Hitler remains an enigma in spite of everything that has been written about him. Historiansike Alan Bullock, Ian Kershaw and HR Trevo-Roper confess their perplexity openly. How was it possible that an unknown, solitary and futureless front-soldier in 1918 became, some yearsater, theeader and Messiah of the German people? How could a nullity unleash the most destructive and deadliest war humanity has ever known? Academic historians give countless reasons because the essential reason keeps escaping them; fantasy writers find the most bizarre occult explanations, disregarding the historical facts.