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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsHitler's Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare Stateby Gotz Aly
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:A stunning account of the economic workings of the Third Reich — and the reasons ordinary Germans supported the Nazi state.
In this groundbreaking book, historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scale — and by channeling the proceeds into generous social programs — Hitler literally "bought" his people's consent. Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of conquered territory and the transfer of Jewish possessions into their homes and pockets. Any qualms were swept away by waves of government handouts, tax breaks, and preferential legislation. Gripping and important, Hitler's Beneficiaries makes a radically new contribution to our understanding of Nazi aggression, the Holocaust, and the complicity of a people. Review:"[A]n important, original contribution....These points hardly seem revelatory or controversial, but Aly, as is his style, pushes the argument to the nth degree, supporting it with a wealth of documentary detail." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review:"Conceding that it's nearly impossible to obtain precise values from incomplete data, Aly presents an exhaustive array of representative examples from which he extrapolates his theories....Presents one intriguing piece of a much larger puzzle." Kirkus Reviews
Review:"Despite flaws in his conclusions, Aly's work is a useful contribution to an ongoing historical debate." Booklist
Review:"Serious and well-researched...a fresh model for grasping how the Nazis gained such broad support from so many Germans for as long as they did." The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis:A "provocative" account of great "intellectual significance," illuminating the economic workings of the Third Reich--and the reasons ordinary Germans supported the Nazi state (The New York Times Book Review) In this groundbreaking book, historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scale--and by channeling the proceeds into generous social programs--Hitler literally "bought" his people's consent.
Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of Jewish possessions. Any qualms were swept away by waves of tax breaks and government handouts.
Hitler's Beneficiaries has been hailed as "startling" by Richard Evans, and as "fascinating and important" by Christopher Browning. Above all, as Omer Bartov testifies, this remarkable book "irreversibly transforms our understanding of the Third Reich." Synopsis:A “provocative” account of great “intellectual significance,” illuminating the economic workings of the Third Reichand the reasons ordinary Germans supported the Nazi state (The New York Times Book Review) In this groundbreaking book, historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern historys greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scaleand by channeling the proceeds into generous social programsHitler literally “bought” his peoples consent.
Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of Jewish possessions. Any qualms were swept away by waves of tax breaks and government handouts.
Hitlers Beneficiaries has been hailed as “startling” by Richard Evans, and as “fascinating and important” by Christopher Browning. Above all, as Omer Bartov testifies, this remarkable book “irreversibly transforms our understanding of the Third Reich.” Götz Aly, the author of Hitlers Beneficiaries and Architects of Annihilation, among other books, is one of the most respected historians of the Third Reich and the Holocaust. He has been a visiting fellow at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and currently teaches at the Free University of Berlin. In this book, historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scaleand by channeling the proceeds into generous social programsHitler literally "bought" his people's consent. Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of conquered territory and the transfer of Jewish possessions into their homes and pockets. Any qualms were swept away by waves of government handouts, tax breaks, and preferential legislation. "Provocative . . . A probing analysis of Nazi economic policies."The Boston Globe "A probing analysis of Nazi economic policies."The Boston Globe "[A] fine English translation after having created a fierce debate in Germany [and] a fresh model for grasping how the Nazis gained such broad support from so many Germans for as long as they did . . . Aly makes a serious and well-researched attempt to put the 'socialism' back in National Socialism. And in so doing, he offers his own explanation for why so many Germans closed their eyes to the systematic expropriation of Jewish property and ultimately to the deportation of their Jewish fellow citizens, not to mention the Jews in the many nations occupied by or allied with the Nazis across the European continent . . . Hitler's Beneficiaries is based on a wealth of military and economic documents, and it is chock full of data on consumer spending power, money-laundering techniques, and bankers' and civil servants' inventiveness in making theft look legalor invisible. The book also makes clear that even with the money and goods plundered in the occupied territories from both Jews and non-Jews, only a German military victory would have let the German economy survive the enormous debt burden it had accrued . . . The historian Jonathan Petropoulos has written, 'The Nazis were not only the most notorious murderers in history but also the greatest thieves.' Hitler's Beneficiaries offers stark proof that the murder and the theft were in many cases integrally linked. The Holocaust was unquestionably accompanied by outrageous greed."Dagmar Herzog, The New York Times Book Review
"This remarkable book tackles in an entirely original manner one of the greatest paradoxes of the Nazi state: why did the German people increasingly support Hitler's rule even after it unleashed a world war that ultimately led to its own destruction? The answer, based on massive evidence and convincingly argued, is that the Nazi regime won the support of middle and working class Germans by creating greater social and economic equality at home and ensuring that its own 'racial comrades' would be well fed and clothed, all with the proceeds of mass murder and unprecedented continent-wide robbery. This rewriting of history, which dismantles the conventional distinction between fanatical Nazis and sober civil servants, will irreversibly transform our understanding of the Third Reich, revealing it as a consensual dictatorship whose popularity was rooted in grand larceny and the profits of crimes against humanity on an unimaginable scale."Omer Bartov, author of Germany's War and the Holocaust: Disputed Histories "In this book Aly once again brings to bear his formidable research skills, his knack for pursuing original lines of inquiry, and his incredible capacity to uncover neglected and seemingly innocuous documents . . . [A] fascinating and important book about the Nazi economic policies that facilitated the regime's capacity to implement the Final Solution."Christopher R. Browning, author of Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland "Thoroughly researched and fluently written, this book offers a new, brilliant, gripping and convincing dimension to the understanding of one of the most puzzling questions in the history of our times: why did so many Germans, both Nazis and 'ordinary people' support the persecution of the Jews. Enough with ideology, sociology and psychology: it was mostly about profit."Tom Segev, author of The Seventh Million: Israel Confronts the Holocaust "Hitler's Beneficiaries recalls the nightmare of older classical liberals like Alexis de Tocqueville and Max Weber, who feared that with the coming of mass society people would forsake liberty to enjoy materialism and its 'petty pleasures.' Götz Aly has written a brilliant yet disturbing book that shatters our complacencies."John Patrick Diggins, author of Max Weber: Politics and the Spirit of Tragedy "Shifting the focus from racist fanaticism as the key factor in the success of Nazism to the economic gains from looting and genocide, Aly provides fresh insights into the kleptocratic calculations behind Hitler's great popularity. A bestseller in Germany, this important new book will stimulate renewed debate on why millions of ordinary Germans were lured into cheering for Hitler in peacetime and total war, and how we might come to grips with the enormous and still puzzling dynamism of one of the most murderous movements of the 20th century."Volker R. Berghahn, author of Europe in the Era of Two World Wars About the AuthorOne of the most respected historians of the Third Reich and the Holocaust, Götz Aly is the author of Architects of Annihilation and Into the Tunnel, among other books. Winner of Germany's most prestigious history award, Aly has also been a visiting fellow at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and currently teaches at the Free University of Berlin.
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