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The Third Reich Lib/E: A History of Nazi Germany
In The Third A History of Nazi Germany , Thomas Childers shows how the young Hitler became passionately political and anti-Semitic as he lived on the margins of society. Fueled by outrage at the punitive terms imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty, he found his voice and drew a loyal following.
As his views developed, Hitler attracted like-minded colleagues who formed the nucleus of the nascent Nazi party. Between 1924 and 1929, Hitler and his party languished in obscurity on the radical fringes of German politics, but the onset of the Great Depression gave them the opportunity to move into the mainstream. Hitler blamed Germany's misery on the victorious allies, the Marxists, the Jews, and big business—and the political parties that represented them. By 1932 the Nazis had become the largest political party in Germany, and within six months they transformed a dysfunctional democracy into a totalitarian state and began the inexorable march to World War II and the Holocaust.
It is these fraught times that Childers brings to the Nazis' unlikely rise and how they consolidated their power once they achieved it. This is the most comprehensive one-volume history of Nazi Germany since the classic The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich .
As his views developed, Hitler attracted like-minded colleagues who formed the nucleus of the nascent Nazi party. Between 1924 and 1929, Hitler and his party languished in obscurity on the radical fringes of German politics, but the onset of the Great Depression gave them the opportunity to move into the mainstream. Hitler blamed Germany's misery on the victorious allies, the Marxists, the Jews, and big business—and the political parties that represented them. By 1932 the Nazis had become the largest political party in Germany, and within six months they transformed a dysfunctional democracy into a totalitarian state and began the inexorable march to World War II and the Holocaust.
It is these fraught times that Childers brings to the Nazis' unlikely rise and how they consolidated their power once they achieved it. This is the most comprehensive one-volume history of Nazi Germany since the classic The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich .
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First published October 10, 2017
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May 10, 2023
Thomas Childers nos acerca al tiempo en que un jovencísimo Adolf Hitler, mientras compartía piso en un barrio marginal, empezaba a apasionarse por la política y a entrar en contacto con ideas anti semitas. Hitler encontró su voz y, con ella, seguidores fieles: en 1932 los nazis ya habían conseguido formar el partido político más grande de Alemania y, en tan solo seis meses, transformaron una democracia disfuncional en un estado de régimen totalitario, iniciando así la marcha hacia la segunda guerra mundial y el Holocausto.
Estos son los tiempos aterradores a los que Childers da vida en este libro.
El increíble ascenso de los nazis y cómo lograron consolidar su poder una vez lo obtuvieron..
Estoy de acuerdo con Childers en que hay lecciones que aprender de esto. Puede ser horrible escuchar o pensar en ello, pero es importante ser consciente de estas cosas, ser consciente de cómo suceden en una sociedad moderna y de lo sencillo que es alimentar esa llama. El odio, la supremacía y todo lo irracional de lo que es capaz el ser humano.
Monstruos como Mengele, Reinhard Heydrich o el propio Heinrich Himmler, líder de las SS que llevó a cabo la operación Heydrich a su fallecimiento, el 4 de octubre de 1943, le dijo a un grupo de generales de las SS con respecto a “la aniquilación del pueblo judío” que:
"Esta página de gloria en nuestra historia nunca se ha escrito ni se escribirá jamás. Teníamos el derecho moral, estábamos obligados con nuestro pueblo a matar a estas personas que querían matarnos a nosotros."
Judíos: 5 a 6 millones.
Ciudadanos soviéticos: 5.7 millones ( 1.3 millones de judíos).
Prisioneros de guerra soviéticos: 29.2 a 69 millones.
Polacos: 1.8 a 3 millones.
Serbios: 300 000 a 600 000.
Discapacitados: 270 000.
Pueblo gitano: 130 000 a 500 000.
Masones: 80 000 a 200 000.
Eslovenos: 20 000 a 25 000.
Homosexuales: 5000 a 15 000.
Republicanos españoles: 5260.
Testigos de Jehová: 1250 a 5000.
Cifras que no se deben olvidar jamás..
Unos cuantos libros a los que eché una ojeada explican o analizan lo que sucedió en Alemania antes y durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial pero se centran en gran medida en Hitler. Poco en su círculo.
Un círculo del mal que abrió paso a un Tercer Reich, la ambición, la dominación y la locura más brutal..
Me gustó que este libro también se dirigiera a las personas que lo rodeaban que son si cabe tan o más importantes que Hitler, como Göring y Goebbels, Röhm y los demás que se quedaron solo por un breve período.
Por no hablar de las dos figuras más letales, el líder de las SS, Heinrich Himmler, con su mano derecha en ascenso, el hombre del corazón de acero. Reinhard Heydrich. Artífices de algo que pasó a la historia y jamás se olvidará. La solución final..
Por no hablar de Auschwitz y Josef Megele, el ángel de la muerte.
El libro está dividido en cuatro secciones que cubren el ascenso al poder del Partido Nazi, la consolidación del poder, los años de guerra y el colapso del Tercer Reich.
Childers es particularmente efectivo al resaltar el papel de la propaganda en el éxito del Partido Nazi. Explora los diversos canales de medios que se utilizaron para difundir la ideología nazi y crear un sentido de unidad y propósito entre el pueblo alemán.
A lo largo del libro, Childers mantiene un estilo de escritura claro y atractivo que hace que los eventos históricos complejos sean accesibles para los lectores en general.
Una enorme y detallada documentación junto un estudio exhaustivo de la ascensión y caída de la Alemania nazi.
Libro instructivo, ágil y necesario sobre todo lo que fue el Tercer Reich y quienes le dieron forma..✍️🎩
Estos son los tiempos aterradores a los que Childers da vida en este libro.
El increíble ascenso de los nazis y cómo lograron consolidar su poder una vez lo obtuvieron..
Estoy de acuerdo con Childers en que hay lecciones que aprender de esto. Puede ser horrible escuchar o pensar en ello, pero es importante ser consciente de estas cosas, ser consciente de cómo suceden en una sociedad moderna y de lo sencillo que es alimentar esa llama. El odio, la supremacía y todo lo irracional de lo que es capaz el ser humano.
Monstruos como Mengele, Reinhard Heydrich o el propio Heinrich Himmler, líder de las SS que llevó a cabo la operación Heydrich a su fallecimiento, el 4 de octubre de 1943, le dijo a un grupo de generales de las SS con respecto a “la aniquilación del pueblo judío” que:
"Esta página de gloria en nuestra historia nunca se ha escrito ni se escribirá jamás. Teníamos el derecho moral, estábamos obligados con nuestro pueblo a matar a estas personas que querían matarnos a nosotros."
Judíos: 5 a 6 millones.
Ciudadanos soviéticos: 5.7 millones ( 1.3 millones de judíos).
Prisioneros de guerra soviéticos: 29.2 a 69 millones.
Polacos: 1.8 a 3 millones.
Serbios: 300 000 a 600 000.
Discapacitados: 270 000.
Pueblo gitano: 130 000 a 500 000.
Masones: 80 000 a 200 000.
Eslovenos: 20 000 a 25 000.
Homosexuales: 5000 a 15 000.
Republicanos españoles: 5260.
Testigos de Jehová: 1250 a 5000.
Cifras que no se deben olvidar jamás..
Unos cuantos libros a los que eché una ojeada explican o analizan lo que sucedió en Alemania antes y durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial pero se centran en gran medida en Hitler. Poco en su círculo.
Un círculo del mal que abrió paso a un Tercer Reich, la ambición, la dominación y la locura más brutal..
Me gustó que este libro también se dirigiera a las personas que lo rodeaban que son si cabe tan o más importantes que Hitler, como Göring y Goebbels, Röhm y los demás que se quedaron solo por un breve período.
Por no hablar de las dos figuras más letales, el líder de las SS, Heinrich Himmler, con su mano derecha en ascenso, el hombre del corazón de acero. Reinhard Heydrich. Artífices de algo que pasó a la historia y jamás se olvidará. La solución final..
Por no hablar de Auschwitz y Josef Megele, el ángel de la muerte.
