Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris by Ian Kershaw - How the Improbable Happened

Noted for his excellent structural explanation of the Third Reichs political culture in The Hitler Myth, eminent historian Ian Kershaw shifts approach in this innovative biography of the Nazi tyrant. The first of a two-volume study, Hubris is far from a simple rehearsal of great man history, impressively exploring the historical forces that transformed a shiftless Austrian daydreamer into a dictator with immense power.

In his forthright introduction, Kershaw acknowledges that, as a committed social historian, he did not include biography in his original intellectual plans. However, his growing preoccupation with the structures of Nazi domination pushed him toward questions about Hitlers place and considerable authority within that system. He argues that the sources for Hitlers power must be sought not only in the dictators actions but also (and more importantly) in the social circumstances of a nation that allowed him to overstep all institutional and moral barriers. In a comprehensive treatment of Hitlers life and times up through the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Kershaw draws from documents recently made available from Russian archives and benefits from a rigorous source criticism that has discredited many records formerly understood to be reliable. Hubris thus supplants Alan Bullocks classic Hitler: A Study in Tyranny as the definitive account of a man who, with characteristic smugness, indicated that it was a divinely inspired history that made him: I go with the certainty of a sleep walker along a path laid out for me by Providence. Kershaws penetrating analysis of how such a certain path could emerge from the dire circumstances of post World War I Germany is the abiding strength of Hubris. --James Highfill

How the Improbable Happened
This book gives a good account of Hitler's highly improbable rise to power, but does not resolve the question of why Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor. It says that Hindenburg initially refused, until ex-chancellor Franz von Papen convinced him that Hitler would be harmless as chancellor. He could be safely contained, said von Papen, "boxed in" by other right-wingers in the cabinet and by Hindenburg himself. That is Kershaw's version.

Why Hindenburg changed his mind is one of the great controversies of history. Joachim Fest said the reasons were "too complicated to list." But George Seldes said that in 1932 a tremendous scandal exploded in Germany, involving Hindenburg. His East Prussian property at Neudeck was involved in tax frauds. Hitler promised to suppress the entire scandal if he was made chancellor. "Hindenburg covered over his scandal of corruption with his appointment of Hitler as chancellor." Was this why Hitler was unleashed on the world? Who knows? Kershaw does not say.

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