Nazi Germany : history examined
(Book)

"Reprinted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Nazi Germany" -- Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [317]-320) and index.

"There is renewed interest in the Nazi Party that ruled Germany as a fascist state from 1933 to 1945 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. However, the events that led to the rise of Nazism-and the near victory of the Axis Powers in World War II-date back to the economics and politics of 1860s Europe" --,Publisher.

(p.99) UNEMPLOYMENT: The German people unquestionaly were looking for salvation...anything to free them from the scourge of joblessness. With the coming of the Great Depression, millions of Germans were out of work. Without income, their meager savings exhausted, their only recourse were weekly visits to government offices to pick up compensation cards....FOR FREEDOM AND BREAD AND A NEW ELECTION: To those hit by the economic collapse, one thing seemed clear, The Weimar Republic could not solve the problem. Hitler offered an alternative. In his speeches, he continued his anti-communist, anti-Semitic tirades, as well as his denunciations of the Treaty of Versailles. But in 1930 what mattered most was his new campaign slogan: 'For Freedom and Bread.' " The first test of Hitler's slogan came in September 1930. That month, Heinrich Brüning, the German chancellor, called a general election. It is not clear why he chose to call the election at this time. We can speculate that, since Paul von Hindenburg had appointed him to the chancellorship, he may have thought that only by winning in a popular election could he legitimize and solidify his power."

(p.99) BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW : Are you familiar with the musical Cabaret? It was based on a book called Berlin Stories. I Am a Camera by the English author Christopher Isherwood. He lived in Berlin during the early 1930s. The city, he wrote, "was in a state of civil war. Hate exploded without warning, out of nowhere, at street corners, in restaurants, cinemas, dance halls, swimming baths; at midnight, after breakfast , in the middle of the afternooon. Knives were whipped out, blows were dealt with spiked rings, beer mugs, chair legs or leaded clubs; bullets slashed the advertisements on the poster columns, rebounded from the iron roofs of latrines."