The Rise Of The Nazi Regime: Historical Reassessments

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Hitler’s seizure of power, a group of leading historians and political sociologists participated in a historical reassessment of the Nazi regime sponsored by the Harvard Center for European Studies. Their papers focus on recent scholarly controversies and on the questions that have preoccupied observers since the events took place: the nature of Nazi support, the role of the dictator, the function of ideology and anti-Semitism, and the goals of foreign policy. Some of the specific issues addressed include the reason for the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the social origins of Nazi Party members, the role of women under Nazism, the relationship of Nazi leaders to the older German bureaucratic framework, and the impact of Nazi policies abroad. The volume thus provides an incisive briefing on Hitler’s rise to power and summarizes the major interpretations of the issues still under debate.