Book Summary and Reviews of The Nazi Mind by Laurence Rees

The Nazi Mind by Laurence Rees

The Nazi Mind

Twelve Warnings from History

by Laurence Rees

  • Published:
  • May 2025, 464 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From an award-winning historian comes a fresh analysis of the rise of Nazi extremism, how such thinking gained popularity, and why it is vital to fight burgeoning extremist movements today.

How could the SS have committed the crimes they did? How were the killers who shot Jews at close quarters able to perpetrate this horror? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly—and often enthusiastically—oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews?

In The Nazi Mind, bestselling historian Laurence Rees seeks answers to some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crimes in the history of the world.

From the fringe politics of the 1920s to the electoral triumph and mass mobilization of the 1930s, and from the Holocaust through to the regime's eventual demise, Rees charts the rise and fall of Nazi mentalities—including the conditions that allowed such a violent ideology to flourish and the sophisticated propaganda effort that sustained it.

Using previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth insights based on the latest research of psychologists, The Nazi Mind brings fresh understanding to one of the most appalling regimes in history. 

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A timely exploration of how the unthinkable becomes normal." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The Nazi Mind recounts one by one the chief ways in which Nazism attracted and held its many millions of followers. It is not just an unsparing, detailed reminder of the horrors of the past, based on decades of exhaustive research, but, unmistakably, a challenge to us to check our own no-longer-so-complacent twenty-first century consciences and act accordingly." ―Frederick Taylor, author of 1939: A People's History

"In excavating deep beneath the surface of familiar history – exploring rich, unexpected sources – Rees shows us that the reign of the Nazis is not a story of monsters, but much more terribly of recognizable humanity. A book for our time, and for all times." ―Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin and Dresden

This information about The Nazi Mind was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Laurence Rees

Laurence Rees is an award-winning historian and documentary filmmaker. He has authored several books including The Holocaust: A New History, Hitler and Stalin, and the bestselling Auschwitz: A New History, all published by PublicAffairs. He lives in London. 

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