The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination

The Hitler Conspiracies

'Brilliant, a 5 out of 5 masterpiece' Evening Standard 
 
The renowned historian of the Third Reich takes on the conspiracy theories surrounding Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, in a vital history book for the 'post-truth' age 
 
The idea that nothing happens by chance in history, that nothing is quite what it seems to be at first sight, that everything that occurs is the result of the secret machinations of malign groups of people manipulating everything from behind the scenes is as old as history itself. But conspiracy theories are becoming more popular and more widespread in the twenty-first century. Nowhere have they become more obvious than in revisionist accounts of the history of the Third Reich. Long-discredited conspiracy theories have taken on a new lease of life, given credence by claims of freshly discovered evidence and novel angles of investigation. 
 
 This book takes five widely discussed claims involving Hitler and the Nazis and subjects them to forensic scrutiny: that the Jews were conspiring to undermine civilization, as outlined in 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'; that the German army was 'stabbed in the back' by socialists and Jews in 1918; that the Nazis burned down the Reichstag in order to seize power; that Rudolf Hess' flight to the UK in 1941 was sanctioned by Hitler and conveyed peace terms suppressed by Churchill; and that Hitler escaped the bunker in 1945 and fled to South America. In doing so, it teases out some surprising features these, and other conspiracy theories, have in common. 
 
 This is a history book, but it is a history book for the age of 'post-truth' and 'alternative facts': a book for our own troubled times.

A wonderful book that's both hard to put down and brilliantly insightful in its analysis of the ways in which conspiracy theories and so-called "alternative facts" are constructed and justified - and why they're such nonsense... Evans performs his task with such withering and entertaining wit that it's worth putting up with the nonsense to enjoy the brilliant demolition... It's a 5 out of 5 masterpiece.

There can be no more authoritative guide to these conspiracy theories than Evans ... It is becoming a deadly serious matter.

Brilliant ... Deploying him against conspiracy theorists is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Richard J. Evans is one of the world's leading historians of modern Germany. He was born in London in 1947. From 2008 to 2014 he was Regius Professor of History at Cambridge University, and from 2010 to 2017 President of Wolfson College, Cambridge. He served as Provost of Gresham College in the City of London from 2014 to 2020. In 1994 he was awarded the Hamburg Medal for Art and Science for cultural services to the city, and in 2015 received the British Academy Leverhulme Medal, awarded every three years for a significant contribution to the Humanities or Social Sciences. In 2000 he was the principal expert witness in the David Irving Holocaust Denial libel trial at the High Court in London, subsequently the subject of the film Denial. His books include Death in Hamburg (winner of the Wolfson History Prize), In Defence of History, The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and The Third Reich at War. His book The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, volume 7 of the Penguin History of Europe, was published in 2016. His most recent books are Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History (2019) and The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination (2020). In 2012 he was knighted for services to scholarship.

The idea that nothing happens by chance in history, that everything that occurs is the result of the secret machinations of malign groups of people behind the scenes, is as old as history itself. But conspiracy theories are becoming more widespread in the twenty-first century. Nowhere have they become more obvious than in revisionist accounts of the history of the Third Reich. Long-discredited conspiracy theories have taken on a new lease of life, given credence by claims of freshly discovered evidence and novel angles of investigation. 
 
 This book takes five widely discussed claims involving Hitler and the Nazis and subjects them to forensic scrutiny: that the Jews were conspiring to undermine civilization, as outlined in 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'; that the German army was 'stabbed in the back' by socialists and Jews in 1918; that the Nazis burned down the Reichstag in order to seize power; that Rudolf Hess' flight to the UK in 1941 was sanctioned by Hitler and conveyed peace terms suppressed by Churchill; and that Hitler escaped the bunker in 1945 and fled to South America. 
 
 This is a history book, but it is a history book for the age of 'post-truth' and 'alternative facts': a book for our own troubled times.

Europe, 1815-1914

The Pursuit of Power

'A scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar... a veritable tour de force' Richard Overy, New Statesman 
 
'Transnational history at its finest ... .. social, political and cultural themes swirl together in one great canvas of immense detail and beauty' Gerard DeGroot, The Times 
 
'Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times 
 
A masterpiece which brings to life an extraordinarly turbulent and dramatic era of revolutionary change. 
 
