Hitler

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  HITLER

  IAN KERSHAW is Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield. For services to history he was given the German award of the Federal Cross of Merit in 1994. He was knighted in 2002 and awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2004.

  He was the historical adviser to three BBC series: The Nazis: A Warning from History, War of the Century and Auschwitz.

  His most recent books are Hitler 1889–1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis, which received the Wolfson Literary Award for History and the Bruno Kreisky Prize in Austria for the Political Book of the Year, and was joint winner of the inaugrual British Academy Book Prize; Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry and Britain’s Road to War, which won the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography in 2005; and Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940–41.

  IAN KERSHAW

  Hitler

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

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  Hitler, 1889–1936: Hubris first published 1998

  Hitler, 1936–1945: Nemesis first published 2000

  This one-volume abridgement with a new Preface first published by Allen Lane 2008

  Published in Penguin Books 2009

  Copyright © Ian Kershaw, 1998, 2000, 2008

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  ISBN: 978-0-14-190959-2

  Contents

  List of Illustrations

  Glossary of Abbreviations

  Maps

  Preface to the New Edition

  Reflecting on Hitler

  1 Fantasy and Failure

  2 Drop-out

  3 Elation and Embitterment

  4 The Beerhall Agitator

  5 The ‘Drummer’

  6 Emergence of the Leader

  7 Mastery over the Movement

  8 Breakthrough

  9 Levered into Power

  10 The Making of the Dictator

  11 Securing Total Power

  12 Working Towards the Führer

  13 Ceaseless Radicalization

  14 The Drive for Expansion

  15 Marks of a Genocidal Mentality

  16 Going for Broke

  17 Licensing Barbarism

  18 Zenith of Power

  19 Designing a ‘War of Annihilation’

  20 Showdown

  21 Fulfilling the ‘Prophecy’

  22 Last Big Throw of the Dice

  23 Beleaguered

  24 Hoping for Miracles

  25 Luck of the Devil

  26 No Way Out

  27 Into the Abyss

  28 Extinction

  Epilogue

  Main Published Primary Sources on Hitler

  Index

  List of Illustrations

  Every effort has been made to contact all copyright holders. The publishers will be glad to make good in future editions any errors or omissions brought to their attention. (Photographic acknowledgements are given in brackets.)

  1. Adolf Hitler in his Leonding school photo (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  2. Klara Hitler (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  3. Alois Hitler (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  4. Karl Lueger (Hulton Getty, London)

  5. August Kubizek (The Wiener Library, London)

  6. The crowd in Odeonsplatz, Munich, 2 August 1914 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  7. Hitler with Ernst Schmidt and Anton Bachmann (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  8. German soldiers on the Western Front (Hulton Getty, London)

  9. Armed members of the KPD Sektion Neuhausen (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  10. Counter-revolutionary Freikorps troops entering Munich (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  11. Anton Drexler (Hulton Getty, London)

  12. Ernst Röhm (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  13. Hitler’s DAP membership card (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  14. Hitler speaking on the Marsfeld (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  15. NSDAP mass meeting, Munich, 1923 (Collection Rudolf Herz, Munich)

  16. Paramilitary organizations on ‘German Day’, 1923 (Collection Rudolf Herz, Munich)

  17. Alfred Rosenberg, Hitler, Friedrich Weber and Christian Weber (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  18. Armed SA men manning a barricade (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  19. Armed putschists from the area around Munich (Stadtsmuseum, Landeshaupstadt Munich)

  20. Defendants at the trial of the putschists (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  21. Hitler immediately after his release from imprisonment (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  22. Hitler in Landsberg (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  23. Hitler in Bavarian costume (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  24. Hitler in a raincoat (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  25. Hitler with his alsatian, Wolf (Collection Rudolf Herz, Munich)

  26. The Party Rally, Weimar, July 1926 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  27. The Party Rally, Nuremberg, August 1927 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  28. Hitler in SA uniform (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  29. Hitler in rhetorical pose (Karl Stehle, Munich)

  30. Hitler speaking to the NSDAP leadership (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  31. Geli Raubal and Hitler (David Gainsborough Roberts)

  32. Eva Braun (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  33. Reich President Paul von Hindenburg (AKG London)

