The Hitler Years: Triumph, 1933–1939

In this first installment of a two-volume history of Nazi Germany (first published in London in 2019), historian McDonough (The Gestapo) aims to provide a narrative of the first six years of the Nazi regime that’s geared to general readers but also incorporates interpretations from the latest specialized historical research. McDonough is particularly adept at explaining the inner workings of the Nazi state and debunking myths that still cling to it. For example, Adolf Hitler engaged in some grandiose public works projects as German chancellor, such as building the Autobahn, but his efforts to make a “people’s car” (one that would be available to most Germans) fell flat. McDonough argues that 1936 was the heyday of Nazi Germany, in part due to the Berlin Olympics, and afterward, the standard of living declined while the bureaucracy of oppression expanded. The book’s chronological framework, where each chapter corresponds to a year, has some minor pitfalls, as the author will move from subject to subject sometimes without a graceful transition.