Hitler's True Believers

How Ordinary People Became Nazis

By: Robert Gellately

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

Understanding Adolf Hitler's ideology provides insights into the mental world of an extremist politics that, over the course of the Third Reich, developed explosive energies culminating in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Too often the theories underlying National Socialism or Nazism are dismissed as an irrational hodgepodge of ideas. Yet that ideology drove Hitler's quest for power in 1933, colored everything in the Third Reich, and transformed him, however briefly, into the most powerful leader in the world.

How did he discover that ideology? How was it that cohorts of leaders, followers, and ordinary citizens adopted aspects of National Socialism without experiencing the "leader" firsthand or reading his works? They shared a collective desire to create a harmonious, racially select "community of the people" to build on Germany's socialist-oriented political culture and to seek national renewal. If we wish to understand the rise of the Nazi Party and the new dictatorship's remarkable staying power, we have to take the nationalist and socialist aspects of this ideology seriously.

©2020 Robert Gellately (P)2021 Tantor

Insightful, informative, interesting

Very interesting audiobook. Though I have read multiple other books regarding the rise of the German NAZI party and the German people from 1920-1945 I still learned new insights into the appeal of nationalism and socialism in Germany at that time. Highly recommended

Fascinating listen

LOTS of information here. LOTS of what not to do, as a country, as humans. Deep delve into a horrific time and place in history.
So important, now, always, to see how this happened, all that lead up to Hitler’s regime. He didn’t just magically come to power. People LOVED him and FOLLOWED him, willingly, into a very very dark place, with blinders on and a clear conscience.
Wonderful presentation. Easy to listen to.

Understanding today's MAGA cult

Understanding that Every German supported Hitler and those that didn't, died. This book demonstrates 99% voted for the NSDAP and 75% were members of the Party.

Best book I’ve read in this topic

Since I first visited Dachau seven years ago I’ve tried to understand what the average German was thinking that allowed all of this. Seeing the rise of neo-fascism in the US has made this question increasingly urgent. Since then I’ve read dozens of excellent books trying to get up to speed on the history of European fascism and understand what drove it. This is the best book I’ve read on the topic, both as to the mentality if the Nazi zealots and that of typical German citizens. I recommend it highly.

Informative and exhaustive

Narration is clear often enthusiastic

The amount of information presented is enormous and explains much about the mindsets of Hitler’s supporters and their manipulative tactics.