Spending a weekend with Hitler would have been boring in the extreme, although you would have had a greater certainty in coming back alive.
Germany was the cause of Hitler as much as Chicago is responsible for the Chicago Tribune.
We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.
The vital thing for me is to integrate the history from above with the history from below because only in that way can you show the true consequences of the decisions of Hitler or Stalin or whomever on the ordinary civilians caught up in the battle.
The news of the open military help to Franco from Hitler and Mussolini, and the heroic resistance of the people of Madrid, Barcelona and the big cities fired a widespread wish to help the Republic and its people.
The Austrians are brilliant people. They made the world believe that Hitler was a German and Beethoven an Austrian.
After all, we didn't bring democracy to Germany in 1945; Hitler destroyed democracy there first.
When I went out on tour as Bing Hitler I would hook up with Lenny and we'd get drunk together. He was always very supportive. He was a big star and a lot of what he said to me had power and impact. Apart from that, I just like him.