The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945 (Burleigh) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Wolfgang Wippermann (Author) "'WHAT the author seems above all to want to prove, is, that Nazi Germany exhibits most clearly the sicknesses of modern civilisation.'..." (more)
Key Phrases: racial selective breeding, lesser racial value, civilian foreign workers, Hitler Youth, Third Reich, Roman Catholic (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In looking at the racial underpinnings of virtually every move made by the Nazi state, this book tries to refute the idea that the Third Reich represented just another form of national modernization. The authors contend that the abomination of Hitler and Nazism could not have happened to just any nation and, if it represented progress, it was a progress toward barbarism. They support their thesis by discussing the racist ideology of Nazism, de scribing the persecution of groups considered racially inferior, and looking at policies toward youth, women, and men. They argue convincingly that Nazism was on its way to creating a society demarcated by race, not economic class. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
- Pat Ensor, Indiana State Univ. Lib., Terre Haute
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...this does sterling service as an undergraduate textbook (I speak from experience), raising a number of important issues for discussion." German Studies Review

"I greatly welcome the appearance of this book. Not only does it offer a valuable comprehensive survey of the many facets of Nazi race policy: its authors make an important contribution to central questions of interpretation--Nazism's uniqueness or comparability with other systems of rule, the reactionary or modern character of Hitler's regime, and the relationship of the killing of the Jews to the barbarous persecution of other racially-determined victims." Ian Kershaw, University of Sheffield

"Profusely illustrated, this first-rate study traces the development of German racial ideology from the theoreticians of the 18th century to the Nazis' attempted creation of an Aryan utopia. The power of the book derives from its scrupulous analysis of the Nazis' experiments with sterilization and euthanasia, the treatment of the mentally ill and the physically handicapped, the suppression of homosexuality, the reduction of women to 'reproduction machines' and the persecution of the Jews." Publishers Weekly

"In looking at the racial underpinnings of virtually every move made by the Nazi state, this book tries to refute the idea that the Third Reich represented just another form of national modernization....[The authors] argue convincingly that Nazism was on its way to creating a society demarcated by race, not economic class." Library Journal

"The evidence garnered from both the primary sources as well as the recent and standard secondary materials is staggering...the volume serves as a sobering reminder that overwhelming historical evidence is the best defense against recurring bouts of historical amnesia." The Historian

"Extensive footnoted references will delight those conducting in-depth research on the subject, while the review of German experience from 1933-1945 provides scholarly insights into the making, as well as the experience, of a racially segregated nation." Bookwatch

"...an excellent book for teachers...There are excellent chapters on the development of the racial ideology that pervaded the Third Reich, and on the destruction of the Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, asocial and handicapped." Dimensions

"...the strength of this work is its comprehensive treatment of the nexus between racial ideologies and the state apparatus under the auspices of Adolph Hitler. In addition to highlighting the peculiar human tragedy of Nazi Germany, Burleigh and Wipperman's study leaves enough room for comparative assessment, as well as for consideration of the recurring popularity of Fascism which plagues France, Italy, and recently unified Germany today." Social Science Quarterly

"No book does more to trace and explain the Nazi's ghastly attempts to construct a racial regime than Messrs. Burleigh and Wipperman's superb study." The Forward

"...a lucid, throughly-researched volume which plumbs the origins and practices of Nazism." The Canadian Jewish News

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 402 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521398029
• ISBN-13: 978-0521398022
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, enlightening text, December 1, 2004

By	Dowell (Queens, NY) - See all my reviews

This insightful text takes several perspectives in analysing the radical social engineering project known as National Socialism. Although not all of the Nazis' victims were racial 'undesirables,' all came under the boot in one way or another as a way of advancing that racial project. Wippermann and Burleigh have done an impressive job in exploring this theme, approaching it from Nazi policy to broad implementation, as well as looking at the refashioning of society by segments along Nazi lines.

The concept of the untranslatable _Volksgemeinschaft_ can be somewhat difficult to convey to students in our atomised and pluralised culture. Not only does this text provide "thick description" of this social construct, but it also supplies a useful framework for comparative analysis without resorting to useless relativising and hierarchising of suffering. Highly recommended as a classroom text for undergraduate level and above.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book to help one understand how this happened., July 25, 2000

By	gary przyborski (Oviedo, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many Americans can't understand how Germany developed a racial state in the midst of modernism. This book gives vivid insight into the mechanisms & development of fascism. The National Socialist Party didn't just happen. The machinery of the state developed under the right conditions with the help of many non-military individuals, including both professors & doctors.

Not only is this book interesting for its historical information, reading it enlightens the reader to more recent fascist development. After reading this book, you will never say it can't happen here.

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Informative and Interesting, April 3, 2000

By	Joy Novak (St. Louis) - See all my reviews

Techinically I was forced to read this book for a history cause I'm taking. However, instead of reading all the other source too, I read the whole thing instead of just the assignments for this book. If you have any interest in the Holocaust, this book is a must. The integration of documents and survivor's account gives the information alot of different perspective that really helps to better understand a situation that is so unimanigable.