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The Meaning of Hitler

January 01, 1970

The Meaning of Hitler (German: Anmerkungen zu Hitler) is a 1978 book by the journalist and writer Raimund Pretzel, who published all his books under the pseudonym Sebastian Haffner. Journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings called it 'among the best' studies of Hitler;[1] Edward Crankshaw called it a 'quite dazzlingly brilliant analysis'.[2]

First edition
(publ. Deutscher Bücherbund)

The book analyzes the life and work of Adolf Hitler and is divided into seven chapters, each treating a different aspect of the man.

Critical reception edit

The book was a best-seller in Germany and was awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize of the city of Dusseldorf, the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize, the Friedrich Schiedel Literature Prize and, posthumously in 2003, the Wingate Literary Prize. Golo Mann called it a 'witty, original and clarifying book... excellently suited for discussion in the upper classes of schools'.[3] For Dieter Wunderlich the book is a 'linguistic masterpiece... not a biography but a concentrated reflection' by a 'wise and original' author.[4]

Synopsis edit

The book is divided into sections, each of which explores a different aspect of Hitler's life, personality and actions, which Haffner analyses.

Life edit

According to Sebastian Haffner, whereas Hitler's father made a modest success of life, Hitler, uniquely, failed drastically, then succeeded, then failed again.[5] His life lacked education, occupation, love, friendship, marriage, parenthood. A readiness for suicide, of Geli Raubal, Eva Braun and himself, accompanied his career. All soft, lovable traits were missing from his character. He was also full of himself and unselfcritical. Hitler was an 'empty man' who filled himself with pride and hatred.[6]

Achievements edit

Haffner argues that on gaining office in 1933, Hitler achieved many 'miracles' in economic and military policy.[7] 90% of Germans approved. Had he died in 1938, he would have been remembered as 'one of the greatest Germans ever'.[8] Few people noticed that he had dismantled the state and concealed the resultant chaos. In the long run, his achievement came to nothing.

Successes edit

Haffner states that all Hitler's foreign policy successes up to 1939 were gained without bloodshed. From then until 1941, he was also a successful war leader. His attack on Russia began his decline, and the pattern of failure, success, then failure again, is unique in history.[9]

Misconceptions edit

Hitler, who believed in the constant Darwinian struggle for power between nations, turned the German state into a war machine, according to Haffner.[10] For Hitler, the emergency was the norm. The Jews, being internationalists, took no part in this struggle between nations and had to be eliminated in a 'murder of the helpless'.

Mistakes edit

Hitler achieved the exact opposite of his stated goals, according to Sebastian Haffner. Germany did not become great, but was occupied and divided. The Jews were not eliminated, but created their own state. Communism was not defeated; instead, hegemony passed from Europe to the US and the USSR. European colonial empires dissolved: 'Today's world, whether we like it or not, is the work of Hitler.'[11]

When Germany failed to meet his expectations for conquest, Hitler wished it to be annihilated.

Crimes edit

Haffner asserts that Hitler was a criminal who killed millions for his own gratification. He does not stand with Alexander or Napoleon but with Crippen or Christie. His victims included invalids, Roma, Poles, Russians and Jews. In December 1941 he abandoned the goal of world conquest in favour of the Final solution–exterminating the Jews.[12]

Betrayal edit

From October 1944, Hitler deliberately prolonged the war by eliminating moderate opposition within Germany, in Haffner's opinion. In doing so he betrayed the German people and his 'fight to the finish' created a 'stirring legend' but destroyed Germany as a unified nation.[13] The Ardennes offensive allowed the Russians to take Berlin, allowing Russia the upper hand in postwar Europe. Hitler said, 'the future belongs exclusively to the stronger nation from the east.'

One of the effects of this, Haffner claims, is that after Hitler, Germans no longer dare to be patriots,[14] not knowing how much precisely this anti-patriotism is fulfillment of Hitler's last wish.

