Oh another thing…I read about ww2 ..the action ect w great interest but I want to learn and understand how something like Nazi dread happened..how was it one man ,one madman could lead a country and its people into such darkness, evilness awfulness..how he and his murderous band could get control over the people that he did..we cannot allow that to ever happen again..I know it started during beginning of the depression ect but …
Dear Steve, I too read WW2 history with great interest, but agree that military history can't answer your base question. It's frequently said that the path to authoritarianism is a slippery slope, but it's a surprisingly short one as well (which is what I tend to find most frightening). On this topic I'd like to offer two book recommendations separated by almost 80 years.
On the German experience, one book that stood out for me is Sebastian Haffner's "Defying Hitler". Being a contemporary chronicle it probably can't offer a detached explanation of all what happened afterwards, but it shows surprising clarity on what was to come considering that it was written in the Summer of 1939, before military actions against Poland had even begun. If anything else, it serves to remind us that those in Germany who _wanted_ to pay attention to the signs could indeed see what was happening in Germany, including where antisemitism was headed to.
The other one would be "Those who forget" by Géraldine Schwarz (2017). She delves on the concept of "Mitläufer", that vast majority of German population which kept silent and continued to do business as usual, but through this enabled (and even benefitted from) the murderous policies of the Third Reich. Can there be guilt in just tagging along?
I hope these books provide new insights to fuel your learning journey! (and maybe we'll see them featured. In WW2today at some point)
Also what did Germanys elected/civil political leadership do ?..I mean those elected Prior to hitlers rise to power?..was he able to gain control quickly of the preexisting leadership ??? I’m not aware of any sources that deal with this..he gained control right under their noses..I’m aware there is a psychology of sorts in that we as humans can Ignore something that’s a “threat to others but not me”..or “it will go away”..people sense a terrible threat and their minds can’t process it ..it scares them..they avoid it ,stay inside ect which makes it progressively easier for the threat to take hold…
There is an quite an extensive literature on Hitler’s rise to power, including recent work by German authors. You may be interested in ‘Laurence Rees: The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler’.
Yes ..ditto what Shauna had to say…I enjoy reading ww2 ..I grew up in the 1940s and dad serve overseas in France …don’t stop researching and bringing us articles and photos..
Thank you for the reminder. It never ends so we need to be continually vigilant. I am not Jewish. I have many Jewish friends. I'm worried about antisemitism everywhere. World War II Everyday helps keep history in the forefront, where it should be. Thank you!
Oh another thing…I read about ww2 ..the action ect w great interest but I want to learn and understand how something like Nazi dread happened..how was it one man ,one madman could lead a country and its people into such darkness, evilness awfulness..how he and his murderous band could get control over the people that he did..we cannot allow that to ever happen again..I know it started during beginning of the depression ect but …
Dear Steve, I too read WW2 history with great interest, but agree that military history can't answer your base question. It's frequently said that the path to authoritarianism is a slippery slope, but it's a surprisingly short one as well (which is what I tend to find most frightening). On this topic I'd like to offer two book recommendations separated by almost 80 years.
On the German experience, one book that stood out for me is Sebastian Haffner's "Defying Hitler". Being a contemporary chronicle it probably can't offer a detached explanation of all what happened afterwards, but it shows surprising clarity on what was to come considering that it was written in the Summer of 1939, before military actions against Poland had even begun. If anything else, it serves to remind us that those in Germany who _wanted_ to pay attention to the signs could indeed see what was happening in Germany, including where antisemitism was headed to.
The other one would be "Those who forget" by Géraldine Schwarz (2017). She delves on the concept of "Mitläufer", that vast majority of German population which kept silent and continued to do business as usual, but through this enabled (and even benefitted from) the murderous policies of the Third Reich. Can there be guilt in just tagging along?
I hope these books provide new insights to fuel your learning journey! (and maybe we'll see them featured. In WW2today at some point)
Christian..thx so much for yur recommendations..
Also what did Germanys elected/civil political leadership do ?..I mean those elected Prior to hitlers rise to power?..was he able to gain control quickly of the preexisting leadership ??? I’m not aware of any sources that deal with this..he gained control right under their noses..I’m aware there is a psychology of sorts in that we as humans can Ignore something that’s a “threat to others but not me”..or “it will go away”..people sense a terrible threat and their minds can’t process it ..it scares them..they avoid it ,stay inside ect which makes it progressively easier for the threat to take hold…
There is an quite an extensive literature on Hitler’s rise to power, including recent work by German authors. You may be interested in ‘Laurence Rees: The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler’.
Yes ..ditto what Shauna had to say…I enjoy reading ww2 ..I grew up in the 1940s and dad serve overseas in France …don’t stop researching and bringing us articles and photos..
Thx
Thank you for the reminder. It never ends so we need to be continually vigilant. I am not Jewish. I have many Jewish friends. I'm worried about antisemitism everywhere. World War II Everyday helps keep history in the forefront, where it should be. Thank you!