The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1930-1935

by William Sheridan Allen

«La distruzione di una comunità politica, la fine della democrazia è sempre possibile... e oggi come allora gli avversari della democrazia stanno anche dentro di noi, nel perenne conflitto, ch'è a un tempo sociale e psichico, tra bisogno di sicurezza e desiderio di libertà».
Luciano Gallino

Questa è la storia di una piccola città della Germania durante gli anni della Repubblica di Weimar e i primi anni del Terzo Reich; ed è al contempo un tentativo di comprendere come una democrazia civile sia potuta precipitare e affondare in una dittatura. Thalburg (in realtà Nordheim) è un tranquillo centro dell'antico regno dello Hannover, diecimila abitanti, molto commercio e poche industrie, che negli anni che vanno dal 1930 al 1935, come tutta la Germania, cambia volto: sulla base di una documentazione e di un'indagine personale, Allen racconta le tappe di quella tragica trasformazione, dando un volto e un'identità precisa a fatti e persone che hanno legato il loro destino alle sorti del popolo tedesco.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, European History

359 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is almost certainly the one academic history book I have seen on the shelves of the most non-historians. Somehow, in spite of a narrow focus and use of advanced methodology, this book manages to be accessible and interesting to non-specialists. Its title describes its goal succinctly - the analysis of changes in a small town during the period immediately before and immediately after Hitler came to power in Germany. Allen chooses to keep the name of the town secret in this edition, although it has since come to light that "Thalburg," as he calls it, was in fact Northeim, in Lower Saxony. To protect the descendants and survivors, Allen also uses pseudonyms for all of the town's residents.

The book is divided into two parts, "The Death of the Democracy" and "Introducing the Dictatorship," which clarifies both the political emphasis and the perspective to some degree. Allen feels that by 1930, the one clear division in Northeim was "socially, where there were distinct class divisions in almost every sphere of activity." The National Socialists, he argues, exploited this division expertly, creating a rift that ultimately weakened the town's otherwise stable power structure and made it possible for them to impose their solutions. The analysis involves consideration of political activities, rallies, newspapers and government documents from the period, and demonstrates the tactics attempted by the NSDAP and their enemies.

What probably makes the book so popular, however, is the level of detail Allen is able to use, giving us portraits of colorful characters within this small town and the roles they played during the Machtergreifung. One that stands out for me years after reading the book was a somewhat cranky but intellectual bookstore-owner who had been an early convert to National Socialism, but who became disenchanted and led a "revolt" of "old Nazis" against the corrupt officials who led the party once it became successful. It is no doubt the stories of individuals in a time of great change that attracts most readers to this book.

As the book went into publication, Allen called for others to conduct similar micro-analyses of the period, hoping that by locating similarities and differences, the true story of the end of the Weimar Republic and beginning of the Third Reich might be discovered. This has not really happened, however, and Allen's book remains a fairly unique document, nevertheless very interesting and useful on its own.

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not a great student freshman year of college. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated, the Students for a Democratic Society (whose last convention I'd attended as a delegate) had split up, Nixon had become president after the Democratic debacle on the streets of Chicago (which I'd also "attended"), the Czech's had been crushed by the Warsaw Pact, the war in Southeast Asia was going from bad to worse. School seemed of secondary concern to politics. I got trained as a draft counselor, as a drug counselor; worked on the national underground paper, Pterydactyl, produced in Grinnell, of all places, Iowa; organized midwestern buses to the demonstrations in D.C.; marched for three days cross-country, stopping enroute to lecture at schools, churches and union halls, to confront Vice-president Spiro Agnew in DesMoines (his "nattering nabobs of negativism" speech, I think); conducted seminars in the high school in Newton; toured college campuses throughout the state; read a lot of political stuff--and didn't have too much time for studying Henry Fielding or Renaissance Italian poetry. Not that I wasn't interested. It just seemed so very unethical to selfishly enjoy literature while so many people were needlessly suffering. Besides, I was REALLY PISSED that so much unnecessary suffering occurred, ostensibly, in my name.

Exception to this academic negligence were the courses for my history major. Since the Soviets were such a big deal in geopolitics, I enrolled in a two-semester course on the history of Russia. Since Ango-European powers had for so long dominated the globe, I also enrolled in a course on modern European history taught by Terry Parsinnen, who had been a classmate of my last European history teacher in high school, Timothy Little.

Terry was very nice to me during what happened to be his last year at Grinnell. Because of the connection with Tim, he even had me to his house for dinner. His class was rigourous enough. He employed Palmer and Coulsen as his primary text, but had us read a substantial amount about the second world war, including Allen's The Nazi Seizure of Power.

Allen's book is good, basic historical research, specifically about Northeim, Germany and how the Socialists and Communists there failed in preventing the Nazi takeover. His points were, as I recall, that (a) the takeover was in accord with established institutional norms and that (b) there was nothing inevitable about it. The Nazi's utilized the system to destroy it. The Left, conservatively sticking to the forms of democracy, failed to meet the challenge. Naturally, Allen's examples were fully intended to be representative of Germany as a whole.

I read most of the book at the off-campus house which was the headquarters of Grinnell's own left, various meetings and newspaper production activities going on as I sat curled up on an old overstuffed chair in the living room, reading through the day and late into the nights.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Lo grande se hizo de muchos pequeños.-

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Repaso de lo que sucedió en una pequeña ciudad alemana (anónima durante mucho tiempo), desde mediados de la República de Weimar en el periodo de entreguerras hasta finales de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, como parte de la evolución de la influencia del Partido Nazi, sus tácticas y comportamientos, además de las reacciones de los habitantes de la población en los diferentes periodos. Edición revisada en 1984.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is all about the Nazi takeover from the local level. National politics, Hitler, and the military only play into the narrative (and it IS a great narrative) only so much as they impacted Thalburg (or Nordheim depending on your version of the book).

That makes it rather identifiable and eerie. For instance, one of the first things the Nazis in this town took over was the school board. You can imagine this sort of thing happening in your town, with your local newspapers, and your local street names. It's an uncommon look at Nazi Germany.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"L'estremismo di massa, l'intolleranza, il desiderio disperato di un cambiamento radicale - tutti fattori che rendono impossibile una stabile democrazia - sono difficili da suscitare. Quando nella comunità c'è sicurezza, gli agitatori politici si ritrovano a declamare in sale quasi vuote: è necessaria una paura ossessiva, l'improvvisa coscienza di pericoli fino a quel momento non sospettati, per riempire le sale di ascoltatori che vedano nell'agitatore colui che li salverà. " (p. 24)

[Fra Cesko · Rating 4 out of 5]

**edit 07/04/2023** Ho modificato il voto dopo rimuginamenti vari

Ce l'ho fatta.
In effetti è stata una lettura un po' affaticante per me: il libro è molto didascalico/didattico, quindi è cadenzato di date, eventi, manifestazioni, raffronti di dati elettorali... può quindi risultare un po' ingombrante e asettico. Ciononostante questa è anche la peculiarità del libro stesso: quella di aprire una finestra dettagliata su una città tedesca per il periodo del primo presentarsi del nazionalsocialismo fino al suo instaurarsi come forza dominante. Questo sistematico e distaccata scansione degli avvenimenti è un modo originale per tentare di descrivere e spiegare come questa forza politica minoritaria sia riuscita passo dopo passo a dominare quasi ogni aspetto della vita politica economica e sociale della città. Rimane impresso, a mio avviso, l'enorme capacità propagandistica ed efficienza organizzativa della NSDAP, l'oculata visione stragetica, il fervido coinvolgimento delle organizzazioni locali (e il pizzico di fortuna) che hanno caratterizzato l'evolversi della situazione. Non ho (ancora) letto molto del resto della letteratura sul fenomeno, ma credo sia un libro molto paricolare e forse unico nella modalità di analisi, assolutamente consigliato a chi vuole studiare il fenomeno; non lo suggerirei, invece a chi cerca qualcosa di descrittivo e un po' appassionante sull'argomento, e che non farà comunque fatica a trovare pane per i suoi denti nella bibliografia esistente.