El libro está dividido en cuatro secciones que cubren el ascenso al poder del Partido Nazi, la consolidación del poder, los años de guerra y el colapso del Tercer Reich.
Childers es particularmente efectivo al resaltar el papel de la propaganda en el éxito del Partido Nazi. Explora los diversos canales de medios que se utilizaron para difundir la ideología nazi y crear un sentido de unidad y propósito entre el pueblo alemán.
A lo largo del libro, Childers mantiene un estilo de escritura claro y atractivo que hace que los eventos históricos complejos sean accesibles para los lectores en general.
Una enorme y detallada documentación junto un estudio exhaustivo de la ascensión y caída de la Alemania nazi.
Libro instructivo, ágil y necesario sobre todo lo que fue el Tercer Reich y quienes le dieron forma..✍️🎩
December 23, 2017
The first two thirds of this book make a pretty good case for this being the best single volume history of the Third Reich; written and argued persuasively, backed by strong research. The last third seems rushed. I would argue that the best single volume history remains Michael Burleigh's, but this has the advantage of being timely, concise, and clearly written, and it makes a very good introduction to a horrific topic that we had better start understanding in a hell of a hurry.
October 28, 2025
This book does not explain or interpret. It sticks to an almost exhaustive blow-by-blow description of events, from Hitler's birth, through his youth till WWI, the formation of the Nazi movement, and it's policy initiatives from 1933 on. About 80% of the book concerns events prior to WWII. The war seems like a series of outcomes from previous decisions.
The thing that struck me most was the Nazis' pattern of vitriolically blaming and demonizing others, with language so vicious that all hope of challenging its veracity was swept aside. It strikes me as terribly similar to much of the public discourse I've heard lately.
The thing that struck me most was the Nazis' pattern of vitriolically blaming and demonizing others, with language so vicious that all hope of challenging its veracity was swept aside. It strikes me as terribly similar to much of the public discourse I've heard lately.
August 27, 2021
Thomas Childers nos presenta en un único volumen una nueva y actualizada historia del Tercer Reich, período histórico que trata de condensar de manera accesible y divulgativa. En realidad, el autor otorga una especial importancia a los orígenes de Adolf Hitler y la formación del NSDAP, hasta el punto de que prácticamente la mitad del libro transcurre desde el nacimiento del Führer hasta su nombramiento como Canciller, cuando comienza propiamente el Tercer Reich. Por tanto, se trata de un libro que entrelaza la biografía de Hitler con la historia del partido y de Alemania, poniendo el foco en distintos puntos a medida que avanza la narración. Como resulta comprensible en un libro de estas características, tanto la etapa del NSDAP en el poder como, especialmente, el período de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, son relatados sucinta y apresuradamente, simplificando ciertas partes y dejando de lado sucesos significativos.
No obstante, resulta de gran interés el hecho de que Childers sitúe el mayor peso de la narración en la formación del partido y sus vicisitudes en el acceso al poder. De esta forma, obtiene un espacio amplio para derrumbar ciertos mitos bastante extendidos, como aquel que afirma que el NSDAP era el partido de la clase media-baja, cuando el 40% de sus votos en 1932 provenían de la clase trabajadora, fundamentalmente de la artesanía, la manufactura a pequeña escala y la agricultura. El apoyo de los cristianos – en especial protestantes – o de las mujeres lo convirtió en un «genuino partido popular», capaz de lograr la «comunidad del pueblo» proveniente de «una sorprendente variedad de grupos sociales y demográficos». También responde a la clásica acusación de que el partido era fuertemente apoyado por las grandes empresas industriales, poniendo sobre la mesa el hecho de que era financiado casi en su totalidad por las cuotas de afiliados y las donaciones de particulares, e incluso que se encontró en apuros económicos continuos a lo largo de 1932. Por otro lado, se ocupa en todo momento de señalar la relación del partido con el pueblo, una perspectiva de gran interés, aunque en ocasiones se puede echar en falta un mayor análisis en términos ideológicos y doctrinales del nacionalsocialismo.
La fuerza del estudio de Thomas Childers, por tanto, radica en su utilidad como introducción al período histórico para aquellos que deseen obtener una imagen global del nacimiento, auge y caída del Tercer Reich. Asimismo, al combinar las investigaciones más recientes con antiguos trabajos y fuentes, ofrece una amplia bibliografía, provechosa por ser menos general y más específica. En particular, son citados a lo largo de toda la obra los Tagebücher de Joseph Goebbels, diarios en los que regularmente trataba la actualidad del momento (y de los cuales lamento profundamente que sólo estén publicados en su totalidad en alemán y parcialmente en inglés). En definitiva, un libro que cumple su función y que puede competir con sus obras análogas, antiguas y modernas, como son las de William L. Shirer o Michael Burleigh.
No obstante, resulta de gran interés el hecho de que Childers sitúe el mayor peso de la narración en la formación del partido y sus vicisitudes en el acceso al poder. De esta forma, obtiene un espacio amplio para derrumbar ciertos mitos bastante extendidos, como aquel que afirma que el NSDAP era el partido de la clase media-baja, cuando el 40% de sus votos en 1932 provenían de la clase trabajadora, fundamentalmente de la artesanía, la manufactura a pequeña escala y la agricultura. El apoyo de los cristianos – en especial protestantes – o de las mujeres lo convirtió en un «genuino partido popular», capaz de lograr la «comunidad del pueblo» proveniente de «una sorprendente variedad de grupos sociales y demográficos». También responde a la clásica acusación de que el partido era fuertemente apoyado por las grandes empresas industriales, poniendo sobre la mesa el hecho de que era financiado casi en su totalidad por las cuotas de afiliados y las donaciones de particulares, e incluso que se encontró en apuros económicos continuos a lo largo de 1932. Por otro lado, se ocupa en todo momento de señalar la relación del partido con el pueblo, una perspectiva de gran interés, aunque en ocasiones se puede echar en falta un mayor análisis en términos ideológicos y doctrinales del nacionalsocialismo.
La fuerza del estudio de Thomas Childers, por tanto, radica en su utilidad como introducción al período histórico para aquellos que deseen obtener una imagen global del nacimiento, auge y caída del Tercer Reich. Asimismo, al combinar las investigaciones más recientes con antiguos trabajos y fuentes, ofrece una amplia bibliografía, provechosa por ser menos general y más específica. En particular, son citados a lo largo de toda la obra los Tagebücher de Joseph Goebbels, diarios en los que regularmente trataba la actualidad del momento (y de los cuales lamento profundamente que sólo estén publicados en su totalidad en alemán y parcialmente en inglés). En definitiva, un libro que cumple su función y que puede competir con sus obras análogas, antiguas y modernas, como son las de William L. Shirer o Michael Burleigh.
August 13, 2020
Many lessons can be drawn from the Nazi experience, lessons about nationalism and racism, about ideological fanaticism and the dark recesses of human nature.
On May 9, 1945, the Third Reich ceased to exist. Then, there must have been a moment when the German people and the Russian soldiers, and the survivors of Auschwitz and Treblinka had all asked themselves, “How has it ever come to this?”
In his book, Thomas Childers confronts this haunting question by tracing Adolf Hitler’s life from his birth in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn to his character development in Vienna to his rise as the leader of the Nazi party. Childers’ account of all events during the Nazi rise to power is impressively detailed, conveniently chronological, and very insightful. The reader is presented with a large set of characters, all of which are given attention in the narrative. Childers’ portrait of the Führer is especially vivid. He often lets the reader in on Hitler’s thoughts, thus providing much better understanding of the most eminent dictator of the 20th century.
The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany is also a very well-done analysis of Nazi policy before and during WWII, a depiction of the propaganda and the anti-Semitic campaigns in Germany. The author’s style is clear, and his arguments are easily graspable.
On May 9, 1945, the Third Reich ceased to exist. Then, there must have been a moment when the German people and the Russian soldiers, and the survivors of Auschwitz and Treblinka had all asked themselves, “How has it ever come to this?”
