Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler

Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler written by Alexander Clifford and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 368

They are two of twentieth-century history’s most significant figures, yet today they are largely forgotten – Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, Germany’s First World War leaders. Although defeat in 1918 brought an end to their ‘silent dictatorship’, both generals played a key role in the turbulent politics of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis.

Alexander Clifford, in this perceptive reassessment of their political careers, questions the popular image of these generals in the English-speaking world as honourable ‘Good Germans’. For they were intensely political men, whose ideas and actions shaped the new Germany and ultimately led to Hitler’s dictatorship.

Their poisonous wartime legacy was the infamous stab-in-the-back myth. According to the generals, the true cause of the disastrous defeat in the First World War was the betrayal of the army by politicians, leftists and Jews on the home front. This toxic conspiracy theory polluted Weimar politics and has been labelled the beginning of ‘the twisted road to Auschwitz’.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s political fortunes after the war were markedly different. Ludendorff inhabited the far-right fringes and engaged in plots, assassinations and conspiracies, playing a leading role in failed uprisings such as Hitler’s 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Meanwhile Hindenburg was a vastly more successful politician, winning two presidential elections and serving as head of state for nine years. Arguably he bore even more responsibility for the destruction of democracy, for he and the nationalist right he led sought, through Hitler, to remould the Weimar system towards authoritarianism.

There are some books that come along that you just want to dive into and this was one of them. I’ve long been learning about the First World War & the Second World War but often some of the most fascinating places in history is the ‘in between’ wars section and this particular part of history is fascinating as Alexander Clifford explores a part of that history, Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler. The period of the Weimar Republic was basically 10 wasted years where life in Germany just festered and all the surrounding upheaval was no surprise that a mangled relationship between these three men would sow the seeds for another global conflict.

Although in my opinion, Hitler has to carry the can for this relationship and what would eventually happen, it was very much interesting reading about the relationship, conflict and suspicion between these three, it really does enlighten the reader as to how things went wrong and in a way shows clearly who was the aggressor, the yes man and the fooled in this bad political relationship. This has been a fascinating read, comprehensive, detailed and very well written and with all the other characters in the book would in other world’s make a really good thriller. From beginning to end this was a really good book, I would have no other choice but to recommend this book and if you want to learn about the relationship between these three men, this is one of the best books I have read on this subject.