The Third Reich: A Chronicle

About this book

The Third Reich was the twelve-year period (1933 to 1945) during which the Nazi Party held untrammelled power in Germany. Defined by the messianic iconic figure of Adolf Hitler self-proclaimed Fuhrer it is perhaps the central era of twentieth-century history. Beginning with Hitlers election as German chancellor in January 1933 it witnessed the wholesale militarization of German society the imposition of anti-Semitic legislation mass persecution of Jews communists gypsies homosexuals and Slavs in the Holocaust and the pursuit of territorially aggressive policies (based on Hitlers concept of Lebensraum) that would lead to global conflict on an unprecedented scale culminating in the decline and fall of Nazism. The Third Reich: A Chronicle charts the rise and fall of Nazi power in a concise and compelling month-by-month narrative of the period 1933-45 amplified by extensive quotations from letters diaries and oral testimony and accompanied by generously captioned and stunning images of the era - including portraits maps posters seals documents and other artefacts. Additional use is made of timelines and fact boxes to create a uniquely accessible and user-friendly companion to a tangled and difficult period in European history. Commanding informative and sumptuous and written by a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period The Third Reich: A Chronicle brings the bloody realities of war conquest and genocide vividly to life. It is the perfect book for anyone with a fascination for the twentieth century World War II and the age of dictators.