When the so-called historian David Irving, who was a blatent Holocaust denier, sued some of his collegues for accusing him skuing historical sources to make his arguments, Richard J. Evans was a. Review: History: The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J Evans. In it, Evans tells the story of what happened in Germany from the end of World War I (1918) to the consolidation of power by the Nazis in mid-1933. The Coming of the Third Reich (The History of the Third Reich, #1), Many questions perplex us about the Nazis, about the atrocities they committed and about the beginnings of the Second World War. Summary. Evans writes: "Shirer's book was universally panned by historians. I read a lot about Germany and WWII, so I was really looking forward to this book! He is also sure to include the institutional continuations between Imperial and Weimar Germany, and the importance of "scientific racism" in Nazi thinking. One of the greatest problems in writing history is to imagine oneself back in the world of the past, with all the doubts and uncertianties people faced in dealing with a future that for the historian has also become the past. I also wrote my undergrad thesis on this time period, so I am very interested in the subject. But, this book fell flat for me for two reasons. This pedestrian work is by far the weakest volume in Richard Evan's otherwise excellent trilogy on the Reich. I’m not exaggerating by much when I say I literally fell asleep within five pages of opening the book most of the times I read it. The Germans fall under Hitler's spell, just like the French did under Napoleon. There was nothing inevitable about the coming of the Third Reich. Politics was shifting to the right, political violence was more or less the norm, and the destruction of civil liberties wasn't unusual. Contemporaries could not see things as clearly as we can, with the gift of hindsight: they could not know in 1930 what was to come in 1933, they could not know in 1933 what was to come in 1939 or 1942 or 1945. I haven't see any photos yet. I was really looking forward to reading this book since I find the formation of the Third Reich an interesting subject. The bulk of this is a synthesis of Germany's increasingly horrifying history from 1919 to 1933. January 25th 2005 Why was Germany such fertile soil? Less Hitler-centric than Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich;" provides a more comprehensive treatment of the various factors (many that pre-date WW1) that ultimately led to the collapse of Weimar democracy. This book is an overview of how or why the Third Reich happened. An excellently researched book with well-presented facts. Chapter 13- Leading Personalities of the Third Reich Summary and Analysis Hitler- Hitler used to be able to talk to everyone according to Guderian but later turns against experts and establishment advisers. It's far easier to understand a genocide occurring thousands of years ago - far harder when we have grandparents which remember it. The current gold-standard survey. I was really looking forward to reading this book since I find the formation of the Third Reich an interesting subject. In fact it is already happening, the question is how far we will fall. One thing is clear to the reader of this book, the first of massive trilogy covering the Third Reich, and that is there is little evidence that we are heading the way of 1920s and 1930s Germany—but that if we are, it has nothing at all to do with Donald Trump. I was shocked to learn how the Nazis were abetted by parties that were conservative or anti-democratic or pro-monarchist and even Catholic. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. People make their own history, as Karl Marx once memorably observed, but not under conditions of their own choosing. I'm no historian so cannot comment on the accuracy of what Evans writes, but I was impressed with his thoroughness and readability. do we need another book on the rise of Hitler? We’d love your help. The Nazis were just one of many right-wing parties that appeared in Germany after WWI. I'm worried about some of the parallels I'm seeing today, I get eery feelings that what happened in Germany, the circumstances that allowed for democracy to devolve into violent terroristic regime, is being replicated in today's circumstances facing contemporary. Ceaselessly inventive, in many ways at the cutting edge of social and welfare reform, Germany was the one country in Europe to rival the United States as a beacon for future growth and change. That is, in fact, the primary strength of the book, that it makes clear the very confused circumstances of Weimar Germany. The possibility of contemporary democracies falling into more radical governments fueled by hate, anger, and the politics of exclusion is possible in any country, imo. For example, "World war II" (with quotes) will give more precise results than World war II (without quotes). Ceaselessly inventive, in many ways at the cutting edge of social and welfare reform, Germany was the one country in Europe to rival the United States as a beacon for future growth and change. Sunday October 26 2003, 1.00am, The Sunday Times. The Nazis, who possessed no respect for democracy whatever, never won an election by fair means, and once they’d achieved power, they quickly suppressed (often by killing) any opposition. One thinks one knows how the Third Reich came to be; one is probably somewhat if not more than mistaken and this book helps one understand how a minority party came to power even without