The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor

This post has 13 comments with rating of 5/513

• 
  opacupa
  July 21st, 2022
  

  @caesar963
  Thank you for the tip.
  A less hysterical and manichean view of Hitler’s role.
  https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Origins_of_the_Second_World_War#/Reception

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  dchant
  July 21st, 2022
  

  

  Thank you kindly

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  caesar963
  July 21st, 2022
  

  

  You’re a classy cat, opacupa, a broad, sunlit uplands uploader.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  colleenpercy
  July 21st, 2022
  

  

  thank you very much! Was hoping for more homosexual porn, but this will do kindly.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  m_seitzz
  July 21st, 2022
  

  @opacupa: Thanks for posting a link to Wikipedia. Apparently, Taylor was a Germanophobe and Hitler-Versteher (Hitler-Empathizer). What a weird combination. To bad that the current book is playing into the Alt-Right’s hand …
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._P._Taylor#Criticisms

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  caesar963
  July 21st, 2022
  

  Controversial since publication in the 60s, this is routinely recommended reading at 3rd level. Primarily due to some of the more provocative arguments (also read Fest, Evans, Kershaw, Shirer, Bullock et al) operating as stimulus to thought.

  Aspects of Taylor’s argument err on the side of viewing Hitler overly in the tradition of German realpolitik & conventional power politics.
  The author sees WWII as being implicit in the Great War & Versailles.
  He weighs the actions of each state, & perceives more blunder than design in the initial causes of the war. That the allies grossly blundered in their assessment of the character of Hitler, & in appeasing him more and more; while Hitler’s greatest blunder lay in his miscalculation that the Western Powers would not go to war again.

  The true strengths of Taylor’s work are his analyses of the Munich Conference (effective surrender of the Sudetenland) & the Molotov-Ribbentrop Nazi/Soviet Non-Aggression Pact as being examples of the allies “blundering” into giving Hitler territory, & yet leaving him desiring more. Hitler did not make precise demands. He merely announced that he was generally dissatisfied, & then waited for greater concessions.

  I have a reasonable knowledge of this area, but haven’t seen Taylor described as a Hitler-Versteher (“in wicked acts he outdid them all.” - Taylor). For what it’s worth, he was a socialist, & resigned in protest from the British Academy over its dismissal of Anthony Blunt, who had been exposed as a Soviet spy.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  m_seitzz
  July 21st, 2022
  

  Well, where you see a socialist in Taylor, I see a Tankie 😉

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  caesar963
  July 21st, 2022
  

  …not a matter of perception, merely documented fact. He was an ardent supporter of the Labour Party, remaining a member for over 60 yrs.

  On your “Tankie” (a second ago, you saw him as a “Hitler-Empathizer” - now a supporter of Stalinism? What else?) - Taylor was strongly critical of Stalinism, & in 1948 attended & did his best to sabotage a Stalinist cultural congress in Wrocław, Poland. His speech, which was broadcast live on Polish radio and via speakers on the streets of Wrocław, about the right of everyone to hold different views from those who hold power, was enthusiastically received by the delegates. The speech was clearly intended as a rebuttal of a speech given by the Soviet writer Alexander Fadeyev the previous day, who had demanded obedience on the part of everyone to Joseph Stalin.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  ghiaurov321
  July 21st, 2022
  

  I was hoping someone would seed this one day. I first read it when I was in college. Honestly, I remember it mostly by the outrage it caused among traditional WW II historians. I know much more about WW II now and it will be interesting to find out how I react today. Thank you!

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  ghiaurov321
  July 21st, 2022
  

  I was hoping someone would seed this one day. I read it when I was in college. Honestly, I remember it mostly by the outrage it caused among traditional WW II historians. I know much more about WW II now and it will be interesting to find out how I react today. Thank you!

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  apnea
  July 22nd, 2022
  

  Uppity Germans. Same as WW1.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  mklangelo
  July 22nd, 2022
  

  The Author claims Hitler was not looking for a massive multi-front war, but he fails to explain why 6 months after launching Barbarossa, Hitler declared war on the US 4 days after Pearl Harbor.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor
• 
  caesar963
  July 23rd, 2022
  

  Isn’t that reasonably clear already? Avoidance of a two-front war was indeed a long-standing policy aim. German planners from the late 19th c wanted to knock western opponents out quickly (by capturing Paris), before turning towards the east. This objective was disastrously foiled by the early events of WWI (the “Miracle of the Marne”).

  Hitler’s blunder re-America was explained by several factors. Japan was a German ally; however, more importantly, America was a de facto ally of Britain, and was - thru Lend-Lease - already massively supplying this ally (& later, Russia). The jumped-up, uppity Austrian corporal considered this an intolerable provocation, & acted accordingly.

  It was thought that a state of “undeclared war” already held. He had wanted to scupper Lend-Lease thru submarine warfare, & now had his crazy casus belli (conflict was confined to the Atlantic, at first). He also assumed that an American declaration of war was inevitable. So, he wanted to get his retaliation in first, as ’twere.

  As a relatively dry teetotaler, the news of Pearl Harbour occasioned one of his rare champagne days. Just goes to demonstrate: never trust a part-time teetotaler.

  The Origins of The Second World War - A.J.P. Taylor

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