Synopses & Reviews
In February 1933, Adolf Hitler had only a tenuous grasp on power. Chancellor of Germany for merely four weeks, he led a fragile coalition government. The Nazis had lost seats in the Reichstag in the recent election, and claimed only three of thirteen cabinet posts. Then on February 27th, arson sent the Reichstag, the home and symbol of German democracy, up in flames. Immediately blaming the Communists, Hitler's new government approved a decree that tore the heart out of the democratic constitution of the Weimar Republic and cancelled the rule of law. Five thousand people were immediately arrested. The Reichstag fire marked the true beginning of the Third Reich, which ruled for 12 more years. The controversy surrounding the fire's origins has endured for 80.
In Burning the Reichstag, Benjamin Hett offers a gripping account of Hitler's rise to dictatorship-one that challenges orthodoxy and recovers the true significance of the part the fire played. At the scene the police arrested 23-year-old Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist stonemason. Though he was initially dismissed abroad as a Nazi tool, post-war historians since the 1950s have largely judged him solely guilty-a lone arsonist exploited by Hitler. Hett's book reopens the case, providing vivid portraits of key figures, including Rudolf Diels, Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels, and the historian Fritz Tobias, whose account of the fire has, until now, been the standard. Making use of a number of new sources and archives, Hett sets the Reichstag fire in a wider context, revealing how and why it has remained one of the last mysteries of the Nazi period, and one of the most controversial and contested events in the 20th century.
Review
"With exquisite scholarship, theoretical clarity and commanding historical perspective, Stefania Tutino presents a radical re-reading of Robert Bellarmine's political thought. Reading the Cardinal in a wide European context, Tutino sets aside the common view of his work as the essence of Counter-Reformation political theology. Inspired by Antonio Gramsci, she finds in Bellarmine a sophisticated theory of Catholicism as spiritual hegemony, rather than Carl Schmitt's exemplar of anti-modernity. A fine piece of work."
--Knud Haakonssen, Professor of Intellectual History, University of Sussex
"Robert Bellarmine, Saint and Cardinal, was one of the most important figures of the Catholic (or Counter-) Reformation. Well-known for his role in the investigation of Galileo, and in the condemnation of Copernicanism, he was famous in his own time especially for his writings on church-state relations and papal authority. This fine, scholarly, and lucidly expressed book is the fullest modern account of Bellarmine's theories on these matters. It is particularly valuable for the wide range of manuscript sources in Latin and Italian that it draws on, from archives in the Vatican and elsewhere."
--Johann Sommerville, Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison
"Extensive notes, a select bibliography, and a careful index help to make this a volume well worth the attention of a wide variety of students and scholars of european politics and theology"--Thomas Worcester, College of the Holy Cross
"Tutino compliments her study with a newly published collection of writings, never before translated into English, that she believes best represents Bellarmine's political theology. These two impressive scholarly achievements go beyond the standard story of a reactionary crusader battling anti-papal princes, and protesting Protestants, typical of most traditional studies...Tutino's valuable study, and her handsome collection of translations, can help guide our way."--Homiletic and Pastoral Review
"Empire of Souls is an important contribution to and arguably necessary for studies of Bellarmine and of early modern Catholicism...important reading also for historians of doctrines and for historians and theologians of the papacy, of the post-Reformation period, of ecumenism, and of the separation of church and state. Consequently, this book is also recommended for scholars who work on the intersection of European religion and political theory."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"Tutino's book is an extensive study of one concept as it played out not just in Rome but across Western Europe."--The Review of Politics
"A first-rate book, ambitious in scope, impressive in delivery, tenacious in analysis,precise and comprehensive in documentation, a book destined for many a long year to come to constitute the requisite point of departure for other studies in the field."--The Catholic Historical Review
Review
"Impressive piece of work that presents fresh evidence."--Richard J. Evans, London Review of Books
"A fascinating and well-argued investigation of the events surrounding the Reichstag fire, including the use of newly available material." -- Mark Rowley, News Weekly
"Historian Hett (Crossing Hitler) applies his dual expertise as a scholar and former trial lawyer to reopen discussion of an aspect of Nazi Germany widely considered settled: who set the Reichstag on fire in 1933? Hett, using fresh sources and archives, presents a nuanced and complex perspective. Hett's major contribution is his analysis of the trial as a case study in "a particular constellation of political pressure and the state of knowledge of Nazi crimes" in West Germany during the 1950s and 60s." --Publishers Weekly
"Hett carefully sifts the record, examining the many contradictory accounts. This painstaking new examination of evidence surrounding the Reichstag fire lays blame squarely with the ascendant Nazis and underscores deeper notions about nationalism, complicity and guilt." --Kirkus
"The extensive empirical investigations contained in BURNING THE REICHSTAG are an example of the historian¹s craft in the very best sense, and have certainly shaken my confidence in the standard interpretation of the event. It is difficult after reading Hett¹s remarkable book to see van der Lubbe as the sole responsible figure, and equally difficult not to conclude that the Nazis may well have been involved in the arson. Hett¹s discussion of the development of post-1945 opinions about the Reichstag fire is particularly compelling, and provides a second, major reinterpretation of German history." --Jonathan Sperber, Curators' Professor of History, University of Missouri, and author of Karl Marx, A Nineteenth-Century Life
