The Hitler of History PDF
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THE HITLER OF HISTORY JOHN LUKACS iVIN thtiLki Pifi. . . . Mr. t ub^ri #rriT*v il Ihii GBatlwMonil with piinilakini. tihi uitm e- lagac that li bird I* rflii.1—rfc# Htw Timrm John Lukacs THE HITLER OF HISTORY John Lukacs was born in Hungary and came to the United States in 1946. Now emeritus, he has been a visiting pro¬ fessor at various universities. The recipient of the 1991 Ingersoll Prize, he is the author of nineteen other books. He and his wife live in Chester County, Pennsylvania. ALSO BY JOHN LUKACS The Great Powers and Eastern Europe Tocqueville: The European Revolution and Correspondence with Gohineau (editor) A History of the Cold War Decline and Rise of Europe Historical Consciousness The Passing of the Modem Age The Last European War, 1939-1941 1945: Year Zero Philadelphia: Patricians and Philistines, 1900-1950 Outgrowing Democracy: A History of the United States in the Twentieth Century Budapest 1900: A Historical Portrait of a City and Its Culture Confessions of an Original Sinner The Duel: 10 May-31 July 1940: The Eighty-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler The End of the Twentieth Century and the End of the Modem Age Destinations Past George E Kennan and the Origins of Containment 1944-1946: The Kennan-Lukacs Correspondence A Thread of Years The Hitler of History THE HITLER OF HISTORY John Lukacs VINTAGE BOOKS A Division of Random House, Inc. New York FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, NOVEMBER 1998 Copyright ©1997 by John Lukacs All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, in 1997. Permissions acknowledgments may be found on page 281. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lukacs, John, 1924- The Hider of history/John Lukacs. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-375-70113-3 1. Hider, Adolf, 1889-1945. 2. Germany—History— 193 3-1945—Historiography. 3. National socialism—Historiography. 4. Heads of state—Germany—Biography. I. Tide. DD247.H5L84 1998 943.086'092—dc21 98-26451 [B] CIP Book design by Misha Beletsky www.randomhouse.com Printed in the United States of America io 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 i This book is dedicated to Jim McBride CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments xi I HISTORIOGRAPHICAL PROBLEMS The purpose of historical knowledge—The extraordinary popular interest in Hitler—Its development and continuation— His treatment by historians—Its evolution—The relationship of history and biography—Principal problems—The documentary problems—The limits of our knowledge 2 THE CRYSTALLIZATION. VIENNA AND/OR MUNICH? Hitler’s own account—Its acceptance by historians—Contradictory evidence—Importance of Munich—Certain physical and mental characteristics—The turning points in his life 3 REACTIONARY AND/OR REVOLUTIONARY? A problem of definitions—Hitler’s revolutionary rhetoric— His appeal to conservatives—His revolutionary achievements— The question of a duality—A revolutionary of a new kind l6
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