Description
Book SynopsisThis book is the first systematic study of the relations between German high society and the Nazis. It uses unpublished archival material, private diaries and diplomatic documents to take us into the hidden areas of power where privileges, tax breaks, and stolen property were exchanged.
Trade Review"From the very beginning, as Fabrice D'Almeida shows in his fascinating study, Hitler networked with considerable success among the great and the good ... The best chapters fizz with arresting insights and brilliant observations, many of them generated by the clever idea of studying the upper echelons of the regime as an anthropological system."
London Review of Books "A brilliant study of corruption by power, more specifically of the willingness of the German elites to chummy up to the psychotic vileness of the Third Reich. This is an account of clubs, diplomatic receptions and parties, but one shot through with a scholarly analysis of the nature of sociability, elitism and luxury in a racist totalitarian state. A most impressive work."
Historical Association
"The way Hitler presided over a state where power was divided between big business, the chiefs of staff, the Nazi Party, the SS and other components of the Third Reich is fascinating."
Socialist Review
"The almost Faustian bargain between the German elite and the Nazi regime is laid bare in this original and comprehensive study. Fabrice D'Almeida's fascinating and engaging work will be valued by academic and general readers alike."
Conan Fischer, University of Strathclyde
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements.
List of abbreviations.
Introduction.
Chapter One - The Birth of Nazi High Society.
Chapter Two – The Great Pleasures and Small Benefits of Nazi High Society.
Chapter Three – Managing Hitler’s Court.
Chapter Four – The Destruction of Jewish High Society.
Chapter Five – Was there a Nazi Luxury?.
Chapter Six – Sociabilities in a Totalitarian State.
Chapter Seven – The Splendours of Diplomacy.
Chapter Eight – The Second Worldly War.
Conclusion.
Notes.
Sources.
Bibliography.
Index
