They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45
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- Author：Milton Sanford Mayer
- ISBN：022652583X
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Summary
“When this book was first published it received some attention from the critics but none at all from the public。 Nazism was finished in the bunker in Berlin and its death warrant signed on the bench at Nuremberg。”
That’s Milton Mayer， writing in a foreword to the 1966 edition of They Thought They Were Free。 He’s right about the critics: the book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1956。 General readers may have been slower to take notice， but over time they did—what we’ve seen over decades is that any time people， across the political spectrum， start to feel that freedom is threatened， the book experiences a ripple of word-of-mouth interest。 And that interest has never been more prominent or potent than what we’ve seen in the past year。
They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany。 Mayer’s book is a study of ten Germans and their lives from 1933-45， based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany。 Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name “Kronenberg。” “These ten men were not men of distinction，” Mayer noted， but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis。 His discussions with them of Nazism， the rise of the Reich， and mass complicity with evil became the backbone of this book， an indictment of the ordinary German that is all the more powerful for its refusal to let the rest of us pretend that our moment， our society， our country are fundamentally immune。
A new foreword to this edition by eminent historian of the Reich Richard J。 Evans puts the book in historical and contemporary context。 We live in an age of fervid politics and hyperbolic rhetoric。 They Thought They Were Free cuts through that， revealing instead the slow， quiet accretions of change， complicity， and abdication of moral authority that quietly mark the rise of evil。
That’s Milton Mayer， writing in a foreword to the 1966 edition of They Thought They Were Free。 He’s right about the critics: the book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1956。 General readers may have been slower to take notice， but over time they did—what we’ve seen over decades is that any time people， across the political spectrum， start to feel that freedom is threatened， the book experiences a ripple of word-of-mouth interest。 And that interest has never been more prominent or potent than what we’ve seen in the past year。
They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany。 Mayer’s book is a study of ten Germans and their lives from 1933-45， based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany。 Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name “Kronenberg。” “These ten men were not men of distinction，” Mayer noted， but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis。 His discussions with them of Nazism， the rise of the Reich， and mass complicity with evil became the backbone of this book， an indictment of the ordinary German that is all the more powerful for its refusal to let the rest of us pretend that our moment， our society， our country are fundamentally immune。
A new foreword to this edition by eminent historian of the Reich Richard J。 Evans puts the book in historical and contemporary context。 We live in an age of fervid politics and hyperbolic rhetoric。 They Thought They Were Free cuts through that， revealing instead the slow， quiet accretions of change， complicity， and abdication of moral authority that quietly mark the rise of evil。
Reviews
Maurice Fitzgerald
，
A profound experience。 Opens up the experience of being a citizen and should be read by everyone。 Who is responsible？ How？ If they aren't just exactly like us then what are they like？ As much a book about America as it is about Germany。 I would say it is critically important to read especially at this time so near to trump's presidency and the obvious split between what seems rational and what half the country professes to believe。 If you haven't seen the red in the eyes of the people gathering A profound experience。 Opens up the experience of being a citizen and should be read by everyone。 Who is responsible？ How？ If they aren't just exactly like us then what are they like？ As much a book about America as it is about Germany。 I would say it is critically important to read especially at this time so near to trump's presidency and the obvious split between what seems rational and what half the country professes to believe。 If you haven't seen the red in the eyes of the people gathering in hate then perhaps this will help you to understand how little it seems to take to captivate a population。 。。。more
kesseljunkie
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Should be required reading for anyone studying the madness of crowds and world history， much less people trying to learn about World War II。
Theresa Bragado
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Enlightening， but a lot to process。 Took me several months to get through it， but this wasn’t pleasure reading。 It was a self imposed assignment to understand this kind of mindset。 I highly recommend this for self growth and understanding， but not an easy read。
Jennifer
