Final answer:
Hitler's connection to 'The Great Race' by Madison Grant is ideological, as both individuals promoted racial purity and the superiority of certain races. Hitler's own beliefs, as outlined in 'Mein Kampf,' coincide with the racial hierarchies Grant proposed, though direct influence on Hitler's policies by Grant is not evidenced.
Step-by-step explanation:
Adolf Hitler's connection to Madison Grant's 'The Great Race' primarily lies in the similar ideologies they endorsed regarding racial purity and the superiority of certain races. Hitler devised his theory of racial hierarchy, which he expounded in his autobiography Mein Kampf. He believed that the German race was on the verge of extinction, threatened by interbreeding with what he considered lesser races and the deceptive practices of Jews, who he claimed were the cause of Germany's misfortunes. These ideas were very much aligned with the racist and white supremacist propositions of Grant's work.
Hitler's intense anti-Semitism and belief in a superior Aryan race shaped Nazi policies once he gained power—a sentiment that ran parallel to the eugenicist notions outlined by Madison Grant. Policies of the Nazi regime, including the Holocaust and the concepts of lebensraum, reflected Hitler's obsession with racial purity and the domination of the Aryan race, echoing the racial hierarchies promoted by Grant. Despite no evidence suggesting direct influence by Grant on Hitler, the similar threads of race-focused ideologies in their works cannot be ignored.