Alone Against Hitler tells the lesser-known but pivotal story of former Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg. As one of the first leaders to defy Adolf Hitler during the buildup to WWII, his story is of lasting importance. Though young and untested upon entering office, von Schuschnigg courageously rejected the rising tide of Austrian Nazism, insisting on equal rights and respect for the Jewish minority. Jack Bray surveys the geopolitical conditions in Austria during the march to war, highlighting von Schuschnigg’s valiant four-year struggle to prevent his nearly defenseless small nation from being taken over from within by unrelenting, violent Austrian Nazis.
Von Schuschnigg’s encounters with Hitler and other central characters of 1930s Germany (Himmler, Hess, Ribbentrop, Hindenburg, Goring, and Papen, as well as their ally, Mussolini) are recounted in scenes of high drama and vivid detail. For his daring defiance, and his refusal of offers to flee the Nazi invasion, von Schuschnigg paid a dear price—seven years in Nazi captivity and abuse to the point of breakdown. In one of Hitler’s final acts from the bunker where he would ultimately take his own life, the trembling fuhrer ordered von Schuschnigg to be killed. Just as von Schuschnigg was set to be executed, with the war at its eleventh hour, he received a near-miraculous deliverance.
Although Kurt von Schuschnigg’s name may be unfamiliar now, he was for a brief moment at the center of world history, even gracing the cover of Time magazine in 1938. Alone Against Hitler profiles an oft-forgotten but crucially important figure in WWII history, celebrating the legacy of a man who bravely fought against evil.
“The Schuschnigg story is both fascinating and significant, throwing a unique light on one of the great crises of the past century. It needs to be much better known, and Jack Bray tells it fully and beautifully.”
–G. J. Meyer, New York Times best-selling author of A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
“Hitler’s WWII onslaught on Europe’s democracies started with the Anschluss – the takeover of Austria in 1938. Bray’s immensely readable story focuses on the man at the story’s center, Kurt von Schuschnigg. The story contains gripping scenes of both courage and weakness on the world stage as well as scenes of personal tragedy. Alone Against Hitler shows the high stakes of political leadership, personalized.”
–Hon. Frank Loy, Former United States Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, and former President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States
“During the rise of Hitler in the 1930s, the Chancellor of Austria, Kurt von Schuschnigg, tried to defy the Nazi madman and protect Austria’s Jewish population. With clarity and verve, Jack Bray brings this long-overlooked but dramatic and remarkable story to life.”
–Evan Thomas, New York Times best-selling author of John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy and Sea of Thunder: Four Naval Commanders and the Last Sea War
“This book is a revelation – scholarly, compelling and chillingly honest. A book not only to be read but to be savored. This is the fascinating story of the unsung hero of the pre-war period, Kurt von Schuschnigg, the chancellor of Austria who was ignored when –almost alone –he warned the world of the dangers of Nazism. This book graphically and masterfully explains why he failed. A tragic but inspiring story that needed to be told.”
–Irving Abella, Professor of History, York University, President of the Academy of the Arts and Humanities of Canada, and co-author of None is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933-1948
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