Wolfgang Schneider (Editor) Alltag unter Hitler (Everyday Life under Hitler) Rowohlt Berlin, 2000, 250 pp. ISBN 3-87134-404-4 How did ordinary Germans live from the time of Hitler's coming to power in 1933 to the end of the war in 1945? What was being shown in the cinemas? What influence did the radio have in disseminating the Nazi view of the world? How did people feel about the 'Kraft durch Freude' (Strength through Joy) movement? And how did they react to the brutalities of the new regime - the book-burnings, the ever-increasing persecution of the Jews, the repression of political opposition and the concentration camps? Much has been written about the military campaigns, from El Alamein to Stalingrad. This book sets out to illuminate the 'Heimatfront', the Home Front. Through its collage of source documents it allows the reader to make his own connections between brutality and banality, which the phrase 'the banality of evil' sums up and which paved the way for Auschwitz. The period is divided into four main sections: the years before the war, which takes up the largest space; the Blitzkrieg years (1939-41); the two years leading to the German defeat at Stalingrad in 1943; and the final period, ending in unconditional surrender. Each section begins with a brief summing up. Then comes a box containing the key words of the period (a potentially very useful glossary if translated into English); then an extensive chronology, listing such details as an earthquake in Karlsruhe, the reintroduction by the Nazis of the death penalty, and the first German law protecting animals. Most rewarding of all is the section of documents which flesh out the bare facts. Backed by photographs and statistics, this provides an eclectic selection including speeches by Hitler, newspaper accounts, memoirs and private correspondence. It also includes some incongruous details, such as a letter from Hitler's shoe manufacturer, or the Fuehrer's opinion that being a waiter was an unsuitable occupation for German males, and should therefore be banned. This is a fascinating way of recording social history, and will appeal to the student and the general reader alike.