Customer Reviews

Hitler, the Germans, and the Final Solution

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HtGatFS is a collection of penetrating and authoritative essays by a well-respected historian on the subject. This is not for a casual reader; this is heavy, analytical material. (This is not a criticism. I'm just saying...)

Obviously, anything touching on this subject has the potential for controversy but Kershaw's handling is masterful. Keep in mind, however, that this is a series of essays and not a general or comprhensive history of either the Final Solution or the Third Reich.

If you are already versed in the subject, then this book is highly recommended. If not, and you're looking for a more general narrative-type of history, then look elsewhere.

Recommended.

As this book attests, Ian Kershaw had become one of the leading commentators on Nazi Germany even before writing his masterful two-volume biography of Hitler in 2000 & 2001. This book consists of 14 essays written largely during the late 1980's and the 1990's, but also three during the 2000's as well. Such a collection can present problems--for example are they still fresh and current in analysis? These essays meet that standard, since they reflect superb analysis which stands up as well today as when written, perhaps even more so since a number Kershaw's predictions have turned out to be correct. Another problem with article collections is whether there are central themes and too much repetition. Kershaw has solved this problem by including a helpful essay written for the book as an introduction which divides the articles into several major categories and discusses recent developments in each that have occurred since the essays were published.

Kershaw is interested in several major foci of analysis. First, public opinion studies, largely done in Bavaria, as to how typical Germans reacted to persecution of the Jews, the removal and relocation, and the "final solution." What is interesting here are his finding of how little interest typical Germans had in these topics, what Kershaw categorizes as "passive complicity" and "lethal indifference." His suggested explanation for this phenomenon is quite interesting. A second major theme is how the "final solution" came about and Hitler's role in it. Here Kershaw makes a convincing case that there was no masterplan from the start of the war to exterminate the Jews, but that the policy evolved overtime largely at the hands of local administrators, as increasing Jews were deported from Germany and other areas and relocated to Poland, overloading facilities there. The adverse eastern front situation also foreclosed the relocation option, and extermination was turned to, what Kershaw refers to as "improvised genocide." As to Hitler, Kershaw joins other historians in concluding that Hitler's primary involvement was in creation of the enti-Jewish environment and encouraging harsh policies, but there is no evidence that any order came from Hitler to initiate the "final solution."

A third and most interesting theme is the battle of historians--how does one treat Nazi Germany. Is it just another historical era, to be handled professionally but with no special considerations. Or is it by its very nature so unique and horrible that any analysis must reflect moral issues that might not otherwise be considered by professional historians. An additional focus is comparing Hitler with Stalin and their respective roles in their regimes. Kewshaw finds Stalin deeply involved in bureaucratic policy making; by contrast, Hitler demonstrated no interest in the mechanics of how his government was run. Finally, Kershaw is very interested in the early period of Hitler's rise to power, the 1920's, which he finds illuminating in understanding later developments.

There are many other points touched upon by Kershaw which add even more value to this fine book. Each essay is accompanied by extensive notes, and there is a very comprehensive index. As mentioned above, his introductory essay is particularly effective in orienting the reader. An indispensable book for serious students of this fascinating period.

I just wish to add my little two cent worth in writing that I do support Mr. Ronald Clark's review. I thought his review was well written and he touches on the all the important elements that this book brings out. Only thing he didn't explain very clearly is Kershaw's "Charismatic leadership" theory that explained how political command control within the Third Reich is done. This "Charismatic leadership" was one of the central themes of Kershaw's two-volume (now one) biography of Adolf Hitler. I think this is pretty important since it shows that Hitleran dictatorship is quite unlike other type of dictatorships we have known in history. But overall, Mr. Clark's review should give any future reader a good understanding of what to expect from this book.

This is a collection of essays by Kershaw, a superb historian. Somehow I don;t think they all hang together and the title is a bit misleading, in that it implies that they would.

I echo the first two reviewers. But with regard to the "battle of the historians", I would like to see more familiarity by historians of social psychological research into the genesis of this kind of behavior, such as Asch's studies of conformity, Milgram's studies of obedience to authority, and Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, among others. All are relevant to this issue.

Kershaw writes in an echo chamber where his tedious musings are guaranteed acclamation. "Not for the casual reader" is an understatement and euphemism. Leave it to a history professor to turn a subject as garish as this into a big yawner that I could in no way finish. Pedantic scholars like Kershaw are the reason we all hated history in high school. Unless you "enjoy" this sort of dry fare-- and I cannot imagine associating that verb with this book-- I would look elsewhere for more engaging coverage of this grotesque but fascinating historical subject.