On Monday morning, January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed the 15th chancellor of the Weimar Republic. In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means. Dr. Ryback’s extraordinary account presents a step-by-step elucidation of how Hitler systematically disabled and then dismantled his country’s democratic structures and processes in only 53 days.
Originally published as the February 2025 dispatch
Timothy W. Ryback is an American historian, author, and journalist whose work focuses on twentieth-century European history and the legacy of the Holocaust. His most acclaimed writings include The Last Survivor: Legacies of Dachau, Hitler’s Private Library, Hitler’s First Victims, and Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power. Ryback explores the forces that shape political movements through the lens of collective memory and supplemented by his meticulous research and narrative style.
Over the course of his career, Ryback has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. He has also been a lecturer in History and Literature at Harvard University and a cofounder and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague.
This is the second book by Timothy Ryback to appear in the Thornwillow Dispatch series. Learn more about the first title, Evidence of Evilhere.
