Europe in 1942: Hitler controlled a landmass larger than the USA, more densely populated, and economically more productive than any other. The goal of the National Socialists to become "masters in Europe" seemed almost achieved. Although the fact quickly faded from memory in 1945: the occupied countries in Europe cooperated, supplying Germany with the people and materials it demanded. Mark Mazower describes, supported by an impressive wealth of sources and testimonies, how Hitler established his empire, how it functioned, and why the Nazi ideology itself accelerated its collapse.