Weber's Book: Hitler's First War

  • by Pierre Grande Guerre
  • •
  • 26 May, 2019
  • •

BOOK REVIEW d.d. 27 March 2011

                                                                                                                                                                                        (Dutch version? Klik HIER)

Introduction -  Cause

Whoever follows me here longer, knows that I have visited several places where Hitler's List Regiment stayed during his stay at the Western Front. I visited not only the Belgian Bayernwald-trenches and the French village,  Fromelles, but also locations of Hitler's Nazi era, like the parade field of the Luitpold stadium, known from Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of Will", part of the “Reichsparteitagsgelände” in Nuremberg, where I could not help to stand for a while on his concrete speeching platform.
My slide from 1990: Luitpold stadium, Reichsparteitagsgelände, Nuremberg.
Hitler's stage, Luitpold stadium, Reichsparteitagsgelände, Nuremberg
Since I read during my school years Allan Bullock's biography, "Hitler: a Study in Tyranny", I've been fascinated by the abject phenomenon of Hitler. Since I went deeper into the Great War, my fascination has only increased for the person, who surely may be considered as the exponent and the personification of the continuum of the First and Second World War.

Reason
In the Netherlands and in other countries in Europe a translation of an already controversial, English book has been recently published; Thomas Weber’s "Hitler’s First War". (1) These critical reviews in the printed media and even on the Dutch radio not only aroused my curiosity, but above all these reviews aroused my scepticism over the claims, which I read about in these pre-publications. These previews, in which historical scholars are at the same time critical as well as they praise the book, were reason enough for me to read the book. The arrival of Thomas Weber himself on  24 March this year at the Goethe Institut in Amsterdam for a lecture, obliged me to read the book  a bit faster. Rather sceptical, I started my reading experience, but I finished excited. 

"Etappenschwein"?

As the author has  explained during his lecture in Amsterdam, the core of his book turns to the interesting question of whether Gefreiter Hitler has developed his anti-Semitism during his service in the List Regiment, or not. My scepticism about Weber's conclusion that Hitler would have been merely an  "Etappenschwein" with no particular merit, made me even more curious about his book, because I am always, although critical, open to new insights. I had also other questions about Weber's book, for which I was hoping for a satisfactory answer, like: why earned the not very courageous " Etappenschwein ", Hitler, his two Iron Crosses, and why did Hitler never promote to a higher rank than Gefreiter, rather a soldier first class than a corporal?

Other biographies

Indeed, since 1958 for at least 40 biographies of Hitler have appeared, such as Allan Bullock’s in 1958 and the more recent, commendable work of 1999 by Ian Kershaw. (2) But concerning the period that Hitler was part of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16, all of these historians write rather concise chapters. Bullock even tended to follow the in the early Nazi time developed mythology of Gefreiter Hitler. Kershaw's masterpiece, the first volume of his Hitler biography, "Hubris", is also, unfortunately, relatively concise about Hitler's time on the Western Front. Regarding the determination of the proper locations, Kershaw is not entirely correct, as I personally have noticed during my travels along the Western Front.

Regimental History B.R.I.R. 16
München, 8 October 1914. King Ludwig III of Bavaria inspects the List Regiment.
Weber's easily readable book is quite unique amongst these series of biographies, because it focuses mainly on the period '14-'18, which other historians dealt with only briefly. (3) Another aspect that makes Weber's book unique is the fact that he approaches his subject from a thorough investigation of all other members of the List Regiment and how they have experienced Hitler as a soldier. For this reason Weber's book became not only a biography of Hitler, but his book is simultaneously a regimental history of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16! How you will later think, after your reading experience of Weber's conclusions about AH, agree or disagree, if only from the perspective of the regimental history of BRIR 16 the book is undoubtedly impressive.

