The Nazi Seizure of Power (Revised Edition)

The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945

By: William Sheridan Allen

Narrated by: Tom Beyer

In this classic work of twentieth-century history, William Sheridan Allen demonstrates how dictatorship subtly surmounted democracy in Germany and how the Nazi seizure of power encroached from below. Relying upon legal records and interviews with primary sources, Allen dissects Northeim, Germany with microscopic precision to depict the transformation of a sleepy town to a Nazi stronghold. This cogent analysis argues that Hitler rose to power primarily through democratic tactics that incited localized support rather than through violent means.

Revised on the basis of newly discovered Nazi documents, The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945 continues to significantly contribute to our understanding of this phenomenon and the political and moral debate over the roots of fascism. Allen's research provides an intimate, comprehensive study of the mechanics of revolution and an analysis of the Nazi Party's subversion of democracy. Beginning at the end of the Weimar Republic, Allen examines the entire period of the Nazi Revolution within a single locality.

©1965, 1984, 2014 William Sheridan Allen (P)2023 Tantor

A must read in the era of Trump

This book scared the hell out of me. So much is familiar from current events. Read it.

Excellent history of one town under Nazi rule

Brilliantly written story of one German town - their original democratic and political culture of a town, the initial occupation of the Nazis, the increasingly oppressive and cruel authoritarian rule, the eventful Nazi demise, and the new version of democracy of the town post-Nazi.