The Coming of the Third Reich

Richard J. Evans

The first of a three part series on Nazi Germany. I picked up this book because I've never understood how a democratic country could allow the Nazi's to rise to power and this books does a great job in showcasing all harships that Germany was going through, prior to 1933. WW1, The Teaty of Versailles, hyperinflation & the great depression are covered in great detail by the author. The history of the Kaiser, (German Emperor, which derived from the Roman emperors' title of Caesar) was insightful, and then moving on to the politicking between The Social Democrats, The Communinists, The Nationalists & The Centre Party showed that if everyone isn't on similar footing for the foundation of a society, it can lead to huge problems in the future, i.e certain politican parties at the time didn't really want a democracy, but for their party to take control of Germany via revolution. Other parties could have formed a coalition to stop the Nazi's as they never held a majority in The Reichstag. Another fact that the population was divided by political party in almost every aspect of their lives (social clubs, events, friends, news papers, work) was a suprise to me. The Brownshirts fighting whilst the Nazi's seize control was brutal too. A tough read at parts but important to know the history in order to prevent similar happening again.