Anti-Semitism

Not only the testimonies of Hitler's famous friends such as Max Amann, Weber has figured out, but moreover he studied the testimonies of fellow regiment members, gone into oblivion, like the Jewish officer, Leutnant Hugo Gutmann, who has nominated Hitler for his second Iron Cross. As Weber in his lecture has put forward, the in the Nazi time concealed, Hugo Gutmann, formed the focal point for his investigation into whether Hitler’s anti-Semitism already developed at the front. For the sake of brevity and for the fact that you yourself should read Weber's cogent arguments, let me just tell you that Weber concludes that Hitler's anti-Semitism has developed after the Great War. Weber dares not to mention an exact time or an exact event in 1919. (4).

Creation of the myth of the brave soldier
The image of a fearless "“Meldeganger Hitler”, as the myth of Nazi’s  has created this image, and has been taken over later by many renowned historians,  is according to Weber not true. Even I, as a simple and humble reader, always wrongly assumed that being a message runner was  a very dangerous task. But  concerning the risk of the distinct types of messengers Weber makes an important distinction between battalion messengers  and regimental messengers. Battalion runners did have dangerous task to crawl until the first lines to pass the messages. Regimental runners, like Hitler, only went up and down from the regimental headquarters to the battalion headquarters. Compared to the circumstances of ordinary soldiers in the trenches and battalion messengers, Weber argues, that regimental runners had a relatively easy life on a relatively safe distance with much less risk and less exposure to danger, and with better housing and better nutrition. In short, Hitler was indeed exposed to war, but compared to the men in the trenches, Hitler had it a lot easier. Therefore I find it amusing that Weber, in a note politely but firmly settles with renowned historians, such as Kershaw and Keegan, who blindly have continued the tradition of the imprinted image of the dangerous task of Meldeganger Hitler. (5) So, food for historians!

Iron Cross First Class
Adolf Hitler (fourth from the right) en his fellow messengers, 1916.
According to Weber "Etappenschwein" Hitler had owed his decorations actually more to the collective edition on the same day of dozens of these awards to men of the List Regiment and to his good contacts with a number of staff officers from the Regiment Headquarters. Weber mercilessly punctures the myth of the courageous merit of Hitler's (second) Iron Cross First Class. A nice piece of Nazi falsification of history: Hitler was indeed on 31 May 1918 present as one of the many B.R.I.R. 16 men near Vézaponin, but the role of him ascribed as the hero in the capture of 12 French soldiers near the bridge was actually played by the later concealed Jewish officer, Leutnant Hugo Gutmann, as an including letter of the former regimental commander, Anton von Tubeuf, later confirmed!

No promotion

Though now I am somewhat convinced of Weber’s relativity of Hitler's soldiers courage, to my question why Hitler never promoted to a higher rank, I can unfortunately find no conclusive answer. Weber says that his officers were always satisfied with Hitler's execution of his tasks. But his character features, like that he was an "Einzelganger", who absolutely never did more than he was told, and therefore did not no further excel by supposed leadership qualities, made him during promotions time to end down the list, and he always dropped off for promotion. The fact that Hitler was an Austrian, has, according to Weber during his lecture, played no significant role. Hitler was indeed born on the Austrian-Bavarian border and for his Bavarian comrades his origins formed absolutely no objection.

Conclusions of my reading experience

While reading, you would have noticed that all my scepticism about Weber's conclusions have vanished. For those who are not interested in Weber's theses, but who only wants to know the bare facts about Hitler's presence, or only the presence of the List Regiment on the Western Front, Weber's book is simply in itself a recommendation. Those who follow the debate among historical scholars may not miss Weber's much-discussed vision. Whether you will later agree with Weber's pioneering vision of Gefreiter Hitler or not, Weber's thorough research and his arguments for his theses will open for you new angles of approach, just by Weber's particular approach to expose the myth from the perspective of Hitler's companions and from the "circumstantial evidence" of their witness reports.
I can therefore wholeheartedly recommend this easy to read book to anyone, who is interested in the true war adventures of Gefreiter Hitler during the Great War and the thereafter organized myths. My final verdict: five stars!

