Was Hitler a Riddle Western Democracies and National Socialism [Paperback]

Was Hitler A Riddle?is the first comparative study of how British, French, and American diplomats serving in Germany assessed Hitler and the Nazi movement. These assessments provided the governments in London, Paris, and Washington with ample information about the ruthlessness of the authorities in Germany and of their determination to conquer vast stretches of Europe. Had the British, French, and American leaders acted on this information and taken measures to rein in Hitler, the history of the twentieth century would have been far less bloody: the second world war might well have been avoided, the Soviet Union would not have expanded into central and eastern Europe, and the world would have been spared the Cold War. In this lively and crispy written account of the reports on National Socialist Germany sent by British, French and American diplomats, Abraham Ascher shows that, with the notable exception of the odious Sir Neville Henderson, they all realized to admittedly varying degrees that the country was not only a military threat, but a challenge to fundamental social, political, and moral values. This is a pioneering work of great importance. Ascher takes on in a most intelligent manner an after-the-fact evaluation of Adolf Hitler's decision-making process prior to the outbreak of World War II . . . The quality of the critique and the book's readability warrant its inclusion in an academic collection as well as a synagogue library that serves a highly literate congregation. Abraham Ascher is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the Graduate School of the City University of New York. He is the author of numerous works, including, most recently,A Community under Siege: The Jews of Breslau under Nazism(Stanford, 2007). Ascher is succinct, insightful, and convincing. The book is well written and well documented . . . Recommended. [A vast majority] . . . probably assume that the leaders of Great Britain, France, and the United States simlS*