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Die fatale Attraktion des Nationalsozialismus. Über die Popularität eines Unrechtregimes
Research output: Book/Report/Proceedings › Monograph
Published
| Translated title of the contribution | The Fatal Attraction of National Socialism. The Popularity of a Regime of Injustice |
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| Publication date | 2013 |
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| Place of publication | Paderborn |
| Publisher | Schöningh |
| Number of pages | 402 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-506-77676-1 |
| Original language | German |
Abstract
There can be not doubt that the economic, social and political crisis at the end of the Weimar Republic, the many material promises a new opposition party could make, and the many opportunities which opened up after 1933 played an important role in the popular appeal of Nazism. However after a long period dominated by structuralist interpretations of the Third Reich, the ideological dimension needs re-emphasis. The monograph shows that the desire for a single communal faith played a central role in the popular appeal of Nazism. Historians have been right in arguing that the Nazi vision of an allegedly better future was vague, unrealistic and partially contradictory, but a close analysis of ego-documents shows that it was precisely their vagueness that made these visions persuasive. The hope for a nation united in a single faith could even make violence against opponents appear as a necessary step towards this goal.