Kershaw's work is great. Richard J. Evans' trilogy on the Third Reich is a must read as well, along with Peter Longarich's bio on Himmler.
Edit: just saw this. Kudos @esmufc07
75 Years Since Hitler's Death
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Edit: just saw this. Kudos @esmufc07
Rip
Yeah they were definitely "worse", I was just thinking of the 20th century.
I teach about Genghis and Tamerlane back to back in AP World and I get to tell my kids about how Tamerlane makes Genghis Khan look like child's play.
Yes, me and my friends experiences is mostly from eastern Germany.
I really don't know what you're talking about here.
I’ll have a look at Longarich’s bio on Himmler, thanks!
I wouldn’t say we’re oblivious; the question was is there someone like Hitler, a ‘Satan’ in Asia. Unless he’s universally hated and condemned in China, including by the current administration, I don’t think he would apply.
You're welcome. It is a great, detailed look at the life of that individual. Realized I typo'd the author's name though. Longerich, not Longarich. He's done a biography on Goebbels as well, I've just not gotten a copy yet.
To give some extra umph to the recommendation... both Ian Kershaw and Richard J. Evans consider Longerich to be the tip of the spear as far as German Holocaust historians go.
That's true, but you can flip this argument around as well: If the völkisch-reactionary message was enmeshed with the welfare state measures, it was also the welfare state itself that was inseparable from these other parts of the Nazi's agenda.
The persecution of political opposition and the targeting of Jews kicked in right after the aquisition of power in 1933. I don't think there was any doubt about who was supposed to benefit from the care of the state, and who was going to be excluded and subjected to violence. And that the dividing line was drawn according to the racist and political convictions of the Nazis.
(I think this unfettered tribal approach to welfare as a privilege is a key thing to understand about the about welfare state programmes of racist populist movements, including today's.)
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China has 5000 years of their own history with many "Hitlers" of their own surely. Still, they were involved in WW2 so I would have expected they'd have known. If anything, they probably learned more about Japan and Hirohito.
Interestingly, The Midland Hotel in Manchester was allegedly coveted by Hitler as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain
That proved not to be true, it was the Travelodge in Burnley he wanted.
I guess it depends on what you learn. I don't think they would teach anything in the UK about the horrible side of the empire.
Churchill was responsible for the deaths of millions of Indians in the Bengal famine.
Yeah I don’t disagree. And to a German voter, in 1933, suffering years of hardship, I can see why some felt the Nazis offered the best response to the crisis in capitalism out of all the parties. It’s important to acknowledge that there was more than racism and militarism - because, as you rightly point out, there are parallels today with fascist parties and the Nazi approach to selective welfare. And the main parties need to learn from that - a lack of imagination and ideological rigidity can pave the way for populist far right parties who lean left economically in certain areas to hoover up all the disillusioned voters. Brexit and the Tories in 2019 have shown the success that message can have, albeit in a far more benign form.
Hitler supposedly visited Liverpool in 1912 according to an account by his sister in law. Not sure if it has ever been verified though.
I’ve never heard that before so I’d say with some confidence it never happened. Find it hard to believe Hitler, in all his writing and talk of Britain, decided to never mention the one time he actually visited the place.
In the words of bill burr. Why is Hitler always the go to guy for evil? Yet Stalin exist and plenty of others.
I'm a little confused by your post, Kershaw deliberately doesn't paint Hitler as an evil madman, in fact he refutes the idea of exactly that for a much more nuances and complex picture, and does that in the article above as well as in his books. If you have any spare time, give Hubris a read. It covers the rise of Nazism and Hitler's early life and ascent to power, and goes into depth about the economic and political situations that fueled his early success.
I agree, but under the condition that it's done under a decidedly inclusive, liberal, and multi-cultural umbrella. Otherwise it paves the ground for right-wing populism through the back door, by affirming the connection between state care and exclusion.
Although it would be a problem for convincing those voters you talk of, because I think for most of those who respond to right-wing economic populism, the connection between state welfare and majority privilege is a given. Even for a good chunk of those who vote center/left, albeit usually less severely and immediately so.
In the end, I think this sort of clientele mentality is inherent to nation state societies, even though not all individuals necessarily share it. Which marks one of the limits of political-reformist humanism. (Another one would be that - imo - the economy is far less subject to political will than most people think.)
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A lot of the madness with Hitler and the Nazis was due to methamphetamine.
It's weird. Stalin has more marketability and he was better looking. A right stud, that man was, in his younger days. Had a fantastic way of running his government like a revolving door. Sneeze the wrong way and BAM you're in a gulag for the rest of your days. He also had a better moustache.
But Hitler is, well, Hitler. Having people killed for personal gain or through sheer bastardness was rife in Stalin's day but trying to eradicate multiple races of people because they don't have blonde hair and blue eyes is taking the Cnut Meter way past eleven.
I mean, the twat didn't even have blue eyes and blonde hair. But then again, he was Hitler. The prick.
My go to guy for evil is @Mr Pigeon
Don’t let @Sweet Square hear you call Stalin evil.
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Well I don't like to brag but I have been known to just leave my trolley beside the car instead of taking it back from time to time.
Have you got as SS shrine in your basement?
I had to read a load of the Nuremberg transcripts for an essay at uni- it was relentlessly bleak, but with an overarching air of banality, with the Nazi's penchant for admin.
Haha. I’m reminded of that scene in Father Ted.
And no, to be honest I’ve not read the book for a long time, I’ve just always had a morbid fascination with war crimes. Iris Chang’s Rape of Nanking is another worthwhile read.
Cheers for the recommendation, just downloaded!
Sorry for you loss.
So that's where you got your pet rock from.
This is exactly how Nazi Scotland started
Why though? Why should we learn more about Hitler and the Nazis than colonialism/slavery etc. of the British Empire which is arguably more relevant to modern day Britain in terms of communities like Windrush and other immigrants. It baffles me. Of course learning about Hitler and the Nazis is important to our understanding of Fascism, Propoganda, Oration and Genocide amongst others. I think knowing about the history behind the colonies and why the generations of today have an issue with the Empire would help make a lot of Brits understand why there is this relationship. But yeah, Hitler!
I'm going to go out on a limb here anyway and say that he was not a particularly nice chap.
I hope Hitler dies
Ooooh, the B-Rabbit defence.Reported.
Not surprised. With all the information walls there, being world affairs knowledgeable isn't really something to boast about. Local populace wasn't really aware of many current events too which I thought was weird when I was living there.
Reported.