Synopses & Reviews
In 1934 Theodore Abel went to Germany and offered a prize, under the auspices of Columbia University, for autobiographies of members of the National Socialist movement. The six hundred essays he received constitute the single best source on grassroots opinion within the Nazi Party, and they form the empirical foundation for Abel's fascinating yet curiously neglected 1938 book. Although a number of scholars have drawn on these reports, Abel's own treatment has never been surpassed. Of particular value is his presentation of the life histories of a worker, a soldier, an anti-Semite, a middle-class youth, a farmer, and a bank clerk, all of whom explain in their own words why they joined the NSDAP. In the vast literature on National Socialism, no more useful or revealing testimony exists.
In a new Foreword, Thomas Childers discusses how the past half-century of research and writing on Nazi Germany has uphold Abel's original insights into the broad appeal of the National Socialist movement, thereby reaffirming this work's enduring value for students of the topic.
Review
One year after Hitler's appointment as chancellor, Theodore Abel, a Columbia University sociologist, went to Germany and offered small cash prizes for political autobiographies by Nazi party members. With the cooperation of the government, he was able to collect about seven hundred essays...It was on the basis of an analysis of these documents that Why Hitler Came Into Power was written. Now, half a century later, this book is still very much worth reading. More than a testimony to the excellence of some of the early efforts at describing the Nazi phenomenon...Abel's study is at the heart of the current debates on fascism, national socialism, and the coming of Hitler to power. Clifford Kirkpatrick - American Sociological Review
Review
The book's main purpose is to measure, in the light of the author's unique personal data, the relative importance of each of the main factors to which [Hitler's] rise to power has hitherto been ascribed, including Hitler's own leadership, the strategy of the party tacticians, and the favorable circumstances of popular discontent. The results are highly important...There can...be no doubt that the book makes one of the most original contributions to an understanding of Nazism which has yet been written. Arnold J. Zurcher
Review
Extremely interesting and significant. American Political Science Review
Table of Contents
Foreword, 1986 by Thomas Childers Introduction Who Wrote the Life Histories?
General Comments
PART ONE: HISTORICAL The Background of the Hitler Movement The Revolution of 1918
Reaction to the Revolution
The Versailles Treaty
War Prisoners and Occupation
Counter-Revolution
Military organizations
Semi-military organizations
Political groups The First Period: 1919-1923 Origin of the Movement
Hitler Becomes the Leader
The Hitler Putsch
The Second Period: 1924-1929 After the Putsch
Organization
Significance of the local group
Propaganda
Finances The Third Period: 1930-1933 Opposition
Conflict
Victory
PART TWO: ANALYTICAL Discontent As a Factor The Drawing Power of National Socialist Meetings
The Basis of Discontent
Opposition to Other Panics
Ideology As a Factor The Idea of Gemeinschaft
National Socialism
The Principle of Leadership
Anti-Semitism
The Why of the Hitler Movement The Function of Discontent
The Functions of Ideology
The Function of Tactics and Strategy
The Function of Charismatic Leadership
Conclusion
Critique of Other Interpretations
The psychoanalytical interpretation
The Marxist interpretation PART THREE: SELECTED LIFE HISTORIES Six Life Histories Introduction
The Story of a Worker
The Story of an Anti-Semite
The Story of a Soldier
The Story of a Middle-Class Youth
The Story of a Bank Clerk
The Story of a Farmer
APPENDICES Appendix I: Chronology of the Hitler Movement
Appendix II: Statistics The Growth of the Movement
Number of members in the National Socialist party
Number of supporters in elections General Statistical Data
Geographical distribution
Education
Religion and marital status
History of employment (1919-32)
Military activities
Membership in organizations before joining the National Socialist party
Miscellaneous data Index