Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

As someone who found WW2 an interesting topic during my school years. I found this book incredibly interesting. It doesn’t sugar cost anything, and it’s very raw.
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for gifting me this book

As someone who has studied World War II and the Holocaust extensively, I was interested in reading "Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?" by Peter den Hertog. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the origins of Hitler's anti-Semitism, including his childhood, his experiences in Vienna, and the influences of various philosophers and politicians on his beliefs.

The author's writing is clear and concise, and he does a good job of breaking down complex ideas into understandable terms. However, I found the book to be a bit too focused on the historical details and less on the analysis of Hitler's psyche and motivations. While the information presented is valuable, it feels like something that could be found in any number of history textbooks.

Another issue I had with the book was that it didn't provide a lot of new information that I hadn't already learned in my previous studies. The author does offer some interesting insights into Hitler's personality and how it shaped his worldview, but it wasn't enough to make the book stand out from other works on the subject.

Overall, "Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?" is a solid overview of the origins of Hitler's anti-Semitism, but it lacks the depth and analysis that I was hoping for. It would be a good starting point for someone who is new to the subject, but for those who have already studied it in depth, there may not be much new to learn.

This was a very interesting read. It delved deep into the twists and psychological depravity of this vile, twisted manipulator. To a normal, rational, caring individual his thought processes have no rhyme or meaning, but to others who suffered from the same envy, lack of self worth and total unsubstantiated hatred of others his ideals and rationale totally made sense. May the world never see the likes of such a depraved, malicious, calculating control freak ever again!!

I always have a hard time saying "I really liked this book" when the content is so appalling. What I guess I'll say is the book is well written and I learned so much reading it. I have been to visit tow holocaust museum's and it never gets easier. How can any human do this to another? Hitler came in to power and turned everyone against the Jews, even children were taught in school to hate them. The book touches on Hitlers personality and paranoid traits, but I always had a sense he was envious of the Jews, almost insecure. They were smart, responsible with their money, owned their own business's and I think he was envious. When I read this book I learned so much about what started this hatred and bitterness. I think it's so important to read these stories and try to understand why this happened, why the Germans stood by and let it happen, or in some cases let themselves be brainwashed by their leader. A holocaust survivor said in her speech that this can easily happen again if were not careful. We are so quick to discriminate over race, religion, social status, sexuality that I can see division taking place in our current situation. We need to read these books, share these stories so that history doesn't repeat itself.

Interested to read one day but book was archived before I had the chance to download - unlikely to buy and not available to download from my library

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have really mixed feelings about this book, I was really hooked on the first 40%, talking about Hitler's younger life, what could've sparked various mental health conditions and his trauma growing up. But I felt as we got further into the book, the argument lost a lot of steam and became underwhelming.

I believe that Peter den Hertog has a lot of valuable, and valid arguments throughout this book, but sometimes strayed too far from the topic at hand which really lost my attention and interest in the book.

Overall, I am rating this book 3 stars. I think it's a really interesting book and I've learnt a lot from it, but it just didn't hold up throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book for my honest opinion. This was a very detailed and informative read. The question of why did Hitler hate the Jews is not answered as concise as one may think, but gives several reasons as to how as well as an overview of Hitler’s paranoia. There are some redundant passages but over all this a a book that is not necessarily an easy read, more textbook than leisure. This book was throughly research and shared information from many experts on a Hitler and psychologists. I give this book a solid four stars because it was a pretty good scholarly read!

