Hitlers Aristocrats, Susan Ronald
Hitlers Aristocrats, Susan Ronald
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Hitler's Aristocrats
The Secret Power Players in Britain and America Who Supported the Nazis, 1923–1941

Author: Susan Ronald

Narrator: Hannah Curtis

Unabridged: 14 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/14/2023


Synopsis

The acclaimed author of Hitler’s Art Thief takes listeners into the shadowy world of the aristocrats and business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic who secretly aided Hitler and Nazi Germany.Adolph Hitler said, “I am convinced that propaganda is an essential means to achieve one’s aims.” Enlisting Europe’s aristocracy, international industrialists, and the political elite in Britain and America, Hitler spun a treacherous tale everyone wanted to believe: that he was a man of peace. Central to his deception was an international high-society Black Widow, Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, whom Hitler called “his dear princess.” She and others conspired for Hitler at the highest levels of the British aristocracy and spread their web to America’s wealthy powerbrokers.Hitler’s aristocrats became his eyes, listening posts, and mouthpieces in the drawing rooms, at the cocktail parties, and on the weekend retreats of Europe and America. Among these “gentlemen spies” and “ladies of mystery” were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Lady Nancy Astor, Charles Lindbergh, and two of the Mitford sisters. They were the trusted voices disseminating his political and cultural propaganda about the “New Germany,” brushing aside the Nazis’ atrocities. Distrustful of his own foreign ministry, Hitler used his aristocrats to open the right doors in Great Britain and the United States, creating a formidable fifth column within government and financial circles.In a tale of drama and intrigue, Hitler’s Aristocrats uncovers the battle between these influencers and those who heroically opposed them.

About Susan Ronald

Born and raised in the United States, Susan Ronald is a British American biographer, historian, and author of several books, including The Ambassador, Condé Nast, A Dangerous Woman, Hitler’s Art Thief, and Heretic Queen. She lives in a quintessential English village with her writer husband.

About Hannah Curtis

HANNAH CURTIS is best known for her work on television shows such as Hollyoaks, Urban Gothic, Family Affairs, and ER. She has also starred in many commercials and has done voiceover work in both the UK and the USA.


Reviews

This took me a long time to finish, but it was absolutely worth the read. The thesis of Hitler’s Aristocrat’s is so simple that it seems too obvious: Hitler’s rise to power was aided and abetted by numerous rich and powerful people around the world, who lent their money, influence, and expertise to......more

Goodreads review by Tony

The writing style of this book is "fair," but the sweep of its subject is extraordinary. Susan Ronald presents an excellent chronology of the many British and American individuals who supported Hitler (at least initially), who were Hitler's apologists, who were actively involved in propaganda and th......more

Goodreads review by Casey

This book is well written and researched. As the title suggests it focuses on individuals who knowingly and potentially unknowingly supported the Nazis in their rise to power. Some of the individuals are well known such as Charles Lindberg, Henry Ford, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joseph Kennedy and......more


Quotes

“British narrator Hannah Curtis engagingly conveys Ronald’s impeccable research and convincing claims. Listeners will be captivated…An excellent addition to any audio history collection.” Library Journal (starred audio review)

“An absorbing study of the ubiquitous nature of propaganda and the ‘murky puppeteers’ who actively worked to blind the world to Hitler’s crimes.” Shelf Awareness

“Unearths the efforts of dozens…who helped pave the way for getting Hitler’s ‘big lie’ accepted by so many…[A] highly readable drama of highborn traitors who enthusiastically aided the Nazi ascent to power.” Kirkus Reviews

“Profiles fascist sympathizers both well-known and obscure…Her insights into how quickly anti-democratic views can take root in the popular attitudes of the wealthy are relevant today.” Publishers Weekly

“Meticulously documents Hitler’s rise to power by focusing on the societal and political entourage he cultivated…Recommended.” Library Journal

“Hitler’s Aristocrats is by turns fascinating and heartbreaking as it sheds light on those who abetted rise to power and also those who courageously opposed him.” Dr. Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire