Abstract

From 1933 onward, Nazi Germany undertook massive and unprecedented industrial integration, submitting an entire economic sector to direct state oversight. This innovative study explores how German professionals navigated this complex landscape through the divergent careers of business managers in two of the era’s most important trade organizations. While Jakob Reichert of the iron and steel industry unexpectedly resisted state control and was eventually driven to suicide, Karl Lange of the machine builders’ association achieved security for himself and his industry by submitting to the Nazi regime. Both men’s stories illuminate the options available to industrialists under the Third Reich, as well as the real priorities set by the industries they served.

“With his book, based on rich source material, Bera offers an innovative and challenging contribution that invites further research in economic and political history on the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich but also on industrial associations, which have been given less attention more recently.” · H-Soz-Kult

“This is an impressively designed and clearly written book that makes a fundamental contribution to the role of business in the Third Reich and advances the debate about the ‘room for maneuver’ under the Nazi regime.” · Jeffrey Fear, University of Glasgow

“This is an impressive book that adds to our picture of the complex, contradictory, and often surprising behavior of many individuals in the Third Reich. The trajectories of Lange and Reichert make for a compelling story that fills an important gap in the literature.” · David Meskill, Dowling College

Matt Bera lives in Toronto and teaches in the History and German Studies Departments at York University, as well as a number of other institutions in the region. He is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies.