Germany was a deeply divided nation when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933. As the shadow of the swastika lengthened, its citizens quickly came to realize that the Nazis' brutal programme was not optional. Everyone was expected to play their part in "national revival", especially those chosen as sacrificial victims.

Much has been written about daily life during World War II from the perspective of the Allied nations, but little about life in Germany during the Third Reich. With the benefit of hindsight, questions have been raised as to why a civilized, cultured nation stood by and let the Nazi Party impose their rule in such inhumane fashion, and why so few individuals made any attempt to rebel.

Life in the Third Reich draws on the recollections of those who lived through the rise and fall of one of the most vicious and sadistic regimes the world has ever seen. These are the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary times, living in the grip of a regime that did not care if it destroyed the whole country in pursuit of its perverted goals.