John R. Ban

I wrote this book not only as a requirement for my master’s degree in 1959 but because of my interest in European history. I conducted my research at the State Department of the United States. There, I examined the numerous documents sent by the American Embassy in Germany back to the State Department in the 1930’s.

These documents indicated that the rising political figure in Germany at that time was Adolf Hitler, head of the Nazi party. A one-time house painter and a self-appointed savior, he was eventually elected to be Chancellor of Germany in 1933. He was obsessed by the belief that Germans were a superior race, that war was necessary to gain Lebensraum which meant space for the growing German population.

Many of the early reports about him was that he was an amateur politician who would soon disappear from the political scene. They were wrong. Desiring to conquer all of Europe, Hitler precipitated the worst war in our planet’s history - a war in which 70 to 85 million people lost their lives. Seeing that the war was lost for Germany, Hitler committed suicide in April 1945. To all those who lost their lives in the war, this book is dedicated.