Richard J. Evans (1) (1947–)

"The death of democracy in Germany was part of a much broader European pattern in the interwar years; but it also had very specific roots in German history and drew on ideas that were part of a very specific German tradition."

In this sweeping and arching chronicle of history, Richard J. Evans examines every nook and cranny of German society and culture from the looming spectre of the Bismarckian era to the fall of the Weimar Republic in delineating the causes of the rise of The Third Reich. show more Indeed, it also takes into account the turmoil, the overall attitude prevalent across the European continent when providing complicated answers to the perhaps most boggling and important questions of the 20th century: why did no one stop the Nazi Regime? Why did the German population engage in such silent acquiescence?

With a myriad of cultural anxieties, from the threat of Communism to the perceived collapse of the traditional family due to the First Wave Feminist movement to the perceived unfairness of the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles to modernism gaining traction across art, literature, and cinema to the 1929 hyperinflation to the Great Depression era, and most of all the 'stabbed-in-the-back' myth after Germany's defeat in the First World War, and conspiracy theories of Jewish domination, Evans never leaves a stone unturned with his lucid narrative-style, where every section is gripping. No reason can be attributed as the single cause of Nazi Germany's seizure of power. Rather, several historical incidents, a tensed political ambience, etc., etc., each of them helped form its inception and strengthen its hold on the already-feeble Weimar Republic. History, unsurprisingly, is also full of complications and contradictions. And interspersed here and there are excerpts from diaries of German citizens, which share a glimpse of both the panic and fanaticism circulating across the masses. The steadily worsening state in every area of German society, with the brandishing of racial hierarchy and distorted Social Darwinism, in the last chapters was a terrifying read. Absolutely accessible for people who has little to limited knowledge on one of the darkest periods in history, The Coming of the Third Reich is an undeniably definitive work. show less

Megnyugtató úgy gondolni a második világháborúra, mint egy eseményre, amit bizonyos démoni személyek robbantottak ki olyan körülmények között, amelyek soha nem ismétlődhetnek meg. Evans könyve pont azért nyomaszt és rémít, mert pontról pontra bemutatja, hogy ezek az események felfogható emberi indulatokból születtek, és közönséges emberi és politikai hibák következtében logikusan jutottak el a végkifejletig. Vagyis megismételhetőek. Pedig Evans nem hoz be show more forradalmian új szempontokat a történelembe, csak egyszerűen felsorolja és vonalba rendezi a bőséges tényanyagot – ettől olyan félelmetes az egész. Szigorúan e könyv kapcsán két dolgot emelnék ki.

Ha egy konzervatív párt elnézést tanúsít a szélsőséges mozgalmak iránt abban bízva, hogy az ő támogatásukkal megőrzi hatalmát, és egyben arra számít, hogy majd kontroll alatt tartja őket, jó eséllyel nemcsak önmagát veszejti el, hanem a demokráciát és a nemzetet is. Mégpedig azért, mert képtelen felfogni: a szélsőséges pártokat nem lehet politikai machinációkkal irányítgatni, ők egyszerűen nem azok szerint a játékszabályok szerint játszanak, mint a demokratikus pártok. Ahol a hagyományos párt hazudik és időt akar nyerni, ott a szélsőséges mozgalom brutális és átgázol.

Másrészt: a forradalmi dinamizmus, az agresszió ideig-óráig sikeressé tehet egy pártot, de hosszú távon kaotikus állapotokat szül. A folyamatos aktivitás szükségessége olyan helyzetet teremt, ahol a mozgalom kénytelen egyre nagyobb és nagyobb problémákat állítani maga elé, mert tagjai igénylik a folyamatos konfrontációt. Így a csoport függővé válik, és addig rohan neki az egyre masszívabb akadályoknak, amíg egyszer csak betörik a feje.

Evans könyvét hiba úgy olvasni, hogy csak a párhuzamokat keresünk benne a jelenkorral. Ugyanakkor fontos látni még idejében minden dolgok mögött azt, ami lehet belőlük, ha hagyjuk kiterebélyesedni őket. show less

Historian Richard Evans has written an impressive history of Hitler and the Nazi Party’s rise to power in this first book in a trilogy about the history of the Third Reich. It is well written and thoroughly researched. Evans doesn’t just start with the rise of Hitler, but goes back to Bismark and the unification of Germany in 1871. Thus, setting the stage for the rise of Hitler.

