Democracies Against Hitler: Myth, Reality and Prologue

by Alexander J. Groth

Overview

First published in 1999, what the confrontation between democracies and Hitlerism tells us about democracy is the subject of this book. It examines the response of political democracies to the phenomenon of Hitlerism, beginning with democracy in Germany itself in the ’20’s and ’30’s, and ending up with Britain and the U.S. in the ’40’s. Contrary to mythology, this response was far more a failure than a success. An iconoclastic treatment, it anticipates the crises of the future..

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138313613
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/30/2018
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.62(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alexander J. Groth is a Holocaust survivor, most of whose family perished during the Nazi Final Solution. He received his PhD from Columbia University and his BA magna cum laude from the City College of New York. He is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis, where he has taught since 1962, specializing in comparative politics. Groth is the author and editor of numerous books including Comparative Politics (1971); People's Poland (1972); Public Policy Across Nations (1985); Lincoln (1996); Democracies Against Hitler (1999); and Holocaust Voices (2003).

Table of Contents

1. Hitler and the Democratic Myth. 2. Hitler Against Weimar Democracy: The Conquest of Power. 3. Hitler Against World Democracies: Preparing For The Kill. 4. Democracies in Defeat: Hitler Ascendant, 1939 – 1941. 5. Hitler and American Democracy. 6. Hitler’s War in the East. 7. Democracies and the Final Solution. 8. Democracies at War, 1942 – 1944. 9. Democracies at War, 1944 – 1945. 10. Conclusion and Prologue

Editorial Reviews

'In a vigorous and much-needed response to the emerging conventional wisdom that democracies conduct sensible and often enlightened foreign policies. Alexander Groth re-examines the Western response to Hitler. With scathing analysis, he shows that the ability to view the world accurately, to adequately mobilize resources, to act expeditiously and effectively, all were absent not only before World War II, but during it as well.' Robert Jervis, Columbia University, USA

From the Publisher