The Third Reich: A New History

Michael Burleigh

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Review

It might sound strange, but this book, dealing in some depth with one of the most hideous episodes of the last century, was a pleasure to read.  Not least of all, because Professor Burleigh writes so fluently, and nowhere is there a hint of the dull academic jargon which cripples so many studies, and makes heavy reading of even the most exciting moments in history.  This is emphatically not a textbook, giving facts and figures about the Nazis – the author assumes a certain knowledge on the part of the reader, and he is attempting to explain why Hitler happened, how it was that a great civilised nation could follow him into a nightmare world, culminating in the total destruction of Europe, and the murder of millions of people.

The writing is bursting with tremendous intellectual energy, but also with moral indignation: Burleigh, more than most historians I have read on the subject, makes plain his feelings about the individuals at the centre of the horrors, but he is even-handed with the subjects of his criticism, and that makes his case all the more compelling.  The book begins with a discussion about the possibility of politics as a pseudo-religion, and the author robustly defends the notion of totalitarianism, challenging the idea (often used to defend Soviet Communism) that Nazism was a unique political aberration.  He points out that to start squabbling over which form of tyranny was the most horrid is not only to miss the point (to understand where these things come from) but also an insult to the victims of these regimes.

Beginning with an account of the Weimar Republic, Burleigh then takes the reader through the emergence of the Nazis, their seizure of power, right through the capitulation of Dönitz, and the occupation of Germany by the Allies.  He shows how the importance of eugenics (which had attracted widespread interest in varied political circles all over the world in the Thirties) led to ‘mercy’ killings of the feeble or handicapped; how the apparatus for extermination was then modified to kill the Jews; how the occupation of Eastern Europe paved the way for the butchering of local populations and the introduction of slave labour…

This is a hugely stimulating book, which deserves all the rave reviews it has had.  Professor Burleigh has obviously had access to a wealth of material, and uses the testimony of many contemporary observers, including the diaries of both Victor Klemperer and Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen (the latter wrote the fascinating Diary Of A Man In Despair ).  In the light of these testimonies, and bearing in mind that there were those who resisted (who are themselves the subject of a separate chapter), Burleigh’s criticism of those who claimed not to have seen what was happening, and of those in positions of responsibility, is all the more pronounced.

There are cheerful sideswipes at many targets, both on the Left and the Right, and at contemporary figures and trends: when discussing the occupation in Europe, we learn how the Nazis encouraged localised ‘national’ identity, in order to control populations ‘some effort was put into the promotion of dialect, folk dancing and costume, the universal vernacular of bogus nationalisms’.  Another example of why this excellent study was a pleasure to read. - review by Dan Fenton