Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Wie kam es zu Hitler?
English translation:
How did Hitler come about?
Added to glossary by
Nikki Graham
Jun 1, 2002 07:06
21 yrs ago
German term
United States
Professional quality, reasonable prices
Native in: English (Variants: US, US South) 
Works in: German to English
Wie kam es zu Hitler?
Non-PRO
German to English
Art/Literary
I know it looks simple, but I'm having trouble finding an English sentence that's equally concise & corresponds idiomatically. This is the first sentence of an article about Döblin's take on the Nazi rise to power, and clearly intended to be somewhat provocative, so the English needs to have equal power.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +8 | How did Hitler come about? |
Nikki Graham
|
| 2 +7 | What led up to Hitler? |
StefanR
|
| 1 +4 | How did Hitler happen? etc. |
Dan McCrosky (X)
|
| 4 +1 | How could Hitler happen? |
Patrick Mueller
|
| 4 +1 | How did it end with/in Hitler? |
jerrie
|
| 4 | What caused Hitler? |
brute (X)
|
| 3 | How on earth did it come to Hitler? |
MSH
|
Proposed translations
+8
30 mins
Selected
How did Hitler come about?
or perhaps
The road to Hitler
The road to Hitler
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "This seems to correspond best to the German, because it captures both the factual question (which is one aspect of the article) and the incredulity (which is also present). Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.--Kurt"
+4
11 mins
How did Hitler happen? etc.
How did Hitler happen?
Why was Hitler?
The origin of Hitler
The cause of Hitler
Hitler – Why?
Whence came Hitler?
The genesis of Hitler
HTH
Dan
Why was Hitler?
The origin of Hitler
The cause of Hitler
Hitler – Why?
Whence came Hitler?
The genesis of Hitler
HTH
Dan
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Martin Schmurr
: only the two with "why" do not lead astray
34 mins
|
|
Sorry, but I cannot agree with your comment.
|
|
| agree |
Cilian O'Tuama
: IMO, how did H happen, is the best of the 4 "entries" so far (or even "what made (o. allowed) H (to) happen?" as alternatives)
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Rod Darby (X)
: 'how did Hitler happen' sounds best to my British ears (wouldn't 'could' translate 'wie konnte es zu Hitler kommen'?
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Trudy Peters
: agree with Cilian. or: How was Hitler allowed to happen
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Dr.G.MD (X)
7 hrs
|
| agree |
Norman Ellis
: excellent
8 hrs
|
| disagree |
bochkor
: Wie ist Hitler passiert? heißt das, aber nicht, was gefragt wurde.
11 hrs
|
|
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, but I would like to stick to the suggestions I've offered.
|
+1
30 mins
Patrick Mueller
Native in German
&
English
200% Bilingual
Native in: German , English
Works in: German to English, English to German
How could Hitler happen?
"How did Hitler happen".
Not quite the same, but moves along the lines of 'wie konnte das geschehen / how could this happen" - might be appropriate & 'powerful' for a header.
Not quite the same, but moves along the lines of 'wie konnte das geschehen / how could this happen" - might be appropriate & 'powerful' for a header.
+1
1 hr
How did it end with/in Hitler?
We do say how did it come to this, so the literal translation
How did it come to Hitler?
is OK
How did Hitler come to pass?
How did it come to Hitler?
is OK
How did Hitler come to pass?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jennie Sherrick, MA
: How did it come to Hitler? - I would keep 'it' as the subject and 'Hitler' as direct object.
15 hrs
|
| neutral |
sprinter (X)
: This could be misinterpreted.
15 hrs
|
+7
4 hrs
What led up to Hitler?
This is another option and is a commonly understood idiom meaning "prepared the way for" and would be a punchy head line. But whether it fits depends really on the context which follows your head line.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
John Kinory (X)
4 hrs
|
| agree |
ninasc (X)
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Nikki Graham
5 hrs
|
| agree |
bochkor
7 hrs
|
| agree |
sprinter (X)
12 hrs
|
| agree |
Jennie Sherrick, MA
: As with jerrie's above, I think keeping 'what' as subject maintains feeling that the events led the way to Hitler coming to power and not just Hitler himself.
12 hrs
|
| agree |
jerrie
21 hrs
|
5 hrs
brute (X)
brute (X)
SOLID NATIVE SPEAKER TRANSLATIONS!
Works in: English to German, German to English
View
Related KudoZ points
:
255
What caused Hitler?
Phrasing option!
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