The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings From History

(Hardback)

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A propulsive narrative history of the motivation and mentality behind the Nazis and their supporters. How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly - often enthusiastically - oversee mass murder How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews In THE NAZI MIND, bestselling author Laurence Rees combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crime in the history of the world. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of 'twelve warnings' - from talk about 'them' and 'us' to the escalation of racism - whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders. Rees uses previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth psychological insights including cutting edge work on obedience, authority and the brain. THE NAZI MIND is a revelatory new way of understanding how so many people committed the most appalling crime of the 20th century.

Reviews

A fascinating study offering new insights into the psychological forces driving the Nazis - essential reading for anyone seeking answers to the haunting question of how and why Germany became consumed by Hitlers evil. -- Julia Boyd * author of A Village in the Third Reich *
I will recommend to everyone . . . superbly researched and structured. I just wish it was coming out before November 5. Reading how Hitler warped and won over the German people, it is impossible not to see and feel constant resonances with so many of the styles, strategies and tactics adopted by Donald Trump -- Alastair Campbell * co-host of The Rest is Politics *
The Nazi Mind recounts one by one the chief ways in which Nazism attracted and held its many millions of followers. It is not just an unsparing, detailed reminder of the horrors of the past, based on decades of exhaustive research, but, unmistakably, a challenge to us to check our own no-longer-so-complacent twenty-first century consciences and act accordingly. -- Frederick Taylor * author of 1939: A People's History *
A chilling analysis of a mind perverted by relativism, delusion, cravenness, amorality and downright evil -- Allan Mallinson * author of The Shape of Battle *
At once frightening and scholarly, urgent and profoundly necessary. Here is history as a flashlight illuminating the darker hinterlands of human nature. In excavating deep beneath the surface of familiar history exploring rich, unexpected sources - Rees shows us that the reign of the Nazis is not a story of monsters, but much more terribly of recognisable humanity. A book very much for our time, and all times -- Sinclair McKay * author of Berlin and Dresden *
Chilling, brilliantly researched . . . only Laurence Rees could have written this book -- Keith Lowe * author of Naples 1944 *

Author Bio

Laurence Rees is the author of several acclaimed books on the Second World War and is a former Head of BBC TV History programmes. His work includes the television series and bestselling books The Nazis- A Warning from History, Auschwitz- The Nazis and the 'Final Solution', World War II- Behind Closed Doors, The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler and The Holocaust- A New History, which was a Sunday Times bestseller. Rees holds honorary doctorates from the University of Sheffield and the Open University. His many and varied awards include a British Book Award, a BAFTA, a George Foster Peabody award, a Broadcasting Press Guild award, a Grierson award, a Broadcast award, two International Documentary awards and two Emmys.