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George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

gutenberg.net.au

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Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#471

Post by permo-w »

pukexxr wrote: post #455
lostlogin wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading the comments below the article (generally a bad idea) show that a paragraph of the article seems to have been ‘redacted’. Sources are quoted but I don’t see a reason for the change. “I should like to put it on record that I have never been able to dislike Hitler. Ever since he came to power - till then, like nearly everyone, I had been deceived into thinking that he did not matter - I have reflected that I wo…

>>Sources are quoted but I don’t see a reason for the change. Redacted [by who?] If this was removed by Orwell then it isn't for you to see a reason or not. If removed by the editors of the abve site, then I'd agree that that's a questionable choice; at any rate an ellipsis would be called for.

given the phrasing - "I should like it put on record" - I would not be particularly sympathetic even towards Orwell choosing to have it redacted from future publications

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#472

Post by nl »

It's interesting that this version is an edited version, and unclear when the changes occurred.

The full version[1] includes this:

> I should like to put it on record that I have never been able to dislike Hitler. Ever since he came to power—till then, like nearly everyone, I had been deceived into thinking that he did not matter—I have reflected that I would certainly kill him if I could get within reach of him, but that I could feel no personal animosity. The fact is that there is something deeply appealing about him.

In the linked version that is represented by "..." which is easy to miss

[1] http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks16/1600051h.html

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#473

Post by greatpostman »

hef19898 wrote: post #95
greatpostman wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quotes from Churchill and general patton paint a very different picture than we are told

Wasn't Patton a PTSD denying, proto wheraboo who thought he fought the wrong enemy? One that was removed from Getmany due his treatment and view of displaced jews? As with all WW2 generals, I would take his quotes, and memoires, with a ton of salt.

You must admit, throwing out first hand accounts is radical

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#474

Post by mhh__ »

nl wrote: post #470
avodonosov wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had he attempted to conquer Britan before turning to Russia?

His plan certainly was to, and his generals told him it would happen. Operation Sealion (the German invasion of Britain) was planned for September 1940[1]. The German invasion of Russia[2] commenced June 1941. Note that Orwell was writing this in March 1940, before it was clear that Britain would win the Battle of Britain (the airwar that was supposed to destroy the British airforce in preparation for invasion) and G…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sea_Lion_(wargame)

They war gamed Sea Lion with actual Nazis around at the time.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#475

Post by mhh__ »

mikaeluman wrote: post #335

Just have to admit to being impressed by how succinct and clear yet deep this writing was. Easy to read and understand, and certainly gets the point across.

Orwell's writing is such a palate cleanser compared to (say) the continental philosophers of not very long after him.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#476

Post by avodonosov »

lovecg wrote: post #468
avodonosov wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had he attempted to conquer Britan before turning to Russia?

The Battle of Britain is generally accepted to have had a peace treaty with Britain as a (failed) strategic objective, thus putting it “out of the picture”.

I've read, the Battle of Britan can indeed be called a failed attempt to conquer Britan. Althouhg not ended with a peace treaty, wikipedia even says: "Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later." - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

So I am not sure it is really "out of the question".

Overall, the Orwell's sentence is not very insightful, imho.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#477

Post by mhh__ »

notRobot wrote: post #216
rossdavidh wrote: post #186

So, there's a lot to be said about Hitler and fascism and propaganda and all the other fascinating topics Orwell brings up here, but I'd just like to point out how routinely excellent Orwell's analysis is. Of course I mostly see the best bits brought out and dusted off, no doubt he did mediocre stuff as well, but it is worth noticing how often it turns out that Orwell, nearly a century on, still has plenty in his wri…

Any recommendations for other writings and analyses by Orwell?

The series "As I please" is very good.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#478

Post by permo-w »

lostlogin wrote: post #356
mikaeluman wrote: post #335

Just have to admit to being impressed by how succinct and clear yet deep this writing was. Easy to read and understand, and certainly gets the point across.

Reading the comments below the article (generally a bad idea) show that a paragraph of the article seems to have been ‘redacted’. Sources are quoted but I don’t see a reason for the change. “I should like to put it on record that I have never been able to dislike Hitler. Ever since he came to power - till then, like nearly everyone, I had been deceived into thinking that he did not matter - I have reflected that I wo…

he is not alone in this feeling. the numbers are no longer on the site, but I remember YouGov [a British polling company] indicated that British people hold Stalin in far more contempt than they do Hitler, even in spite of the far closer proximity and impact of Hitler's crimes.

whether that polling can be trusted I do not know, but I do get the feeling that despite genuine hatred for his actions, a lot of people harbour a soft spot for his persona.

I suspect this is as or more likely a result of his abundant comic depictions as it is the characterisation as a hero-like figure manfully struggling against inevitability.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#479

Post by strangeattractr »

adventured wrote: post #458
magpi3 wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you really thing a book like 1984 is "not that deep"?

1984 is a particularly shallow book. It borders on being so simplistic as to cater to a teen equivalent crowd intellectually. It'd be deep for a 12 year old reading it for the first time, maybe. It's a cartoonish dystopia, laughably absurd in structure; although it gets his points across, which is obviously important. Orwell paints the kind of fantasy dystopia one might envision if one knew absolutely nothing about t…

This is what's so good about hacker news, morons that enjoyed the book can learn how deficient their minds are at grasping complex ideas in comparison to intellectual heavyweights such as yourself.

Re: George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf

#480

Post by LAC-Tech »

helloworld11 wrote: post #414

>Probably, in Hitler's own mind, the Russo-German Pact represents no more than an alteration of time-table. The plan laid down in Mein Kampf was to smash Russia first, with the implied intention of smashing England afterwards. Now, as it has turned out, England has got to be dealt with first, because Russia was the more easily bribed of the two. But Russia's turn will come when England is out of the picture—that, no…

This was not a rare view at the time, was it? IIRC a lot of people saw it coming.
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