National Socialist Rule in Germany: Fuhrer State, 1933-45 - Softcover

"National Socialist Rule in Germany is a brief survey accompanied by a selection of documents, a critical review of the sources and the historiography, a chronology, a glossary and an index which provides a sober, clear and brilliantly compressed account of the present state of knowledge of the internal history of the Nazi dictatorship." Times Literary Supplement "Shrewd and balanced summary of the literature." Daily Mail "An elegantly-written, intelligent and well-informed introduction to the subject." History Today "[This book] provides a sober, clear and brilliantly compressed account of the present state of knowledge of the internal history of the Nazi dictatorship." Times Literary Supplement

Norbert Frei's history of Nazi rule in Germany is an introduction to events from the appointment of Hitler as Reich chancellor in 1933 to the end of the Second World War. The book outlines the development of Nazi rule in three phases. Beginning with an analysis of the regimentation of German society, which is shown to be based on terror and violence, Norbert Frei goes on to discuss the period of consolidation in which the "Fuehrer myth", aided by economic and foreign policy success, found acceptance in German minds. Finally, he looks at the war and increasing radicalization, which resulted in the Holocaust and the monstrous projects of social and racial purification of German society undertaken in the name of modernization. Norbert Frei's history demonstrates that the path to catastrophe was not an inevitable consequence of the "Fuehrer State" and that there were possible turning points. Combining "classic" political history with the findings of new research into the history of everyday life and including original documents, the book should be essential reading for students of modern history. The book includes detailed chronologies and reading lists. A new chapter on the Holocaust has been written for the English edition. Revealing original documents, such as letters from Hess and Himmler, are included. It should be of interest to undergraduates and postgraduates studying modern history and German studies.