The first-ever comprehensive biography of Heinrich Himmler, SS-Reichsfhrer, Nazi Interior Minister, and Chief of Police, whose name has become a byword for the terror, persecution, and destruction that characterized the Third Reich.As head of the SS, chief of police, 'Reichskommissar for the Consolidation ofGermanness', and Reich Interior Minister, Heinrich Himmler enjoyed a positionof almost unparalleled power and responsibility in Nazi Germany. Perhaps morethan any other single Nazi leader aside from Hitler, his name has become a byword for the terror, persecution, and destruction that characterized the ThirdReich. His wide-ranging powers meant that he bore equal responsibility for the repression of the Germanpeople on the home front and the atrocities perpetrated by the SS in the East. Yet, in spite of his central role in the crimes of the Nazi regime, until now Himmler has remained a colourless and elusive figure in the history of the period.In this, the first-ever comprehensive biography of the SS-Reichsfhrer, leading German historian Peter Longerich puts every aspect of Himmler's life under the microscope. Masterfully interweaving the story of Himmler's personal life and political career with the wider history of the Nazi dictatorship, Longerichshows how skilfully he exploited and manipulated his disparate roles in the pursuit of his far-reaching and grandiose objectives. In the process, he illuminates the extraordinarydegree to which Himmler's own personal prejudices, idiosyncrasies, and predilections made their mark on the organizations for which he was responsible - especially the SS, which in so many ways bore the characteristic hallmarks of its leader, and whose history remains both incomplete and incomprehensiblewithout a detailed and intimate knowledge of its deeply sinister commander-in-chief. Excellent ... well crafted and engaging ... comfortably surpassing theofferings of previous biographers, it is surely set to become the definitive work for a generation. Supremely enlightening There have been many attempts todescribe the life and opinions of Heinrich Himmler, but this one ... is the first thorough scholarly biography to appear Very well documented A superbly researched account A work of staggering scholarship Splendid A masterpiece. A highly impressive biography, resting on exhaustive exploration of available sources. Gigantic book Splendid...Longerich gives it a depth and breadth it has previously lacked. INDICE: Abbreviatons and Glossary Prologue Part I: Himmler's Early Years Childhood and Youth The Student of Agriculture Struggle and Renunciation A New Start in Lower Bavaria The Party Functionary Reichsfhrer SS Part II: Inside the Third Reich The Take-Over of the Political Police From Inspector of the Prussian Gestapo to Chief of the German Police The State Protection Corps Part III: The Order Ideology and Religious Cult Himmler's Leadership Style Himmler as Educator The SS Family Part IV: Into War: Ambition and Disappointment War Preparations and Expansion War and Settlement in Poland A New Racial Order Repression in the Reich Shifting Borders: The Year 1940 Part V: The Greater Germanic Reich: Living Space and Ethnic Murder An Ideological War of Annihilation From Mass Murder to the 'Final Solution' The Murder of the European Jews SettlementPolicy and Racial Selection The 'Iron Law of Ethnicity': Recruitment into theWaffen-SS A Europe-wide Reign of Terror Part VI: Downfall in Stages A Turn inthe War - A New Opportunity? Collapse Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography Index
- ISBN: 978-0-19-959232-6
- Editorial: Oxford University
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 1072
- Fecha Publicación: 27/10/2011
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés