The Third Reich at War

LSE Space for Thought lecture series

In this lecture Professor Evans will talk about his recently published book The Third Reich at War (Allen Lane, October 2008). This long-awaited third and final volume of his definitive narrative of Nazi Germany and the Second World war, concludes Richard J Evans’ uniquely comprehensive and yet intimate account of the beliefs, experiences and fate of the German nation and its people in the early years of the twentieth century.

The Third Reich at War traces the rise and fall of German military might against the background of the mobilization of the ‘people’s community’ in the service of a war of conquest, racial subjugation and genocide. Interweaving a broad narrative of the war’s progress with personal testimony from a wide range of people, from generals to front-line soldiers, from Hitler Youth activists to middle-class housewives, Richard Evans lays bare the dynamics of a society plunged into war at every level. The great battles and events of the war are here, from the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler’s suicide in the bunker, but just as important is the recreation of the daily experience of ordinary Germans in wartime, under the growing impact of the mass bombing of Germany’s towns and cities. At the centre 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.

Richard J Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University, and will take up the position of Regius Professor of Modern History at the University in October. His previous books include In Defence of History, Telling Lies about Hitler and the companions to this title, The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power.

The Space for Thought Lecture series celebrates the completion of the New Academic Building and is supported by the LSE Annual Fund. The next lecture in this series will be delivered by Professor Niall Ferguson on the topic of The Ascent of Money on Thursday 6 November.

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