What do you think?
Rate this book
Oxford History of Modern Europe
The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933-1939
In this magisterial narrative, Zara Steiner traces the twisted road to war that began with Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. Covering a wide geographical canvas, from America to the Far East, Steiner provides an indispensable reassessment of the most disputed events of these tumultuous
years.
Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the l930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board,
forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfil his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception,
miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes.
It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of
Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war.
years.
Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the l930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board,
forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfil his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception,
miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes.
It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of
Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war.
1248 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
About the author
Zara S. Steiner
9 books8 followersZara Steiner, FBA (née Shakow) was an American-born British historian and academic. She specialised in foreign relations, international relations, 20th century history of Europe and of the United States. Her husband is the essayist George Steiner
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 24, 2015
The second of Zara S. Steiner's two-volume study on the inter-war period is one of the most impressive books I've read: she presents a truly staggering amount of research and information in clear, detailed arguments over the course of 1,200 pages.
Her work will stand as the definitive source on European diplomacy during the "Hitler era" of 1933 to 1939. Steiner's strength lies in demonstrating the interconnected nature of global events, and in explaining the relationship between structural forces and individual agency, realpolitik and ideology.
To her credit, she limits the amount of names one must remember to follow the narrative, mostly sticking to the prime ministers and their respective foreign ministers of each power. This not only serves the purpose of clarity; these men were the decision-makers, in some cases, for decades in their nation's power structures. For instance, Italy had one leader from 1922, Mussolini. Of course, Hitler dominated the Reich. But even in democratic England, Neville Chamberlain exercised control over British foreign policy.
Steiner lays bare the failures of appeasement and then the new policy of deterrence up to the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939. But as the master historian, Steiner does not recount events looking backwards with the benefit of hindsight; she argues war was not inevitable, at least not the catastrophic war that engulfed the world from 1939-1945. She does not push her counter-historical speculations too far: ultimately we cannot know how war would have gone had England and France (and the Soviet Union) stood up to Germany in 1938 (Munich). But Steiner does argue convincingly that the western powers pursued the wrong policy -- with disastrous results. That is not a new insight to anyone with a cursory knowledge of history, but the hundreds of pages the author dedicates from Munich on the road to war in 1939 illuminates how and why Chamberlain and the French (led by Daladier) continued to misjudge Hitler -- even after their publics had come around to the realization that war would be necessary to stop Germany.
These 18 chapters are loaded with insights about the Soviet Union and Stalin, the powers' rearmament efforts (none was truly ready for war in '39), and the plight of refugees -- all in addition to the detailed diplomatic record.
Five stars for Zara Steiner's 'The Triumph of the Dark.'
Her work will stand as the definitive source on European diplomacy during the "Hitler era" of 1933 to 1939. Steiner's strength lies in demonstrating the interconnected nature of global events, and in explaining the relationship between structural forces and individual agency, realpolitik and ideology.
To her credit, she limits the amount of names one must remember to follow the narrative, mostly sticking to the prime ministers and their respective foreign ministers of each power. This not only serves the purpose of clarity; these men were the decision-makers, in some cases, for decades in their nation's power structures. For instance, Italy had one leader from 1922, Mussolini. Of course, Hitler dominated the Reich. But even in democratic England, Neville Chamberlain exercised control over British foreign policy.
Steiner lays bare the failures of appeasement and then the new policy of deterrence up to the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939. But as the master historian, Steiner does not recount events looking backwards with the benefit of hindsight; she argues war was not inevitable, at least not the catastrophic war that engulfed the world from 1939-1945. She does not push her counter-historical speculations too far: ultimately we cannot know how war would have gone had England and France (and the Soviet Union) stood up to Germany in 1938 (Munich). But Steiner does argue convincingly that the western powers pursued the wrong policy -- with disastrous results. That is not a new insight to anyone with a cursory knowledge of history, but the hundreds of pages the author dedicates from Munich on the road to war in 1939 illuminates how and why Chamberlain and the French (led by Daladier) continued to misjudge Hitler -- even after their publics had come around to the realization that war would be necessary to stop Germany.
These 18 chapters are loaded with insights about the Soviet Union and Stalin, the powers' rearmament efforts (none was truly ready for war in '39), and the plight of refugees -- all in addition to the detailed diplomatic record.
Five stars for Zara Steiner's 'The Triumph of the Dark.'
February 4, 2019
Wow! What a book! The research needed to write it had to be daunting and intimidating! Zara Steiner, a historian specializing in European Foreign Offices and foreign policies, here delivers a compendium of national reactions, negotiations and actions provoked by the arrival on the world scene, of populism, nationalism, rapid armament, Fascism and Nazism. The result is proof that just about all major government in the world reacted mostly to save their internally-oriented, national, electoral skins, rather than try to delay the growing, continent-wide “Dark” that was taking over the world. Thus, each country contributed its share of events that lead up to, and abetted the Second World War. This is a detailed, wide-ranging overview that includes events other histories often gloss over: the Italian-Ethiopian War; the Anschluss; the Japanese Manchurian-Chinese War; the Spanish Civil War, the invasion of Czechoslovakia; the invasion of Poland; the invasion of Denmark and Norway, etc. And throughout the world, every government feared having to negociate with Stalin and the Soviet Regime. Most preferred negociating with Hitler who lied and told them whatever they wanted to hear. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to understand the roots of the last, big world war. All of Europe, and mostly Britain and France, had a hand in letting Hitler have his war.(less)
Currently reading
August 5, 2011understand history, perceive today, change tommorrow
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews