History Literature / TheRiseAndFallOfTheThirdReich

This book is the result of years of extensive research, and yet despite this, Shirer himself bluntly states early on that he is a ''journalist'', not a historian, and thus everything he says must not be seen as absolute fact. He also warns that his personal biases may color his perception of the facts. A number of the book's claims have, as Shirer predicted, been debunked over the years, and historians as a whole are not particularly impressed with it. However, even they tend to find it a pleasant read, and many have argued that it is a good place to get general information on Nazi Germany for those who are interested.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: As the Third Reich crumbles, many Nazis try to make a break for it, [[Hypocrite while also ordering the executions of soldiers and civilians for trying to do the same.]]

* KillEmAll: Hitler tries to do this to all "inferior races", a list that eventually includes the German people themselves for "failing" him. In the latter case, several of his top cronies refuse to do his bidding.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Hitler tended to do this to underlings. If you incurred the Fuhrer's disfavor, you were lucky to be fired (like Werner von Blomberg or Hjalmar Schacht) or ReassignedToAntarctica (Franz von Papen). Being imprisoned or even murdered, like Ernst Röhm (whose SA became an embarrassment to Hitler upon taking power) or Gregor Strasser (Hitler's biggest rival within the Nazi Party), was not uncommon.

** Downplayed with Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano whom, while not a great diplomat, is still ''a lot more'' down-to-earth than the Nazis, and even his own boss.

This book is the result of years of extensive research, and yet despite this, Shirer himself bluntly states early on that he is a ''journalist'', not a historian, and thus everything he says must not be seen as absolute fact. He also warns that his personal biases may color his perception of the facts. A number of the book's claims have, as Shirer predicted, been debunked over the years, and historians as a whole are not particularly ambivalent towards it. However, even they tend to find it a pleasant read, and many have argued that it is a good place to get general information on Nazi Germany for those who are interested.

* DirtyCoward: Even when it's clear that the war is lost, Hitler and his lackeys force the German people to keep fighting because they ''know'' they can't expect any undeserved mercy from the Allies.

* UnreliableNarrator: Shirer spends a lot of the book citing the memoirs or trial testimony of various Nazi officials while also noting that they weren't exactly reliable in their recollections. He's particularly critical of Franz von Papen, who tried distancing himself from the Nazis despite, and Hjalmar Schacht, who played a peripheral role in the German economy in the early days of the Third Reich until he was replaced by Walther Funk.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Discussed. Shirer makes the highly contentious argument that the German people consider, in his words, "blind obedience to temporal rulers the highest virtue of Germanic man and put a premium on servility." This was a variant on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderweg Sonderweg]] theory prevalent at the time, attempting to explain Hitler's rise as the natural outcome of German history and culture. Needless to say, this interpretation was already ''highly'' contentious at the time the book came out and is almost universally discredited today. That said, Shirer ''does'' devote considerable space to [[LaResistance the German Resistance]] and notes that during his own time in Germany, he met a lot of ordinary Germans who privately disliked Hitler's regime, however they might have acted in public.

* UnreliableNarrator: Shirer spends a lot of the book citing the memoirs or trial testimony of various Nazi officials while also noting that they weren't exactly reliable in their recollections. He's particularly critical of Franz von Papen, who tried distancing himself from the Nazis despite, and Hjalmar Schacht, who played a peripheral role in the Ge

This book is the result of years of extensive research, and yet despite this, Shirer himself bluntly states early on that he is a ''journalist'', not a historian, and thus everything he says must not be seen as absolute fact. He also warns that his personal biases may color his perception of the facts. A number of the book's claims have been debunked over the years, and historians as a whole are not particularly ambivalent towards it. However, even they tend to find it a pleasant read, and many have argued that it is a good place to get general information on Nazi Germany for those who are interested.

* DepravedHomosexual: How Shirer portrays Ernst Röhm, noting that Röhm abused his position to procure male lovers and that one of his underlings was arrested with a man in his bed.

* DepravedHomosexual: How Shirer portrays Ernst Röhm and the SA, noting that Röhm abused his position to procure male lovers and that one of his underlings was arrested with a man in his bed.

%%* DepravedHomosexual: How Shirer portrays Ernst Rohm and the SA, with some degree of TruthInTelevision. %% Zero Context Example

* YouHaveFailedMe: When it becomes clear that Germany is going to lose the war, Hitler feels that the German people are "no longer worthy of his greatness" and hopes that they will all die for not being able to conquer the world for him. He even [[KickTheDog issues a decree ordering the complete destruction of the nation's infrastructure]], though fortunately, Albert Speer sabotages it.

* DepravedHomosexual: How Shirer portrays Ernst Rohm and the SA, with some degree of TruthInTelevision.

* BigBadWannabe: Franz von Papen, the conservative politician who convinces Paul von Hindenburg to [[DealWithADevil form a government]] with Hitler as Chancellor and himself as Vice Chancellor, thinking he'll be able to control the Nazis. Instead, von Papen is marginalized within Hitler's cabinet, narrowly escapes assassination during the Night of the Long Knives and spends the rest of the Third Reich [[ReassignedToAntarctica exiled to diplomatic posts]].

* AllGermansAreNazis: Discussed. Shirer makes the highly contentious argument that the German people consider in his words, "blind obedience to temporal rulers the highest virtue of Germanic man and put a premium on servility." This was a variant on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderweg Sonderweg]] theory prevalent at the time, attempting to explain Hitler's rise as the natural outcome of German history and culture. Needless to say, this interpretation was already ''highly'' contentious at the time the book came out and is almost universally discredited today. That said, Shirer does devote considerable space to the German Resistance and notes that during his own time in Germany, he met a lot of ordinary Germans who privately disliked Hitler's regime, however they might have acted in public.