Anmerkungen zu Hitler

In a way, countering Karl Kraus's famous remark that nothing more comes to mind for him regarding Hitler, the German-British publicist Sebastian Haffner presents a new unorthodox book about the German dictator, in which the author demonstrates that one can indeed approach the Hitler phenomenon in very different ways than has been done in the literary flood of recent years. With these words, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung opened its commentary on the release of the widely discussed Hitler book. Hardly any prominent reviewer missed the opportunity to discuss the volume in detail. For months, the insightful outsider's notes topped the bestseller lists. In seven independent chapters titled 'Life', 'Achievements', 'Successes', 'Mistakes', 'Errors', 'Crimes', and 'Betrayal', the author attempts to shed light on the phenomenon of Hitler from various angles, under different aspects, and at different key points in his life situation—a life situation that still presents us with puzzles due to its abrupt breaks and leaps and its political myths of redemption and salvation.