Nazi Germany and the crimes associated with that regime have never left
the public consciousness, even though the generation of those already who fought in 1933-45 is slowly dying out. The growing distance from the
events of those years opens new ways of viewing the subject, with
historians discovering not only fresh sources but also changing their
perspectives and models of interpretation.
This new history
provides ready access to the insights of recent research, combining
analysis with a narrative account of the period. It covers the rise of
the Nazi Party, the consolidation of power in 1933-38, preparations for
war, and the nature of the Nazi State. The war itself is a particular
focus of attention and is considered in relation to the military
engagements, the persecution of the regime's victims, the extermination
and terror programme, and the policies of occupation in the
Nazi-occupied parts of Europe. Finally, there is a discussion of the
attempt to place the Nazi crimes into their proper context after 1945,
and the extent to which Nazism brought about a modernization of Germany.
