evidence: Jones also developed an intense interest in social doctrines. He became a voracious reader who studied Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi.[28] Jones would tell his wife that Mao Zedong was his hero. He spent hours in the community library, and he brought books home so he could read them in the evenings.[26] Although he studied different political systems, Jones did not espouse any radical political views in his youth,[28] but as World War II started, Jones developed an intense interest in the Nazi Party. He was fascinated by their pomp, their cohesion, and Hitler's total power. The members of his neighbourhood found it disconcerting that he extolled Nazi Germany.[29] Jones acted as a dictator over the other kids, ordering them to goosestep together and beating those who disobeyed.[29] One childhood friend recalled Jones shouting "Heil Hitler!" and giving the Nazi salute to German prisoners of war who were travelling through their town on their way to a detention facility.[21]