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Podcast: New Books in German Studies
Episode: Richard Weikart, “Hitler’s Religion: The Twisted Beliefs that Drove the Third Reich” (Regnery History, 2016)
Description: Trying to figure out what Hitler “really” thought about anything is difficult because he was–among many other things–a clever, opportunistic politician and a very prolix one at that. Over the course of his 20+ career he gave thousands of speeches, wrote two long books “explaining” (if that’s the right word) his beliefs, and offered endless monologues to his acolytes on every imaginable topic. He was always adjusting his message to his audience, the result–taken together–being a mass of contradictions. Hitler was, well, a professional dissembler.
Hitler’s inconstancy is never more evident than in his talk about re...