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I highly recommend this book。 A different perspective on how WW2 came to be。 It went over some of the cultural and historical attitudes of the German people prior to Nazi Germany and during。 Interesting analysis on group and individual psychology as well as political ideologies。 A very quotable book。"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people， little by little， to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so co I highly recommend this book。 A different perspective on how WW2 came to be。 It went over some of the cultural and historical attitudes of the German people prior to Nazi Germany and during。 Interesting analysis on group and individual psychology as well as political ideologies。 A very quotable book。"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people， little by little， to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand， or so dangerous that， even if the people could not understand it， it could not be released because of national security。 And their sense of identification with Hitler， their trust in him， made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it。This separation of government from people， this widening of the gap， took place so gradually and so insensibly， each step disguised （perhaps not even intentionally） as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes。 And all the crises and reforms （real reforms， too） so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath， of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter。" 。。。more
Jeff
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Interesting and dated book exploring how common Germans willing became Nazis。 The author interviews ten men from Kronenberg about their reasons for backing the National Socialists。 The most interesting thing I found was how they all saw the years of 1933 thru 1939 as the best years of their lives。 It was also interesting learning about these representatives of the common man viewed the post-war events and policies。 They received many mixed messages about justice， rebuilding， and militarism as th Interesting and dated book exploring how common Germans willing became Nazis。 The author interviews ten men from Kronenberg about their reasons for backing the National Socialists。 The most interesting thing I found was how they all saw the years of 1933 thru 1939 as the best years of their lives。 It was also interesting learning about these representatives of the common man viewed the post-war events and policies。 They received many mixed messages about justice， rebuilding， and militarism as the iron current descended across Europe。Looking at parallels between the Germans in the 1930s and the current acceptance by some towards authoritarianism， there are some troubling similarities but also some major differences。 One being that the Germans have an engrained experience of living under monarch。 Democratic ideals were foreign to the average German in the summer of 1945。 。。。more
Travis Sundwall
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The book was is informative and accessible， though ‘of its time’。 Some of the author’s commentary will likely give modern readers pause。
Fisher
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"When we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole， we not only renounce personal advantage， but are also rid of personal responsibility。 There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears， hesitations， doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgment。 When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement， we find a new freedom--freedom to hate， bully， lie， torture， murder "When we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole， we not only renounce personal advantage， but are also rid of personal responsibility。 There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears， hesitations， doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgment。 When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement， we find a new freedom--freedom to hate， bully， lie， torture， murder and betray without shame and remorse。 Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement。" - The True Believer， Eric Hoffer。The above quote could be applied to Nazism， of course。 But not all of the people Milton Sanford Mayer interviews in They Thought They Were Free are Nazis。 Some of them are Nazis-by-proxy because they did nothing when they could've done anything。 No， the mass movement they joined was not Nazism， but that upon which it was built: the German race。 So what happens to the individual when an authoritarian seizes power and capitalizes on that foundational doctrine of race？ You're either in， or you're out， which in most cases means dead; and if you're in power， you can get a whole lot of people to make that happen for you if you get enough them scared of others who don't look like them and fool them into thinking they're making their own decisions。 Either out of desperation or cruelty， they'll comply。 。。。more
Jared Hanishewski
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The thing about freedom is that you believe you always have it and that it can never be taken away。 This book reveals how it is always be encroach upon and so often you will not notice until it is too late。
Donald MacKenzie
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Some ominous parallels with the current day。
Dave Cell
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An amazing book that *everyone* should read。 Yes， you too could have done what the German people did during WWII。 Anyone could。 That's the point， and the terrible danger。 An amazing book that *everyone* should read。 Yes， you too could have done what the German people did during WWII。 Anyone could。 That's the point， and the terrible danger。 。。。more