In his book, Thomas Childers confronts this haunting question by tracing Adolf Hitler’s life from his birth in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn to his character development in Vienna to his rise as the leader of the Nazi party. Childers’ account of all events during the Nazi rise to power is impressively detailed, conveniently chronological, and very insightful. The reader is presented with a large set of characters, all of which are given attention in the narrative. Childers’ portrait of the Führer is especially vivid. He often lets the reader in on Hitler’s thoughts, thus providing much better understanding of the most eminent dictator of the 20th century.
The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany is also a very well-done analysis of Nazi policy before and during WWII, a depiction of the propaganda and the anti-Semitic campaigns in Germany. The author’s style is clear, and his arguments are easily graspable.
July 15, 2019
5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: nonfiction, history, German history, WWII
This is a dark book. It tells the story of Hitler and the Nazi's rise to power starting from 1918. It's extremely eerie to see how Hitler went from being subpar at just about everything to being the leader of Germany. It's also very eerie to see the mirrors in today's world as well as how people, for the most part, blindly followed along, even when they knew Hitler was wrong.
A lot of books that explain or analyze what happened in Germany before and during WWII largely look at Hitler. I liked that this book went into the people around him as well, Göring and Goebbels and Röhm and the others who stayed only for a brief period. Many of these people were quite educated, in fact, Childers mentions in the book that the Nazi party was a hotbed for intellectuals. I think for some, it can be jarring to hear that it wasn't just uneducated people who followed Hitler, it was people who had an education, people who went to college, who had well-paying jobs (or as well-paying as you could get in the Depression). And Childers is right, it is astounding that something like this could happen, that people can be so thoroughly convinced, and then come out the other side wondering how everything got so bad so quickly.
The book was very informative concerning the early days of the Third Reich and how it came into power. I knew a little about their propaganda initiatives, but Childers gives us a pretty in-depth look at everything that occurred. I also think it's important that, even at the height of their pre-takeover power, they never received majority votes in the elections across Germany. Some spots here and there, but Germany as a whole did not give him majority vote, and I think that's something that a lot of books and textbooks fail to mention--though, in the end, it doesn't matter nor excuse anything that happened afterward.
It is devastating, to read about how the Holocaust progressed slowly, to read about how people were slowly desensitized to the idea of throwing people out of jobs, homes, businesses. To the idea of preventing people from marrying, from having children, from getting medication. Childers really shows how Germany between 1919-1945 was, essentially, the Boiling Frog experiment. The Reich started small, with boycotts of Jewish stores, and then slowly acclimated the average German disappearing neighbors and beatings on the street. When violence got to be extreme, people protested, when the violence was small, it was easy to ignore. Violent street beatings and the destruction of businesses lead to an outcry, carefully banning people from civil service sparked little outrage from the general community. It was a system designed to play on people's fears and hopes--you are afraid of losing everything, I can solve your problems--and then it preyed on those fears and hopes to generate support, propaganda, and obedience.
Another interesting aspect Childers examines in the book are the various organizations within the Nazis. There's the military section, sure, with the Abwehr and Wehrmacht and SS, but there was also sections of the organization for farmers, for religious people, for women, for children, for factory workers and bankers and even for things like vacationing. Everything was organized, there was something for every 'Aryan,' which I think is an important aspect of Nazism that is often overlooked. People wanted to belong, they wanted to feel catered to, and a large part of Nazi propaganda and operations tapped into that. We all probably, on average, know about the military aspects of Nazism and about the Hitler Youth and League of Girls, but this is the first time I've seen the various organizations broken down and explained. It's fascinating to see how this was utilized to disseminate Hitler's ideas.
I also enjoyed the breakdown of some of the plots against him. The book, of course, talked about the Scholls and the Students from Munich. It also talked about some of the earlier plots at the beer halls. The Wolf's Den plot got the most detail, and I found it almost amusing that the failed coup/assassination attempt mirrored so closely the successful one of Franz Ferdinant about twenty years earlier. It was also interesting to see how easily those Hitler surrounded himself by were able to recognize his unraveling mind and stay mostly comfortable with it; though Childers does mention some of the coups/attempts to get rid of Hitler by those who were closer to him.
It is horrifying to read about the atrocities that were committed under Hitler's rule. It is horrible to hear how people went along with it, how no one stopped him, even when those close to him became aware of how extreme, how wrong he was (albeit their issues were more military-related than moral). I agree with Childers, that there are lessons to be taken from this. It may be horrifying to hear or think about, but it's important to be aware of these things, to be aware of how they happen in an 'enlightened' society. We may forget, but Germany was one of the most technologically advanced countries before WWII. They had scientists and doctors and philosophers. Their standard of education was high. Yet the Holocaust still happened.
Recommended for people who like: nonfiction, history, German history, WWII
This is a dark book. It tells the story of Hitler and the Nazi's rise to power starting from 1918. It's extremely eerie to see how Hitler went from being subpar at just about everything to being the leader of Germany. It's also very eerie to see the mirrors in today's world as well as how people, for the most part, blindly followed along, even when they knew Hitler was wrong.
A lot of books that explain or analyze what happened in Germany before and during WWII largely look at Hitler. I liked that this book went into the people around him as well, Göring and Goebbels and Röhm and the others who stayed only for a brief period. Many of these people were quite educated, in fact, Childers mentions in the book that the Nazi party was a hotbed for intellectuals. I think for some, it can be jarring to hear that it wasn't just uneducated people who followed Hitler, it was people who had an education, people who went to college, who had well-paying jobs (or as well-paying as you could get in the Depression). And Childers is right, it is astounding that something like this could happen, that people can be so thoroughly convinced, and then come out the other side wondering how everything got so bad so quickly.
The book was very informative concerning the early days of the Third Reich and how it came into power. I knew a little about their propaganda initiatives, but Childers gives us a pretty in-depth look at everything that occurred. I also think it's important that, even at the height of their pre-takeover power, they never received majority votes in the elections across Germany. Some spots here and there, but Germany as a whole did not give him majority vote, and I think that's something that a lot of books and textbooks fail to mention--though, in the end, it doesn't matter nor excuse anything that happened afterward.
It is devastating, to read about how the Holocaust progressed slowly, to read about how people were slowly desensitized to the idea of throwing people out of jobs, homes, businesses. To the idea of preventing people from marrying, from having children, from getting medication. Childers really shows how Germany between 1919-1945 was, essentially, the Boiling Frog experiment. The Reich started small, with boycotts of Jewish stores, and then slowly acclimated the average German disappearing neighbors and beatings on the street. When violence got to be extreme, people protested, when the violence was small, it was easy to ignore. Violent street beatings and the destruction of businesses lead to an outcry, carefully banning people from civil service sparked little outrage from the general community. It was a system designed to play on people's fears and hopes--you are afraid of losing everything, I can solve your problems--and then it preyed on those fears and hopes to generate support, propaganda, and obedience.
Another interesting aspect Childers examines in the book are the various organizations within the Nazis. There's the military section, sure, with the Abwehr and Wehrmacht and SS, but there was also sections of the organization for farmers, for religious people, for women, for children, for factory workers and bankers and even for things like vacationing. Everything was organized, there was something for every 'Aryan,' which I think is an important aspect of Nazism that is often overlooked. People wanted to belong, they wanted to feel catered to, and a large part of Nazi propaganda and operations tapped into that. We all probably, on average, know about the military aspects of Nazism and about the Hitler Youth and League of Girls, but this is the first time I've seen the various organizations broken down and explained. It's fascinating to see how this was utilized to disseminate Hitler's ideas.
I also enjoyed the breakdown of some of the plots against him. The book, of course, talked about the Scholls and the Students from Munich. It also talked about some of the earlier plots at the beer halls. The Wolf's Den plot got the most detail, and I found it almost amusing that the failed coup/assassination attempt mirrored so closely the successful one of Franz Ferdinant about twenty years earlier. It was also interesting to see how easily those Hitler surrounded himself by were able to recognize his unraveling mind and stay mostly comfortable with it; though Childers does mention some of the coups/attempts to get rid of Hitler by those who were closer to him.
