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The Third Reich in Power |  | Author: Richard Evans
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
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Rating:  38 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 960
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.6 x 2.2
ISBN: 0143037900
Dewey Decimal Number: 943.086
EAN: 9780143037903
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Amazon.com Review
The second work in a planned three-volume series (after 2004's Coming of the Third Reich) this book starts with the Nazis' complete assumption of power and creation of a one-party state in 1933, and goes to September 1939 and the beginning of World War II. In sharp detail, Evans shows how Hitler seized upon his political victory and immediately began his plan for the Nazi infiltration of every aspect of German society. The Nazi propaganda blitz covered everything from local councils to social clubs to all voluntary associations. And when propaganda didn't work, coercion and fear did. At the behest of Hitler, the brownshirts and SS (secret police) ruthlessly harassed, beat, and murdered the Jews and Communists first, but later targeted anyone who showed even the slightest criticism of Nazi activities. Those Germans who disapproved of the Nazis were mainly confined to acts of passive resistance to Hitler's totalitarian rule. Nationalism proved to be the one issue capable of galvanizing the nation, as the Nazis' growing power helped to erase the shame and humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles that closed World War I. Over the course of the book, Evans shows how everything Hitler did in this period was designed to prepare the nation for a war--"a life and death struggle"--whose aim was less geographical conquest than racial purity. Hitler's main objective was "to remould the minds, spirits and bodies of the German people to make them capable and worthy of the role of the new master-race that awaited them." Though Hitler did not work alone, Evans makes it clear that he was the overwhelming driving force behind it all, including policies regarding education, eugenics, and foreign affairs. Well written and logically organized, The Third Reich in Power is an impressive work of meticulous, readable history. --Shawn Carkonen
Product Description
The definitive account of Germanys malign transformation under Hitlers total rule and the implacable march to war
This magnificent second volume of Richard J. Evanss three-volume history of Nazi Germany was hailed by Benjamin Schwartz of the Atlantic Monthly as "the definitive English-language account... gripping and precise." It chronicles the incredible story of Germanys radical reshaping under Nazi rule. As those who were deemed unworthy to be counted among the German people were dealt with in increasingly brutal terms, Hitlers drive to prepare Germany for the war that he saw as its destiny reached its fateful hour in September 1939. The Third Reich in Power is the fullest and most authoritative account yet written of how, in six years, Germany was brought to the edge of that terrible abyss.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
 A Good Book -- Just Short of a Great Book March 26, 2006
John E. Mack (New London, Minnesota United States)
37 out of 38 found this review helpful
Evan's "Third Reich in Power" falls just short of being a great book. I would rate it a "9" if Amazon had a ten-point rating system. Evans concentrates on the period between the elevation of Hitler to the chancellorship and the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Evans uses what might be called the "mosiac" method. He examines most of the essential features in which Nazism attempted to regulate and direct the lives of the German people, and does so in succcessive chapters. This is an interesting approach -- rather unusual for contemporary history --, and is reminiscent of that taken in, say, Cambridge's Ancient History and Medieval History series. No "grant theses" emerge, but several themes suggest themselves.
First, Evans demonstrates that the German people were extremely ambivalent about the Nazi regime. On the one hand, most Germans genuinely idolized Hitler. On the other hand, they were deeply distrustful of his underlings, and of many things the government was doing to the economy and to national welfare. The picture that emerges is of a people disturbed by the quotidien aspects of Nazi rule -- censorship, police surveillance, low wage rates, labor restrictions, etc. -- but sufficiently sympathetic with the broader aims of the regime to make tolerance for the disagreeable aspects possible. The picture of the German people which emerges is rather unflattering: it was distrustful of the disorder occasioned by the regime's extreme anti-semitism, but disliked Jews and was more than happy to profit from their suppression. It was suspicious of militarism and the march toward war, but happy about the economic recovery rearmament enabled (as long was the eventual war was fought by somebody else). It was unhappy about the restrictions on art, culture and education, but shared the prejudices against modernist tendencies and agaisnt the educated elite which caused most people to shed few tears when the Nazis systematically dismantled Germany's high culture. Above all, Evans paints a picture of a people very queasy about what was happening, but unwilling to do much to save anybody else from the clutches of the Nazis. The Germans were not so much Hitler's willing executioners as Htiler's self-absorbed bystanders.
Second, Evans attempts to paint a picture of the Nazi regime as an attempt to completely mobilize and structure the way society thought and behaved. Evans emphasizes the role of terror and coercion, implicitly disagreeing with other historians who emphasize the small size of the Nazi policing appartus when compared with, e.g., the Soviet Union. He also focuses on something which has received relatively little attention -- the "dumming down" of German society. While Evans notes that the Nazi efforts to change the nature of the German educational system -- particularly its system of higher education -- met with mixed results, his claim that the quallity of the product of that system had dropped considerably by 1939 is compelling. One wonders how the Germans managed to be as successful in World War II as they were; it probably did as well as it did principally to the extent that its efforts to totally transform society were unsuccessful.
Finally, Evans confronts and sheds light on a very important issue. Nazi "philosophy" was, in important way, incoherent. It idealized men who were at once, aggressive, bullying, Darwinian, anti-intellectual, athletic, competitive and warlike, while at the same time obedient, self-sacrificing, other-directed, altruistic, idealistic and dedicated completely to the common "good" (as defined by the Nazis). It is very difficult to create a docile thug. The Nazis were as successful as they were in this endeavor by separating the thugs (who were allowed to do just about anything, as long as they did not threaten the regime) from the sheep (who, if obdient -- and Aryan-- were largley immune from thuggery by a sort of protection racket).