Anam Cara
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An absolutely amazing book。 I'd heard about this and the title made me wonder if there was something we could learn about this for our times。 Do we think we are free but are not in reality？ I was made to think about life in 21st century USA in light of what happened in Germany。I learned so very much。 This book was written in 1954 by an American journalist who moved to Germany to get to know the "common man" and learn how the National Socialist Party was able to come to such great power in German An absolutely amazing book。 I'd heard about this and the title made me wonder if there was something we could learn about this for our times。 Do we think we are free but are not in reality？ I was made to think about life in 21st century USA in light of what happened in Germany。I learned so very much。 This book was written in 1954 by an American journalist who moved to Germany to get to know the "common man" and learn how the National Socialist Party was able to come to such great power in Germany。I got it through inter-library loan because I wasn't sure that I wanted to "gamble" $18 to purchase it from amazon。 Now I am sorry I didn't because if it had been my book， I would have underlined， made notes in the margins， all sort of things like that。 I had to think carefully about some of the things I have believed and whether or not I have been manipulated in subtle ways。 I know I will never listen to news/politicians the same again。I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in how the past molds the future。 And don't think it can't happen here。 。。。more
Gregg
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The most worthwhile parts of the book can be found in part one， which relies on interviews with ten German citizens who participated in the Nazi party。What’s most telling is how little they were humbled by their loss， or by the war crimes committed on their behalf。 Any citizen of the United States expecting their far right counterparts to exhibit contrition for their support of numerous attacks on our democracy should read this and adjust their expectations。
Jillian Mazon
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Disturbingly timely。 A fascinating examination of the psyche of the average German citizen that joined the Nazi Party。 A clear depiction of the slippery slope into fascism。
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Essential reading！
Sharienne
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Well done study from the 10 years after WWII。 Extremely interesting and well written。
William Kirkland
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Milton Mayer’s They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45， had long been on my reading list。 By unhappy coincidence this turned out to be the year to pick it up。 Originally published in 1955 with many reprintings following， it was reissued in 2017。 With good reason。 Reading it may scare the bejeezus out of you， or it may give you a vantage point from which to view the events in the United States these past years。 Mayer， then a journalist and itinerant university professor， an America Jew Milton Mayer’s They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45， had long been on my reading list。 By unhappy coincidence this turned out to be the year to pick it up。 Originally published in 1955 with many reprintings following， it was reissued in 2017。 With good reason。 Reading it may scare the bejeezus out of you， or it may give you a vantage point from which to view the events in the United States these past years。 Mayer， then a journalist and itinerant university professor， an America Jew with distinctly Quaker connections， went to Germany in 1952 to try to understand “…this monstrous man， the Nazi。 I wanted to talk to him and to listen to him。 I wanted to try to understand him。” Through determined inquiries and skillful persuasion he found ten ordinary Germans， “little men” as they saw themselves， to interview over the course of one year， though interview is too formal a term。 He had conversations with them at dinner tables， on front porches， and on Sunday walks。 With the exception of one， all became men Mayer referred to as friends。They Thought they Were Free> begins with Mayer’s reportage and analysis of those interviews; it then continues to various observations and assertions Mayer makes with regard to the Germany， the Occupation， to America， and to NATO。 The early chapters are， by far， the most interesting， and most relevant to today。 The men had occupations such as tailor， cabinet maker， bill collector， bank clerk。 One was a volunteer fireman None were wealthy。 If they had status it was modest in the modest city of Kronenburg （an invented name for the actual town of Marburg。） The highest， and most respected was the teacher with education far beyond the others and accorded the esteem given to teachers for centuries in Germany。 None but teacher had ever traveled abroad; none had ever talked to a foreigner or read the foreign press。 None of them， except the teacher， ever thought， or thought at the time of the interviews， that Nazism was evil。 When asked why he had believed in National Socialism， one said “Because it promised to solve the unemployment problem” And it did。 “But I never imagined what it would lead to。 Nobody did。” “What it would lead to” was the war， not the Holocaust， about which he was still mostly dubious。 Another said， “National Socialism had a place for me。” During the interviews he refused to believe so many Jews had been killed。 How could there be， he wanted to know， if there were still so many。For the complete review see https://www。allinoneboat。org/they-tho。。。 。。。more
