The Myth of German Villainy

This book challenges the common account that Germany alone bore responsibility for the two world wars of the twentieth century. The author argues that the familiar image of Germany as history's chief villain was shaped in large part by wartime propaganda, including atrocity stories spread to stir hostility toward the German people. He contends that the upheaval of the First World War opened the way for the Bolshevik Revolution, and that Germany under Hitler saw Soviet communism as a mortal danger to Western civilization. On this reading, Germany stood as a barrier against communist expansion across Europe. The author also maintains that Britain and the United States backed the wrong side, a decision he believes had grave consequences for the West.