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The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination

The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination

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  • Create Date：2021-08-17 07:50:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Richard J. Evans
  • ISBN：0141991496
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Summary

'Brilliant， a 5 out of 5 masterpiece' Evening Standard

The renowned historian of the Third Reich takes on the conspiracy theories surrounding Adolf Hitler and the Nazis， in a vital history book for the 'post-truth' age

The idea that nothing happens by chance in history， that nothing is quite what it seems to be at first sight， that everything that occurs is the result of the secret machinations of malign groups of people manipulating everything from behind the scenes is as old as history itself。 But conspiracy theories are becoming more popular and more widespread in the twenty-first century。 Nowhere have they become more obvious than in revisionist accounts of the history of the Third Reich。 Long-discredited conspiracy theories have taken on a new lease of life， given credence by claims of freshly discovered evidence and novel angles of investigation。

This book takes five widely discussed claims involving Hitler and the Nazis and subjects them to forensic scrutiny: that the Jews were conspiring to undermine civilization， as outlined in 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'; that the German army was 'stabbed in the back' by socialists and Jews in 1918; that the Nazis burned down the Reichstag in order to seize power; that Rudolf Hess' flight to the UK in 1941 was sanctioned by Hitler and conveyed peace terms suppressed by Churchill; and that Hitler escaped the bunker in 1945 and fled to South America。 In doing so， it teases out some surprising features these， and other conspiracy theories， have in common。

This is a history book， but it is a history book for the age of 'post-truth' and 'alternative facts': a book for our own troubled times。

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Reviews

Emmanuel Gustin ，

This compact book is a polemic against conspiracy theories， in particular conspiracy theories that have a connection to Nazism。 Evans picks five theories， or more correctly groups of theories， to investigate: The infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion， the "stab in the back" theory that the German right used to explain the defeat of 1918， the competing allegations around the burning of the Reichstag， the various theories surrounding Rudolf Hess， and finally the imaginative conspiracy theories This compact book is a polemic against conspiracy theories， in particular conspiracy theories that have a connection to Nazism。 Evans picks five theories， or more correctly groups of theories， to investigate: The infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion， the "stab in the back" theory that the German right used to explain the defeat of 1918， the competing allegations around the burning of the Reichstag， the various theories surrounding Rudolf Hess， and finally the imaginative conspiracy theories that saw Hitler survive the fall of Berlin in 1945。 As conspiracy theories go， these are a diverse set。 Evans does spend a lot of time dissecting events and shooting holes in the far-fetched assumptions and falsified evidence: His effort in this direction well documented， fascinating， and occasionally hilarious。 But his real interest appears to be in the people who create and spread these conspiracy theories， their motivations and their actions。 What motivates people to artfully slalom between inconvenient facts， invent entire biographies， insert fake documents in archives， write hundreds and hundreds of pages of speculations？ Of course in many cases the motive is simply to make money off the gullible （a business model for "History" Channel）， and in others it is overtly political and rarely of a benign kind。 The author tracks， in the gloomy basement of conspirational thinking， a commonality of thought between people who value their opinion more than reality: Extreme ideologies， a penchant for the occult， and deep suspicion of the "official version"。 The author is harsh about their motives。 Where I would apply Hanlon's Razor （never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity） and suspect mental illness in the case of some of the more outrageous fantasists， Evans sees moral and ethical failure。 Conspiracy theories， he rightly enough concludes， are not an innocent pastime， but do real harm。 Evans certainly takes us on an entertaining walk through this rogue's gallery。 This is a brisk read and very amusing。 At the end does feels a bit superficial， perhaps because the unsubstantial and often ridiculous nature of conspiracy theory does not lend itself to impactful conclusions。 。。。more

Mary ，

It is a sign of the times yet very worrying and disturbing that a book has just written just to dispel the conspiracy theories。 The Reichstag one is particularly prevalent。

Ellie ，

Richard Evans really did say fuck conspiracy theorists。

Jeff Vayo ，

What an important book to read today。 Evans does a fantastic （and dare I say entertaining） job of not only tackling conspiracy theories involving Hitler， but of conspiracy theories in general。 I will definitely read more of Evans' works。 Highly recommended。 What an important book to read today。 Evans does a fantastic （and dare I say entertaining） job of not only tackling conspiracy theories involving Hitler， but of conspiracy theories in general。 I will definitely read more of Evans' works。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Victor Osehodion Anolu ，

