Rees takes the reader on a descent into the intricate thought processes and motivations of those who aspire to create change in a world view that suits and promotes their own ideological motivations - regardless of what that may leave in its wake.

The parallels, though nowhere near the atrocities that we're committed by the Nazis, to a lot of the visceral division in today's political climate across the globe can be seen throughout the book.

This does seem to fit similarly into the "On Tyranny" type of book that acts as a reminder of what totalitarian or authoritarian regimes are capable of when they go unchecked.

I've always been so curious, maybe morbidly curious, with the making of the Nazi party and how they were able to rise up with such radical viewpoints and Rees does an incredible job of the calculation done by those in power to blend their aggressive and abrasive beliefs into a political message that ultimately led them to power.

I'm just...overwhelmed. More horrible details are discussed which will have you questioning the humanity of the everyday German public during the Reich.

I am very of German heritage with known relatives, a great uncle that was in the Lüftwaffe. Nazi, Nazis in my extended heritage. How could anyone of the blood we share been so cruel, so inhuman?
All for blood guilt and conspiracy theories about Jewish people that were routinely referenced as
"rats", as vermin, as...diseased...I'll stop there; I just can't understand it.

But the Nazi mind was most Germans of that time.
The Stanford Zimbardo experiment, the Stanley Milgram study...Its our human nature l'm so sorry to say.

And if you're at Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here" stage you'd be so very wrong.

I'm going on too long. This is an important, stunning work of scholarship. Recommended but listen...Guard your heart. That's the takeaway.

Solid Nonpartisan Examination Of The Psychology Of Nazism - And All The More Terrifying For It. This is one of those *detailed* looks at the full history of Nazism, all the way back into its origins in the 19th century, that uses different psychological concepts as the focus of each chapter and shows how both the leaders of the Party and even the German laypeople fell under its spell.

Even with most chapters being a detailed history of the Nazi period of Germany and with only the final "Twelve Warnings" chapter having really anything to do directly with life a century later, the parallels to political life now - on *all* sides - become quite clear, even without Rees having to explicitly detail them. Whether it be the anti-immigrant MAGA or the anti-white "Woke" Left, the parallels to the various psychological foibles of Nazism are quite clear in Rees' history here - which makes it all the more utterly terrifying.

Because no matter what modern society wants to think, and as a great grandson of an American soldier who was a German POW during WWI and a grandson of two survivors of the Battle of the Bulge on the American side (one of whom earned a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for this actions in that particular battle) of WWII, I think I have some space to talk here: Nazis did utterly horrific things, this is clear. Things that would drive those who even witnessed them - even as liberators - to lifelong alcoholism after the war, and that was among the *better* effects. But Nazis were *not* some mythical monster. They were utterly, completely, 100% human - and we and our society - *any* of us - could fall into their depravities much easier than we like to think in the 2020s. Rees' history here makes this all too clear, and should serve as a clarion call to *ALL* of us, no matter our political beliefs or reasonings.

Read this book. Apply it to your political enemies - that's the easy part. Then critically look at those closest to you politically... and apply it to them as well. That's hard. Then critically look into your own mind, seriously examine your own thought processes and how you believe what you believe, and apply this book to that as well. That's the hardest part of all. Yet it may indeed be our only way of truly preventing the horrors of the past from becoming a prophecy of a future that could come again.

Very much recommended.

This was a really excellent study of aspects of the psychology behind Nazism. Rees does an excellent job of balancing historical narrative, factual data, and psychological analysis as he walks his readers through the rise, reign, and fall of Hitler and the Nazi movement. The descriptions of the acts committed by the Nazis does make for difficult reading at times, but we must look the facts of the Holocaust and the crimes of those involved squarely in the face if we are going to work towards understanding the psychology behind such atrocities. This book would be an excellent companion piece to Richard Evans’s Third Reich trilogy and deserves a place on the shelf of any individual who has interest in WW2. An easy four star recommendation.

The Nazi Mind by Laurence Rees is a compelling exploration of the psychological and sociopolitical factors that enabled the perpetrators of the Holocaust to commit such unimaginable atrocities. Rees doesn't shy away from confronting the darkness that gripped Nazi Germany, offering a nuanced view of how ordinary Germans—many of whom might not have initially embraced extreme ideologies—came to tolerate or even actively participate in the removal of Jews and other marginalized groups. By tracing the roots of Nazi mentalities from the fringe politics of the 1920s through to their rise in the 1930s, Rees provides a clear historical context for how such a violent ideology gained traction in Germany.

This book is so well researched and so well written it gave me nightmares. I had to give up reading it before bedtime because the parallels you see with the Reich and MAGA are scary and I kept telling myself, "how are we here again", "how do people not see this?" everyone should read this book.

Whoever chose the title “The Nazi Mind” didn’t do the author any favors. That title suggests the book is about psychology, but that’s not the focus. It’s helpful to read Rees’s clear introduction to his approach and to take note that this is a history book informed on occasion by psychology, and not a psychology book informed by history. He states flatly that he doesn’t believe it’s helpful to try to psychoanalyze historical persons; it ends up being just speculation and tends to look ridiculous. Rees asserts that it’s a false notion that there is some specific Nazi psychological personality type.

Here are Rees’s 12 warnings:

1. Spreading conspiracy theories
2. Using them and us
3. Leading as a hero
4. Corrupting youth
5. Conniving with the elite
6. Attacking human rights
7. Exploiting faith
8. Valuing enemies
9. Eliminating resistance
10. Escalating racism
11. Killing at a distance
12. Stoking fear

We can certainly recognize these as existing today in the MAGA mind, so you might be expecting this book to draw parallels between the Nazi mind and the MAGA mind. But no, it doesn’t. Instead, each chapter addresses its topic at some length, as it applies to the Nazi era. It’s up to the reader to consider parallels and warnings. Lees has written a lot of books about the Nazi era, including The Nazis: A Warning From History (first published in 1997), The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler, How Mankind Committed the Ultimate Infamy at Auschwitz, and his better-known titles, The Holocaust, and Auschwitz. If you’ve already read any of those, you won’t find much new here. But if not, this is a good way of helping you wrap your mind around how easily previously unthinkable things can be brought about in supposedly civilized countries.

This book really opened my eyes to the context of our present day. The historical revelations were significant and highly recommended.

This was a very lengthy book, with an extensive detail and research. It read like a history textbook for a college class, so the tone was quite dry. For research purposes, this book would be an excellent tool.
Due to the subject matter, there are very graphic, disturbing passages.

The parts that stood out to me:
The sections on Holocaust denial, and very chilling reports on how many Nazis “excused” their war time actions.

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

Very eye opening book for the times that we are living. Many history lessons that I did not know. I would highly recommend this book for the history alone.

What a terrible time In US history for me to be reading this book. Filled with heartbreak and concern, a good read for anyone.