University of Kentucky Press,1992
Nazi Impact on a German Village presents the viewpoint of "ordinary people" before, during and after the Nazi rise to power. It is a viewpoint often overlooked by historians. The book is about more than one village. It offers an accurate perspective on the whole of Germany in the 20th century, on Hitler's success and failure in attracting support, and on denazification after World War II.
The book was written as a story rather than as professorial arguments. It is filled with everyday life and human nature – and a product of superb scholarship.
For five years, while doing graduate work before attending the University of Notre Dame, Walter Rinderle lived around the village of Obershopfheim, the village that, with Germany in general, is the subject of this book. He is now an adjunct professor of humanities and social science at Vincennes University in Indiana. His companion author is Bernard Norling, professor emeritus of European history at the University of Notre Dame.
This book has not received the attention that it deserves. If someone wants to read any book on history, this is the book I would recommend. Read more about the book at Amazon.com Books As of today, December 8, 2001, all readers commenting on the book at Amazon.com have given it the highest rating – five stars.
Here are a typical comments added to the book's focus on Obershopfheim:
Much of the Nazi organizational superiority came from the high proportion of war veterans in their ranks. These men had grown accustomed to organization during the Great War, had become disciplined, and had learned the irrelevancy of rank or title at the front when issues of life and death were at stake.
...the Nazis developed real expertise in the manipulation of violence. Too little of it, they realized, wold be ineffective. Too much would scare off many of their supporters and would bring down upon them the wrath of the national government.