HITLER’S ARISTOCRATS

This is a book about the industrialists, elitists, and current and former monarchists and how they contributed to the Nazi movement.
It is about the media’s portrayal of Hitler and the Nazi party, propaganda, the horrible German economy, WWI debt repayment, the Treaty of Versailles and how all of this contributed to why WWII happened.
It is about world views, with tons of detail. It is about personal interests - greed, status, power, old resentments, fear of communism.

This is a book of manipulation and money in the time of pre and early years of WWII.

This book is excellent if you have a decent understanding of the general events of WWII and are interested in small details, of both little and large impact. Through the presentation of all these competing incidents and motivations, the overall picture of how and why the insanity of WWII happened becomes a little clearer. A little.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Susan Ronald, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

As an American, I think that European royalty is so foreign to us that we cannot help but find it fascinating. WWII has always been one of the historical eras that I read the most of. But I've never heard of some of these "characters" and found myself taking frequent breaks to Wikipedia to learn more about them. While I came for the tea on The Duke and Dutchess of Windsor, it was Princess Stephanie who stole the show. Ronald did a wonderful job of researching and making the material cohesive and interesting.

My husband enjoyed this book because he likes anything about WWII. I was not able to get into this story so I passed it to him. Thank you for the early copy.

what an amazing work! thanks to the author for the deep research, uncovering of methods of controlling and using the elites, exploiting social capital, and ways of using human nature to achieve one's atrocious goals.
this work is a must-read for any research on soft power, social psychology, sociology, and propaganda.

This year I'm really trying to push myself in terms of the book genres I read; by reading history books, I’m not only do that, but I’m furthering my knowledge as well. Hitler's Aristocrats: The Secret Power Players In Britain And America Who Supported the Nazis, 1923–1941 by Susan Ronald is now the second history book I've read this year.

After a startling quote, proving just how horrific Hitler was, the authors note then sets the scene for the tone of the book. Ronald explains not only how important history is to look back on and which should never be ignored, but also to remember the context and state the world was in when that history took place. From there, this book obviously sums up just how heinous Hitler's rise to power was.

It's both remarkable and utterly disturbing how slippery and chameleon-like Hitler behaved in order to garner the support he needed to unleash the Holocaust. I knew the Reich was deceitful and spread non-truths, but when they treated the British to a tour of the Dachau concentration camp, those imprisoned in the camp were hidden underground, with guards posing as prisoners instead. This is just one example of the brainwashing Hitler tried, and sadly, achieved with his twisted propaganda.

This book also provides the perspective, and political stance of countries throughout the world during Hitler's rise to power. This is much more than just the history of and about Hitler; there is equally as much history on the United States, and other countries as well.

For those looking to expand their knowledge of World War II, this non-fiction book is a very worthwhile read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I skimmed and read parts and pieces of this as it was an intensely historic read with tons of information.

This book tells the story of a huge amount of foolish people who were fooled by Hitler. Many were antisemitic, some thought it was possible to be neutral, and there was greed involved with many. I got bogged down in some of the names which effected the amount of time it took me to read the book, but it was well worth reading. Don't let that stop you from reading it. You will read of some famous individuals from both England and the USA. This book contained a lot of information that I did not know. I read an electronic copy courtesy of Net Galley for review purposes.

This was definitely an interesting book. But holy shit it was a thick and long read. This is great book for information but by no means a light read. It was really interesting to see Hitlers use of those in power and of the elite in society.

Title: Hitler's Aristocrats
Author: Susan Ronald
Release Date: March 14th, 2023
Page Count: 432
Format: Netgalley/Audiobook
Start Date: May 8th, 2023
Finish Date: May 31st, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

I didn't expect to learn as much in this book as I did. I expected to get things I already knew about the subject in different wording. Granted, there were a lot of parts where that was the case. It wasn't entirely like that. I also really appreciated that the writing didn't have a canned quality that I would expect. There were people and events that I never even considered being a part of all of this. I also didn't realize just how long Hitler schemed as he rose in power. I used to ask myself how he was able to do it so smoothly, but I can honestly say I do understand it for the most part. Hindsight is 20/20 after all. I think I'd like to get a physical copy of this book so I can annotate it.

I found this extremely informative full of information that allows you to see what was going on during this time period. While it is long, it was a good read especially if you want to learn more about this time period.

Well researched and very informative. As a reader of all things history, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt like I was there in that time.

Hitler has some unexpected backers, they lived in Britian (part of the Royal family as a matter of fact), and in America (Charles Lindbergh). They spied all over the world to help him win the war and make over the world in his image. This book is full of facts and information that I didn't know and I loved it!

The book could be very dry at points where there could have been full, descriptive retelling of events. It was, however, very dense and fact heavy. I would recommend it for those who are looking to learn figures, facts, and dates over anything else.

This was fascinating. I've always been intrigued by the celebrity following Hitler seemed to gather around him, like a masterful cult leader, but this book really exposed more of the hidden world of wealth, power, and fame that supported the evil underworld of the axis powers before and during World War II. I knew of King Edward, the Mitfords, rumors of American Celebrities - and the author exposes the intricacies of all of those along with other, lesser know, wealthy socialites and aristocrats who funneled money and both indirectly and directly provided the very weapons that killed their own countrymen as well as the instruments of genocide that murdered millions of Jewish people throughout Europe. It was a great reminder that we must remain vigilant, especially when wealthy, powerful people are throwing their wealth and power behind authoritarian politicians selling white supremacy and nationalist views that sound eerily similar to the rise of Hitler. Highly recommend to anyone interested in History, World War II, or Politics.

