The Third Reich (Witness History)

Revised and expanded, the second edition of this highly successful Seminar Study introduces readers to the historical phenomenon of Hitler's Third Reich. The new edition includes two brand new chapters, one on Nazi policy towards the Jews between 1933 and 1939 and one on the Holocaust itself. Fully updated, the study remains as useful and as thought-provoking as ever.

The Third Reich has had a global impact on the politics and history of the twentieth century. Attempts to define National Socialism, or Nazism, began as soon as it became a major force in the 1930s, and has continued unabated ever since. Now in its fourth edition, David G. Williamson’s classic Seminar Studies title draws on recent scholarship to provide students with an up-to-date introduction to the historical controversies surrounding this fascinating period in Germany’s past.

 

Expanded to analyse the impact of the war on the Nazi regime and the German people in even greater depth, the book:

 

-         Looks at Hitler’s rise to power and how the Nazi regime consolidated its grip during the period March 1933 - August 1934

-         Explains how Nazi Germany was governed and discusses to what extent Hitler could be considered a ‘weak dictator’

-         Examines Nazi economic and foreign policy and its role in preparing Germany for war

-         Analyses the development of Nazi racial and eugenic policies and the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft

-         Explores Hitler’s popularity and the degree of opposition to the Nazis

 

This fully revised and updated new edition, supported by a broad range of primary source material, offers a comprehensive and balanced analysis of a key period in German history.

 

David G. Williamson has written extensively on modern German and European history. Among his recent publications are Poland Betrayed: The Nazi Soviet Invasions of 1939 (Pen and Sword, 2009) and, also in the Seminar Studies series, Bismarck and Germany, 3rd edition (2010). Formerly head of history at Highgate School, he is now a writer and freelance lecturer.