The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic transformation. The book aims to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. In the period bounded by the Battle of Waterloo and the outbreak of World War I, Europe dominated the rest of the world as never before or since: this book breaks new ground by showing how the continent shaped, and was shaped by, its interactions with other parts of the globe. 
 
Richard Evans explores fully the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a work by a historian at the height of his powers: essential for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.

Highly impressive ...  chronicles a turbulent and confusing century with wonderful clarity and verve ... transnational history at its finest ... more complete but also much more fascinating than most histories of the period

Splendid ...   a traditional framework, perhaps, but one whose enduring value is confirmed by Evans's fine scholarship

Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining ... He brings together an almost impossibly vast range of material (bear-hunting in Hungary, trade unions in Dorset, the wars of Italian unification) in a sweeping narrative underpinned by a persuasive central theme ... he handles his immense body of material with enviable subtlety and skill.

This is a scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar. The canvas is vast and so much is now known about the period, thanks to a profusion of historical writing, that giving shape to the material must have been a daunting task. Yet Evans has risen to the challenge splendidly. The Pursuit of Power mixes political, social, economic, cultural and intellectual history to give a richness of texture and presence that the existing major accounts of the century - many of them written at a time when high politics, great men and balance-of-power diplomacy were what counted as history - were unable to deliver. To achieve that blend and yet retain coherence marks this volume as a veritable tour de force... for anyone who wants to discover just how entangled Europe's history is, there can be no better starting point than The Pursuit of Power.

The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic change. The aim of the book is to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. 
 
Richard Evans gives full coverage to the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a book by a historian at the height of his powers and an essential book for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.

How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster

The Third Reich at War

The final book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard J. Evans's The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster shows how Germany rushed headlong into destroying itself, shattering an entire continent. 
 
 In 1939 Hitler mobilized Germany into all-out war. Richard Evans's astonishing, acclaimed history conjures up a whole society plunged into conflict - from generals and front-line soldiers to Hitler Youth activists and middle-class housewives - tracing events from the invasion of Poland and the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler's plans for genocide and his eventual suicide. 
 
 'Masterly ... will surely be the standard history for many years to come ... This is a warning for the future, as much as a judgement on the past' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Richard Overy, Daily Telegraph 
 
 'We all know how the story ends ... but Richard Evans brings it masterfully home ... magnificent' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Peter Preston, Observer 
 
 'A chilling, brilliant read' 
 
 Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year 
 
 'It is hard to do justice to the humanity and scholarly range of The Third Reich at War ... triumphant ... a masterful historical narrative and the most comprehensive account of Nazi Germany' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Nicholas Stargardt, The Times Literary Supplement 
 
 'It gives the reader persuasive answers to questions asked for so long, that will continue to be asked, about this most violent and inexplicable of regimes' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Mark Mazower, Guardian 
 
 Sir Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His previous books include In Defence of History, Telling Lies about Hitler and the companions to this title, The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power.

Sir Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His previous books include In Defence of History, Telling Lies about Hitler and the companions to this title, The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power. He lives outside Cambridge. He was knighted in 2012.

In 1939 Hitler mobilized Germany into all-out war. Richard Evans's astonishing, acclaimed history conjures up a whole society plunged into conflict - from generals and front-line soldiers to Hitler Youth activists and middle-class housewives - tracing events from the invasion of Poland and the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler's plans for genocide and his eventual suicide. The Third Reich at War is a historical masterpiece, showing how Germany rushed headlong into destroying itself and an entire continent.

How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation

The Third Reich in Power, 1933 - 1939

The terrible and compelling story of the Nazi regime, from the moment Hitler seized power in the summer of 1933 to the point where he plunged Europe into war.

The second book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard J. Evans' The Third Reich in Power: How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation explores how Hitler turned Germany from a vibrant democracy into a one-party state. 
 