Film adaptation edit

 
Promotional release poster

In 2020, filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein released their documentary, The Meaning of Hitler. Not an actual adaptation of Haffner's book, the filmmakers use it as a jumping off point and a pace to constantly return to. Variety described the film as "a free-form, go-with-the-flow meditation on the Nazi era, made in the exploratory road-movie spirit of Werner Herzog’s recent documentaries,"[15] and The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "aims to pierce the aura of legend that has built up around Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime," and calls it "An intellectual inquiry with burning present-day resonance, ... [and[ also a road trip through some of the darkest chapters of European history ... [which] shines a cleansing light on a mythology that stretches across a century. ...[The film] is an urgent warning about the blind spots that have led us to the present moment, and the need to understand the dynamic at work in Hitler's ascent."[16] The 92 minute film had its world premiere with an online screening at the DOC NYC festival on 11 November 2020.[17]

The film features several historians, experts, and commentators on German and Jewish history:

See also edit

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ Hastings, Max (19 May 2002) 'The man who saw the future'. Daily Telegraph
  2. ^ Crankshaw, Edward, book review, The Observer, as quoted in cover blurb, Phoenix edition, 2003
  3. ^ book review (24 July 1978) Der Spiegel
  4. ^ Wunderlich, Dieter (2002) online review
  5. ^ Haffner, p.3
  6. ^ Haffner, pp.29, 21
  7. ^ Haffner, pp.27-30
  8. ^ Haffner, p.40
  9. ^ Haffner, pp.50-1
  10. ^ Haffner, p.86
  11. ^ Haffner, p.100
  12. ^ Haffner, p.143
  13. ^ Haffner, p.150-3
  14. ^ Haffner, p.165
  15. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (November 25, 2020) "'The Meaning of Hitler' Review: A Look At Why the Icon of 20th-Century Hate Lives on in the 21st" Variety
  16. ^ Linden, Sherri (Nover 21, 2020) "'The Meaning of Hitler': Film Review | DOC NYC 2020" The Hollywood Reporter
  17. ^ "The Meaning of Hitler" DOC NYC Festival website

Bibliography

  • Haffner, Sebastian (1978) Anmerkungen zu Hitler. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch ISBN 3-596-23489-1
  • Haffner, Sebastian (1979) The Meaning of Hitler. Translated by Ewald Osers. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.ISBN 0-674-55775-1.

