Despite the displacement of countless authors, frequent bans of specific titles, and high-profile book burnings, the German book industry boomed during the Nazi period. Notwithstanding the millions of copies of
Mein Kampf
that were sold, the era’s most popular books were diverse and often surprising in retrospect, despite an oppressive ideological and cultural climate: Huxley’s
Brave New World
was widely read in the 1930s, while Saint-Exupéry’s
Wind, Sand and Stars
was a great success during the war years.
Bestsellers of the Third Reic
h surveys this motley collection of books, along with the circumstances of their publication, to provide an innovative new window into the history of Nazi Germany.