The Bookworm: The Third Reich in Power

The Third Reich in Power, by Richard J. Evans. 941 pages. Penguin Books. 2005.

By the end of the 1930s, the great mass of German workers had reconciled themselves, often with varying degrees of reluctance, to the Third Reich. They might be unpersuaded by its core ideological tenets, irritated by its constant appeals for acclamation and support and annoyed by its failure to deliver a greater degree of prosperity. They might grumble about many aspects of life and privately pour scorn on many of its leaders and its institutions. But at least, most people reflected, it had given them a steady job and overcome, by whatever means, the economic hardships and catastrophes of the Weimar years, and for that alone, the vast majority of German workers seem to have thought it was worth tolerating, especially since the possibility of organized resistance was so minimal and the price of expressing dissent so high.

Hold on for a second — let me do something.

FINALLY!

Yes, I finally finished The Third Reich in Power after a three-month effort. Jeez. What happen to my reading habits? I read the preface way back while visiting my friend in Chicago. That was freakin’ forever ago. Since then I have slowly and lazily chipped away at the 712 pages of text (the remaining pages are filled with oodles of endnotes, a bibliography, and an index). And the sad thing is, I am only two-thirds finished with the series.

Power is a thorough and well-written chronicle of how the Nazi tried to reshape Germany to the core and prepare it for war after seizing power in 1933. Evans recounts the ways German social and cultural institutions were reorganized and co-opted to fit within the convoluted and almost indefinable ideology of National Socialism; how the Nazis massive bureaucracy of ministries, guilds, and agencies competed with and compromised each other; and how the regime’s contempt for intellectuals actually undermined its efforts to create a superior ruling class and build the most technologically advanced society in the world. Aptly, Evans expounds on the efforts to purge Germany of undesirables, the creation of an extralegal “prerogative state,” the building of concentration camps, and the murderous alienation of Jews. He also outlines the internal conflicts within the Nazi Party, the corruption and embezzlement that made its senior members wildly rich, and Hitler’s headlong drive to right the perceived wrongs of the Treaty of Versailles and acquire more “living space.”

As with the first volume in the series, The Coming of the Third Reich, Power only presents an outline. Instead of delving deeply into any one aspect of the Nazis rule, Power is an all-encompassing summarization of just about everything that happened after the Reichstag fire in early-1933 and the first days of September 1939, when Germany rebuffed ultimatums from Britain and France to withdraw troops from Poland. Let me tell you: it is one hell of an outline.

Instead of presenting everything chronologically, Evans chose to give each aspect of the regime — e.g. education, propaganda, economic planning — its own individual chapter, which could cover events and policy development that spanned the entire six-year period. At first I was skeptical, thinking that too many events were linked. However, I think it serves the book well to compartmentalize every subject, though there was some expected overlap; that, I felt, slowly put everything into the proper focus.

A fascinating and informative read, it is also mind blowing and sickening. The kind of mindless devotion many felt toward Hitler, who some truly worshiped as a god, was something I could not wrap my mind around. Though many Germans chose to look the other way and ignore the Nazis darker (much darker) side, there were others who reveled in it. As the above quote says, many Germans felt the Nazis brought the much-desired stability the Weimar Republic could not; it also catered to nostalgia for the days of the Kaiser and the national unity of 1914, when the country danced to the beat of war drums. In the end, Evans suggests, Germany as a whole was not as enthusiastic as its megalomaniacal leader was about starting a general European war, nor was it even close to being as united as it was at the dawn of World War I, much to the Nazis’ war mongering chagrin.

Evans paints the Nazis and Hitler as not only being ruthless and corrupt, but also foolish and nearsighted. Particularly interesting to me was how the Nazis paid for the massive effort to rearm the German military. A complex scheme of deficit spending, coupled with bonds and fiat money issued by industry, was developed by the economic mastermind who pulled Germany from the depths of hyper-inflation in the 1920s; the plan allowed Germany to rebuild its military without risking runaway inflation. However, when debt spiraled out of control and the economic minister complained, they simply replaced him with someone more agreeable who put the pedal to the metal; “deficit financing was only a short-term measure in their view; the debts would be paid by territorial expansion in the near enough future.”

Power is an excellent read and the must-have compliment to the first volume in the series. Remember: those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

New words I learned: All definitions courtesy of my MacBook dictionary. Dogsbody: “a person who is given boring, menial tasks to do.” Compendium: “a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, esp. in a book or other publication.” Silesia: “a region of central Europe that is centered on the upper Oder valley, now largely in southwestern Poland. It was partitioned at various times among the states of Prussia, Austria–Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.” Catamite: “a boy kept for homosexual practices.” Abnegate: “renounce or reject (something desired or valuable).” Presidium: “a standing executive committee in a communist country.” Cyclostyling: “an early device for duplicating handwriting, in which a pen with a small toothed wheel pricks holes in a sheet of waxed paper, which is then used as a stencil.” Remand: “place (a defendant) on bail or in custody, esp. when a trial is adjourned.” Abrogate: “repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement).” Mendicant: “given to begging.” Satrap: “any subordinate or local ruler.” Serried: “(of rows of people or things) standing close together.” Impecunious: “having little or no money.” Encomia (plural for “encomium”): “a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.” Adumbrate: “report or represent in outline.” Mountebank: “a person who deceives others, esp. in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan.” Dilettante: “a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.” Shibboleth: “a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, esp. a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important.” Libretto: “the text of an opera or other long vocal work.” Shellac: “lac resin melted into thin flakes, used for making varnish.” Excoriate: “censure or criticize severely.” Surplice: “a loose white linen vestment varying from hip-length to calf-length, worn over a cassock by clergy, acolytes, and choristers at Christian church services.” Anathematize: “curse; condemn.” Encyclical: “a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.” Effete: “(of a person) affected, overrefined, and ineffectual.” Eschatology: “the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.” Martinet: “a strict disciplinarian, esp. in the armed forces.” Nostrum: “a medicine, esp. one that is not considered effective, prepared by an unqualified person.” Bibulous: “excessively fond of drinking alcohol.” Tendentious: “expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, esp. a controversial one.” Lay-by: “an area at the side of a road where vehicles may pull off the road and stop.” Pulse (no, not that type of pulse): “the edible seeds of various leguminous plants, for example chickpeas, lentils, and beans.” Plenipotentiary: “a person, esp. a diplomat, invested with the full power of independent action on behalf of their government, typically in a foreign country.” Indemnify: “compensate (someone) for harm or loss.” Sinecure: “a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit.” Bugbear: “a cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing.” Percipient: “(of a person) having a good understanding of things; perceptive.” Primogeniture: “the state of being the firstborn child.” Apothecary: “a person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs.” Peculate: “embezzle or steal (money, esp. public funds).” Obscurantism: “the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known.” Inure: “accustom (someone) to something, esp. something unpleasant.” Recrudescence: “break out again; recur.” Volt-face: “an act of turning around so as to face in the opposite direction.” Renascent: “becoming active or popular again.” Peremptory: “(esp. of a person's manner or actions) insisting on immediate attention or obedience, esp. in a brusquely imperious way.” Rapprochement: “(esp. in international relations) an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations.” Supine: in this usage it means, “failing to act or protest as a result of moral weakness or indolence.” Pusillanimity: “showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.” Nonentity: “a person or thing with no special or interesting qualities; an unimportant person or thing.” Tergiversation: “make conflicting or evasive statements; equivocate.”