In this chilling study of Nazi heroic mythology, Baird sheds a bright light on the dark, death-enthralled underpinnings of the German political and cultural psyche during the years 1918-45." --Booklist Baird blends first-rate historical reconstruction with expert cultural analysis." --American Historical Review Baird's fascinating account of Nazi heroism provides real understanding of the Nazi employment of aesthetics as politics and will be welcomed by students of twentieth-century German and European culture." --The Historian