The Radical Right in Germany : 1870 to the Present

The history and politics of the radical right across Europe continues to prove a highly salient and controversial theme. Although much has been written on it, most attention has been focused on the rise to power of the Nazi party; exploring the leading personalities and policies of Hitler's regime in power and the rapid descent into world war and genocide. In contrast, substantially less has been written on the phenomenon of right-wing extremism in Germany either before 1918 or after 1945 and there has been little effort to chart the fluctuating fortunes of the extreme right from the unification of Germany to the present. The Radical Right in Germany takes a unique look at the development of right-wing extremism through the four very divergent political regimes in Germany from 1870 to the present. In a clear and accessible manner, the book: accounts for the origins and rise of right-wing extremism from the early years of the Bismarckian system established in 1870, to Germanys defeat in World War One traces its rise under the Nazi Party in the 1920s and considers Nazisms impact on Germany under the Third Reich analyses its role and the significance of right-wing extremist movements in modern Germany. Providing the first complete overview of the phenomenon of the German extreme right, The Radical Right in Germany demonstrates that the attitudes and policies of the radical right did not begin with Hitler's pursuit of power in the 1920s, or end with his death in the ruins of Berlin. Lee McGowan is a Lecturer in European Studies at Queen's University, Belfast.