Hitler's beneficiaries
Subtitle: how the Nazis bought the German people
By: Götz Aly ; translated by Jefferson Chase
Publisher: Verso
Published: 2007
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 431
ISBN-13: 9781844672172
Subjects: Studies; World War, 1939-1945; Destruction and pillage; Jewish property; History; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945); Economic aspects; Economic policy; Politics and government; Economics; Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei
Work titles: Hitlers Volksstaat
Description: In this book, historian Götz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scale--and by channeling the proceeds into generous social programs--Hitler literally "bought" his people's consent. Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of conquered territory and the transfer of Jewish possessions into their homes and pockets. Any qualms were swept away by waves of government handouts, tax breaks, and preferential legislation.
Notes: This translation originally published: New York: Metropolitan, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-416) and index.

Translated from the German.