Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?

This investigation into the Nazi leaderâs mindset is âan inherently fascinating study . . . a work of meticulously presented and seminal scholarshipâ (Midwest Book Review). Adolf Hitlerâs virulent anti-Semitism is often attributed to external cultural and environmental factors. But as historian Peter den Hertog notes in this book, most of Hitlerâs contemporaries experienced the same culture and environment and didnât turn into rabid Jew-haters, let alone perpetrators of genocide. In this study, the author investigates what we do know about the roots of the German leaderâs anti-Semitism. He also takes the significant step of mapping out what we do not know in detail, opening pathways to further research. Focusing not only on history but on psychology, forensic psychiatry, and related fields, he reveals how Hitler was a man with highly paranoid traits, and clarifies the causes behind this paranoia while explaining its connection to his anti-Semitism. The author also explores, and answers, whether the FÃ¼hrer gave one specific instruction ordering the elimination of Europeâs Jews, and, if so, when this took place. Peter den Hertog is able to provide an all-encompassing explanation for Hitlerâs anti-Semitism by combining insights from many different disciplinesâand makes clearer how Hitlerâs own particular brand of anti-Semitism could lead the way to the Holocaust.