In praise of a master historian.

[Tychsen]

Ian Kershaw , one of the outstanding historians of his generation.
Once in a while you happen on a man who sheds new light on epople and their impact on history - Ian Kershaw is such a man.
He is not a military historian such as Richard Holmes ( another outstanding modern historian , see his "War Walks" series and related books ) , but through his writings Kershaw presents a deep insight into society fro which the German Army came (that which we re enact.) , how that society came to be , the political system which dominated and was so invasive of German society , its attempts to change its culture , art , history and its very core values of the people themselves.

I first "met" Kershaw via Volume II of his Hitler biography "Nemesis" in a small bookshop in Ayr -it was one of the most important books I have ever bought and one I would not part with.
Prior to this I had only "met" Hitler via military histories and only "knew" him via his influences on the Army , OKW and the outcome of his far reaching decisions on the course of the war.
It was only on reading "Nemesis" that I felt I truely appreciated the nature of the man and what he achieved during the course of his lifetime and the far reaching effect which his life had both on the world as we know it.
The public image of Hitler and that of the much seen propaganda images in many ways obscure and prevent us having an understanding of the man himself - the same problems existed in Germany in the 1930's - he was so much a cult figure and people were fed what the party wanted to feed them - few knew anything about Hitler as a man or where he was taking and what he ultimately intended.
Kershaws "The Hitler Myth - Image and Reality in the Third Reich" is essential reading in understating the State and Hitler as he was presented to the nation - it is possible to fool most of the people for some of the time , enough time to turn a country into what was little more than an open prison and to put a nation into uniform.
An outstanding read.

Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 - Excellent
A fresh look at pivotal moments in WW2 and how the leaders came to make the decisions they did, not everything is as straight forward as it seems.
For a full review see;
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDi ... 25,00.html

Kershaw has been a consultant and script writer for some recent major tevelision works for BBC - "The Nazis - A Warning from History" , "The War of The century" and "Auschwitz - The Nazis and The Final Solution" - all of which have been milestones in terms of quality , research and production standards.

This morning "Mr.Amzon" dropped me a copy of Ian Kershaw's most recent publication -"Hitler ,The Germans and The Final Solution". ( Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 12427 9 ).

The chapter content.
I - Hitler, and The Final Solution
1Working towards the Fuhrer: reflections on the natue of the Hitler Dicatorship
2Ideologue and Propagandist: Hitler in Light of His Speeches
3Improvised Genocide ? The Emergence of The Final Solution" in the "Warthegau".
4Hitler's Role in The Fianl Solution

II. Popular Opinion and the Jews in Nazi Germany
5The "Everyday and the "Exceptional": The Shaping of Popular Opinions 1933-39.
6German popular Opinion during the Final Solution.
Information, Comprehension , Reactions.
7Reaction to the persecution of the Jews.
8.Popular Opinion and the Extermination of the Jews
9.German Popular Opinion and The Jewish Question 1939-1943

III. The Final Solution in Historiography.
10.Hitler and The Holocaust
11.Normality and Genocide : The problem of "Historicization"
12.Shifting Perspectives:Historiographical trends in tthe aftermath of Unification

The Uniqueness of Nazism
13.Hitler and the Uniqueness of Nazism
14.War and Political Violence in Twentieth-Century Europe

At present I am reading Middlebrooks "The Airborne Battle" , the one will have to be read in tandem with it.
For a fresh objective insight into Hitler's Germany , Ian Kershaw is perhaps the best historian writing today.

As Francie said " Google is your friend"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Kershaw
http://www.shef.ac.uk/history/staff/ian_kershaw.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2045979.stm
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/ ... 24,00.html

http://www.open2.net/oulecture2005/index.html
Lastly a 45 minute lecture on Hilter and his place in history.