This work provides a concise and compelling introduction to the Third Reich. At the same time, it challenges and demystifies the many stereotypes surrounding Hitler and Nazi Germany. Providing an up-to-date historical synthesis based on the latest research in the field, it argues that in order to fully understand and explain this period of history, we need to address its seeming paradoxes - for example, questioning why most Germans viewed the Third Reich as a legitimate government, despite the Nazis' criminality.