Why did Hitler rise to power? This much-asked question was the title of a study conducted in 1934 with convinced Nazi supporters, whose autobiographies are the subject of the contributions in this volume. The self-testimonies of former National Socialists and expelled Germans are also used to trace individual and collective biographical processes.
Im Mittelpunkt des Buchs steht das autobiographische Manuskript, das von dem jüdischen Arzt Heinz Lichtenstein (1904–1990) unter dem Pseudonym Martin Andermann für ein ‚wissenschaftliches Preisausschreiben‘ der Harvard University im Jahr 1939 erstellt wurde.
The book focuses on the autobiographical manuscript written by the Jewish physician Heinz Lichtenstein (1904–1990) under the pseudonym Martin Andermann for the Harvard University 'prize competition' in 1939. Answering the call "To all who knew Germany well before and since Hitler," Lichtenstein recounts his growing up in Königsberg – under the influence of Immanuel Kant – his student days, which made him a follower of Martin Heidegger, as well as his work as a doctor and the restrictions and persecutions associated with it, which led to his emigration to the USA.