Pierre

Notes
(1) ISBN. 9789046809198. For clarity, I have read the Dutch translation! The original English title was' Hitler's First War-Adolf Hitler, The Men Of The List Regiment, And The First World War ".
(2) Allan Bullock, "Hitler: a Study in Tyranny". Ian Kershaw: “Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris" and "Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis”.
(3) In the second part of his book Weber treats exhaustively the myth of Hitler's alleged heroism during the period 1919-1945. The second part is certainly very commendable, but because of the brevity of my book review I kept this section of the book out of my consideration.
(4) As a consumer / reader, I have  developed my own thoughts about this, but because I am not a professional historian and because  I cannot support my suspicion with evidence, I will not go into this. I prefer not to become involved in an unwanted "Historikerstreit", instead of an informative discussion.
(5) Footnotes 17 and 18, related to Chapter 5.

AISNE - Chemin des Dames

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 29 Nov, 2019

De Vanceboro Bridge Bomaanslag

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 14 Nov, 2019

Inleiding: Franz Von Papen & Werner Horn; schaker en pion

Onlangs stuitte ik in een oud boek (1) van 1919 op een opmerkelijk verhaal over een Duitse Luitenant, die in begin februari 1915 een half geslaagde bomaanslag pleegt op een spoorbrug over een grensrivier tussen de Verenigde Staten en Canada. Ook al staat de bekentenis van de dader, Werner Horn, deels in het boek te lezen, de naam van zijn opdrachtgever zal Horn blijven verzwijgen. Na wat verder zoeken vond ik ook de naam van Horn’s opdrachtgever, Franz von Papen, een van de aangeklaagden van het latere Neurenberg Proces in 1946.

In een Grote Oorlog als de Eerste Wereldoorlog  is Horn’s aanslag op de brug uiteraard slechts een bescheiden wapenfeit. Toch vermoed ik dat dit relatief onbekende verhaal, dat de geschiedenis is ingegaan als de “ Vanceboro International Bridge Bombing ”, nog interessante kanten kent. Het is onder andere een spionageverhaal over hoe in een groter plan een sluwe schaker zijn naïeve pion offert.  

Beknopte situatieschets Canada en de Verenigde Staten in 1915

ALSACE-LORRAINE - The Gap of Charmes - La Trouée de Charmes

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 01 Oct, 2019

This trip we start at the Léomont near Vitrimont and we will with some exceptions concentrate on the Battle of Lorraine of August-September 1914 in the area, called, the “Trouée de Charmes”, the Gap of Charmes.

After the Léomont battlefield we continue our explorations to Friscati hill and its Nécropole Nationale. Next we pay a visit to the battlefield of la Tombe to go on to the Château de Lunéville. There we cross the Vezouze to move on southward to the Bayon Nécropole Nationale. At Bayon we cross the Moselle to pass Charmes for the panorama over the battlefield from the Haut du Mont. North-west of Charmes we will visit the British Military Cemetery containing 1918 war victims. From Charmes we go northward to the battlefield of the First French Victory of the Great War, the Battle of Rozelieures of 25 August 1914. North of Rozelieures we will visit the village of Gerbéviller. From there we make a jump northward to visit the ruins of Fort de Manonviller to finish with an interesting French Dressing Station bunker, west of Domjevin.

LORRAINE - Avricourt - Leintrey - Reillon - Domèvre - Parux

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 18 Sept, 2019
Though we depart from Badonviller in the Northern Vosges , we make a jump northward to the east of Lunéville and Manonviller. We start at Avricourt on the border of Alsace and Lorraine. From the Avricourt Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof we explore the southern Lorraine battlefields ; the mine craters of Leintrey , the Franco- German war cemetery and Côte 303 at Reillon , and some German bunkers near Gondrexon , Montreux , and Parux.

