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Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock, (13 December 1914 – 2 February 2004) was a British historian. He is best known for his book '' Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (1952), the first comprehensive biography of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
, which influenced many other Hitler biographies.


Early life and career

Bullock was born in Trowbridge in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England where his father worked as a
gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...
and a Unitarian preacher. He was educated at
Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school gi ...
and
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy ...
, where he read classics and modern history. After graduating in 1938, he worked as a research assistant for
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, who was writing his '' History of the English-Speaking Peoples.'' He was a Harmsworth Senior Scholar at
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...
, from 1938 to 1940. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Bullock worked for the European Service of the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(BBC). After the war, he returned to Oxford as a history fellow at New College. Bullock was the censor of St Catherine's Society (1952-1962) and then founding master of St Catherine's College, Oxford (1962-1981), a college for undergraduates and graduates, divided between students of the sciences and the arts. He was credited with massive fundraising efforts to develop the college. Later, he was the first full-time
Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of Oxford University (1969-1973). Bullock served as chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the Training and Supply of Teachers (1963-1965), the School's Council (1966-1969), the Committee of Inquiry into Reading and the Use of English (1972-1974), and the Committee of Inquiry on Industrial Democracy (1976-1977). Bullock first became known to the general public when he appeared on the informational BBC radio program '' The Brains Trust''.


''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny''

In 1952, Bullock published ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', the first comprehensive biography of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
, which he based on the transcripts of the
Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...
. This book dominated Hitler scholarship for many years. The book characterised Hitler as an opportunistic ''Machtpolitiker'' ("power politician"). In Bullock's opinion, Hitler was a " mountebank", an opportunistic adventurer devoid of principles, beliefs or scruples whose actions throughout his career were motivated only by a lust for power. Bullock's views led in the 1950s to a debate with Hugh Trevor-Roper, who argued that Hitler had possessed beliefs, albeit repulsive ones, and that his actions had been motivated by them. Bullock's ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' obituary commented that "Bullock's famous maxim 'Hitler was jobbed into power by backstairs intrigue' has stood the test of time".Frankland, Mark. ''Lord Bullock of Leafield'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''. 3 February 2004. When reviewing ''Hitler and Stalin'' in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' in 1991, John Campbell wrote of ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'': "Although written so soon after the end of the war and despite a steady flow of fresh evidence and reinterpretation, it has not been surpassed in nearly 40 years: an astonishing achievement." In subsequent works, Bullock to some extent changed his mind about Hitler. His later writings show the dictator as much more of an ideologue, who pursued the ideas expressed in ''
Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Ge ...
'' (and elsewhere) despite their consequences. That has become a widely-accepted view of Hitler, particularly in relation to the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. Taking note of the shift in interest among professional historians towards
social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...
in the 1960s, Bullock agreed that in general, deep long-term social forces are decisive in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, but there are times in which the Great Man is in his views decisive. In revolutionary circumstances, "It is possible for an individual to exert a powerful even a decisive influence on the way events develop and the policies that are followed".


Other works

Bullock's other works included ''The Humanist Tradition in the West'' (1985), ''Has History a Future?'' (1977), ''Great Lives of the Twentieth Century'' (1989), ''Meeting Teachers' Management Needs'' (1988), ''The forming of the nation'' (1969), ''Is History Becoming a Social Science? The Case of Contemporary History'' (1977) and ''The Life and Times of Ernest Bevin'' (1960), a three-volume biography of British Labour Foreign Secretary
Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in th ...
. He was also editor of ''The Harper Dictionary of Modern Thought'' (1977), a project he suggested to the publisher when he found he could not define the word "
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
". He had earlier co-edited with Maurice Shock a collection on ''The Liberal Tradition: From Fox to Keynes''. In the mid-1970s, Bullock used his committee skills to produce a report which proved to be influential in the classroom: '' A Language for Life'', about reading and the teaching of English, was published in 1975. Bullock also chaired the committee of inquiry on industrial democracy commissioned in December 1975 by the second Labour Government of
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
. The committee's report, which was also known as the
Bullock Report The ''Report of the committee of inquiry on industrial democracy'' (1977) Cmnd 6706, also the Bullock Report for short, was a report proposing for a form of worker participation or workers' control, chaired by Alan Bullock. The idea was seen by s ...
, published in 1977, recommended worker's control in large companies with employees having a right to hold representative worker directorships. Bullock also appeared as a political pundit, particularly during the BBC's coverage of the 1959 British general election.


Later works

Late in his life, Bullock published '' Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives'' (1991). A massive and influential work which he described in the introduction as "essentially a political biography, set against the background of the times in which they lived". He showed how the careers of Hitler and
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
fed off each other to some extent. Bullock comes to a thesis that Stalin's ability to consolidate power in his home country and, unlike Hitler, not to over-extend himself enabled him to retain power longer than Hitler. It was awarded the 1992 Wolfson History Prize. American historian
Ronald Spector Ronald Harvey Spector (born January 17, 1943) is a military historian, who contributes to scholarly journals and also teaches history. He is currently a professor at the George Washington University. Military career He enlisted in the United S ...
, writing in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'', praised Bullock's ability to write about the development of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
and Soviet Communism without either abstract generalization or irrelevant detail. "The writing is invariably interesting and informed and there are new insights and cogent analysis in every chapter," he wrote. Amikam Nachmani says Hitler and Stalin "come out as two blood-thirsty, pathologically evil, sanguine tyrants, who are sure of the presence of determinism, hence having unshakeable beliefs that Destiny assigned on them historical missions—the one to pursue a social industrialized revolution in the Soviet Union, the other to turn Germany into a global empire."


Honours

Bullock was decorated with the award of the Chevalier, Legion of Honour in 1970, and knighted in 1972, becoming Sir Alan Bullock and on 30 January 1976 he was created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Bullock, ''of Leafield in the County of Oxfordshire''. His writings always appeared under the name "Alan Bullock". In May 1976, Bullock was awarded an honorary degree from the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
as Doctor of the University.


Death

Bullock died on 2 February 2004, in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England.


See also

*
Historiography of Adolf Hitler The Historiography of Adolf Hitler deals with the academic studies of Adolf Hitler from the 1930s to the present. In 1998, a German editor said there were 120,000 studies of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Since then a large number more have appeared, wi ...
* List of Adolf Hitler books * William L. Shirer * Louis Leo Snyder


References


Further reading

* Caston, Geoffrey. "Alan Bullock: historian, social democrat and chairman." ''Oxford Review of Education'' 32.1 (2006): 87-103. * Nachmani, Amikam. "Alan Bullock, 1914–2004: 'I Only Write Enormous Books'." ''Diplomacy and Statecraft'' 16.4 (2005): 779-78
online
* Rosenbaum, Ron, ''Explaining Hitler: the search for the origins of his evil'', New York:
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 1998. .


Primary sources

* Bullock, Alan.
Hitler, A Study in Tyranny
' (Abridged edition 1971) * Bullock, Alan.
Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives
' (1991) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Alan 1914 births 2004 deaths People from Trowbridge People educated at Bradford Grammar School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Crossbench life peers English biographers Historians of Nazism Knights Bachelor Fellows of New College, Oxford Masters of St Catherine's College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians 20th-century English historians Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Life peers created by Elizabeth II