The Third Reich in Power

Written by Richard J. Evans

Narrated by Sean Pratt

The definitive account of Germany's malign transformation under Hitler's total rule and the implacable march to war



This magnificent second volume of Richard J. Evans's three-volume history of Nazi Germany was hailed by Benjamin Schwartz of the Atlantic Monthly as "the definitive English-language account... gripping and precise." It chronicles the incredible story of Germany's radical reshaping under Nazi rule. As those who were deemed unworthy to be counted among the German people were dealt with in increasingly brutal terms, Hitler's drive to prepare Germany for the war that he saw as its destiny reached its fateful hour in September 1939. The Third Reich in Power is the fullest and most authoritative account yet written of how, in six years, Germany was brought to the edge of that terrible abyss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Jun 7, 2010
• ISBN: 9781596595941

Reviews for The Third Reich in Power

[wildbill_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This volume in Richard Evans history of Nazi Germany is a detailed step by step description of what the author describes as an experiment in human engineering. With Hitler in power the Nazi party became the controlling force in all aspects of German life. The party leadership referred to their assumption of power as a revolution and proceeded to make sure that a real revolution took place in Germany. As in all revolutions all aspects of life became a question of politics and in the Third Reich subject to the ideology of the Nazi Party. Reading this book I witnessed the creation of a totalitarian state and gained a new understanding of what that word means.With over 120 pages of notes for the 700 pages of text Evans shows an encyclopedic command of all available source material. He makes extensive use of statistics to document the changes in German life.The party created institutions that controlled all aspects of the day to day life of the German people. Labor unions were replaced by party groups. Leisure activity was controlled by the Strength through Joy programs. All writers, artists, teachers, lawyers, and other professions were required to belong to party groups in order to be certified to work. The Hitler Youth worked to replace the family and schools as the primary influence on young people. The school systems and the universities deteriorated under the pressure of Nazi Party organizations. All personnel in the armed services were required to swear a personal oath to Adolf Hitler. There is a map in the book showing where "Degenerate Art Exhibits" were held all over Germany from 1933 on to publicize what art was acceptable in the New Germany. Hitler took a personal interest in the pictures placed in the exhibits. The Gestapo was the ruthless enforcer of the primacy of the Nazi Party. Of all the peoples in Europe that went into the concentration camps the Germans were the first.The Nazi rise to power was aided by the actions of Marinus van der Lubbe. On the night of February 27-28, 1933 he set fire to the Reichstag. His actions were blamed on the Communists whose members were arrested and kicked out of the Reichstag. This gave the Nazi Party a majority in the government with the ability to pass into law the Party program. Then on June 30, 1934, in what was called "The Night of the Long Knives", Hitler murdered the leadership of the stormtroopers whose large membership made them a rival for his power. At the same time other assorted enemies of Hitler were murdered. Hitler's actions were a message to anyone who would challenge him that he could be ruthlessly violent.During this period the antisemitism of the Nazi party became government policy. Step by step the Jews were marginalized in Germany. With a slight let up in 1936 for the Olympics the Jews were made nonpersons deprived of their property and livelihood. Many fled and those who did not ended up in the camps and were murdered in numerous ways. The socially "unfit" joined the Jews in the camps as the eugenic ideas in Nazi ideology were put into practice.On November 7, 1938 a young Pole shot and seriously wounded a German diplomat in Paris. This was made the excuse for a nationwide pogrom against the Jews referred to by the author as The Night of The Broken Glass and elsewhere as Kristallnacht. All over Germany the property of Jews was destroyed and Jews were beaten and killed at the instigation of the government.The Nazi goal of rearmament and war became the prime goal of German policy. Since he had learned of the armistice in a hospital at the end of World War I Hitler sought victory in war for Germany. He dreamed of the conquest of Eastern Europe to provide lebensraum for the German people. The economic policy of this era centered on rearmament. The Four Year plan begun in 1936 run by Hermann Goring put the economy on a war footing. Shortly thereafter shortages began affecting the civilian economy as all resources were directed to a war economy. In April of 1938 Austria became part of Germany. Later that year the British and French agreed to the German takeover of part of Czechoslovakia which was completed in early 1939. The book ends as the war with Poland in 1939 is about to begin. The final volume The Third Reich at War finishes the story.I could add pages of actions taken by the Nazi party that furthered their revolution. While I had some knowledge of many of the events in the book before reading it, the author's account of this period was very thorough and detailed. It is that quality that makes this a prime source for the life and events of this period. The rule of the Third Reich was a revolution of evil. Destruction of the ordinary way of life in the name of hate and war was the constant theme of the book as it was the constant theme of life in the Third Reich. The author does not rant he merely sets out fact after fact. Fear ran rampant through the country as a civilized society was hammered bit by bit into a killing machine. At times the constant details became overwhelming emotionally and I had to take a break in my reading. I gained a new level of understanding that a true revolution in all ways of life took place in the Third Reich. The author emphasized that Adolf Hitler was the leader, he was in charge of all major decisions. While this has been disputed by others the author documents this idea very well. Hitler's power radiated out through the Nazi Party organization to control the life of Germany. What he created was appalling and eventually destructive beyond measure. We must never forget lest it happen again

[jorgearanda_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An exhaustive, extremely informative account of life under the Third Reich. Evans' book covers the nazi approach to the economy, industry, propaganda efforts, racism, eugenics, political opposition, and foreign policy. At times it is a difficult and rather slow read, swamped by data and figures and considerations, but it's well worth the effort.

