Hitler Used a Bogus Crisis of ‘Public Order’ to Make Himself Dictator
Using disorder he had helped manufacture, the chancellor seized control of Bavaria.
Timothy W. Ryback
Timothy W. Ryback is a historian and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague. He is the author of several books on Hitler’s Germany, most recently Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power. (Author photo by Anne de Henning)
Latest
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: csa-archives / Getty; Keystone / Getty; Fox Photos / Getty. Hitler’s Terrible Tariffs
By seeking to “liberate” Germans from a globalized world order, the Nazi government sent the national economy careening backwards.
Ullstein Bild / Getty Worse Than Signalgate
Accidentally sharing attack plans with a journalist in a group chat is bad. Causing a rising superpower to declare war on you because of a Western Union telegram is worse.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Science History Images / Alamy; ullstein bild Dtl / Getty. What the Press Got Wrong About Hitler
Journalists accurately reported that the führer was a “Little Man” whom the whole world was laughing at. It didn’t matter.
Bettmann / Getty ‘Herr Hitler, Do You Really Believe Me Capable of Such a Dirty Trick?’
The chancellor rewarded loyalty with loyalty. Until he didn’t.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Bettmann / Getty; Ullstein Bild / Getty; Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty. The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler
They helped him in pursuit of profit. Many ended up in concentration camps.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.
Everett Collection / Alamy What Ole Miss Can Teach Universities About Grappling With Their Pasts
Comparing the methods of Oxford University in the U.K. with those of the University of Mississippi shows there’s much to learn from the latter’s conscientious attempts at dealing with its history of racism.
Hannah McKay / Reuters The Hitler Shrine
A luxury hotel has opened next to the site of Adolf Hitler's notorious mountain retreat, the Berghof
Hitler's Forgotten Library:
You can tell a lot about a person from what he reads. The surviving—and largely ignored—remnants of Adolf Hitler's personal library reveal a deep but erratic interest in religion and theology