It is horrifying to read about the atrocities that were committed under Hitler's rule. It is horrible to hear how people went along with it, how no one stopped him, even when those close to him became aware of how extreme, how wrong he was (albeit their issues were more military-related than moral). I agree with Childers, that there are lessons to be taken from this. It may be horrifying to hear or think about, but it's important to be aware of these things, to be aware of how they happen in an 'enlightened' society. We may forget, but Germany was one of the most technologically advanced countries before WWII. They had scientists and doctors and philosophers. Their standard of education was high. Yet the Holocaust still happened.
"There is another legacy, a legacy that must be ours as well. It is a political, but even more a moral imperative: that this must never happen again. Be vigilant about your rights; when the rights of any group, no matter how small or marginal, are threatened, everyone's liberty is put at risk. Let there never come a time when we must cast about and ask how it ever came to this." (568)
April 14, 2021
Still think Michael Burleigh´s The Third Reich is the best one-volume survey of the history of Nazi Germany, but this book is very close to it. The analysis of Nazi accession to power, their early propaganda, and the election campaigns in the late 1920s and early 1930s is a little short of brilliant, and also, this book is a good read. It is probably more accessible to a non-professional audience than other good one-volume books like Burleigh´s work or Karl Bracher´s German Dictatorship. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2018
A couple years ago, I might have asked if we really needed a new history of the Third Reich after Richard J. Evans's masterful trilogy. But since society seems to have a hard time learning the lessons, it can't hurt to have another historian give his take. If the breadth of the subject matter means that Childers compresses some of it (particularly after the start of the war), there are moments of great insight. In particular, a statement taken after the war where an ordinary German wonders at the destruction wrought and marvels at how it all happened . . . Well, perhaps we might still learn something from that.
April 29, 2024
Long, but a good and approachable way to read several years of history.
July 21, 2025
Narrative political history focused on Hitler. The neglect of the sociocultural background is a serious drawback.
November 9, 2017
Although breaking little new ground, Thomas Childers’ history of Nazi Germany is riveting and profoundly disturbing. No matter how much one has read of the history of National Socialism, its horrors have an undiminished ability to shock and depress. Professor Childers is a powerful storyteller and writer, and his book packs a tremendous wallop.
Why another book on the Third Reich? It is a story that must be told again and again; it is everyone’s responsibility to know it. Professor Childers tells the awful story comprehensively, concisely and dramatically.
William Shirer’s classic history, which weighs in at roughly twice the length of Childers’ volume, will remain the standard for those intensely interested in the Nazi era. For the general reader who wants to be thoroughly educated, but who prefers a history of somewhat less daunting length, Professor Childers has provided a thoroughly admirable substitute.
Why another book on the Third Reich? It is a story that must be told again and again; it is everyone’s responsibility to know it. Professor Childers tells the awful story comprehensively, concisely and dramatically.
William Shirer’s classic history, which weighs in at roughly twice the length of Childers’ volume, will remain the standard for those intensely interested in the Nazi era. For the general reader who wants to be thoroughly educated, but who prefers a history of somewhat less daunting length, Professor Childers has provided a thoroughly admirable substitute.
March 7, 2018
Excellent quick review of the rise of the third Reich. Very good on the rise of the Nazis, but he deals relatively quickly with the war and the fall of the same. Still, an excellent summary.
September 25, 2022
Good history of the rise of the NSDAP, their succession to power, and their establishment of the nazi regime. The actual history of the buildup too, and “execution” of WWII was fine but rushed and brushed over the important intricacies.
Also felt as though the discussion of the Holocaust wasn’t as complete as I was looking for. The Final Solutions’ emergence out the Eienstazgruppen atrocities on the east front, and the logistical problems of “emigration”, was well articulated but relative to the time step on other topics I was disappointed. The book would have benefited from a dedicated chapter to the atrocities that took place.
Also, disappointed there was no discussion of the the Nuremberg trials or the nazi ratlines, though I guess the third reich no longer existed then.
Overall learned a lot. Provided context to those notable events in the rise of Nazi Germany (e.g. Beer Hall Puscth, Rieshtag Fire, Night of the Long Knives, …). The book had a well articulated narrative which made it less arduous of read than expected. Would recommend to anymore looking for more context about the rise and accession to power of the Nazi party.
Also felt as though the discussion of the Holocaust wasn’t as complete as I was looking for. The Final Solutions’ emergence out the Eienstazgruppen atrocities on the east front, and the logistical problems of “emigration”, was well articulated but relative to the time step on other topics I was disappointed. The book would have benefited from a dedicated chapter to the atrocities that took place.
Also, disappointed there was no discussion of the the Nuremberg trials or the nazi ratlines, though I guess the third reich no longer existed then.
Overall learned a lot. Provided context to those notable events in the rise of Nazi Germany (e.g. Beer Hall Puscth, Rieshtag Fire, Night of the Long Knives, …). The book had a well articulated narrative which made it less arduous of read than expected. Would recommend to anymore looking for more context about the rise and accession to power of the Nazi party.
August 22, 2022
Read this for work. Interesting and easy to get through for a WW2 history book.
November 29, 2021
For years the standard history of Nazi Germany has been William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Shirer was a journalist in Germany in the 1930s and up to the US entry into the war; his eyewitness access to Nazism on the ground deeply informed his book.
Now Thomas Childers, one of the most prominent historians of the Nazis, has produced a new, highly readable, thoroughly researched, and, for a general audience, authoritative account that interweaves biographic details about Adolf Hitler with the development and eventual capture of the German state by the Nazi party.
The Third Reich. A History of Nazi Germany is far too dense to summarize easily. The general outline is well known, but Childers adds lots of detail to the story. Hitler, interestingly, hated conflict and so often prevaricated or simply avoided decisions when conflicts arose among his followers. Vicious internal struggles for his attention were waged by Goebbels, Himmler, Goering, and his other immediate lieutenants. Some early military successes endowed Hitler with an unshakeable conviction of his infallibility and his generals' incompetence; his interventions, often sudden and irrational, into strategic and tactical decision-making helped produce multiple disasters from 1942 on, especially the catastrophe on the Eastern Front. By the end he was clearly delusional.
Childers's own research focus on The Nazi Voter (1983) delivers important correctives to some misapprehensions about the support of the Nazis in Germany before 1933. The party lacked appeal to workers, who preferred the Socialists or Communists; the Nazis found their base in the petite bourgousie and, notably, students, who were strong supporters. But after impressive electoral performances in the early 1930s, the party's share of the vote was actually on the decline when a coterie of conservatives who hated the Weimar Republic and hoped to restore the Kaiser and establish an autocracy convinced Hindenberg--himself a reprehensible rightist--to appoint Hitler chancellor. These figure, like Franz von Pappen, thought they could use Hitler to end the republic--they were self-deluded.
Childers finished The Third Reich in the first year of Trump's presidency, and it is clear that he was stuck by parallels between Hitler and the president; he even christens one chapter "Making Germany Great Again." Like Trump, Hitler mesmerized his audiences with two- and three-hour diatribes in which he said virtually nothing. Like Trump, Hitler had no interest in administrative details. Historical parallels like this are hazardous; the differences are often greater than the similarities, which may be only superficial. But anyone reading The Third Reich is bound to reflect on our last four years, and the ongoing crisis sparked on January 6, 2021.
Now Thomas Childers, one of the most prominent historians of the Nazis, has produced a new, highly readable, thoroughly researched, and, for a general audience, authoritative account that interweaves biographic details about Adolf Hitler with the development and eventual capture of the German state by the Nazi party.
The Third Reich. A History of Nazi Germany is far too dense to summarize easily. The general outline is well known, but Childers adds lots of detail to the story. Hitler, interestingly, hated conflict and so often prevaricated or simply avoided decisions when conflicts arose among his followers. Vicious internal struggles for his attention were waged by Goebbels, Himmler, Goering, and his other immediate lieutenants. Some early military successes endowed Hitler with an unshakeable conviction of his infallibility and his generals' incompetence; his interventions, often sudden and irrational, into strategic and tactical decision-making helped produce multiple disasters from 1942 on, especially the catastrophe on the Eastern Front. By the end he was clearly delusional.
