The inaugural section of 

New Sources on the Holocaust is dedicated to a fascinating new

source related to the early antisemitism of Adolf Hitler: Historian Thomas Weber offers a
deeply contextualized interpretation of the source, and Moshe Zimmerman provides
a thoughtful commentary.
Behind the Issue w/ Thomas Weber
JANUARY 28, 2020   / JOURNALOFHOLOCAUSTRESEARCH

Thomas Weber’s recently published article, The Pre-1914 Origins of Hitler’s

Antisemitism Revisited is the first of a new series whereby The Journal of Holocaust
Research will occasionally feature a special section introducing New Sources on the
Holocaust. In it, we will showcase new discoveries, developments, and projects
involving source material related to the Holocaust.

Weber’s article “revisits the origins of Adolf Hitler’s antisemitism. It raises the question
as to whether it is really credible to argue that Hitler did not harbor antisemitic
sentiments prior to the post-revolutionary period following World War One. The article
introduces readers to hitherto unknown testimony by Elisabeth Grünbauer, the daughter
of the family with whom Hitler lodged in Munich prior to the First World War. According
to her testimony, Hitler was already an antisemite six years earlier than previously
believed. Crucially, she claims that Hitler’s Jew-hatred predates the watershed of World
War One. In her testimony, Grünbauer recorded antisemitic statements Hitler made to
her father that link Hitler’s decision to leave Austria to his antisemitism. The article
provides a critical assessment of Grünbauer’s testimony. Further, it attempts to explain
the genesis of Hitler’s antisemitism in the prewar world and its eventual mutation in
postwar, post-revolutionary Munich.”
Dr. Weber was kind of enough to go ‘behind the issue’ with us and answer a few
questions that provide further insight into his new article and the value of this new
source.
JHR- What is the mystery about Hitler’s conversion to antisemitism?
TW– The mystery is how it was possible that Hitler suddenly turned into a rabid and
ferocious anti-Semite. How was it possible that somebody who had been quiet about
Jews and Judaism for most of his life suddenly relates all the ills of the world to the Jews
and desires to eradicate all of them?
JHR- What is the role of Vienna and the so-called missing year in this context?
TW- We still do not know. As the historian, Peter Longerich, has put it, “Indeed, there is
hardly any reliable information about Hitler’s life for the period 1910–1913.” However,
we do know that Hitler was clearly trying to hide what happened in his last year prior to
his arrival in Munich in 1913. He consistently lied about the date of his arrival in
Germany, predating it by a year, and he steadfastly refused to answer questions about
that time even from people close to him. It is in this context that the statement of
Elisabeth Grünbauer is potentially so important. According to her, Hitler arrived in
Munich already an anti-Semite and made anti-Semitic statements to her father, which
links the genesis of his anti-Semitism to his time in Vienna.
JHR- What is this new source you found and discuss in your article for the JHR?
TW- It is a previously unknown interview that Elisabeth Grünbauer (née Popp) gave
towards the end of her life. Prior to the First World War, Hitler lodged with her family
and grew quite close with them, to the extent that he stayed in touch with them, rather
than with his own family after he arrived at the front during the war. Furthermore, most
of what we know, or what we think we know about Hitler’s time in Munich prior to the
First World War is based on a highly problematic and unreliable interview Elisabeth’s
mother gave 1934 with the author of the first major English-language Hitler biography,
Heinz A Heinz’ Germany’s Hitler.
JHR- What does this new source change?
TW- It indicates that the genesis of Hitler’s anti-Semitism lies in pre-war Vienna, but in
ways very different from what Hitler claimed in Mein Kampf and elsewhere. This is not
to say that what happened in Munich in 1919, in the aftermath of the war, is of less
significance in explaining Hitler’s anti-Semitism than commonly believed. 1919 marks
the mutation of Hitler’s Jew-hatred into a political and genocidal anti-Semitism. In that
sense, 1919 most likely remains the crucial year in the evolution of Hitler’s anti-
Semitism. However, the pre-war origins of Hitler’s anti-Semitism might explain as to
why Hitler turned to anti-Semitism (over competing explanations) when trying to
understand the ills of the world in 1919. Moreover, the genesis of Hitler’s anti-Semitism
might explain as to why its mutation in 1919 was so radical and ferocious.
JHR- Is this an airtight source? Can we be sure about it?
TW- No, we can’t. However, the point is that Hitler diligently destroyed sources relating
to his own radicalization and invented an alternative, politically useful story of his
becoming. He was so successful in doing so that we still unduly believe the stories Hitler
told us. As a result, we still do not understand how Hitler became Hitler. We hence
arguably look for the wrong warning sides for the emergence of new Hitlers in the 21t
century. We can only unmask Hitler if we carefully and diligently make use of any
surviving sources that come to light. The point also is that any source upon which our
previous understanding of Hitler’s revolution before the First World War rests is either
equally or more problematic than the interview with Grünbauer. This is why we should,
and why we have to make use of the interview. However, we have to do so – and it is
worth repeating – with great care and diligence.
JHR- Do you think we will ever be able to say more than we can now about Hitler’s
conversion to antisemitism?
TW- I think that there are good reasons to believe that that will be possible. So many
new sources relating to Hitler’s radicalization have come to light in recent years that it
would be counter-intuitive to argue that no new sources are left to emerge. Furthermore,
I know of several collections in private hands that promise to shed new light on this
question. We all have to work towards making sure that these collections will become
available in due course. Finally, we urgently need a Depository of Perpetrator Accounts
akin to the Spielberg Collection of survivor accounts, as there is such a wealth of
untapped information in these accounts.
Read Thomas Weber’s full article in The Journal of Holocaust Research.