[Silvia Torelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know Rammstein? If you aren't metalhead, maybe not...
THey are an Industrial band from Germany...some time ago I've read something about them:

"In Guadalajara a guy came in with a T-shirt with a swastika. He probably thought it was a symbol of Germany folklore. This guy was about 25 years, and could not seem more Indians: blacks long hair, a large aquiline nose, and was wearing a T-shirt with a swastika. It was soon ready to take it off as soon as it was explained that a symbol is very unpopular today. Probably just wanted to honor the group. After someone has explained that after World War II war criminals many Germans had settled in Guadalajara. So we asked the local radio station to announce that the T-shirt with a swastika were not welcome to the show. This was accepted and respected. But there was no right-wing group on the show. They were just people far away from Germany and who had thought that this had something to do with German history and that the group would have appreciated as a sign of respect! We told him that it was not so and they understood. Luckily the boys were first presented during the autographs, so we had a chance to react. »
(Emanuel Fialik, manager of Rammstein)"

I don't know why I've though this thing after reading the book...
Baybe 'cause is relly too simple repeat the past, if you don't understand it or if anyone remember...

[Lucrezia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dati, dati, dati e ancora dati elettorali per la prima metà.
Fortunatamente nella seconda metà ci sono un po più di fatti, mi aspettavo sinceramente di meglio.

[Ilya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive study of Nazism's advancement in one town in northern Germany, in the years when Hitler built, seized, and then consolidated power in the capital. The narrow, academic design of the study is mostly a strength and at times a weakness.

Allen's view of Thalburg (Northeim) is highly focused on party-political activity, and the doings of other social groups like marching bands, labor unions, and lots of different interest-based societies. And communal violence. It is amazing how much civic activity there was in this one town of about 10,000 people. I wonder if this was typical, and whether there's a place on earth where people meet so much in person anymore (setting aside covid-19.)

The book showcases a few individuals, but they are almost all the leaders of groups, rather than ordinary townspeople. The result is a book that diligently and convincingly maps the factors that brought a group of lunatic thugs to power, in a deeply conservative, hide-bound town. But it's missing all the novelistic detail that would bring these terrible events fully to life in the reader's imagination.

The inner life of the citizens of Northeim is mostly missing, until the final chapters, where Allen supposes (correctly, I am sure) that all the swastikas and Nazi party rallies must have left even generally supportive Northeimers feeling empty inside.

I'm ashamed to say I did not fully appreciate the extent to which Germany was a rigid, class-constrained society, that the SPD was a thoroughly working class party, and the extent to which Weimar democracy depended on the working class and the SPD. They failed to stop hooligans and racists from taking over, but the true liability lies with the supposedly patriotic, middle- and upper-class nationalists who, when confronted by brownshirts, welcomed them in.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rigoroso nell'analisi degli avvenimenti che hanno preceduto l'avvento del nazismo. Una piccola città come tante altre. Un lento ma inesorabile cammino dalla democrazia alla dittatura. Molto interessante.

[Camille Parrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed account of what was later determined to be Northeim under Nazi rule. This was a sobering read, one of the most sterile and surgical explorations of changing politics on the local level. It’s very accessible and digestible, I would recommend this to literally anyone who enjoys history whatsoever.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know where the Orange Mussolini got some of his ideas, read this book. Americans who read this book in 1973 had no idea how Nazism managed to establish a foothold in the Germany of 1933; nor did they ever know it would in the United States within their lifetime.

But now they do.

[Sukhraj Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faticoso ma bellissimo, merita tutta l'attenzione

[Tori McClaskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Topical.

[Ebenmaessiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historians, engaging in their own contingent and evolutionary process, employ the tools at hand in constructing the past. Viewed retrospectively, historiographical "blind spots" are more charitably understood less as detriments (or, worse yet, points to be countered in reviews) than the parameters conditioning the subsequent output. 1965, then, is not so much a date as it is the terrain through which Allen's work must pass -- replete, as it is, with already well-trod paths, tightly packed spots with its brush not yet cleared, and areas no one's quite yet considered going down. It is only hindsight privileging us with a bird's-eye-view of things, and any false sense of shoulda-known-better about it. Allen's path is therefore clear enough to us: the (textual) evidentiary constraints (of which he's aware [ie he wants some internal Party docs]) as well as over-reliances (ie the proliferation of newspapers, the drawbacks of which he's less clear [at least the acknowledgment is not made explicitly]); the less than rigorous quality control given to oral sources (and the potentially problematic passages are plethora [ie reasons for acquiescence; small-scale resistances to Nazism; degree of Jewish assimilation / anti-Semitism predating 1930; etc.]); the privileging of class based argumentation, as filtered here through party proxies (no matter whether they're right! as I would tend to agree with in this instance [see his nice summation at the beginning of the conclusion re: the nature/anti-working-class spur of initial middle-class Nazi sympathizing] -- although this is not necessarily his major argument; that might be boiled down: Nazism's singular national victory was composed of hundreds of smaller local victories, and therefore fought over hundreds of smaller local socio-ideological tensions) as well as psychological interpretations (very interesting evidence of its contemporary prominence here, as it is hardly a component within the work itself, but the conclusion must nevertheless defer to it even speculatively), and all those lens of analysis unconsidered. At the same time, the work -- in its singular, tight focus upon the mechanics of fascist ascendance and entrenchment in an otherwise provincial community, thereby playing out in miniature the processes at work writ large -- represents his own first, fitful contribution to opening up new avenues in the route, one that'll be expounded upon in time.

[Grazia Palmisano · Rating 4 out of 5]

"[...] mancò la capacità di capire realmente quel che fosse il nazismo."

" Il problema del nazismo fu prima di tutto un problema di percezione; da questo punto di vista le difficoltà e il destino di Thalburg saranno probabilmente condivise da altri uomini, in altre città, in circostanze simili. E il rimedio non verrà trovato facilmente."

Thalburg è un nome fittizio. Trovo che la copertina sia azzeccatissima, stendere il bucato, attività normale e quotidiana, con l'orrore delle svastiche sotto gli occhi, incapaci di vederle, di capirle. Non subito, almeno.
Sebbene il testo, ovviamente, pur avendo esaminato approfonditamente la situazione , non possa fornire una risposta, è indubbio che la lettura aiuta a trarre delle conclusioni.
Il nazionalismo, le differenze di classe, i privilegi di alcuni, la depressione economica, sono sempre terreno fertile, allora come adesso, per totalitarismi che vanno bene a molti. Quando smettono di andare bene anche a chi inizialmente li ha appoggiati è solo perché arrivano a intaccare anche i loro privilegi.
Chiaro che la ricetta non c'è, le dittature esistono perché le persone, spesso, se non sempre, preferiscono la sicurezza alla libertà. Ma per quanto una gabbia possa essere sicura, prima o poi diventa stretta. È un peccato che, nonostante la storia di tante dittature, e di quella nazista in questo caso particolare, si insista a pretendere la gabbia in momenti di crisi.

