They Thought They Were Free

By Milton Mayer, with an afterword by Richard J. Evans

Based on conversations with ordinary Germans after World War II, Mayer examines how Nazism became normal to people who did not see themselves as fanatics. The book focuses on gradual accommodation, social pressure, self-deception, and the danger of recognizing a system only after resistance has become difficult.

Why we carry it: Authoritarianism depends on ordinary people deciding that each new line crossed is tolerable. This book shows how that happens.

Format: Paperback.