The Third Reich in Power

What was Nazi Germany like in peacetime? When the Nazi Party first came to power, no one thought it would unleash another devastating war. In just six short years, it implemented a series of iron-fisted policies: crushing political movements, overhauling the job market, stimulating economic recovery, bringing civic organizations into line, and forging a national community. As Germans adjusted to the rapid changes brought by the new order, basking in the illusion of prosperity and stability, they were unknowingly strapped to the Nazi war machine and hurtling toward a maelstrom of smoke and fire. The truth was that peacetime Nazi Germany existed to serve the cause of war. In this sweeping, gripping history, Richard J. Evans combs through Nazi Germany’s prewar policies and their impact on the economy, culture, art, education, and other fields. Drawing on extensive data and official archives, he reveals the brutal face of the Third Reich’s totalitarian rule. Vivid personal accounts and eyewitness records trace the lives of ordinary Germans during this period, exposing how the Nazi Party used a blood-soaked dictatorship to transform Germany into a war machine operating at full throttle.