One of Lefebvre’s earliest books – very hard to find these days – was a short study of the first five years of Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany. Hitler au pouvoir, les enseignements de cinq années de fascisme en Allemagne, Paris: Bureau d’Éditions, 1938. It is the only book of Lefebvre’s I don’t own, and Worldcat suggests only 13 libraries worldwide have copies. As I understand it wasn’t printed in great numbers and was on the list of prescribed books that went on the bonfires after the invasion. (So did his book on Nietzsche, but I have a copy of that, and there is a new French edition.) I eventually read the copy of Hitler au pouvoir in the New York Public Library when I was working at Columbia University on the Norbert Guterman archive.

So I was rather surprised to have just discovered that an Italian translation appeared earlier this year – Hitler al potere. Cinque anni di nazismo in Germania. I know nothing about the publisher, and searching online doesn’t bring up much. I’m curious about this – I find it hard to believe this is an authorised edition/translation given the complexities around the rights to Lefebvre’s work. I’ve ordered a copy but if anyone reading can shed any light I’d be grateful.