He covers all aspects of Hitler’s rise to power: historically, politically, economically, and culturally. He show more weaves in civil society, unions, religio, and higher education and how each were affected.

Evans published this book in 2003, and it is still relevant especially at this particular moment in American history. The parallels to the rise of the Third Reich to the rise of Donald Trump and his administration is impossible to deny. I don’t think it is a reach to assume that Steven Miller, JD Vance, Charlie Kirk and every person who authored Project 2025 have read, re-read and committed this book to memory.

There are several reasons why the timing was right for someone like Hitler to come to power. The loss of the Great War and the stiff reparations the Treaty of Versailles placed on Germany, and the Great Depression that rocked the world causing sky-high inflation. Hitler was a charismatic personality and speaker who gave rousing patriotic speeches that were light on policy, and heavy being the Salvation of Germany.

Basically Hitler came to power using these strategies and tactics:
• Lean into racial prejudices and make “Them” (the Jews) the hated enemy. Revoke their citizenship.
• Have a powerful propaganda machine that will back up every lie and spin it so that Hitler and the Nazi party are always the Rightegous, Just, and Defenders of Germany and the Truth.
• Use a paramilitary group, The SA (Brownshirts), to provide security for Nazi leaders, enforce Nazi orders, and disrupt the activities of opposing political parties.
• Declare Emergencies to suspend Constitutional rights, and eventually make them permanent.
• Withhold Government funding to bring institutions (Universities, State Governments, etc.) to heel.
• Might Makes Right. Use force and the threat of force to instill fear and capitulation.

Do any of these things sound familiar? How about all of them? Charismatic figure giving speeches lacking policy, and focusing on cultural outrage and promises of retribution, sound familiar? Replace the Jews with Hispanics, Haitians, and Middle Easterners. Replace Goebbels with Fox News. Replace the SA with ICE. Trump has already declared emergency powers to impose tariffs, declared we are at war with Venezuela to deport undocumented Latinos and will continue to declare more emergencies to suspend even more constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of free assembly, restrictions on property rights and replacing State Governors he doesn’t like, all things Hitler did. Trump has also withheld and cancelled funding, to universities and threatened to sue law firms, and news outlets to gain leverage and bring them to heel. Trump’s core belief is Might Makes Right.

This book is an autopay of how a strong democracy died. Ours is currently mirroring this authoritarian takeover, but it isn't dead yet. show less

Writing against false conspiracy theories seems like it might be a lose-lose situation. Giving incomplete arguments could leave readers with the sense that there is something to those theories. Giving complete arguments against those theories might have the paradoxical effect of dignifying them. (And then there is the maxim about wrestling with a pig.)

In this book, Richard J. Evans combats five ideas:

(1) The Protocols of the Elders of Zion accurately reflects Jewish machinations;
(2) The show more German war effort in WWI was intentionally sabotaged by forces on the home front;
(3) The Nazis conspired to burn down the Reichstag;
(4) Ruldolf Hess's flight to Scotland was backed by Hitler;
(5) Hitler escaped to South America after WWII.

These ideas aren't of equal stature. Idea 1 seems to be held by no one respectable. Idea 2 is nebulous enough that it's hard not to think that it might have a grain of truth. (Whether relevant or not, the fact that Germany surrendered while still in possession of its own lands surprised a lot of us non-experts the first time we heard it.) In the words of Wikipedia, Idea 3 "remains a topic of debate and research", no matter how strongly Evans wishes it weren't. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea that Idea 4 was even a thing. Idea 5 was the subject of a lot of bad movies in the 1970s when I was growing up, but if it weren't for stumbling across a rerun of "Hunting Hitler" while flipping the channels, I wouldn't have known that it was a going concern.

While this is fairly interesting stuff, it's not of the same quality as Evans' highly-respected trilogy on the Third Reich.

A few complaints and comments:

(a) The Introduction and Conclusion feel oversized for a book this short. Like most people, I was taught to tell the people what you're going to say, then say it, then tell the people what you said. But this tactic can often feel drearily repetitive to me as a reader, and it does so here.
(b) As an example of a real conspiracy, Evans mentioned how Nixon "organized" the Watergate burglary (p. 5). Wasn't there a more clear-cut example he could have used? While Jeb Magruder eventually changed his original story to say that Nixon made a phone call to him, John Mitchell, and Fred LaRue ordering the break-in, Mitchell and LaRue always denied this.
(c) On pages 206 and 207, Evans writes about the reviews for something on amazon.co.uk but forgets to tell us what that something was. show less