The Third Reich: A New History (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Humans have a fascination with evil. We long to identify it, quantify it and understand it. To this end, newspapers frequently splash photographs of murderers with the caption, "The face of evil." Heading most lists of the 20th-century's most evil people would be Adolf Hitler but, as Michael Burleigh's tour de force makes clear, evil is not always as cut and dried as we would like. The Nazis could not have come to power and committed Germany to a policy of war and genocide without the tacit consent of the German people. This makes Germany as a whole responsible for the crimes committed in its name, but it is clearly wrong to label each and every German as evil. Through his painstaking research and direct prose, Burleigh slowly builds up a picture of a people desperate for identity and economic prosperity who, bit by bit, closed off their conscience as the price of their dreams. There was no one cathartic moment when Germany, under the Third Reich, lapsed from goodness into badness; rather there was an incremental realignment of a collective morality. Burleigh's explanation of this phenomenon is so simple and yet so obviously right, that you can only wonder that it hadn't become the generally accepted currency years back. Instead of viewing Nazi Germany in purely social, political and economic terms--though he doesn't ignore these spheres --Burleigh wraps them all into a picture of a country gripped in a religious, messianic fervour and that which had previously felt inexplicable suddenly seems crystal clear. If you want the nitty-gritty details of the Second World War and the genocide, then they are here, as well, if not better, retold than many of the other histories of this period. But it's Burleigh's take on the ordinary people of Germany that makes this book so special. Above all, with similar genocidal wars currently being fought in Kosovo, Rwanda and Iraq, it makes you think, "Would I be able to resist becoming complicit in such regimes?" This is a must for every 20th-century historian.--John Crace

Review
Michael Burleigh's study of the Nazi phenomenon was the most important book I have read this year. It made me change my mind, which is no mean feat. Or at least it helped me change a frame of mind that tended to a lazy stereotyping on the topic of the Third Reich. In one volume no heftier than it has to be, the author has finally brought unity to a period previously fragmented by professional historians of the 20th century beyond any laypersons overview. In measured language, Burleigh begins with he roots of Nazism in national humiliation and defeat; he takes us through the years of Germany's undeniable vigour, and to its end and post-45 rehabilitation. By showing the movement as a messianic political cause, a storm-trooping parody of the Wagnerian romance, Burleigh helped me understand for the first time how the runt, Adolf Hitler, was able to put himself in place as the hero of his nation. To be non-judgmental about the events of that period requires restraint and intellectual probity. Except for a faint subliminal revulsion that I sensed occasionally, particularly when Himmler was in evidence, Burleigh keeps his cool. He distinguished the Holocaust from subsequent examples of the monstrosity we now call 'ethnic cleansing' not only for its precise engineering and organisation, but also because it was undertaken as a comprehensive and existential battle against Jews everywhere. The Third Reich is gripping and comprehensive. At last, the seminal book for those of us who never want to see another film or read another word about World War II and the Nazis. (Kirkus UK)

