HEADLINER
Humanities and Non-Fiction
THE IRRESPONSIBLES. WHO BROUGHT HITLER INTO POWER?
169
In this essay, Johann Chapoutot examines the end of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power, which he sees as being the result of the ambitions of a liberal-authoritarian consortium and not of fate. This book sheds light on the irresponsible behavior of leaders in reaction to the power of the far right - a risk that could be repeated today.
"I wanted to write a book about the end of the Weimar Republic from the perspective of those who assassinated it in the spring of 1930," explains historian Johann Chapoutot, a specialist in fascism and Nazism. "The irresponsibles" were the members of a consortium made up of members of the Conservative, Nationalist and Liberal parties, reactionary media and traditional elites, who clung to power without an appointed or elected majority, who shared a common hatred of the left and allied themselves with the far right in a self-interested, naïve and dilettantish way."
Chapoutot tackles several misconceptions about the Nazis' rise to power, including the notion of the inevitability of the "Brown tide". "The Nazis never won an election and Hitler was never elected because the chancellor in Germany is not elected but appointed by the Reich President, in this case Paul von Hindenburg. What the Nazis presented as a machismo Machtergreifung (“seizure of power"), was in fact it was a hand-over," he says.
His analysis is based on political archives, diaries, correspondence and speeches, and allows him to draw parallels between then and now: "This pro-business, liberal policy, with speeches on the importance of technology and the destruction of the social state in order to allow for healthy competition, is the same today. This extreme "center", which presented itself as the enemy of the far right, drifted towards it. The risk of recidivism is in place."
This easily comprehensible book is written as a narrative and is embellished with portraits of the various actors of the time. It is for "all citizens who are hearing about the return of fascism and are worried about the situation." It is a bestseller in France with more than 40,000 copies sold, and the translation rights have been sold for 9 languages: Catalan, Greek, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and German (offer).
Katja Petrovic
September 2025
In this essay, Johann Chapoutot examines the end of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power, which he sees as being the result of the ambitions of a liberal-authoritarian consortium and not of fate. This book sheds light on the irresponsible behavior of leaders in reaction to the power of the far right - a risk that could be repeated today.
"I wanted to write a book about the end of the Weimar Republic from the perspective of those who assassinated it in the spring of 1930," explains historian Johann Chapoutot, a specialist in fascism and Nazism. "The irresponsibles" were the members of a consortium made up of members of the Conservative, Nationalist and Liberal parties, reactionary media and traditional elites, who clung to power without an appointed or elected majority, who shared a common hatred of the left and allied themselves with the far right in a self-interested, naïve and dilettantish way."
Chapoutot tackles several misconceptions about the Nazis' rise to power, including the notion of the inevitability of the "Brown tide". "The Nazis never won an election and Hitler was never elected because the chancellor in Germany is not elected but appointed by the Reich President, in this case Paul von Hindenburg. What the Nazis presented as a machismo Machtergreifung (“seizure of power"), was in fact it was a hand-over," he says.
His analysis is based on political archives, diaries, correspondence and speeches, and allows him to draw parallels between then and now: "This pro-business, liberal policy, with speeches on the importance of technology and the destruction of the social state in order to allow for healthy competition, is the same today. This extreme "center", which presented itself as the enemy of the far right, drifted towards it. The risk of recidivism is in place."
This easily comprehensible book is written as a narrative and is embellished with portraits of the various actors of the time. It is for "all citizens who are hearing about the return of fascism and are worried about the situation." It is a bestseller in France with more than 40,000 copies sold, and the translation rights have been sold for 9 languages: Catalan, Greek, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and German (offer).
Katja Petrovic
September 2025