The German Opposition to Hitler, an Appraisal, by Hans Rothfels (Regnery, $4.00). If the importance of historical events is to be measured in terms of casual impact alone, then the German opposition to Hitler-must be relegated to the limbo of interesting but unimportant facts. But because the enduringly historical lies in the realm of the ethically and culturally valuable the redemptive act of the German opposition is a fact of the greatest historical importance. Of all the difficult subjects of history, however, goodness is the most difficult to understand; the natural temptation of the historian is to explain it away and to suggest that good men were not really good men after all, but rather men who acted from self-interest which somehow coincided with the good. Much of the postwar literature dealing with the German opposition to Hitler assumed that the conspirators of July 20 were not good men after all and that they acted from self-or class-interest, rather than conscience. They were depicted as members of a conservative, aristocratic class or as defenders of the German General Staff, who ought to salvage something of their positions for a later day. The refutation of this distortion of the truth has produced a work of major historical importance. In writing this book Hans Rothfels has seen into the secret heart of history, where tragic choice confronts those who struggle both with their times and their consciences. He reveals a noble story which possesses all the cathartic power of great drama.
s. J. TONSOR
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