Inside Nazi Germany : conformity, opposition, and racism in everyday life

In this remarkable social history of the Third Reich, Detlev J. K. Peukert surveys how ordinary citizens evaded or accepted Nazi policies of repression, terrorism, and racism. Peukert discusses not only the popular consensus that supported Nazism but also the opposition of the German middle class, working class, and youth. “A highly original and informative synthesis of the most exciting new scholarship on Nazi Germany. It gives an intimate insight into people’s beliefs, aspirations, and fears, and it forces us to reassess how Hitler and Auschwitz were possible.”—Mary Nolan, New York Times Book Review “An indispensable text for understanding the social history of Nazi rule.”—Rudy Koshar, American Historical Review “To the historical reconsideration of National Socialism, Mr. Peukert’s book makes a signal contribution by demonstrating the way in which a movement that came to power loudly proclaiming its intention to restore old ways and traditions advanced the cause of modernity almost against its will.”—Gordon A. Craig, New York Review of Books “Everyone interested in the social history of the Third Reich should read Peukert’s book.”— Choice Contents Sources of illustrations Abbreviations Preface Introductory note: research problems ‘Everyday life’ under a state of emergency 1 The history of everyday life — a different perspective 2 The rise of National Socialism and the crisis of industrial class society ‘National community’ and ‘popular opposition’ 3 Contradictions in the mood of the 'little man’ 4 The Führer myth and consent in everyday life 5 Areas of conflict in the Third Reich 6 The middle classes and the Nazi state 7 The working class: everyday life and opposition 8 Young people: mobilisation and refusal 9 ‘Brown revolution’? ‘National comrades’ and ‘community aliens’ 10 Public show and private perceptions 11 Order and terror 12 Racialism as social policy 13 The atomisation of everyday life Nazi Germany and the pathologies and dislocations of modernity: thirteen theses Notes Suggestions for further reading Index In this remarkable social history of the Third Reich, Detlev J. K. Peukert surveys how ordinary citizens evaded or accepted Nazi policies of repression, terrorism, and racism. Peukert discusses not only the popular consensus that supported Nazism but also the opposition of the German middle class, working class, and youth. “A highly original and informative synthesis of the most exciting new scholarship on Nazi Germany. It gives an intimate insight into people’s beliefs, aspirations, and fears, and it forces us to reassess how Hitler and Auschwitz were possible.”—Mary Nolan, __Times Book Review____American Historical Review____New York Review of Books____Choice__ Surveys the experiences and attitudes of ordinary German people between 1933 and 1945 in an attempt to discern the degree to which Nazi policies of repression, terrorism, and racism were tolerated by citizens of the Third Reich Describes the experiences of ordinary people living in Nazi Germany, explains how they aided or avoided Nazi programs, and analyzes the use of terror against social outsiders.