Sebastian Haffner’s Followers (163)

Sebastian Haffner

Born

in Berlin, Germany

December 27, 1907

Died

January 02, 1999

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, War Memoirs

edit data

Sebastian Haffner (the pseudonym for Raimund Pretzel) was a German journalist and author whose focus was the history of the German Reich (1871-1945). His books dealt with the origins and course of the First World War, the failure of the Weimar Republic and the subsequent rise and fall of Nazi Germany under Hitler.

In 1938 he emigrated from Nazi Germany with his Jewish fiancée to London, hardly able to speak English but becoming rapidly proficient in the language. He adopted the pseudonym Sebastian Haffner so that his family back in Germany would not be endangered by his writing.

Haffner wrote for the London Sunday newspaper, The Observer, and then became its editor-in-chief. In 1954, he became its German correspondent in Berlin, a position w ...more

Combine Editions
Sebastian Haffner’s books

Average rating: 4.27 · 9,773 ratings · 940 reviews · 38 distinct works • Similar authors

	Defying Hitler 4.34 avg rating — 5,442 ratings — published 2000	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Meaning of Hitler by Sebastian Haffner, Ewald Osers (Translator) 4.25 avg rating — 2,215 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Churchill by Sebastian Haffner, J. Maxwell Brownjohn (Translator), Peter Hennessy (Introduction) 3.96 avg rating — 567 ratings — published 1967 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Von Bismarck zu Hitler. Ein Rückblick 4.24 avg rating — 529 ratings — published 1987 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Failure of a Revolution: Germany 1918-1919 by Sebastian Haffner, Georg Rapp (Translator) 4.38 avg rating — 252 ratings — published 1968 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rise and Fall of Prussia 4.29 avg rating — 198 ratings — published 1971 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Abschied: Roman 3.72 avg rating — 175 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Germany: Jekyll & Hyde: An Eyewitness Analysis of Nazi Germany 3.99 avg rating — 157 ratings — published 1940 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Die sieben Todsünden des Deutschen Reiches im Ersten Weltkrieg 4.12 avg rating — 131 ratings — published 1964 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El pacto con el diablo 4.26 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 1989 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Sebastian Haffner…

Quotes by Sebastian Haffner (?)

“One cannot overstate the childishness of the ideas that feed and stir the masses. Real ideas must as a rule be simplified to the level of a child’s understanding if they are to arouse the masses to historic actions.”
― Sebastian Haffner, Defying Hitler: A Memoir

13 likes

“It may seem a paradox, but it is none the less the simple truth, to say that on the contrary, the decisive historical events take place among us, the anonymous masses. The most powerful dictators, ministers and generals are powerless against the simultaneous mass decisions taken individually and almost unconsciously by the population at large.”
― Haffner, Sebastian (1907-1999), Geschichte eines Deutschen

8 likes

“The most important part of individual life, which cannot be subsumed in communal life, is love. So comradeship has its special weapon against love: smut.”
― Sebastian Haffner, Defying Hitler: A Memoir

7 likes

See all Sebastian Haffner's quotes »

Polls

January 2023 New School Classics Poll

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, 1980, 394 pages

49 votes, 20.0%

On the Beach by Nevil Shute, 1957, 296 pages

42 votes, 17.1%

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, 1900, 580 pages

38 votes, 15.5%

Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain, 1941, 288 pages

33 votes, 13.5%

Defying Hitler: A Memoir by Sebastian Haffner, 1939, 326 pages

31 votes, 12.7%

Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener, 1947, 384 pages

30 votes, 12.2%

The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, 1940, 247 pages

22 votes, 9.0%

245 total votes

8 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
History is Not Bo...: Winston Churchill biography?	13	445	Apr 07, 2013 11:52AM
Boxall's 1001 Bo...: List Books by German Authors	18	293	Jul 06, 2015 10:40AM
2025 Reading Chal...: Dana's 50 books in 2015	15	84	Sep 11, 2015 05:45PM
2025 Reading Chal...: The Randomiser Challenge - 2015	427	958	Jan 01, 2016 06:32PM
The History Book ...: DIMITRI'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2016	99	123	Dec 28, 2016 07:03AM
Book Riot's Read ...: Challenge Meter to Track Progress	27	1109	Dec 28, 2016 01:06PM
Book Riot's Read ...: * Read Harder Challenge Plans: 2016	284	3115	Dec 19, 2017 10:57AM

More…