was somewhat embarrassing since it largely proved the cultural backwardness of Germany vis a vis the Mediterranean world well into the Christian era. read more

Hitler in contrast probably was aware of that and has used the roman way of "thinking": punishing revolts with cruelty, seeking more advanced weapons than the enemy, promoting male-dominant society, neglecting religion, etc - many things in common with the roman empire, yes. read more