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Hitler's True Believers: How Ordinary People Became Nazis
Understanding Adolf Hitler's ideology provides insights into the mental world of an extremist politics that, over the course of the Third Reich, developed explosive energies culminating in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Too often the theories underlying National Socialism or Nazism are dismissed as an irrational hodge-podge of ideas. Yet that ideology drove Hitler's quest for power in 1933, colored everything in the Third Reich, and transformed him, however briefly, into the most powerful leader in the world. How did he discover that ideology? How was it that cohorts of leaders, followers, and ordinary citizens adopted aspects of National Socialism without experiencing the leader first-hand or reading his works? They shared a collective desire to create a harmonious, racially select, community of the people to build on Germany's socialist-oriented political culture and to seek national renewal. If we wish to understand the rise of the Nazi Party and the new dictatorship's remarkable staying power, we have to take the nationalist and socialist aspects of this ideology seriously.
464 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2020
About the author
Robert Gellately
15 books38 followersRobert Gellately (born 1943) is a Newfoundland-born Canadian academic who is one of the leading historians of modern Europe, particularly during World War II and the Cold War era. He is Earl Ray Beck Professor of History at Florida State University. He often teaches classes about World War II and the Cold War, but his extensive interest in the Holocaust has led to his conducting research regarding other genocides as well. He is occasionally known to give lectures on specific genocides. Gellately has very strict guidelines for what he will deem a genocide, and has had several televised debates regarding his somewhat controversial views.
Gellately's most recent work is Stalin's Curse: Battling for Communism in War and Cold War (Knopf (March 5, 2013) Gellately recently published a set of original documents by Leon Goldensohn dealing with the 1945-46 Nuremberg trials of war criminals in The Nuremberg Interviews: An American Psychiatrist's Conversations With The Defendants and Witnesses (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004).
His other books include Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 (Oxford University Press, 2001). It has been published in German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, and Italian. Japanese and French translations are in press. Backing Hitler was chosen as a main selection for book clubs in North America and the United Kingdom.
In the book Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945, Gellately argues that the Gestapo were not in fact all-pervasive and intrusive as they have been described. The Gestapo only numbered 32,000 for the entire population of Germany, and this clearly limited their impact. In the city of Hanover there were only 42 officers. Instead, Gellately says that the atmosphere of terror and fear was maintained by 'denunciations' from ordinary Germans, whereby they would inform any suspicious 'anti-Nazi' activity to the local Nazi authority. According to Gellatley, these denunciations were the cause of most prosecutions, as in Saarbrücken 87.5 per cent of cases of 'slander against the regime' came from denunciations. This diminished the Gestapo's role in maintaining fear and terror throughout the Third Reich, however they still proved to be a powerful instrument for Hitler and continued to provide the security apparatus needed for the Nazi Regime.
His first book was The Politics of Economic Despair: Shopkeepers in German Politics, 1890-1914 (London, 1974). In 1991 he published The Gestapo and German Society: Enforcing Racial Policy, 1933-1945 (Oxford University Press.) It has been translated into German and Spanish.
In addition, Gellately has co-edited a volume of essays with Russian specialist Sheila Fitzpatrick, Accusatory Practices: Denunciation in Modern European History, 1789-1989 (University of Chicago Press, 1997). With his colleague Nathan Stoltzfus (also at Florida State University) he co-edited a collection called Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany (Princeton University Press, 2001). With Ben Kiernan, Director of the Genocide Studies program at Yale, he recently co-edited The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Professor Gellately has won numerous research awards, including grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Many of the books written or edited by him are used as textbooks in college classrooms across America.
Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
Gellately's most recent work is Stalin's Curse: Battling for Communism in War and Cold War (Knopf (March 5, 2013) Gellately recently published a set of original documents by Leon Goldensohn dealing with the 1945-46 Nuremberg trials of war criminals in The Nuremberg Interviews: An American Psychiatrist's Conversations With The Defendants and Witnesses (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004).
His other books include Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 (Oxford University Press, 2001). It has been published in German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, and Italian. Japanese and French translations are in press. Backing Hitler was chosen as a main selection for book clubs in North America and the United Kingdom.
In the book Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945, Gellately argues that the Gestapo were not in fact all-pervasive and intrusive as they have been described. The Gestapo only numbered 32,000 for the entire population of Germany, and this clearly limited their impact. In the city of Hanover there were only 42 officers. Instead, Gellately says that the atmosphere of terror and fear was maintained by 'denunciations' from ordinary Germans, whereby they would inform any suspicious 'anti-Nazi' activity to the local Nazi authority. According to Gellatley, these denunciations were the cause of most prosecutions, as in Saarbrücken 87.5 per cent of cases of 'slander against the regime' came from denunciations. This diminished the Gestapo's role in maintaining fear and terror throughout the Third Reich, however they still proved to be a powerful instrument for Hitler and continued to provide the security apparatus needed for the Nazi Regime.
