History is a very interesting subject, I for one enjoy it, especially when we got to study about “Nazi Germany”, but in schools, you are not told in-depth about the incidents that took place during the rise and fall of Nazi Germany maybe because they were too cruel for us kids to handle or maybe we didn’t need to know that much. But when a child is curious, he/she always finds a way to know more and satisfy their curiosity. We were never told about how the Nazi Party was formed? How Hitler joined the German Workers Party? What were the challenges faced by Hitler to become the ruling government of Germany? and What both internal and external problems led to the downfall of such a mighty empire? Where can we get the answer to these questions? Let’s find out!!
The Book which I am going to talk about is called “THE THIRD REICH TRILOGY”. It is a set of 3 books “The Coming of The Third Reich”, “The Third Reich in Power” and “The Third Reich at War”. These three books give you all the answers a person may seek about Nazi Germany in detail.
I always thought why did the German people elect Adolf Hitler knowing his cruel nature? Why would they elect someone so disturbed and inhuman? Then I got the answer in the first book, Hitler’s initial sentiment, the reason he joined politics was his patriotic mindset, Due to the treaty of Versailles Germany lost its overseas colonies, 1/10th of its population, 13% of its territories, 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal to the allied powers which was humiliating and also a very harsh punishment for the German people. Due to the desperate circumstances some Germans who were affluent became tired seeing the common German people suffer so some of them started a secret society called “Thule Society” where Adolf Hitler got recruited, Hitler at the time of his recruitment was spying on the Thule Society for the German Army and got inspired and awed by the conversations, comments and intents of the members of the Thule Society. This was the beginning of what Adolf Hitler will be in later years as Thule Society was the one who groomed him into being the face of revolution. Hitler’s hatred towards the Jews was instilled in him since he was a child, his father detested Jews and made sure all his children did the same. The first book takes you through the end years of world war 1 and the impact of the treaty of Versailles on the German people to the beginning of Hitler’s reign in Germany.
The second book “The Third Reich in
Power” describes how after coming into power Hitler turned this multiparty
democratic country to a one party, totalitarian Dictatorship. Hitler was smart
after his first loss in the elections he knew he needs to cater to the public
needs and after coming to power he could use it to change people’s minds and
form a country where everyone agrees to his principles, so when the Nazi Party
won the elections, Hitler’s inner circle started creating different security
services except for the German Army which they used to gain totalitarian
control and Hitler with the help of his propaganda minister “Joseph Goebbels”
brainwashed the German citizens. Hitler also used his popularity and power to
condemn Jews and punish them in inhuman ways by sending them to concentration
camps like the one in Auschwitz. This era was a time when Germany started
thriving in Arts, Sciences and was finally starting to come into a stable
economic condition. This book tells us about the terror filled reign of Hitler
and also about the advancements in Germany during his reign. It ends with the
beginning of World War 2 with the invasion of Poland.
The Third book “The Third Reich at
War” gives a detailed explanation of the events that took place during the
World War 2, From the beginning of the war to the end of Nazi Rule in Germany.
It starts where the second book left off, it starts with Germany invading
Poland and France and Great Britain responded by declaring war on Germany on
September 3, this war was a continuation of world war 1. This war would have
not taken place if not for the harsh punishment imposed upon German people
after world war 1. The war between Germany and U.S.S.R began on 22nd
June 1941 with Germany invading the Soviet Union. The Russians fought and near
the end waited it out so when winter came, the Russians attacked the German
forces in Siberia and finally with America bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the
axis powers surrendered and world war 2 came to an end putting an end to the
Nazi Reign in Germany.
