Worth reading without reservation

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	• Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis Ian Kershaw W. W. Norton & Company, 2000 - 832 pages average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Worth reading without reservation

I have read many books about the Nazism, but until I read this one I didn't really feel I understood how a little snake like Adolf Hitler could get intelligent people to follow him. "Working toward the Fuhrer", as Kershaw puts it, became the goal, regardless of the consequences. Being "one of us", rather than "one of them", was the only goal. Facinating stuff, and scary, considering the relevance to our own time.

OK, but could be better

I finally got around to reading both volumes of Kershaw's biography after plowing through the Fest bio. Fest's is better, in my opinion, although the first Volume of Kershaw's isn't bad. The problem with Volume 2 is that it's redundant, with endless anecdotes about Hitler's tantrums and paranoia---way too much padding. It's more of an historical account of WW2, instead of a biography, unfortunately. As well, Kershaw's contempt for Hitler gets in the way of acknowledging any successes on Hitler's part; he's unable to give the devil his due. Volume 1 is probably worth it; Volume 2 doesn't add much. Some people like Alan Bullock's bio of Hitler, while others prefer John Toland's. I haven't read either one.

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Excellent

To be sure, military historians may be upset because Kershaw doesn't cover every little thing when it comes to the war, but this is the place to start and finish when it comes to Hitler from 1936-1945. The book is very well written and highly readable. If you want more info on the war, there are certainly other places to go, but if you want to know about Hitler, start with Kershaw's 1st volume and move on to this.

"Working Towards the Fuhrer"

How could a racial crank with no education rule Germany so effectively for years? If he was an evil genius, Why did he then fail, stupidly leading it into a second war and eventual defeat? Kershaw's answer is the Nazi phrase, "working towards the Fuhrer". When Hitler stated his desires or plans, he didn't have to issue actual detailed commands: he could count on his lieutenants to implement his will in practice.

Thus making Germany's foreign policy (in particular) a copy of his own paranoid, ruthless personality, Hitler won some early victories against opponents used to dealing with "gentlemen" leaders and countries. Also, "working towards the Fuhrer" obscured his personality--that of a crank--behind competent experts. But once he desired the impossible (conquering the USSR) or once his will became increasingly vague and contradictory (during the war), the result was total catastrophic, with Germany willingly starting a war it couldn't possibly win just because the Fuhrer wanted it, with the "bonus" of complete government chaos as numerous competing organizations interpreted Hitler's latest vague speech in a self-serving manner.

Kershaw's history shows in meticulous detail just how "working towards the Fuhrer" worked in practice: how it allowed Hitler to make his personal paranoia and racial hatered Germany's officlal policy, with all that that implies--the holocaust included--which is the main point of writing a new biography of him in the first place. This thesis, while surely it can never be conclusively tested, is a far superior explanation of all that had occured in 1933-1945 than simplistic "Hitler was evil" explanations. Evil he certainly was, but, as Kershaw notes, that explains nothing: numerous evil cranks exist. Why did so many cultured and supposedly humane and sane Germans support him is the interesting question, which Kershaw answers very well.

Highly recommended.

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Superb Redux

The second volume of Kershaw's outstanding biography of Hitler covers the period from 1936 to his death. Kershaw does a superb job of integrating the biographical material per se with relevant narrative and analysis of German history over this period. Kershaw picks up and expands themes that emerged in volume one. Two in particular stand out. One is the overriding importance of Hitler's crude but powerful ideology. The point of Hitler's actions was the violent attainment of his social Darwinist goals; the elimination of European Jewry, the dominance of "inferior races" like the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe, and German domination of western Eurasia. War was not just necessary to achieve these goals but an indispensable part of the process of establishing German supremacy. The necessity of violence was not merely an ideological preoccupation but something with deep emotional resonance for Hitler. This was a man who found his service on the Western Front a personally transforming and uplifting experience. Kershaw shows well how a large number of Hitler's zealous supporters shared these horrifying views and how an even larger number of Germans, including virtually all of the traditional elites of the German state, were either supportive of Hitler's goals or willing to look the other way as long as he was successful. By the time it became clear that Hitler was leading Germany to disaster, Hitler's power was so well established that any kind of organized resistance became almost impossible.

Kershaw shows well how Hitler's bold repudiation of the Versailles restrictions and the rearmarment policies that expanded the German economy led to enormous personal popularity. Under the umbrella of Hitler's success and great prestige, the Nazis were able to subordinate all the major institutions of German life, perhaps save the churches, which did offer some limited resistance. At the same time, the Party erected a powerful alternative governing structure and some of Hitler's most able and ruthless subordinates developed the powerful security services that policed Germany. Hitler personally established complete dominance over the Wehrmacht, the only institution that could have resisted him successfully. Hitler's daring and ability to capitalize on weaknesses of his opponents, coupled with a good dose of luck led to unprecedented success.

Another major theme articulated by Kershaw is the nature of the Nazi state. The essentially indolent and politically shrewd Hitler ruled primarily by setting himself above day to day government and setting the broader ideological goals for Germany. Hitler's unwillingness to participate in the mechanics of government and his willingness to countenance competing sectors of authority led to an anarchic state (termed polyocracy by some historians) that enhanced Hitler's power because only he had the ultimate authority to adjudicate among the competing authorities. For much of his rule, it also insulated him from public disfavor as unpopular policies were associated with lower ranking Party or government officials. This system, which Kershaw describes as "working towards the Fuhrer" led to competition among different subordinates and power centers for who could gain Hitler's favor by pursuing the ideological goals of the regime. The result was essentially a race to see who could be the more effective murderer of those unfortunate enough to be enemies, real or imagined, of the regime.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The climax and conclusion of one of the definitive biographies of our time. In this riveting account, drawing on many previously untapped sources--including Joseph Goebbel's diaries, recently discovered in Moscow--and incorporating numerous contemporaneous accounts of Nazi Germany, Ian Kershaw reveals a leader fanatically, ruinously convinced that he alone has the genius to conduct a war while his henchmen maintain the totalitarian state created in his name. As Nemesis opens, Adolf Hitler has achieved absolute power within Germany and triumphed in his first challenge to the European powers. Idolized by large segments of the population and firmly supported by four pillars of the Nazi regime--the Party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil service--Hitler is poised to subjugate Europe. Nine years later, his vaunted war machine destroyed, Allied forces sweeping across Germany, Hitler will end his life with a pistol shot to his head. Kershaw's Hitler will be the final word on the most demonic figure of the twentieth century.

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