Hitler's Banker

1932. The economic crisis in Germany was unprecedented—a severe recession, 6 million unemployed, and a collapse in the popularity of Chancellor Brüning, who was criticized for his lack of foresight and who stubbornly focused on a single objective—reducing public deficits and restoring the state's finances under pressure from other European countries. All the while far-right parties, which would soon take power, were experiencing an irrepressible rise.

How can one not be struck by the similar...