Being a witness and writing on a series of events that you've lived through (WW2), how do you feel about young people that look at German military equipment and think that the Germans should have won the war through "superior technology."

Thank you for doing this AMA! I must confess that I am not too familiar with your work, but having done a little background reading on you, I do have a few questions!

• It seems that you have been a long time, vocal critic of David Irving stretching back at least to "Hitler's War". I've read some soft-apologism of Irving in the past that tries to argue he wasn't always bad, and started off doing legitimate work and slowly started going off the deep-end. I do occasionally see citations of his early works in otherwise legitimate publications such as Kershaw. What perspective do you take on the arc of Irving's career? Can some of his works be separated from his more repugnant views like some authors seem inclined to attempt?

• More generally, what do you see as the impetus that drives some people towards Holocaust denial?

• Backtracking slightly, seeing as your work "The Hitler of History" was published prior to its release, what is your opinion of Kershaw's two-volume biography?

• Also, browsing your Wiki page, the thesis of "A Short History of the Twentieth Century" regarding Hitler and Populism sounds quite interesting, but is quite brief in presentation. Could you expand slightly on what your argument is there?

• And finally, if I was going to pick up one of your books, which one would you say you are proudest of, or would otherwise recommend!?

Dear Dr. Lukacs:

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I know you mostly as a critic of Irving and Suvorov, work which I very much respect and admire. I hope some of my questions are not overly antagonistic, I'm genuinely interested in learning your position.

First, your wikipedia page says

By his own description, he considers himself to be a reactionary.

and

Lukacs defends traditional Western civilization against what he sees as the leveling and debasing effects of mass culture.

and

Lukacs criticizes legalized abortion, pornography, cloning, and sexual permissiveness, as marking what he sees as the increasing decadence, depravity, corruption and amorality of modern American society.

Would you care to clarify or subtilize that? As an author of popular history books (and this AMA), how do you reconcile those with this philosophy?

Second, (again quoting wikipedia)

He denies that there is such a thing as generic fascism, noting for example that the differences between the political regimes of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy are greater than their similarities.

The mainstream view (if I may use that term) seems to be that a "generic fascism" does or did exist and Dr. Eco (who to be fair isn't a historian) even argues for an "eternal fascism." If such a thing is possible, can you give us a postcard explanation of your position?

Third, you have written extensively on the 20th Century. In your opinion, what is the most understudied aspect of it?

Welcome, Dr. Lukacs; thank you very much for agreeing to visit us this week!

My question is more abstract than specific, and (I suppose) more personal than really historical. Given that you have a rich deposit of personal, experiential knowledge, and that you have in a very real sense "lived through history," how do you find that this personal involvement has impacted your work as an historian? Alternately, do you find that your work as an historian and your knowledge of theory/philosophy of history/etc. has impacted your understanding of your own experiences?

Thank you once again for stopping by.

Hello Dr. Lukacs:

Thank you for doing this AMA. For my questions, I understand that you believe that populism has been one of the more destructive forces in the 20th century. In this view, do you agree with Edmund Burke's critiques on the French Revolution, namely in how he discusses that the noble aristocracy has been replaced by demagogues? Your Wikipedia page discusses your citing of Tocqueville and I was curious if you derive influence from Burke as well.

I am also curious if you are familiar with the rise of militarism in interwar Japan: namely, that despite the power of a strong, traditional aristocracy, this aristocracy nonetheless went along with the decisions of a more or less populist military, decisions that they knew well were not in their interest. Would you say this is because of these populist tendencies, or despite the presence of the aristocracy, or something else?

Dr. Lukacs, thanks for doing this AMA, it is an honor. Two questions:

One Your book on the historiography of Hitler, The Hitler of History, pointed out the myriad different biographies seeking to "explain" Hitler. With the major exception of Kershaw's two-volume opus, and a few specialist books (eg Hitler at Home), there have not been that many new or novel contributions to the field. My question is, to paraphrase François Furet, is Hitler as a biographical subject "done", in that there is nothing new to be said of the man barring any major archival finds ?

Two Are you perhaps related to the famous Hungarian Marxist philosopher György Lukács? It is something I have always wondered.

Having witnessed the liberation of Budapest, what was your experience during the siege and how did the experience affect your views on the Soviets?

What were some of your experiences during your time in Budapest under the Germans, and then later, the Soviets?

Thank you Dr Lukacs I would like to ask these few questions:

• Given that a frequent theme in your books is the dangers of populism; are you concerned by the apparent growth in American populism since you wrote "Democracy and Populism", as demonstrated by the growing popularity of demogogues such as Trump?

• What has been your experiences in defending rather unorthodox viewpoints such as your thesis that the 20th Century was dominated by the United States and that Cold War narrative of a bipolar world is flawed? (Note that I agree with your thesis :) )

Did you ever consider staying in the Soviet Union? What were your prospects there?

Hello Dr. Lukacs -- Thank you for this AMA! (I'm a long-time reader of your books.) My questions:

1. You've previously published a scathing review of the Eisenhower administration. Have the grave missteps of recent US presidents (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) caused you perhaps to reconsider your assessment?

2. How would you rate President Obama compared to other postwar administrations?

3. What is, and when can we expect, your next book?

Thank you!

The Great Man theory remains an important part of popular understanding of history and leadership, even if academics in both fields no longer consider it relevant. What opinions, if any, have you formed about how Britain would have fared in WWII without Churchill? Was he a lone voice or simply the most influential of a significant group pushing for the destruction of Nazi Germany?

Thank you for taking the time sir.

Without having read your books, would you mind elaborating on how you narrowly avoided the camps and how you were able to flee to the United States?

On your Wikipedia page it explained some of your views on the Cold War. Do you have any thoughts on the current state of geopolitical affairs; especially involving Russia, the United States, and China?

I know this isn't historical, but I'm a geopolitics nerd and I like hearing the opinions of those that lived history when it happened.

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions.

You wrote a biography of your close colleague George Kennan. Kennan was very much opposed to the totalitarian model as described by Brzezinski on the grounds that conflating Stalinism and Nazi was improper. I was wondering what your thoughts on the Totalitarian model are and how your thoughts have developed especially on the viability of including Nazi Germany and the USSR in the same model.

Dear Dr. Lukascz

• do you have any detailed information on contacts between Eisenhower administration and post Stalin collective leadership?
• Was a rapprochement still possible after the arrest of Beria (who supposedly supported the reunification of Germany) ?
• excuse me the personal question: are you somehow related to György Lukács ?

Hello, thanks for this AMA. My question is: how did the Ottoman rule in Hungary effect the country and nation and which changes in the social and cultural sphere (if there is) are still visible in today's Hungary?