Customer Reviews
the nazis in their own words and contemporary documents, etc - By: , 01 Feb 2002 
This is the first volumein an exemplary series of books by Noakes & Pridham that should satisfy the needs of almost anyone interestedin the realities of the Third Reich.
The book is made up of translations of original documents, from newspaper reports to song lyrics, speeches to internal party memos. As such, it is a rich source of evidence of the brutality & self-mythologising stupidity of the Nazis, not to mention their warped understanding of race & culture. Reading this, one is amazed that the Germans could fall for such a bunch of thick-necked, thick-headed bullies. This amazement is dispelled by the writers' commentary, which is a coursein Imperial German & Weimar historyin itself.
This book & the othersin the series are also excellent teaching tools for lessons on the nature of history & the interpretation of historical sources.
A very useful series for readers whose interestin the period has been whetted by Ian Kershaw's Hitler biographies & Michael Burleigh's history of the Third Reich.
What the NSDAP really thought and did - By: p.blewer@uea.ac.uk, 12 Oct 2000 With a perfect selection & analysis of doccuments, Dr Noakes has shown exactly how the NSDAP controlled its march to power. Not only is this a marvelous selection of primary resources for any student of the period, but the analysis is sharp & incisive, aiding the readerin his or her interpretation of the material. From the early post war years of its inception, through the Munich Putsch & the 1920's, we can see the struggling NSDAP learning how to be a political force. The growth of the SA, challenges to Hitler, & the constant threads of militarism, nationalism & anti-semitism can be seen throughout the sources, culminatingin the assumtion to power by Hitler as the Fuhrer of the German nation. This volume is a worthy starting point of a great series. It is necessary to understand what happened before the NSDAP came to power,in order to comprehend how & why they did what we now consider some of the greatest crimesin history. Noakes & Pridham have greatly aided our understanding of a contradictory & sometimes nonsensical movement
