HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?

Amid a severe crisis, the NSDAP was elected as by far the strongest party in 1932. It was soon able to seize power and build on growing public support. Hitler needed the war – the people feared it. Nevertheless terrorised After all, 18 million German soldiers were deployed across Europe. How did this come about? Why did hundreds of thousands take part in unprecedented mass murders? Götz Aly provides an in-depth analysis of the methods of control used by the Nazi leaders to transform millions of Germans into compliant executors or into bystanders desensitised by the war.

Götz Aly, Historian and journalist. He has worked for the *taz* and the *Berliner Zeitung*, and as a visiting professor. His books have been translated into many languages. In 2002 he was awarded the Heinrich Mann Prize, in 2003 the Marion Samuel Prize, and in 2012 the Ludwig Börne Prize

Cathrin Kahlweit, SZ correspondent, publicist and presenter for many years