Lim Dim
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Fascinating and deeply insightful interview portion。 Followed by some rambling philosophy and incorrect predictions about Germany's future。 Still， the first half is very good for understanding what fascism really is， and dispelling the notion that the everyday German was held hostage to it。 Fascinating and deeply insightful interview portion。 Followed by some rambling philosophy and incorrect predictions about Germany's future。 Still， the first half is very good for understanding what fascism really is， and dispelling the notion that the everyday German was held hostage to it。 。。。more
Zera Silver
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A fascinating and terrifying look at how "nice normal everyday people" join the Nazis。 So many of the justifications given by these Nazis are things I've heard when people talk about American politics today。 This book destroys the myth that Nazis were some freak abnormality of human cruelty， they were people similar to ones you know and that is even scarier。 A fascinating and terrifying look at how "nice normal everyday people" join the Nazis。 So many of the justifications given by these Nazis are things I've heard when people talk about American politics today。 This book destroys the myth that Nazis were some freak abnormality of human cruelty， they were people similar to ones you know and that is even scarier。 。。。more
Michele
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Very interesting book to listen to。
Lacy
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This was very powerful。 It shows how perfectly ordinary people can get wrapped up in extremist viewpoints and look the other way when they themselves aren't being negatively affected。 This was very powerful。 It shows how perfectly ordinary people can get wrapped up in extremist viewpoints and look the other way when they themselves aren't being negatively affected。 。。。more
lizzie
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words cannot express how much i harbor a great penchant for this book
Tiffany
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** 100 years of books challenge - published in 1955 **Fascinating and frighteningly relevant nonfiction。 I do think it's so important to read books like this and Fascism （by Madeline Albright）。 There are incremental steps leading to the of violent and divisive regimes， and it's only by studying history that we can watch for those indications in our own society。 ** 100 years of books challenge - published in 1955 **Fascinating and frighteningly relevant nonfiction。 I do think it's so important to read books like this and Fascism （by Madeline Albright）。 There are incremental steps leading to the of violent and divisive regimes， and it's only by studying history that we can watch for those indications in our own society。 。。。more
Derek Kreider
，
This was my second time reading through the book。 I absolutely love Mayer's witty comedy。 He is extremely insightful as well。 This book covers so much of what I'm interested in: propaganda， consequentialism， lesser of two evils morality， self-deception， truth， etc。 It uncovers a lot。 I especially like that Mayer， who is a Jew， humanizes those he interviews。 He recognizes their depravity， but also recognizes their humanity， which I would imagine is a very hard thing to do， especially with wounds This was my second time reading through the book。 I absolutely love Mayer's witty comedy。 He is extremely insightful as well。 This book covers so much of what I'm interested in: propaganda， consequentialism， lesser of two evils morality， self-deception， truth， etc。 It uncovers a lot。 I especially like that Mayer， who is a Jew， humanizes those he interviews。 He recognizes their depravity， but also recognizes their humanity， which I would imagine is a very hard thing to do， especially with wounds so fresh。 。。。more
Grump
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Nazis were people just like us。 Pretty weird。 Also takes a look at how the American occupation had a bunch of parallels to the nazi times。 Disturbingly humanizing and nicely written。
Jared Estes
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It's been a while since I've read this， but I do remember it being quite good。 One thing I always look for in Nazi related books is whether the author/editor is manipulating the words of those found within - because everything Nazi related needs to be manipulated to cast Nazi's in the worst possible light and can never offer a nuanced take - and don't remember that being the case here。 It's been a while since I've read this， but I do remember it being quite good。 One thing I always look for in Nazi related books is whether the author/editor is manipulating the words of those found within - because everything Nazi related needs to be manipulated to cast Nazi's in the worst possible light and can never offer a nuanced take - and don't remember that being the case here。 。。。more
Echo
