Nazi Germany: A New History

Perhaps Fischer's greatest achievment here is in how much he tells us in so short a book. He covers Nazi and German history from the 19th century to 1945 in under 600 pages!! He shows a special gift for writing the most with the (relatively) fewest words. Even those knowing much about the subject will learn a lot from this volume. And Fischer knows what should and should not be included in a book of this kind. This work will be a valuable addition to any historical library. I particularly enjoyed the section on the Weimer Republic and the 20's. Most books skip over this period, saying only that the Republic was democratic and flawed, and that Hitler sought to destroy it. Fischer gives us an in depth look at this society, and explains how its insecurities contributed to the disaster to come. I only wish the book had been a bit longer. There is only so much one can include in a one volume work, I know, but a few hundred more pages would have made it truly outstanding.

For a comprehensive overview of the Third Reich, Fischer's book is one of the best single-volume works on the market. It's eminently readable on all aspects of Nazi society: the sham politics, the ruthless military ethos, the imposition of one man's psychosis on the policies of an entire nation. The opening chapter, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" is a cogent synthesis of the historical strains from which the darkest period of the 20th century emerged: Germany's anti-modernism, which stretched back to the Enlightenment; the economic breakdown, political instability, and unraveling of civil society which the Versailles Treaty wrought; and the scapegoating of two groups which Hitler believed were a mortal threat to the country--the Communists and the Jews.

As the author of "A Child of Hitler: Germany in the Days when God wore a Swastika," my autobiographical account of my seven years in the Hitler Youth, I consider Klaus Fischer's book an invaluable work for anybody interested in the history of Nazi Germany. It's comprehensive, lucid,and the best up-to-date account of the Third Reich. I especially like his honest analysis of a complex era that defies easy answers, and I frequently use his book in my own research.

This is an outstanding narrative history of the 12-year Nazi reign in Germany and an exemplary attempt at writing history in the round. Fischer is equally at home in narrative history, political, social, administrative and war history. He also indulges in a fairly convincing use of psycho-history in trying to explain Hitler, Germany's attraction to authoritarianism and the psyche of the Nazi party and its leaders. Although it is a long book, it is readable from beginning to end because Fischer knows how to tell a story. He also understands how to put flesh and blood on it by filling it out with vivid portraits of the protagonists and enlivening it with well written anecdotes. He also has a rare talent for summarising complex issues and developments tightly, often in as little as a single, tightly written paragraph. And if one of the qualities of good writing is density of detail, then this is good writing. Fischer never shirks a challenge, whether it be to describe an administrative structure or a battle. He packs his descriptions with all the details of who, how, when, where, why and what; he names names and sets down even the most horrible details of torture and crime. But it would be wrong to write this off as just another example of good storytelling. This is history in the round and the round includes both intellectual and cultural factors. The opening chapter on the Origins of Totalitarianism is both an incisive analysis of its subject and a cautionary polemic about what to avoid in writing Nazi history. Psychohistory these days generally gets a bad press, but Hitler cries out for it. Fischer's use of psychology is restrained but credible. Similarly, he rarely gets carried away by wild theories when he tries to explain Hitler's and Germany's anti-semitism. Among the many highlights in this book is his riveting account of the Holocaust and his fine narrative of the Allied victory. The book is exceptionally well organised and so is the bibliography. Overall this is a memorable book about one of the most significant periods in the 20th century.