LORRAINE - Montreux - German Front Walk 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 13 Sept, 2019
We depart from Raon-l’Etape to drive northward via Badonviller to Montreux to visit the  "Circuit du Front Allemand 14-18", the  Montreux German Front Walk 14-18,  with its trenches , breastworks , and at least twenty bunkers.

LORRAINE - The Battle of Morhange - 1914

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 08 Sept, 2019
North-east of Nancy, east of Pont-à-Mousson, and south-east of Metz we visit the battlefields of the Battle of Morhange of 14 until 20 August 1914. We follow mainly topographically the route of the French advance eastward over the Franco-German border of 1871-1918.
During this visit, we try to focus on the day that the momentum of the battle switched from the French side to the advantage of the Bavarian side: the day of 20 August 1914, when the Bavarians rapidly re-conquered the territory around Morhange , being also the day of the start of their rather successful “Schlacht in Lothringen”.
We will visit beautiful landscapes of the "Parc Naturel Régional de Lorraine", memorials, ossuaries, and cemeteries. Sometimes we will divert to other periods of the Great War, honouring Russian and Romanian soldiers, who died in this sector. We start our route at the border village of Manhoué, and via Frémery, Oron, Chicourt, Morhange, Riche, Conthil, Lidrezing, Dieuze, Vergaville, Bidestroff, Cutting, Bisping we will finish in Nomeny and Mailly-sur-Seille, where the Germans halted their advance on 20 August 1914, and where they constructed from 1915 some interesting bunkers.

LORRAINE - Lanfroicourt – Nomeny - Monument du Grand Couronné 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 05 Sept, 2019
South of Manhoué we start this trip at Lanfroicourt along the French side of the Franco-German 1871-1918 border, marked by the meandering Seille river. We visit some French bunkers  in Lanfroicourt, near Array-et-Han and in Moivrons. From there we go northward to the outskirts of Nomeny and the hamlet of Brionne to visit the ( second ) memorial, commemorating the events in Nomeny of 20 August 1914. We continue westward to finish at the Monument du Grand Couronné at the Côte de Géneviève, a former French artillery base, which offers several panoramic views over the battlefield.

LORRAINE - Bouxières-sous-Froidmont - Verny - Feste Wagner

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 28 Aug, 2019
North of Pont-à-Mousson and south of Metz, we explore the relics of German bunkers and fortifications along the Franco-German 1871-1918 border. We start at Bouxières-sous-Froidmont to visit the nearby height of the Froidmont on the front line. This time we will show only a part of the Froidmont, focusing on its military significance.  From the Froidmont we continue via Longeville-lès-Cheminot and Sillegny to the “Forêt Domaniale de Sillegny” to explore some artillery ammunition bunkers. Next we continue to Marieulles for its three interesting bunkers and to Vezon for its line of ammunition depot bunkers. From Vezon we continue to the “Deutscher Kriegsgräberstätte Fey – Buch”. From Fey we go eastward, passing 6 bunkers near Coin-lès-Cuvry to finish our trip at the top construction of the “Feste Wagner” or “Fort Verny”, north of Verny.

VOSGES - Mutzig - Fort de Mutzig - Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 25 Aug, 2019

From Badonviller or the Col du Donon we continue north-eastward for a visit to an extraordinarily well restored sample of German fortifications:  the Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II, or Fort de Mutzig,  lying on a height, some 8 km. away from the 1871-1918 Franco-German Border.

VOSGES - Ste. Marie-aux-Mines - Tête du Violu / Bernhardstein

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 23 Aug, 2019
We concentrate on the German side of the front around "Markirch", Sainte Marie-aux-Mines, the so-called "Leber" front sector . We first pay a visit to the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof, and next to the southern side of the Col de Ste. Marie for the many interesting bunkers of the German positions at the Bernhardstein, at the north-eastern slopes of the Tête du Violu. On the next photo page about the Haut de Faîte we will continue with a visit to the northern side of the pass and the "Leber" sector.
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