On January 1, 1933, Hitler seemed destined to return to obscurity. Having suffered devastating blows in the previous November's election, the National Socialist Party was pronounced politically dead by its opponents. Three days later, however, Hitler met clandestinely with ex-chancellor Franz von Papen, who thought he could use the Nazi leader in an alliance to oust then-Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher. Thus began a month of intrigue in which Hitler, though having less than a third of the popular vote, nevertheless successfully pursued an all-or-nothing strategy to become leader of Germany. On January 30, amidst rumors, confusion, and several thwarted attempts to stop the event, Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor, and Germany turned its future over to a madman.
Drawing on a lifetime of studying the Nazi regime, and newly available documents, Henry Turner shows how luck, political brinksmanship, and the personal weaknesses of his opponents helped Hitler come to power. He paints vivid portraits of Hitler and the other main players in this political drama - President and aging war hero Marshal Paul von Hindenburg; the miscalculating General von Schleicher (whom Hitler would later murder); and the devious von Papen. Through these characters - and a final brilliant chapter on historical contingency and responsibility - Turner re-establishes the importance of individual actors in the unfolding of historical events.
A fast-paced narrative history provides a thorough account of the events that culminated in Adolf Hitler taking power in January of 1933, revealing how luck, political intrigue, and the personal weaknesses of Hitler's more powerful, traditional-conservative opponents paved the way for his Chancellorship.Henry Ashby Turner, Jr.,is Stille Professor of History at Yale University.
These two volumes, both by well-respected scholars, provide short, well-written, thoughtful accounts of why and how Hitler and the Nazis could have come to power in a Western democracy such as Germany. They are aimed at an audience more encompassing than just the circle of professional historians. Mitcham (Hitler's Field Marshals, Madison, 1993) deals with the broader aspects of the subject. Beginning with the end of World War I, he draws upon established historical research to cover the social, political, military, economic, and personal forces that contributed to Hitler's rise to power. His short account distills a huge literature into a readable study that covers the main themes effectively and understandably. Turner (editor, Hitler: Memoirs of a Confidant, Yale Univ., 1985) focuses on Hitler's actual accession to the chancellorship of Germany during January 1933. He is concerned with the main players in the politics of the takeover and in his final chapter provides an elegant summing-up of some possible answers to the enduring questions. Turner has used a variety of documentary sources, including materials newly available in the Moscow archives, to provide a model of scholarly work. Both books provide valuable insights for any library collection that includes European history; Turner's book is likely to be the definitive study of its subject for years to come. Barbara L. Walden, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis Copyright 1998 Library Journal Reviews
Yale historian Turner (German Big Business and the Rise of Hitler) here subjects to microscopic examination the fateful 30 days before Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Although many of the facts are known, this study reveals that the Nazi dictator did not come to power as the result of "impersonal forces." The slender, analytical volume indicates that rather, at a time of mortal peril for Germany?and the world?intrigue was the order of the day in Berlin. Turner follows the machinations of the principals?Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher; conspirator with Hitler and former chancellor Franz von Papen; President Paul von Hindenburg?to demonstrate how they all played unwittingly into Hitler's hands, believing they could control him once he took office. Turner concludes that far from being inevitable, there was a "high degree of contingency" and not a little luck in the Fuhrer's ascendancy. Moreover, as Turner points out, the Nazis' standing in the polls had been eroding for months before Hitler's triumph. Students of German history and extremist movements should enjoy this fast-paced narrative. (Nov.) Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information.
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