HardThrasher
Published 9 Apr 2024How did one man, Rolf Engels, go from student, to victim, to head of the SS Rocket Weapons programme reporting directly to Himmler? How did the Nazi state work, and how did a man like Rocket Rolf navigate the game of snakes and ladders and somehow come out on top?
(more…)
February 12, 2026
Inside the Nazi State: One Man’s Descent Into Darkness
Comments Off on Inside the Nazi State: One Man’s Descent Into Darkness
February 8, 2026
How Legal Immunity Becomes Absolute Power – Death of Democracy Q2 1933
World War Two
Published 7 Feb 2026In spring 1933, Nazi Germany shows how dictatorship becomes normal. This episode of Death of Democracy follows the regime’s second quarter in power, from the first state-organized antisemitic boycott to the destruction of free trade unions and the takeover of the courts. Step by step, democratic institutions are hollowed out through fear, legality, and propaganda. Death of Democracy reveals how tyranny doesn’t arrive overnight — it is made to feel ordinary.
(more…)
Comments Off on How Legal Immunity Becomes Absolute Power – Death of Democracy Q2 1933
February 1, 2026
How to End Democracy in 60 Days – Death of Democracy Q1 1933
World War Two
Published 31 Jan 2025This episode of the history documentary series “Death of Democracy” covers Q1 1933 with Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, the Reichstag Fire, Reichstag Fire Decree, Enabling Act, rise of Nazi terror, Gleichschaltung, and media control, explaining how Weimar Germany’s democracy collapsed in just sixty days.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to End Democracy in 60 Days – Death of Democracy Q1 1933
January 18, 2026
Who Will Be Chancellor? – Rise of Hitler 27, January 1933
World War Two
Published 17 Jan 2026Back to monthly coverage for this month, because too much is happening in Germany just now. Franz Von Papen meets with Adolf Hitler as 1933 gets going, both of them scheming against Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher. Could they possible form a coalition government with a majority of the Reichstag? Can they even trust each other? Also, who is this von Ribbentrop character? And what’s up with President Hindenburg’s son Oskar? So much going on this month, and when it all reaches its head … just … wow!
(more…)
Comments Off on Who Will Be Chancellor? – Rise of Hitler 27, January 1933
January 11, 2026
Nazis Are the Big Losers – Rise of Hitler 26, October-December 1932
World War Two
Published Jan 10, 2026Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party are forced to hit the campaign trail yet again for yet another round of elections. All this campaigning has seriously drained their finances, so they expect it to do some real good. Unfortunately for them, the November elections are very disappointing for the Nazi Party, and they lose a lot of seats in the Reichstag. Adolf Hitler is still demanding that President Hindenburg make him Chancellor, but the President still refuses time and again, although Hindenburg does have his hands full with two other Chancellors — Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher, and their endless political intriguing.
(more…)
Comments Off on Nazis Are the Big Losers – Rise of Hitler 26, October-December 1932
January 4, 2026
The Nazis Win Big at the Polls! – Rise of Hitler 25, July-September 1932
World War Two
Published 3 Jan 2026July starts with ever more violence in the streets of Germany, which Chancellor von Papen uses as an excuse to take state control of Prussia, the largest German state. All this comes ahead of the July elections, in which the Nazi Party is the big winner, now the largest party in Germany and Party Leader Adolf Hitler someone that no one in politics can any longer ignore, including President Hindenburg. This summer really is a summer of drama and intrigue.
(more…)
Comments Off on The Nazis Win Big at the Polls! – Rise of Hitler 25, July-September 1932
December 21, 2025
The Fall of Chancellor Bruning – Rise of Hitler 24, April-June 1932
World War Two
Published 20 Dec 2025The runoff elections for German President give Paul von Hindenburg a strong victory over Adolf Hitler, and convince the Bruning government to try to reign in the Nazis by banning the SA and SS. However, Kurt von Schleicher has managed to convince Hindenburg that Bruning is a liability and by the end of May, Bruning is out and Schleicher has maneuvered Franz von Papen into the post of Chancellor. The Reichstag is dissolved, the ban is lifted, and who knows where Germany is headed!
(more…)
Comments Off on The Fall of Chancellor Bruning – Rise of Hitler 24, April-June 1932
December 14, 2025
Hitler becomes a German – Rise of Hitler 23, January-March 1932
World War Two
Published 13 Dec 2025The big news this winter is the German Presidential elections, held now in March for the first time since 1932, which pit current President Paul von Hindenburg against Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. Hitler, though, must become a German citizen before he can run; he been stateless since he gave up his Austrian citizenship seven years ago. The campaigns are quite different, but both effective, and the German people head for the polls.