Childers's own research focus on The Nazi Voter (1983) delivers important correctives to some misapprehensions about the support of the Nazis in Germany before 1933. The party lacked appeal to workers, who preferred the Socialists or Communists; the Nazis found their base in the petite bourgousie and, notably, students, who were strong supporters. But after impressive electoral performances in the early 1930s, the party's share of the vote was actually on the decline when a coterie of conservatives who hated the Weimar Republic and hoped to restore the Kaiser and establish an autocracy convinced Hindenberg--himself a reprehensible rightist--to appoint Hitler chancellor. These figure, like Franz von Pappen, thought they could use Hitler to end the republic--they were self-deluded.
Childers finished The Third Reich in the first year of Trump's presidency, and it is clear that he was stuck by parallels between Hitler and the president; he even christens one chapter "Making Germany Great Again." Like Trump, Hitler mesmerized his audiences with two- and three-hour diatribes in which he said virtually nothing. Like Trump, Hitler had no interest in administrative details. Historical parallels like this are hazardous; the differences are often greater than the similarities, which may be only superficial. But anyone reading The Third Reich is bound to reflect on our last four years, and the ongoing crisis sparked on January 6, 2021.
May 31, 2024
Excellent, excellent book. At 568 pages of actual reading, this book covers what the title promises. It is not a thorough following of the military side of WWII, which is helpful. This book allows you to understand the workings of the Nazis and their leadership in Germany during the 1920s-1940s. I have not read the famous Shirer book so I am not able to compare. However, to me this book is clearly written for anyone to have a solid understanding of how the Nazis came to power in Germany. I would highly recommend this book. If one is looking for a more thorough book on WWII, try one of Antony Beevoir's books; if you're looking for something exclusively on the Holocaust, I recently read KL by Wachsmann. It is thorough but worthwhile.
March 19, 2022
An interesting history book on the Third Reich. I was feeling very sad, because history is once more repeating. This time fashists were replaced by rashists claiming that they kill Nazis. The playbook of current Russian invasion into Ukraine was copied from the Germans in WW2. I hope that the Reich of Putin will end the same way and Putin will meet Hitler in the hell.
December 30, 2021
To be honest, I'm a little disappointed.
Thomas Childers' book is a nice enough introduction to the history of the Third Reich, but it offers nothing else. If you're familiar with the subject you won't find little intriguing details or a deep dive into some vital aspects of the Third Reich or any kind of unique approach towards well-known facets of the Hitlerian era. In addition to that, the writing throughout seems sort of uninspired, unimaginative and bland.
If you're not very new to the subject, you won't miss much if you skip this book.
Thomas Childers' book is a nice enough introduction to the history of the Third Reich, but it offers nothing else. If you're familiar with the subject you won't find little intriguing details or a deep dive into some vital aspects of the Third Reich or any kind of unique approach towards well-known facets of the Hitlerian era. In addition to that, the writing throughout seems sort of uninspired, unimaginative and bland.
If you're not very new to the subject, you won't miss much if you skip this book.
December 5, 2023
Fantastic book about the rise of the Nazis. If you want a book on the war look somewhere else. This book primarily looks at the failed overthrow in Munich to the onset of War. Still a great read and I learned a lot.
March 25, 2020
A very good book to read. It gives a clear and concise understanding of the Third Reich.
January 9, 2022
5/5 Very good book. Definitely recommended if you want a not so giant book about the Third Reich.
August 21, 2024
if your nerdy hyperfixation is "white people" reevaluate your priorities
July 2, 2018
Amazing. This book, coupled with William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” are likely the best one volume histories of Nazi Germany.
Shirer’s book has the advantage of being written by an on the ground witness, while this book has the advantage of being written by a historian using the passing of time, newly discovered archives, etc.
Both are told in a riveting narrative.
Shirer’s book has the advantage of being written by an on the ground witness, while this book has the advantage of being written by a historian using the passing of time, newly discovered archives, etc.
Both are told in a riveting narrative.
February 10, 2023
Right from the first chapter it is apparent the author's bias and dishonesty in dealing with the Nazis. For example he focuses on the failures of Hitler's first years and overstates them. He also struggles to accept the fact that Hitler arrived in Vienna without yet being an anti semite in spite of the evidence, which he himself cites.
Among the sources used by the author is Hitler's friend August Kubizek, who wrote his memoirs when Hitler was already demonized, and the author takes everything in the memoirs without any criticism. For example an episode in the teens of the two friends shows Hitler acting angry like a cartoony villain and Kubizek doing absolutely nothing about it. It shows the double standard when dealing with Hitler in academia when it comes to sources that must be taken with caution.
The rest of the book is not as terrible as the first chapter but still bad. I used this book as an introduction to the history of the Third Reich, so I can't criticize it too much but I know that it's a bad take on it. Hitler keeps being portrait as a maniac with no redeeming qualities that for some reasons is too successful and the ones surrounding him (especially the ones that hate him) are retards who would do nothing against Hitler's super evil plans. Many things don't make much sense and it is clear that the author doesn't tell all the truth. For example he admits that Jesse Owens did not embarrass the German Aryans but doesn't mention that he was respected there and even Hitler had a moment of respect with him. This is because it would destroy Hitler's image as a cartoonishly evil villain.
Not everything is a lie in this book. For example it offers good insight into the religious life inside the Reich and makes a good case for Hitler being the object of Divine Providence, while at the same time portraying the Fuhrer as an incompetent fool that succeeds only by sheer luck. Which begs the question, why would a God use Hitler as his agent when he is so incompetent? I doubt the author has spiritual beliefs like mine, so this should make even less sense to him and would tell him that he's writing a terrible book.
At the end of the day this is a book of half truths.
Among the sources used by the author is Hitler's friend August Kubizek, who wrote his memoirs when Hitler was already demonized, and the author takes everything in the memoirs without any criticism. For example an episode in the teens of the two friends shows Hitler acting angry like a cartoony villain and Kubizek doing absolutely nothing about it. It shows the double standard when dealing with Hitler in academia when it comes to sources that must be taken with caution.
The rest of the book is not as terrible as the first chapter but still bad. I used this book as an introduction to the history of the Third Reich, so I can't criticize it too much but I know that it's a bad take on it. Hitler keeps being portrait as a maniac with no redeeming qualities that for some reasons is too successful and the ones surrounding him (especially the ones that hate him) are retards who would do nothing against Hitler's super evil plans. Many things don't make much sense and it is clear that the author doesn't tell all the truth. For example he admits that Jesse Owens did not embarrass the German Aryans but doesn't mention that he was respected there and even Hitler had a moment of respect with him. This is because it would destroy Hitler's image as a cartoonishly evil villain.
Not everything is a lie in this book. For example it offers good insight into the religious life inside the Reich and makes a good case for Hitler being the object of Divine Providence, while at the same time portraying the Fuhrer as an incompetent fool that succeeds only by sheer luck. Which begs the question, why would a God use Hitler as his agent when he is so incompetent? I doubt the author has spiritual beliefs like mine, so this should make even less sense to him and would tell him that he's writing a terrible book.
At the end of the day this is a book of half truths.
February 1, 2020
This is an excellent short(ish) history of the Nazis and their brutal impact on the world from the mid 20s to the devastating end to WW2 in ravaged Berlin.
I read this book over a month - finding myself forced to step away from the narrative from time to time to contemplate the brutal twists and turns of the Nazis rise to power first in Germany and then each step of their manic warmongering until all of Europe and half the world became their unholy battleground.
I won’t be the first reader to finish such a history and still find myself asking the questions.
How did such hateful ideas take hold so strong?
How could an entire relatively modern European nation come to believe in the Nazi xenophobia to such an extent that they were willing to permit genocide?
Why were the democracies of the world unable\unwilling to stop them earlier?
And the toughest question of all.
Could this ever happen again?
