History & Area Studies / World History / European History

How American Journalists Saw Hitler Coming—And Still Got It Wrong

Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power

Andrew Nagorski

In the 1920s and 1930s, Berlin was a playground for American diplomats, journalists, and socialites. They had front-row seats to the Nazi rise—and most of them completely misread the danger. This video unpacks Andrew Nagorski's 'Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power,' revealing how privileged observers like Dorothy Thompson, Truman Smith, and Charles Lindbergh saw Hitler as a clown, a genius, or a tool—long before the world paid the price. We explore the cognitive biases, the seductive charm of Nazi propaganda, and the moral blind spots that turned eyewitnesses into accomplices. If you think you'd have seen it coming, think again.