A study of Hitler's antisemitic, apocalyptic worldview, how it was translated into Nazi ideology and the implementation of the destruction of European Jewry, and how it has been adopted and adapted in the postwar period by the Soviet Union and Arab and Muslim countries. Chs. 1-8 (p. 12-173) deal with Hitler and Nazism. States that Hitler always spoke of the destruction of Jewry in tones of apocalyptic fervor. It was the fusion of a modern, totalitarian political praxis with a gnostic-racist Manichean ideology of war against the forces of Darkness that provided the radical novelty in Hitler's movement. He used the tsarist Russian idea of an international Jewish conspiracy as his inspiration for a radical restructuring of the modern political world. The Soviet, Arab and Islamic antisemitism described in chs. 9-12 (p. 174-255) are part of a multi-layered continuum of blood-curdling rhetoric which postulates the existence of an international, shadowy occult conspiracy with its Jewish political center in Israel. This crusade goes today under the name of "anti-Zionism."

David Redles offers a view of the impact and potential for millenarian movements, illustrating how Hitler's apocalyptic prophecy of a coming 'final battle' with the so-called 'Jewish-Bolsheviks', one that was conceived to be a 'war of annihilation', was transformed into an equally eschatological 'Final Solution'.

A “brilliant” study of the convergence of apocalyptic anxiety and authoritarianism in Germany: “A story, unfortunately, of continuing relevance.” —Charles B. Strozier, author of Apocalypse: On the Psychology of Fundamentalism in America After World War I, German citizens sought not merely relief from the political, economic, social, and cultural upheaval that wracked Weimar Germany, but also mental salvation. With promises of order, prosperity, and community, Adolph Hitler fulfilled a profoundly spiritual need on behalf of those who converted to Nazism, and thus became not only Führer, but Messiah, contends David Redles, who believes that millenarian sentiment was central to the rise of Nazism. As opposed to many works which depersonalize Nazism by focusing on institutional factors, Redles offers a fresh view of the impact and potential for millenarian movements. The writings of both major and minor Nazi party figures, in which there echoes a striking religiosity and salvational faith, reveal how receptive Germans were to the notion of a millennial Reich such as that offered by Hitler. Redles illustrates how Hitler’s apocalyptic prophecies of a coming “final battle” with the so-called Jewish Bolsheviks, one that was conceived to be a “war of annihilation,” was transformed into an equally eschatological “Final Solution.” “[Redles] has done an extraordinarily careful and brilliant analysis of the archival material to reveal Hitler’s messianic charisma, his appeal both on the ideological and psychological level, illustrating that if you can convince people that they live in apocalyptic times and you have the key to their collective salvation, you can get them to do anything.” —Richard Landes, Director, Center for Millennial Studies, Department of History, Boston University

A riveting account of the five most crucial days in twentieth-century diplomatic history: from Pearl Harbor to Hitler’s declaration of war on the United States By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked—and the United States remained at peace. Hitler’s American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11. Tracing developments in real time and backed by deep archival research, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman show how Hitler’s intervention was not the inexplicable decision of a man so bloodthirsty that he forgot all strategy, but a calculated risk that can only be understood in a truly global context. This book reveals how December 11, not Pearl Harbor, was the real watershed that created a world war and transformed international history.