Mobilising Hate
The Story of Hitler's Final Solution
Will be published approx. on 24. November 2022
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-4721-4641-0 (ISBN)
Description
'Finally, eight decades on, there comes a convincing reason as to how an entire nation was able to swallow and then endorse the warped ideology of Hitler and the Nazis. Not only a brilliantly argued book, Mobilising Hate is also a grimly compelling and utterly absorbing examination of one of the most terrible events in world history. Martin Davidson's meticulous and scholarly research and exquisite writing has provided us with one of the most important books ever written on the subject.' JAMES HOLLAND
'A highly readable thesis of how ordinary people were turned into monsters by the malevolent propaganda of Hitler and his henchmen ... A very good book.' SAUL DAVID, Telegraph
By 1942, it was an article of faith that what the Nazis called 'The Jewish Question' had only one answer: the mass extermination of an entire people. Six million European Jews were savagely murdered as a result of this perverted but profoundly held conviction.
In this radical new perspective on Hitler's so-called 'Final Solution', Martin Davidson shows that the terrible fate of Europe's Jews was not one Nazi policy amongst many, but the central preoccupation of the regime, one which they were determined to achieve and of which they were most chillingly proud.
How were so many people convinced that the Jews deserved such treatment - or were at least persuaded to shrug their shoulders and turn a blind eye? Why did they think Germany could only be reborn with their eradication? That Jewish suffering was not only necessary, but deserved? How were the moral standards of an entire nation so warped and perverted, that the Final Solution came to be regarded as a rational, thrilling, even sacred, element of Nazi state policy?
Mobilising Hate examines in detail how Nazi ideologues worked to frame and amplify anti-Jewish feeling in Germany. Davidson explores the origins of radical anti-Jewish polemic in the volcanic upheavals that swept over Germany in the months after the First World War. How it seeded a theory that claimed to explain the truth of the entirety of human history. How that theory would go on to pervert science; corrupt the law; rewrite history; taint art, music and literature; and turn the media into the servant of a brutal and pitiless regime with a single message to communicate: destroying Jews lives was the indispensable first step to making Germany - and indeed, Europe - great again.
Davidson goes on to track the way in which Nazi leaders moved from theory to practice, by accident and by design, skilfully dramatising the many twists and turns that would lead to Auschwitz and beyond, many of which are not generally included in conventional accounts.
Mobilising Hate is driven by the first-hand accounts of many of those defined by the Nazi genocide; both its architects and perpetrators, as well as its targeted victims. Poignantly too, the book turns the spotlight on the whistle-blowers who saw, recorded and shared accounts of the horrors unfolding across the continent - only to be greeted time and time again, with guarded and non-committal hedging from Allied governments. Many people inside Germany, and across the world, knew, but, it seemed, very few felt they needed to care.
As our world once again grapples with the challenges of global mass resentment, economic insecurity and the growing desire to find people - entire populations - at whom to point the finger of blame, the issue of Hitler's Final Solution and the thinking that gave birth to it have worrying new resonance. Rarely has the 'warning from history' been so acute, nor the refrain 'never again', been so heartfelt.
Above all, Mobilising Hate is the story of how the Nazis spawned a vision of 'us' and 'them', that taken to its logical conclusion, spelled a death sentence for millions. Hitler may have lacked an early masterplan for the mass extermination of Europe's Jews, but it would be his zealously constructed policies and unflinching determination to see them through to the bitter end that would make it impossible for his Nazi Holocaust not to happen. That the Jews should face total extermination was Hitler's biggest, proudest prophecy, and the one he moved mountains to make come true, no matter the cost.
'A highly readable thesis of how ordinary people were turned into monsters by the malevolent propaganda of Hitler and his henchmen ... A very good book.' SAUL DAVID, Telegraph
By 1942, it was an article of faith that what the Nazis called 'The Jewish Question' had only one answer: the mass extermination of an entire people. Six million European Jews were savagely murdered as a result of this perverted but profoundly held conviction.
In this radical new perspective on Hitler's so-called 'Final Solution', Martin Davidson shows that the terrible fate of Europe's Jews was not one Nazi policy amongst many, but the central preoccupation of the regime, one which they were determined to achieve and of which they were most chillingly proud.
How were so many people convinced that the Jews deserved such treatment - or were at least persuaded to shrug their shoulders and turn a blind eye? Why did they think Germany could only be reborn with their eradication? That Jewish suffering was not only necessary, but deserved? How were the moral standards of an entire nation so warped and perverted, that the Final Solution came to be regarded as a rational, thrilling, even sacred, element of Nazi state policy?
Mobilising Hate examines in detail how Nazi ideologues worked to frame and amplify anti-Jewish feeling in Germany. Davidson explores the origins of radical anti-Jewish polemic in the volcanic upheavals that swept over Germany in the months after the First World War. How it seeded a theory that claimed to explain the truth of the entirety of human history. How that theory would go on to pervert science; corrupt the law; rewrite history; taint art, music and literature; and turn the media into the servant of a brutal and pitiless regime with a single message to communicate: destroying Jews lives was the indispensable first step to making Germany - and indeed, Europe - great again.
Davidson goes on to track the way in which Nazi leaders moved from theory to practice, by accident and by design, skilfully dramatising the many twists and turns that would lead to Auschwitz and beyond, many of which are not generally included in conventional accounts.
