Central to all accounts of World War II was the idea of Nazi Germany as an indomitable monster based on a highly industrialized economy. But what if in reality things were completely different? What if the roots of the European tragedy of the 20th century were hidden not in Germany's strength, but in its weakness? From the pen of Adam Tooze came the first radically new account of the Second World War in a generation. The author achieved this by focusing on economics as a key focus, along with race relations and politics. An intuitive understanding of global economic realities played a fundamental role in Hitler’s worldview. He guessed that Germany's relative poverty in 1933 was due not only to the Great Depression, but also to the country's limited territory and natural resources. He foresaw the emergence of a new, globalized world in which Europe would be crushed by the crushing power of America. There remained one last chance: a European superstate led by Germany. However, the global balance of economic and military power from the very beginning was completely not in Hitler's favor, and it was precisely in order to prevent this threat from the West that he threw his underequipped armies into an unprecedented and ultimately collapsed conquest of Europe. Even in the summer of 1940, at the time of Germany's greatest triumphs, Hitler was still haunted by the looming threat of Anglo-American air and sea supremacy, which he believed was behind a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. As soon as the Wehrmacht entered Soviet territory, the war quickly turned into a battle of attrition, leaving Germany no hope of victory. Because of the unwillingness of Hitler, Albert Speer and others to admit it, the Third Reich was destroyed at the cost of tens of millions of lives. In Adam Tooze's book, the reader will find a gripping and horrifying account of stunning events that forces us to look at Nazi Germany and World War II with new eyes.