Overview

Adolf Hitler is the most notorious political figure of the twentieth century. The story of his life, how he became a dictator, and how he managed to convince so many to follow his cause is a subject of perennial fascination. Balancing narrative and analysis, this biography employs a chronological approach to describe the main features of Hitler’s career. Set against the background of developments in Germany and Europe during his lifetime, the text tells the extraordinary story of how an Austrian layabout rose to become Führer of the Third Reich. This second edition has been fully updated to incorporate the research and literature from the last ten years, including several major studies by British and German scholars that have added to our understanding of Hitler and the Third Reich. New light has been shed on the character of National Socialism and on Hitler as a person and a political figure. Fresh insights have been made into the Hitler cult and into the charismatic nature of Hitler’s rule over Germany. Modern historians continue to wrestle with questions that still demand an answer – why did the nation that had made a unique contribution to European culture willingly follow Hitler on his nihilistic path? Using an essentially narrative approach to the Hitler story, the new edition incorporates the key findings of current research into the political, socio-economic and military features of the Third Reich that Hitler sought to create before his irrationalities destroyed it. Referencing the major historiographical disputes and drawing on the new perspectives that modern research provides, this second edition addresses the issues that historians regard as central to the study of Hitler’s Germany. Michael Lynch provides a balanced guide to this most difficult of figures that will be enlightening for students and general readers alike.

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9781032549811

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Michael Lynch is an Honorary Visiting Fellow of the School of Historical Studies, Leicester University. He has written over thirty books on European and Chinese history; his recent publications include Authoritarian States (2015), China 1839–1997 (2016), Mao (2017) and The Chinese Civil War (2022). He has lectured in Europe and Australia and has also appeared as a ‘talking head’ in a number of television history documentaries.

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