"Between 1938 and 1945, some 50 million people died violent deaths," Giles MacDonough reminds us in this concise analysis of events that allowed Adolf Hitler--a man whom many international politicians and diplomats as well as members of his own military elite considered clinically insane in 1938--to maintain control of the Third Reich and start World War II.
In January 1938, Germany, ostensibly a representative government, was led by a right-wing coalition with Hitler as Chancellor. By January 1, 1939, the picture was radically different: all non-Nazis were purged from the government; Austria and Czechoslovakia were under the control of the Third Reich; Jews had been disenfranchised, robbed, beaten, imprisoned and told to go into exile; and, on October 22, Hitler essentially ended the rule of law in Germany, declaring, "Every means adopted for carrying out the will of the Leader is considered legal, even though it may conflict with existing statutes and precedents."
MacDonogh argues that Hitler did not have a coherent plan for his extraordinary consolidation of power during 1938; day by day, he exploited each favorable opportunity and doggedly pushed on despite setbacks. Dedicating a chapter to each month, MacDonogh focuses on significant developments that contributed to the total control Hitler would achieve by year's end. In January, Hitler eliminated key non-Nazi leaders from the military; in February, he goaded Austrian leaders to do something that would serve as a pretext for an invasion; in March, he finessed the surprisingly resistance-free take-over and annexation of Austria. After those successes, his bold aggression escalated, marching Europe and the world straight to war; nations that had pledged to honor the terms of the Versailles Treaty and guarantee the sovereignty of Austria and Czechoslovakia simply capitulated to him.
Although MacDonogh admits that hindsight allows us to see certain events more clearly as turning points, it is no less painful to read about the missed opportunities that could have derailed Hitler's plans. The Evian Conference in July was an embarrassing failure that demonstrated that countries around the world were not going to help Jews dispossessed by the Third Reich's Nuremberg Laws. Neville Chamberlain's September visit to Hitler, which signaled total appeasement, pulled the rug out from under the feet of those planning a military putsch to oust Hitler and bring him to trial. MacDonogh lets nobody off the hook for the end result of their blindness and inaction: Hitler entered 1939 as a virtual dictator and prepared his infamous January 30 Reichstag speech. There would be a Holocaust and a World War coming all too soon. --John McFarland
Shelf Talker: A powerful, disturbing and invaluable analysis of the events in 1938 that enabled Hitler to unleash the full force of his insanity and destruction on the world.