Book description
Adolf Hitler was an unlikely leader - fuelled by hate, incapable of
forming normal human relationships, unwilling to debate political
issues - and yet he commanded enormous support. So how was it possible
that Hitler became such an attractive figure to millions of people?
That is the important question at the core of Laurence Rees' new book.
The Holocaust, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the outbreak
of World War 2 - all these cataclysmic events and more can be laid at
Hitler's door. Hitler was a war criminal arguably without precedent in
the history of the world. Yet, as many who knew him confirm, Hitler
was still able to exert a powerful influence over the people who
encountered him.
In this fascinating book to accompany his BBC series, the acclaimed
historian and documentary maker Laurence Rees examines the nature of
Hitler's appeal, and reveals the role Hitler's supposed 'charisma'
played in his success. Rees' previous work has explored the inner
workings of the Nazi state in The Nazis: A Warning from History
and the crimes they committed in Auschwitz: The Nazis and the
Final Solution. The Charisma of Adolf Hitler is a natural
culmination of twenty years of writing and research on the Third
Reich, and a remarkable examination of the man and the mind at the
heart of it all.
Laurence Rees is the writer and producer of the major BBC
television documentary series World War II: Behind Closed
Doors, War of the Century, Horror in the East and
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution'. He won the
British Book Award for History Book of the Year in 2006 for his
international bestseller Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final
Solution'.
Rees' career as a writer and filmmaker, focusing on the Nazis and
World War II, stretches back nearly 20 years. His body of work has won
him several awards, including a BAFTA and a Grierson Award.
Educated at Solihull School and Oxford University, Rees is the
former Creative Director of BBC TV History programmes.
