Irving’s core argument in Hitler’s War is that Hitler was a military strategist and politician caught up in events largely beyond his control. He claims that while Hitler bore responsibility for the war itself, he had no knowledge of the “Final Solution” until late 1943 or early 1944, and that lower-level Nazi officials, particularly Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, orchestrated the genocide without Hitler’s explicit orders. To support this, Irving selectively cites documents, dismisses postwar testimony, and interprets Hitler’s absences from meetings or vague language in speeches as evidence of ignorance.

To fully grasp the discredited nature of Irving’s work, it is essential to compare it with the findings of mainstream historical scholarship.

The story of this book culminated in a massive legal battle in 2000 that destroyed Irving's reputation.

: Irving portrays Hitler as a rational leader primarily concerned with German prosperity who was forced into a "preventive war" against the Soviet Union.