Hitler: 1936-1945: Nemesis

Amazon.com Review George VI thought him a "damnable villain," and Neville Chamberlain found him not quite a gentleman; but, to the rest of the world, Adolf Hitler has come to personify modern evil to such an extent that his biographers always have faced an unenviable task. The two more renowned biographies of Hitler--by Joachim C. Fest ( __) and by Alan Bullock ( )--painted a picture of individual tyranny which, in the words of left off, the epic Hitler: Nemesis 1937-1945 takes the reader from the adulation and hysteria of Hitler's electoral victory in 1936 to the obsessive and remote "bunker" mentality that enveloped the F?hrer as Operation Barbarossa (the attack on Russia in 1942) proved the beginning of the end. Chilling, yet objective. A definitive work. --Miles Taylor From At the conclusion of Kershaw's Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (1999), the Rhineland had been remilitarized, domestic opposition crushed, and Jews virtually outlawed. What the genuinely popular leader of Germany would do with his unchallenged power, the world knows and recoils from. The historian's duty, superbly discharged by Kershaw, is to analyze how and why Hitler was able to ignite a world war, commit the most heinous crime in history, and throw his country into the abyss of total destruction. He didn't do it alone. Although Hitler's twin goals of expelling Jews and acquiring "living space" for other Germans were hardly secret, "achieving" them did not proceed according to a blueprint, as near as Kershaw can ascertain. However long Hitler had cherished launching an all-out war against the Jews and against Soviet Russia, as he did in 1941, it was only conceivable as reality following a tortuous series of events of increasing radicality, in both foreign and domestic politics. At each point, whether haranguing a mass audience or a small meeting of military officers, the demagogue had to and did persuade his listeners that his course of action was the only one possible. Acquiescence to aggression and genocide was further abetted by the narcotic effect of the "Hitler myth," the propagandized image of the infallible leader as national savior, which produced a force for radicalization parallel to Hitler's personal murderous fanaticism; the motto of the time called it "working towards the Fuhrer." Underlings in competition with each other would do what they thought Hitler wanted, as occurred with aspects of organizing the Final Solution. Kershaw's narrative connecting this analysis gives outstanding evidence that he commands and understands the source material, producing this magisterial scholarship that will endure for decades. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Summer 1936: the eyes of the world were trained on Berlin, elaborately decked out for the Olympic Games. Aside from the swastikas unfurled inside and outside the massive stadium, visitors to the games saw scant evidence of a repressive regime. Nazi Germany and its unchallenged leader, Adolf Hitler, were on their best behavior. Yet, away from the spectacle in Berlin, an ominous war machine was in the making." "As Ian Kershaw opens this monumental volume, large segments of the German population idolize Hitler for bringing the nation out of economic despair. Supported by four pillars of the Nazi regime -- the Party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil service -- Hitler is poised to realize his Mephistophelian vision: the subjugation of Europe under the Thousand Year Reich and, in the process, the annihilation of the Jews. Meanwhile, a continent still carrying the scars of the First World War largely ignores his blueprints for conquest." "Soon Hitler embarks on expansion. With chilling efficiency, he annexes Austria with the support of rabid local Nazis, and then, after hoodwinking European leaders in Munich, undertakes a lightning conquest of Czechoslovakia. His invasion of Poland plunges Europe headlong into a cataclysmic war, a war that Hitler is convinced he alone has the genius to conduct. In unsparing prose, Kershaw describes the slaughter of conquered troops and civilians alike as German soldiers, accompanied by fanatical SS units, sweep into country after country." "For three years, Hitler's armies have the upper hand. But once the tides of battle turn in favor of the Allies, Hitler, no longer the invincible warlord, becomes an increasingly desperate gambler. Rarely leaving his "Wolf's Lair" he continues to mastermind the war, his public appearances and radio broadcasts limited to whipping up fervor among his countrymen against Jews, "Bolsheviks," and others deemed enemies of the Aryan race." The climax and conclusion of one of the best-selling biographies of our time. In this volume, Ian Kershaw introduces Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power, idolized by millions of Germans for bringing the nation out of economic catastrophe. The Nazi party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil servants are all "working towards the Führer." Meanwhile, Hitler is poised to realize his Mephistophelean vision : the subjugation of Europe under the Thousand Year Reich and, in the process, the annihilation of the Jews. For three years, Hitler and his relentless armies pluge the European continent into a bloodbath, as German soldiers, accompanied by fanatical SS units, slaughter conquered troops and civilians alike. Then, as Allied might prevails, Kershaw reveals a Hitler transformed from invincible warlord to desperate gambler, ultimately bringing destruction to his country and ending his life in a bunker under the ruins of Berlin. This book is based on immense research, including the use of many previously untapped sources. - Publisher. "In this volume, Ian Kershaw introduces Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power, idolized by millions of Germans for bringing the nation out of economic catastrophe. The Nazi party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil servants are all "working towards the Fuhrer." Meanwhile, Hitler is poised to realize his Mephistophelean vision : the subjugation of Europe under the Thousand Year Reich and , in the process, the annihilation of the Jews. For three years, Hitler and his relentless armies pluge the European continent into a bloodbath, as German soldiers, accompanied by fanatical SS units, slaughter conquered troops and civilians alike. Then, as Allied might prevails, Kershaw reveals a Hitler transformed from invincible warlord to desperate gambler, ultimately bring destruction to his country and ending his life in a bunker under the ruines of Berlin. Based on immense research, including the use of many previously untapped sources, Hitler, 1936-1945."--P. [4] of cover "In this volume, Ian Kershaw introduces Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power, idolized by millions of Germans for bringing the nation out of economic catastrophe. The Nazi party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil servants are all "working towards the Fuhrer." Meanwhile, Hitler is poised to realize his Mephistophelean vision : the subjugation of Europe under the Thousand Year Reich and, in the process, the annihilation of the Jews. For three years, Hitler and his relentless armies pluge the European continent into a bloodbath, as German soldiers, accompanied by fanatical SS units, slaughter conquered troops and civilians alike. Then, as Allied might prevails, Kershaw reveals a Hitler transformed from invincible warlord to desperate gambler, ultimately bring destruction to his country and ending his life in a bunker under the ruines of Berlin. Based on immense research, including the use of many previously untapped sources, Hitler, 1936-1945"--Page 4 of cover The climax and conclusion of one of the best-selling biographies of our time.The New Yorker declared the first volume of Ian Kershaw's two-volume masterpiece "as close to definitive as anything we are likely to see," and that promise is fulfilled in this stunning second volume. 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 the Nazi regime, 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. "[M]ore probing, more judicious, more authoritative in its rich detail...more commanding in its mastery of the horrific narrative."―Milton J. Rosenberg, Chicago Tribune 48 pages of black and white illustrations

The climax and conclusion of one of the best-selling biographies of our time.

London Review of Books

Kershaw has succeeded wonderfully well in portraying an altogether believable Hitler while placing him within the political structures and social forces that explain his rise to power and how that power was excercised after 1933.

Hitler was more convinced than ever, following the Rhineland triumph, that he was walking with destiny, guided by the hand of Providence.