Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History (4th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The best short history of Nazi Germany available
Review: Jackson Spielvogel has provided an excellent overview of the Nazi period of German history. His scope is comprehensive, considering Germany before Hitler, the dictator himself, the Nazi path to power, and the system that Hitler and his followers established once they came to power. He goes on to consider the two logical outgrowths of the philosophy of Nazism, World War II, aptly called "Hitler's War," and the Holocaust.

Throughout, Spielvogel succeeds in making the contemporary reader understand how the Nazis could come to power in "the land of Bach and Beethoven." This is a crucial question, not only for historians, but for every citizen of the world. As recent events in the Balkans and Africa have demonstrated, it is all too easy for the veneer of civilization to crack and expose the barbarism beneath.

I would recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in World War II, modern Europe and Germany, or the desire to be a better and more responsible human being.

Rating:
Summary: The best short history of Nazi Germany available
Review: Jackson Spielvogel has provided an excellent overview of the Nazi period of German history. His scope is comprehensive, considering Germany before Hitler, the dictator himself, the Nazi path to power, and the system that Hitler and his followers established once they came to power. He goes on to consider the two logical outgrowths of the philosophy of Nazism, World War II, aptly called "Hitler's War," and the Holocaust.

Throughout, Spielvogel succeeds in making the contemporary reader understand how the Nazis could come to power in "the land of Bach and Beethoven." This is a crucial question, not only for historians, but for every citizen of the world. As recent events in the Balkans and Africa have demonstrated, it is all too easy for the veneer of civilization to crack and expose the barbarism beneath.

I would recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in World War II, modern Europe and Germany, or the desire to be a better and more responsible human being.