What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hitler Virus: The Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler
Pro-Hitler sentiment in Germany and its implications are laid bare in this chilling history of the Nazi leader's legacy and continuing influence in that country since his death in 1945. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
7 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Peter Wyden
22 books7 followersPeter H. Wyden, born Peter Weidenreich, in Berlin to a Jewish family, was an American journalist and writer.
He left Nazi Germany and went to the United States in 1937. After studying at City University of New York, he served with the U.S. Army's Psychological Warfare Division in Europe during World War II. After the war, he began a career in journalism, during which he worked as a reporter for The Wichita Eagle, a feature writer for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, a contributing editor for The Saturday Evening Post in Chicago and San Francisco, articles editor for McCall's, and executive editor for Ladies' Home Journal. He authored or coauthored nine books, and numerous articles that appeared in major magazines. In 1970, he became a book publisher in New York City and Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Source: wikipedia.com
He left Nazi Germany and went to the United States in 1937. After studying at City University of New York, he served with the U.S. Army's Psychological Warfare Division in Europe during World War II. After the war, he began a career in journalism, during which he worked as a reporter for The Wichita Eagle, a feature writer for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, a contributing editor for The Saturday Evening Post in Chicago and San Francisco, articles editor for McCall's, and executive editor for Ladies' Home Journal. He authored or coauthored nine books, and numerous articles that appeared in major magazines. In 1970, he became a book publisher in New York City and Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Source: wikipedia.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 3, 2023
It is shocking to many to find out that there are plenty of people out there that still think of the notorious psychopathic dictator, Adolf Hitler, as anything more than a monster that should be reviled in the pages of history books. No matter how many years pass, the so-called “Hitler Virus” still clings to German society. People still celebrate his birthday, visit his numerous sites as tourist traps, sell memorabilia with his face emblazoned in it, and produce TV and films where his issues are downplayed. Sure, you have your militaristic Neo-Nazis and other racists that revere the man for his most nefarious deeds, but many simply ignore those guys as some sort of aberration and by-product of the right to free-speech. But what about someone’s kindly old grandmother that fondly remembers how quaint and warm her peaceful childhood was in Nazi Germany? How can one explain how a man so hated, so detested by the general populace can still be such a force in modern times? Whether it be through historical revisionism, political misguidance, accidental (or deliberate) propaganda, or outright denialism, there are many vectors to which “The Hitler Virus” spreads, and if this book is any indication, there appears to be no expiration date for the trouble it causes.
In the preface to this book, we find out that the book’s bestselling author, Peter Wyden, had written a large majority of The Hitler Virus in the late nineties, only to succumb to complications of a heart attack he had suffered the previous year (he was also 74). The book was finished by this aforementioned editor and his widow, updated with new information up to around the year 2000 or so, and released to a generally good reception. It is due to this unconventional publication that that the main problem of the book arises – it sometimes feels like a series of essays that lack the sort of narrative thread one would expect in a book like this. Had Wyden been in better health, I’m sure that this could have been achieved, but sadly we appear to be left with a book that is a decent look into this topic versus what could have been truly great. That said, what we do have is fairly well thought out and covers a range of topics we largely do not hear about around here. Most Americans seem to think that the fall of the Nazi Regime meant that everyone in Germany saw their misdeeds and moved on better for the ordeal. These sorts of people always seem shocked to hear about little right-wing uprisings and political attacks (such as one that made the news in late 2022) that happen throughout Germany more often than most would like. The ghost of Adolf Hitler is not fully removed from the German psyche, and Wyden does an adequate job of explaining why and giving examples from the last seventy years.