This is a wonderful book that’s both hard to put down and brilliantly insightful in its analysis of the ways in which conspiracy theories and so-called “alternative facts” are constructed and justified - and why they’re such nonsense。In The Hitler Conspiracies， Evans recounts the history of five theories that has been the most talked about of Hitler and Nazi Germany， demolish their credibility and assesses their lasting importance in today's world。 These five theories analysed in this book are; This is a wonderful book that’s both hard to put down and brilliantly insightful in its analysis of the ways in which conspiracy theories and so-called “alternative facts” are constructed and justified - and why they’re such nonsense。In The Hitler Conspiracies， Evans recounts the history of five theories that has been the most talked about of Hitler and Nazi Germany， demolish their credibility and assesses their lasting importance in today's world。 These five theories analysed in this book are; were the Protocols of Elder Zion a warrant for European Jews genocide， was the German Army "stabbed in the back" in 1918， the burning of Reichstag， why did Rudolf Hess travel to Britain （my personal favorite） and lastly did Hitler survived the bunker and escape to Argentina。 Evans carefully inspects this frequently noxious handful of delusions and deceptions to disclose the workings of the “paranoid imagination”， and to show how the conspiracist mindset takes root and grows。 For Evans， some individuals cannot accept the role of chance in major world events。 “The puzzling complexities of politics and society are reduced to a simple formula that everyone can understand"。 A conspiracy theory tactic is to black label historians who don’t accept their views as “official” or have “traditionalist” writers be in the loop of distorting truth。 What is interesting about conspiracy theory is it focuses on the minute detail but in constrast the conspiracy theorists tend to blow out of all proportion any tiny piece of evidence that appears to support their ideas or try to connect events without any link。 To the reader， Evans has had to disentangle the knots of fact， speculation， wishful thinking and （sometimes） outright lies found in misguided books， pamphlets， articles， websites and Hollywood movies that generally maintain a tenuous hold on rationality。 His final section， on Adolf Hitler’s alleged escape from his Berlin bunker in 1945， takes us into the very heart of conspiracist darkness。 Leaving us at the end of the book to properly look into what is the nature of truth。 。。。more

Mujda ，

4。7 （There were a few tangents here and there which made my head go a little numb but the writing found its way back fairly quickly each time）。The real drive is how this book in and of itself， using proper， thoughtful and rigorous historical research， shows how to respond properly and with intellectual etiquette， to people who A） produce conspiracy theories for a myriad of deceitful reasons and B） the consumers who decide to let their braincells have an extended holiday and then pass on their wi 4。7 （There were a few tangents here and there which made my head go a little numb but the writing found its way back fairly quickly each time）。The real drive is how this book in and of itself， using proper， thoughtful and rigorous historical research， shows how to respond properly and with intellectual etiquette， to people who A） produce conspiracy theories for a myriad of deceitful reasons and B） the consumers who decide to let their braincells have an extended holiday and then pass on their wilful ignorance to the rest of their networks。Set in the current context of alternative truths and the Internet's never-ending births of self-appointed experts， I found this book interesting in the way it compared our current context with 5 of the major conspiracies in how the Nazis are written about either in academic or public circles。Evans begins each chapter by outlining the real historical event， using veritable and consensus driven historical research， and then delves into the crazy conspiracies behind it。 He impressively tracks down each writer， author， publication， affiliations， motivations etc and uses a sharp， and often biting， style to put them down。 He is essentially calling them out on their lies， exaggerations and badly concealed agendas。I found the chapters on the Reichstag fire， stab-in-the-back theory and Hitler's bunker escape particularly useful， because they are a part of the school curriculum and its fascinating to see how sometimes a student will raise their hand and allude to some sort of conspiracy theory attached to it。Finally， I enjoyed his analysis of how conspirators operate within their structures， their mechanisms and ambitions， and actually at several points throughout this book I got a real case of concern/anxiety at the paranoid nature of humans， how deceitful or susceptible they can be。 At the same time， it does make you laugh a bit at the thought of Hitler riding a lady's bike in Argentina selling herbs， living in a Tibetan monastery， hiding in Saudi Arabia， or the poor fella named Albert Panka who said he had been detained/mistaken for Hitler nearly 300 times by his 80th birthday in 1969！Quote: "As so often in conspiracy theories， accepted professional scholarship is dismissed as 'official'， as if thousands/millions of historians and investigative journalists had all been suborned by various governments to tell lies， or been fooled by state propaganda。" 。。。more

