About the Author

Michael Thad Allen is associate professor of modern German history and the history of technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Reviews

Allen's study, presenting crucial aspects of the history of the WVHA, proves to be a major contribution. . . . Well-researched and well-written . . . Adds significantly to the ongoing discussion about the motives of those men who actually ran the numerous bureaucracies in Nazi Germany."--American Historical Review

Creatively mixing biographies, books, and pamphlets written by the perpetrators with engineering assessments, statistical reports, and archival WHVA records, Allen offers arguments that significantly advance our understanding of the Third Reich."--Business History Review

Opens up a new realm for anyone interested in how professional expertise helps implement political policies."--Choice

Through his examination of the hundreds of bureaucrats employed by the WVHA, Allen concludes that [Hannah Arendt's] banality of evil thesis does not square with the historical evidence. Far from being Max Weber's bureaucrats locked in an 'iron cage' . . . Allen finds that the 'ordinary' men in Nazi organizational institutions were ever cognizant of Nazi ideals and outdid each other to implement them."--Jewish Book World

Well-researched and convincing. . . . Present[s] a new picture which is emerging of the history of the Third Reich and its crimes."--Times Literary Supplement

Well-researched. . . . Should contribute to better understanding Nazi Germany and its crimes."--Los Angeles Times Book Review