They Thought They Were Free

The Germans, 1933-45

By: Milton Mayer

Narrated by: Michael Page

First published in 1955, They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany. Milton Mayer's book is a study of 10 Germans and their lives from 1933-45, based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany.

Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name "Kronenberg". "These ten men were not men of distinction," Mayer noted, but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis.

©1955 The University of Chicago (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Among the many books written on Germany after the collapse of Hitler's Thousand Year Reich, this book by Milton Mayer is one of the most readable and most enlightening." ( New York Times)

Time might change ones behaviour pattern

Would you listen to They Thought They Were Free again? Why?

Yes. It is a detailed account of the thought pattern(s) that led to the destruction of the German nation through the lives of ten average individuals in a small rural town, community.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found it a detailed book. Mr. Mayer, his presentation throughout the book gives the reader a constant barrage of options, in the various acts and behaviour of his 10 nazi friends. The constant how when where or why is always being asked in ones own mind. The book moves quickly from chapter to chapter and as often in my case, does soul searching.

Any additional comments?

I suggest that this book, might be presented to students throughout the world as an "eye opener" in regards to human behaviour. How it all did manage to come together, through no pattern of behaviour that might be deemed as what I call normal. To attempt to obliterate, erase humanity with justification? The world that I know weeps, I weep.

A Warning to the Future

People don't change for the better as much as we'd like to think, even when the cost is millions of lives. They'll look the other way, make excuses, rationalize away the worst dictators and the collective ability to do murder and destruction on a massive scale. Even time and punishment doesn't seem to change that.
It makes me worry about where we are today.
Well read and definitely recommended for all.

Must read(Listen)for anyone serious about history

An engaging insight as to how a nation was swayed into despotism incrementally yet whloley

Interesting look at Nazis

The book took real life stories of various characters unique in their own way. Provides a study on how a regular citizen could get to where Germany was entering WWII. provides a juxtaposition to our internment of American Japanese and our racism towards black folk.

Thought provoking an excellent narration

Although dry in parts, this was mostly a fascinating read. It puts alot of things in perspective that you wont get from a textbook and contains alot of quotables that are still relevant today.

Relevant to Trump

Learn why good men do nothing. Too much to do in lives. The promises of a better life.

The amazing depth to which this story seeks to understand the average German’s perspective during the Nazi regime.

This book was easy to listen to and very eye opening regarding the perspectives of the German people during the Nazi regime. I have nothing negative to say about this book. It was great!

Self-delusion and Totalitarianism

What Milton Mayer did with this book is amazing. His techniques of speaking to German citizens after the war, having them explain themselves and their thoughts, is probably the closest we get to what Germans were truly thinking during the Nazi regime. It shows us that people can find ways to justify all kinds of despicable things, to themselves and others, whether they were involved or not. These average citizens being able to bend their own ethics, morals, standards, to rationalize atrocities should be seen as a warning to everyone.
People want to believe they, and everyone they know, would have the fortitude to object, to resist, when the inconceivable happens. However, the "friends"we meet in They Thought They Were Free show us otherwise. Of course, some of them weren't troubled at all by the actions of the Nazis, but even the ones who were didn't manage to take a stand. It is because of human frailties, as we see in this book, that all citizens in a democracy must be alert to the threat of authoritarianism, constantly. Once the dictator arrives, it's probably too late.

A must listen

If we choose not to know the past we are destined to repeat it. Milton Mayers interviews with his ten German friends was both insightful and frightening. The amount any country is liable for a Nazi take over seems very easy. People just need to know the way people get suckered into it.

history illuminated

excellent narration. personal experiences with perspective. thought provoking. needs a second listen. worth the time.