Christopher Hitchens once wrote that the 20th century had three great problems: imperialism, fascism, and Stalinism. George Orwell I was proven right about all of them.
Orwell showed astonishing foresight. An interesting review of Adolf Hitler’s infamous autobiography, published in March 1940 Mein Kampf. In this review, the author expertly cuts to the roots of Hitler’s poisonous charisma, and in the process predicts themes that will appear in his future masterpieces. Animal Farm and 1984.
In truth, there is something deeply fascinating about him. […] Hitler knows that man does not only want comfort, security, shorter working hours, hygiene, birth control, and generally common sense; he also wants, at least occasionally, struggle and self-sacrifice, and to march to drums, flags, and loyalty. Whatever their economic theories, Fascism and Nazism are far more psychologically sound than a hedonistic view of life.
But Orwell was no fan of Hitler. review, He imagines what the world would be like if the Third Reich had succeeded.
what [Hitler] The world Germany envisions 100 years from now is one of 250 million Germans, a nation with plenty of “living space” (i.e. stretching all the way to Afghanistan or thereabouts), and essentially a horribly stupid empire where nothing happens except training young people for war and raising an endless supply of new cannon fodder.
The article was written at a time when, as Orwell points out, the upper classes were violently retracting their previous support for the Third Reich. Mein Kampf This book was published in England in 1939. President.
“The apparent intent of the translators’ preface and notes is [was] “The aim was to soften the book’s brutality and portray Hitler in as kind a light as possible. At the time, Hitler was still a man worthy of respect. He had crushed the German labor movement, and the propertied class had gotten away with almost anything with him. Now suddenly it turned out that Hitler wasn’t worthy of respect after all.”
By March 1940, everything had changed. Mein Kampfwas published in Britain, reflecting a change in views of Hitler. Britain and France had declared war on Germany after the German invasion of Poland, but full-scale fighting had not yet begun in Western Europe. Within a few months, France would fall and Britain would be on the brink. But in the early spring of that year, all was fairly quiet. The whole world was holding its breath. And it is in this moment of terrible tension that Orwell predicts much of the future war.
If we compare what he said a year ago with what he said fifteen years ago, we are struck by the rigidity of his thinking, the lack of development of his worldview. It is the fixed ideas of a paranoid maniac, and it is unlikely to be affected much by the temporary maneuvers of power politics. Perhaps in Hitler’s own mind, the German-Soviet pact was merely a change of timetable. The plan laid out in Mein Kampf was to crush Russia first, with the implicit intention of hitting Britain afterwards. Now it turns out that Britain must be dealt with first, because of the two Russia is the easier of the two to be bought. But when Britain is gone, Russia’s turn will come. Hitler thinks so, no doubt. Whether it will be so is, of course, another question.
In June 1941, Hitler invaded Russia, one of the greatest strategic blunders in the history of modern warfare. Stalin was caught completely off guard by the invasion, and news of Hitler’s betrayal reportedly caused him to have a nervous breakdown. He clearly had no idea about the Russian military power. Mein Kampf Nowhere is the connection as close as with Orwell.
you can Read Orwell’s full review here.
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Jonathan Crowe is a writer and filmmaker whose work has appeared in Yahoo!, The Hollywood Reporter, and other publications. John Crow.
