Germany and the Second World War Volume I: The Build-up of German Aggression

by Deist, Wilhelm; Messerschmidt, Manfred; Volkmann, Hans-Erich; Wette, Wolfram; Falla, P. S.; McMurry, Dean S.; Osers, Ewald

• ISBN13: 9780198228660
• ISBN10: 019822866X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1991-01-17
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

This is the first of a comprehensive ten-volume history of the Second World War, written from the German perspective and translated for the first time into English. This volume surveys the forces both within and outside Weimar Germany that paved the way for Hitler's accession to power. The authors examine the systematic preparation for war through rearmament, economic autarchy, diplomacy, and the penetration of German society at all levels. They consider the extent to which the movement can be regarded as a continuation of historic German nationalism; the limits of Hitler's involvement with the army and big business; and the lack of coordination between the administration and the armed services. Intensively researched and documented, this study demonstrates that, despite Nazi propaganda and in stark contrast to 1914, most Germans in 1939 opposed the war which they nevertheless endured with tragic consequences.

Author Biography

Wilhelm Deist, Manfred Messerschmidt, Hans-Erich Volkmann, Wolfram Wette

Project co-ordinated by the Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt (Research Institute for Military History), Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Translated from the German by P. S. Falla, Dean S. McMurry, and Ewald Osers

Table of Contents

List of figures and maps

Notes on the authors

Notes on the translation

Abbreviations

Glossary of German terms

Introduction

Ideology, Propaganda, and Internal

Politics as Preconditions of the War

Policy of the Third Reich: Militarist and pacifist

Ideaologies in the last phase of the Weimar Republic

Propaganda mobilization for war

Organizing society in preparation for war

The National Socialist

Economy in Preparation for War

From international economy to large-area economy

The National Socialist war economy

Job-creation and armament boom

The National Socialist economy under the 'New Plan'

The war economy under the four-year plan

Rearmament economy and aggression

The Third Reich's economic readiness for war

The Rearmament of the Wehrmacht: The Reichswehr and national defence

The rearmament of the individual services 1933-1939

The Wehrmacht of the Third Reich

Foreign Policy and Preparation for War: Hitler's 'Programme' and the problem of continuity in German foreign policy

The great powers and the aspiring great power

Bilateral foreign policy

Chances of hegemony: Stresa and the break-up of European solidarity

The road to war 1936-1938

1939: The initial position

Conclusions

Bibligraphy

Index of persons

Maps

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