The Hitler Virus cover art

The Hitler Virus

The Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler
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The Hitler Virus

By: Peter Wyden
Narrated by: Robin Sachs
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About this listen

In spring 1945, as the Russians moved on Berlin and it became clear the Nazi cause was lost, Adolf Hitler assured his most trusted henchmen that even if he were to die, "the seed of National Socialism will grow again one day [in]…a radiant rebirth." Several times after the war, the distinguished author Peter Wyden, himself a victim of the Nazis, returned to Germany to discover, to his dismay, that Hitler's prediction was all too true. In this unsettling audiobook, Wyden documents the reality that the "Hitler virus" is still very much alive. A harrowing companion to Daniel Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners, this book is Wyden's legacy to the world.

©2001 Peter Wyden (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Military War Soviet Union Holocaust Socialism Imperialism

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Editor reviews

Peter Wyden, author of The Hitler Virus: The Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler has firsthand experience with the Nazis. This audiobook explores how Hitler's ideology and persona have managed to haunt society even to this day. Robin Sach's performance of this text is chilling. His clear diction helps listeners understand the way National Socialism has become viral in sophisticated cultures, even in modern-day Germany where experts once thought such ideology had been all but wiped out.
All stars
Most relevant
Very interesting and great performance. Narrator occasionally does accents but it's not cringe like most affectations tend to be. Unfortunately it's very relevant to our current times.

Great book

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I enjoyed this book immensely as I could see so many similarities to today and the same
Mistakes being made in good faith

How history repeats itself

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fascinating but depressing. However, a necessary book for all. One i will revisit. Worth reading now in our current climate.

excellent

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This book is a thorough account written first in the 1970s then in the 1990s about survival of Nazism / Hitlerism post-WW2 in West Germany then Germany (after Wiedervereinigung in 1990). The author must have died v shortly after completing it
Inevitably this book now appears marked by its 20th C. birth.
Who might profit from it? Those who are very interested in Germany and / or Fascism / Far-Right political forces.

I mostly find it worthwhile because I lived in Germany in the 1980s & 1990s so the audiobook provided much background on a number of topics which I was vaguely aware of. To get much from it, in my opinion one would need to bring a deep interest in the subject because the writer makes no concessions to melodrama / humour; this is not trivial literature. The approach is a mixture of history, social psychology and journalism.
I found his account of the battles between various historians (ranging from 'Pope'-like professors to David Irving) of especial value. And when he focuses on the German judges, lawyers and the law in the 1990s he certainly hits the Right target (geddit?).

The author, Peter Wyden (1923-1998) grew up in Berlin, then went into exile in the USA, and only returned to Europe after D-Day; he took part in the US Army's takeover of a large part of Germany. Nevertheless, the author is surprisingly objective about his own (adopted) country.
Despite the book's inevitable faults and incompleteness, I would recommend it provided that you already have an interest in the topics.
Q. What we need now?
A. A continuation of the late author's work in which the varying facets of the after-shocks of Nazism / Fascism/ Hitlerism are examined in their manifestations in the 21st C. since he died. By that is not meant small Neonazi cliques / parties but rather how wide sections of the population(s) have been affected.
The author would not have been surprised by the NSU a network of Neonazi serial killers (also bankrobbers), They are easy to put down but what about the more respectable manifestations of Hitler's ideas and program?

Solid report re traces of Fascism in (W) Germany

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A very insightful book, enjoyed every aspect of the this book, and well narrated book that keeps your attention at all times.

Excellent reading

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