Three New Deals: Reflections on Roosevelt's America, Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany 1933-1939 - Hardcover

Schivelbusch, Wolfgang

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080507452X ISBN 13: 9780805074529

Publisher: Metropolitan Books, 2006

Synopsis

From a world-renowned cultural historian, an original look at the hidden commonalities among Fascism, Nazism, and the New Deal

Today Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal is regarded as the democratic ideal, the positive American response to an economic crisis that propelled Germany and Italy toward Fascism. Yet in the 1930s, shocking as it may seem, these regimes were hardly considered antithetical. Now, Wolfgang Schivelbusch investigates the shared elements of these three “new deals” to offer a striking explanation for the popularity of Europe’s totalitarian systems.

Returning to the Depression, Schivelbusch traces the emergence of a new type of state: bolstered by mass propaganda, led by a charismatic figure, and projecting stability and power. He uncovers stunning similarities among the three regimes: the symbolic importance of gigantic public works programs like the TVA dams and the German autobahn, which not only put people back to work but embodied the state’s authority; the seductive persuasiveness of Roosevelt’s fireside chats and Mussolini’s radio talks; the vogue for monumental architecture stamped on Washington, as on Berlin; and the omnipresent banners enlisting citizens as loyal followers of the state.

Far from equating Roosevelt, Hitler, and Mussolini or minimizing their acute differences, Schivelbusch proposes that the populist and paternalist qualities common to their states hold the key to the puzzling allegiance once granted to Europe’s most tyrannical regimes.

About this title

Review:

"Controversial, well written, and convincing, this is historical analysis at its most invigorating."--"Minneapolis Star-Tribune"
"Schivelbusch is a brilliant cultural historian . . . who brings a comparative cultural focus to the 1930s with fascinating and provocative ideas."--"Los Angeles Times Book Review"
"Illuminating."--"Bloomberg News"

Praise for "The Culture of Defeat"
"A feast of ideas, many of them strikingly appropriate to our own bellicose times."--"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Fresh and provocative . . . A novel and thought-provoking book."--"Houston Chronicle"

Controversial, well written, and convincing, this is historical analysis at its most invigorating. "Minneapolis Star-Tribune"

Schivelbusch is a brilliant cultural historian . . . who brings a comparative cultural focus to the 1930s with fascinating and provocative ideas. "Los Angeles Times Book Review"

Illuminating. "Bloomberg News"

A feast of ideas, many of them strikingly appropriate to our own bellicose times. "San Francisco Chronicle on The Culture of Defeat"

Fresh and provocative . . . A novel and thought-provoking book. "Houston Chronicle on The Culture of Defeat""

"Controversial, well written, and convincing, this is historical analysis at its most invigorating." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Schivelbusch is a brilliant cultural historian . . . who brings a comparative cultural focus to the 1930s with fascinating and provocative ideas." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Illuminating." --Bloomberg News

"A feast of ideas, many of them strikingly appropriate to our own bellicose times." --San Francisco Chronicle on The Culture of Defeat

"Fresh and provocative . . . A novel and thought-provoking book." --Houston Chronicle on The Culture of Defeat

About the Author:

Wolfgang Schivelbusch, winner of the Heinrich Mann Prize, Germany’s most prestigious nonfiction award, is an independent scholar who divides his time between New York and Berlin. His books include The Railway Journey, Disenchanted Night, and The Culture of Defeat (0-312-42319-5), called “a work of brooding brilliance” by The
New York Times.

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 080507452X
• ISBN 13: 9780805074529
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 242