Just finished reading In the Garden Of Beasts. It’s one of these novel-like non-fiction history books, very readable. It really gives you a feel for what it was actually like during the Nazis early rise. It also, IMHO, provides evidence of something I’ve often thought…that one of the reasons the US government was so opposed to getting involved was that secretly (or not so secretly) they agreed with Hitlers program regarding Jews and in general (i.e. anti-Communism, which was the main part of the Nazi program). As for the “feel”, I also got the same sense as I get today sometimes, what with the NSA, the general post 911 atmosphere, and especially the rise of Tea Party thugs. Except today Muslims play the role of Jews.
Check it out.