History Extra podcast   /     Inside the mind of the Third Reich

Description

What drives people to commit atrocities? Few periods in history confront this question as starkly as the rise of the Nazis, whose crimes stand as a chilling testament to humanity’s capacity for darkness. By investigating the psychological and social forces that enabled such evil, can we uncover vital warnings about how prejudice, conformity and obedience can escalate into unimaginable cruelty? Historian and film-maker Laurence Rees explores these ideas in his latest book The Nazi Mind and in today's episode, he discusses the topic further with Danny Bird. (Ad) Laurence Rees is the author of The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History (Viking, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Nazi-Mind-Laurence-Rees/dp/1541702336/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Laurence Rees explains some of the short and long term causes of the Second World War: https://link.chtbl.com/ft3CDdo8. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subtitle
Laurence Rees discusses the dark psychology behind the Nazi regime and the chilling lessons it holds for posterity
Duration
2406
Publishing date
2025-01-22 00:00
Contributors
  Immediate Media
author  
Enclosures
https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/F9B8A5/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT4685616749.mp3?updated=1737466095
audio/mpeg

Shownotes

What drives people to commit atrocities? Few periods in history confront this question as starkly as the rise of the Nazis, whose crimes stand as a chilling testament to humanity’s capacity for darkness. By investigating the psychological and social forces that enabled such evil, can we uncover vital warnings about how prejudice, conformity and obedience can escalate into unimaginable cruelty? Historian and film-maker Laurence Rees explores these ideas in his latest book The Nazi Mind and in today's episode, he discusses the topic further with Danny Bird.


(Ad) Laurence Rees is the author of The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History (Viking, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Nazi-Mind-Laurence-Rees/dp/1541702336/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.


Laurence Rees explains some of the short and long term causes of the Second World War: https://link.chtbl.com/ft3CDdo8.


The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices