The People's Dictatorship

by Alan E. Steinweis

In this up-to-date, succinct, and highly readable volume, Alan E. Steinweis presents a new synthesis of the origins, development, and downfall of Nazi Germany. After tracing the intellectual and cultural origins of Nazi ideology, the book recounts the rise and eventual victory of the Nazi movement against the background of the struggling Weimar Republic. The book details the rapid transformation of Germany into a dictatorship, focusing on the interplay of Nazi violence and the readiness of Germans to accommodate themselves to the new regime.  Steinweis chronicles Nazi efforts to transform German society into a so-called People's Community, imbued with hyper-nationalism, an authoritarian spirit, Nazi racial doctrine, and antisemitism. The result was less a People's Community than what Steinweis calls a People's Dictatorship – a repressive regime that acted brutally toward the targets of its persecution, its internal opponents, and its foreign enemies even as it enjoyed support across much of German society.

Genres: History

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cogent, concise survey of Nazi Germany.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book i've read for uni

[Ipek · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who doesn't know much about WWII, I found this a very informative read. It provides a concise overview of WWII, with Nazi Germany as its central focus. It explains how Hitler and the Nazis came to power, their ideology, how democracy collapsed and society functioned under the regime, the Holocaust, and the course of the war up until Hitler's suicide.

Turkey remained neutral for almost the entire war, which is probably why we don't learn much about it at school. I wish we did, though; maybe it would help people understand the importance of İnönü's wartime policies and the consequences of what happens when extreme ideas are normalized through propaganda and authoritarianism.