The Nazi Mind

From an award-winning historian comes a fresh analysis of the rise of Nazi extremism, how such thinking gained popularity, and why it is vital to fight burgeoning extremist movements today

How could the SS have committed the crimes they did? How were the killers who shot Jews at close quarters able to perpetrate this horror? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly—and often enthusiastically—oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews?
 
In The Nazi Mind, bestselling historian Laurence Rees seeks answers to some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crimes in the history of the world.
 
From the fringe politics of the 1920s to the electoral triumph and mass mobilization of the 1930s, and from the Holocaust through to the regime’s eventual demise, Rees charts the rise and fall of Nazi mentalities—including the conditions that allowed such a violent ideology to flourish and the sophisticated propaganda effort that sustained it.
 
Using previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth insights based on the latest research of psychologists, The Nazi Mind brings fresh understanding to one of the most appalling regimes in history. 
 

• "Why were individuals, often from cultured and well-educated backgrounds, prepared to commit mass atrocities, culminating in genocide? That is the central issue that Laurence Rees tackles. He asks good questions and has good answers. This disturbing book is timely, relevant and important."
  Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler: Hubris and Hitler: Nemesis
• “I will recommend to everyone . . . superbly researched and structured.”
   
  Alastair Campbell
• “Chilling, brilliantly researched . . . only Laurence Rees could have written this book.”
   
  Keith Lowe, author of Naples 1944
• “The Nazi Mind recounts one by one the chief ways in which Nazism attracted and held its many millions of followers. It is not just an unsparing, detailed reminder of the horrors of the past, based on decades of exhaustive research, but, unmistakably, a challenge to us to check our own no-longer-so-complacent twenty-first century consciences and act accordingly.”
   
  Frederick Taylor, author of 1939: A People's History
• “In excavating deep beneath the surface of familiar history – exploring rich, unexpected sources – Rees shows us that the reign of the Nazis is not a story of monsters, but much more terribly of recognizable humanity. A book for our time, and for all times.”
  Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin and Dresden
• “A chilling analysis of a mind perverted by relativism, delusion, cravenness, amorality and downright evil.”
   
  Allan Mallinson, author of The Shape of Battle
• “A fascinating study offering new insights into the psychological forces driving the Nazis - essential reading for anyone seeking answers to the haunting question of how and why Germany became consumed by Hitler’s evil.”
   
  Julia Boyd, author of A Village in the Third Reich
• “This book is brilliant. Impeccable history combined with psychology explains how the Nazis’ crimes were made possible. Rees’ conclusions are spot on for our age, particularly his comments on conspiracy theories, which have become so turbocharged in this new era of social media. In an age when the term 'Nazi' is used with wild abandon, his exposition of what the actual Nazis perpetrated is a very timely reminder of their unique evil.”
  Paul Phillips, OBE, Joint President of the Holocaust Educational Trust
• “How was it possible that people from a cultured nation perpetrated the worst atrocities in history? If you want answers to this fundamental question--and who would not--this is the book to read. The Nazi Mind is yet another compelling study from the pen of historian Laurence Rees. There is no one writing today with more insight into the mentalities of card-carrying Nazis and the wider penumbra of supporters of the regime, and with more understanding of the warnings we should heed from a study of the Nazi belief structure."
  Victor Bailey, Distinguished Professor of History, Kansas University