From a reader:
Jonah, I am enjoying the book. I still chuckle over the fact that you have to go to such lenghts to point out how the National SOCIALISTS were not the small government Republicans of their day. But, that is the world we live in. As a Lutheran with a Masters in Church History, I have found the information regarding Mussolini and Hitler quite enjoyable. It is funny to see that the Reformation Era hatred between German barbarians like Luther, and refined Italians like the Popes and Bishops of the time, were rekindled over a new “religious” debate. Would Hitler’s race be the new god, or Mussolini’s state? I never knew Mussolini insulted German History, making Germans seem inferior to the Italians with a marvelous Roman past. The Germans calling the Italians “Kosher Fascists” seems to fit in nicely with Luther’s unfortunate view of Jews. Also, Hitler wrote a play about a German (albeit a pagan one) battling Catholic Priests? That tickles me to no end. Again, I know what has interested me the most so far isn’t probably what you consider the most important stuff, but I can’t help seeing everything through the prism of the Reformation. Finally, I guess I wonder if Hitler and other Germans of his day were helped in being Nationalist, and fearing Bolshevik domination, because of German History. Really, there was no Germany for a long time, just little states under a foreign Emperor. Also, there is the issue of German Christianity being dominated (in the Lutheran view) by uncaring and corrupt Italian Church leaders for so long. I guess all I can say is that Germans sure seemed to be pissed off over everything, thinking of themselves as such victims. Anyway, enjoying the book.