The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

This book was good on the rise of Hitler but far too much time was spent on this well/trodden ground, which meant there was not enough coverage of the period 1933 to 1945. Only 148 pages devoted to WW2 and the Holocaust. This made the book extremely unbalanced. Another severe weakness was the lack of an introduction and a conclusion- so there was no sense of what the argument being put forward was and how it fitted in with the numerous other general histories of the Third Reich.

While I do not pretend to speak for Professor Childers, whom I have met, talked with and heard lecture, and who taught my daughter at Penn, let me emphasize what I believe other well-intentioned reviewers get entirely wrong. This is not, nor is it intended to be, an updating for our time of the William Shirer account. Not only did Shirer himself acknowledge that he was speaking with barely fifteen years of post-World War II perspective, but he wrote as a journalist, not as a historian. Until 1940, with the fall of France, Shirer was a witness to this regime, and he recounted it as the accomplished journalist he was. However, even if he had been been trained as a historian, he was in no position to arrive at a deep historical synthesis. Childers is in such a position, both from the perspective of time and of his deep historical training. Moreover, this is no mere slick packaging of what has been written before. Professor Childers has mined more recent German archives and weaves their weight into his analysis. As in his previous books about the time, he reveals his gift for dramatic narrative that give this book an emotional charge. For those who would slight its impact and/or its scope by comparing it with, for example, the classic Richard Evans trilogy, likewise to be admired, this misses the mark by a wide margin. And for those who would prefer an Ian Kershaw or a John Toland, who treat this era more with a telephoto than a wide-angle lens, they will miss what is for my money the soon-to-be standard one-volume history of this time. Childers' "chops" as a great historian of this epoch have been less recognized than others who have, for reasons that have nothing to do with scholarship and the gift of telling a story, experienced greater notoriety. This is a history woven by a master of his craft. If you need a shorter introduction to Childers, do not fail to read "Wings of Morning" and "Soldier From the War Returning."

I've read extensively about the wars, primarily concerned with the "why" than the "what" and so focusing mainly on the pre-war and inter-war years. So when I saw the title of this book I thought it might be yet another military history of the Reich albeit in a truncated version. But to my surprise, it isn't! You'll be 3/4 of the way through before Poland is invaded. This may not be what you desire, but for me, Mr. Childers' discussion of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power was very informative. Plus, he writes very well, leading my wife on a couple of occasions to complain: "That must be a very interesting book, I hardly know you're in the room". I highly recommend, even if you are familiar with the subject.

"The Third Reich" is a good synthesis of other historian's research for readers who want a concise one volume introduction about Nazi Germany. But is there anything new for people who read are specialists or avid readers of books on Nazi Germany and World War II? Not so much. Childers, an excellent historian, does a very good job of discussing the origins of the Nazis and the steps leading to the Holocaust. But his sections on Nazi Germany and World War II were not very developed and remained the weak link of the book. Simon Shuster probabably told him he coud only write a 550 page book. Too bad, fifty more pages would have helped solidify his arguments. Richard Evan's three volume series on Nazi Germany is a much better read. Take the time to digest what he has to say about Rise, Expansion and Collapse of Nazi Germany. You will be glad you did.

This is a superb history of Nazi Germany, beautifully written and well-balanced between narrative and analysis. It is particularly strong on the rise of Hitler and the complicated path to power during the Weimar era, both of which are explained with clarity and a masterly command of concise yet illuminating prose. While one can find much greater detail on the Nazis in the multiple volumes of Ian Kershaw and Richard Evans, Childers wisely concentrates on an overview, and produces a towering synthesis. A a broad-beamed searchlight is brought to bear on a radical political movement that for all the massive scholarship devoted to its workings, still defies easy comprehension. So much about the Nazis was strikingly modern, not least in their energetic use of media and technology and yet so much was also primitive as in their sinister appeal to blood nationalism and archaic imagery. The chapters covering Nazi indoctrination and education, racial policy and the extermination of the Jews are chilling - the lean prose of the author only servers to magnify the horror and cruelty of a gangster regime that mastered modernity for the pursuit of barbarity. The author also avoids becoming overly entwined in diplomatic and military history since these areas are well-covered elsewhere by specialist works. Inevitably, this book bears comparison with William Shirer's earlier Rise and Fall of the Third Reich but Shirer was a journalist and an eye-witness; he was not a professional historian. Childers' benefits from half a century of historical research of the kind never available to Shirer. The results are evident on every page of this book. Of all the volumes on the phenomenon of National Socialism, this is the single study I would most recommend to a general reader and to any university student beginning a study of Germany between the years 1918 and 1945.