The Hitler Years: Disaster, 1940–1945

Like its previous installment, The Hitler Years: Triumph, 1933–1939, this second volume of McDonough’s history of Nazi Germany devotes a chapter to each year it covers, in this case 1940 through 1945. Historian McDonough is adept at juxtaposing Adolf Hitler’s decision-making process with those of his allies, such as Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini, and adversaries, such as Soviet premier Joseph Stalin. The author also demonstrates how Hitler continued to claim that a Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy was seeking to destroy Germany, a theme Hitler reiterated every January on the anniversary of his ascension to power. McDonough adroitly points out that Hitler’s accusations that the Jews were planning the annihilation of the German people was in fact a form of projection for genocide. In later chapters, the author also addresses the myths about the conduct of World War II, especially those promulgated by German generals who after the war tended to ascribe all successes to themselves and all failures to Hitler.