 Before Hitler seized power in 1933, Germany had been famous for its sophistication and complexity. So how was it possible for a group of ideological obsessives to re-mould it into a one-party state directed at war and race hate? How did the Nazis win over the hearts and minds of Germany's citizens, twist science, religion and culture, and transform the country's politics to achieve total dominance so quickly? 
 
 From the Nuremberg Laws to the Olympic Games, Kristallnacht to the Hitler Youth, this gripping account shows how a whole population became enmeshed in a dictatorship that was consumed by hatred and driven by war. 
 
 'Impressive ... perceptive ... humane' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Ian Kershaw 
 
 'Excellent ... powerful ... it makes an indelible impression' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Robert Service, Sunday Times 
 
 'Likely to be the standard work for some years to come' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Spectator Books of the Year 
 
 'A rich and detailed description of just what the Third Reich did in every compartment of the state and every corner of society ... Evans's magisterial study should be on our shelves for a long time to come' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Economist 
 
 'Written with great style and human sympathy' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 
 
 'Evans brilliantly conveys how the Fuhrer reignited Germans' pride as he led them to catastrophe' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Neal Ascherson, Observer 
 
 Sir Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His previous books include In Defence of History, Telling Lies about Hitler and the companions to this title, The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich at War.

The Third Reich in Power examines how it was possible for a group of ideological obsessive to remould a society famous for its sophistication and complexity into a one-party state directed at war and race hate. Richard J. Evans shows how the Nazis won over the hearts and minds of German citizens, twisted science, religion and culture, and transformed the economy, education, law and order to achieve total dominance in German politics and society. Drawing on an extraordinary range of research, blending narrative, description and analysis he creates a picture of a dictatorship consumed by visceral hatreds and ambitions and driven by war.

How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany

The Coming of the Third Reich

Will appeal to fans of Ian Kershaw, Anne Applebaum and Anthony Beevor

Richard J. Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany explores how the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the Great Depression paved the way for Nazi rule. 
 
 They started as little more than a gang of extremists and thugs, yet in a few years the Nazis had turned Germany into a one-party state and led one of Europe's most advanced nations into moral, physical and cultural ruin and despair. 
 
 In this consummate and compelling history, the first book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard Evans reveals how and why it happened, questions whether the rise of Hitler was inevitable and dramatically re-creates the maelstrom of disorder, economic disaster, violence and polarization that gave rise to the terror of the Third Reich. 
 
 'Monumental ... gripping ... the definitive account of our time' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph 
 
 'Impressive ... perceptive ... humane ... the most comprehensive history in any language of the disastrous epoch of the Third Reich' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler 
 
 'The most gripping account I've read of German life before and during the rise of the Nazis' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;A.S. Byatt, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year 
 
 Sir Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His previous books include In Defence of History, Telling Lies about Hitler and the companions to this title, The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich at War.

Sir Richard J Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His previous books include In Defence of History and Telling Lies About Hitler. He lives outside Cambridge. He was knighted in 2012.

Richard Evans' brilliant book unfolds perhaps the single most important story of the 20th century: how a stable and modern country in less than a single lifetime led Europe into moral, physical and cultural ruin and despair. A terrible story not least because there were so many other ways in which Germany's history could have been played out. With authority, skill and compassion, Evans recreates a country torn apart by overwhelming economic, political and social blows: the First World War, Versailles, hyperinflation and the Great Depression. One by one these blows ruined or pushed aside almost everything admirable about Germany, leaving the way clear for a truly horrifying ideology to take command.

Richard J. Evans

A meticulously researched, sobering look at the Nazi era and the people who helped bring its evil intents to fruition

An important [and] sobering book that depicts the duplicity of manipulators, opportunists and psychopaths to convince gullible multitudes into becoming mass murderers. Professor Evans has produced an incisive commentary on the continuing fragile nature of the human condition.

