I would not describe Hitler as rational or intelligent. I would recommend reading Mein Kampf for examples of how Hitler thought. Now, while I don't believe that Mein Kampf was written completely by Hitler (I don't think he had the wherewithal or intelligence to create a book, even of that worthlessness), Hitler was adept at harnessing propaganda. Hammering on the idea of the "November Criminals" and blaming Germany's ills on the "jews" who advocated democracy (and communism) as opposed to authoritarian power of the military was brilliant, mostly due to the fact that most Germans at the time didn't understand democracy. You have to understand Germany was a pretty new country at that point in time. Unification had happened barely 50 years prior and they had a King, as well as a strong conservative statesman in Bismarck. Losing Bismarck, and then their king due to abdication (loss of WW1) left Germany in massive civil war turmoil. It was easy to point the finger and blame a group of people, especially when you have a lot of gullible folks that are willing to listen. When the uneducated far outnumber the educated, there isn't a whole lot you can do - and to add to that, an entire generation of young men had been trained as stormtroopers and after the war, they put those skills to use in political extremism (Freikorp, Sturmabteilung, Schutzstaffel, and various communist groups).

It's interesting, the "November Criminals" argument was used heavily by William Westmoreland after the Vietnam war, as well. He blamed the military failures in Vietnam solely on the American public - both in print and in recorded interviews. He doesn't come out and say "November Criminals", but he lays blame squarely on the American public for not supporting the war. This is exactly the tactic that Ludendorff and Hindenburg used to project their own materiel and planning failures on people rather than on themselves. Echoes of the past.