This book at least provides the basic facts to answer my first 3 questions and does so as well as any history I’ve read or watched has done. And even then I find the answers don’t satisfy .. but perhaps no answers ever will.
My fourth question of course must be asked and answered every day by all of us. No person, race or nation is immune from prejudice ... and we must all be watchful that we don’t allow our or others prejudices from taking hold of our societies and establishing themselves as the norm.
I read this book over a month - finding myself forced to step away from the narrative from time to time to contemplate the brutal twists and turns of the Nazis rise to power first in Germany and then each step of their manic warmongering until all of Europe and half the world became their unholy battleground.
I won’t be the first reader to finish such a history and still find myself asking the questions.
How did such hateful ideas take hold so strong?
How could an entire relatively modern European nation come to believe in the Nazi xenophobia to such an extent that they were willing to permit genocide?
Why were the democracies of the world unable\unwilling to stop them earlier?
And the toughest question of all.
Could this ever happen again?
This book at least provides the basic facts to answer my first 3 questions and does so as well as any history I’ve read or watched has done. And even then I find the answers don’t satisfy .. but perhaps no answers ever will.
My fourth question of course must be asked and answered every day by all of us. No person, race or nation is immune from prejudice ... and we must all be watchful that we don’t allow our or others prejudices from taking hold of our societies and establishing themselves as the norm.
June 27, 2017
I learned so much while reading this book. While the author does cover all the commonly known history of the Nazi regime, he focuses on the rise and fall of its power. It took a while to read because I had to absorb the information but it was worth it.
March 3, 2021
Surely the definitive one-volume history of Nazi Germany. He weaves together threads of detail into a compelling tapestry. The conclusion is the ideological mission of the Nazi was ever-present in their tactics. This volume makes maybe the best case for the centrality of the 'völkisch' ideology. This ideology compelled the Nazis to grasp power with the inevitable result of the destruction of vast parts of Europe and killing of uncountable numbers of innocents.
The Nazis polled under 5% of the population in 1928 but rose to become the largest party with almost 40% support in 4 short years. Relentless energy driven by a devotion to a set of ideas coupled with brilliant propaganda took advantage of the erosion of public trust. Economic collapse, governmental ineptitude, and self-serving politicians gave Hitler an opening. To avert a likely civil war, Hitler was offered the chancellorship against the strong advice of Hindenburg.
At the first opportunity, (an attack on the seat of government by a political opponent), he enacted dictatorial powers. Many, if not a majority, longed for an end to the ineptitude of democracy. Hitler was clear during election campaigns that he was opposed to rule by voters. The Nazis, no less than the second most powerful party, the communist, ran on dictatorship platforms. This is what most Germans wanted—someone to take charge of the dumpster fire of government.
In power, the Nazis slowly and methodically eliminated opponents and opposition. They pushed only as hard as they thought the public would bear. If they needed to whitewash certain aspects of their ideology, they were happy to do so for the greater good in the longer term. The Nazis worked diligently to gain support for their agenda. And the unifying message of the party was attractive - no more divisions, no more political parties or operatives, no more class distinctions. News and culture were brought into line with very resistance.
From now on, the government would be run decisively by expert managers. Problems would receive and decisive final solution. A lot of early successes propelled the Nazis to broad support. Bickering ceased - through success as well subtle terror. For the most part, the Gestapo didn’t terrorize ordinary Germans, but only rabble-rousers and those trying to undermine the unity of the people or those who broke the health rules of racial hygiene. The Nazis were stiving to cleanse the German people and free them from the Jewish virus that had infected them, and tough measures were required to free the population from this parasite. Medical language was used to support the racial ideology. The health of individuals didn't matter. What mattered was the 'health' of the group - an identity group, to be sure.
No professional supported the Nazis with the fervour doctors did. As practitioners of science, they could get behind this process of improving the people through unnatural selection since civilization prevented natural selection by protecting the weak. The weak must not be protected but eliminated. For the future people to be strong, weak genes must be weeded out. An irreversible racial apocalypse would result if racial purity were not implemented in this generation.
In the name of science, they proceeded to cleanse the population. The young were enthusiastic supporters. University students were the first to cast books into the fire and denounce their professors who objected.
These ideas led inexorably to the wholesale, bureaucratic slaughter of millions of innocent men, women, and children. It is almost too horrible to contemplate the gruesome outcome that a fanatical, mystical, ‘scientific’ ideology produced. Ideas have consequences- this book lays out that case line by line.
It brilliantly weaves together personal anecdotes within the framework of large-scale trends. Even if you’ve read many books and biographies on this era, you will learn something from this book. There is no trace of stilted language. He is a fine writer with sentences that are easy to read, but some are difficult to process as he does not avoid confronting the horror.
My one reservation is he titled one of the chapters ‘Making Germany Great Again.’ Published in 2017, this seems to be making a political statement. It raises the issue of bias. Was this written to draw parallels to the present, or was it an honest appraisal of the past? Of course, all history is political and often says as much or more about the times it was written than about the time it is writing about. And not to say there aren’t some real parallels with our times, but I don’t want to read a propagandize history. But as far as I can tell, based on the other books I have read, I could not detect a hidden political agenda, other than his explicit one of ‘let us never allow this to happen again.’
On the whole, highly recommended. I wish all high school students had to read this.
The Nazis polled under 5% of the population in 1928 but rose to become the largest party with almost 40% support in 4 short years. Relentless energy driven by a devotion to a set of ideas coupled with brilliant propaganda took advantage of the erosion of public trust. Economic collapse, governmental ineptitude, and self-serving politicians gave Hitler an opening. To avert a likely civil war, Hitler was offered the chancellorship against the strong advice of Hindenburg.
At the first opportunity, (an attack on the seat of government by a political opponent), he enacted dictatorial powers. Many, if not a majority, longed for an end to the ineptitude of democracy. Hitler was clear during election campaigns that he was opposed to rule by voters. The Nazis, no less than the second most powerful party, the communist, ran on dictatorship platforms. This is what most Germans wanted—someone to take charge of the dumpster fire of government.
In power, the Nazis slowly and methodically eliminated opponents and opposition. They pushed only as hard as they thought the public would bear. If they needed to whitewash certain aspects of their ideology, they were happy to do so for the greater good in the longer term. The Nazis worked diligently to gain support for their agenda. And the unifying message of the party was attractive - no more divisions, no more political parties or operatives, no more class distinctions. News and culture were brought into line with very resistance.
From now on, the government would be run decisively by expert managers. Problems would receive and decisive final solution. A lot of early successes propelled the Nazis to broad support. Bickering ceased - through success as well subtle terror. For the most part, the Gestapo didn’t terrorize ordinary Germans, but only rabble-rousers and those trying to undermine the unity of the people or those who broke the health rules of racial hygiene. The Nazis were stiving to cleanse the German people and free them from the Jewish virus that had infected them, and tough measures were required to free the population from this parasite. Medical language was used to support the racial ideology. The health of individuals didn't matter. What mattered was the 'health' of the group - an identity group, to be sure.
No professional supported the Nazis with the fervour doctors did. As practitioners of science, they could get behind this process of improving the people through unnatural selection since civilization prevented natural selection by protecting the weak. The weak must not be protected but eliminated. For the future people to be strong, weak genes must be weeded out. An irreversible racial apocalypse would result if racial purity were not implemented in this generation.
In the name of science, they proceeded to cleanse the population. The young were enthusiastic supporters. University students were the first to cast books into the fire and denounce their professors who objected.
These ideas led inexorably to the wholesale, bureaucratic slaughter of millions of innocent men, women, and children. It is almost too horrible to contemplate the gruesome outcome that a fanatical, mystical, ‘scientific’ ideology produced. Ideas have consequences- this book lays out that case line by line.
It brilliantly weaves together personal anecdotes within the framework of large-scale trends. Even if you’ve read many books and biographies on this era, you will learn something from this book. There is no trace of stilted language. He is a fine writer with sentences that are easy to read, but some are difficult to process as he does not avoid confronting the horror.
