The Nazi State and German Society ─ A Brief History With Documents

The Nazi State and German Society invites students to view the history of the twentieth century's most infamous totalitarian regime through the voices of people who experienced it. Robert Moeller's comprehensive introduction presents an overview of the Nazi regime, from Weimar to the end of the war, explaining the factors that led millions of ordinary Germans to sacrifice individual rights in the interest of collective goals and national security. The effects of Nazi rule on Aryans, Jews, and other "undesirables" are explored, along with a discussion of why so few people organized against the regime. Over 50 documents from a broad range of perspectives — including speeches, memoirs, letters, diaries, and propaganda posters — bring this history to life and illustrate the effect of Nazi rule on German society. Document headnotes, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography provide pedagogical support.

Robert G. Moeller (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is professor of history at the University of California, Irvine.? His work focuses on the history of Germany in the twentieth century, with an emphasis on social history and women’s history.? His books include War Stories: The Search for a Usable Past in the Federal Republic of Germany (2001), Protecting Motherhood: Women and the Family in the Politics of Postwar West Germany (1993), and German Peasants and Agrarian Politics, 1914-1924: The Rhineland and Westphalia, 1914-1924 (1986). Moeller is faculty advisor for the UCI History Project, a professional development initiative for middle and high school teachers in Orange County, California.