Product Description

A radical new interpretation of Hitler's character and actions which sees a perverted artistry as the driving force behind his career and his hold over the German people.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #775253 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Synopsis
Hitler's aim was the Aryan super-state, but it was to be expressed as much in Nazi art as in politics. Culture was not only the end, to which power should aspire, but the means of achieving it. This reassessment of Hitler's aims and motivations examines his perverse obsessions and shows how his artistry - expressed in spectacles, festivities, parades, rallies and political dramas, as well as in architecture, painting and music - destroyed any sense of individuality and linked the German people with his own drives. In a wide-ranging argument which covers topics as varied as Wagner's operas and the German Autobahn system, Spotts provides a key to the understanding of the Third Reich which has hitherto been missing in more straightforwardly political and military studies.

From the Publisher
A radical new interpretation of Hitler’s character and actions which sees a perverted artistry as the driving force behind his career and his hold over the German people.

About the Author
Frederic Spotts is a journalist and author. His study of Bayreuth is acknowledged as the standard work on the subject.

Customer Reviews

A very interesting book
When I first saw this book I thought "Oh, yet another book about Nazi Germay." But something made me pick it up and I was engrossed. It is a fascinating book that effortlessly combines history, politics, architecture and art. It is packed solid throughout the book with pictures, photos and sketches of Hitler's plans for post war Germany, building designs, artworks, Hitler's own paintings and explains how he designed everything in Germany - the uniforms, the parades, buildings and explains that Hitler even wanted weapons to have a certain asethic quality.
I found it very readable and accessible. It gave me a new and fascinating insight into Nazi Germany and Hitler. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Nazi Germany, art and/or archtitecture.

An interesting insight into Nazi Germany
When I first saw this book I thought "Oh, yet another book about Nazi Germay." But something made me pick it up and I was engrossed. It is a fascinating book that effortlessly combines history, politics, architecture and art. It is packed solid throughout the book with pictures, photos and sketches of Hitler's plans for post war Germany, building designs, artworks, Hitler's own paintings and explains how he designed everything in Germany - the uniforms, the parades, buildings and explains that Hitler even wanted weapons to have a certain asethic quality.

I found it very readable and accessible. It gave me a new and fscinating insight into Nazi Germany and Hitler. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Nazi Germany, art and/or archtitecture.