COMING OF THE THIRD REICH
by Richard J Evans · first published 2004
62% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers German politics, society and economy from Bismarck to Hitler's rise in 1933, with a measured, well-sourced account of how the Nazis came to power; suits readers wanting historical context on that period.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
There is no story in twentieth-century history more important to understand than Hitler's rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. With The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard Evans, one of the worlds most distinguished historians, has written the definitive account for our time. A masterful synthesis of a vast body of scholarly work integrated with important new research and interpretations, Evans's history restores drama and contingency to the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazis, even as it shows how ready Germany was by the early 1930s for such a takeover to occur. T
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Related: "The Coming of the Third Reich", Richard Evans. I've been reading this recently, it's a very measured look at German politics, culture, and economy from Bismarck through Hitler. Utterly fascinating
on “Why 1866 Set the Stage for Two World Wars” ↗…suppression and existed in an environment where organized political street violence was already common. Who knows what the counterfactual was, but censoring and punching Nazis did not stop their rise. The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans is a good book on this. It certainly seems that extremism is fostered by such environments.
The best explanations I've seen of the social and political roots of that period are Richard Evans's "The Coming of the Third Reich" [1] (going from 1870 to the establishment of Nazi power in 1933-34) and the later volumes of his series. The main points he hits are: a) The fact that by 1933, the majority of the population was voting…
on “The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking” ↗"The Coming of the Third Reich" from Richard J. Evans I read it recently and it did changed the way I look at the politics and government now. It made me fully understand that things like separation/accumulation of powers are really…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored” ↗…of the preconditions for facism. So I found it more interesting to read about a country that did make the transition from a strong liberal democracy to a facist regeime. I just finished the book "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard J Evans which covers Germany from ~1880 to 1933, and does a great job of explaining how ordinary Germans at the time were living their lives and the greater cultural shifts that gave way to…
on “Pre-WWI Britain harbored many of the preconditions for fascism” ↗Read "The Coming Of The Third Reich" by Richard J Evans to see how a very liberal democracy (Weimar Republic) was undermined: 1) No strong sense of "norms" in the culture 2) Manipulation of "Free Speech" into "Equal Speech" 3) Manipulation…
on “Facebook says Pages that regularly share false news won’t be able to buy ads” ↗> Richard J Evans - The Coming of the Third Reich I read it ~2 years ago and wholly recommend it to folks as a more constructive approach than shouting "Godwin's Law". Well written, detailed, and an incredible read.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗Couple of good books to read (or listen to) for context: “In the Garden of Beasts,” Larsen “The Coming of the Third Reich,” Evans
on “Beer Hall Putsch” ↗> Also, hint: saying that Hitler was voted into power as if it were an average democratic vote deeply misunderstands the situation. This is correct. Richard Evans's The Coming of the Third Reich is excellent too.
on “Gun sales rise in past year, especially among women and African Americans” ↗I mentioned Evans’ The Coming of the Third Reich because it’s critical for understanding what happened here to know the historical context. Those measures were not targeted at the Nazis specifically, nor were the tactics developed by the Nazis in a…
…Germans got sad and mad and poor because of the Treaty of Versailles, hyperinflation and the 'German martial spirit' or something and then Hitler appeared out of nowhere to do bad stuff. Reading "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard J. Evans was eye-opening in this regard. The Nazis did nothing more than tie together several existing culturally accepted themes more successfully than other fringe groups in Weimar politics.…
on “Montrealer found guilty of hate against Jews after Daily Stormer post” ↗…philosophical group associated with logical positivism. Newman [ed] - The world of mathematics vol 1. A varied Collection of mathematical writings, both contemporary and historical. Richard J Evans - The Coming of the Third Reich. Evans has recently written a three volume treatment of the third Reich. this is of course the first and starts with the origins of the modern form of antisemitism in the late 19th century. I hope to…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗This is definitely the case in my experience and reading of the situation. Here's a quote from The Coming of the Third Reich by the premier historian of the period, Richard Evans: "Communist rhetoric had become a good deal more violent since the inauguration of the ‘third period’ by the Comintern leadership in Moscow in 1928.…
on “People are leaving Spotify over decision to host Alex Jones Infowars podcast” ↗…economic means as well as the political consequences of the depression) and the possible rise of a communist German state as existential threats to themselves and their society. Richard J. Evans' The Coming of The Third Reich touches on the sheer terror over the possibility of a communist revolution a bit and how it influenced Weimar politics, given the example of the Russian Revolution of 1917: it meant not only confiscation…
on “One-Percenters Close to Surpassing Wealth of U.S. Middle Class” ↗…Party. What fewer people know is the cultural context before and during the Weimar Republic that made that ascension (of one revolutionary or reactionary stripe or another) generally inevitable. From "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard J. Evans > These milieux, with their party newspapers, clubs and societies, were unusually rigid and homogeneous. Already before 1914 this had resulted in a politicization of whole areas…
on “They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 (1955)” ↗