The second volume of Kershaw`s monumental Hitler biography follows his life from 1936 till the end of the war and his death. It`s hard to imagine a book being more detailed or complete about the Nazi leader. ( )

Some years ago before joining Goodreads, I read the very long first volume of this 'biography', and only recall now its length, thoroughness and the fact that it was a bit dry at times. I came across this second volume recently which takes up the narrative from the point where Hitler had taken power.

The book, like volume 1, is more an explanation of the various social and political forces within Germany which led to such a person being put into power and then becoming completely central to an abnormally run state in which officials tried to "work towards the Fuehrer" by anticipating and carrying out his wishes without needing actual authorisation, often competing and clashing. Hitler, meanwhile, was governed by twin manias: the need to expand Germany's "living space" and the drive to remove - initially by emigration or deportation, and later on by extermination - those elements of the population he viewed as undesirables: chiefly the Jews, but also Gypsies, mentally handicapped, Communists and others. While presiding over mass murder, he took care to distance himself from it, though his constant generalisations against the Jews in particular inspired his subordinates to carry out his wishes. Kershaw describes the mindset which, contrary to any reasonable person's view, saw powerless victims as all-powerful enemies, but does not attempt to explain it.

Hitler's 'talent', as the author sees it, was for detecting the weaknesses of others, including heads of other states, and taking all-or-nothing gambles: until 1941, those paid off, and he had the almost 100% support of his military leaders and most of the general public. But the ultimate gamble, of attacking the Soviet Union, which he completely underestimated, was the one where it all started to unravel. Given his inability to admit any fault, he then scapegoated the Jews or his military chiefs for the repeated reversals. As the situation worsened, his paranoia spiraled until he distrusted the Army chiefs, in particular, and repeatedly sacked them. His megalomania was such that if Germany lost the war, it would prove the German people were unworthy of him and should perish with him.

For such a huge volume there were surprisingly few typographical errors other than a couple of repeated words such as 'the the' and an odd tendency in the first few chapters to use 'imply' and 'infer' incorrectly. Some of the wording is a little turgid, such as 'the implication to imply', but on the whole, the book was interesting and had some surprises: I hadn't known that the conspirators against Hitler had made other attempts before the one where they planted the bomb at the planning meeting. The one thing that this (and as far as I recall, volume 1 was the same) does not do is give a real insight into why Hitler was the way he was or try to give any psychological explanation for views which turned reality on its head. So I would rate this a 4-star read. ( )

This book is different to most books on World War II in that it focusses on Adolf Hitler, and how the lives of others intersected with his. The story is told from his perspective; only in a few instances isthere some information to tidy-up a story.
Two examples: The D-Day landings barely rate a mention; nothing is mentioned that they were to occur. And Erwin Rommel's final fall from grace is told from the perspective of what Hitler wanted to occur.
It's a terrible, terrible story. Once again we ponder on why those around him were paralysed such that they could not even influence what this 'madman' did. Heinz Guderian tried; the assassination plotters tried; the young students in Munich tried; and in the final days of the war Albert Speer disobeyed orders for German property to be destroyed when retreating. But for the rest it was a cabal of true-believers, thugs, and self-promoters.

This is a wonderful (and long) book; I have not read the first volume. ( )

Samenvatting:
Het tweede deel van de omvangrijke, uitstekend gedocumenteerde Hitlerbiografie van de hand van de Britse historicus Kershaw behandelt de periode van 1936 (bezetting Rijnland) tot 1945 (ondergang Derde Rijk). Dit deel laat zien hoe Hitler in 1938 zonder oorlog veel bereikte (zoals de Anschluss van Oostenrijk en de annexatie van Sudetenland), maar streefde naar meer: wereldoverheersing en vernietiging van bolsjewisme en jodendom. Hij ontketende de Tweede Wereldoorlog, speelde alles-of-niets en sleepte het Duitse volk mee in de ondergang. Velen waren bereid de leider 'tegemoet te werken', zo laat Kershaw zien, zoals bij de uitvoering van de vernietigingsplannen met betrekking tot de joden. In 1945 moest het Duitse volk boeten, ten koste van onnoemelijke verwoestingen. Dit deel van de biografie is even meeslepend geschreven als het eerste; het geeft een geslaagde combinatie van persoonsbeschrijving en sociale geschiedenis.
Recensie(s):
Het tweede deel van de omvangrijke, uitstekend gedocumenteerde Hitlerbiografie van de hand van de Britse historicus Kershaw behandelt de periode van 1936 (bezetting Rijnland) tot 1945 (ondergang Derde Rijk). Dit deel laat zien hoe Hitler in 1938 zonder oorlog veel bereikte (zoals de Anschluss van Oostenrijk en de annexatie van Sudetenland), maar streefde naar meer: wereldoverheersing en vernietiging van bolsjewisme en jodendom. Hij ontketende de Tweede Wereldoorlog, speelde alles-of-niets en sleepte het Duitse volk mee in de ondergang. Velen waren bereid de leider 'tegemoet te werken', zo laat Kershaw zien, zoals bij de uitvoering van de vernietigingsplannen met betrekking tot de joden. In 1945 moest het Duitse volk boeten, ten koste van onnoemelijke verwoestingen. Dit deel van de biografie is even meeslepend geschreven als het eerste*; het geeft een geslaagde combinatie van persoonsbeschrijving en sociale geschiedenis. Het boek vormt ongetwijfeld een standaardwerk, een geslaagde synthese, die oudere werken van Bullock en Fest in de schaduw stelt.
(Biblion recensie, Dr. J.L.G. v. Oudheusden)

Sir Ian Kershaw has written the definitive biography of Adolf Hitler. Lord Kershaw is a Fellow of the British Academy. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on the history of Germany. He has written several other books about WWII and Hitler, but this work is absolutely the most thorough of any books on Hitler.

This book is actually two volumes. The first volume, "Hitler: Hubris," covers Hitler's life from birth to 1936. The second volume, "Hitler: Nemesis," covers 1936 to 1945.

Together the volumes make up over 1500 pages. Lord Kershaw himself abridged the two volumes into one book for those who don't want to take on such a long book.

What is so remarkable about this work is that it is so well documented without surmising, guessing or otherwise interpreting events to suit the author's preferences -- which so often happens with famous and infamous people.

An example of how meticulous is the research:

Other books about Hitler's early life and his joining the Democratic Socialist Party make claims about his being an early member of the party with a membership number in the single digits.

This claim is apparently untrue. His membership "card" was numbered in the 500s. It wasn't until he became a sought-after public speaker and leader of anti-Bolshevik sentiments that his card was changed to reflect an earlier membership number.

Many books about Hitler are really about WWII. This book, of course, covers the war, but it is an actual well-articulated biography.

I confess that I would never have gotten through these two volumes but for the availability of them in audiobook format. While it is faster to read, it is -- at least for me -- easier to listen while sometimes doing other things.

If you really want to know about Adolf Hitler and how he came to be the infamous -- but apparently charismatic -- person he was, read these two volumes. They are well worth your time. ( )