World War Two. A term used to describe the most destructive conflict in human history. A conflict that took the lives of almost 75 million people in the name of petty nationalism and ideology. A conflict where the parents, wives, and families of young soldiers enthusiastically waved them off, only for them to return in a casket years later. Such destruction, such suffering, exceeding that of even the Great War before it. As the years after its conclusion passed, many began to ask: “What could cause such an event?” A. J. P. Taylor answers this question in his book: The Origins of the Second World War, where he offers his insight on the Second World War’s conception. Written in 1961, well-acclaimed historian A.J.P. Taylor breaks off from the common consensus that Adolf Hitler was a warmonger of unseen proportions who planned intricately for an upcoming conflict and was supported by only fellow party members. In sharp contrast, Taylor offers an alternate proposition to the war’s origins—that Hitler did indeed have objectives and intentions for his career, but no actual plans to reach said goals, merely aligning with standard German statesmen of the time. Furthermore, Taylor stipulates that Hitler, merely being the opportunist he was, only managed to win the support of the majority of the German people by the decisiveness of his actions, particularly in taking advantage of the indecisiveness of the foreign Great Powers to achieve his goals. Subsequently, Taylor infers that Hitler was not necessarily looking for war, but rather used any means necessary (war being a last resort) to accomplish his goals provided he had the support of the German populace—support which he clearly had as seen in the 1939 invasion of Poland.
Despite a few major places of disagreement I have with Taylor’s consensus, a major succeeding point of Taylor’s book is how he writes down and discusses complex concepts in analogies so that the average reader can understand. A particular place where this is evident is where he discusses the implications of post-World War 2 German war guilt, particularly where the German people shifted blame for themselves to that of the German leadership in the war. In doing so, the concept of German war guilt and its impacts were clearly explained so that any reader could grasp its role and importance for later topics in the book. As with this greater understanding, I often found myself agreeing with much of what A.J.P. Taylor proposes. I particularly find myself agreeing with the notion that the German populace was not completely innocent for the start of World War 2, as these were the people who propelled Hitler into prominence in the first place. Subsequently, the desire to cover up the German war guilt by pinning the blame solely on Hitler is believable as the idea that people do not want to face the truth is not a new one. A point that I vehemently disagree with Taylor, however, on is his borderline downplaying on Hitler’s role in starting the Second World War. The point that Hitler was not looking for war is a particularly problematic one, as the rearming of German armed forces from the start of Hitler’s reign is a more-or-less dead giveaway for war preparations. I am not alone in this belief, as other historians harshly criticized A.J.P. Taylor’s book, an example being liberal historian Gordon A. Craig calling the book a “perverse and potentially dangerous book” in response to Taylor’s downplaying. Despite these disagreements, Taylor brings up an interesting point on the innate human willingness to shift blame so easily. Rather than accept their role in starting the war, the German people seemed to quickly shift blame to that of the past government. By doing so, Taylor highlights a human fallibility, where rather than learning from past mistakes, humans can brush it off as an almost “not my fault” type excuse.
In retrospect, A.J.P. Taylor’s book, The Origins of the Second World War, is truly an interesting work. Despite its very controversial reduction of the extent of Hitler’s role in the conception of the Second World war, he brings up many intriguing points such as the short-sightedness of Hitler and his opportunism contributed to the war’s start. Additionally, his message on how humanity tends to shift blame rather than learning from them is a major point of critical concept within the book and would likely be important for the reader to reflect on their lives. Personally, I would recommend this book, not for the goal of historical accuracy, but for an interesting and differing view on the origins of the world’s most destructive conflict. I myself, enjoyed the book, as it challenged me to reconsider my preconceived notions about the Second World War and to see if my ideas were truly correct. As such, this book earns a 5 out of 5 stars as this book was truly an intriguing read.
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