Told through first-hand accounts, detailed scenes, and a convincing and personality-driven overview, A Brief History of the Third Reich is a complete history of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. It is an essential book that will explore the personalities and ideas that informed the rise of Hitler and his party, from the earliest origins in the Munich beer halls to the final fall of Berlin in 1945.
Acknowledgements ix
Maps x
Introduction 1
1 The Nazi rise to power, 1918-23: from the end of the First World War to the Munich Putsch 3
2 The Nazi rise to power, 1924-33: from the Munich Putsch to Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor 15
3 Who voted Nazi? And why? 29
4 Bringing Germany into line 44
5 The revolution eats its own children: the destruction of the SA 59
6 Economic transformation, or smoke and mirrors? The Nazi impact on the German economy, 1933-9 73
7 Reluctant supporters, or sullen opponents? The German workers 87
8 The betrayed middle class? 99
9 The persecution of German Jews in the 1930s 109
10 'Racial hygiene' in the 1930s 125
11 The Nazi impact on society: young people and education 140
12 The Nazi impact on society: women in the Third Reich 154
13 The Nazi impact on society: the Christian Church 167
14 The Nazi impact on society: the control of ideas 180
15 Germany and the world, 1933-9 193
16 Nazi Germany, 1933-9: a popular dictatorship? 209
17 The Third Reich at war: the unstoppable Blitzkrieg, 1939-41 225
18 'The twisted road to Auschwitz': from persecution to genocide 240
19 The Third Reich at war: the home front 256
20 The German resistance 270
21 The Third Reich at war: from conquest to Götterdämmerung 283
22 The legacy of the Third Reich 298
Notes 305
Bibliography 342
Glossary 349
Index 350
Overview
Told through first-hand accounts, detailed scenes, and a convincing and personality-driven overview, A Brief History of the Third Reich is a complete history of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. It is an essential book that will explore the personalities and ideas that informed the rise of Hitler and his party, from the earliest origins in the Munich beer halls to the final fall of Berlin in 1945.