Understanding Nazi Ideology : The Genesis and Impact of a Political Faith (Paperback)

"Nazism did not arise in a vacuum but was deeply rooted in German culture. From German Romanticism sprang ideas of great significance for the genesis of the Third Reich-notions of the individual as a part of the national collective, and of history as a ceaseless struggle between opposing forces. Tracing the origins of the Nazi "political religion," this book examines its foundation in ultra-nationalism, totalitarianism, the Fèuhrer cult, racial theory and anti-Semitism, and the glorification of violence-all swathed in an element of occultism-and its culmination in the global cataclysm of World War II and the Holocaust."--

 Nazism was deeply rooted in German culture. From the fertile soil of German Romanticism sprang ideas of great significance for the genesis of the Third Reich ideology--notions of the individual as a mere part of the national collective, and of life as a ceaseless struggle between opposing forces.

This book traces the origins of the "political religion" of Nazism. Ultra-nationalism and totalitarianism, racial theory and anti-Semitism, nature mysticism and occultism, eugenics and social Darwinism, adoration of the Fuhrer and glorification of violence--all are explored. The book also depicts the dramatic development of the Nazi movement--and the explosive impact of its political faith, racing from its bloody birth in the trenches of World War I to its cataclysmic climax in the Holocaust and World War II.