Hitler: Edition 2

This second edition has been fully updated to incorporate the research and literature from the last ten years, including several major studies by British and German scholars that have added to our understanding of Hitler and the Third Reich. New light has been shed on the character of National Socialism and on Hitler as a person and a political figure. Fresh insights have been made into the Hitler cult and into the charismatic nature of Hitler’s rule over Germany. Modern historians continue to wrestle with questions that still demand an answer – why did the nation that had made a unique contribution to European culture willingly follow Hitler on his nihilistic path? Using an essentially narrative approach to the Hitler story, the new edition incorporates the key findings of current research into the political, socio-economic and military features of the Third Reich that Hitler sought to create before his irrationalities destroyed it. Referencing the major historiographical disputes and drawing on the new perspectives that modern research provides, this second edition addresses the issues that historians regard as central to the study of Hitler’s Germany.

Michael Lynch provides a balanced guide to this most difficult of figures that will be enlightening for students and general readers alike.