A "provocative" account of great "intellectual significance;" illuminating the economic workings of the Third Reich―and the reasons ordinary Germans supported the Nazi state (The New York Times Book Review)In this groundbreaking book; historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scale―and by channeling the proceeds into generous social programs―Hitler literally "bought" his people's consent.Drawing on secret files and financial records; Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation; mass looting; enslavement; and destruction; most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front; Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of Jewish possessions. Any qualms were swept away by waves of tax breaks and government handouts.Hitler's Beneficiaries has been hailed as "startling" by Richard Evans; and as "fascinating and important" by Christopher Browning. Above all; as Omer Bartov testifies; this remarkable book "irreversibly transforms our understanding of the Third Reich."
#1175938 in Books Holt Paperbacks 1997-04-15 1997-04-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 228.60 x 17.98 x 6.00l; 1.00 #File Name: 0805042644307 pagesISBN13: 9780805042641Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Difficult; but dynamicBy Danita MooreI read this for a paper on moral ambiguity in concentration camps. It is an incredible book. It theorizes about human behavior while telling the stories of inmates. I cried through a lot of it; but I learned a lot.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Walter J GordonHighly recommended. Wise; clear; one of the best.18 of 18 people found the following review helpful. a gripping study of the moral life under duressBy A CustomerThere are no shortage of books that deal with the Holocaust; but this work by the Bulgarian writer Todorov offers a rare and sensitive insight into how we understand and cope with evil. The writer has the courage to challenge the tendency by victims to own the historical atrocities they witnessed. He worries that by allowing the victims to define the evil of the oppressors we turn past genocides into monuments that do not speak to us. He explores the nature of complicity; heroism; myth and resistence in political and moral dimensions. He uncovers the potential in all of us to be; if not camp guards; then silent accomplices to mass murder. The book explores in disturbing detail the darkness that is part of the human condition. It has been a long time since I marked up a book like this. He stands alongside writers such as Primo Levi.
