Screen LibraryThe Oxford history of the Third Reich /
This book shows how our understanding of the Third Reich has evolved over the years as we unearthed new materials and documents, adopted new methods and approaches, or studied what happened from different perspectives that give new meaning to the old evidence. The chapters focus on four overriding a...
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| Group Author: | |
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| Published: |
Oxford University Press,
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| Publisher Address: | Oxford : |
| Publication Dates: | 2023. |
| Literature type: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Edition: | Second edition. |
| Series: |
Oxford illustrated history
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| Subjects: | |
| Summary: |
This book shows how our understanding of the Third Reich has evolved over the years as we unearthed new materials and documents, adopted new methods and approaches, or studied what happened from different perspectives that give new meaning to the old evidence. The chapters focus on four overriding and interrelated themes that link together to form a coherent account of the rise and fall of the Third Reich. First, they underline the significance of Adolf Hitler as a charismatic leader. After Hitler's release from prison in 1924, he began his political work almost from scratch. It was an uphill battle until the Great Depression hit in 1929. More than anything it was this economic chaos and mass joblessness that made people psychologically ready to receive the Nazi message. The second theme they explore is the related notion of Hitler's regime as a mixture of dictatorship and appeals to the public via plebiscites and elections. In Mein Kampf, he said he wanted an authoritarian regime, backed by the people, and once in power, to demonstrate that support he could use elections, or the plebiscites permitted by the Weimar constitution. The third theme pertains to the 'community of the people', a concept that was in the air even before the 1920s, and which the Nazis made their own. The fourth and final theme pertains to war, the Home Front, the Holocaust, and the Nazi empire. In Hitler's view, fostering the economy and building a 'community of the people' were not ends in themselves, as much as they were prerequisites to fulfilling his expansive plans on the foreign policy front. The book concludes with the question of why Germans fought on to the bitter end. |
| Carrier Form: | 362 pages : illustrations, maps ; 20 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: |
9780192886835 0192886835 |
| Index Number: | DD256 |
| CLC: | K516.44 |
| Call Number: | K516.44/O984/2nd ed. |
| Contents: |
Introduction: The Third Reich / The Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism / The Nazi "seizure of power" / Elections, plebiscites, and festivals / Architecture and the arts / Photography and cinema / The economy / The Holocaust / War and empire / The home front / Decline and collapse / Appendix: Daily inmate numbers in the SS concentration camps, 1934-45. |