UW Historian Publishes Book on Nazi Turncoats

What complex and sometimes mysterious motives cause minds to change? In the case of many high-ranking and initially loyal German Nazis, the answer may have had more to do with nationalism than ideology, according to Theodore S. Hamerow, author of the new book On the Road to Wolf’s Lair: German Resistance to Hitler (Harvard University Press).

Hamerow, UW–Madison G.P. Gooch Professor Emeritus of History, says what motivated many of the high-ranking Nazi officers, civil servants and religious leaders was the fear that Hitler was destroying the country as much as it was the belief that he was a villainous tyrant.

Hamerow, who spent seven years researching the book, joined the faculty of the UW Department of History in 1958. He retired in 1991.