The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945

This volume provides an intimate, comprehensive study of the mechanics of revolution and an analysis of the Nazi Party’s subversion of democracy. Beginning at the end of the Weimar Republic, the author examines the entire period of the Nazi Revolution within a single locality. Tackling one of the 20th century’s greatest dilemmas, the author demonstrates how this dictatorship subtly surmounted democracy and how the Nazi seizure of power encroached from below. Relying upon legal records and interviews with primary sources, the author dissects Northeim, Germany with microscopic precision to depict the transformation of a sleepy town to a Nazi stronghold. In this analysis, the author argues that Hitler rose to power primarily through democratic tactics that incited localized support rather than through violent means.