The Nazi Capture of Power

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Professor Nikolaus Wachsmann
• Assessment: one essay of 5000-5500 words (100%)

We will focus on a very brief, but absolutely crucial period of modern German history, exploring the rapid takeover, establishment and consolidation of Nazi rule in the early 1930s. This was a complex process, which involved many different actors within the German state apparatus, the Nazi movement and German society more generally. Through the study of some primary source material and the relevant secondary literature, we examine key events and broader historical themes surrounding the Nazi capture of power. These themes include the role of the German elites, popular opinion, resistance and terror, propaganda and culture, anti-Jewish policy and the place of Hitler within the Nazi dictatorship.