Stephen Roberts as a commentator on fascism and the road to war in Europe

Abstract

In the light of recent scholarship on Australian responses to Nazism, Fascism and the origins of the Second World War in Europe, it is worth revisiting a formative influence on Australian public opinion on international affairs in the 1930s, the Sydney University historian Stephen H. Roberts. While his bestselling 1937 book, The House that Hitler Built, is relatively well-known and well-documented, his regular media commentary in the same period has received less detailed analysis to date. Focussing particularly on Roberts’ weekly commentaries on international affairs in the Sydney Mail, this article looks critically at the strengths and limitations of Roberts’ prolific statements on Nazism, Fascism and the threat of war.This article has been peer-reviewed.