History in Review - The Nazi Germany Sourcebook: an anthology of texts

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History in Review

The Nazi Germany Sourcebook: an anthology of texts
By Roderick Stackelberg and Sally A. Winkle. (London & New York, Routledge: 2002. Pg. xxxi, 455. Illustrations and Maps.) ISBN: 0-415-22214-1.

Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - January 13, 2003

The The Nazi Germany Sourcebook by Roderick Stackelberg and Sally A. Winkle contains a broad selection of primary texts, translated into English. These texts were selected with the aim of providing the reader with a general overview of the origins and consequences of Nazism. These texts will also help readers to understand the basics of German history and culture and how these elements abetted the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For example, some of the documents, such as Konstantin von Gebsattel's 1913 essay, "The Jewish Question," illustrate the feelings of Anti-Semitism that permeated pre-Hitler Germany.

The texts in this anthology are derived from a variety of sources, including diplomatic records, governmental documents from a variety of countries, speeches, personal correspondence, and propaganda publications. In all, this work includes 148 documents organized into seven thematic categories:

The German Empire and the First World War
The Weimar Republic, 1919-33
The Third Reich: The consolidation of Nazi rule, 1933-35
The Third Reich: The road to war, 1936-39
The Second World War, 1939-45
The Holocaust
The aftermath of Nazism and the Historian's Debate

Each section contains an introductory essay, and introductory and background material is provided for each entry. Annotations as to the source of the material, and the translator, are provided at the end of each entry. In addition to the texts, this book also includes a variety of illustrations and a detailed "Chronology" that lists the major milestones of German history from 1871-1990.

This book will serve as an excellent component to any undergraduate course in the history of Germany, World War II, or the Holocaust. It is best used in combination with other texts that flesh out the subject in more detail. However, I feel that it could be used quite effectively as the sole course text if supplemental material was offered either in the class or via outside research projects. In either case, it will provide students, and the general reader, with a unique perspective on Nazi Germany from a variety of viewpoints.

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