The book goes into great detail about the many steps that allowed “The Hitler Virus” to flourish. Initially, he details how the eradication of a lot of Nazi Ideals was halted by Allied ambition and the need for new allies to help fight the new world boogieman, COMMUNISM. This meant that a lot of Nazi war criminals destined for the gallows were instead “de-nazified”, dressed in new suits, and allowed to be officials for the American government (like Wernher von Braun) or stay in Germany largely doing what they did before. With many, this was a mere “wink and nudge” change, and a lot of small communities still kept their Nazi culture largely unchanged by the passage of time. As soon as people weren’t held accountable, historic revisionism and outright denial became mainstream. As with any “truther” movement, Holocaust denialism is utterly idiotic and morally bankrupt, that that hasn’t stopped many from capitalizing on it and indoctrinating the next generation of deniers in their image. Next the book talks about the stage where you see the romanticism of the Nazi era, with it being remembered as some kind of “glory days” that modern times has gotten away from. and finally, we learn about revival movements – scary little groups that often try to force a shift back to that earlier time. It’s rather scary that America has often followed in similar path with many of our politicians in regard to many of these things and our own blemished history.
But surely, with most people alive during World War II dying off, everything should be easing up in 2023? Right? Might I remind you that it was not too long ago that Kanye West, a billionaire musician, decided to use the better part of multiple months giving interviews where he espoused the virtues of Adolf Hitler, demonized Jews, ad ultimately started a rash of antisemitic hate crimes in the name of performative mental illness. Just when you think we, as a society, have moved past such a backwards mindset, there’s always an influential agent of chaos that has to rope everyone back in. This is why I personally fear the sort of material this book warns about. With a lot of our politicians wanting to actively hide what they would deem “bad history”, we seem to be destined for wave after wave of this moving forward.
This book was both eye-opening and informative, and filled in some gaps for me on how Hitler is seen today in parts of Germany. As a in-depth analysis of post-war “Hitlerism”, I’m not sure this book was wholly successful, assuming that was even the author’s original intention for the book. It does chronicle how this mindset has persisted through many different mediums, and how many notorious Nazis were allowed to keep peddling their ideological wares despite supposed laws against it. Like stated before, this is a flawed book due to the nature of how the book was completed, and lacks the final touches to give a sissifying conclusion or “bring it all together”, but what we do have is an important book nonetheless. If anything, each chapter is a thorough essay on the topic at hand, and you can tell Wyden did TONS of research, and was well-informed through interviews and personal experience. if you have in interest in history, extremism, or even sociology, this might be worth checking out.
In the preface to this book, we find out that the book’s bestselling author, Peter Wyden, had written a large majority of The Hitler Virus in the late nineties, only to succumb to complications of a heart attack he had suffered the previous year (he was also 74). The book was finished by this aforementioned editor and his widow, updated with new information up to around the year 2000 or so, and released to a generally good reception. It is due to this unconventional publication that that the main problem of the book arises – it sometimes feels like a series of essays that lack the sort of narrative thread one would expect in a book like this. Had Wyden been in better health, I’m sure that this could have been achieved, but sadly we appear to be left with a book that is a decent look into this topic versus what could have been truly great. That said, what we do have is fairly well thought out and covers a range of topics we largely do not hear about around here. Most Americans seem to think that the fall of the Nazi Regime meant that everyone in Germany saw their misdeeds and moved on better for the ordeal. These sorts of people always seem shocked to hear about little right-wing uprisings and political attacks (such as one that made the news in late 2022) that happen throughout Germany more often than most would like. The ghost of Adolf Hitler is not fully removed from the German psyche, and Wyden does an adequate job of explaining why and giving examples from the last seventy years.
The book goes into great detail about the many steps that allowed “The Hitler Virus” to flourish. Initially, he details how the eradication of a lot of Nazi Ideals was halted by Allied ambition and the need for new allies to help fight the new world boogieman, COMMUNISM. This meant that a lot of Nazi war criminals destined for the gallows were instead “de-nazified”, dressed in new suits, and allowed to be officials for the American government (like Wernher von Braun) or stay in Germany largely doing what they did before. With many, this was a mere “wink and nudge” change, and a lot of small communities still kept their Nazi culture largely unchanged by the passage of time. As soon as people weren’t held accountable, historic revisionism and outright denial became mainstream. As with any “truther” movement, Holocaust denialism is utterly idiotic and morally bankrupt, that that hasn’t stopped many from capitalizing on it and indoctrinating the next generation of deniers in their image. Next the book talks about the stage where you see the romanticism of the Nazi era, with it being remembered as some kind of “glory days” that modern times has gotten away from. and finally, we learn about revival movements – scary little groups that often try to force a shift back to that earlier time. It’s rather scary that America has often followed in similar path with many of our politicians in regard to many of these things and our own blemished history.
