(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Historian Peter Fritzsche is the author of more than 10 books. Hitler’s First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich was published in 2020. This is the 73rd book I’ve completed in 2022.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book/novel as G.
The depression of the 1930s left Germany primed for political change. Hitler and the Nazi party were prepared to step in and take control. Hitler is appointed Chancellor in 1933, and the Enabling Law is soon proclaimed. It allows Hitler to pass any laws he wants, including those that violate the Weimar Constitution. Neither the Reichstag nor Reich President Paul von Hindenburg will be able to interfere. Hitler is the dictator in control of Germany.
The Reichstag is set on fire shortly after Hitler becomes Chancellor. It gives the Nazis an excuse to go after the communists. This eliminates one of their major political opponents. Hitler publicly calls for unity and renewal. He stirs the people to join in large public rallies.
Hitler creates jobs and begins to restore the economy. The people cheer those efforts while ignoring the mass arrests, bonfires, and brutality on the streets. The people are reminded of how Germany was mistreated by the Treaty of Versailles. Their anger is focused on the communists and the Jews.
I enjoyed the 13.5+ hours I spent reading this 363-page WWII history. The book is dry and scholarly. The cover art is plain, but it does reflect the time. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded up to 4) out of 5.
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If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
- The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 590 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
- The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
- The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII. Included are links to many fiction and non-fiction books on WWII that I have read and reviewed. There are also links to WWII oriented podcasts.
John's Notes 