Books on National Socialism philosophy?

Hello - I'm new here. Nice to meet all of you. Ill admit up front that Im new to learning about WWII. Other than some college courses, I havent really studied much more outside of basic information. So I apologize if this is an amateur question.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend some books about national socialism philosophy? In other words, are there any books that go into what the beliefs and practices of the National Socialist party was? Im looking for anything from basic info to advanced info.

Can anyone recommend any good ones?

BTW, I dont believe in national socialism in anyway, Im just interested in learning about it. Hope Im not giving the wrong impression.

 

Are you looking for the ideological and political philosophy behind it or the human acclimation?

 

No worries. Quite a bit of members here with vast knowledge on the subject.

 

Both really. I like to learn about wars from a social aspect. What were the motives behind wars and the reasons people believed them? That sort of thing. Im having a hard time find books that focus on this type of thing. Are there any Hitler biographies that center in on his ideas? Maybe I should just read Mein Kampf? lol

 

To elaborate more, when I hear about groups like ISIS, I want to know WHY they commit these violent acts? What are their reasons and philosophies for those things? In the same way, Im interested in WW2 from a philosophical aspect. I suppose I should reform my question; it isnt really just about NS that Im interested in learning about, its mainly about ALL the motives behin WW2. Are there books that focus on this type of thing?

 

Can you provide a link for this? Im having a hard time finding it. Thank you

 

There are now many good books on the subject ; my own recommendation for one which is both good and straightforward is Richard Bessel's 'Nazism And War' (2004)

 

My impression is taht the "national socialist" were far from monolithic. Indeed if you start looking at the religious proclivities of the people at the top it ranges from pagan, to Christian, to athiest fromw what I can tell probably some other variants as well. Another consideration was the there was indeed a socialist wing of the party at least early on (which may have been the largest segment at some point as well) although it was purged after Hitler assumed power.

 

I don't recommend that you start with Mein kampf. . You could try the songs and lyrics of "Landser" (NSFW - seriously racist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n65ihXQnNNA

There are books which analysed the appeal of Nazism. .

Start with Goldhagen;s Hitler's Willing Executioners." or Michael Burleigh's "Moral Combat" These go some way into the social and philosophical dimension of the war. The old 1970s series "The World at War" vexplores this dimension.

 

Catch 22?

 

Thanks all so much for your help!

 

I think you have to start with Adolf really, National Socialism being so much a product of his very personal viewpoint, though I suppose a bit of Neitzche wouldn't hurt.

Suspect if starting afresh I'd pick up Bullock's 'A Study in Tyranny' & maybe 'Parallel Lives', but perhaps the key work on the man is Kershaw's two volumes; 'Hubris' & 'Nemisis'.
Follow the bibliography in those and they'll see you right..

Speer's book is worthwhile for glimpses too, as long as it's read alongside Sereny's demolishment. Actually, i seem to recall a couple more of her books are quite insightful, but don't remember the titles.

The more I think about it, there's a slew of good tomes on the whys and wherefores of Nazism.
Hope you enjoy digging into it - fascinating stuff.

 

A few recommendations of books that I have been hearing about. Your local library should have the following:

Of course, you should read Mein Kampf itself. U. of Chicago's 20th Century Reader has a neatly abbreviated version that should answer a lot of your questions directly, from the man who created the movement.

Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism is highly influential in the way scholars think about Nazism and Stalinism, and the final chapter of the book deals directly with those regimes. It's rather abstract and focus on the structure rather than content of the totalitarian system, but it's worth a read. Link: https://archive.org/details/originsoftotalit00aren

Also, from a social history perspective, Peter Frizsche's Germans Into Nazis is pretty well regarded by historians, as well as Peukert's Inside Nazi Germany. Both of those books take the approach of social history from the ground up, where the attitudes of ordinary citizens under the Nazi regime is the primary focus.

 

"The Devil's Disciples" is pretty good. I'm reading that now.

 

am reading an interesting book about this subject. Hitler's Revolution.

from amazon

"Defying liberal democracy, Adolf Hitler transformed Germany into an authoritarian state advocating sovereignty of nations, advancement of labor, preservation of the white race, and commerce based on exchange of wares to replace the international gold standard. Becoming chancellor in 1933, he tackled his country s bankruptcy, massive unemployment, Communist subversion and foreign domination. His social economic programs and diplomacy restored German prosperity and independence in three years, despite opposition from Western democratic leaders. Penetrating the shroud of vilification draping this controversial figure, our study draws on nearly 200 published German sources, many from the National Socialist era, plus documents from British, U.S. and Soviet archives, to describe not just what Hitler did, but why. It also reveals democracy s genuine war aims, a taboo subject for historians, in the ensuing world war against Germany. Challenging the status quo version of the period, here is the book for the student of history who senses that something is missing and seeks answers. Illustrated"