Evans paints a compelling picture of a society whose contradictions were bound to result in fatal instabilities in the absence of an every-victorious state of war. It is also a picture of a regime whose very commitment to physical and intellectual brutality would eventually make it impossible to quit while it was ahead.
A Must-Read for Those Who Wish to Learn from History December 13, 2006
Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
It would be difficult to add anything new to the many excellent reviews of "The Third Reich in Power" that are already posted here. But I must briefly echo the praises for this monumental work. It should be required reading for all conscientious citizens, and especially for all politicians, as a cautionary tale of how governments that operate without "checks and balances" can destroy the very societies that put them in power.
The detailed story of how the Nazi leaders of the Third Reich transformed Germany between their assumption of power in 1933 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 is compelling reading of the highest standard. During that period, the Nazis by decree imposed their political, economic and racial agendas on virtually every aspect of German society--literature, art, music, education, broadcasting, retail sales, land ownership, architecture, banking, recreation, law enforcement, etc. The Nazi's programs affected the everyday lives of EVERY German citizen to a greater or lesser degree.
Mr. Evans' readable, matter-of-fact style, and his reliance on supporting data and statistics from the historical record, make "The Third Reich in Power" perhaps the most valuable work yet written on the subject. While its 700+ pages may at first seem daunting, it is well worth the effort to read. You will definitely come away from the experience with a better understanding of how prejudice, inflexibility, demagoguery and unrestrained nationalism inexorably led to World War II, and of the threat that such attitudes continue to pose to the world today. I give it the highest possible recommendation.
engrossing, full strength history June 20, 2006
Irish reader
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
Do you like your history light or full-strength with nothing taken out? If you want to skim through yet another book about the Nazis that tells you something you probably already knew but in a different way then don't bother with this book. However, if you want to read first class, detailed historical writing then this is certainly the book for you. Evans makes 1930s Germany come alive. How does he do it? By using historical records and documents to recount incidents involving `ordinary' people. He recalls appalling things that happened to people no different to his readers. He recounts cases of `ordinary' people doing unspeakable things to their fellow Germans. The reader is brought back 70 years and is really made to feel (as much as is possible now) what it must have been like to live in an all-embracing dictatorship. The author forces you to ask yourself the uncomfortable question, "Would I have behaved differently"? You'll have guessed by now that this book does not make for easy reading. This is exactly the way it should be. You probably won't pack this book the next time you're going on a sun holiday. However, if you want to read a book that actually tells you something new then this is the book for you. Evans makes no concessions to readers who don't like too much, `boring' details and who are only interested in the `big picture'. This book describes in detail how the Nazis mercilessly quashed all opposition, controlled every element of German society, remilitarised at breakneck speed and remorsely drove Germany into a second world war. This is full-strength, full-fat, nothing taken out history. Thank God for that!
Second Volume of Evans Planned Trilogy is destined to be a classic November 30, 2005
C. M Mills (Knoxville Tennessee)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
The Coming of the Third Reich is British historian Richard J.
Evans monumental work on the Nazis seizure of power. In this second book he surveys the governance of Gemany and in his projected volume 3 the tale will be told of their downfall in World War II.
In this book "The Thiird Reich in Power" the focus is on how the Nazis and the evil Adolf Hitler ruled Germany from his takeover in JANUARY 1933 to the outbreak of World War II
launching the horrific war which would claim over 50 million human souls.
Evans portrays what life is like under a cruel dictatorship.
He explores every aspect of German life in the 1930s including
economics; the arts; the horrible racial laws; jurisprudence;military preparation for the planned war; diplomacy;
sports; the regimentation of society beginning in youth and many other topics.
Evans is an academic whose prose is easy to read and comprehend. This book would be well used in a class on Nazi Germany. Along with Ian Kershaws two volumes on HITLER and Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'I consider Evans
contributions to understanding the Third Reich to be essential
reading for this terrible time in human history.
Excellent! I look forward to his third volume with eager
anticipation.
Facist governments prey on their people's fears November 13, 2005
Robin Orlowski (United States)
27 out of 33 found this review helpful
Continuing with the second volume of what is undoubtedly destined to be an epic work for both historians and the general public alike, Richard J. Evans explains how Hitler transformed--or attempted to transform--Germany after seizing control.
This work differs from predecessors because it challenges the idea that the German people were mindlessly accepting of Hitler's policies. He points out that when the Nazi regime began, both the communists and social democrats had received a third of the vote in the national elections of that year. More however, he argues that a majority of the German people themselves were reluctant to enter into another war--correctly believing that it would not end in their favor. Infighting allowed the Nazi's to go ahead with their own plans. Partisan gridlock and the public's weariness of this coupled with a desire for 'anybody' to do 'anything' to end it and promises of economic rejuvenation gave the Nazi's an opening. And they exploited it.
The Nazi's established a police state and warned citizens that their every word was being watched. The Nazi leadership was so determined to control the people that they even tried to dictate personal grooming and consumer products. Yet, Evans provides lots of documented information that this part of the plan was not as successful. People (including those who were members of the Nazi party) were resisting. Constant political proselytizing by the government actually turned many 'every day' Germans off.
He includes several chapters on the Nazi persecution of the Jews and the German people's failure to help resist this persecution. What could have deflated his own thesis works here because Evans uses primary source reports of the people who were there and did nothing. Evans explains how the Gestapo, the Nazi's infamous police, was not composed of party elite. The majority actually were career policeman. They were everyday Germans who were enforcing compliance with a state ideology their neighbors etc...did not particularly care for.
Because this era already had many books previously written about it, I was amazed by the wealth of information and original research contained within this one volume. Evans's research illustrates what happens to public and private life when a fascist government assumes power and promises to make everything better.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
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