January 01, 1970
meaning, hitler, german, anmerkungen, hitler, 1978, book, journalist, writer, raimund, pretzel, published, books, under, pseudonym, sebastian, haffner, journalist, military, historian, hastings, called, among, best, studies, hitler, edward, crankshaw, called, . The Meaning of Hitler German Anmerkungen zu Hitler is a 1978 book by the journalist and writer Raimund Pretzel who published all his books under the pseudonym Sebastian Haffner Journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings called it among the best studies of Hitler 1 Edward Crankshaw called it a quite dazzlingly brilliant analysis 2 First edition publ Deutscher Bucherbund The book analyzes the life and work of Adolf Hitler and is divided into seven chapters each treating a different aspect of the man Contents 1 Critical reception 2 Synopsis 2 1 Life 2 2 Achievements 2 3 Successes 2 4 Misconceptions 2 5 Mistakes 2 6 Crimes 2 7 Betrayal 3 Film adaptation 4 See also 5 ReferencesCritical reception editThe book was a best seller in Germany and was awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize of the city of Dusseldorf the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize the Friedrich Schiedel Literature Prize and posthumously in 2003 the Wingate Literary Prize Golo Mann called it a witty original and clarifying book excellently suited for discussion in the upper classes of schools 3 For Dieter Wunderlich the book is a linguistic masterpiece not a biography but a concentrated reflection by a wise and original author 4 Synopsis editThe book is divided into sections each of which explores a different aspect of Hitler s life personality and actions which Haffner analyses Life edit According to Sebastian Haffner whereas Hitler s father made a modest success of life Hitler uniquely failed drastically then succeeded then failed again 5 His life lacked education occupation love friendship marriage parenthood A readiness for suicide of Geli Raubal Eva Braun and himself accompanied his career All soft lovable traits were missing from his character He was also full of himself and unselfcritical Hitler was an empty man who filled himself with pride and hatred 6 Achievements edit Haffner argues that on gaining office in 1933 Hitler achieved many miracles in economic and military policy 7 90 of Germans approved Had he died in 1938 he would have been remembered as one of the greatest Germans ever 8 Few people noticed that he had dismantled the state and concealed the resultant chaos In the long run his achievement came to nothing Successes edit Haffner states that all Hitler s foreign policy successes up to 1939 were gained without bloodshed From then until 1941 he was also a successful war leader His attack on Russia began his decline and the pattern of failure success then failure again is unique in history 9 Misconceptions edit Hitler who believed in the constant Darwinian struggle for power between nations turned the German state into a war machine according to Haffner 10 For Hitler the emergency was the norm The Jews being internationalists took no part in this struggle between nations and had to be eliminated in a murder of the helpless Mistakes edit Hitler achieved the exact opposite of his stated goals according to Sebastian Haffner Germany did not become great but was occupied and divided The Jews were not eliminated but created their own state Communism was not defeated instead hegemony passed from Europe to the US and the USSR European colonial empires dissolved Today s world whether we like it or not is the work of Hitler 11 When Germany failed to meet his expectations for conquest Hitler wished it to be annihilated Crimes edit Haffner asserts that Hitler was a criminal who killed millions for his own gratification He does not stand with Alexander or Napoleon but with Crippen or Christie His victims included invalids Roma Poles Russians and Jews In December 1941 he abandoned the goal of world conquest in favour of the Final solution exterminating the Jews 12 Betrayal edit From October 1944 Hitler deliberately prolonged the war by eliminating moderate opposition within Germany in Haffner s opinion In doing so he betrayed the German people and his fight to the finish created a stirring legend but destroyed Germany as a unified nation 13 The Ardennes offensive allowed the Russians to take Berlin allowing Russia the upper hand in postwar Europe Hitler said the future belongs exclusively to the stronger nation from the east One of the effects of this Haffner claims is that after Hitler Germans no longer dare to be patriots 14 not knowing how much precisely this anti patriotism is fulfillment of Hitler s last wish Film adaptation edit nbsp Promotional release poster In 2020 filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein released their documentary The Meaning of Hitler Not an actual adaptation of Haffner s book the filmmakers use it as a jumping off point and a pace to constantly return to Variety described the film as a free form go with the flow meditation on the Nazi era made in the exploratory road movie spirit of Werner Herzog s recent documentaries 15 and The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film aims to pierce the aura of legend that has built up around Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime and calls it An intellectual inquiry with burning present day resonance and also a road trip through some of the darkest chapters of European history which shines a cleansing light on a mythology that stretches across a century The film is an urgent warning about the blind spots that have led us to the present moment and the need to understand the dynamic at work in Hitler s ascent 16 The 92 minute film had its world premiere with an online screening at the DOC NYC festival on 11 November 2020 17 The film features several historians experts and commentators on German and Jewish history Martin Amis prize winning author of The Zone of Interest Yehuda Bauer historian and author of Rethinking the Holocaust Peter Theiss Abendroth psychiatrist Saul Friedlander professor emeritus of history at UCLA Richard J Evans author of The Hitler Conspiracies The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination Gavriel Rosenfeld historian and author of The Fourth Reich The Specter of Nazism from World War II to the Present Francine Prose novelist Enno Lenze journalist and museum curator Mark Benecke a forensic biologist who worked on the identification of Hitler s skull and teeth Florian Kotanko historian Klaus Theweleit sociologist Winfried Nerdinger historian Sarah Forgey museum curator George Hamann Deborah Lipstadt historian Jadwiga Korowaj Koen Baert Ute Frevert Klaus Heyne Werner Muller general manager of the Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden de Mathias Irlinger Beate and Serge Klarsfeld Nazi hunters Jan T Gross historian and sociologist Wojciech MazurekSee also editList of Adolf Hitler books State collapse The Mind of Adolf HitlerReferences editNotes Hastings Max 19 May 2002 The man who saw the future Daily Telegraph Crankshaw Edward book review The Observer as quoted in cover blurb Phoenix edition 2003 book review 24 July 1978 Der Spiegel Wunderlich Dieter 2002 online review Haffner p 3 Haffner pp 29 21 Haffner pp 27 30 Haffner p 40 Haffner pp 50 1 Haffner p 86 Haffner p 100 Haffner p 143 Haffner p 150 3 Haffner p 165 Gleiberman Owen November 25 2020 The Meaning of Hitler Review A Look At Why the Icon of 20th Century Hate Lives on in the 21st Variety Linden Sherri Nover 21 2020 The Meaning of Hitler Film Review DOC NYC 2020 The Hollywood Reporter The Meaning of Hitler DOC NYC Festival website Bibliography Haffner Sebastian 1978 Anmerkungen zu Hitler Frankfurt am Main Fischer Taschenbuch ISBN 3 596 23489 1 Munich Kindler Verlag ISBN 3 463 00719 3 Haffner Sebastian 1979 The Meaning of Hitler Translated by Ewald Osers Cambridge Massachusetts Harvard University Press ISBN 0 674 55775 1 United Kingdom Orion Books ISBN 1 85799 878 2 Plunkett Lake Press 2012 eBook edition ASIN B008HLQFJE Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Meaning of Hitler amp oldid 1213206966, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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