Analysis of the Nazi era: Explaining Hitler in 128 pages? Yes, it's possible!

New books about Hitler always bring with them the question of whether further titles on the subject are necessary. Because the authors themselves are aware of this, many explain why their work in particular is still necessary: ​​the mystery remains unsolved and interest in Hitler is never-ending. Historian Sybille Steinbacher, who teaches in Frankfurt am Main, refrains from such justifications, which may have something to do with the fact that her Hitler book is published as an introduction in the "CH Beck Wissen" series, which, according to the publisher, aims to provide "demanding, concise, and competent" information on the "most important topics." In 128 pages, Steinbacher guides the reader through Hitler's life and the history of National Socialism. The book is divided into three parts: "Rise," "Power," and "Hubris."

Even as a schoolboy, Hitler was inclined towards the Pan-German movement in Austria. He went to Vienna via Linz, where he developed a political consciousness . The decisive factor was his move to Munich in 1913 and the First World War, which, as Steinbacher writes, "solved many of his problems." The fact that he had previously achieved nothing – as a school dropout with shattered university dreams, living on his mother's inheritance and an orphan's pension – was thus obscured. His subsequent membership in the German Workers' Party, which soon became the Nazi Party , his time in prison after the attempted putsch, the re-registration of the Nazi Party in 1925 after it had been banned in 1923, and his breakthrough as a mass movement in 1929. For Hitler, the party was a "community of worldview and struggle," the "answer to the challenge of Marxism and revolution."

Anyone writing about Hitler is always concerned with the question of how much space to give his personality. Steinbacher avoids unnecessary psychologizing or overly detailed descriptions, but does not ignore personal characteristics: "Doubtful as Hitler was, he developed firm opinions about everything he observed." The question of Hitler's historical significance and a discussion of the biographical approach are also part of the standard repertoire of Hitler literature. Steinbacher proceeds in a similar way to the British historian Ian Kershaw , whose goal was to reconcile "the personalized biographical method" and "the procedures for studying social history and the structures of political rule." By the second third at the latest, Steinbacher's book develops into a social history. The fact that this volume was written by a historian whose research focuses on the Holocaust and Nazi rule has countless advantages, and here they are particularly evident. Steinbacher does not fall into the trap of writing a character study laden with speculation. In just a few sentences, she shows how the mass murder of European Jews came about. Her book isn't just about a "ruthless violent politician," but rather recapitulates the context: the "silent constitutional change," the preparations for war, the treatment of Poland as the first "colonial territory" of the German Reich, the "colonial war of aggression" against the Soviet Union, the persecution of the Jews, and the Holocaust.

Since then, almost every book about Hitler has sooner or later arrived at the question of how his role should be assessed, how much leeway he had, and whether things would have turned out differently without Hitler. That's pointless. He did exist. But he wasn't alone. The author writes with great clarity: "Hitler's fanaticism is a necessary, but not a sufficient, explanation for the unleashing of the genocide against the Jews and the excessive violence against other groups. Ideological, economic, and political factors also played a central role. A perspective focused on Hitler fails to account for this, nor does it provide an explanation for the spread of anti-Semitism among the German population." She describes the transfer of power along these lines: It was not a coup d'état, a civil war, a revolution, or a seizure of power; "power was literally transferred to Hitler, and not by chance: it was deliberate."

Whether we can learn from history or not, one conclusion we can draw from this book when it comes to dealing with right-wing extremism is that pandering, trying to contain it, cooperating, and making concessions achieve nothing. Steinbacher demonstrates this once again and with absolute clarity. It's now easy to know.

Steinbacher's book is excellently written, paced without being too dense; she doesn't shy away from short sentences. Of course, there are a multitude of Hitler biographies. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Steinbacher's doesn't rank among them; that may not be her ambition, either. The genre and format are different, and the art of dealing with a major topic so convincingly in just a few pages cannot be overestimated. Perhaps this slim volume is even the better reading material for gaining a reliable overview of "The Story of a Dictator" and the current state of research on the history of National Socialism .

Isabell Trommer is a political scientist and managing director of Hamburger Edition.