How Could This Happen? Germany 1933-1945

  • Götz Aly is one of the most well-known and renowned historians of the Holocaust and National Socialism.
  • More than 300,000 books sold by S. Fischer
  • A unique analysis of Nazi power techniques that today are experiencing a frightening resurgence


English sample translation available here

Explaining the inexplicable

In 1932, the German National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP) was elected by a large majority in the midst of a severe crisis. It soon took power and enjoyed growing support in society. Hitler needed war, but the people feared it. Nevertheless, 18 million German soldiers ended up terrorising Europe. How did it come to this? Why did hundreds of thousands take part in an unprecedented mass murder?

Götz Aly profoundly analyzes the ruling techniques with which the Nazi leaders turned millions of Germans into compliant executors or into collaborators numbed by war.


"Götz Aly has set himself the task of understanding the Nazi war crimes as phenomena of their century, and thus still part of our world." – Gustav Seibt, Süddeutsche Zeitung


"A brilliant book" - Die ZEIT, Florian Illies

"To say it up front: it has become a magnum opus." - Welt am Sonntag, Marc Schümer

"With this book, the brilliant historian and political scientist Götz Aly crowns his life's work." - ARD Druckfrisch, Denis Scheck

"one of our country's most distinguished contemporary historians" - welt.de, Marc Reichwein

"an important contribution to the Nazi era" - Deutschlandfunk Andruck, Otto Langels

"Götz Aly looks to the past and at the same time sharpens our view of the present." - SRF Tagesgespräch, Simone Hulliger

"a treasure trove of illuminating details" - Die Weltwoche, Peter J. Brenner

Contact Foreign Rights
Sample Translations
Rights sold to

World English (The Bodley Head), French (Les Editions Actes Sud), Spanish (Penguin Random House), Croatian (Fraktura), Czech (Prostor), Korean (SangSang Academy) Brazilian Portuguese (Editora Record), Polish (Filtry);  

Rights to previous titles sold to: The Luf Boat, A Looted Treasure: WEL (Harvard University Press); to previous titles: Europa gegen die Juden: UK/USA (Holt) | NL (Verbum) | S (Daidalos); Die Belasteten: CHN (Guangming) | E (Critica)| F (Flammarion) | I (Einaudi) | PL (Czarne); Warum die Deutschen? Warum die Juden?: E (Critica) | I (Einaudi) | UK/USA (Holt); Unser Kampf: PL (Fronda); Hitlers Volksstaat: CHN (Yilin) | CZ (Argo) | DK (Gyldendal) | E (Planeta) | F (Flammarion) | GR (Kedros) | HR (Fraktura) | I (Einaudi) |  JP (Iwanami) | P (Asa Leya Texto) | PL (Finna) | S (Daidalos) | UK / USA (Holt); Endlösung: CZ (Argo) | JP (Hosei) | RO (Hasefer) | UK/USA (Hodder & Stoughton)

  • Publisher: S. FISCHER
  • Release: 27.08.2025
  • ISBN: 978-3-10-397364-8
  • 768 Pages
  • Author: Götz Aly
How Could This Happen? Germany 1933-1945
Götz Aly How Could This Happen? Germany 1933-1945
Susanne Schleyer
© Susanne Schleyer
Götz Aly

Götz Aly is a historian and journalist living in Berlin. His books have been translated into numerous languages. He is the recipient of the Heinrich Mann Prize (2002), the Marion Samuel Prize (2003) and the Ludwig Börne Prize (2012). His most recent works are Why the Germans? Why the Jews? Envy, Race Hatred, and the Prehistory of the Holocaust 1830 – 1933 and The Burdened Ones: A Social History of Euthanasia 1939 – 1945.