Hitler's Millennial Reich

A “brilliant” study of the convergence of apocalyptic anxiety and authoritarianism in Germany: “A story, unfortunately, of continuing relevance.” —Charles B. Strozier, author of Apocalypse: On the Psychology of Fundamentalism in America

After World War I, German citizens sought not merely relief from the political, economic, social, and cultural upheaval that wracked Weimar Germany, but also mental salvation. With promises of order, prosperity, and community, Adolph Hitler fulfilled a profoundly spiritual need on behalf of those who converted to Nazism, and thus became not only Führer, but Messiah, contends David Redles, who believes that millenarian sentiment was central to the rise of Nazism.

As opposed to many works which depersonalize Nazism by focusing on institutional factors, Redles offers a fresh view of the impact and potential for millenarian movements. The writings of both major and minor Nazi party figures, in which there echoes a striking religiosity and salvational faith, reveal how receptive Germans were to the notion of a millennial Reich such as that offered by Hitler. Redles illustrates how Hitler’s apocalyptic prophecies of a coming “final battle” with the so-called Jewish Bolsheviks, one that was conceived to be a “war of annihilation,” was transformed into an equally eschatological “Final Solution.”

“[Redles] has done an extraordinarily careful and brilliant analysis of the archival material to reveal Hitler’s messianic charisma, his appeal both on the ideological and psychological level, illustrating that if you can convince people that they live in apocalyptic times and you have the key to their collective salvation, you can get them to do anything.” —Richard Landes, Director, Center for Millennial Studies, Department of History, Boston University