I’m having a hard time finding a recorded lecture that is delivered with scholarship, eloquence, passion, and vigor as the one that historian Timothy Snyder gave at Yale in 2015 on his book “Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning.”
The historian managed to speak for 50 straight minutes without looking at his notes, relying on slides, or interacting with the audience. It was all eye contact and gestures. And he was going fast —very fast.
I downloaded the full transcript of his lecture and decided to analyze it. Barring the scant filler words, it read like a well-edited 20-page essay. It is quite remarkable to read a stream of consciousness that progresses so eloquently and clearly. It is as if listening to a single thread throughout European history that explains everything.
The historian begins from extracting ideas from primary sources —Hitler’s Mein Kampf; differentiates the idea of “global antisemitism” from other types of antisemitism; distills Hitler’s core ideas of political philosophy —ecological panic that justifies Lebensraum—; debunks historical interpretations of the Holocaust by previous scholars (Hannah Arendt, Zygmund Bauman); and claims new theories that challenge decades of historical interpretation. He then concluded with the implications of drawing the wrong lessons today (we may be closer to the next Holocaust than we think). And he managed to do all of that in 50 minutes, non-stop!
It must have been an energizing, engaging, and electrifying evening. One must have felt the rush to get out of that lecture room and go change the world. It must have been something to remember.