His first book was The Politics of Economic Despair: Shopkeepers in German Politics, 1890-1914 (London, 1974). In 1991 he published The Gestapo and German Society: Enforcing Racial Policy, 1933-1945 (Oxford University Press.) It has been translated into German and Spanish.
In addition, Gellately has co-edited a volume of essays with Russian specialist Sheila Fitzpatrick, Accusatory Practices: Denunciation in Modern European History, 1789-1989 (University of Chicago Press, 1997). With his colleague Nathan Stoltzfus (also at Florida State University) he co-edited a collection called Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany (Princeton University Press, 2001). With Ben Kiernan, Director of the Genocide Studies program at Yale, he recently co-edited The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Professor Gellately has won numerous research awards, including grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Many of the books written or edited by him are used as textbooks in college classrooms across America.
Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 21, 2020
Deeply unpleasant and unsettling though wading through the morass that is Nazi ideology may be, this comprehensive and well-researched study of what drove so many ordinary people to subscribe to it is very much worth reading - an important lesson that remains undeniably relevant.
January 13, 2021
I knew when I picked up this book that it wouldn’t be pleasant reading. I knew I would probably feel sad and angry as I read, and that was the case. What I didn’t know was how deep the roots of racism figured into the early origins of Hitler’s party and plans. I mean, I knew he had a hatred for Jewish people, but I thought that was an outgrowth of some of his other beliefs. I didn’t realize how much racism was baked into nationalism and socialism at the infancy of the Nazi party and how that racism guided every step forward as they went from being a fringe party that met in beer halls to ruling the nation of Germany. Now that my understanding has been shifted, I have begun to fear that something similar is happening here in America now, not especially with Jewish people but between black and white people. I picked up this book because I hoped I could learn some lessons from history, but maybe I could learn something that would help me in a small way try to shift the tide away from the accelerating hostility and anger in our present day. Now I’m not so sure that’s possible. If racism is not a tacked on thing, if it is entwined as a root factor along with nationalism and other ideas like socialism or communism, small individual actions once this much momentum has built may not be enough. So rather than reassurance or encouragement, I feel even more unsettled. I still trust God, and I still believe that how I treat people individually matters, but now I’m really not sure my behavior can make that much difference. I hope I’m having a temporary fit of pessimism.
July 19, 2021
I must admit that I was rather disappointed by this book. I gave it three stars rather than two mainly because my disappointment may have been the result of my expectations. The fact that the subtitle made me look forward to a deep psychosocial analysis of what in the German character, at that time and in the situation of the 1920s and 30s led a majority in the country to support such a monster may have colored my appreciation of the book.
Of course, I do know the horrible economic and social climate of the era, plus most Germans' resentment of the Versailles treaty. And I'm sure those issues were crucial, especially since the economy and job market markedly improved during Hitler's reign.
Mr. Gellately tends to confirm at least to a degree the conclusions of Daniel Jonah Goldhagen of the pervasiveness of virulent antisemitism. Apparently, according to Mr. Goldhagen, that was also true in many European countries at the time.
But what Mr. Gellaty provides is more of a play-by-play (in quite a bit of detail) of all the events that led to the establishment of the Third Reich--which is valuable in itself. And that is why I gave the book three stars instead of two.
Of course, I do know the horrible economic and social climate of the era, plus most Germans' resentment of the Versailles treaty. And I'm sure those issues were crucial, especially since the economy and job market markedly improved during Hitler's reign.
Mr. Gellately tends to confirm at least to a degree the conclusions of Daniel Jonah Goldhagen of the pervasiveness of virulent antisemitism. Apparently, according to Mr. Goldhagen, that was also true in many European countries at the time.
But what Mr. Gellaty provides is more of a play-by-play (in quite a bit of detail) of all the events that led to the establishment of the Third Reich--which is valuable in itself. And that is why I gave the book three stars instead of two.
December 12, 2021
Modern explanations of the rise of the Third Reich tend to emphasise the singular importance of Hitler. The argument usually runs that the dark charisma of Hitler, combined with his iron will, was a combination that appealed to Germans as they came to grips with the aftermath of World War One and the growing dissatisfaction with Weimar democracy. The Nazis as an ideological force is often overlooked.
Gellately's book corrects this. He explains how Nazi beliefs offered a coherent and compelling programme for Germany that was popular not because of Hitler's ability to sell it, but because many Germans found the notion of Aryan supremacy and a socialist programme built on Germanic terms already meshed with their own.
