The Third Reich at War

By: Richard J. Evans

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The final volume in Richard J. Evans’s masterly trilogy on the history of Nazi Germany traces the rise and fall of German military might, the mobilization of a “people’s community” to serve a war of conquest, and Hitler’s campaign of racial subjugation and genocide. Already hailed as “a masterpiece” (William Grimes in The New York Times) and “the most comprehensive history… of the Third Reich” (Ian Kershaw), this epic trilogy reaches its terrifying climax in this volume.

Evans interweaves a broad narrative of the war’s progress with viscerally affecting personal testimony from a wide range of people - from generals to front-line soldiers, from Hitler Youth activists to middle-class housewives. The Third Reich at War lays bare the dynamics of a nation more deeply immersed in war than any society before or since.

Fresh insights into the conflict’s great events are here, from the invasion of Poland to the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler’s suicide in the bunker. But just as important is the re-creation of the daily experience of ordinary Germans in wartime, staggering under pressure from Allied bombing and their own government’s mounting demands upon them. At the center of the book is the Nazi extermination of Europe’s Jews, set in the context of Hitler’s genocidal plans for the racial restructuring of Europe.

Blending narrative, description, and analysis, The Third Reich at War creates an engrossing picture - at once sweeping and precise - of a society rushing headlong to self-destruction and taking much of Europe with it. It is the culmination of a historical masterwork that will remain the most authoritative work on Nazi Germany for years to come.

Listen to previous volumes in Richard J. Evans' Third Reich trilogy.

©2009 Richard J. Evans (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Masterful….Evans demonstrates a fluent style and a sweeping grasp of the Third Reich’s history and of the enormous historical literature….Evans narrates the Reich’s end in gripping fashion as the Allies closed in on Germany. Evans’s fellow historians as well as a broader public will listen to this work, not quite with pleasure, for there is little joy in this story, but with admiration for the author’s narrative powers.” ( Publisher’s Weekly)

Thanks Hitler: The Failure of the Nazi State

Thanks Hitler is a quote from a photo of a graffiti scrawl on one of the columns of his destroyed Chancellery. Its message is equivocal. Does it blame Hitler and his hardcore coterie of Nazi true believer gangsters for forcing or beguiling them along the path of death and destruction and incalculable inhumanity? Victims or dupes? The Nazi terror apparatus was certainly very powerful as the author notes but it was never numerically large in relation to a population of 8o million. The Nazi Party ran the State which in turn operated the institutions of government, including the military. The fake Nazi propaganda of the time was disseminated thru radio and large circulation media and ranting Hitler speeches. All controlled by a small % of the population. Why did the overwhelming majority go along with the megalomania of a fake charismatic leader then? Why the acceptance or acquiescence of the majority in being accomplices in mass killings. An answer lies in the numerous diaries and interviews of ordinary people reviewed by the author. A recurring theme is that they just "wanted to make Germany great again" as urged by their leader. And they were willing to follow someone who falsely claimed to have found the way, whatever it took. regardless of outcome. Sad.

Very good!

A very good review of Nazi Germany in WW2, including personal diaries of a number of German citizens and other individuals drawn into the conflict. As such, it brings in more personal experiences than what you would find in usual history books. including those that focus on the main public individuals of the Third Reich.
Excellent narration.

Outstanding history

Outstanding. Incredible on its scope and depth, and never boring. A book everyone should read (listen to) in all 3 volumes. Moving and thought provoking.

too much focus on art for my taste

but still is a fascinating book providing a great overview of what happened in third reich

Critical final installment

This book is the third book to follow on from The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power.

I found the narrator to be good and did not at all distract from the story.

Evans does not cover too many specifics of battles or maneuvers but instead the effects of the war on the citizens and the soldiers. There are sprinkling of letters and diaries of ordinary people as well as accounts as to what higher ranking Nazis were doing. He provides statistics on quality of life and the big picture as well as small details here and there. The descriptions of what was happening all the way from the mistreatment of foreign workers to the atrocities in the death camps are disturbing but I felt he brought a lot of detail to it that often gets left out of documentaries or specials. Even when you know what's going to happen, it really still felt riveting towards the end as I was eager to hear the outcome of the stories he had weaved through the bigger picture. A worthy final book and I'm sure I'll listen to the whole trilogy again some day.

Solid History

The Third Reich at War Vol3 provided a thorough look at all aspects of the regime. A social history of the utmost quality.

following

it Finished all Faye's of the books on the rise and end of 3rd right

Immense details none boring masterpiece

This book is not for fans of WWII battles and military action and confrontation, this covers everything the Nazi leadership and Nazi ideology did during the 5 years of war.
Pros: impressive details covering economy, battle tactics, social and racial fanatic experience of the Nazi leadership.
Cons: Too much focus on Jews and their acclaimed suffering, almost half of the book extensively covers this topic.

Great history well spoken but...

I cannot understand why a history of this quality would have such affectations both from the writer and the narrator. The author in his preface says he's going to Anglicize certain German words for ease of understanding. Mein Kampf becomes "my struggle" and Der Fuehrer becomes "the leader". These two German terms are so well known that it's hard to listen to their being spoken this way. "The leader" is often confusing. Which leader are we talking about now?

The narrator has done a great job with German and other language terms. But there are glaring mistakes. For example the Reichstag is not pronounced as tag as in license tag but as tahg with a soft g, almost a ch sound. Other such gaffs should have been caught in the editing.

All this makes for a feeling of amateurishness, marring an otherwise superb history.

All three volumes are topical and sequential but not a narrative history with in depth treatments of many important topics like the origins of racial policy and the economics of the Reich. How did Hitler pay for rearmament? It's easy engrossing listening that explains a great deal about how a well educated population could be psychically captured by a lunatic. It's a lesson that will endure.

Outstanding book

With each chapter the book continue to grow with the reality of what really happen to the people of the 2nd WW. Sometimes you find youself feeling so guilty of how lucky we as American, living in the land of the Free, actually live so pieacefully. You can't help but to try and put yourself into that period of time and to realize that we are so blessed to not have been a victim. How one Man one party can rule and control the minds of millions. This book is a must for every young person ( a should read! ) actually, it's a should read for everyone who wasn't there and there minds still don't comprehind what actually took place. After you start reading or listion to this book you can't put it down.

Great Book
KM