My one reservation is he titled one of the chapters ‘Making Germany Great Again.’ Published in 2017, this seems to be making a political statement. It raises the issue of bias. Was this written to draw parallels to the present, or was it an honest appraisal of the past? Of course, all history is political and often says as much or more about the times it was written than about the time it is writing about. And not to say there aren’t some real parallels with our times, but I don’t want to read a propagandize history. But as far as I can tell, based on the other books I have read, I could not detect a hidden political agenda, other than his explicit one of ‘let us never allow this to happen again.’
On the whole, highly recommended. I wish all high school students had to read this.
September 10, 2018
As various forms of democratic government come under stress from authoritarian forces in many places around the world, including the United States, we would all do well to remember that democracies are fragile and can fail, and that the results can be catastrophic.
In The Third Reich, author and historian Thomas Childers of the University of Pennsylvania, traces the rise of Adolph Hitler and a core group of Nazis as they come to power, take control of the German government, and begin a world war that killed 60-80 million people.
Childers obtained his PhD from Harvard University and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania since 1976 where his expertise in World Wars I and II has earned him several teaching awards as well as invitations to serve as a guest professor at universities including Cambridge, Swarthmore, and other prestigious schools. He has also given lectures in places such as London, Munich, Berlin and other cities and has written and delivered four courses for The Great Courses.
The Third Reich begins as Hitler finds his way to the fringe Nazi Party in the early 1920s, not long after other nations punished Germany with the Versailles Treaty for its role in World War I and set into motion events that humiliated a broken country and played a large role in causing some people—such as Hitler--to become passionately political and anti-Semitic.
Not long after finding his voice, Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party, a political party that held less than 3% of the seats in the German Reichstag (Parliament) in 1925. Eight years later, Hitler was Chancellor and the fragile democracy of the Weimar Republic was dead.
Childers follows Hitler as his passion and strong speaking ability attracts like-minded people to the party and leads to a failed coup against the government in 1923, languishes in obscurity between 1924 and 1929, then moves into the mainstream of German politics as the American Great Depression hits Europe and an already struggling Germany.
As the Weimar Republic becomes less functional, and fears of communism spread, more people begin to listen to Hitler as he blames big business, communists, the victors of World War I, and Jews for the country’s misery. As “everyday” people seek someone to blame and lose trust and faith in their democracy and institutions including media, they find a voice in Hitler as his rallies, slogans, and carefully executed propaganda for the masses attract growing attention.
Hitler’s primary message is that he can make Germany great again and only he can fix the broken country. Only he can relieve the anger, fear, and suffering of the masses.
By 1932, the Nazi Party was the largest party (though not the majority) in the Reichstag, and Hitler was made Chancellor the following year as more conservative members of the parliament throw their support behind Hitler thinking they could control him and use his voice and numbers to pass their own conservative agenda.
By March of that same year, Germany’s democracy came to an end with the Enabling Act of 1933 (“Law to Remedy the Distress of people and Reich”), an act that allowed the Chancellor to pass laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. Then, with the Reichstag Fire Decree, most civil rights were abolished, and state powers were transferred to the Chancellor and his cabinet. Hitler’s dream of a dictatorship was legally realized.
Within six months of legally being made Chancellor, the country’s parliamentary democracy was dead, and the government was totalitarian. In total, it took Hitler and the Nazis only ten years to bring democracy to an end. A little more than ten years after that, more than 3% of the world’s population lay in their graves after the world’s deadliest war ended.
I highly recommend this book. Though it is long and comprehensive, it is readable and very important in our own times. History can, and often does, repeat itself in some variation.
In The Third Reich, author and historian Thomas Childers of the University of Pennsylvania, traces the rise of Adolph Hitler and a core group of Nazis as they come to power, take control of the German government, and begin a world war that killed 60-80 million people.
Childers obtained his PhD from Harvard University and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania since 1976 where his expertise in World Wars I and II has earned him several teaching awards as well as invitations to serve as a guest professor at universities including Cambridge, Swarthmore, and other prestigious schools. He has also given lectures in places such as London, Munich, Berlin and other cities and has written and delivered four courses for The Great Courses.
The Third Reich begins as Hitler finds his way to the fringe Nazi Party in the early 1920s, not long after other nations punished Germany with the Versailles Treaty for its role in World War I and set into motion events that humiliated a broken country and played a large role in causing some people—such as Hitler--to become passionately political and anti-Semitic.
Not long after finding his voice, Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party, a political party that held less than 3% of the seats in the German Reichstag (Parliament) in 1925. Eight years later, Hitler was Chancellor and the fragile democracy of the Weimar Republic was dead.
Childers follows Hitler as his passion and strong speaking ability attracts like-minded people to the party and leads to a failed coup against the government in 1923, languishes in obscurity between 1924 and 1929, then moves into the mainstream of German politics as the American Great Depression hits Europe and an already struggling Germany.
As the Weimar Republic becomes less functional, and fears of communism spread, more people begin to listen to Hitler as he blames big business, communists, the victors of World War I, and Jews for the country’s misery. As “everyday” people seek someone to blame and lose trust and faith in their democracy and institutions including media, they find a voice in Hitler as his rallies, slogans, and carefully executed propaganda for the masses attract growing attention.
Hitler’s primary message is that he can make Germany great again and only he can fix the broken country. Only he can relieve the anger, fear, and suffering of the masses.
By 1932, the Nazi Party was the largest party (though not the majority) in the Reichstag, and Hitler was made Chancellor the following year as more conservative members of the parliament throw their support behind Hitler thinking they could control him and use his voice and numbers to pass their own conservative agenda.
By March of that same year, Germany’s democracy came to an end with the Enabling Act of 1933 (“Law to Remedy the Distress of people and Reich”), an act that allowed the Chancellor to pass laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. Then, with the Reichstag Fire Decree, most civil rights were abolished, and state powers were transferred to the Chancellor and his cabinet. Hitler’s dream of a dictatorship was legally realized.
Within six months of legally being made Chancellor, the country’s parliamentary democracy was dead, and the government was totalitarian. In total, it took Hitler and the Nazis only ten years to bring democracy to an end. A little more than ten years after that, more than 3% of the world’s population lay in their graves after the world’s deadliest war ended.
I highly recommend this book. Though it is long and comprehensive, it is readable and very important in our own times. History can, and often does, repeat itself in some variation.
August 21, 2025
This history of Nazi Germany could well be called a biography of one man. From the first sentence--Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.--to the closing paragraphs describing a burning funeral pyre in a Berlin bunker, this story of the Third Reich is an epic of one man's lifetime obsession.
The beginning and end of the story are easily told, widely known. Thomas Childers gives a masterclass in telling us The Rest of the Story, as Paul Harvey used to say before he went off the deep end. This is storytelling at its finest.
I've read this in counterpoint to parallel reading of the classic historical record of the German experience, William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. The facts, people, events covered by the two books are the same. Now I've completed Childers' book (at 600 pages) with great energy and engagement, while still struggling with Shirer's 1.000 page tome.
Admittedly, the goals of the two authors, and the parallel books, are different. Shirer has published a definitive and authoritatively documented, in detail, historical account composed in large part almost contemporaneously with the events in focus, much of it from firsthand experience. As such it makes an immense historical contribution.
Childers makes it accessible. His pacing in telling the story is careful, thoughtful, even adventurous at times--though we clearly know where he's going, we feel compelled to read how he's giving us the details. While much of the story is told from the 10,000-ft view, he periodically steps closer, giving us telling details. Then he gives us a wider view, providing summations of the story arc, telling us how far we've come, hinting at how far we have yet to go. His choices of narrative distance are well-timed and keep the reading moving forward effortlessly.
In his dedication to telling the entire story within a reasonable page-count, he does glide over many significant events within single paragraphs that contain multitudes. Taking pages--chapters--to capture the political machinations in the rise to power, he makes no effort whatsoever to describe the military actions that were the ultimate manifestations of the mature Nazi movement. All of World War II, the last six of the Reich's twelve years, is told within fewer than 75 pages.
