The Cause of Hitler's Germany

Book excerpt: “A truly revolutionary idea… Clear, tight, disciplined, beautifully structured, and brilliantly reasoned.”—Ayn Rand Self-sacrifice, Oriental mysticism, racial “truth,” the public good, doing one’s duty—these are among the seductive catchphrases that circulated in pre-Nazi Germany. Objectivist author and philosopher Leonard Peikoff was Ayn Rand’s long-time associate. In The Cause of Hitler’s Germany—previously published in The Ominous Parallels—Peikoff demonstrates how unreason and collectivism led the seemingly civilized German society to become a Nazi regime.