By Max Domarus

More Reviews

Few individuals have influenced events in the twentieth century more than Adolf Hitler. A man who held and voiced extraordinary ideas, believed in them, and acted upon them, he left behind two books and a very large quantity of speeches and announcements of various sorts. There are satisfactory translations into English of the two volumes of his first book, Mein Kampf, but there is no reliable translation of his second book. For many years, there was no systematic collection of his many speeches available in English. The two volumes of Norman H. Baynes contained selections for the period 1922-1939; published in 1942, this collection provided a good introduction to the materials but made no attempt at completeness. Though published a year earlier, the collection edited by Raoul de Roussy de Sales also includes selections from Hitler's speeches in the first two years of the war. Both works, however, are restricted to excerpts and then from only some of the speeches.

The first two volumes of this collection are fundamentally different. In 1962 Max Domarus published a systematic collection of Hitler's speeches and proclamations in a two-volume German edition covering the years 1932-1945. Including a full chronology and considerable commentary, this work was soon recognized as the standard one and was subsequently reissued in a four-volume format. The first two of these four have been translated into English; the third is well along toward publication.[Editor's Note: All four volumes are now available in English as well as German.]

In these books, which cover; the years 1932-1938, the original German texts have been carefully translated; the footnotes have been moved to the back of each volume; and an appendix on "Hitler's Rise to Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht" has been added. The translations, on the basis of some spot-checking, turn out to be accurate. The convoluted style of the originals cannot always be conveyed precisely in English, but this is a dependable set of texts. They enable any reader to examine the way in which Hitler presented his ideas, how he saw the world which he was intending to conquer, and how he explained his policies and hopes to the German people who cheered him on.

The texts of the individual speeches, messages, and other documents are connected by a chronological narrative which facilitates both the reader's orientation and an understanding of the texts themselves. For anyone interested in the history of the Third Reich, of the turmoil which shook the world in the 1930s and 1940s, and of the largest war in history, here is essential reading. Whether explaining his views of domestic affairs or of the international situation, Hitler here speaks for himself in words which frighten as they inform. The commentary and annotations will be helpful to readers who turn to specific events or speeches.

Clearly many scholars will prefer to read the German originals; but for the vast majority of interested persons in the English-speaking world, this is not an option. High school and college students, and certainly the interested general reader, will need to turn to the translations provided here. All college, university and major public libraries will need these volumes and will look forward to the completion of the whole translation project. As the events of the era which Hitler in many ways dominated recede into the past, their importance and his importance for any understanding of the world in which we live appears to increase rather than to diminish. In this context, the availability of the speeches of a man who utilized the public forum like few others in this century is more important than ever.

— Gerhard L. Weinberg

This third in a four-volume set collecting Hitler's speeches and statements appears translated into English for the first time. (First published in Germany in 1962.) German history scholar Max Domarus organizes the volume by calendar year, beginning with a brief summary of the most important events of each year, with date references at the top of each page to facilitate the location of individual speeches and proclamations. Hitler's activities are traced day-by-day, in detail, with the text of the speech or proclamation, all identified according to their source or place of discovery. A comprehensive commentary on the historical interrelations accompanies the chronicle of events and contrasts Hitler's speeches with the historical facts. Includes a number of b&w photographs of interest.

— Book News
May 1997

An indispensable reference work for the history of our times.

— Alan Bullock

During the 1930's, Max Domarus attended many Nazi rallies throughout Germany, collecting Hitler's speeches. Those of us who work on the Nazi period and the Holocaust owe an enormous debt to him for making this material available in a form that allows us to trace the way in which Hitler developed his ideas and presented them to the German people. We learn from the speeches that from the very beginning Hitler was determined to conquer the world, and make Germany a great nation. Some of the important features of this edition are that it compares the speeches, and gives necessary data that help us understand in what contexts these speeches were presented. (We learn that Hitler's audiences were very enthusiastic when he presented his plans and programs regarding what he was going to do to the Jews and other groups.) I can think of no other work that better details the development of Hitler's ideas and how they were presented to different groups of Germans.

Very highly recommended.

— Alan Rosenberg
Dimensions

Domarus has provided this set of speeches and proclamations with a commentary which proves to be a remarkably useful one, putting things in their settings.

— Prof. Harold C. Deutsch
University of Minnesota

Hitler was the most hazardous gambler of the 20th century. In Domarus' work he is the target of a highly detailed analysis and characterization. University libraries in particular cannot miss it.

— Dr. Joseph Mikus
Jednota

Since the publication of the first German edition in 1962, Max Domarus' work has been considered a standard source of Hitler's public utterances... Hitler's frightful and turgid rhetoric, as well as Domarus' insightful observations, are now available to them in clear English prose.

— J. H. Hoffman
History

Reviews of the first English Edition

One is immediately struck by the magnitude and diversity of the documentary evidence presented. It is particularly good to have access to many less familiar documents about Hitler. This volume will be an important addition to libraries at all levels whose collections even touch upon the Third Reich.

— M. S. Coetzee
Choice

The words and ideas of Adolf Hitler plunged the world into holocaust. Part of the value in studying this material is the need to understand how political systems can corrupt, and how the power of one man can plunge an otherwise orderly nation and a civilized people into the lock-step frenzy of war, the repression of human rights and the communicative tools of control created in the midst of the 20th Century.

There is a considerable effort among some revisionist historians to reinterpret the life and times of Hitler so as to present the same kinds of murderous bigotries today, a half-century later. This attempt at 'laundering' the image of a demagogue can't withstand the cold light of scholarship on what was actually said, and the horrendous consequences those words gave heir to.

— The Midwest Book Review

The collection of Hitler's speeches and proclamations is a marvelous work of scholarship which, sometimes in spite of itself, teaches important lessons about the nature of evil.