https://journalofholocaustresearch.wordpress.com/2020/01/28/behind-the-issue-w-thomas-weber/

The Pre-1914 Origins of Hitler’s Antisemitism

Revisited
Thomas Weber

ABSTRACT
This article revisits the origins of Adolf Hitler's antisemitism. It raises the question
as to whether it is really credible to argue that Hitler did not harbor antisemitic
sentiments prior to the post-revolutionary period following World War One. The
article introduces readers to hitherto unknown testimony by Elisabeth
Grünbauer, the daughter of the family with whom Hitler lodged in Munich prior
to the First World War. According to her testimony, Hitler was already an
antisemite six years earlier than previously believed. Crucially, she claims that
Hitler's Jew-hatred predates the watershed of World War One. In her testimony,
Grünbauer recorded antisemitic statements Hitler made to her father that link
Hitler's decision to leave Austria to his antisemitism. The article provides a critical
assessment of Grünbauer's testimony. Further, it attempts to explain the genesis
of Hitler's antisemitism in the prewar world and its eventual mutation in postwar,
post-revolutionary Munich.

Acknowledgement
I am grateful to Wieland Giebel, Andreas Heusler, Gerhard Hirschfeld, Karl
Höffkes, Nicole Jordan, Kolja Kröger, Harold Marcuse, Gavriel Rosenfeld, Ulrich
Schlie, and Dirk Walter for the feedback, help, and inspiration I received from
them in the researching and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor
Thomas Weber is Professor of History and International Affairs at the University
of Aberdeen. He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford. Before coming
to Aberdeen, Weber held fellowships or taught at the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, and
the University of Glasgow. Since joining Aberdeen, Weber has held visiting
positions at Harvard University in 2008/2009 and from 2012 to 2015. His first
book, Lodz Ghetto Album, won a 2004 Golden Light Award and a 2005 Infinity
Award. His second book, Our Friend “The Enemy” was the recipient of the 2008
Duc d'Arenberg History Prize for the best book of a general nature, intended for
a wide public, on the history and culture of the European continent. His third
book, Hitler's First War, was published in ten languages. It is the recipient of the
2010 Arthur Goodzeit Book Award of the New York Military Affairs Symposium
for the best book on military history. His latest book, Becoming Hitler: The Making
of a Nazi was shortlisted for the 2018 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical
Biography.