Adolf Hitler

The Back Channel Between Pius XII and Hitler

by David I. Kertzer

The Vatican has only just now released documents about secret and sensitive negotiations between the Nazi leader and the Holy See, in which the Vatican agreed to temper criticisms of Nazism's pagan elements in exchange for ceasing investigation of sex crimes by priests.

Historians: Putin's Strategy Echoes Hitler's Mistakes on Eastern Front

Peter DeSimone, Timothy Snyder and Ian Ona Johnson discuss the errors of logistics, diplomacy, and treatment of civilians that have hindered the achievement of Russia's goals in Ukraine. 

A Hitler-Style Seizure of Power Was Never in Trump's Reach

by Waitman Wade Beorn

A historian of the German military under Nazism argues that Trump lacked the ability to recruit the military to his side the way that Hitler did, and the US faces greater danger from extremist paramilitaries or civil attempts to subvert democracy than from a military coup.

The Night of the Long Knives: The Bloody Purge that Secured Hitler’s Power

Hitler's 1934 purge of his perceived rival Ernst Röhm and his followers suspected of disloyalty foreshadowed the eliminationist violence of his regime. 

Letters Found In An Attic Reveal Eerie Similarities Between Adolf Hitler And His Father

A trove of letters discovered in an Austrian attic are a rare primary source about the parents of the Nazi leader. 

Trump Probably Won't Speak at His Impeachment Trial. That May be a Good Thing

Columnist Hayes Brown suggests that there's enough evidence Democrats can bring against Trump without giving him a public platform to espouse conspiracy theories. German authorities came to regret giving Hitler such a platform in 1924, as summarized by historian Volker Ullrich.

Hitler’s Pet Alligator to be Stuffed, Put on Display in Russia

The 84 year-old reptile will be stuffed and displayed in Moscow after traveling from Mississippi to Berlin and being gifted to Russia by British troops after the capture of Berlin in 1945. 

Revisiting Hitler’s Final Days in the Bunker

The use of the German film "Downfall" in internet memes points to the danger of treating Hitler's demise as a closure to the murderous ideologies he propagated. 

Is There Anything Left to Learn about Hitler?

by James Thornton Harris

Volker Ullrich presents a picture of a leader whose "egocentrism... inability to self-criticize…tendency to overestimate himself... contempt for others and lack of empathy" made him willing to destroy his nation along with himself, but warns that the Third Reich was "a dictatorship of consent." 

What The Hitler Conspiracies Mean

by Richard J. Evans

Against evidence and common sense, theories persist that Adolf Hitler escaped Berlin to live in Argentina. An expert on the memory of the Third Reich argues that the conspiracy theories reflect a broad rejection of expertise and show the need for historians to engage the public. 

UI Historian Takes Close Look At Nazis’ First Days In Power

University of Illinois professor Peter Fritzche has written a recent book on the first 100 days of the Third Reich which considers the balance of Hitler's influence and prevailing currents of antisemitism and authoritarianism in the German public. 

New Deal or Nazism? Historical Comparisons to Trump's Performance as a Leader in Crisis

by Walter G. Moss

Comparing the first 100 days in power of Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler offers a sobering reminder of the consequences of decisions pursued by leaders in crisis. 

Amazon Bans, Then Reinstates, Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’

The retailer is trying to do two contradictory things: Ban hate literature but allow free speech.

Anger as Churchill's home turned into Hitler HQ for Transformers 5

War veterans are horrified that Blenheim Palace has been draped in swastika flags for Michael Bay’s latest film

The Battle to Publish Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in the U.S.

A team of historians is publishing a two-volume, 2,000-page German edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf for the first time in seven decades.

When the Pope Ordered the Death of Adolf Hitler

by David Brown

Pope Pius XII resolved to do whatever he could to have Hitler killed.

Mein Kampf: The Sequel

by Gerhard L. Weinberg

Hitler's second book wasn't suppressed, only mislaid.

Germany's interest in Adolf Hitler at record levels

Some 2,000 books on Hitler were published in Germany last year.

Holocaust-Denier David Irving makes $5,000 selling lock of Hitler’s hair

Need a lock of Hitler’s hair? Who you gonna call? (David Irving, apparently.)

Germany asks: is it OK to laugh at Hitler?

The Führer found himself reborn in the 21st century in a 2012 comic novel by Timur Vermes, which sold 1.4m copies in Germany. Its success suggests Germans now look at their former leader in the same way as the rest of the world does.