Historian Peter Fritzsche is the author of more than 10 books. Hitler’s First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich was published in 2020. This is the 73rd book I’ve completed in 2022.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book/novel as G. The depression of the 1930s left Germany primed for political change. Hitler and the Nazi party were prepared to step in and take control. Hitler is appointed Chancellor in 1933, and the Enabling Law is soon proclaimed. It allows Hitler to pass any laws he wants, including those that violate the Weimar Constitution. Neither the Reichstag nor Reich President Paul von Hindenburg will be able to interfere. Hitler is the dictator in control of Germany.

The Reichstag is set on fire shortly after Hitler becomes Chancellor. It gives the Nazis an excuse to go after the communists. This eliminates one of their major political opponents. Hitler publicly calls for unity and renewal. He stirs the people to join in large public rallies.

Hitler creates jobs and begins to restore the economy. The people cheer those efforts while ignoring the mass arrests, bonfires, and brutality on the streets. The people are reminded of how Germany was mistreated by the Treaty of Versailles. Their anger is focused on the communists and the Jews.

I enjoyed the 13.5+ hours I spent reading this 363-page WWII history. The book is dry and scholarly. The cover art is plain, but it does reflect the time. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded up to 4) out of 5.

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This is a great read for those who want to learn history in a more engaging manner. The book follows almost like a journal/travelogue which makes all the factual information much more bearable to read through and to take in. You really learn the insider view of what it was like in Germany in the 1930's with the development of the "National Socialists".
This book gives all the history of what struggles Germany was in the middle of ,such as the economic crisis, and shows the desperation of the German people for change, causing them to be "for Hitler" and it tells of those who doubted his vision.
Two perspectives are shown in this book in a very objective manner, those for and against the Nazis. This is a great read for History buffs or just the average person interested in learning more about Hitler's rise in power.

Thank you, NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

There are so many books about Hitler that it is hard to find a really unique one that doesn't tell you anything that other books haven't told you already. This was an ok book. It wasn't my favorite book about Hitler, but I loved reading about the events that unfolded in the late 1930s/early 1940s from a different angle.

This book was a fascinating look into how easily Hitler came to power and the dramatic shift from the Weimer Republic to the Third Reich within months. It is a timely book as those who read can't help but see elements repeating today in our 2020 world.

A great vivid account of the conditions that lead to the rise of Hitler and the events that transpired during his first 100 days.

Let the lessons in this book serve as a warning on how to avoid the same thing from happening again.

I have read several books on World War II. Several of those were focused on atrocities committed in Auschwitz, Sobibor and Similar camps. There are stories about cruelties & war crimes, stories about survival and human spirit and stories about love in such times however I was always curious about how such situation arose. How, one person became so powerful to carry out one of the largest organised genocide in the history of mankind.

This was the first book I read which gives a careful account of how the nation came together and put one person in charge believing that he is the answer to all their problems. His "all or nothing" approach and heated speeches found favour with masses. This, combined with political assassinations and elimination of conflicting ideologies gradually installed a system of terror and state activism which affected life of millions.

The book gives detailed information of history but does not become boring. It keeps the interest alive and moves like a thrilling political drama.

Hitler’s Hundred Days is more like a study of how Hitler consolidated his power over the German state rather than the hundred days of Franklin Roosevelt of expansive government programs. But in both cases, it was a radical reconstruction of the state just differing in the means.

The author spends a great deal of time covering the history of the conditions in Germany throughout the 1920’s and 30’s that made Hitler and the Nazi’s possible, which while informative takes far too long in the grand scheme of the book. The book takes an upswing however when we get into the transformation of German society once Hitler and the Nazi’s took over. The transformation is stunning even to readers like me who are well versed in the actions of Hitler and the Nazi party.

Also out of place for me was the impact of Nazism on other countries because it doesn’t really work within the hundred days concept. Would’ve been great in a book on the global impact of Nazism, but in a book on Hitler’s hundred days, it just felt like filler. For me, the author gets high marks for placing the Nazi’s in the historical context of Germany in the twenties and thirties and the rapid change in Germany under Nazism, but loses a little something when the context shifts from Germany.

There are countless books that address Hitler's meteoric rise to power. But what makes this book different from the rest is that it does not just tell the reader about events, it recreates the sounds, spectacles, and even smells that Germans experienced during those early days of conversion and coercion to the Nazi cause. In short, it allows the reader to feel immersed in the times, almost as if he or she was there experiencing events first hand. It is this immersion that helps the reader understand the complex processes that shaped everyday Germans response to the Third Reich. This on-the-streets experience is reconstructed by the author through extensive use of primary accounts of those days as well as through incorporating novelistic and cinematic treatments of the Nazi rise to power that were released as events unfolded. This is a must-read for anyone interested in how a democratic nation can become susceptible to authoritarian ideology, xenophobia, and a murderous agenda even as the people of that nation search for unity, peace, and an escape from polarized politics..

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was not the book I was hoping it would be. While I was expecting a look into the inner workings of Hitler and his early rise to power what I got was the impact the National Socialists (Nazis) had on the cultural and daily lives of Germans. Good to understand stuff certainly, but not of interest to me for a whole book.

This book's focus on Hitler's first 10 days was interesting because of its in-depth coverage of those days. Of course, the whole time you know what comes later, so there is a menacing feel since we know more now, of course, than people at that time knew about him.

Thanks for the ARC Net Galley

I enjoyed the speed and details of the events of Hitler's first 100 days. Great and detailed research throughout the narrative that helps explain why people like this keep coming to power; because YOU ARE NOT READING!!!! I enjoyed it.

Many books deal with the subject of Hitler's rise to power, but this one goes into far more detail than most. The author has done an exemplary job of researching this material and has come up with a very readable, personal account of how Hitler went from a no-one to a someone in the span of a few years.

Rather than rehashing the same often-told stories of how Hitler took over Germany and eventually other territories, this book narrows in on his first hundred days in power and how those decisions and responses would later change the outcome of the future.

This book is well-organised and invaluable for anyone doing research on Germany's involvement in WWII. I learned a lot from reading this book, especially about the little known events happening in the background of the larger, more popular stories. I thought the author did a good job of staying impartial and reporting facts.

Definitely a book to read if you want to know more about Hitler's first period as chancellor. Interesting, compelling and informational.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own.