quite winning an election and then transformed a country; highly, highly recomended, This, the 1st volume of the celebrated trilogy by Richard J Evans, is a long way from my reading of William L Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. by Richard J. Evans. “Recounting the experience of individuals brings home, as nothing else can, the sheer complexity of the choices they had to make, and the difficult and often opaque nature of the situations they confronted. Excellent coverage of the Weimar's economic problems during the years of Versailles, the Young Plan and the hyperinflationary era. New (for me) insights into the general features of ultra right-wing or nationalist movements and the unfortunate social / economic forces that enable them to thrive. First, I found it deadly dull. I've read many different accounts of these times, from the autobiographical work of Christopher Isherwood to William Shirer's classic of many years ago, and this book is definitely one of the best. In it, Evans tells the story of what happened in Germany from the end of World War I (1918) to the consolidation of power by the Nazis in mid-1933. This is an excellent chronicle of those years. One by one these disasters ruined or pushed aside almost everything admirable about Germany, leaving the way clear for a truly horrifying ideology to take command. THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH Richard J. Evans, Author. A bevy of other European nations became authoritarian dictatorships in this period, so Germans looking outside would have seen other countries behaving badly, too. In 1900 Germany was generally viewed as one of the world’s most progressive, dynamic and impressive nations. With a mother raised in Nazi Germany, I have a real interest in how the Nazis came to power, and this book provides a lucid and readable explanation. Actually, with the arrogance of youth, I thought I’d never come to that point. How did they establish a one party state without ever commanding a majority in any single election? Start by marking “The Coming of the Third Reich (The History of the Third Reich, #1)” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Focused on political developments, it provides as well information about the economic and cultural bases of German life during the period. Such is certainly the case with the rise and fall of … Reviewed by David Large Published on H-German (December, 2005) Richard J. Evans's The Coming of the Third Re‐ ich is the first volume of a projected three-volume opus on the history of National Socialist Germany. Many questions perplex us about the Nazis, about the atrocities they committed and about the beginnings of the Second World War. I'm not sure it's possible to ever answer these questions adequately, but Evans does a good job finding reasons. Publisher's Summary. My inclination is that it is because so much more has been revealed in the intervening years and because Evans has left out much drama and personality to focus on. The book starts 60 years before the rise of Hitler to the Chancellorship so that the reader gets a feeling for the political and cultural environment that led to the rise of this terrible movement. by Penguin Books. In these chapters, Shirer charts the early years of Adolf Hitler's life, and shows us how the young would-be Fuehrer went from being an Austrian "vagabond" to the discredited schemer of the infamous Beer Hall Putschof 1923, his failed coup to take over the state of Bavaria. They couldn’t have been more mistaken. For the past few months, we have been subjected to a tedious, hysterical stream of comparisons of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Evans has a particularily unique backstory as a historian. There is no story in 20th-century history more important to understand than Hitler’s rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. Directed by Jack Kaufman. Though I'd long been away from a general history of Germany between the wars, I found the basic facts still familiar. Evans makes the argument that as an authoritarian dictatorship (which Germany was from 1932 on, even before Hitler became Reich Chancellor in 1933), Germany wasn't exactly an outlier in Europe. "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" exposes the darkest chapter in history, from Adolf Hitler's rise to power as a Nazi demagogue to his ultimate fatal mistakes. The Third Reich Trilogy is a series of three narrative history books by British historian Richard J. Evans, covering the rise and collapse of Nazi Germany in detail, with a focus on the internal politics and the decision-making process. Very readable, comprehensive treatment of the combination of conditions and circumstances that made the Third Reich possible, and the tactical brilliance that took advantage of them and achieved it. This is the first book in a trilogy by Evans about the Third Reich which was clearly written with the layman in mind. Only in the last chapter does Evans address how Nazism could have taken root. You can think of Book One of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich as laying the intellectual groundwork for the pages that follow. The first of three books on Germany’s Third Reich. "), his focus really is on the past and on endings. It is also somewhat frightening to read this while the RNC was on. The only question was would it be Hitler, or someone else at the top. If they had known, doubtless the choices they made would have been different. BUY NOW FROM. 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