The Nazi Mind

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now €{{ price }} Send as a gift
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A groundbreaking narrative history of the motivations and mentalities behind the Nazis and their supporters, from the bestselling author of THE HOLOCAUST and President Zelenskyy’s most-read book, HITLER AND STALIN.

How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly – often enthusiastically – oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews? In THE NAZI MIND, bestselling author Laurence Rees combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crime in the history of the world. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of ‘twelve warnings’ – from talk about ‘them’ and ‘us’ to the escalation of racism – whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders.

Rees uses previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth psychological insights including cutting edge work on obedience, authority and the brain. THE NAZI MIND is a revelatory new way of understanding how so many people committed the most appalling crime of the 20th century.

'I will recommend to everyone' Alastair Campbell

'World-renowned historian Laurence Rees lays out a past that is also eerily a cautionary tale for our future if we are not careful' Anthony Scaramucci

'This disturbing book is timely, relevant and important' Sir Ian Kershaw

© Laurence Rees 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

I will recommend to everyone . . . superbly researched and structured. I just wish it was coming out before November 5. Reading how Hitler warped and won over the German people, it is impossible not to see and feel constant resonances with so many of the styles, strategies and tactics adopted by Donald Trump
co-host of The Rest is Politics
Rees is uniquely placed to look at this cautionary tale through a fresh lens . . . This is a brilliant piece of work: learned, compelling and frankly terrifying
Telegraph
Compulsive reading . . . rarely have the tormented questions that accumulate around the conduct of the Third Reich been subjected to such a baleful, brilliant, modern and revelatory interrogation
Independent
A fascinating study offering new insights into the psychological forces driving the Nazis - essential reading for anyone seeking answers to the haunting question of how and why Germany became consumed by Hitler’s evil.
author of A Village in the Third Reich
The Nazi Mind recounts one by one the chief ways in which Nazism attracted and held its many millions of followers. It is not just an unsparing, detailed reminder of the horrors of the past, based on decades of exhaustive research, but, unmistakably, a challenge to us to check our own no-longer-so-complacent twenty-first century consciences and act accordingly.
author of 1939: A People's History
A chilling analysis of a mind perverted by relativism, delusion, cravenness, amorality and downright evil
author of The Shape of Battle
At once frightening and scholarly, urgent and profoundly necessary. Here is history as a flashlight illuminating the darker hinterlands of human nature. In excavating deep beneath the surface of familiar history – exploring rich, unexpected sources - Rees shows us that the reign of the Nazis is not a story of monsters, but much more terribly of recognisable humanity. A book very much for our time, and all times
author of Berlin and Dresden
Chilling, brilliantly researched . . . only Laurence Rees could have written this book
author of Naples 1944
Rees, an expert on the Nazi period, focuses on recalling its hideous highlights
Sunday Times

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.