(Originally Published 2012, Paperback Edition 327 pages)
The description 'Hitlerland' was first used by an International News Service reporter named Pierre Huss in 1935. It's an apt title for Mr. Nagorski's book. With some exceptions, it's very difficult to gauge the significance of historical events while actually living through them. Before Head-case Hitler's name became synonymous with evil, there were a wide variety of assumptions about him by not only Americans but the entire world. In the early 1920s, many thought Hitler was a political flash in the pan. Mr. Nagorski does an excellent job of showing the rise of the Nazis through the eyes of mostly American reporters and diplomats. The book lightly touches on some of the atrocities done in the Nazi's pursuit of power, but keeps its primary focus on American's impressions.
Areas that are highlighted between the early 1920s until Hitler declares war against the U.S. in 1941 are the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, Germany's forays into sexual liberation including open homosexuality, the abject poverty, the irrational discrimination against Jews, the "Night of Long Knives," the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the evolution of citizens towards embracing totalitarianism, and the wishful thinking by many isolationist Americans that Germany was not hellbent on eventually going to war. The one quirky aspect of the book is the author's focus on a few odd characters such as blowhard Ernst "Putzi" Hanfstaengl (there's a mouthful to pronounce,) and a randy, self-absorbed, American airhead named Martha Dodd. They added some color to Mr. Nagorski's work, but not much else.
Mr. Nagorski's book is an important addition to Nazi history, but it is nowhere near a thorough accounting of pre-War-World-II history or Hitler's life. It was not the author's intent. He's done an excellent job of showing the difficulty of assessing where history is heading while you're living through it. There are oodles of wonderful historical works that focus on other aspects of Nazi Germany. Naturally, William Shirer's tome 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' is on that list. I'd also highly recommend the two-volume works 'Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris" and "Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis" by Ian Kershaw as well as 'Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939' and 'Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Extermination 1939-1945' by Saul Friedlander. Thankfully, Mr. Nagorski's 'Hitlerland' will not leave your stomach in knots over the Nazi's inhumane actions such as is described in Mr. Friedlander's works. However, Mr. Nagorski's book is an interesting valuable addition to an era when the world went collectively insane.
Areas that are highlighted between the early 1920s until Hitler declares war against the U.S. in 1941 are the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, Germany's forays into sexual liberation including open homosexuality, the abject poverty, the irrational discrimination against Jews, the "Night of Long Knives," the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the evolution of citizens towards embracing totalitarianism, and the wishful thinking by many isolationist Americans that Germany was not hellbent on eventually going to war. The one quirky aspect of the book is the author's focus on a few odd characters such as blowhard Ernst "Putzi" Hanfstaengl (there's a mouthful to pronounce,) and a randy, self-absorbed, American airhead named Martha Dodd. They added some color to Mr. Nagorski's work, but not much else.
Mr. Nagorski's book is an important addition to Nazi history, but it is nowhere near a thorough accounting of pre-War-World-II history or Hitler's life. It was not the author's intent. He's done an excellent job of showing the difficulty of assessing where history is heading while you're living through it. There are oodles of wonderful historical works that focus on other aspects of Nazi Germany. Naturally, William Shirer's tome 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' is on that list. I'd also highly recommend the two-volume works 'Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris" and "Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis" by Ian Kershaw as well as 'Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939' and 'Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Extermination 1939-1945' by Saul Friedlander. Thankfully, Mr. Nagorski's 'Hitlerland' will not leave your stomach in knots over the Nazi's inhumane actions such as is described in Mr. Friedlander's works. However, Mr. Nagorski's book is an interesting valuable addition to an era when the world went collectively insane.
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