Domarus has attempted to provide a definitive understanding of the underlying causes of Hitler's rise and fall. Its thoroughness and its dedication to primary sources is a heartening departure from the sensationalism that so often surrounds the mystery of Adolf Hitler.

The myth is that the German people fell head over heels in love with a ranting, snarling, racist madman. As Domarus cannot but demonstrate in this collection of original pronouncements, Hitler's rise to power was fueled by charm, ferocious energy, and a reasoned advocacy of what today we would best describe as a mix of benevolent dictatorship and fascist economic theory. Hitler could argue, smile, charm and kiss babies with the best of them.

History's judgment on Hitler is in and all arguments to the contrary have failed on appeal. Domarus' monumental work can stand on its merits as a true and accurate picture of how one man, given the right conditions, can seduce a nation — any nation.

— Eugene Curtin
New York City Tribune

What the author is trying to do here is a success, namely to show how the nature of the Nazi regime can be determined from published and reproducible records. It is part of the historian's task to shift the evidence that we have of the past and try to evaluate it. That is why this book is very important.

— Prof. John Kim Munholland
University of Minnesota

Comments from the Jewish Community

The significance of Domarus' comments and footnotes must not be underrated, for they succeed in clearing up the chaos of Hitler's "ideas" to a large extent.

Hitler's torrent of words, through which Dr. Domarus has fought his way with such patience and fairness, did exhaust this inexhaustible man after all. The conclusion may be drawn from Dr. Domarus' own final remarks:

After hecatombs of blood were shed and millions of Jews, Russians, Poles, millions of members of almost all peoples of Europe, but also millions of Germans had lost their lives, Hitler's dictatorship had irrevocably come to an end. His voice, which, in the years 1932 to 1945, had announced so many false prophecies, had finally become silent!

Dr. Domarus has single-handedly created an essential and extraordinarily useful scientific work of monumental proportions. For this he deserves our heartfelt thanks.

— Dr. Hans Lamm
President of the Israelite Religious Community
Munich

[Domarus] accomplished this work, highly valuable for every contemporary historian, very diligently and with scientific meticulousness, while maintaining absolute impartiality throughout his comments.

— G. Z. Barth
Liberty (Israel)

Reviews from
the International Community

Max Domarus' book represents a tremendous effort and justly deserves to be acclaimed, particularly in light of the attempts of revisionist historians to more or less 'launder' Hitler.

— Prof. Dr. Walther Hofer
University of Bern

One cannot help but be impressed by the exhaustiveness of this research work, accomplished by the author entirely on his own. In the form of a chronicle, set up day by day, he has collected Hitler's published texts, complementing them with a summary of that man's actions and undertakings. The work is a gold mine of information, a document of matchless thoroughness. The comments are obviously well-founded.

— Documents Revue
(Paris)

This work will soon be indispensable for the historian just as much as it is already valuable and informative for the interested reader.

— Joachim C. Fest
Rias Berlin

I recommend Domarus' book as a standard. It really is great work, and I am filled with admiration for the energy and scholarship which the author has demonstrated in completing this task.

— Prof. Hugh Trevor-Roper
Oxford University

I found Domarus' manner of handling his work absolutely convincing. In my opinion, in condensing his work he succeeded in finding just the proper proportions, since it would have been tiring to print it all.

On the other hand, the speeches would be of no use to the reader without their content being explained by comments and footnotes. These as well have been excellently rendered.

— Prof. Dr. Percy Ernst Schramm
University of Goettingen

The enormous work Max Domarus has achieved in completing his book on Hitler has deeply moved and impressed me. At the same time, I am most delighted in view of the wealth of material and the objectively quiet, restrained and apt appraisal.

This book gives the reader food for thought. Domarus devoted himself to the problem of our century in a deeply personal way. It seems as though he draws on an almost inexhaustible stock of material, the veritable 'Domarus Archive.'

To sum it up, I should say: Without Domarus, any serious historical reflections upon Hitler and the Third Reich would be inconceivable!

— Prof. Dr. Fridolin Solleder
University of Erlangen

Notes on the framework of this chronicle

The work is set up chronologically and classified by calendar years. At the beginning of each calendar year, the reader will find a brief summary of the most important events of the following months. Additionally, the reader will find date references at the top of each page, facilitating the tracing out of individual speeches, proclamations, etc. At the end of the final volume, there is a comprehensive index of subjects, persons, and places.

All statements by Hitler quoted and mentioned in this work — speeches, proclamations, interviews, telegrams, letters, etc. — are identified according to their source or place of discovery. When necessary, explanations on personalities occurring in the work are given in the annotations.

A comprehensive commentary on the historical interrelations accompanies the chronicle of events, and contrasts the "Fόhrer's" speeches with the historical facts.

Hitler's activities are traced day-by-day and in exact detail. The combination of Hitler's speeches with Domarus' commentaries makes this history of the Third Reich a work incomparably unique...

If one could identify a clear-cut case of a modern mythology, it is Nazism. This political mythology is alive and well on the international scene today, with loyal adherents in nations around the globe. Its enemies equally signal its impact, with film makers and television lavishing some of their most extravagant production on Hitler and Nazism for more than 50 years. Nazism is a demonic and Satanic mythology whose opponents take its mythic appeal and power quite seriously. Just because Adolf Hitler lost WWII doesn't mean the mythology he created isn't a living force.

— Casey Fredericks
The Future of Eternity

As Hitler's victim in Czechoslovakia, I consider this work full of atomic power in its potential to preclude another tyrant. Like a deadly virus, Hitler killed fifty million people. We must put this virus under a microscope and learn from our analysis how to identify and eliminate the likes of it from our organizations, our world, and from future generations.

— Ladislaus J. Bolchazy, Ph.D.
(Publisher)