Mobilising Hate is driven by the first-hand accounts of many of those defined by the Nazi genocide; both its architects and perpetrators, as well as its targeted victims. Poignantly too, the book turns the spotlight on the whistle-blowers who saw, recorded and shared accounts of the horrors unfolding across the continent - only to be greeted time and time again, with guarded and non-committal hedging from Allied governments. Many people inside Germany, and across the world, knew, but, it seemed, very few felt they needed to care.
As our world once again grapples with the challenges of global mass resentment, economic insecurity and the growing desire to find people - entire populations - at whom to point the finger of blame, the issue of Hitler's Final Solution and the thinking that gave birth to it have worrying new resonance. Rarely has the 'warning from history' been so acute, nor the refrain 'never again', been so heartfelt.
Above all, Mobilising Hate is the story of how the Nazis spawned a vision of 'us' and 'them', that taken to its logical conclusion, spelled a death sentence for millions. Hitler may have lacked an early masterplan for the mass extermination of Europe's Jews, but it would be his zealously constructed policies and unflinching determination to see them through to the bitter end that would make it impossible for his Nazi Holocaust not to happen. That the Jews should face total extermination was Hitler's biggest, proudest prophecy, and the one he moved mountains to make come true, no matter the cost.
Reviews / Votes
A highly readable thesis of how ordinary people were turned into monsters by the malevolent propaganda of Hitler and his henchmen . . . A very good book -- Saul David * Telegraph * Finally, eight decades on, there comes a convincing reason as to how an entire nation was able to swallow and then endorse the warped ideology of Hitler and the Nazis. Not only a brilliantly argued book, Mobilising Hate is also a grimly compelling and utterly absorbing examination of one of the most terrible events in world history. Martin Davidson's meticulous and scholarly research and exquisite writing has provided us with one of the most important books ever written on the subject -- James Holland Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Absorbing, highly readable and painstakingly researched . . . An intensely personal exploration of the banality of evil. -- Niall Ferguson A powerful new analysis of the strategies employed by the Nazis to fuel antisemitism in Germany and achieve their murderous objectives ... [Davidson's] ideas draw on 70 years of sound Holocaust research, and they are passionately and eloquently argued. * BBC History Magazine * Davidson is a dramatic storyteller with a powerful voice. His driving narrative tells the story of Hitler's Final Solution in a compelling manner * The Times Literary Supplement * Praise for The Perfect Nazi: One of the most unsettling books to have been written about the Third Reich not only because of the brutality with which it engages but because of the story of the hatching of great wickedness in a most prosaic life. If there ever was a personification of the banality of evil, it is Martin Davidson's Granpa Bruno. It is two stories in one - both riveting - that of the dentist's transformation into unswerving SS officer and of the grandson's appalled discovery. Woven together they make for unforgettable, haunting reading. -- Simon Schama Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Searching for the truth about his German grandfather, Martin Davidson discovered Hitler's Everyman: the enthusiastic fascist functionary, unquestioning, unrepentant, and chillingly ordinary. The Perfect Nazi is a fascinating and extraordinary journey into the banality of evil at the heart of Nazism. -- Ben MacIntyre Praise for The Perfect Nazi: The fascinating and utterly compelling account of what it's like to discover that your grandfather was a ruthless officer in Hitler's SS. -- Philip Kerr Praise for The Perfect Nazi: A terrific piece of writing . . . The ordinariness of the man, combined with the fact that he was an "old fighter", make him a compelling example of willing Germans. His postwar life and the absence of any reflection or remorse are also strikingly familiar from other cases we know. [The Perfect Nazi] deserves to do well. -- David Cesarani Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Davidson's journey into his grandfather's past makes for a compelling and unsettling tale . . . [A] thoughtful and affecting book. -- Dominic Sandbrook Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Fascinating . . . Davidson has pulled together an account which is compelling and yet, at times, tantalizingly incomplete . . . this is an important book for anyone interested in the moral climate which led to the Holocaust and the other crimes of the Third Reich, and I can highly recommend it. -- Adrian Weale * Evening Standard * Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Riveting. * The Times * Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Fascinating, scrupulously researched, compelling. * The Sunday Times * Praise for The Perfect Nazi: Brave, engrossing, shocking. * Herald * In this highly original work, Martin Davidson expertly drills into the dark core of the Nazi catastrophe. He locates the dynamic of the regime in Hitler's virulent hatreds: no Hitler, no Holocaust. -- Chris Hale, author of Deception: How the Nazis Tricked the Last Jews of Europe In this highly original work, Martin Davidson expertly drills into the dark core of the Nazi catastrophe. He locates the dynamic of the regime in Hitler's virulent hatreds: no Hitler, no Holocaust. -- Chris Hale * Deception: How the Nazis Tricked the Last Jews of Europe * His driving narrative tells the story of "Hitler's Final Solution" in a compelling manner. * Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Illustrations
16-32 mono photographs and a map
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
678 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4721-4641-0 (9781472146410)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2022
Robinson
€14.99
Available for download
Person
Martin Davidson is an author who held multiple roles during his thirty-year television career, primarily for the BBC, as well as Channel 4, ZDF, History and Discovery Channel. His directing, producing and commissioning, which spans both factual and drama programming, has received multiple BAFTAs and RTS Awards. His work on two series presented by Simon Schama - A History of Britain and The Story of the Jews - were critically and commercially acclaimed. Other series he has worked on include Wipers Times, The Eichmann Show, 37 Days and many more. Most recently, he completed work on ZDF's The Abyss, which recounts the rise and fall of the Third Reich, and the RTS-winning three-part series, The Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany. He lives in France.