Customer Reviews

The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism (New Studies in European History)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The scope of this book is what attracted me. It provides insight into how historical eras are remembered and does so by analyzing scholarly as well as popular sources. A unique and very helpful document, especially for the serious historian.

Gayriel Rosenfeld's very interesting "The World Hitler Never Made" is a fair and thorough survey of the literature (particularly fiction) that sprang up after World War II asking "what if" the war had turned out differently. Not surprisingly, much of what Rosenfeld examines is science fiction, since that is the genre that is most able to handle that kind of historical/social speculation. This book looks at Philip K. Dick's masterful The Man in the High Castle; Robert Harris' Fatherland: A Novel (Mortalis) both book and movie; C.M. Kornbluth's novella "Two Dooms", which is found in His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C.M. Kornbluth; Stephen Fry's comic Making History; the almost forgotten-by-everyone pulp novel Who Will Watch the Watchers which I read when I was a kid; and many others.

My favorite of this genre is Norman Spinrad's amazing The Iron Dream which I urge everyone to go out and buy immediately. Rosenfeld raises the question whether Spinrad's historical pessimism lets Hitler off the hook a little bit: in the novel, the Holocaust happens anyway in the Soviet Union even though Hitler never came to power and ended up a hack sci-fi writer in America. I don't agree with this spin on Spinrad, but it's interesting to think about. In spite of all the large historical forces at work, individuals have to be held accountable for the evil that they do. Rosenfeld's not unexpected conclusion is that Hitler was a dominant, horrific figure in the imagination of the culture and we are unlikely to forget him for the foreseeable future.

Incidentally, this book is advertised as a survey of the literature about alternate histories, not as a factual "expert's perspective of what a world in which the Nazi's won WWII would look like." So it's missing the point to give this book only two stars for not being something it was never intended or advertised to be in the first place.

This is a very well written and scholarly text which provides a nigh on encyclopedic coverage of material published on alternate histories of the rise and fall of Hitler. It also reviews what those histories may signify for an understanding of the cultural import of the rise and fall of fascism and, in fact, the perception that "national socialism" never went away, it just returns under other guises.

From a British point of view the book manages very clearly and persuasively to present the changing manner in which the defeat of Nazi Germany was represented in the general media, not only novels and plays, but as importantly in comic books, television and film. The author shows commendable scholarship in his ability to review work from a broad spectrum of genres, from newspapers and literary plays to sci-fi novels and comics.

I would recommend this work to anyone who wishes to get a very up to date "crash course" in thinking on the impact and the import of events in the middle of the 20th century on contemporary culture, on the consciousness of that culture and of the scholarship of those reflecting upon those events. It is not a book in the same vein as the superb volume on alternate history "Unmaking the West"Unmaking the West: "What-If?" Scenarios That Rewrite World Historyconcerned as it is with the second order issue of the role of popular culture considering the impact of alternate histories,but it has to be reviewed on its own terms and therein it does an excellent job.

As I've said in previous reviews I'm a big fan of alternate history, with my favourite scenario being 'what if the Nazis had won WW2?'. So far I've only ever read novels in this genre - but 'The World Hitler never made' is my first sortie into non-fiction.

This book is a summary and analysis of the victorious Third Reich books, films and TV shows of the past 70 years or so. It's incredibly detailed and unearths some real gems, as well as stinkers and books/films that are mostly forgotten now.

Rosenfeld puts forward an interesting argument as to why this sub-genre of alternate history continues to haunt the imagination. He also shows how the genre has changed and why it has been so successful. One interesting parallel he points out is the link between recessions and 'what ifs' selling well. That being the case, and given the state we're in, I guess we're due another big hit any day soon! 'Fatherland 2', anybody?

Two criticisms: it can be a bit repetitive (he shows again and again how the books/films fit his pattern; I got it the first time!) and some of the analysis is a bit dry. This is clearly meant as a more academic leaning book rather than being for the general reader. Nevertheless a fascinating volume and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

If you're looking for a historical expert's perspective of what a world in which the Nazi's won WWII would look like, you're not going to find it here. The book is basically a summary of alternate theories that have already been portrayed in a variety of media. Better to spend your time reading Amazon's suggestions on a "other books like this one" search.