The People's Dictatorship: A History of Nazi Germany(Series Number 64 New Approaches to European History)

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.

Table of Contents:
1. The Idea of Nazism; 2. The Triumph of Nazism; 3. The Nazi Dictatorship; 4. The Nazi Economy, 1933–1939; 5. Nazi Society, 1933–1939; 6. Policing the Boundaries of the 'People's Community'; 7. A New Order in Europe; 8. The Nazi Empire; 9. The War of Annihilation; 10. The Destruction of Nazi Germany.

About the Author :
Alan E. Steinweis is Professor of History and Raul Hilberg Distinguished Professor of Holocaust Studies, University of Vermont. He is the author of three previous books about Nazi Germany: Art, Ideology, and Economics in Nazi Germany: The Reich Chambers of Music, Theater, and the Visual Arts (1993); Studying the Jew: Scholarly Antisemitism in Nazi Germany (2006); and Kristallnacht 1938 (2009). He has been a visiting fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the University of Oxford and has held visiting professorships at the Universities of Hannover, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Augsburg.

Review :
'An outstanding study, wide-ranging yet concise with vivid examples and pointers to fresh scholarship. Steinweis expertly guides the reader through complex issues, highlighting the interconnectedness of Nazi expansionism and racial policy, and offering cogent reflections on the relationship between the Nazi regime and the German people.' Elizabeth Harvey, University of Nottingham 'This is an admirably lucid, reliable, and comprehensive account that will benefit students and specialists alike. Bringing to bear a wide variety of source materials and angles of vision, Steinweis provides not only a fine introduction to the history of Nazi Germany, but also a sure footed guide to the state of knowledge on a host of formerly or currently contested issues. Highly recommended.' Peter Hayes, Northwestern University 'Many Germans persuaded themselves they were building a “people's community”; instead, they enabled a dictatorship. Alan Steinweis explores how the Nazi elite achieved this but also deftly incorporates recent insights from social and cultural history to show both approval and rejection of Nazi policy among the population at large.' Geoffrey J. Giles, University of Florida 'A solid synthesis of the most recent literature that has appeared on Nazi Germany.' Martijn Lak, Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 'When reviewing a new textbook on the Third Reich, one generally looks for three elements: an original narrative, a consideration of central themes and problems, and the incorporation of recent research. Alan Steinweis's well-conceived, fluently-written new history accomplishes these three tasks.' Eric Kurlander, German Studies Review 'This is hardly the first student-facing generalist work on the Third Reich to be published in recent times, but it is destined to rank as one of the best. This is not only because of its crisp, state-of-the-art content. It also provides some of the clearest explanations on offer of key interpretations developed from 1945 onwards.' Matthew Stibbe, European History Quarterly 'This book offers an excellent, up-to-date synthesis of the scholarship on Nazi Germany. Chronologically organized, the volume covers virtually every topic related to the Nazi regime, from the rise of racial antisemitism in the nineteenth century to Germany's fanatical prosecution of the war effort right up until Hitler's death in April 1945.' Catherine Epstein, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 'Definitely combines accessibility and scholarship.' Joel Ryan, Madison College