In this greatly expanded third edition, David Williamson provides a concise but comprehensive account of the origins, course and downfall of the Third Reich. He analyses the reasons for Hitler's rise to power and looks at how the Nazi regime consolidated its grip on power during the period March 1933-August 1934. Further sections examine how Nazi Germany was governed and Hitler's economic, social and foreign policies both in peacetime and at war up to 1945. The record of the German opposition and the problems it confronted is also discussed.