The Nazi seizure of power : the experience of a single German town, 1922-1945

Allen's study of the rise and fall of Nazism in Germany chooses to concentrate on a single small town in Saxony, to see in detail how a civilised democracy could be plunged into a nihilistic dictatorship. A work of microhistory, this text is comparable perhaps with Montaillou in its readability. (Google Books review) Documents The Propaganda And Politics That Brought Naziism To Power In One German Town Where The Population Was Predominately Lutheran And The Largest Local Employer Was The Civil Service. Preface To The First Edition -- Preface To The Revised Edition -- Part One : The Death Of The Democracy : 1922 To January 1933. The Setting -- The Anatomy Of The Town -- Enter The Nazis -- Exploiting Victory -- Authoritarians Unite -- The Depths Of The Depression -- Political Crescendo -- Things Fall Apart -- The Last Winter -- Part Two : Introducing The Dictatorship : January 1933 To May 1945. The Last Elections -- The Uses Of Electoral Success -- The Terror System -- Whipping Up Enthusiasm -- The Atomization Of Society -- The Positive Aspect -- Reaction And Resistance -- From Enthusiasm To Ritual -- The Great Justification -- Life In The Third Reich -- Conclusions -- Appendixes. A Descriptive List Of Individuals Interviewed For This Book -- Tables -- The Northeim Nsdap. William Sheridan Allen. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [331]-375. PART ONE: THE DEATH OF THE DEMOCRACY: 1922 TO JANUARY 1933 CHAPTER 1 The Setting 3 CHAPTER 2 The Anatomy of the Town 11 CHAPTER 3 Enter the Nazis 23 CHAPTER 4 Exploiting Victory 41 CHAPTER 5 Authoritarians Unite 53 CHAPTER 6 The Depths of the Depression 69 CHAPTER 7 Political Crescendo 91 CHAPTER 8 Things Fall Apart 107 CHAPTER 9 The Last Winter 129 PART TWO: INTRODUCING THE DICTATORSHIP JANUARY 1933 TO MAY 1945 CHAPTER 10 The Last Elections 151 CHAPTER 11 The Uses of Electoral Success 169 CHAPTER 12 The Terror System 183 CHAPTER 13 ' Whipping Up Enthusiasm 201 CHAPTER 14 The Atomization of Society 217 CHAPTER 15 The Positive Aspect 233 CHAPTER 16 Reaction and Resistance 239 CHAPTER 17 From Enthusiasm to Ritual 249 CHAPTER 18 The Great Justification 265 CHAPTER 19 Life in the Third Reich 281 CHAPTER 20 Conclusions 293 This intimate, detailed, and comprehensive study in the mechanics of revolution, based upon in-depth interviews and documentary sources, has become a classic. Now it has been revised on the basis of newly discovered Nazi documents, which have not been seen by any other historian. - Back cover.