But surely, with most people alive during World War II dying off, everything should be easing up in 2023? Right? Might I remind you that it was not too long ago that Kanye West, a billionaire musician, decided to use the better part of multiple months giving interviews where he espoused the virtues of Adolf Hitler, demonized Jews, ad ultimately started a rash of antisemitic hate crimes in the name of performative mental illness. Just when you think we, as a society, have moved past such a backwards mindset, there’s always an influential agent of chaos that has to rope everyone back in. This is why I personally fear the sort of material this book warns about. With a lot of our politicians wanting to actively hide what they would deem “bad history”, we seem to be destined for wave after wave of this moving forward.
This book was both eye-opening and informative, and filled in some gaps for me on how Hitler is seen today in parts of Germany. As a in-depth analysis of post-war “Hitlerism”, I’m not sure this book was wholly successful, assuming that was even the author’s original intention for the book. It does chronicle how this mindset has persisted through many different mediums, and how many notorious Nazis were allowed to keep peddling their ideological wares despite supposed laws against it. Like stated before, this is a flawed book due to the nature of how the book was completed, and lacks the final touches to give a sissifying conclusion or “bring it all together”, but what we do have is an important book nonetheless. If anything, each chapter is a thorough essay on the topic at hand, and you can tell Wyden did TONS of research, and was well-informed through interviews and personal experience. if you have in interest in history, extremism, or even sociology, this might be worth checking out.
April 14, 2023
You can tell that the author died before the book was finished. The book doesn't close out as it does stop. However, The Hitler Virus provides valuable insight into the appeal of Nazism and its endurance. This book should be read more to help the populace prevent the horrors of Nazism from happening again.
April 19, 2011
An amazing look at Hilter's long lasting effect on the world. Astounding to read what happened to Nazi leaders post WW2. I had no idea how Hilter's beliefs and political views have impacted ganerations. A true warning to the world. Insightfully written, but not exactly my style.
May 1, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out 5. Hitler may be dead but his poisonous thoughts are still alive and well. Very interesting and terrifying. Recommend to everyone.
May 6, 2022
Even dated, this is a must listen for anyone who cares about the state of the current (2022) world. Scary listen, if you're a thinker.
June 2, 2012
THIS IS WHY NO ONE SHOULD EVER FORGET!
March 26, 2022
This was an odd book. The idea behind it - why hasn’t the concept of Nazism and the cult of Hitler disappeared - is a fascinating and important one. Parts of the book are fascinating, well researched and thought provoking. But parts of it are, frankly, boring - quite an achievement given the subject matter! It lacked a narrative thread, it felt more like a series of essays or articles rather than a cohesive book. The part about the children of Nazi officials was particularly well written and heart breaking. The author’s own personal experience during and after the war was some of the more interesting parts, it would have been a better book if it had contained more of that.
May 29, 2019
this was informative and frightening at the same time. I now understand the Jews' fear of Germany a little better. I do think that it is misplaced to decry Hitler and his followers as "Right wing extremists". That has been an incorrect label since its inception shortly after World War II. If anything, it is FAR LEFT to be a Hitler supporter, as he promoted Socialist policies and the centralized grip of government while annihilating the Jews.
January 9, 2024
I think this book is even more important today than it was when it was published. Many people don't believe the holocaust was real, they think it's a hoax!
In Sweden where I was born and lived until 2001 there is now a neo Nazi party, called the Sweden party. They are part of the Swedish government, they and also part of many city and county governments! I didn't think that would ever happen but many people in Sweden are not happy about all the refugees that come to Sweden every year.