  34. Reich Chancellor Heinrich Brüning with Benito Mussolini (AKG London)

  35. Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen with State Secretary Dr Otto Meissner (Bundesarchiv, Koblenz)

  36. Gregor Strasser and Joseph Goebbels (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  37. Ernst Thälmann (Hulton Getty, London)

  38. Nazi election poster, 1932 (AKG London)

  39. Candidate placards for the presidential election (Bundesarchiv, Koblenz)

  40. Discussion at Neudeck (AKG London)

  41. Reich Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher (AKG London)

  42. Hitler in evening dress (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  43. Hitler bows to Reich President von Hindenburg (AKG London)


  44. SA violence against Communists (AKG London)

  45. The boycott of Jewish doctors (AKG London)

  46. An elderly Jew being taken into custody (AKG London)

  47. Hindenburg and Hitler on the ‘Day of National Labour’ (AKG London)

  48. Hitler with Ernst Röhm (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  49. Postcard designed by Hans von Norden (Karl Stehle, Munich)

  50. Postcard: ‘The Führer as animal-lover’ (Karl Stehle, Munich)

  51. Hitler justifying the ‘Röhm purge’ (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  52. Hitler, Professor Leonhard Gall, and architect Albert Speer (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  53. Hitler with young Bavarians (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  54. The Mercedes-Benz showroom at Lenbachplatz, Munich (Stadt-archiv, Landeshauptstadt Munich)

  55. Hitler with Karl Krause, Albert Vogler, Fritz Thyssen and Walter Borbet (AKG London)

  56. ‘Hitler in his Mountains’: Heinrich Hoffmann publication (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  57. New recruits at the Feldherrnhalle, 1935 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

  58. German troops entering the Rhineland (AKG London)

  59. Adolf Hitler, September 1936 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  60. Hitler discussing plans for Weimar, 1936 (Corbis/Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  61. The Berlin Olympics, 1936 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  62. Hitler meets the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, 1937 (Corbis/ Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  63. Werner von Blomberg (Corbis/Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  64. Werner von Fritsch (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  65. Hitler addresses crowds in the Heldenplatz, Vienna, 1938 (AKG London)

  66. Hitler, Mussolini and Victor-Emmanuel III, 1938 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  67. Hitler in Florence, 1938 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  68. ‘The Eternal Jew’ exhibition, Munich, 1937 (AKG London)

  69. ‘Jews in Berlin’ poster, Berlin, 1938 (Corbis/Bettmann)

  70. Synagogue on fire, Berlin, 1938 (Corbis/Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  71. Jewish Community building, Kassel, 1938 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  72. Looted Jewish shop, Berlin, 1938 (AKG London)

  73. Joseph Goebbels and his family, 1936 (Corbis/Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  74. Goebbels broadcasting to the people, 1939 (Hulton Getty)

  75. Eva Braun, c.1938 (Hulton Getty)

  76. Wilhelm Keitel greets Neville Chamberlain (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  77. German troops, Prague, 1939 (Bibliothek fur Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  78. Hitler’s study in the Reich Chancellery (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  79. Göring addresses Hitler in the New Reich Chancellery, 1939 (Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Munich)

  80. Hitler presented with a model by Ferdinand Porsche, 1938 (Hulton Getty)

  81. Heinrich Himmler presents Hitler with a painting by Menzel, 1939 (Bundesarchiv, Koblenz)

  82. Hitler with Winifred Wagner, Bayreuth, 1939 (Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Munich)

  83. Molotov signs the Non-Aggression Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany, 1939 (Corbis)

  84. Hitler in Poland with his Wehrmacht adjutants (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  85. Hitler reviewing troops in Warsaw, 1939 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  86. Hitler addresses the Party’s ‘Old Guard’ at the Bürgerbräukeller, Munich, 1939 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  87. Arthur Greiser (Bundesarchiv, Koblenz)

  88. Albert Forster (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  89. Hitler reacting to news of France’s request for an armistice, 1940 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  90. Hitler visiting the Maginot Line in Alsace, 1940 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  91. Hitler in Freudenstadt, 1940 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  92. Crowds in the Wilhelmplatz, Berlin, 1940 (Bibliothek fur Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  93. Hitler bids farewell to Franco, Hendaye, 1940 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  94. Hitler meets Marshal Pétain, 1940 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  95. Ribbentrop talking to Molotov, Berlin, 1940 (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  96. Hitler meets Matsuoka of Japan, 1941 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  97. Hitler talks to Alfred Jodl, 1941 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  98. Hitler and Keitel, en route to Angerburg, 1941 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  99. ‘Europe’s Victory is Your Prosperity’, anti-Bolshevik poster (Imperial War Museum, London)

  100. Walther von Brauchitsch and Franz Halder (AKG London)

  101. Keitel with Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  102. Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  103. Nazi propaganda poster featuring Hitler’s ‘prophecy’ of 30 January 1939 (The Wiener Library, London)

  104. Hitler salutes the coffin of Heydrich, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  105. Hitler comforts Heydrich’s sons (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  106. Hitler addresses 12,000 officers at the Sportpalast, Berlin, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  107. The officers reacting (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  108. Fedor von Bock (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  109. Erich von Manstein (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  110. Hitler speaks at ‘Heroes’ Memorial Day’ at the Armoury on Unter den Linden, Berlin, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  111. Motorized troops pass a burning Russian village on the Eastern Front, 1942 (Hulton Getty)

  112. Hitler greets Dr Ante Pavelic, 1943 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  113. Hitler with Marshal Antonescu, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  114. Hitler greets King Boris III, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  115. Hitler greets Monsignor Dr Josef Tiso, 1943 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  116. Hitler greets Marshal Mannerheim, 1942 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  117. Admiral Horthy speaks with Ribbentrop, Keitel and Martin Bormann (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  118. A ‘Do 24’ seaplane, Norway (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  119. Train-mounted cannon, Leningrad (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  120. German tanks, Cyrenaica, Libya (Hulton Getty)

  121. Hunting partisans, Bosnia (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  122. Exhausted German soldier, the Eastern Front (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  123. Hitler reviewing the Wehrmacht parade, Berlin, 1943 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  124. The Party’s ‘Old Guard’ salute Hitler, Munich, 1943 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  125. Martin Bormann (Hulton Getty)

  126. Hitler and Goebbels on the Obersalzberg, 1943 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  127. German soldiers pushing vehicle through mud, the Eastern Front (Corbis)

  128. Armoured vehicles lodged in snow, the Eastern Front (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  129. Waffen-SS troops, the Eastern Front (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  130. French Jews being deported, 1942 (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  131. Polish Jews dig their own grave, 1942 (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin)

  132. Incinerators at Majdanek, 1944 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin)

  133. Hitler and Himmler walking on the Obersalzberg, 1944 (
Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/Walter Frentz)

  134. The ‘White Rose’, 1942 (Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Berlin)

  135. Heinz Guderian (Hulton Getty)

  136. Ludwig Beck (AKG London)

  137. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (AKG London)

  138. Henning von Tresckow (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  139. Hitler just after the assassination attempt, 1944 (Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich)

  140. Hitler’s trousers (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  141. Last meeting of Hitler and Mussolini, 1944 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  142. Karl Dönitz professes the loyalty of the Navy, 1944 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  143. An ageing Hitler at the Berghof, 1944 (Ullstein Bilderdienst, Berlin/ Walter Frentz)

  144. V1 flying-bomb (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  145. V2 rocket (Corbis/Hulton-Deutsch Collection)

  146. Messerschmitt Me262 (Hulton Getty)

  147. The ‘Volkssturm’, 1944 (Hulton Getty)

  148. The last ‘Heroes’ Memorial Day’, Berlin, 1945 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  149. Women and children fleeing Danzig, 1945 (AKG London)

  150. Hitler views a model of Linz (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington)

  151. Hitler in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery, 1945 (Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart)

  Glossary of Abbreviations

  BVP

  Bayerische Volkspartei (Bavarian People’s Party)

  DAP

  Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers’ Party)

  DDP

  Deutsche Demokratische Partei (German Democratic Party)

  DNVP

  Deutschnationale Volkspartei (German National People’s Party)

  DSP

  Deutschsozialistische Partei (German-Socialist Party)

  DSVB

  Deutschvölkische Freiheitsbewegung (German Folkish Freedom Movement)

  DVFP

  Deutschvölkische Freiheitspartei (German Folkish Freedom Party)

  DVP

  Deutsche Volkspartei (German People’s Party)

  FHQ

  Führer Hauptquartier (Führer Headquarters)

  KPD