The Death of Democracy

Hitler's Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic

De: Benjamin Carter Hett

Narrado por: Steven Crossley

The Death of Democracy is a riveting audiobook account of how the Nazi Party came to power, and how the failures of the Weimar Republic and the shortsightedness of German politicians allowed it to happen.

Why did democracy fall apart so quickly and completely in Germany in the 1930s? How did a democratic government allow Adolf Hitler to seize power? In this dramatic audiobook, Benjamin Carter Hett answers these questions, and the story he tells has disturbing resonances for our own time.

To say that Hitler was elected is too simple. From the late 1920s, the Weimar Republic’s very political success sparked insurgencies against it, of which the most dangerous was the populist anti-globalization movement led by Hitler. But as Hett shows, Hitler would never have come to power if Germany’s leading politicians had not tried to coopt him, a strategy that backed them into a corner from which the only way out was to bring the Nazis in. Hett lays bare the misguided confidence of conservative politicians who believed that Hitler and his followers would willingly support them, not recognizing that their efforts to use the Nazis actually played into Hitler’s hands. They had willingly given him the tools to turn Germany into a vicious dictatorship.

Benjamin Carter Hett is one of America’s leading scholars of 20th-century Germany and a gifted storyteller whose portraits of these feckless politicians show how fragile democracy can be when those in power do not respect it. He offers a powerful lesson for today, when democracy once again finds itself embattled and the siren song of strongmen sounds ever louder.

©2018 Benjamin Carter Hett (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Narrator Steven Crossley's] British accent gives his narration an academic-sounding quality fitting for the text. He is clear and precise in pronunciation and enunciation and is suitably expressive throughout." (AudioFile Magazine)

Grabbing the Wolf By the Ears

Hett employs outstanding scholarship and gripping narrative to explain how a highly civilized society with a thriving democracy could slip into barbarism. The folly lies with anti-democratic forces believing that they can use the barbarians to achieve their goals. In fact the barbarian outmaneuvers them because he is not constrained by the accepted rules of engagement, written or otherwise.

There is always one member of MAGA world who will be turned off by a work of scholarship because it is a work of scholarship, and that is not what they are looking for. If fact there are no references to Trump or the MAGA movement in this book, not even by inference. However, our MAGA representative has heard the author interviewed and like virtually every other scholar in the field, he recognizes the parallels between the two movements. Anybody who studies the topic will arrive at the same conclusions. However, there is nothing in this book that attempts to draw these parallels. If a reader is offended that this historian has a low opinion of the Nazis, maybe he would be more comfortable reading Mein Kampf. But there is nothing in this scholarly book that reflects any kind of liberal bias. Hett is sharing received scholarship on the subject of the rise of THE Nazis, nothing more.

When history is prescient

Excellent narration on a fascinating topic. I listen to this as an American in 2021. I find that the parallels between the death of the Weimar Republic and American media and political life over the past five years are striking. I hope the world's future takes a different path than it did in 1933, but I fear that most people don't know their history. in any event, this book offers great insights on an important part of the world's history.

Truly Terrifying

Everyone who is concerned about what is happening in The United States today and everyone who thinks it can't happen here needs to listen to this!

As a history teacher, I am going to include this in my summer reading list. It is a gripping read.

It so foreshadows today’s US Republicans fealty to trump and the callous people he has surrounded himself with

Great!

May we learn from history. “What's past is prologue.” - Shakespeare. Well done. Enjoyed the story and narration.
Thank you.

Don't miss this beautifully written book

I get jaded at times when I try a multi-starred book and find it less appealing than I would like. This book is a gem on the three ratings. If your interest in Hitler and his rise, his eventual stranglehold on the Republic, its political parties, the church, and the media. Ultimately Hitler had the German people in his fist. and his organization bent to his will. There are many analogs to contemporary politics, and a careful reader will spot them. I bought the Kindle book so that I could identify sections in the recordings that struck my interest.
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Frighteningly familiar

Listening to this title in August of 2020, I cannot be more stunned at just how similar the death of their republic and our own are. We are much further down the road to fascism than even I knew. I will be totally surprised if Trump does NOT try and pull off a power grab - the evidence of the most blatant attempts to suppress the vote are already public (see the United States Postal Service), and they are refusing to make public a redacted report of the IC public so citizens are armed with knowledge about what foreign powers are doing - and it must be done BEFORE the election. The open acceptance of the American Right of fascism is far easier to understand after reading this timely & important work.

Incredibly important

A stunning book, full of great insights, and warnings. While this book is about the end of the Weimar Republic, it is about any and every democracy or republic. We should take heed. Now

Democracy is never invulnerable

There could be perhaps a few more examples of how democracy in Germany changed over to fascism with a heavy autocratic blend but did well explaining how small changes like eliminating liberal judges through elections and finally using the Reichstag Fire to demand action with absolute control over dissidents or different opinions.
Similar actions are indeed taking place in the U.S. and around the world.

Democracy in Crisis

I found this book to be a challenge and lesson. In the Trump era we need to resist the irrationality and blind hatred of Trump supporters. There can be no compromises to the anti-intellectualism and the irrationality
of the right. Trump stands for nothing but vague ideas and incoherence and the slogans he spouts. It is no use to argue with his supporters because they have no will to see another viewpoint. To them, Trump is their savior, a gift from God, and sometimes they say he is the Messiah. Who can argue with a god. There are so many parallels to interwar years Germany. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in protecting and defending the Constitution.