This was never going to be an easy book to read, but I was surprised by how well the author dealt with the subject. Despite the title, there are no excuses made for Hitler and his kind. This is an exploration (much needed) of how hatred for any group of people can start, fester, and grow to be something where truly horrific actions are taken. This is a disturbing book, but one that needs to be read.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews? by Peter den Hertog is the most fascinating book about Europe in the twentieth century I have ever read. Exceptionally well-researched and presented in a manner that is easy to comprehend, Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews? provides a plethora of historical evidence and scientific data to theoretically explain the psychological state of the famed dictator Adolf Hitler.
Peter den Hertog provides a thorough examination of political, sociological, and domestic factors that combined to create a “perfect storm” during Hitler’s youth and early adulthood, ultimately creating a dangerously paranoid man who changed the course of world history. The author sensitively explains facets of Hitler’s personality without glorifying the man, which is refreshing. As each element of Hitler’s life is presented for the reader, the author provides perfectly-cited research to assert his claims, providing documents from Hitler’s contemporaries (both familiar and professional) and posthumous historians alike. Instead of yet another speculative document, Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews? works in an investigative manner to answer the titular question so many of us have pondered.
This book is perfect for high-level secondary history classes as well as collegiate discussion; it also serves the amateur or hobbyist historian well when seeking factual reading about Adolf Hitler and the European stage which brought him to the forefront. I read this book in less than a week, so at times I found some of the chapters a tad repetitive as they continually reference their predecessors; however, if I were to read this book over the course of a month or semester, I would appreciate the repetition of facts and data.
I’m rating Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews? by Peter den Hertog five stars, and I wish I could give an additional one for the delicate manner in which he addressed the gruesome aspects of the Holocaust. For history buffs as well as individuals who simply want to understand a little more about Adolf Hitler, I declare this book a must-read.

It was a good non-fiction with hints of authentic academic read. Very fluid and comprehensive biography of Hitler given and then the aspects which led to his hate. The cause of it is well explored, the disappointments and the various aspects which cornered him. It's just a neutral perspective to understand why he did what he did. How did he become someone so cold blooded and well how his narcissistic nature was an added factor.

I received an advance reader copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I opted for this book because of the intriguing title. After all, whoever focuses on Hitler only talks about the what, never about the why. This book does help answer the query it raises: Why did Hitler kill the Jews? But the process of discovering this answer isn't easy.

The book explains how Hitler had many of the symptoms of paranoia visible in his behaviour. In addition, it also covers the political and cultural atmosphere during Hitler's life that led to the genocide of millions of Jews.

The chapters about Hitler's personal life and the actual genocide are very well written. It is in the rest of the content that the book somewhat loses its track.

Sometimes the narrative switches between the two world wars and this needlessly adds to the complexity of the point being made. A linear narrative would have been better, especially as it is a historical topic.

Additionally, it would help to have a background of world wars 1 and 2 because this book presumes you know all the main history related to the wars. The biggest problem is that the book presumes you to be conversant in German history and hence gives only a superficial explanation of historical occurrences in the country.

The language of the book is a bit stilted. Certain parts of this book read like a student's over-enthusiastic attempt at writing a thesis by copy-pasting whatever he found online. The narrative flow is totally missing in these chapters.

But I'm not sure if this is because of the author or the translator. While reading a translated book, one can never be sure about who got it wrong.

This book is a good example of fabulous content with a flawed implementation. I would still say that it is a good book, but it would have been far, far better had the writing style had been different.

My rating: 3.5


Thank you NetGalley and Frontline Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Peter den Hertog's book "Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?" reads much like a text book; indeed, it would make a good textbook or supplement to a class on World War II, or on Hitler himself. den Hertog quotes many other authors who have written about Hitler and remarks that he believes that many of those authors left out a key component of Hitler's personality or mental state. The premise of the book is that Hitler was a parnoid narcissist, although these terms weren't used as much or studied as much earlier on, when other books on this subject were written. Hitler probably did not hate the Jews earlier on in his life, according to this author, although there was a national paranoia of the Jewish race after World War I. Over time, "Hitler's paranoia was the madness that culminated in the Holocaust" according to Edleff Schwaab, whom the author quotes. It appears to me that Peter den Hertog was right in his studied opinion of Hitler's paranoia, as Hitler trusted absolutely no one.