[moonswanni · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This second book covers 1934 to 1939 before the outbreak of war. Again the focus is events happening inside Germany. Foreign policy is ignored until the last section of the book. The same topics are covered with new material appearing in the first and last sections. For reasons I don't agree with, the author uses a thematic approach, as opposed to a chronolical one. This approach makes the book weak, especially if you've read the first book. Information was repeated too much for my taste, and the book lost momentum in the two back-to-back sections (eight chapters) on economics. This wouldn't happened with an chronoligal approach.

For those who are interested in the pre-war years, I recommend sticking with the first book. There is not much additional information here, and the rewards are too small considering the 712 page time investement. People who would really benefit from this book, are those who didn't read the first one, and those who have never read a history on Germany. Those who are familiar with this period may get a tad bored. Proceed with caution.

Table of Sections

The Police State [Good Review]
This section concentrates on state control. Night of the Long Knives, SS and Crushing the Remaining Enemies, Court System Injustice, Concentration Camps & the Gestapo

The Mobilization of the Spirit [Repeated From First Book]
This section concentrates on propaganda and repression. The propaganda movie Triumph of the Will, Movies, Radio, Education, Print Media, Arts, Classical Music.

Converting the Soul [OK]
This section concentrates on religion. Nazi and the Protestants, Nazi's and the Catholics, Nazi's and the Pagans, Nazi's Take Over Schools and Youth Program, Attack on the Universities.

Prosperity and Plunder [Started to Get Bored]
This section concentrates on economics. Autobahn, Volkswagen, Economic Programs & Reducing Unemployment, Preparing for War, Aryanization of Jewish Businesses.

Building the People's Community [Fell Asleep]
This section concentrates on social classes and economics. Farming, Treatment of the Aristocracy, Artisans and Shopkeepers, Labour Front Corruption, Strength Through Joy Organization, Class Antagonism, Worker Conditions, The Unemployed and Destitue, Winter Aid for the Poor, Cutting Welfare Payments.

Towards the Racial Utopia [Interesting But Nothing New]
This section concentrates on racial discrimination. Sterilization, Abortions, Gypsies, Black Germans, Woman Made into Baby Makers, Nuremberg Laws, Antisemitism, Night of Broken Glass, Forcing the Jews to Leave Germany, East-Central Europe Persecution Against the Jews.

The Road to War [Good Review]
This section concentrates on foreign policy and rearmament. Austro-German Relations, Hitler-Mussolini Relations, Remilitarization of the Rhineland, Austria and Czechoslovakia Annexed, Soviet-German Pact, Poland Invasion, Britain Declares War on Germany.

[schmerguls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second volume (published in 2005) of Evans' trilogy. I read the first volume, The Coming of the Third Reich, on 9 Oct 2009. This volume extends from tthe summer of 1933 to Sep 3, 1939, and traces how the Nazis took over Germany, body and soul, during that time. It is not pleasant nor easy reading, at least until the final chapters when the way Hitler drove to war is set out , which reading while not pleasant expounds the way Hitler sought to have war, even though his brain-washed people still did not want such, in contrast to the giddy German joy in July 1914.

[narboink · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second book in Richard J. Evans' Third Reich trilogy, "The Third Reich in Power," covers the life of Germany from 1933 through the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Longer than its predecessor, and at times significantly drier, it nonetheless paints an intriguing portrait of daily life under the Third Reich. Most interesting are the descriptions of how the Reich was (as was not) able to leverage political and economic support from interests as varied as academia, labor, medicine, agriculture and manufacturing. The speed of the transformation of German society into a colossal war machine becomes comprehensible in large part because of the detail (often tiring in its ordinariness) assembled here.The benefit of hindsight allows for the characters in this story, including the most die hard Nazis, to display an amazing ability to simultaneously defy and conform to stereotypes. It is, in the end, not enough to vilify the top Nazi bureaucrats and summarily indict them for their crimes; the infrastructure of society as a whole - its politics, values, pressures - must be illuminated as well to create a truly meaningful understanding of the catastrophe of Nazism. This Evans accomplishes with great skill. I look forward to the final book in the series, "The Third Reich at War."

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Part 2 of the trilogy. Describes the social programs and diplomatic maneuvers that happened once Hitler took power.

[meggo_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Make no mistake, this is a substantial book. Literally (at over 700 pages) and figuratively. Exhaustively researched and well written, the book traces the acts and impact of the Nazi party from 1933 to the outbreak of the war in 1939. From the Night of the Long Knives to Peace in Our Time, this book was chock full of historic occasions, insightful commentary and fascinating history. This one may cause bruising if you happen to fall asleep with it and drop it, but it's well worth the risk.