Wilhelm II and the Germans: A Study in Leadership Book

Thomas Kohut spent fifteen years conducting oral histories of 62 Germans of the World War II generation, summarizing his findings, and writing this book. Kohut has a background in psychology and history and he brings these two fields together to draw conclusions on how historical events impact the psyche of a generation. He concludes "Not only are the last members of the 'the greatest' and of 'a German" generation' now dying away, so too are he victims of National Socialism, including, of course, those who survived the Holocaust. At this point of generational transition it seems important to remind ourselves that what ultimately separates us from those who carried out and enabled the genocide is historical experience. We share human nature with the perpetrators and their complict bystanders. Two specific aspects of human nature seem particularly relevant in the context of National Socialism and the Holocaust. Although its intensity may vary from person to person, or indeed from culture to culture, all human beings have the need to belong to the group and to exclude others from it, a need that centrally motivated the genocide, in my view. And all human beings have the capacity to dehumanize others by closing off empathy for them, a capacity that enabled the genocide to be carried out. Moreover, the similarities between "the greatest generation" and "a German generation," as well as the differences between the German generation described here and other twentieth-century German generations, suggest that we should not count on cultural context to distance us from the Nazis. What separates us from those who carried out the worst horror in the history of modern Europe is nothing intrinsic to them or us. What separates us from them is "the grace" of historical experience.

Kohut encourages readers to judge for themselves based on the evidence that he presents. If his conclusion intrigues you to learn more about how memory and action are formed by a series of historical events and in turn impact the course of history, read this book. Some of the essays are a bit repetitive, but overall this was a fresh way to approach presenting the findings of an oral history project to the general public.