[Lele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo libro tratta l'ascesa del nazismo da una prospettiva insolita e per certi versi è stato una lettura illuminante, sebbene un po' pesante, soprattutto nella prima metà del libro.
Buona parte del volume è dedicata alla descrizione di Thalburg (nome fittizio) e dei suoi abitanti, con particolare rilevanza all'intensa lotta politica del periodo immediatamente precedente alla presa del potere da parte dei nazisti e alla sua componente sociale, ed è stato interessante capire le somiglianze e sopratutto le grandi differenze tra la società dell'epoca e quella odierna.
Nella seconda metà si indaga sulle ragioni sociali ed economiche che hanno spinto gli abitanti a vedere nel nazismo la soluzione al difficile periodo di recessione che stavano vivendo. A colpirmi maggiormente è stata la parte finale, ovvero la dimostrazione di come, in una manciata di mesi dalla presa del potere, i nazisti della città (e di tutta la Germania) siano riusciti non solo a privare l'opposizione di qualsiasi potere, ma anche a frantumare la società, trasformando una città molto attiva a livello sociale, ricca di club e amante di manifestazioni e ricevimenti, in una massa di individui diffidenti l'uno nei confronti dell'altro.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsettling reading this just before the 2018 midterms. The Nazis in this study very deliberately cultivated support from clergy and nationalists. The failure of Democratic Socialists, proud defenders of the Weimar Republic, to deal with the economic crisis of the early 1930s or to unite with other opponents of the Nazis paved the way for an authoritarian takeover. Interesting to read about the moment the Socialists knew their cause was lost - if they had weapons they were most concerned with getting rid of them before they were found and used as evidence of ill intent. So much for the idea that an armed resistance could have stopped the Nazis from taking power in Germany. Who do you shoot when most of your neighbors see the new regime as restorers of law and order? The Nazi tactic of breaking up existing social bonds, systematically co-opting every existing community group, helped reinforce the perceived futility of struggle.

[Luca Gatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheridan Allen con il suo libro ci porte in una cittadina della provincia dell’Hannover e analizza in che modo una società borghese abbia abbracciato così facilmente e così incautamente il nazismo. L’analisi che traccia dimostra come l’odio e il disprezzo di classe del ceto borghese cittadino verso il proletariato e ciò che idealmente incarnava l’SPD in quel periodo siano stati i motori principali del successo elettorale nazista, oltre che un fermo militarismo ben radicato nel tessuto sociale cittadino. Lo studio è brillante e assolutamente interessante e ci fa scoprire e capire come il “colpo di stato a rate” sia stato non capito dall’opposizione democratica e frainteso dagli elettori nazisti.
Un libro veramente illuminante che ci fa capire come la democrazia vada coltivata e curata sempre, protetta dai venti burrascosi delle sirene “dell’ordine e della rinascita”. Consigliatissimo.

[Mike™ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi aspettavo sinceramente più spunti di riflessioni da questo saggio.
Le interessanti premesse sono state smorzate da uno stile di scrittura appesantito dagli anni e dalle eccessive statistiche e riferimenti specifici alla vita di Thalburg che ad un lettore occasionale,ma anche ad un appassionato,possono risultare poco interessanti e troppo di nicchia,pur essendo consapevoli che è uno studio molto specifico.
I concetti piu interessanti vengono poi via via ripetuti più volte. Rimane comunque un saggio che offre dei punti di vista interessanti,ma poco scorrevole e in certi punti noioso.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Sheridan Allen answers the question “how did it happen” by looking at one small town in Germany, hoping to give some insight into the Nazification of the whole country. He goes step by step into that dark night, and with each school board meeting and parade, he shows how the party gained adherents. This is a very granular and precise exploration, and the reader will need some patience to read about all the town committee meetings, but there’s much to be learned here for the modern reader in today’s world where fascism seems to be making a comeback.

[arytaco · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Nazi Seizure of Power” depicts the tyrannical ideology’s growth and how it seized control of Germany, but from the perspective of a particularly nationalistic town. The material can be dry at times, but there is a lot of information that proves relevant. The author concludes that the Nazi’s seized power by devaluing moderate parties, radicalizing the vote, taking advantage of the fear of Marxism and using the positivity of solving the already-halting Depression to advance their harmful agenda. For those interested in Nazi Germany, this is an important work.

[Davide Battilori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capolavoro.
Sei mesi: il tempo che ci volle, senza colpo di stato, per trasformare una repubblica in una dittatura brutale.
La grande Storia calata in una piccola città di 10.000 abitanti; tutta l’attenzione concentrata su uomini e donne comuni; i grandi nomi rimangono sullo sfondo.
Risponde all'eterna domanda "come è stato possibile tutto questo?"

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a course in college and it just came up in conversation. Wrote maybe the best paper in my undergraduate career around this book.

[cipollara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ganzo, ma mi aspettavo qualcosa di meno dettagliato uoPS

[Valerie Campo Tranchida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