A rather interesting book that examines the possibility of a fourth reich if the people of Germany didn't fear one following WW2. It's a bit of a heavy read but I found it to be an enjoyable one. It's a well researched and written book by Gavriel D Rosenfeld.

It didn't occur to me until I read this book that while I've seen lots of book about the Nazis before and during the Second World War, I've never really read anything about Germany in the years after the war.

The Fourth Reich, by Gavriel D Rosenfeld, covers that period, and especially the fear that Nazis would try again. It looks at the conditions after the war, and the efforts to establish a new Nazi party, and to ensure that there would never be another Nazi party. It also looks at how the fears were projected into writing (both fiction and non-fiction) and film. I came out of the book with a list of other books I want to track down to read.

My only real disappointment with the book was that the description of the book included "He shows how postwar German history might have been very different without the fear of the Fourth Reich as a mobilizing idea to combat the right-wing forces that genuinely threatened the country's democratic order". I was a little disappointed by the lack of any speculation into what could have been.

Still, it opened my eyes to something I'd never thought about before. In my mind, WWII ended, and the Nazi's were gone, at least until I became aware of the skinheads in the eighties. This book showed me the ways that the Nazi ideology continued to affect (or infect) post-war Germany, and how hard the German government (and the occupying countries like the US and UK) worked to make sure that fascism did not move back into power.

Here's hoping that the current political problems around the world doesn't mean that their efforts were in vain.


Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this

This is a well-researched and chilling account of what life might be like had the Nazi's won WW-2 instead of losing. It brings up all kinds of timely topics that are shockingly in play today, not just in the USA but world-wide as the political climate is shifting towards a more nationalistic stance and countries becoming primed for fascist leadership. This is a deep and thought-provoking book that is ripe for many conversations, if people are willing to have them, in a time when it seems we are more divided than ever. Fantastic read.
Highly recommend to anyone interested in WW-2 or politics in general.

#TheFourthReich #NetGalley

A lively, well illustrated history of ideas around the Fourth Reich, this covers right from the rebuilding of Germany to the present day, both from the side of people who hoped (and still hope) that the Fourth Reich would mean a resurgence of Nazi ideas about racial purity and empire building, and those who saw it as the complete opposite, more of a utopia far beyond Nazi ideals. I liked that the author covered history, political thought and also how the idea was covered in popular culture, the depiction of Nazis as the enemy in films and the obsession with alternative history. I thought that it is a timely book considering the rise of populist politicians throughout Europe, and the author shows that if we forget the legacy of the far right, we are doomed to repeat the history. I thought that it was an accessible, interesting read and I liked the author's approach. He had obviously done a great deal of research and the book has extensive footnotes and an excellent bibliography.

*Many thanks to Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, CUP and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
A monumental and insightful book in which the Author analyzes Germany's past and its influence on the future of the nation that has come a most difficult way since the end of WW2 towards democracy. The threat of The Fourth Reich should be seen in the context of all populistic movements that are gaining popularity and importance nowadays.

This book explores the concept of a Fourth Reich and what it would have meant had it happened. We see things in everyday politics that make many afraid. Could this happen again? Yes, history does repeat itself sometimes. Will it happen again? The possibility of this is a frightening idea. As part of the baby boomer generation after WW2, a lot of the story of what was happening in Germany was told first hand from family who were there. This book is well written and the sources are included which is always a plus. I received this book from Net Galley and Cambridge University Press for a honest review.

The depths of hell in a persons soul are terrifying. Every time I read a book that touches on any speck of Nazism my head keeps shaking and I repeatedly as myself WHY? I think Gavriel Rosenfeld did a very good job tackling a subject that needs to keep being written about until everyone asks, "how did this happen?"

The Fourth Reich: The Specter of Nazism from World War II to the Present is an incredibly detailed history of the concept of the Fourth Reich. The fear of the Nazi return to Germany was real after World War II. The war did not end suddenly, and resistance continued even after the German surrender. The partition of German was also a result of the fear that any German government would lead to a return of the Nazis and war.

The Fourth Reich became boogeyman in post-war history, and its meanings were varied. A German Jew, Georg Bernhard, helped draft the constitution for the Fourth Reich. His Germany was committed to peace and equality. Reich in its most basic sense means realm, and it had no adverse connotation before WWII. When West Germany was allowed self-government in 1949, it chose "Federal Republic of Germany" instead of Reich. Naming itself a republic, however, did not stop the elements on the right from wanting to reestablish a Nazi-like regime.

The idea of a new German Reich rose and fell in public view. By the 1970s, West Germany was seen safe enough that American entertainment took hold of the Nazi return. The Boys from Brazil and The Odessa File became hit books. Who could forget the German dentist in Marathon Man? There were real and fictionalized stories of Nazi hunters. There was also a rise in Neo-Nazism in the US during the 1970s making national news with the Stokie Supreme Court case.  Today, the threat seems more serious as right-wing parties are gaining strength in Europe.  In the US, the far right wing and the far left clashed in the streets of Charlotte and other cities.  Internet publications like The Daily Stormer and Breitbart spread the word to a worldwide audience. 

Author, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld is Professor of History and Director of the Undergraduate Program in Judaic Studies at Fairfield University.  He received his Ph.D. in History from UCLA in 1996.  The Fourth Reich is a detailed history of a movement that has not materialized.  Over one-third of the book is reserved for documentation and source material.  An extremely well-done and well research history. 

Available March 31, 2019

This is clearly a book for those interested in WW2 and it is a heavy read. The author has clearly done his research and discusses the possibility of a Fourth Reich. The book is well written and has a lot of history.