Sem ，

Since I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a post-truther I read this for entertainment rather than to be convinced by his arguments。 In certain respects it's a pot boiler and there are moments where he bogs down or wanders off into a side street and takes ages to find his way back again。 However， it left me with some pleasant images - Hitler "wearing huge boots and riding a black ladies' bicycle from house to house selling herbs" in Argentina; Hitler hunting for buried treasure in Nossa Senhora do Since I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a post-truther I read this for entertainment rather than to be convinced by his arguments。 In certain respects it's a pot boiler and there are moments where he bogs down or wanders off into a side street and takes ages to find his way back again。 However， it left me with some pleasant images - Hitler "wearing huge boots and riding a black ladies' bicycle from house to house selling herbs" in Argentina; Hitler hunting for buried treasure in Nossa Senhora do Livramento with his black girlfriend; Hitler converting to Islam and marrying a young woman in Indonesia。。。 This is supermarket tabloid stuff and absolutely delightful。 。。。more

Mark Maliepaard ，

"[E]r kunnen geen verschillende， met elkaar strijdige ware beweringen over iets bestaan; er kan slechts één waarheid zijn， zelfs als die soms bijzonder moeilijk is vast te stellen。 Een verontrustend kenmerk [sic] van complottheorieën is de schijnbare overtuiging dat het nauwelijks uitmaakt of ze kloppen of niet。 Maar dat maakt wel degelijk uit。" （pag。 231-2）。Dit citaat somt voor mij wel een beetje dit zeer goede boek van Sir Evans op; met een aantal voorbeelden uit zijn expertise toont Sir Evans "[E]r kunnen geen verschillende， met elkaar strijdige ware beweringen over iets bestaan; er kan slechts één waarheid zijn， zelfs als die soms bijzonder moeilijk is vast te stellen。 Een verontrustend kenmerk [sic] van complottheorieën is de schijnbare overtuiging dat het nauwelijks uitmaakt of ze kloppen of niet。 Maar dat maakt wel degelijk uit。" （pag。 231-2）。Dit citaat somt voor mij wel een beetje dit zeer goede boek van Sir Evans op; met een aantal voorbeelden uit zijn expertise toont Sir Evans aan hoe complottheorieën werken en zijn gebruikt om beelden te creëren， en wat het gevaar van het klakkeloos aannemen van dergelijke beweringen kan zijn。 Zijn 47 pagina's aan bronnen laten zien dat hij zijn eigen oproep tot "diepgravend onderzoek" zeker serieus genomen heeft。 Bovendien was ik in de gelegenheid om hem direct te horen spreken in een debat over dit boek en zijn drijfveer om te strijden tegen de 'revival' van de complottheorie。 De besproken complottheorieën zelf lopen uiteen van bijzonder tot ronduit bizar， wat soms net niet neutraal doorschemert in de tekst。 Deze houding wordt echter terecht opgevoerd， o。a。 door het bewijs van het tegendeel， dat helder en duidelijk wordt weergegeven door de auteur。 Met de retorische vragen die Sir Evans vervolgens stelt poogt hij extra aan het verstand te brengen hoe wild sommige theorieën zijn （geworden）， terwijl daar geen waarheidsgrond voor te vinden is。 Elk hoofdstuk kent een duidelijke opbouw van de daadwerkelijke gebeurtenis， naar de meest voorkomende complottheorieën en hun ontwikkeling en de ontkrachting van elk van deze theorieën。 。。。more

John Hardwick ，

When the president of the United States claims without any evidence that he won an election which he lost and millions of people believe him this is probably one of the most important books of the year。 How do these conspiracy theories arise and who propagates them？ The examples chosen are important in themselves and the debunking of the theories clear but it is the underlying theme which is truly important。

Jacques Thielen ，

In deze tijd， waarin complottheorieën steeds meer opgeld lijken te doen， is het interessant om enkele zeer vasthoudende complot-gedachten uit het nazitijdperk onder de loep te nemen。 Evans doet dat op een grondige en gedegen manier rond vijf bekende thema's。 Hij weerlegt de complotten en staaft dat met talloze verwijzingen。 Ook geeft hij een （beperkte） uiteenzetten van waar complotten vandaag komen en welke eigenschappen zij hebben。 Dat laaste had wat uitgebreider gemogen， al was het maar ons on In deze tijd， waarin complottheorieën steeds meer opgeld lijken te doen， is het interessant om enkele zeer vasthoudende complot-gedachten uit het nazitijdperk onder de loep te nemen。 Evans doet dat op een grondige en gedegen manier rond vijf bekende thema's。 Hij weerlegt de complotten en staaft dat met talloze verwijzingen。 Ook geeft hij een （beperkte） uiteenzetten van waar complotten vandaag komen en welke eigenschappen zij hebben。 Dat laaste had wat uitgebreider gemogen， al was het maar ons onze tijd beter te begrijpen。 。。。more

