June 1941: Hitler and Stalin - Hardcover

Lukacs, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300114370 ISBN 13: 9780300114379

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2006

Synopsis

This brilliant new work by the author of the best-selling Five Days in London, May 1940 is an unparalleled drama of two great leaders confronting each other in June 1941. It describes Hitler and Stalin’s strange, calculating, and miscalculating relationship before the German invasion of Soviet Russia, with its gigantic (and unintended) consequences. John Lukacs questions many long-held beliefs; he suggests, for example, that among other things Hitler’s first purpose involved England: if Stalin’s Communist Russia were to be defeated, Hitler’s Third Reich would be well-nigh invincible, and the British and American peoples would be forced to rethink the war against Hitler. 
The book offers penetrating insights and a new portrait of Hitler and Stalin, moved by their long-lasting inclinations. Yet among other things, Lukacs presents evidence that Hitler (rather than his generals) had moments of dark foreboding before the invasion. Stalin could not, because he wished not, believe that Hitler would choose the risk of a two-front war by attacking him; he was stunned and shocked and came close to a breakdown. But he recovered, grew into a statesman, and eventually became a prime victor of the Second World War. Such are the ironies of history; John Lukacs paints them with a shining narrative skill.

About this title

From the Author:

A conversation with John Lukacs
 
Q:  What did you find most interesting in your researches for this book?
A:  A number of things, but perhaps especially that Stalin’s admiration of Germany (and even of Hitler) was quite long-standing.
 
Q:  What about the recent thesis of many that Stalin was about to attack Germany in July 1941 and that Hitler’s invasion pre-empted that?
A:  Absolutely untrue, concocted, and presented often by people whose hidden purpose is to rehabilitate Hitler.
 
Q:  Is yours the definitive history of the origins of the German-Russian war in 1941?
A:  There is no such thing as a definitive history. I tried to move as close to truth as I was able to, something that necessarily involves the demolition of many kinds of untruths. The best I can hope for is an honest and telling description (not definition) that will endure.
 

About the Author:

John Lukacs is one of America’s most respected historians and the author of more than two dozen books on history, nine of which are published by Yale University Press. 

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0300114370
• ISBN 13: 9780300114379
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192