Yet his economy in describing the logistics of the political rise is rich with meaning and powerful in its portrayal. Reading it in the summer season of 2025 I find it impossible to avoid parallels with current events in the life of the United States. The similarities as well as the differences come into sharp relief and are deserving of an essay all its own.
As I've aged I've come to appreciate why my interest in history was so limited when I was younger. If learning--especially deep understanding--requires us to compare new experiences with what we already know, I recognize now how my lifetime experiences inform and contextualize new things I encounter. As a younger man I was not remotely able to see these social, political, cultural events for what they were.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know. At least I'm getting closer.
The beginning and end of the story are easily told, widely known. Thomas Childers gives a masterclass in telling us The Rest of the Story, as Paul Harvey used to say before he went off the deep end. This is storytelling at its finest.
I've read this in counterpoint to parallel reading of the classic historical record of the German experience, William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. The facts, people, events covered by the two books are the same. Now I've completed Childers' book (at 600 pages) with great energy and engagement, while still struggling with Shirer's 1.000 page tome.
Admittedly, the goals of the two authors, and the parallel books, are different. Shirer has published a definitive and authoritatively documented, in detail, historical account composed in large part almost contemporaneously with the events in focus, much of it from firsthand experience. As such it makes an immense historical contribution.
Childers makes it accessible. His pacing in telling the story is careful, thoughtful, even adventurous at times--though we clearly know where he's going, we feel compelled to read how he's giving us the details. While much of the story is told from the 10,000-ft view, he periodically steps closer, giving us telling details. Then he gives us a wider view, providing summations of the story arc, telling us how far we've come, hinting at how far we have yet to go. His choices of narrative distance are well-timed and keep the reading moving forward effortlessly.
In his dedication to telling the entire story within a reasonable page-count, he does glide over many significant events within single paragraphs that contain multitudes. Taking pages--chapters--to capture the political machinations in the rise to power, he makes no effort whatsoever to describe the military actions that were the ultimate manifestations of the mature Nazi movement. All of World War II, the last six of the Reich's twelve years, is told within fewer than 75 pages.
Yet his economy in describing the logistics of the political rise is rich with meaning and powerful in its portrayal. Reading it in the summer season of 2025 I find it impossible to avoid parallels with current events in the life of the United States. The similarities as well as the differences come into sharp relief and are deserving of an essay all its own.
As I've aged I've come to appreciate why my interest in history was so limited when I was younger. If learning--especially deep understanding--requires us to compare new experiences with what we already know, I recognize now how my lifetime experiences inform and contextualize new things I encounter. As a younger man I was not remotely able to see these social, political, cultural events for what they were.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know. At least I'm getting closer.
December 8, 2018
This is the first serious history of the Third Reich I have read and I found it both very interesting and very informative.
Critics have complained that this book spends an excessive amount of time on Hitler's early life and rise to power. It is true that Hitler takes power over 200 pages into the book, but I found this long introduction quite illuminating. I would not have traded this for more discussion of who was on whose flank at this battle or that one. German politics in the late Weimar republic bear a discomfiting similarity to our own -- economic stagnation, an angry middle class looking to make a protest vote (like Trump, Hitler's coalition's most loyal segment was neither the very rich nor the very poor), institutions suffering a crisis of legitimacy, explicitly racial and nationalist appeals, and liberal and leftist parties so occupied with internecine struggles that they have trouble presenting a unified front to defeat a leader who is, in absolute terms, not very popular (at their best showings in free elections Nazis garnered about one-third of the vote). Indeed, Childers wants to remind us of these parallels -- several times he describes Hitler's platform as "making Germany great again."
To be sure, there are important differences as well. Nazis quickly sidelined the establishment conservatives who hoped to use and manipulate Hitler, while Trump instead moved to accommodate these forces almost immediately after election. America is not a pariah state looking to build an empire but a hegemonic power looking to maintain one (although we can all see this status slowly crumbling). While Hitler was an indecisive and arguably ineffectual leader, he had a commitment to his ideology and vision Donald Trump could not be accused of. And America's institutions have proven more durable than Germany's were, repeatedly frustrating many of the President's initiatives.
However, what I found most striking about this book was the path by which the Nazis arrived at the Final Solution. Despite the centrality of anti-Semitism to the Nazi worldview, their policy toward Jews was haphazard and mired down in constant bureaucratic wrangling (concerning, for instance, the precise definition of "Jew"). The modern reader may be surprised to learn that well into the War, the Nazis hoped to deport, not commit genocide against, Jews (though the Nazis were happy to turn a blind eye to pogroms against Jews). What changed their approach was their gradual realization that, especially with the vastly expanded territory of the Thousand-Year Reich, this was simply not realistic. SS began to shoot Jews en masse and dump them in anonymous graves -- and in the earliest instances of this happening, Army officials, unaware this had been ordered by Hitler, attempted to court-martial the perpetrators. It was only in light of soldiers complaining of post-traumatic stress that the Nazis arrived at the idea of industrial-scale mass murder and converted their concentration camps, which had originally been established as detainment centers and way stations for the deported, into death camps. It is chilling to see how naturally one step flows into the next with the course of events -- a sequence of events that ought to give us pause when our immigration policy is directed in racial terms by Stephen Miller. Stories of migrants turning dead after neglect, sometimes with signs of being beaten, are beginning to trickle out of ICE detention centers, which are massively expanding. This book offers a horrifying picture of the ultimate destination to which the path we are beginning to walk leads.
Critics have complained that this book spends an excessive amount of time on Hitler's early life and rise to power. It is true that Hitler takes power over 200 pages into the book, but I found this long introduction quite illuminating. I would not have traded this for more discussion of who was on whose flank at this battle or that one. German politics in the late Weimar republic bear a discomfiting similarity to our own -- economic stagnation, an angry middle class looking to make a protest vote (like Trump, Hitler's coalition's most loyal segment was neither the very rich nor the very poor), institutions suffering a crisis of legitimacy, explicitly racial and nationalist appeals, and liberal and leftist parties so occupied with internecine struggles that they have trouble presenting a unified front to defeat a leader who is, in absolute terms, not very popular (at their best showings in free elections Nazis garnered about one-third of the vote). Indeed, Childers wants to remind us of these parallels -- several times he describes Hitler's platform as "making Germany great again."
To be sure, there are important differences as well. Nazis quickly sidelined the establishment conservatives who hoped to use and manipulate Hitler, while Trump instead moved to accommodate these forces almost immediately after election. America is not a pariah state looking to build an empire but a hegemonic power looking to maintain one (although we can all see this status slowly crumbling). While Hitler was an indecisive and arguably ineffectual leader, he had a commitment to his ideology and vision Donald Trump could not be accused of. And America's institutions have proven more durable than Germany's were, repeatedly frustrating many of the President's initiatives.
However, what I found most striking about this book was the path by which the Nazis arrived at the Final Solution. Despite the centrality of anti-Semitism to the Nazi worldview, their policy toward Jews was haphazard and mired down in constant bureaucratic wrangling (concerning, for instance, the precise definition of "Jew"). The modern reader may be surprised to learn that well into the War, the Nazis hoped to deport, not commit genocide against, Jews (though the Nazis were happy to turn a blind eye to pogroms against Jews). What changed their approach was their gradual realization that, especially with the vastly expanded territory of the Thousand-Year Reich, this was simply not realistic. SS began to shoot Jews en masse and dump them in anonymous graves -- and in the earliest instances of this happening, Army officials, unaware this had been ordered by Hitler, attempted to court-martial the perpetrators. It was only in light of soldiers complaining of post-traumatic stress that the Nazis arrived at the idea of industrial-scale mass murder and converted their concentration camps, which had originally been established as detainment centers and way stations for the deported, into death camps. It is chilling to see how naturally one step flows into the next with the course of events -- a sequence of events that ought to give us pause when our immigration policy is directed in racial terms by Stephen Miller. Stories of migrants turning dead after neglect, sometimes with signs of being beaten, are beginning to trickle out of ICE detention centers, which are massively expanding. This book offers a horrifying picture of the ultimate destination to which the path we are beginning to walk leads.
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