Give me a book about history that I learn something, and I am happy. This book did that.

It's researched well, but it got bogged down to me because of so much information. It's exactly what the title says, a book about Hitler's Aristocrats. I was shocked by the people and companies that were part of his aristocrats. They way they helped get his awful message out. Some did change their mind after he attacked Poland, yet some didn't. I think what amazed me most, was when Ronald had the children and grandchildren of some of these aristocrats, that they had links to Nazis. It surprised me who they are.

I always think about how important history is and how we need to continue to learn it and pass it on, because if we don't we are sure to repeat it.

If you enjoy books about WWII or history, I don't think you would be disappointed if you read this book.

Published March 14, 2023

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

#netgalley
#stmartinspress
#susanroland

This took me a long time to finish, but it was absolutely worth the read. The thesis of Hitler’s Aristocrat’s is so simple that it seems too obvious: Hitler’s rise to power was aided and abetted by numerous rich and powerful people around the world, who lent their money, influence, and expertise to his cause in hopes that it would help them stay on top. Where this book shines is in showing how much of the help given to Hitler came not out of true belief in the grand plans of Naziism (though some of the aristocrats were true believers), but out of smaller and pettier motivations: greed, cowardice, fear, stupidity, and just plain going along with others in the same income bracket.

It’s shocking to see some of the parallels with today’s political landscape. Many of the aristocrats in both America and Britain were terrified of Communism, and saw backing fascism as the best way to make sure the social order stayed the way they wanted it. Hitler and his cronies told various aristocrats that his movement would back their pet projects, and they went along with him naively believing he’d follow through. There was even a plot in America to overthrow FDR via military coup, which was prevented due to the sheer idiocy of the industrialists trying to plan it (January.6, anyone?).

Much of the book is absolutely fascinating, and the author is great at deploying quotes and anecdotes that keep the reader engaged and remind us of the odd humanity of these long-dead aristocrats, spies, con artists, and politicians. What I found difficult was the huge volume of characters, many of whom were only mentioned a few times. I had to give up on keeping track of everyone and just let the book wash over me, trying to focus on understanding larger themes. This book did point me toward several individuals that I want to read entire books about — Princess Stephanie, the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, and Charles Lindbergh, to name a few. And while I thought the book got off to a slow start, it sped up toward the end, when the narrative became more focused on the events that finally led to an all-out World War.

I’m glad I stuck with this one — it’s given me a huge list of further research and reading I need to do on WWII. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

How International Society Worked to Support Hitler

World War I saw the demise of the Austro-Hungarian empire and tsarist Russia thus displacing many aristocrats who had held vast estates and titles. They were used to living under regimes run by an autocratic leader and were adept at using social gatherings for political maneuverings and gossip. Some of these people, notably Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfurst, were eager to use their social skills to advance Hitler’s aims.

This is a very well written and researched book. I was surprised to realize how much the displacement of high society people after the First World War contributed to Hitler’s propaganda machine. I had read about many of the participants, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Mitford sisters, and Charles Lindbergh but others were new to me. I found the story of Princess Stephanie particularly fascinating. The author introduces her in the beginning of the book. It makes an excellent point of how these spies functioned.

If you’re interested in World War II, I highly recommend this book. It’s a view of pre-WWII that I had not had before.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

This is a fascinating look at some of the “better” people who were instrumental in Hitler’s rise. Some of these aristocrats were German and from other parts of Europe. Some were British and even some were American. Initially some were impressed with the manner in which the Nazi’s were able to turn around the German economy. They failed to see at what cost this efficiency was wrought. But even had they been so, it was far more convenient to ignore it since most of the victims were just Jews. Sadly aristocrats were as anti-Semitic as any of the “little” people. They were chumps in many cases played expertly by Hitler and those around. Some had to the good sense to divorce themselves when his true ambitions became clear but alas, it was too little, too late.

Others were true believers who felt that his plan for the world was just what was needed. They bought into the Nazi vision and would do whatever they could to assist. And assist they could. With money and contacts, they spied and connived and plotted. The names read like a who’s who of the high and mighty of the time from The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (even as Edward VIII), many assorted other royals and even heroes of the day like Lindbergh. It is still disturbing and shocking to realize how many of them were pawns and players. Influencers were as reprehensible as they are today.

It is written in an easily readable manner and is an excellent addition to your WWII library. Five purrs and two paws up.

FASCINATING! An incredibly-thorough, compelling, well-researching, well-written account of the powerful people that supported Hitler’s rise-to and staying power. Names we have all heard before as American “royalty” were ardent supporters. I had known of a few but this expanded my knowledge tenfold. Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the advanced e-copy. Really fascinating and scary and shocking stuff - and shows how “easily” this can happen again. Go read this one!

This was a very interesting book that will interest anyone interested in history and wars. It moves along at a pace that makes for an easy read. The information is presented in such a way that it flows along making it easy to understand. This is a must read book for those people that are interested in this subject.