"The definitive account of one of the most mysterious events in the history of the Third Reich. Persuasive and highly readable." --Philip Kerr, author of the Bernie Gunther novels
"Fifty years ago, historians endorsed new tightly argued findings that contrary to the widely believed earlier version, a single mentally deficient Dutch perpetrator and not a cabal of Nazis had set the Reichstag ablaze in February 1933-the infamous fire that allowed the recently installed National Socialist leaders to suspend constitutional rights and rapidly consolidate their dictatorship. Now in a profound reexamination of the original evidence, investigation of the witnesses, and exploration of postwar West German tendencies to blur responsibilities, Benjamin Hett, a historian of spectacular German trials and a trained lawyer, argues that in fact Nazi activists had to have staged the arson. Burning the Reichstag will be controversial but it certainly commands our serious reading and respect." --Charles S. Maier, Harvard University
"Based on amazing historical detective work, Hett's book skillfully interweaves three narratives: the story of what happened on the night of the Reichstag fire; the story of the Nazi-era investigations, trial, and cover-ups; and the story of how the 'single culprit' thesis became the dominant interpretation after the war. His elegantly argued analysis not only makes a compelling case that the Reichstag fire was set by the Nazis but provides new insight into the forces that shaped how the history of the Third Reich was written in postwar West Germany." --Richard F. Wetzell, German Historical Institute, Washington DC
Review
“Robert Nalbandov’s book brings fresh insight to both the longer-standing and the newer questions and conundrums the world faces from current Russian foreign policy.”—Rick Fawn, professor in the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland
Review
“Robert Nalbandov’s new book makes an important contribution to the field of international security. Those who read this book will gain important insights into Russian foreign policy under a leader who has often been both confusing and frustrating for the West. Robert Nalbandov’s analysis clarifies key issues important to foreign policy and international geopolitics.”—Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., professor of political science at Angelo State University and author of North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era: A New International Security Dilemma
Review
“Not by Bread Alone presents a comprehensive and provocative account of Russian foreign policy that strives to explain its evolution under Vladimir Putin by looking inside the black box of ‘Russian political culture.’ It is a challenging job, and Nalbandov does it well.”—Viatcheslav Morozov, professor of EU–Russia Studies at the University of Tartu and author of Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World
Synopsis
Robert Bellarmine was one of the pillars of post-Reformation Catholicism: he was a celebrated theologian and a highly ranked member of the Congregations of the Inquisition and of the Index, the censor in charge of the Galileo affair. Bellarmine was also one of the most original political theorists of his time, and he participated directly in many of the political conflicts that agitated Europe between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Stefania Tutino offers the first full-length study of the impact of Bellarmine's theory of the potestas indirecta in early modern Europe. Following the reactions to Bellarmine's theory across national and confessional boundaries, this book explores some of the most crucial political and theological knots in the history of post-Reformation Europe, from the controversy over the Oath of Allegiance to the battle over the Interdetto in Venice. The book sets those political and religious controversies against the background of the theological and institutional developments of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church. By examining the violent and at times surprising controversies originated by Bellarmine's theory, this book challenges some of the traditional assumptions regarding the theological shape of post-Tridentine Catholicism; it offers a fresh perspective on the centrality of the links between confessional affiliation and political allegiance in the development of the modern nation-states; and it contributes to our understanding of the development of 'modern' notions of power and authority.
Synopsis
Since its independence in 1991, Russia has struggled with the growing pains of defining its role in international politics. After Vladimir Putin ascended to power in 2000, the country undertook grandiose foreign policy projects in an attempt to delineate its place among the world’s superpowers. With this in mind, Robert Nalbandov examines the milestones of Russia’s international relations since the turn of the twenty-first century. He focuses on the specific goals, engagement practices, and tools used by Putin’s administration to promote Russia’s vital national and strategic interests in specific geographic locations. His findings illuminate Putin’s foreign policy objective of reinstituting Russian global strategic dominance. Furthermore, Nalbandov argues that identity-based politics have dominated Putin’s tenure and that Russia’s east/west split is reflected in Asian/European politics. Nalbandov’s analysis shows that unchecked domestic power, an almost exclusive application of hard power, and a determined ambition for unabridged global influence and a defined place as a world superpower are the keys to Putin’s Russia.
About the Author
Stefania Tutino completed her Ph. D. in early modern history at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, in 2003. She has been an Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, and since 2005 she is at UCSB, where she holds a joint appointment in the Departments of History and Religious Studies.
Table of Contents
Prologue I: Hannover, Sunday, July 20, 2008
Prologue II: Berlin, Monday, February 27, 1933
Chapter 1: "Satanic Nose": Rudolf Diels
Chapter 2: "SA + Me": Joseph Goebbels
Chapter 3: "What Just Went On Here is an Absolute Outrage": Rumors
Chapter 4: "Those Who Know Nothing Are Better Off": The Investigation
Chapter 5: "Stand Up, van der Lubbe!" The Trial and What Followed
Chapter 6: "Nuremberg History": The Prosecutors' Tale
Chapter 7: "Persil Letters": The Gestapists' Tale
Chapter 8: "The Feared One": Fritz Tobias and His "Clients"
Chapter 9: "Snow From Yesterday": Blackmail and the Institute for Contemporary History
Epilogue: Decadence of a Controversy