Description
In the mountain of books that have been written about the Third Reich, surprisingly little has been said about the role played by the German nobility in the Nazis' rise to power. While often confidently referred to, the 'fateful' role played by the German nobility is rarely, if ever, investigated in any real detail. Nazis and Nobles now fills this gap, providing the first systematic investigation of the role played by the nobility in German political life between Germany's defeat in the First World War in 1918 and the consolidation of Nazi power in the 1930s. As Stephan Malinowski shows, the German nobility was too weak to prevent the German Revolution of 1918 but strong enough to take an active part in the struggle against the Weimar Republic. In a real twist of historical irony, members of the nobility were as prominent in the destruction of Weimar democracy as they were to be years later in Graf Stauffenberg's July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler. In this skilful portrait of an aristocratic world that was soon to disappear, Malinowski gives us for the first time the in-depth story of the German nobility's social decline and political radicalization in the inter-war years - and the troubled mesalliance to which this was to lead between the majority of Germany's nobles and the National Socialists.
About the Author
Stephan Malinowski teaches Modern European History at the University of Edinburgh. Born and raised in Berlin, he has studied and taught universities in Germany, France, Italy, the United States, and Ireland. His work focuses on 20th century French, German, and colonial history. He is one of Germany's leading experts on the history of the German nobility in the 20th century.
Reviews
A compelling and sobering dissection of the misalliance between the German nobility and the Nazis. * Paul Lay, The Times *
Nazis and Nobles tells one of the under-documented stories of Hitler's war, how the royal and aristocratic families of Germany from the Hohenzollerns downwards offered support to this thuggish and brutal regime. * Simon Heffer, Best Books of 2021, The Telegraph *
[A] weightily fascinating book * Julian Evans, The Telegraph *
Stephan Malinowski's cultural-political study of nobles and Nazis, revised and stylishly translated from the German original (2003), invites us to reach our own judgement. Malinowski not only adds indispensable complexity to the bifurcated model of attraction and repulsion, but also offers a riveting and subtle portrait of an elite in decline and in denial after 1918. * Jane Caplan, Times Literary Supplement *
[Nazis and Nobles] historiographical importance can hardly be exaggerated. * Mark Falcoff, New Criterion *
Nazis and Nobles is not merely a translation of the prize-winning German original. It also includes incorporates many new sources. Malinowski looks at his subjects through an anthropological eye, showing them as great masters at self-portrayal. He provides fascinating biographical sketches of renegades too. * Karina Urbach, Literary Review *
Stephan Malinowski shows in his award-winning German-language title (now translated into English), the success of Hitler's power grab was also highly reliant on the actions (and often inaction) of influential members of Germany's aristocracy. * BBC History Magazine *
The complex question of the German aristocracy's relationship with the Nazis is at the heart of Stephan Malinowski's brilliant book, Nazis and Nobles [... ] Malinowski has provided the best available analysis of the political radicalisation of Germany's nobility in the 1920s and their widespread support for the Nazis in the early 1930s. * Robert Gerwarth, The Irish Times *
Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance, is at last available in English translation. This important book focuses not on the narrow issue of the complicity of one dynastic family but on the broad social and political history of a diverse class and its relationship to the Nazis during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. * Christopher R. Browning, New York Review of Books *
A timely book. * Air Mail *
[Nazis and Nobles] is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Malinowski has succeeded in writing an outstanding political and cultural history of Prussia in particular, a portrait of the aristocratic elite in decline. * Ulrich Wangemann, Markische Allgemeine *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198842552
Author Stephan Malinowski
Format Hardback
Page Count 496
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 734g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 45mm
About the Author
Stephan Malinowski teaches Modern European History at the University of Edinburgh. Born and raised in Berlin, he has studied and taught universities in Germany, France, Italy, the United States, and Ireland. His work focuses on 20th century French, German, and colonial history. He is one of Germany's leading experts on the history of the German nobility in the 20th century.
Reviews
A compelling and sobering dissection of the misalliance between the German nobility and the Nazis. * Paul Lay, The Times *
Nazis and Nobles tells one of the under-documented stories of Hitler's war, how the royal and aristocratic families of Germany from the Hohenzollerns downwards offered support to this thuggish and brutal regime. * Simon Heffer, Best Books of 2021, The Telegraph *
[A] weightily fascinating book * Julian Evans, The Telegraph *
Stephan Malinowski's cultural-political study of nobles and Nazis, revised and stylishly translated from the German original (2003), invites us to reach our own judgement. Malinowski not only adds indispensable complexity to the bifurcated model of attraction and repulsion, but also offers a riveting and subtle portrait of an elite in decline and in denial after 1918. * Jane Caplan, Times Literary Supplement *
[Nazis and Nobles] historiographical importance can hardly be exaggerated. * Mark Falcoff, New Criterion *
Nazis and Nobles is not merely a translation of the prize-winning German original. It also includes incorporates many new sources. Malinowski looks at his subjects through an anthropological eye, showing them as great masters at self-portrayal. He provides fascinating biographical sketches of renegades too. * Karina Urbach, Literary Review *
Stephan Malinowski shows in his award-winning German-language title (now translated into English), the success of Hitler's power grab was also highly reliant on the actions (and often inaction) of influential members of Germany's aristocracy. * BBC History Magazine *
The complex question of the German aristocracy's relationship with the Nazis is at the heart of Stephan Malinowski's brilliant book, Nazis and Nobles [... ] Malinowski has provided the best available analysis of the political radicalisation of Germany's nobility in the 1920s and their widespread support for the Nazis in the early 1930s. * Robert Gerwarth, The Irish Times *
Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance, is at last available in English translation. This important book focuses not on the narrow issue of the complicity of one dynastic family but on the broad social and political history of a diverse class and its relationship to the Nazis during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. * Christopher R. Browning, New York Review of Books *
A timely book. * Air Mail *
[Nazis and Nobles] is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Malinowski has succeeded in writing an outstanding political and cultural history of Prussia in particular, a portrait of the aristocratic elite in decline. * Ulrich Wangemann, Markische Allgemeine *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198842552
Author Stephan Malinowski
Format Hardback
Page Count 496
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 734g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 45mm