Read if you are looking for answers to questions like: "To what extent was Germany anti-semitic prior to the Nazis?" (answer, tragically so) and "Were the Nazis socialist?" (answer: in their own specific terms, yes - elements of their programme were socialist in nature).
Gellately's book corrects this. He explains how Nazi beliefs offered a coherent and compelling programme for Germany that was popular not because of Hitler's ability to sell it, but because many Germans found the notion of Aryan supremacy and a socialist programme built on Germanic terms already meshed with their own.
Read if you are looking for answers to questions like: "To what extent was Germany anti-semitic prior to the Nazis?" (answer, tragically so) and "Were the Nazis socialist?" (answer: in their own specific terms, yes - elements of their programme were socialist in nature).
March 17, 2024
Wreszcie jakieś naprawdę interesujące podejście do kwestii ruchu nazistowskiego i ideologicznej podbudowy działalności Adolfa Hitlera. Nie zaś kolejna freudowska pseudppsychoanaliza pod tytułem "przywódcy NSDAP mieli ciężko w dzieciństwie, a Hitler miał tylko jedno jądro, więc dlatego stali się sadystami". Nie zajmuje się także równie sensacyjnymi, co nie mającymi pokrycia w rzeczywistości związkami nazizmu z pogaństwem (w rzeczywistości był to margines ruchu nazistowskiego).
Autor zgodnie z zapowiedzią ze wstępu zajmuje się więc fenomenem nazizmu od zupełnie innej strony, wskazując na ówczesne realia życia w Niemczech i odpowiedzi dawane przez nazistów na konkretne problemy. W tym kontekście cytuje relacje działaczy NSDAP, polityków partii opozycyjnych (niekiedy rzeczywiście chwalą oni narodowy socjalizm), intelektualistów i nade wszystko zwykłych Niemców.
Jednocześnie nie jest to książka spod znaku udowadniania, że nazizm to lewica, chociaż przez całą publikację przewija się wątek idei "niemieckiego socjalizmu". Między innymi dlatego zdecydowanie warto sięgnąć po tę pozycję, a nie po całą masę bezwartościowych sensacyjnych wypocin na temat nazizmu.
Autor zgodnie z zapowiedzią ze wstępu zajmuje się więc fenomenem nazizmu od zupełnie innej strony, wskazując na ówczesne realia życia w Niemczech i odpowiedzi dawane przez nazistów na konkretne problemy. W tym kontekście cytuje relacje działaczy NSDAP, polityków partii opozycyjnych (niekiedy rzeczywiście chwalą oni narodowy socjalizm), intelektualistów i nade wszystko zwykłych Niemców.
Jednocześnie nie jest to książka spod znaku udowadniania, że nazizm to lewica, chociaż przez całą publikację przewija się wątek idei "niemieckiego socjalizmu". Między innymi dlatego zdecydowanie warto sięgnąć po tę pozycję, a nie po całą masę bezwartościowych sensacyjnych wypocin na temat nazizmu.
August 19, 2023
A really good book overall that cuts through commonly held misconceptions about Nazi Germany. First that all early followers of Hitler did so because of his charisma. No, it was because they liked his ideas. Very few had actually met him in person. Point two is that National Socialism wasn't really socialist. Yes they were, very much so. But they were "German socialists ". You'll have to read the book to understand. But one key thing was Jews or dark skinned people need not try to be part of the community and receive its benefits.
The last few chapters stray a bit and that cost it a star. But really good book overall.
PHILIP KUHN
The last few chapters stray a bit and that cost it a star. But really good book overall.
PHILIP KUHN
January 20, 2023
This book, as you can imagine, is a heavy read. However, everything that Gellately describes is backed up by numerous sources. About 1/3 of the book is footnotes and sources...so much factual information. It is a deep dive into how everyday German citizens became supporters of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Though the systems are logical, it is still hard to accept. Germany was ripe for a Dictatorship in the late 1920's. The evolution into full- blown antisemitism is a cautionary tale into our potential and present political schema. This is definitely a book that allows us to learn from our past.
December 8, 2021
Frightening
March 2, 2022
Nazism and Fascism have never left human beings. They lurked and woke up in different disguises.
October 4, 2022
Interesting and informative, but just read the conclusion at the end and you'll get the whole book.
Spends more time recounting events than talking about "how ordinary people became Nazis."
Spends more time recounting events than talking about "how ordinary people became Nazis."
June 5, 2023
While the writing could use some flow help, but the information was both fascinating and familiar.
December 9, 2023
Unfocused but instructive
February 27, 2024
Interesting read on the development of the nazi ideology and how the politics of the party adapted and interacted with the wants and needs of ordinary Germans.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews