TheyThoughtTheyWereFree

“When this book was first published, it received attention from critics but not from the public. Nazism met its end in the bunker in Berlin, and a death sentence was signed on the bench at Nuremberg.” Milton Mayer wrote this in the foreword of the 1966 edition of They Thought They Were Free. Though the book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1956, it took longer for general readers to notice it. However, over the years, anytime people feel that their freedom is threatened, interest in the book spreads through word-of-mouth. This past year has seen a surge of interest in the book from people across the political spectrum.

They Thought They Were Free is a thought-provoking exploration of the rise of fascism in Germany. Mayer lived in Germany after the war and interviewed ten Germans about their lives from 1933-45. These individuals were not men of distinction, but they were members of the Nazi Party. Mayer sought to understand the reasons behind their involvement in the party. The discussions about Nazism, the rise of the Reich, and complicity in mass evil form the backbone of this book, which indicts the ordinary German. The book’s power lies in its refusal to let us assume that our society, country, or moment is fundamentally immune from similar atrocities.

In the new foreword by historian Richard J. Evans, the book is placed in both historical and contemporary contexts. In an age of fervent politics and hyperbolic rhetoric, They Thought They Were Free reveals the quiet, incremental changes, complicity, and moral authority abdications that herald the rise of evil.

作者简介

MiltonSanfordMayer(1908-1986)wasajournalistandeducator.Hewastheauthorofaboutadozenbooks.HestudiedattheUniversityofChicagofrom1925to1928buthedidnotearnadegree;in1942hetoldtheSaturdayEveningPostthathewas"placedonpermanentprobationforthrowingbeerbottlesoutadormitorywindow."HewasareporterfortheAssociatedPress,theCh...