Trevor-Roper, professor of history at Oxford, speaks at Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University, on 2 Dec 1964.

He analyzes Hitler in both moral and political areas. He finds Hitler completely contemptible as a person. He argues that Hitler was much more a skilled politician than many give him credit; that he was not simply a pawn of others. He notes how successful Hitler was in implementing his plan outlined in Mein Kampf before making the poor choice of invading the Soviet Union. Through the speech from time to time, he compares Hitler to past similar figures such as Napoleon, Frederick the Great, Lenin, and Bismarck.

Parts 1 and 2 contain the speech, part 3 is a following question-and-answer session.