There are a lot of books on Hitler but this one focuses in on Why did Hitler Hate the Jews and at what point did his hatred begin. The author uses both Hitler’s environment as well as his psychological well-being. He clearly makes the case that Hitler was paranoia and that only increased as the war started and progressed. The key issues in his environment are being in Vienna before the war which at that point was the most anti-Semitic country in Europe, his experience during World War 1 and finally the education that he was getting from several Jew hating teachers that were working with him as he was getting his political legs firmly on the ground. If you are hoping to find either the exact date when Hitler became anti-Semitic or precisely why he hated the Jews this book does not resolve those mysteries. But the author does a good job of providing us with more information to think about and maybe even a better option for both of these questions.
There were a couple of issues that I had with the book, very minor really. He mentions ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ but does let the reader know that this document is totally fake. Most people who read about the history of the Jews or anything about that would already know this so maybe the author is just taking it for granted that everyone already knows this fact. Another point was that the author indicated that Hitler could not have been anti-Semitic at a certain time early on because he had a Jewish friend. This was a doctor who had Hitler’s mother as a patient. However Henry Ford had a Rabi as a friend when he was sending out The Dearborn Independent which had strong anti Jewish articles. So even though a person has a friend that is Jewish does not absolutely prove that he is not an anti-Semitic. One last item is that the author indicates that Hitler does not talk a lot of his feelings for Jews during the war or shortly after it but that does not mean that he did not hate the Jews. He was not one for making friends nor was he one to open up to people so it is unlikely that anyone around him would really know how he felt about much of anything.
The key; however, to this book, and I think it is a very good one is that Hitler was extremely paranoid and the paranoia was a big factor in him hating the Jews, picking them as the common enemy and moving forward with the Holocaust . I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone that has an interest in Hitler, individuals suffering from major paranoia, WW2 or Jewish history.

I have a great deal of interest in the Weimar Republic era in Germany which obviously includes the period in which Hitler rose to power. With that in mind I hoped this book my enrich my knowledge of that time, sadly I don’t think it did.

The writing style reminded me of a sixth former’s essay, presented along the lines of ‘say what you’re going to say, say it, say what you said‘. It was disjointed, repetitive and, I felt, inconclusive. I don’t believe there is any way of a) diagnosing Hitler as definitely paranoid, or,
b) linking alleged paranoia to a hatred of Jews.

For me it was not an enjoyable read, it felt like I had to toil through it.

Disappointing.

Interesting read. But didn’t feel I learned much from the book. Sadly this will be the case when you have read a great deal on a particular person. Hitler is such a fascinating character to read about. From that point of view I did enjoy it but had hoped to learn from the book itself. Author made a lot of comments in regards to her other book which I felt ruined the read slightly. It was uncalled for and excessive in my opinion

For anyone interest in the World War Two happenings and the history behind Hitler and his merciless ways; this book is a must read.
The writing style could not be faulted and the read was informative and confronting in a good way. Hitler has many a tale about his life, his way of the land, his women and his dislike of Jews. The author has captured so much more than a story here. She has captured the essence of whom you would expect to see.
A very good must have in your library for historians
Praise to the author

The book 'why did Hitler hate the Jews?' is an academic study that attempts to find an answer to Hitler's anti-Semitism and how it influenced the Holocaust.
The book also feels academic, but reads very smoothly, making it worthwhile for non-fiction enthusiasts. The author goes over Hitler's personal life and tries to show his development, his anti-semitism thoughts, and how he became the man we all know. The author does this with a clear timeline.
Both psychological and ethical issues are addressed throughout the book. The book is very diverse and contains many things that I did not know before. Many myths about Hitler are also debunked and sometimes corrected. For example, Hitler did not have Jewish ancestors. A myth which I always thought was true. The author uses reliable sources to substantiate his views.
I feel this is a very important book to understand who Hitler was and why he became so bitter.
We can -and should- NEVER justify his actions, but it can be instructive for the future to understand how someone's environment; can invite him or her to commit such atrocities. The author sufficiently discusses the psychological aspect of his life. A clear relationship between nature and nurture is applied. It is not that the reader needs psychological knowledge to understand exactly what the author means. He explains everything very well in understandable language for everyone.
Questions like 'what if he was accepted at the art academy' continued to resonate with me as a reader. Could we have prevented a world war just by having someone study what they wanted? The author encourages thinking and gives the reader a suitcase of questions when the book is finished. It intrigued me to learn even more about Hitler's personal life, his way of thinking, anti-Semitism, and how it led to the Holocaust.
The author stimulates the reader to think for him/herself. It is not a pre-made idea, there is room for the reader to create their own view and opinion on the subject.

It's such a strong book and I enjoyed it a lot. I think this is a very important teaching material which can be used in academic classes or even in secondary school. The sources are reliable.