Life in the Third Reich

By: Bessel, Richard

Book Overview

Even today, the Third Reich--the regime that instigated the most destructive war in modern history--evokes powerful images of fascination and horror. Yet how were the lives of the ordinary German people of the 1930s and '40s affected by the politics of Hitler and his followers? Looking beyond the catalog of events, this intriguing book reveals that daily German life involved a complex mixture of bribery and terror; of fear and concessions; of barbarism and appeals to conventional moral values employed by the Nazis to maintain their grip on society. Eight leading historians present essays that shed fresh light on topics as familiar as the role of political violence in Nazi seizure of power and the German view of Hitler himself. It also focuses on lesser-known aspects of life in the Third Reich, such as village life, the treatment of "social outcasts," and the Germans' own retrospective view of this period of their history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192802100
• ISBN13: 9780192802101
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Length: 150 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Daily life on the streets....

This book has a series of essays about daily life of the Third Reich, from how politics effected family life to how the children were educated and trained under the ideals of the Nazi party. History seen from street level, not from high above. This is about individuals and families, not about movements and parties. I learned more about the Nazi take over of power, and how it caused changes within the villages, businesses, and governments, in this one book then all of the other books on the Third Reich and the Nazi Party that I have in my collection.

Interesting Collection of Essays

Life in the Third Reich offers eight essays on various aspects of Nazi culture. As Richard Bessel notes in his introduction, the Third Reich is not just the story of good versus evil but is a more complex study characterized by contradictions and paradoxes. Germans who disapproved of the violence of Hitler's SA may also have appreciated the Nazis' efforts to put down crime and restore social order to a nation influx. Germans who feared the Gestapo agents and the nation's drive toward war also welcomed the Anschluss with Austria and the incorporation of the Sudetenland. Bessel's essay is entitled "Political Violence and the Nazi Seizure of Power." Bessel looks at the violence that helped the Nazi party gain power, which was often seen as legitimate when working as an "auxiliary police" force, and the violence against Jews, which was seen as excessive and hindered Nazi support. Still, the old guard allowed Hitler to come the power and Nazi violence at that time had its limits (i.e. there was no terrorist activity). Gerhard Wilke's "Village Life in Nazi Germany" looks at Koerle in north Hesse and how Nazism altered social relationships. A very interesting essay is "Youth in the Third Reich" by Detlev Peukert. Peukert describes how the increasingly coercive and drill-minded nature of the Hitler Jugend led to a youth subculture of gangs like the Edelweiss Pirates and movements like Swing jazz. Ian Kershaw explains the seven bases of the Hitler myth in "Hitler and the Germans." "Social Outcasts in the Third Reich" by Jeremy Noakes includes information on such topics as eugenics and sterilization. Other essays cover the Nazi state, policies against the Jews, and "Good Times, Bad Times: Memories of the Third Reich."This book is an excellent source of topics not often covered in other books. It is well-researched by some of the best historians of Nazi Germany and includes two sections of b & w photos.

Good information

This is a book of collected essays by several authors, including the famous Ian Kershaw, that features some very good information. The book deals with several aspects of life within Nazi Germany including how the Nazis came to power, youth, the "Hitler myth", the policy against the Jews, and the way the Nazi state was run. The differing installments are well-written, and although some parts can be dry this book is a good introduction to what daily life was like within the Reich.