Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History

by Gerhard L. Weinberg

• ISBN13: 9780521566261
• ISBN10: 0521566266
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-04-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Reflecting on the greatest war in human history, one cannot help but think about the terrible conflict as a whole, its leaders, its peoples, and the puzzles still open about its conduct. Leaders on both sides realised that at stake from the very beginning was a complete restructuring of the world order. More than a conflict of imperial aggression, World War II was about who would live and command the globe's resources and which peoples would disappear entirely because they were believed to be inferior or undesirable by the victor. This collection of special studies in twentieth-century German and world history illuminates the nature of the Nazi system and its impact on Germany and the world. Bringing together essays now widely scattered and several never previously published in English, this volume examines the Holocaust, the connections between the European and Pacific theatres of war, as well as the effects, leaders, and research problems of World War II. By examining the effects of World War II, its leaders, its problems, and the Holocaust, this volume provides an illuminating study of the nature of the Nazi system and its impact on Germany and the world.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part I. Background: 1. The defeat of Germany in 1918 and the European balance of power

2. National Socialist organisation and aims in 1927

3. The world through Hitler's eyes

Part II. The Nazi System: 4. The Nazi revolution: a war against human rights

5. Propaganda for peace and preparation for war

Part III. Background for War: 6. Hitler and England, 1933-1945: pretence and reality

7. German foreign policy and Austria

8. Germany, Munich, and appeasement

9. A proposed compromise over Danzig in 1939? 10. The German generals and the outbreak of war, 1938-1939

11. Hitler's decision for war

Part IV. World War II: 12. German diplomacy toward the Soviet Union

13. The Nazi-Soviet pacts: a half-century later

14. Germany and the United States, 1917-1949

15. Germany and Pearl Harbour

16. Global conflict: relations between the European and Pacific theatres in World War II

17. The Holocaust and the war in 1943

18. The German resistance to Hitler

19. D-Day after 50 years

20. German plans for victory

21. Reflections on running a war: Hitler, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Tojo

22. Some thoughts on World War II

23. At the end: a new Germany in a new world Appendix: The end of Ranke's history: reflections on the fate of history in the twentieth century.