Читать онлайн «Hitler's Charisma»

Автор Лоуренс Рис

a division of Random House, Inc. , New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in the United Kingdom as The Charisma of Adolf Hitler by Ebury Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, a division of the Random House Group Limited, London, in 2012.

Pantheon Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rees, Laurence, [date]

Hitler’s charisma : leading millions into the abyss / Laurence Rees.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

eISBN: 978-0-307-90813-1

1. Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945—Psychology. 2. Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945—Public opinion.

3. Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945—Influence. 4. Charisma (Personality trait)—Germany—

History—20th century. 5. Hate—Political aspects—Germany—History—20th century.

6. Self-confidence—Political aspects—Germany—History—20th century.

7. National socialism—History.

8. Germany—Politics and government—1933–1945.

9. Germany—Social conditions—1933–1945. I. Title.

DD247. H5R386 2013 943. 086092—dc23 [B] 2012033948

Jacket photograph © Corbis

Jacket design by Brian Barth

v3. 1

To the memory of my mother and father

Margaret Julia Rees (1927–1977)

and

Alan William Rees (1924–1973)

My whole life can be summed up as this ceaseless effort of mine to persuade other people. ¹

—ADOLF HITLER

That such a man could go so far toward realizing his ambitions and—above all—could find millions of willing tools and helpers; that is a phenomenon the world will ponder for centuries to come. ²

—KONRAD HEIDEN

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Introduction

PART ONE

THE ROAD TO POWER

1 Discovering a Mission

2 Making a Connection

3 Searching for a Hero

4 Developing a Vision

5 Offering Hope in a Crisis

6 Being Certain

PART TWO

JOURNEY TO WAR

7 The Man Who Will Come

8 The Importance of Enemies

9 The Lure of the Radical

10 The Thrill of Release

11 Turning Vision into Reality

PART THREE

RISK AND REWARD

12 The Great Gamble

13 Charisma and Overconfidence

14 False Hope and the Murder of Millions

PART FOUR

BLOOD AND DEATH

15 Last Chance

16 The Death of Charisma

Acknowledgements

Notes

Illustration Credits

About the Author

Illustration Insert

Other Books by This Author

INTRODUCTION

My parents had very firm views about Adolf Hitler. Having both experienced the war—with my father’s brother killed on the Atlantic convoys—they thought Hitler was the embodiment of all evil. But even as a child I can remember thinking if Hitler was the Devil in human form how did he get so many people to do his bidding? In a way, that’s a question I have been thinking about ever since, and one that I attempt to answer in this work.

Adolf Hitler was, at first sight, the most unlikely leader of a sophisticated state at the heart of Europe. He was incapable of normal human friendships, unable to debate intellectually, filled with hatred and prejudice, bereft of any real capacity to love, and “lonely. ”¹ He was, undoubtedly, “as a human figure, lamentable. ”² Yet he played the most important part in three of the most devastating decisions ever taken: the decision to invade Poland that led to the Second World War, the decision to invade the Soviet Union, and the decision to murder the Jews.