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It was really interesting to read this sort of snapshot of a time in history， and what Mayer learned from the small group of Germans he got to know and what led them to fall in line with the Nazi party。 It was especially interesting how， years later， some regretted their part in what happened， while others still bought into the Nazi ideology， or at least parts of it。 It amazes me how much of what they had to say remains relevant today， and unfortunately， will probably still be relevant at differ It was really interesting to read this sort of snapshot of a time in history， and what Mayer learned from the small group of Germans he got to know and what led them to fall in line with the Nazi party。 It was especially interesting how， years later， some regretted their part in what happened， while others still bought into the Nazi ideology， or at least parts of it。 It amazes me how much of what they had to say remains relevant today， and unfortunately， will probably still be relevant at different times in the future。 The end of the book did drag a little， when Mayer switched from talking about what he'd learned from Germans who had lived through the war to discussing post-war Germany and guessing about what the future would hold （predictions that didn't really come to pass）。 He also lost me a little when he started talking about Germany's national character。 But it was still somewhat interesting to see his thoughts。The Afterward also had some valuable information about Mayer， both the things he did well and the areas where his study fell short。This is definitely a book I would recommend others to read。 。。。more
TimsGlitterBug
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A worthwhile read for a deeper perspective on this time period。 This was a very interesting compilation of first hand accounts/interviews of those who lived through the rise of Nazi Socialism and how it was to them， as citizens experiencing the shift into such a regime。 It's insightful as to how subtle， and yet seemingly good the power shift seemed to those experiencing it from the inside， until the real horrors of what was upon them came into focus。Well written and organized; easy to read。 It w A worthwhile read for a deeper perspective on this time period。 This was a very interesting compilation of first hand accounts/interviews of those who lived through the rise of Nazi Socialism and how it was to them， as citizens experiencing the shift into such a regime。 It's insightful as to how subtle， and yet seemingly good the power shift seemed to those experiencing it from the inside， until the real horrors of what was upon them came into focus。Well written and organized; easy to read。 It was like stepping back into that time when many were trying to understand what in the heck had happened and how do we learn from it。 Did we learn from it？ 。。。more
Dan Organ
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An American professor travels to Germany after the 2nd World War to interview 10 ordinary people about why they supported the Nazi regime and unpacks a complex situation that delves into social pressure， society， German culture， your standing in the community， class boundaries， intellectual， politics or just plain needed to join the party as that was the only way to get a job in order to eat。 Join party or starve。The thing that stood out the most was the feeling of being a “little person” an ind An American professor travels to Germany after the 2nd World War to interview 10 ordinary people about why they supported the Nazi regime and unpacks a complex situation that delves into social pressure， society， German culture， your standing in the community， class boundaries， intellectual， politics or just plain needed to join the party as that was the only way to get a job in order to eat。 Join party or starve。The thing that stood out the most was the feeling of being a “little person” an individual with no power。 Knowing something was happening， feeling bad about it but knowing you cant do anything about it， lest the “Big people” （Those in charge） kill you as well。 The book is written on English but the American talked to the Germans in German and does a great job of explaining unique German turns of phrases。“Nods ones head but makes a fist in his pocket” （ie says he agrees but his frustration boils inside）。This book is worth a read and gives a lot of insight into a very complex issue。 It also makes me admire those who stood up to oppose Nazism， under the threat of death。P。S This book has a big Nazi Swastika on the front。 Prob not a good book to read in a public cafe as you will get a lot of worried people glancing at you。 。。。more
Kyle Petitt
，
Fantastic book。 Primary accounts of real German citizens witness to the rise of Nazism。 Often we see the nazi regime as a monolithic evil。 In reality， most people were just passively nazis or felt they had to be apart of the party to survive/ advance。 It’s quite interesting to hear how an otherwise good person could passively allow bad things to happen because it doesn’t directly hurt them。 I was recommended this book off a podcast episode and it did not disappoint。 A lot of aspects of the story Fantastic book。 Primary accounts of real German citizens witness to the rise of Nazism。 Often we see the nazi regime as a monolithic evil。 In reality， most people were just passively nazis or felt they had to be apart of the party to survive/ advance。 It’s quite interesting to hear how an otherwise good person could passively allow bad things to happen because it doesn’t directly hurt them。 I was recommended this book off a podcast episode and it did not disappoint。 A lot of aspects of the story seemed analogous to the rise of trumpism although on a much larger scale。 I would recommend this to anyone and everyone because it underlines the cognitive dissonance and mob mentality that are often overbearing in our political establishment on both sides。 。。。more
Erin
，