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24 Reviews 5 star:  (15) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:  (4) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   24 of 24 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A novel approach and fascinating new research., 29 Jan 2002 By A Customer This review is from: The Third Reich: A New History (Paperback) Burleigh's history of the Third Reich carefully avoids the blow-by-blow immediacy of other classic histories such as Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". Instead, he concerns himself with the psychological landscape of the Reich; the conceits and lies that led a a nation and a continent to the brink of destruction. Readers who are looking for the whys and wherefores of defeats on the battlefield will not find them here - this is not a simple military history. Readers who are looking for moral insight into why regimes as evil as the Third Reich can develop and thrive will be richly rewarded by a masterful portrait of an evil state. Never has Arendt's "banality of evil" been better illustrated than in this remarkable book. A chilling warning of the horrors that complacency, apathy and uncritical acceptance of our political leaders can bring about. A masterpiece. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   24 of 26 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION, 16 Feb 2004 By  Luciano Lupini (Caracas Venezuela) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Third Reich: A New History (Paperback) Although it is not an easily readable book, for the general public, if you have a serious interest about the history of the third Reich, make no mistake: you will not be able to overlook this book, which will surely be a classic. It is a thoroughly well researched contribution about the connection between religious beliefs and mass fanaticism; the interaction between the "new" domestic and international values, based on aggression; and the other causes involved in the rise (and fall) of the III Reich. From a different perspective from other mainstream historians, this winner of the Samuel Johnson prize for non fiction, has accomplished quite an original scholarly feat, one which will enlighten the comprehension of this particular period of history. No wonder many international critics have found the subtitle of this opus -A new History- particularly well deserved. Of great interest is the chapter related with the demise of the rule of law, a thorough analysis of the penetration of the judiciary and the subordination of the police and government to the totalitarian Fuhrerprinzip. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   33 of 37 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Announces a challenge to the simply historical and political, 29 Oct 2000 By  joshwhelan@aol.com (London) - See all my reviews It's most disappointing to read comments from readers, which misrepresent the work under review. Michael Burleighs extraordinary The Third Reich: A New History is the most subtle, sensitive and authoritative book I have yet read on this most difficult subject. Obviously a distillation of years of intense reflection, reading and research it is hard to imagine a future scholarly work that will match the skill with which Burleigh engages the reader so successfully in the moral and ethical dimensions of this terrible story. Driven by a sensibility that pours scorn on simplistic 'political' judgements, Burleigh attempts to confront the difficulty of understanding the Nazi system from a perspective (and style) which means that this brilliant work is not for those that seek easy answers. In this sense, The Third Reich is a work that announces a challenge to the simply historical or political. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 24 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Immense This brick of a book is truly excellent. The detail is superb & the writing is of the highest quality. Read more Published on 20 Jun 2007 by DavyA 5.0 out of 5 stars Definately a NEW history Having used this book at university i would recomend it to anyone wishin to further their understanding of the Nazi dictatorship. Read more Published on 19 Mar 2006 by khazzard2000 4.0 out of 5 stars I've never thought about it this way... You will NOT read this book in one sitting. By now you probably know that this book presents the case for Germany in and around World War 2. Read more Published on 8 Oct 2004 by Aj Viljoen 5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read History No reader who enjoys strongly argued, expertly written history will be disappointed by this extensive and detailed "New History" of the Third Reich. Read more Published on 28 Dec 2003 by scribeoflight 5.0 out of 5 stars How can any one human brain balance so much information Being German and with my Grandfather having fought in the war (who is one of the most gentles soles I have ever met) I developed a huge appetite to establish as to how one... Read more Published on 3 Sep 2003 by phillipfischer 1.0 out of 5 stars Don't tell us what you know . . . M. Burleigh is obviously one of the foremost scholars of inter-war Germany. But I don't buy books to find things like that out, and unfortunately this book is more like an... Read more Published on 10 Nov 2002 by Mr. A. C. Gilbert 5.0 out of 5 stars 1st Class History from a 1st Class Historian Having read a number of histories of the Third Reich, I was greatly impressed by this great book. If your looking for chronological history, this is not for you, but if you want... Read more Published on 24 May 2002 by brian.shanahan@blueyonder.co.uk 3.0 out of 5 stars A well researched study,spoilt by a turgid prose style An well researched study, which seeks to explain the support for the Nazis as residing in its quasi-religious,milleniaristapproach. Read more Published on 26 Nov 2001 3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of new material, but flawed presentation I agree with the reviewer who found the book "rambling" in fact it sometimes seems more like a collection of essays than a connected history. Read more Published on 24 Sep 2001 3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting passages, but the overall concept can't convince Burleigh's book addresses readers with a basic knowledge of what happened in Nazi-Germany, and even some knowledge of controversies between scholars working in this field (there... Read more Published on 10 Sep 2001 by Oliver Volckart Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 24 customer reviews...

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