In Sweden where I was born and lived until 2001 there is now a neo Nazi party, called the Sweden party. They are part of the Swedish government, they and also part of many city and county governments! I didn't think that would ever happen but many people in Sweden are not happy about all the refugees that come to Sweden every year.
January 24, 2022
The subject of the lasting legacy and the imprint left in its wake is an enormously profound, deep and vital subject which encompasses huge scope and impact.
Unfortunately, Wyden’s talent as a writer and his predictable approach is limited, not at all up to the task.
Unfortunately, Wyden’s talent as a writer and his predictable approach is limited, not at all up to the task.
July 19, 2021
This book has a number of interesting chapters on the post-war fascination with Hitler, but it's of limited use because of the lack of citations.
February 23, 2022
Interesting content. It editorialized a bit in places, but it presents a devastating portrayal of how virtue signalling, prejudice, and real politick can combine to pervert or even overrule justice.
October 18, 2017
Peter Wyden was a journalist and author, and this book has been released posthumously by Wyden's friend and fellow publisher, Richard Seaver.
Wyden sent this book to Seaver knowing that it was in need of a good editor, and his death surely has had an impact on the book we see. This is a good book, with a lot to say, but suffers from being too episodic, and lacks a structure to hold it together.
Wyden's personal history appears in the book from time-to-time: forced to flee Germany in 1937 because he was Jewish, he returned in 1945 with the US Army as part of a propaganda unit charged with trying to eradicate the Nazi cancer from the surviving population. Wyden has insights not only into the Nazi thuggery before the war, but also into the reactions of Germans to their defeat.
The Hitler virus is about more than the shock and denial of the German population immediately after the War: it chronicles how Nazism has never been completely crushed, and how, hydra-like, the insidious legacy of the title keeps appearing, sometimes in the strangest places.
Wyden chronicles the way that soon after the war the US rehabilitated many Nazis to help run post-war Germany, and how the "Nazi dust vanished under the rug". The accommodation of the occupying powers with some of the former administration led to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, where the US assumed people were not Nazis, and no German would admit to past dealings with the Party.
He goes on to discuss "The Hitler wave" of the 1970s, when Germany started to talk, write, and make film about Hitler. What Wyden finds troubling about this era is how much of this outpouring minimised Hitler's madness and evil and emphasised his "achievements". His discussion of the television series Heimat is very interesting, showing how, by a change of emphasis, and of what is and isn't shown, a different interpretation of the Nazi era can and has taken hold in a great part of Germany.
The "out and proud" Nazis also get a mention in the book, along with those that profit from the fascination with the Nazi period - there is quite a good short expose on the Hitler diaries fiasco, noting the involvement of several former members of the Nazi hierarchy. The Hitler tourist and memorabilia industry also gets coverage.
The Hitler historians come in for criticism as well - mostly the Germans, such as Fest, Nolte and to a lesser extent Haffner, but David Irving gets his fair share as well. Better material has been written elsewhere on how history can be distorted by charlatans like Irving , but Wyden gives a good journalistic coverage here. Where Wyden does well is to show the subtlety with which many of these characters belittle the crimes of Hitler and the Nazi regime - insidious indeed.
The final section of the book is "brighter" - some sections on some brave souls who fight for the truth to be exposed, no matter how painful it might be. Wyden briefly discusses the psychological effect of Nazism on Germany and Germans, and how denial is to some extent a natural reaction to such horrors, as indeed is embracing the crimes, which a small minority have done.
There are in reality several books within this title, which is probably why, good as it is, it left me feeling unfulfilled. Many of the chapters are very short, and left me wanting more information. Because Wyden covers so much territory, he skims the surface in many areas, which is a shame.
The one thing that does come out of this book is the re-iteration that we must never never forget.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Wyden sent this book to Seaver knowing that it was in need of a good editor, and his death surely has had an impact on the book we see. This is a good book, with a lot to say, but suffers from being too episodic, and lacks a structure to hold it together.
Wyden's personal history appears in the book from time-to-time: forced to flee Germany in 1937 because he was Jewish, he returned in 1945 with the US Army as part of a propaganda unit charged with trying to eradicate the Nazi cancer from the surviving population. Wyden has insights not only into the Nazi thuggery before the war, but also into the reactions of Germans to their defeat.
