A new biography of Hitler by a prominent German historian is likely to stir controversy with its argument that the Nazi leader’s political acumen has been underestimated and that the belief in his hyp
A new biography of Hitler by a prominent German historian is likely to stir controversy with its argument that the Nazi leader’s political acumen has been underestimated and that the belief in his hypnotic grip over Germans is inflated.
Peter Longerich’s Hitler, to be published on Monday, is a 1,295-page tome that includes material from the diaries of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and early Hitler speeches.
“Overall, you have a picture of a dictator who controlled much more, who was more closely involved in individual decisions than previously thought. I wanted to put Hitler as a person back in the centre,” Mr Longerich told Reuters in an interview.
Recent works on the Third Reich have placed more emphasis on the social and political climate that led to the rise of Nazism after defeat in World War One and crippling reparation demands.
Soon after World War Two, Germans clung to the belief that they had been held hostage by a criminal gang led by the charismatic Hitler, bent on conquering Europe and exterminating Jews.
Mr Longerich argues that while all Hitler’s policies and the results were catastrophic, he acted smartly in specific situations. “The question why he managed to get so far needs to be addressed: Obviously he had the ability to exploit individual situations in his own interest and for his own aims,” he said.
Even his racial policies were in large part down to political opportunism, says Mr Longerich, who does not think Hitler was radically anti-Semitic at an early age.
“Around 1919-1920 he realised he could be successful in politics by embracing and inciting anti-Semitism,” he said.
