Witness the rise of the Third Reich through the perspective of outsiders – extraordinary tales from visitors and travellers drawn to the 'New Germany' of the 1930s.

The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt – of hope even. Without the benefit of hindsight, how did people interpret what was unfolding in front of their eyes? How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by Nazi propaganda or predict the Holocaust?

Travellers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating first-hand accounts of outsiders drawn to the country, a multitude of voices and stories, including students, politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, journalists, fascists, artists, tourists, even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler – one so palpable that the reader will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.

These are the accidental eyewitnesses to history. Disturbing, absurd, moving, and ranging from the deeply trivial to the deeply tragic, their tales give a fresh insight into the complexities of the Third Reich, its paradoxes and its ultimate destruction.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP THREE BESTSELLER AND WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE MONTH

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History 2018

One of the Daily Telegraph's Best Books of 2017

A Guardian 'Readers' Choice' Best Book of 2017

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'A compelling historical narrative' Daily Telegraph

'Fascinating' Spectator

'Absorbing and stimulating' Mail on Sunday

DISCOVER MORE STORIES OF ORDINARY LIVES AT THE CROSSROADS OF HISTORY IN JULIA BOYD'S NEW BOOK A Village in the Third Reich – OUT NOW