Hitler in Vienna, 1907-13: Clues to the Future

by J. Sydney Jones

Hitler in Vienna, 1907-13: Clues to the Future [Sep 01, 1983] Jones, J. Sydney …

Genres: History

382 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 1983

About the author

J. Sydney Jones is the author of twenty books, including the six installments of the critically acclaimed Viennese Mystery series, as well as stand-alone mysteries and thrillers, including TIME OF THE WOLF, THE GERMAN AGENT, RUIN VALUE, BASIC LAW, THE EDIT, THE CRY OF CICADAS, PLAY IT IN BETWEEN, LILACS OUT OF THE DEAD LAND, BIGOT LIST: A RECKONING, and the 2026 mystery, KILLER ART. His books have been translated into eight languages.

A long-time resident of Vienna, he has also lived and worked in Florence, Paris, Molyvos, and Donegal. Jones currently lives on the central coast of California.

Visit the author at his homepage and at his blog, Scene of the Crime.

Reviews

[carl theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

n 1907 18 year old, small town boy Adolf Hitler headed off to Vienna to seek his future. Vienna was the ‘Big Apple’ of the Habsburg Empire, if not Europe itself. It takes a few chapters to get over the imposing name ‘Adolf Hitler’, difficult to get past his image in history, but eventually you start to see him as a typical ’dumb teenager’, dreaming, and trying to be an artist, loving the opera and the architecture of Vienna all the while not really wanting to work for a living.

The author takes the memoirs of two of Hitler’s best friends of this era, and uses them to provide a framework of a story while filling in the blanks with a lot of ‘maybe, probably, might, woulda-could-shoulda’. As the story is fairly detailed: how Adolf woke up one morning, there has to be a lot of speculation on Hitler’s day to day activities, however all combined it does make interesting reading.

To set the look and feel of the early 20th century Vienna scene, and show what may have influenced Hitler and the time period in general, various historical characters are introduced, for example, composers Gustav Mahler, and Arnold Schoenburg, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, artist Gustav Klimt, Trotsky, Stalin, the Emperor and family, and a variety of local political characters. Sometimes the connection to Hitler is tenuous, but it certainly adds to the feeling of Vienna at this time.

The author does a good job of restraining judgements of Hitler in his age group, 18-24 during this time. That is, not putting too much importance on every little activity Hitler may have participated in, or witnessed, as a prediction of his future. You get a feeling of a 20 yr old, an almost homeless bum at times, a scruffy fellow walking the cold streets of the capital in the shadow of things that are and yet to come.

— The End Notes are a worthy read

— Love the cover art

[Kent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find this book to be difficult to rate, as it would all depend on what the reader expects to find within. Based on the title, I settled on a 2, because try as it may, the primary story is really a social history of Vienna rather than Hitler. Clearly, Hitler’s time in Vienna had a great impact on his world view, but outwardly, there was no indication of how this would have any earth shattering impact.

I got a good sense that very few primary documents exist, and because of this, the author’s approach was do describe the cultural forces at play in Vienna that Hitler internalized, was aware of, or he responded to. Because of this, what actually is accomplished is that the name Hitler could be replaced by just about anyone else’s who happened to be living in this city and in the same economic peril as Hitler, and the book would read nearly the same. At least 60-65% of the book is about the culture, and I feel I’ve learned as much about Klimt, Freud, and Mahler as I did about Hitler, and far more about the army and government than any one individual.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Jones' non-traditional take on biography. Perhaps some will find the descriptions of Vienna and Hitler's contemporaries such as Mahler, Klimt and Herzl distracting or even unnecessary but I felt the historical context was ultimately edifying in understanding the personality of Hitler. Hitler's personal motivations and inner world however remain largely elusive however that is no fault of the author.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of the prose was a bit purple for a scholarly text, but it's certainly interesting.

UPDATE:
Since I was thinking of using this book as a source for a paper, and since I was suspicious of the purple prose, I did a bit of research on the book. And in the journal 'Historian' I found a book review by Norman J. W. Goda that says "Jones's account, while providing an inventory of what Hitler and his acquaintances said about the dictator's Vienna years, provides no critical analysis and should be read with the same caution as the sources cited."
Jones seems to take 'Mein Kampf' at face-value, which is a pretty big no-no. Thus, if I use any of it in my paper, I will do so with extreme caution.

[Shibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a very unique biography. As much a description of Hitler's early life as the city Vienna. The political and social context is interesting in elucidating Hitler's motivations however he still remains largely inscrutable.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that includes a lot of information about Vienna and people such as Freud and Mahler as well as Hitler.

[Lion]

It's vaguely interesting and easy to read. There are a lot of insertions about other people in early 1900's Vienna, such as painters and composers or Freud. I got it because someone mentioned that it supposedly portrays Hitler as less of a cartoon caricature, but it is actually kind of the opposite: it claims the teenager was already a ranting madman. By the end of chapter two it turned out to be the usual cliche: Hitler now set himself on a course of hate. He had to find the enemies who were keeping him from success. [...] All too soon Hitler would hit on an even better, all-encompassing scapegoat. By the spring of 1908 the frustrations were gathering [...] passing judgment on buildings and people alike. He was turning himself into a time bomb. The ticking went on unheard for another five years in Vienna.
Several chapters end with speculative "artistic" interpretations like that. By chapter three we were in "Hitler liked women to poop on him" kitsch territory. The interesting parts were worthwhile, but it doesn't feel authentic if it does that kind of stuff. It is too filtered through an American perspective that distorts the perspective. It narrates the French invasion of Morocco as "Germany demanding concessions". Wow!