文档介绍：William L. Shirer
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE
THIRD REICH
A History of Nazi Germany
THE RISE AND FALL
OF THE THIRD REICH∗
William L. Shirer ranks as one of the greatest of all American correspon-
dents. He lived and worked in Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Rome. But it was
above all as correspondent in Germany for the Chicago Tribune and later the
Columbia Broadcasting System that his reputation was established. He subse-
quently wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which is hailed as a classic,
and after the war he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur. In the post-war years
he wrote in a variety of fields, and in his seventies he learned Russian, publishing
a biography of Tolstoy at the age of 89. He died in 1994. His Berlin broadcasts
were published posthumously by Hutchinson in 1999.
∗Formatted in LATEX by . ments/corrections appreciated –
release
It was Hitler’s boast that the Third Reich would last a thousand years.
Instead it lasted only twelve. But into its short life was packed the most cata-
clysmic series of events that Western civilisation has ever known.
William Shirer is one of the very few historians to have gained full access
to the secret German archives which the Allies captured intact. He was also
present at the Nuremberg trials.
’I can think of no book which I would rather put in the hands of
anyone who wanted to find out what happened in Germany between
1930 and 1945, and why the history of those years should never be
forgotten.’– Alan Bullock
Monumental – perfectly balanced, yet all the time marked with the
personality and understanding of the author. It’s is a great book; a
great record.’– Bernard Levin
’The standard, indeed the classic, history of Nazism. We should be
thankful to the historian whose solid work will permanently preserve
the truth.’– Hugh Trevor-Roper
iv
Contents
FOREWORD vii
THE RISE OF ADOLF HITLER 1
1 BIRTH OF THE THIRD REICH 3
2 BIRTH OF THE NAZI PARTY 27
3 VERSAILLES, WEI