David Wasley ，

The author does a great job in dismantling the conspiracy theories relating to five Third Reich topics。 It's a bit surprising that the Holocaust is not one of these topics。 Well worth reading so as to provide an understanding of the standard paranoid beliefs underpinning conspiracy theories for current issues in the world。 The author does a great job in dismantling the conspiracy theories relating to five Third Reich topics。 It's a bit surprising that the Holocaust is not one of these topics。 Well worth reading so as to provide an understanding of the standard paranoid beliefs underpinning conspiracy theories for current issues in the world。 。。。more

David Lowther ，

Sir Richard Evans is our leading modern historian and a debunker of myths and seeker after truth。 The Hitler Conspiracies reduces some previously held ideas to rubble using sound， irrefutable historical technique。So， if you're ever in conversation with like minded folk， don't suggest that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were genuine， accept that the Central Powers lost the First World War because they were defeated on the battlefield， that the Reichstag Fire of 1933 was not part of either a Sir Richard Evans is our leading modern historian and a debunker of myths and seeker after truth。 The Hitler Conspiracies reduces some previously held ideas to rubble using sound， irrefutable historical technique。So， if you're ever in conversation with like minded folk， don't suggest that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were genuine， accept that the Central Powers lost the First World War because they were defeated on the battlefield， that the Reichstag Fire of 1933 was not part of either a Communist or Nazi plot， treat with contempt the notion that Rudolf Hess flew to Britain on orders from Hitler to enter peace negotiations and laugh at the risible idea that Hitler survived the war and lived in Argentina with Eva Braun and reached a ripe old age。All this is carried out by Sir Richard mercilessly using the tried and tested approach of testing historical evidence。 Some people， in fact many people， are made to look complete fools as their standpoints are shredded in this brilliant book。David Lowther。 Author of The Blue Pencil， Liberating Belsen， Two Families at War and The Summer of '39， all published by Sacristy Press。 。。。more

Paul Kerr ，

Top notch intellectual dissection of a number of conspiracy theories surrounding Hitler， in particular his “survival” from the bunker。 Not only does Evans clearly point out the dangers of such “false news” but the fact it is being so readily fuelled by the internet and “serious” TV channels makes for uncomfortable reading。 Really interesting work and - ultimately - some folks are just using the veil of conspiracy for the own selfish ends。

Eric Lee ，

The German army would have won the First World War， except that it was “stabbed in the back” by Socialists and Communists。 Hitler was convinced by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion， which he believed to be a genuine historical document， that the Jews were taking over the world and needed to be the stopped。 The Reichstag fire of 1933 was a Nazi plot （or a Communist one） and not the work of one arsonist。 Rudolf Hess made his solo flight to Britain in 1941 at Hitler’s behest and at the invitation The German army would have won the First World War， except that it was “stabbed in the back” by Socialists and Communists。 Hitler was convinced by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion， which he believed to be a genuine historical document， that the Jews were taking over the world and needed to be the stopped。 The Reichstag fire of 1933 was a Nazi plot （or a Communist one） and not the work of one arsonist。 Rudolf Hess made his solo flight to Britain in 1941 at Hitler’s behest and at the invitation of a ‘peace party’ in the U。K。 which was plotting a coup against Churchill。 Hitler survived the war， having been rescued from Berlin， placed on a U-boat and sent off to a comfortable retirement together with his wife Eva Braun， somewhere in Argentina。None of those sentences are true。 All of them are widely believed， to one degree or another。I’ve taken an interest in one or more of those ideas over the years， and particularly enjoyed reading the theory that the prisoner who spent decades in Berlin’s Spandau prison wasn’t actually Rudolf Hess but a double。 Richard J。 Evans has poured ice cold water on some much-loved conspiracies。His forensic dismantling of each of those “alternative histories” could not come at a more timely moment， as the notion of “alternative facts” is defended by the current occupant of the White House。 His book deserves a wide readership。 。。。more

Reference

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