[Richard J. Evans] argues persuasively that only by examining individual personalities can we understand ‘the perverted morality that made and sustained the Nazi regime… . His book is enriched by the findings of recent scholarship and his pen portraits have all the excitement of novelty. Even his depiction of Hitler feels fresh

A fascinating exploration of individual agency that never loses sight of the larger context... Evans has provided us with just the kind of probing, nuanced and unsparing study to help us think things through

Evans dispenses his judgments about how Nazism happened and developed in bite-sized, almost laconic, pieces attached to the short biographies. This has the effect of inviting the readers to draw some of their own lessons.... if Evans’s purpose is getting the reader to think about what is particular and what is universal about the descent of one of the world’s most “civilised” nations into genocidal barbarism, then I believe it succeeds

Evans has chronicled Nazi Germany before, but never with such urgency… His previous books, which include a masterful trilogy on the rise, rule, and destruction of the Nazi movement, are models of historical writing, a combination of narrative and exploration, scholarship for the sake of scholarship and yet volumes that are immensely readable, even novelistic in style… Hitler’s People is similar in its polish and power. But the motivation and purpose of this latest work, a sweeping examination of Adolf Hitler and his subalterns and subjects, is more utilitarian

What drove Germany’s citizens and leaders to support a regime committed to war, genocide and dictatorship? Evans, a prominent historian of Nazism, tackles a question that remains even now a conundrum, seeking, through portraits of diverse Third Reich figures — including Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess and Hitler himself as well as the architect Albert Speer and the filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl — a common human denominator

In his new book, Hitler’s People, Professor Richard Evans, leading Cambridge historian of modern Germany, complicates the picture. In a range of two dozen biographical portraits of prominent Nazis, drawn from his own deep learning and taking account of the latest research developments, Evans shows that the immediate post-war attempts to dismiss the Nazis as psychopaths and/or gangsters were comforting but wrong.

Engaging... a book worth reading. It is recommended to anybody with an interest in human behaviour, the Third Reich, and the role that individuals played in it, be they the paladins of the regime or ‘ordinary people’

The Faces of the Third Reich

Why did so many Germans take part in the crimes of Nazi Germany? How did they come to support Hitler and follow him almost to the very end? For too long, the Nazis have been presented as little more than psychopaths or criminals. In his major new work, renowned historian Richard J. Evans makes use of a mass of recently unearthed new evidence to strip away the veneer of myth and legend from the faces of the Third Reich and present a more realistic view of Nazi perpetrators as human beings who were disturbingly like us. 
 
Evans offers rounded, fresh and often startling new portraits of the men and women who created and served Nazi Germany, beginning with Hitler himself and going on to encompass leading figures like Göring, Goebbels and Himmler, enforcers of Hitler&rsquo;s orders such as Eichmann and Heydrich, propagandists like Leni Riefenstahl, low-level perpetrators such as the notorious Irma Grese and unknown sympathizers and fellow-travellers who helped the regime in myriad ways. 
 
Hitler&rsquo;s People is a chilling, brilliantly written work which allows the reader to understand the texture and values of the Third Reich and just how far individuals will go when so many normal moral constraints have disappeared.

Richard J. Evans

Praise for Hitler's People

A meticulously researched, sobering look at the Nazi era and the people who helped bring its evil intents to fruition

An important [and] sobering book that depicts the duplicity of manipulators, opportunists and psychopaths to convince gullible multitudes into becoming mass murderers. Professor Evans has produced an incisive commen ...

[Richard J. Evans] argues persuasively that only by examining individual personalities can we understand ‘the perverted morality that made and sustained the Nazi regime… . His book is enriched by the findings of rec ...

A meticulously researched, sobering look at the Nazi era and the people who helped bring its evil intents to fruition

An important [and] sobering book that depicts the duplicity of manipulators, opportunists and psychopaths to convince gullible multitudes into becoming mass murderers. Professor Evans has produced an incisive commen ...

[Richard J. Evans] argues persuasively that only by examining individual personalities can we understand ‘the perverted morality that made and sustained the Nazi regime… . His book is enriched by the findings of rec ...

A meticulously researched, sobering look at the Nazi era and the people who helped bring its evil intents to fruition

An important [and] sobering book that depicts the duplicity of manipulators, opportunists and psychopaths to convince gullible multitudes into becoming mass murderers. Professor Evans has produced an incisive commen ...

[Richard J. Evans] argues persuasively that only by examining individual personalities can we understand ‘the perverted morality that made and sustained the Nazi regime… . His book is enriched by the findings of rec ...

Books by Richard J. Evans

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter