The Connell Guide to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Ever since the collapse of the Third Reich, historians have grappled with a fundamental question: how was such a brutal, genocidal dictatorship possible in a modern, cultured nation in the middle of the 20th century? There are essentially two competing views: one, that Hitler was an all-powerful dictator fully in control of his government; the other, that Nazi decision-making was much more confused, driven by intense power rivalries and a cumulative radicalism. Where does the truth lie? Caroline Sharples draws on a whole range of different views to offer her own compelling account of how Hitler used the democratic process to seize power in Germany and create a violent and racist regime responsible for the Holocaust and for the most destructive war in history.