G1021 How Hitler was made; Germany and the Rise of the Perfect Nazi
Author: Cory Taylor
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publishing Date: 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63388-435-9
Summary:
Focusing on German society immediately following the First World War, this vivid historical narrative explains how fake news and political uproar influenced Hitler and put him on the path toward dictatorial power.
How did an obscure agitator on the political fringes of early-20th-century Germany rise to become the supreme leader of the "Third Reich"? Unlike many other books that track Adolf Hitler's career after 1933, this book focuses on his formative period--immediately following World War I (1918-1924). The author, a veteran producer of historical documentaries, brings to life this era of political unrest and violent conflict, when forces on both the left and right were engaged in a desperate power struggle. Among the competing groups was a highly sophisticated network of ethnic chauvinists that discovered Hitler and groomed him into the leader he became.
The book also underscores the importance of a post-war socialist revolution in Bavaria, led by earnest reformers, some of whom were Jewish. Right wing extremists skewed this brief experiment in democracy followed by Soviet-style communism as evidence of a Jewish-Bolshevik plot. Along with the pernicious "stab-in-the-back" myth, which misdirected blame for Germany's defeat onto civilian politicians, public opinion was primed for Hitler to use his political cunning and oratorical powers to effectively blame Jews and Communists for all of Germany's problems.
Based on archival research in Germany, England, and the US, and interviews with experts, this striking narrative reveals how the manipulation of facts and the use of propaganda helped an obscure, embittered malcontent to gain political legitimacy, which led to dictatorial power over a nation.
Author Info:
(From the book)
Cory Taylor is a primetime Emmy Award-winning filmaker with twenty-five years of experience in documentaries, who began his career with National Geographic Televsion. His most recent film, JFK: A President Betrayed (2013) was narrated by Morgan Freeman and uncovered startling information about President Kennedy's back-channel efforts for peace. Praised for its "cinematic scholarship," the film was lauded as "the best screen depiction of Kennedy's foreign policy" Taylor also wrote and directed the award-winning feature-length documentary The Power of the Powerless (2009) whcih tells th storty of the Velvet Revolution. Narrated by Jeremy Irons and featuring Baclac Havel, Powerless details the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia that overturned the the country's forty-yearold Communist regime in 1989. Powerless was distributed by human rights organizations to encourage dissidents seeking nonviolent democratic change in numerous countries. Taylor's award-winning documentary A Quiet Revoltuion, narrated by Meryl Streep, introduced viewers to Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai and was aired in 50 countries. He is currently a partner and executive producer at Storylight Media and president of Agora Productions.
Personal Opinion:
I am a great believer in origins, in figuring out from the start of how we ended up where we ended up. When it comes to someone like Hitler, that idea becomes far more vital because it may answer the ultimate question: how did he end up the way he did? this book attempts to answer that question, and as one senses, there are no easy answers. Taking place from 1918 to 1924, Cory Taylor introduces the American audience to a Germany that wasn't much studied in school nor analyzed, thereby missing out on vital details that could do more to help than hinder as is traditionally taught about Germany (My school lesson went something like this: Germany was poor, therefore Hitler took control and it became a fascist state.) A lot of fine details were neglected or not mentioned that this book tackles such as the numerous nationalist parties, or why Hitler blamed the Jews and hated them so much, and so forth. For a sobering and eye opening read, I would recommend this book.
This was given for an honest review
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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