Hitler's Thirty Days to Power: January 1933

In the book Hitler's Thirty Days to Power, Henry A. Turner argues that Adolf Hitler's rise to power is most evidently illustrated by examining the last thirty days before his appointment to chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Prior to reading Hitler's Thirty Days to Power I had been under the impression that Hitler had a much more active role in securing his position as chancellor of Germany before ascending to Fuhrer. Turner by taking the microscopic approach of only analyzing these thirty days clearly demonstrated that this was not the case. According to the author, Hitler's rise to power was the result of luck, the egos of other political figures, as well as the belief that he could be used simply as a pawn to gain favor of his dwindling amount of supporters. Had any one of these differentiate Hitler would not have been successful in securing the position as chancellor. Turner substantiates his claims through a variety of resources ranging from personal memoirs and newspaper articles from the period to journal publications of modern historians. The information he presented was mostly-well known to the scholarly world, however, the manner in which it manifested was innovative. By using a magnifying glass-like method to examine the month leading up to Hitler's establishment in power rather than the all encompassing approach, Turner gives the generally educated reader, such as me, a better insight to the schematics of Hitler's rise. Furthermore, the individuals of the text come to life through an intense focus on what propelled them to reach conclusions that allowed Hitler power. The personalities of people like Franz von Papen and Paul von Hindenburg are revealed through these decisions. Turner does not simple state the events that occurred, but rather allowed his reader to envision internal turmoil that was suffered by these individuals in coming to their resolutions. An example of this would be the German President Paul von Hindenburg. Originally he vowed that Hitler would never gain the position of chancellorship. However, numerous overtures made by Papen, a good friend and former chancellor under Hindenburg, combined with the encouragement by his son Otto the President was convinced to allow Hitler the position he so coveted. Turner illustrates throughout the book the difficultly Hindenburg faced in reaching this conclusion. The narration permits the book a novel-like reading often reserved for fiction rather than history. Many other texts compel the audience to feel as if they had read solely the outcome of the events leading up to January 1933 instead of getting a vivid understanding of its cause. Hitler's Thirty Days to Power answers the problem of how Hitler came to power in a compelling and easy read. The narrative and the individuals engage the audience regardless of any negative or positive connotations surrounding them. The only major flaw that I see with Hitler's Thirty Days to Power is the last chapter of the text. This ch

There is little I can say that would do justice to Turner's magisterial work. It is carefully researched and documented and is extraordinarily well-written. While it is very much a work of historical scholarship, it is also written with an eye toward an almost dramatic narrative style (without the embellishments which some of today's "popular historians" resort to). To be quite truthful, I got so absorbed by the book, I couldn't put it down. Of course, you know what happens in the end, but Turner's writing is so vivid and his analyses so keen that it is an absolutely riveting account. And Turner's general thesis--that Hitler's rise to power was anything but inevitable--is one that he proves (at least as far as I'm concerned) beyond a shadow of a doubt. Chance played a tremendous role, as did human error and personal folly and misjudgment. On the topic of personal folly, Turner's assessment of General Schleicher is justifiably harsh. It is almost unfathomable to ponder, for example, that Hitler's rise might not have happened had Franz von Papen not nursed an inner animosity toward Schleicher, which led him to collaboration with the Nazi leader. So many if's. But such is history. And as far as histories of the Third Reich go, those who want to understand how Hitler became Chancellor of Germany will turn to this phenomenal work.

Mr. Turner's study on the Hitler's rise to power is excellent and maddening. It is excellent as an historical treatise reviewing the facts that caused Hitler to seize power and it is maddening in that it did not have to happen. In some circles there is a misbelief that Hitler's rise to the Chancellorship was inevitable. Turner puts that myth to rest in describing how the personal ambition of Hindenburg, Papen and Schleicher, as well as their ineptitude had more to do with Hitler's rise than Hitler himself. The writing flows and keeps the readers attention riveted. This is an important book and a must read for anyone interested to Nazi Germany.

An excellent explanation of how Hitler came to power in Germany. The best treatment of the last days before his appointment to chancellor that I have ever read. Puts the blame squarely where it belongs, on the shoulders of Hindenburg, Papen and Schleicher. Papen is treated with particular harshness. Also shows how petty personal disagreements can doom a nation. a stupendous book. A must read for anyone who thinks Hitler came to power democratically.

powerfully argued, vividly written and meticulously documented, "Hitler's Thirty Days to Power" tells us how Hitler achieved Chancelorship through his passivity. His assessment is consistent with current reserach and his argument is persuasive. However, his conclusion that Schliecher could establish a military dictatorship seems to be questionable. Certainly Schliecher had the power to establish a cabinet without the approval from the Reichstag, but in view of the distrust that President Hindenburg had, it is very likely that Hindenburg would oppose such unconstitutional act vehmently. Further, Schleicher, as Turner pointed out, had consistent believed that President Hindenburg would give him unlimited support until the last few days of his presidency. Therefore, his chance of being a tyrant is, I believe, relatively slim