Götz Aly „Wie konnte das geschehen? Deutschland 1933 bis 1945“
Book Fair
begin 15.10.2025, 19:30
end 15.10.2025, 21:00
location Frankfurt am Main
Götz Aly enjoys a reputation as one of the most highly regarded authors on the history of National Socialism and the Holocaust. He will discuss his latest book “Wie konnte das geschehen? Deutschland 1933 bis 1945” (How could it happen? Germany from 1933 to 1945) with Rainer Hank from the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung".
The NSDAP became by far the strongest political party at a time of severe economic crisis. It was not long before they were able to seize power and draw on growing support from German society. Hitler needed war – the people feared it. Yet in the end, Europe was terrorised by 18 million German soldiers. How did it come to this? Why did hundreds of thousands of people participate in the worst mass murders in history?
The answer is complex. The NSDAP promised advancement and prosperity while keeping the German people in a constant state of mobilisation with no respite or time to reflect, thus driving them relentlessly to war. As their faith in a victory waned, the people's community evolved into a community of perpetrators. The guilt which the Germans had brought upon themselves was plain to see, and fear of the consequences of defeat was deliberately stoked by the regime.
Götz Aly's gripping narrative describes the methods used by the Nazi rulers to maintain their hold on power.
Photo: Susanne Schleyer
Götz Aly is a historian and journalist, who has worked for "taz", "Berliner Zeitung" and as a guest professor. His books have been translated into many languages and won numerous literary awards. The German edition of "Europe Against the Jews 1880-1945", his major study of the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism in Europe, was published by S. Fischer in 2017. Götz Aly was awarded the Geschwister Scholl Prize for this work.
An event in cooperation with S. Fischer Verlag.
Information and contact
The event will be held in German.
Venue: Lecture hall, German National Library in Frankfurt am Main
Costs: Free admission
Duration: 90 minutes
Booking: Online via the button above.
Cloakroom info: Please leave your coats, jackets and bags in the cloakroom. You can also use our lockers, for which you will need two two-euro coins. Instead of two-euro coins, you can also use tokens, which can be purchased at our automatic pay station using a debit or credit card. A combination of two-euro coins and tokens is also possible.
Accessibility: The area in which the event will be taking place is barrier-free accessible.
Contact: veranstaltungen@dnb.de
Address and getting here
German National Library
Adickesallee 1
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station (underground level), take the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 10 minutes.
By plane
From the airport (regional station), take S-Bahn S8 in the direction of Hanau or the S9 in the direction of Offenbach and get off at “Konstablerwache”. Change to the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 30 minutes.
By bus
The “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek” bus stop is served by the number M32 bus.
2 / By bike
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main can easily be reached by bike. You can get to the DNB by taking the cycle paths on Adickesallee, Nibelungenallee, and Eckenheimer Landtraße.
Covered bicycle racks are located right at the main entrance.
3 / By car
The address for navigation devices is Eckenheimer Landstraße 165. The building is accessed from the underground car park. The maximum entrance height is 2.0 m.
Approaching from the west
Take the A66 to the end of the autobahn in Miquelallee and follow the signs for Fulda/Hanau; at the third intersection, turn right into Eckenheimer Landstraße in the direction of the city centre; follow the signs and turn right into the underground car park.
Approaching from the north
Take the A661 to the Eckenheim exit, get into the lane for the city centre/Eckenheim, continue straight on to the third major set of traffic lights and cross these. The entrance to the underground car park is located at the German National Library building around 100 metres further on the right.
Parking
Our car park has 100 parking spaces for visitors on the first basement floor.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6:00 to 22:00, Saturday 8:00 to 18:00.
Fees: 2.00 Euro/hour, cash or card payment.
The permanent rental of parking spaces is not possible.
For on-street parking spaces in the Holzhausenviertel district, the City of Frankfurt of Main charges 50 cents per quarter hour or part thereof from Monday to Friday between 7:00 and 19:00.
4 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main has designated disabled parking spaces in its car park and next to the building in Schlosserstraße. The Library's public rooms can be accessed by lift from the underground car park. Barrier-free access to the main entrance is also available from Schlosserstraße.
Last changes:
26.08.2025
