They Thought They Were Free The Germans 193345 (Audible Audio Edition) Milton Mayer Michael Page Tantor Audio Books
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First published in 1955, They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany. Milton Mayer's book is a study of 10 Germans and their lives from 1933-45, based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany.
Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name "Kronenberg". "These ten men were not men of distinction," Mayer noted, but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis.
They Thought They Were Free The Germans 193345 (Audible Audio Edition) Milton Mayer Michael Page Tantor Audio Books
Everyone should read this. Written in the 1950's, but provides a view toward how the common German dealt with the Nazis. The title is much more relevant today because we in the USA have our liberties being slowly taken away, just like the Nazis did to the German people from 1932 to 1945.Product details
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They Thought They Were Free The Germans 193345 (Audible Audio Edition) Milton Mayer Michael Page Tantor Audio Books Reviews
The times require we revisit the lives of these men. As this book reveals, Fascism doesn't just happen one day. It is a slow deliberate process which appears to have started to gain traction in 21st Century America.
The first part of the book is the meat, where the author relates his conversations and observations with the ten people with with he forms relationships.
After that, he dissembles into a lot of topical analysis of the "German National Character" - their religious views, their world views, etc., etc.
Still, it's valuable insight into how a presumably enlightened society can tacitly support a repressive totalitarian regime, and think everything is just fine. A priceless quote from one of the subjects, "Twice we had to fight the world and twice we won - but then we were betrayed [from bad advisors, conspirators, or ?]"
If we don't think it can happen here, we should remember that the Germans looked at despotic third world countries and shook there collective nationalistic heads It can't happen here!
But it did.
I loved this book so much, i bought a few more copies and gave them to my friends. The first-hand narrative of an American professor who went to live in Germany for a year in 1954. He lived in a small town and became friends with 10 ordinary German man, all of whom were members of National Socialist party before the WWII. He narrated their conversations about the reasons to become Nazi members, their opposition or support of Hitler's regime, the way of life in Germany before and during the rise of Nazi, and how the populist regime, combined in a perfect storm with other circumstances lead to the WWII.
It is a long read and it seems to circle back a bit. The real impact is to listen to how Germans fell into the circumstance of a totalitarian government and to see how many parallels there are with today in America desperation, pride, intimidation, grasping upon an insane despot in an attempt to climb out of their depression.
The first part of the book is much better than the second part. The first is about the author's year talking to 10 men in a large town in a rural part of Germany shortly after World War II ended. The men had all become Nazis for various reasons. They were all "small men" as they described themselves. Why did they become Nazis and what did they think of their experience? At the time all still thought the Nazi movement had done good for Germany.
The second part is less useful. The author attempts to explain the "German character." He goes back to ancient Roman descriptions of this are of the country to show that the Germans never change. His conclusions are exactly what 30 years of British and American propaganda said about the "Germans." The difficulty of changing the German character is disproven by events after the '50s when this book was published.
The second and third sections are worth reading as long as you keep a skeptical attitude. I learned things about what American had done in Germany after the war which I did not know.
Interviews with 10 older Germans who explain why they were supported the Nazis before and during World War II clarify, for me, much of how the German government took over the minds and hearts of "the little people." The Party improved the day-to-day lives of "regular Germans" jobs, safety, healthcare, recreation, positive group identity, positive self-identity. Everyone lived in their own daily lives, focussed on their own families. The methods used included anti-academic, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-gypsy, anti-gay propaganda; fear of recrimination, insularity, control of information, appeal to nationalism, tradition of obedience to government, low self-esteem, and greed (people were happy to appropriate Jewish assets). And, interestingly, the power of a declaration and vow, this time of loyalty to the Party.
When Mayer set out to discover how ordinary Germans, good people with families and unremarkable lives, could join the Nazi Party, there's no way he could have forseen the US in 2016.
His interviews with 10 German men gives the reader insight into the lives and decisions each made in joining the Nazi Party.
It's sad, it's chilling, and it's relevant. Mayer offers a glimpse into human nature, exposing why good people allow bad things to happen.
When asked how they basically ignored the Jewish Holocaust, one man replied, "We all knew. Nobody knew."
In the era of Trump and burgeoning fascism in the US, this book is a must read to help us all understand how people can embrace such evil.
University of Chicago is re-releasing the book this month (October 2017). Get the edition or pre-purchase the reprinting, but do read this book. It's one of the most important works of the 20th century with valuable lessons for those of us living in 21st century Fascist America.
Everyone should read this. Written in the 1950's, but provides a view toward how the common German dealt with the Nazis. The title is much more relevant today because we in the USA have our liberties being slowly taken away, just like the Nazis did to the German people from 1932 to 1945.
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