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Tim Ryback,
Historian and Director
of the
Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
at
The Hague,
discussing the mindset of dictators with lessons for Putin from Hitler.
What makes a ruler a dictator? Can a dictator return to being a ruler? Is this a realistic hope?
This conversation will be a follow-up to last week’s conversation with Bob Hormats on the geopolitical implications of the Ukraine conflict. Ryback encourages call participants to read two excerpts from the OSS Report on Hitler, focusing on the foreword, pages 1-3, and pages 221-227. As he points out, in October 1943, the Allies were asking some of the same questions about Hitler that we are asking about Putin. Ryback believes that it is useful to be reminded that there are both predictable as well as completely unforeseeable outcomes in any crisis situation with such complex dynamics.
Ryback has made a career researching Hitler, penning books such as Hitler’s First Victims: The Quest for Justice and Hitler’s Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life.
Ryback’s interests don’t end with Hitler. He is currently working with The Smithsonian on a project to determine the best way to handle the controversial statues and monuments that cover our nation. To learn more about the controversy, read Game of Stones by Ryback and Mark Ellis.
