Want to read a book George W probably wouldn’t want you to read?

Read Silent Coup

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Everyone knows about Hitler. Or do they? Many invoke his name, but how much do Americans really know about Hitler?

Each week I will ask a question about German history during the Hitler era. The first person to email me the correct answer will win an autographed copy of my book Silent Coup. I will be the judge of the answers but if someone strongly disagrees I will happily read any documentation you have for a different answer. Email answer to:  diana@joanfrancis.net

Week One

What do the letters NAZI stand for or mean. Explain.

In Publisher's Marketplace one can read the daily news of woe and doom in the publishing industry. The most surprising thing is they seem to wonder why this is happening.

When one looks at a typical publisher's business plan the real surprise is that any publishers are still in business. If publisher A/Z decides to buy a book it plans to sell for $20 retail, A/Z must first spend from $5 to $8 of that on buying, editing, printing, and marketing the book. Now before they can distribute the book for sale, they must agree to give the national wholesalers a 50% discount off their $20. (Just two national wholesalers control this part of the industry) Publisher A/Z is now down to between $3 and $5 potential profit on his $20 book. Now A/Z must agree to let the retailer bookstores get the books free, keep them on their shelf for five or six weeks, then return them at no charge if the books don't sell. (Known at the "returns policy" and is demanded by the wholesale distributors) Cost for returned books include shipping, warehousing, reselling and shipping to a discount wholesaler. Sometimes it's cheaper for the publisher to just let the retailer destroy the books and ship back the front cover as proof. Some publishers print as many books as they can, as cheaply as they can, hoping for the one blockbuster that will sell a gillian copies and pay for all the rest. In an attempt to stay profitable, most publishers have cut editing and marketing and have raised the retail price of their books. The result is that the rise in price has far out-stripped the average person's pocketbook, causing a drop in sales.

Now, add to this bleak situation the current world-wide economic depression and various technological developments, such as the Internet, POD printing, Kindle and other digital downloads, and what have you got? An industry that should dump the old business plan and creatively set up a new one. The new plan should eliminate the returns policy, set up a more direct and more profitable distribution plan, and optimize technology within the publishing house so it works for the publisher, not against it. The new plan should also offer the consumer lower prices.

(Note: Lobathian has kept the retail price of Silent Coup at an old fashioned price point of $10.95)

 On a recent book tour through Nevada and Arizona I learned many readers wanted to know more about the "real history" behind my story in Silent Coup. In responding to this, I will answer specific questions on my blog and also add an annotated bibliography to my web site. If you have a question send an email to diana@joanfrancis.net or send a question to my blog.

One woman asked me: Was Paul von Hindenburg really senile when he appointed Hitler Chancellor? A good question since Hindenburg's dislike of Hitler was well documented as was his vow that he would never appoint Hitler.

Hindenburg's Senility

By late 1931 several reliable sources had reported instances that revealed Hindenburg was showing serious decline in his mental faculties. These reports included times when Hindenburg did not recognize his closest associates in government and times he was too confused to understand a simple letter concerning state matters. However, many around him denied it for several reasons. Hindenburg was the most popular person in the German government and many on both sides of the political isle felt his presence was necessary to hold the country together. Many in government simply used his popularity to maintain their own power. Some also claim that there was a threat of scandal surrounding the Hindenburg Neudeck family estate and that this was part of the reason Paul's son, Oskar joined in pressuring Hindenburg to appoint Hitler chancellor.

The genesis of the idea for Silent Coup came from my search for an answer to this question: How did Hitler destroy Germany's democracy and seize absolute power? No, he was not elected. No, he did not seize power in a military coup. No, he was not so loved by the people that they swept him into power. So How?

For most of the 1920's the Nazis claimed only 5 or 6 percent of the vote. When the depression hit, fear of a communist revolution raised their percentage, but in the last free election in November 1932, they still got only 33 percent and Hitler's popularity was dropping at that time. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg who hated Hitler. Why then did he appoint him Chancellor?

By the end of March 1933, just three months after his appointment, Hitler had gutted the constitutional freedom of the democracy, swept away all opposing politicians and given himself dictatorial powers. Sixty-six percent of the people voted against him. Courts, laws, elected leaders, legitimate police were all in place. Why couldn't he be stopped?

When my research revealed the answers it also exposed startling and frightening parallels in current day headlines. I knew at once I had to put Diana Hunter to work on this case, but I could see that she would need a lot of assistance from her Great Uncle Bennett who was actually in Germany to witness Hitler's seizure of power. I dropped them on the page and their stories came to life.

As you read Silent Coup, I hope you will be swept up in the stories of Diana and Bennett, but along the way you might also stumble upon some of the answers I found.