Paper 1: Germany and West Germany 1918-89

Weimar Germany 1918-1933 - A lot has been written on the Weimar Republic and this list would be very long if everything was put on here. Here are some of the best books.

Friedrich, Otto (2020). Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s. New York: Harper Perennial. - A fascinating portrait of the turbulent political, social, and cultural life of the city of Berlin in the 1920s.

*Gay, Peter (1968). Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider. New York: W. W Norton & Company. -This book brilliantly traces the rise of the artistic, literary, and musical culture that bloomed ever so briefly in the 1920s amid the chaos of Germany's tenuous post-World War I democracy

McElligott, Anthony (2009). Weimar Germany: Short Oxford History of Germany. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - With contributions from an international team of ten experts, this volume in the Short Oxford History of Germany series offers an ideal introduction to Weimar Germany, challenging the reader to rethink preconceived ideas of the republic and throwing new light on important areas, such as military ideas for reshaping society after the First World War, constitutional and social reform, Jewish life, gender, and culture.

*Nicholls, A.J (2000). Weimar and the Rise of Hitler. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. - This book serves as both an introduction to the Weimar Republic and for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the political elements of the period. This book is used several times during the teaching of the Germany course and Mr Hinchliffe has two copies. It can be quite expensive to buy sometimes but an excellent book.

Scheck, Raffael (2004). Mothers of the Nation: Right Wing Women in Weimar Germany. Oxford: Berg Publishing. - Contains an interesting account of opposition to the Weimar Republic among middle class women. The final chapter considers support for the Nazis among women in the last years of the republic.

*Weitz, Eric, D (2018). Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy. Oxford: Princeton University Press. - An excellent all round history of the Weimar Republic which not only analyses the political and economic elements of the republic but the vast progressiveness in art, literature and film.

*Von Ankum, Katharina (1997). Women in the Metropolis: Gender and Modernity in Weimar Culture. Los Angeles: California University Press - Women in the Metropolis provides a comprehensive introduction to women's experience of modernism and urbanisation in Weimar Germany. It shows women as active participants in artistic, social, and political movements and documents the wide range of their responses to the multifaceted urban culture of Berlin in the 1920s and 1930s.

Nazi Germany 1933-1945 - Apparently the most written about historical topic, the books on Nazi Germany are endless. Here are a few of the best ones.

Evans, Richard (2004). The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany. London: Penguin Books. - In this consummate and compelling history, the first book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard Evans reveals how and why it happened, questions whether the rise of Hitler was inevitable and dramatically re-creates the maelstrom of disorder, economic disaster, violence and polarisation that gave rise to the terror of the Third Reich.

*Evans, Richard (2006). The Third Reich in Power: How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation. London: Penguin Books. - The second book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard J. Evans' The Third Reich in Power: How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation explores how Hitler turned Germany from a vibrant democracy into a one-party state.

Evans, Richard (2009). The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis led Germany from Conquest to Disaster. London: Penguin Books. - The final book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard J. Evans's The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster shows how Germany rushed headlong into destroying itself, shattering an entire continent.

Gellately, Robert (2002). Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Debate still rages over how much ordinary Germans knew about the concentration camps and the Gestapo's activities during Hitler's reign. Now, in this well-documented and provocative volume, historian Robert Gellately argues that the majority of German citizens had quite a clear picture of the extent of Nazi atrocities, and continued to support the Reich to the bitter end

Kershaw, Ian. (2009). Hitler. London: Penguin Books. - Now available in a single, abridged paperback, Ian Kershaw's Hitler is the definitive biography of the Nazi leader.

*Kershaw, Ian (2001). The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in the Third Reich. Oxford. Oxford University Press. - Ian Kershaw's groundbreaking study charts the creation, growth, and decline of the "Hitler myth." He demonstrates how the manufactured "Fuhrer-cult" served as a crucial integrating force within the Third Reich and a vital element in the attainment of Nazi political aims.

*Kershaw, Ian (2012). The End, 1944-45. London: Penguin Books. - Kershaw analyses the last year of the war and asks some very thought provoking questions: Just what made Germany keep on fighting? Why did its rulers not cut a deal to save their own skins? And why did ordinary people continue to obey the Fuhrer's suicidal orders, with countless Germans executing their own countrymen for desertion or defeatism?

McDonough, Frank (2010). Opposition and Resistance in Nazi Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - A comprehensive overview of opposition to the Nazi regime.

Overy, Richard (1982). The Nazi Economic Recovery. London: Palgrave Macmillan. - Overy discusses the main areas of the debate, arguing that the war preparation that took place at this time was ultimately incompatible with long-term economic recovery, and that the German economic miracle did not occur until after 1945.

*Speer, Albert (2009). Inside the Third Reich. London: W&N. - Written by Albert Speer, Hitler's personal architect and Armaments Minister during his imprisonment in Spandau prison after the war. The author does not try to make excuses, even by implication, and is unrelenting toward himself and his associates

Foreign Policy

Overy, Richard and Wheatcroft, Andrew (2009). The Road to War: The Origins of World War II. New York: Vintage. - Taking each major nation in turn, the book tells the story of their road to war; recapturing the concerns, anxieties and prejudices of the statesmen of the thirties.

Overy, Richard (2010). 1939: The Countdown to War. London: Penguin. Richard Overy's 1939: Countdown to War re-creates hour-by-hour the last desperate attempts to salvage peace before the outbreak of World War Two.

Taylor, AJP (1991). The Origins of the Second World War. London: Penguin Books. - A.J.P. Taylor caused a storm of outrage with this scandalous bestseller. Debunking what were accepted truths about the Second World War, he argued provocatively that Hitler did not set out to cause the war as part of an evil master plan, but blundered into it partly by accident, aided by the shortcomings of others.

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) 1945-1989

Gehler, Micheal (2011). Three Germanies: West Germany, East Germany and the Berlin Republic.. London: Reaktion Books - This book will appeal to anyone interested in post-war diplomacy, modern history, and the future of Germany.

*Grunbacher, Armin (2010). The making of German Democracy: West Germany during the Adenauer Era. Manchester: Manchester University Press. -

Judt, Tony (2010). Post-war: A History of Europe since 1945. London: New York: Vintage. - A magisterial and acclaimed history of post-war Europe, from Germany to Poland, from Western Europe to Eastern Europe

Kettenacker, Lather (1997) Germany since 1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press - Kettenacker's book offers a fascinating survey of the fortunes and features of East and West Germany--how the two states drifted apart; the differences between their economies, politics, and cultures; and the problems and events surrounding their recent unification.

Williams, Charles (2000) Adenauer: The Father of the New Germany. London: Abacus. - Charles Williams' magisterial biography of a great twentieth-century statesman