Why did millions of ordinary Germans back a brutally repressive regime? A combination of coercion and reward enlisted popular support for the racial state. Using the secret police and the growing concentration camp system in a reign of ruthless terror, the regime persecuted its political and “racial” enemies. Yet for the large majority of ordinary German citizens who were not Jews, Communists, or members of other targeted groups, Hitler’s government brought new opportunities.

Hitler had promised the masses economic recovery, and he delivered. The Nazi state launched a large public works program to help pull Germany out of the depression. Work began on superhighways, offices, gigantic sports stadiums, and public housing, which created jobs and instilled pride in national recovery. By 1938, unemployment had fallen to 2 percent, and there was a shortage of workers. Between 1932 and 1938, the standard of living for the average worker increased moderately. Business profits rose sharply.

The persecution of Jews brought substantial benefits to ordinary Germans as well. As Jews were forced out of their jobs and compelled to sell their homes and businesses, Germans stepped in to take their place in a process known as Aryanization (named after the “Aryan master race” prized by the Nazis for their supposedly pure German blood).

Economic recovery was accompanied by a wave of social and cultural innovation intended to construct what Nazi propagandists called the Volksgemeinschaft — a “people’s community” for racially pure Germans. The party set up mass organizations to spread Nazi ideology and enlist volunteers for the Nazi cause. Mass rallies, such as annual May Day celebrations and Nazi Party conventions in Nuremberg, brought together thousands of participants. Glowing reports on such events in the Nazi-controlled press brought the message home to millions more.

As the economy recovered, the government proudly touted a glittering array of inexpensive and enticing people’s products. Items such as the Volkswagen (the “people’s car”) were intended to link individuals’ desire for consumer goods to the collective ideology of the “people’s community.” Though such programs faltered as the state increasingly focused on rearmament for the approaching war, they suggested to all that the regime was working hard to improve German living standards.

Hitler’s rule promoted economic growth and social stability, and Nazi propagandists continually played up the supposed accomplishments of the regime. The vision of a “people’s community,” national pride in recovery, and feelings of belonging created by acts of racial exclusion led many Germans to support the regime. Hitler himself remained popular with broad sections of the population well into the war.

Not all Germans supported Hitler, however, and a number of groups actively resisted him after 1933. But opponents of the Nazis were never unified. Moreover, the regime clamped down on dissidents: tens of thousands of political enemies were imprisoned, and thousands were executed. In 1938 and again during the war, a few high-ranking army officers, who feared the consequences of Hitler’s reckless aggression, plotted against him, but their plans were unsuccessful.