In this magisterial narrative, Zara Steiner traces the twisted road to war that began with Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. Covering a wide geographical canvas, from America to the Far East, Steiner provides an indispensable reassessment of the most disputed events of these tumultuous years. Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the l930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board, forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfil his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception, miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes. It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war.

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Steiner, Zara;

IRL Press at Oxford University Press

Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

German Historical Institute London

Oxford history of modern Europe, Oxford, 2011

Oxford history of modern Europe, Oxford, 2013

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Illustrated, 2013-06-10

producers:
Acrobat Distiller 7.0 (Windows)

Memory of the World Librarian: outernationale

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COVER 1
CONTENTS 8
LIST OF MAPS 10
LIST OF TABLES 11
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 13
Prologue 16
Part I. Retreat from Internationalism, 1933–1938 22
1. Brown Dawn: The Rise of Hitler and the Death of Disarmament, 1933–1934 24
2. Uncertain Embraces: The European Powers and Nazi Germany, 1934–1935 77
3. The Assault on Versailles and Locarno: Ethiopia and the Remilitarization of the Rhineland 115
4. The Remnants of Internationalism, 1936–1938 182
5. The Spanish Cockpit, 1936–1937 196
6. ‘Loaded Pause’: Rearmament and Appeasement, 1936–1937 267
7. Illusions of Neutrality: Eastern Europe, 1936–1938 374
8. Whither the Soviet Union? Moscow and the West, 1936–1938 429
9. Thunder from the East: The Sino-Japanese Conflict and the European Powers, 1933–1938 489
10. Hitler Moves: Austria and Czechoslovakia, 1938 567
11. The Munich Settlement 625
Part II. The Road to Hitler’s War, 1938–1939 684
12. The Fog of Peace: Strategic Choices after Munich 686
13. Black Sun: Aggression and Deterrence 742
14. Darkening Skies: Peace Talking and War Planning in Britain and France 780
15. Unleashing the Dogs of War 847
16. Red Clouds: The Soviet Union and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, 1939 882
17. Escape from War or Persecution? The Smaller Powers and the Jews 938
18. The Nightmare of the Dark: The Decisions for War 1010
CONCLUSION 1051
EPILOGUE 1073
APPENDICES 1083
A. Statistical Tables 1083
B. Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Selected European Powers 1088
C. Chronology of International Events, 1933–1941 1092
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 1097
INDEX 1132
A 1132
B 1134
C 1139
D 1147
E 1150
F 1153
G 1162
H 1185
I 1192
J 1195
K 1197
L 1198
M 1201
N 1205
O 1208
P 1209
Q 1212
R 1212
S 1217
T 1231
U 1232
V 1234
W 1235
Y 1236
Z 1237

In this magisterial narrative, Zara Steiner traces the twisted road to war that began with Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. Covering a wide geographical canvas, from America to the Far East, Steiner provides an indispensable reassessment of the most disputed events of these tumultuous years. Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the 1930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board, forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfill his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception, miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes. It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war. - Publisher

2025-10-27