The authors here provide a radical examination of the relationship between the Nazi Party and those it sought to seduce and control. There are some historians who argue that the Gestapo regime was a reign of terror that forced German citizens and others to collaborate with the Nazi rulers. Other historians argue that the German people were programmed for genocide by centuries of anti-Semitism. The authors here believe neither view is correct. They argue that to understand how the Holocaust could have happened the reader and historian need to step back into the heart of daily life in the Third Reich. This book draws on contemporary research and declassified documents to show life for the average citizen, and uncovers examples of protest as well as eager complicity. It examines how many really knew about the extermination camps and ask how ideologically driven was the Holocaust? The text illustrates life in Germany and its conquered territories under the Nazi regime, and gives an explanation of how mass murder could be accepted by a supposedly civilized nation.
