Hitler’s Rise Was Not Inevitable

Timothy W. Ryback explains the contemporary lessons of Hitler’s rise.

Peter Zwolinski / BFA September 18, 2026, 10:07 AM ET Share Save Does history repeat itself, or merely rhyme? The historian Timothy W. Ryback has thought about this question a lot. Ryback, the director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation at The Hague, has written extensively about Adolf Hitler’s Germany, including in books such as Hitler’s Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life and Hitler’s First Victims: The Quest for Justice .