Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi

Author:
ISBN-10: 1478998415
ISBN-13: 9781478998419
Contributor:
Review Date:

Despite the mountains of works devoted to Adolf Hitler, accounts of his earlier years sourced from anything beyond his semi-biographical and semi-fictional Mein Kampf remained difficult to come by. Author Thomas Weber made the attempt to present an analysis of the formation of Hitler as a politician with Becoming Hitler, and it was an excellent one. He questioned popular notions that were based on accounts from Mein Kampf without being challenged sufficiently. For instance, while we generally pictured the WW1-era Hitler as a brave and fearless soldier delivering messages from trench to trench, Weber raised the question that, if Hitler was attached to the regimental headquarters, would not he be treated as a Etappenschwein (rear echelon pig) by his comrades, visiting the front lines only occasionally? In similar vein, he challenged our image of Hitler immediately after WW1 as a fervent nationalist; instead, he exposed Hitler as an opportunist without strong political conviction, having no qualms working for the short-lived Soviet republic in Bavaria, and then immediately after turning his former fellow political commissar comrades into the succeeding right-leaning government. While Hitler was without a doubt to later become master politician, his narrative of his professional formative years, as we have long come to accept, seemed to contain much fiction. Weber's analysis of the evolution of Hitler's anti-Semitism, ie. its transformation from commonplace bias to a racial theory, was arguably the most interesting portion of the book to me.

I had reviewed this title in its audio book format. The reader, Alex Hyde-White, performed admirably.

Becoming Hitler had been the most enjoyable new work on Hitler that I had come across in recent years, and the theories presented by the author had been most thought provoking.



Back to Main | Back to Book Reviews Index




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds


Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Search WW2DB
More on Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi
Related Person:
» Hitler, Adolf

Affiliated Link:
» Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi
Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

Winston Churchill


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!