The Hitler virus is about more than the shock and denial of the German population immediately after the War: it chronicles how Nazism has never been completely crushed, and how, hydra-like, the insidious legacy of the title keeps appearing, sometimes in the strangest places.
Wyden chronicles the way that soon after the war the US rehabilitated many Nazis to help run post-war Germany, and how the "Nazi dust vanished under the rug". The accommodation of the occupying powers with some of the former administration led to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, where the US assumed people were not Nazis, and no German would admit to past dealings with the Party.
He goes on to discuss "The Hitler wave" of the 1970s, when Germany started to talk, write, and make film about Hitler. What Wyden finds troubling about this era is how much of this outpouring minimised Hitler's madness and evil and emphasised his "achievements". His discussion of the television series Heimat is very interesting, showing how, by a change of emphasis, and of what is and isn't shown, a different interpretation of the Nazi era can and has taken hold in a great part of Germany.
The "out and proud" Nazis also get a mention in the book, along with those that profit from the fascination with the Nazi period - there is quite a good short expose on the Hitler diaries fiasco, noting the involvement of several former members of the Nazi hierarchy. The Hitler tourist and memorabilia industry also gets coverage.
The Hitler historians come in for criticism as well - mostly the Germans, such as Fest, Nolte and to a lesser extent Haffner, but David Irving gets his fair share as well. Better material has been written elsewhere on how history can be distorted by charlatans like Irving , but Wyden gives a good journalistic coverage here. Where Wyden does well is to show the subtlety with which many of these characters belittle the crimes of Hitler and the Nazi regime - insidious indeed.
The final section of the book is "brighter" - some sections on some brave souls who fight for the truth to be exposed, no matter how painful it might be. Wyden briefly discusses the psychological effect of Nazism on Germany and Germans, and how denial is to some extent a natural reaction to such horrors, as indeed is embracing the crimes, which a small minority have done.
There are in reality several books within this title, which is probably why, good as it is, it left me feeling unfulfilled. Many of the chapters are very short, and left me wanting more information. Because Wyden covers so much territory, he skims the surface in many areas, which is a shame.
The one thing that does come out of this book is the re-iteration that we must never never forget.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
February 9, 2009
This work was kind of an overview of some of the ways Hitler just won't go away, with emphasis on the German nation but trickles throughout the rest of the world. I am personally at the point where a deeper, more technical view of a specific aspect of all things Hitler is of greater interest, but to a less saturated reader this would be a good work. It only got three stars because I rated it based on what I expected or wanted, not what it was. Anyway, if you have ever wondered how the heck Germany deals with this rather icky past...The Hitler Virus is a great place to start.
Side note: I am extremely intrigued by anyone who writes the Holocaust never happened and actually believes such. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to overlook all of the mountains of evidences I have seen and read as a History buff. I am very pro Israel and when the Muslim world and others compare what Israel does with what was done to the Jews I am so ready to just scream and pull my hair out. Thankfully most really ignorant people do not write books. With the advent of the internet, I guess any idiot with a few free minutes can pump out lies at his/her leisure.
Side note: I am extremely intrigued by anyone who writes the Holocaust never happened and actually believes such. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to overlook all of the mountains of evidences I have seen and read as a History buff. I am very pro Israel and when the Muslim world and others compare what Israel does with what was done to the Jews I am so ready to just scream and pull my hair out. Thankfully most really ignorant people do not write books. With the advent of the internet, I guess any idiot with a few free minutes can pump out lies at his/her leisure.
September 4, 2019
An important topic because the philosophies the Nazis espoused and taught are still around us. But I found this disjointed, choppy, and quite repetitive -- possibly due to multiple writers, as Wyden died before he could complete the project.
October 12, 2016
A fascinating analysis of the Hitler meme. Fascinating how the nazi were kept and cultivated in the West Germany, the same way the STASI were protected in East Germany.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews