Lewis M. Weinstein's Blog, page 24

* Lew’s review of “Hitler’s Thirty Days to Power” by Henry Ashby Turner

A fascinating, day-to-day, person-by-person review of the 30 days that ended with Hitler being appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Turner’s conclusions in the final chapter pull no punches. He assigns culpability and guilt, making it clear that it was the ignorance, ineptitude, personal grudges, mendacity, and ambition of the characters in power […]

* Lew’s review of “Socialist, Anti-Semite, and Jew: German Social Democracy Confronts the Problem of Anti-Semitism, 1918-1933″ by Donald L. Niewyk

This is an outstanding compilation of the way the German Socialist Party (SPD) defended Jews, many of whom were members of the party, against Nazi attacks. There is a mind-numbing list of particulars, all of which have the ring of truth. The problem was that this defense was all verbal, mainly consisting of articles in […]

* Lew’s review of “German Social Democracy and the Rise of Nazism” by Donna Harsch

*** The failure of SPD to effectively oppose the Nazis is even more heart-wrenching in light of Harsch’ conclusion that … the Nazi dictatorship in 1933 was only one of several possible outcomes of the Weimar crisis. Excellent insights, clearly written … tells a powerful story of opportunities missed … how difficult it is for […]

* Lew’s review of “Mission to Paris” by Alan Furst

*** *** Another excellent story by Alan Furst, one of my favorite novelists, set mostly in 1938 Paris, with some scenes in Berlin and a few in a Hungarian palace. Furst describes vicious and thorough Nazi political espionage efforts to demoralize France and convince them of the futility of fighting. Needless to say, it worked. […]

* Lew’s review of “Gregor Strasser and the Rise of Nazism” by Peter D. Stachura … research for CHOOSING HITLER, Lew’s novel-in-progress

*** Had Gregor Strasser carried through on what he started, there may have been no Hitler Chancellorship and thus no Holocaust. Strasser was a loyal follower of Hitler for over a decade, and was responsible for the impressive organizing of the Nazi party structure in Germany’s 35 election districts. In late 1932, the Nazis had […]

* Lew’s review of “The Coming of the Third Reich” by Richard Evans … research for CHOOSING HITLER, Lew’s novel-in-progress

A brilliantly clear and comprehensive exposition of the complex events of 1930-32 which led to the appointment of Hitler as Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933, corresponding exactly to the next chapter(s) I will be writing in my novel-in-progress CHOOSING HITLER. Evans paints a heartbreaking scenario of the many opportunities (albeit with hindsight) whereby Hitler […]

* Lew’s review of “The Churches and the Third Reich Volume One: 1918-1934″ by Klaus Scholder

Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII *** An extraordinary study, published in 1977, presenting the response of the German churches – Catholic and Protestant – to the challenges posed by the rise of Hitler and his National Socialist Party. It is Scholder’s well documented conclusion that words like “blindness, lies, arrogance, stupidity, and opportunism” […]

* Lew’s review of “Hitler and the Collapse of Weimar Germany” … research for CHOOSING HITLER, my novel-in-progress

A clear, crisp and perhaps the most complete account of the last days of the Weimar Republic. Covers all of the intrigues between Hitler and the leaders of Weimar – Hindenburg, Bruning, Schleicher, and Papen. Shows clearly both the slippery slope that led to totalitarian dictatorship and the series of opportunities to prevent it, lost [...]

* Lew’s review and extracts from “Why Hitler Came Into Power” … research for my novel-in-progress tentatively titled CHOOSING HITLER

This is a fascinating report, drawn from essays written by Nazi members in 1934, in response to a contest organized by a Columbia University professor. The timing is just after Hitler took power and well before his intentions to murder the Jews of Europe were as clear as they later became. As I enter the [...]

discussion questions for The Heretic

I was recently asked to prepare discussion questions for a book club that is reading my historical novel The Heretic. My list has been posted to my author blog …

http://lewweinsteinauthorblog.com/201...

NOTE: I can do book club appearances via SKYPE anywhere in the world.

see reader comments on Goodreads at ... The Heretic