CULTURE IN THE THIRD REICH

A new perspective on the culture of the Third Reich

Author Moritz Föllmer (Translated by Lesley Sharpe and Jeremy Noakes) Publisher Oxford University press Price £20 Released Out now

Moritz Föllmer’s Culture Of The Third Reich sets out to examine not only the cultural identity of the Third Reich, but how the careful cultivation of that identity played a vital part in the acceptance of the regime. Much has been written on the subject but Föllmer approaches the material from a new angle, shining a spotlight on what culture actually meant in the Reich, from committed supporters of the Nazis at one end of the spectrum to those who were its innocent victims at the other.

Föllmer guides the reader through the cultural landscape of the Third Reich from 1933 until 1945, as Joseph Goebbels strove to create a cultural identity that would be recognised instantly as that of National Socialism. From movies to magazines, mass rallies and even beauty pageants, the book

illustrates in chilling detail the way that culture became a weapon of propaganda, crafted for mass appeal while preaching a message of domination and hatred.

Culture Of The Third Reich is obviously situated firmly in the field of cultural studies, and it’s here that the book runs into its only real sticking point. Occasionally concepts seem to get lost in translation, and though these instances are few and far between it does mean that the text becomes a little clunky now and then. That is a small complaint, though, and on the whole does no harm to a fascinating work. Culture Of The Third Reich may not be for the more casual reader, but this insightful book has much to recommend it. CC