Understanding WWII is More Important Than Ever: Here’s Why - A guest blog post by Elizabeth B. Splaine

Some months ago, while I sat alongside my books at a local bookfair, a woman looked up and down the cover of my book and asked, “Why so many books are being written about World War II? Haven’t people had enough of that awful war?”

Her question fascinated me, as I had just published my novel Swan Song—a historical fiction novel about a young, Jewish opera singer who rises to fame in Nazi Germany, only to become the twisted obsession of Adolf Hitler. I thought a moment, and said, “Two reasons, I think. First, is that the people who suffered through WWII are passing away, leaving the responsibility to their children (often secondary victims of the war) and grandchildren to continue educating the public about the atrocities. Second, people want to understand why and how Hitler convinced the Germans to further his own megalomaniacal agenda. They want to know this so that they can prevent it from ever happening again.” Since that conversation, I have added another reason. No matter one’s political affiliation, I think we all can agree that the last several years have been the most divided in America’s recent history. Many have compared what was happening in the USA to early Nazi Germany. That’s why people are looking to the past to understand the present.

Let me explain . . .

People are Inherently Good – This is really important. I believe that most people are inherently good. We want to believe that for Hitler to have orchestrated the Holocaust, he must have been broken and twisted by circumstances into the autocratic sociopath he became. Most sane people have a hard time fitting his anti-social behavior into a societal framework of right and wrong, good and evil, black and white, so we seek to understand.

Relieving Our Own Responsibility - We, as a society, want Hitler to be a monster because it relieves us from the responsibility of owning his rise to power. Labeling him that way helps to explain away his unfathomable cruelty. Calling him a monster places him in a box that we can place on a shelf to think about later. He becomes “other” and we feel better. But consider all those who followed him? Were they monsters, too?

Germany’s economy was terrible after World War I when the government was required to pay reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans felt disenfranchised and Hitler seized the opportunity. Hitler learned from the Brits in World War I about how powerful propaganda could be. So, he attacked the Germans’ fear and anger with propaganda surrounding the Jews. At the same time, he was courting wealthy supporters who helped his rise to Chancellor. Following that, he manipulated the legislature, so the laws were changed to grow his power. Hitler told the common man exactly what he wanted to hear. Unemployment fell and Germans felt proud again, so they continued to support him, even as they saw first one group, then another, persecuted and sent away. Looking deeper into history helps us understand how vulnerable the people of Germany were. The same thing could happen to any one of us.

A Death Too Close To Home – Now let’s look deeper into Hitler’s personal life. Although there were several events that propelled Hitler forward on his asocial path—such as his mother’s death, and his rejection from art school—none is more powerful than the death of his beloved niece, Angela “Geli” Raubal.

Hitler was forty years old when he became the legal guardian of his half-sister’s daughter, Geli, who was twenty-three. They lived together in a well-appointed apartment in Munich, her bedroom located right next to his. According to all accounts, Hitler adored Geli, and she enjoyed being the object of his attention. Although Geli showed no interest in marrying him, he wanted to possess her and control her every move. She stayed until she could stand it no more. On the night of September 18, 1931, following yet another screaming match, Geli shot herself in the heart with one of Hitler’s Walther revolvers. Hitler was out of town; Geli’s body was discovered the following morning by the housekeeper, Annie Winter.

Hitler was devastated and ordered the suicide covered up. As his memory reinvented the young woman and her suicide, her death became regal, an honorable, heroic choice to which he would refer again and again over the ensuing years.

From Reality to Fiction – This is Hitler’s state of mind as he meets fictional Ursula Becker, an operatic diva who so closely resembles Geli that he cannot help but be drawn to her. In Swan Song, Hitler yearns to possess Ursula, to consume her. But her will is strong and her personality rebellious. As she continues to defy him, his broken mind conflates the two women and, over time, the truculent Ursula becomes Geli. Hitler is left with two choices: once again cause the death of someone he cherishes or allow her to live and openly defy him. The personal decisions he makes, as seen through fictional Ursula’s eyes, reflect the turmoil he continues to create throughout the world.

I wrote Swan Song for many reasons, not the least of which is to continue educating future generations about the danger of bigotry. As the greatest generation passes away, we must remember that war is never black and white. Rather, it’s a grotesque spectrum of gray in which morals are traded for food and dignity for warmth. The ugly side of humanity is paraded before the world to be judged. In recent years we have been reminded continuously of “us” and “them.” Swan Song, and other historical novels, reminds the reader that there is only “we” and “us.” Calling Hitler a monster is an excuse for ignorance. We need to understand why and how he came to power so we can ensure that it never happens again.