A Deep Exploration of the Rise, Reign, and Legacy of the Third Reich
For its brief existence, National Socialist Germany was one of the most destructive regimes in the history of humankind. Since that time, scholarly debate about its causes has volleyed continuously between the effects of political and military decisions, pathological development, or modernity gone awry. Was terror the defining force of rule, or was popular consent critical to sustaining the movement? Were the German people sympathetic to Nazi ideology, or were they radicalized by social manipulation and powerful propaganda? Was the “Final Solution” the motivation for the Third Reich’s rise to power, or simply the outcome?
A Companion to Nazi Germany addresses these crucial questions with historical insight from the Nazi Party’s emergence in the 1920s through its postwar repercussions. From the theory and context that gave rise to the movement, through its structural, cultural, economic, and social impacts, to the era’s lasting legacy, this book offers an in-depth examination of modern history’s most infamous reign.
Assesses the historiography of Nazism and the prehistory of the regime Provides deep insight into labor, education, research, and home life amidst the Third Reich’s ideological imperatives Describes how the Third Reich affected business, the economy, and the culture, including sports, entertainment, and religion Delves into the social militarization in the lead-up to war, and examines the social and historical complexities that allowed genocide to take place Shows how modern-day Germany confronts and deals with its recent history
Today’s political climate highlights the critical need to understand how radical nationalist movements gain an audience, then followers, then power. While historical analogy can be a faulty basis for analyzing current events, there is no doubt that examining the parallels can lead to some important questions about the present. Exploring key motivations, environments, and cause and effect, this book provides essential perspective as radical nationalist movements have once again reemerged in many parts of the world.
Notes on Contributors ix Introduction 1 Shelley Baranowski, Armin Nolzen, and Claus‐Christian W. Szejnmann Part I Theories, Background, and Contexts 15 1 How Do We Explain the Rise of Nazism? Theory and Historiography 17 Geoff Eley 2 Organic Modernity: National Socialism as Alternative Modernism 33 Konrad H. Jarausch 3 The First World War and National Socialism 47 Benjamin Ziemann 4 The Collapse of the Weimar Parliamentary System 63 Shelley Baranowski 5 National Socialist Ideology 77 Claus‐Christian W. Szejnmann Part II Structures of Nazi Rule 95 6 The NSDAP After 1933: Members, Positions, Technologies, Interactions 97 Armin Nolzen 7 Work(ers) Under the Swastika 115 Jens‐Uwe Guettel 8 Resistance 129 Detlef Schmiechen‐Ackermann 9 Centre and Periphery 147 Thomas Schaarschmidt 10 Information Policies and Linguistic Violence 163 Thomas Pegelow Kaplan 11 Education, Schooling, and Camps 181 Kiran Klaus Patel 12 Research and Scholarship 199 Michael Gruttner 13 Nazi Morality 215 Thomas Kuhne 14 The German Home Front Under the Bombs 231 Richard Overy 15 Total Defeat: War, Society, and Violence in the Last Year of National Socialism 247 Sven Keller Part III Economy and Culture 263 16 The Nazi Economy 265 Stephen G. Gross 17 National Socialism and German Business 281 Kim Christian Priemel 18 Individual Consumers and Consumption in Nazi Germany 299 Pamela E. Swett 19 Gender 315 Elizabeth Harvey 20 Religion 333 Manfred Gailus 21 Family and Private Life 351 Lisa Pine 22 Sports 367 Frank Becker 23 Cinema, Art, and Music 385 Daniel Muhlenfeld 24 Emotions and National Socialism 399 Alexandra Przyrembel 25 Environment 413 Charles E. Closmann Part IV Race, Imperialism, and Genocide 429 26 Terror 431 Dieter Pohl 27 Flight and Exile 449 Deborah Dwork 28 Germany and the Outside World 465 Lars Ludicke 29 Social Militarization and Preparation for War, 1933–1939 483 Jorg Echternkamp 30 Race 499 Isabel Heinemann 31 Unfree and Forced Labour 517 Marc Buggeln 32 ‘Ethnic Germans’ 533 Alexa Stiller 33 Ghettos 551 Andrea Low 34 Holocaust Studies: The Spatial Turn 565 Wendy Lower Part V Legacies of Nazism 581 35 Memories of Nazi Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany 583 Aleida Assmann 36 Remembering National Socialism in the German Democratic Republic 599 David Clarke 37 Presenting and Teaching the Past 615 Karl Heinrich Pohl and Astrid Schwabe Index 631
"Shelley Baranowski is Distinguished Professor of History Emerita at the University of Akron, Ohio. Armin Nolzen, M.A., is a member of the editorial board of the ""Beiträge zur Geschichte des Nationalsozialismus."" Claus-Christian W. Szejnmann is Professor of Modern History at Loughborough University."
Reviews for A Companion to Nazi Germany
“Overall this is a rich and stimulating essay companion, well worth dipping into as an introduction to state-of-the-art scholarship, and with a remarkable amount to offer for university teachers and students taking modules on this period.” Reviewer: Matthew Stibbe, Sheffield Hallam University, UK European History Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1