(more…)
Comments Off on Hitler becomes a German – Rise of Hitler 23, January-March 1932
December 7, 2025
Can Hitler Be Tamed? – Rise of Hitler 22, October-December 1931
World War Two
Published 6 Dec 2025The so-called “Boxheim Papers” are leaked to the public this fall. These outline what the Nazi Party would do should there be a Communist coup; it involves a lot of people being shot or starved, and paints a rather haunting picture of what Nazi rule may be like in general. The Nazi Party, though, continues to grow in popularity, and President Hindenburg even meets with Adolf Hitler for the first time, indicating to the country and the army that Hitler is no longer an upstart, but a legitimate political force.
(more…)
Comments Off on Can Hitler Be Tamed? – Rise of Hitler 22, October-December 1931
November 23, 2025
Battle for the Mediterranean, 1940
Real Time History
Published 4 Jul 2025In the summer of 1940, the British Empire faces German attacks against the home islands a new Italian adversary in the Mediterranean Sea, the lifeline to its colonies around the globe. In a series of campaigns the British beat back the Italians and eliminate parts of the French fleet. But the service of its overseas subjects won’t come for free.
(more…)
Comments Off on Battle for the Mediterranean, 1940
September 30, 2025
How Tyrants Rise — and How to Stop Them – W2W 46
TimeGhost History
Published 28 Sept 2025Tyrants don’t just appear overnight — they rise through propaganda, fear, and control. In this episode of War 2 War, we explore how authoritarian leaders consolidated power in the 20th century, from the ruins of World War Two to the opening battles of the Cold War. How do tyrants gain control, how can you recognize the warning signs, and what can societies do to resist them? Drawing on lessons from Hitler, Stalin, and beyond, we break down the patterns of dictatorship and what history can teach us about confronting them.
(more…)
Comments Off on How Tyrants Rise — and How to Stop Them – W2W 46
September 29, 2025
The Galactic Empire and a (Revised) Generic Model of “Fascism”
Feral Historian
Published 29 Sept 2023While we can classify significantly different regimes as “communist” based on their key similarities, we don’t have the same taxonomy for “fascism” as a political category. The term is either used so broadly it becomes meaningless, or defined so narrowly that it’s only relevant to Mussolini’s Italian Fascism.
But we can identify three key factors that, when all are present together, result in a system we can define as “fascist” in a sense that’s both historically based and general enough to be useful for analysis. In addition to laying out a simple model defining fascism, this video also dives into some history of Fascism and National Socialism, mixed with the kind of sci-fi analysis you’ve come to expect here.
00:00 Intro
00:35 Palp, Dolf, and Communists
04:05 Old Republic vs Weimar Republic
04:55 Party and State
08:57 Three-Point “Fascist Minimum”
09:24 “Third Way” Economics
15:12 Totalitarianism
19:19 Unifying Myth
22:53 Umberto Eco
24:46 Franco
26:25 Closing Miscellany🔹 Patreon | patreon.com/FeralHistorian
🔹 Ko-Fi | ko-fi.com/feralhistorian
Comments Off on The Galactic Empire and a (Revised) Generic Model of “Fascism”
September 28, 2025
North Africa Episode 1: Hitler’s Hand Forced
World War Two
Published 27 Sept 2025As Italy’s war effort collapses across Greece and North Africa, Hitler is forced to intervene. This episode explains why German troops are sent to Africa in early 1941 and sets the stage for Rommel’s arrival and the birth of the Desert War. The North African campaign begins not with a plan — but with a crisis.
(more…)
Comments Off on North Africa Episode 1: Hitler’s Hand Forced
September 21, 2025
Why Didn’t Hitler Invade Switzerland? – OOTF Community Questions
World War Two
Published 20 Sept 2025In this Out of the Foxholes Q&A, Indy and Sparty dive into some of the most intriguing questions about World War Two. Why didn’t Hitler invade Switzerland, what was going through the minds of the German High Command as defeat loomed, and why didn’t the Germans use the Vichy French Army in Operation Barbarossa? Three questions that shed light on the strategies, choices, and mysteries of the war.
(more…)
Comments Off on Why Didn’t Hitler Invade Switzerland? – OOTF Community Questions
