The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich — William L. Shirer

Reading Plan

Edition: Scribner 50th Anniversary Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4516-5168-3

Start: 18 Dec 2025
End: 31 Jan 2026

Target Load: ~25–30 pages/day

Week 1 (18–24 Dec 2025)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
18 Dec 2025 ix–xxv + 3–10 Introduction (Rosenbaum) + Ch.1 (start) [ ]  
19 Dec 2025 11–28 Ch.1 — Birth of the Third Reich (finish) [ ]  
20 Dec 2025 29–51 Ch.2 — Birth of the Nazi Party [ ]  
21 Dec 2025 52–79 Ch.3 — Versailles, Weimar, Beer Hall Putsch [ ]  
22 Dec 2025 80–100 Ch.4 — Mind of Hitler (part I) [ ]  
23 Dec 2025 101–116 Ch.4 — Mind of Hitler (part II) [ ]  
24 Dec 2025 117–149 Ch.5 — Road to Power: 1925–31 [ ]  

Week 2 (25–31 Dec 2025)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
25 Dec 2025 150–187 Ch.6 — Last Days of the Republic [ ]  
26 Dec 2025 188–210 Ch.7 — Nazification of Germany (part I) [ ]  
27 Dec 2025 211–230 Ch.7 — Nazification of Germany (part II) [ ]  
28 Dec 2025 231–255 Ch.8 — Life in the Third Reich (part I) [ ]  
29 Dec 2025 256–278 Ch.8 — Life in the Third Reich (part II) [ ]  
30 Dec 2025 279–308 Ch.9 — First Steps: 1934–37 [ ]  
31 Dec 2025 309–321 Ch.10 — Strange, Fateful Interlude [ ]  

Week 3 (01–07 Jan 2026)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
01 Jan 2026 322–349 Ch.11 — Anschluss (part I) [ ]  
02 Jan 2026 350–356 Ch.11 — Anschluss (part II) [ ]  
03 Jan 2026 357–385 Ch.12 — Road to Munich (part I) [ ]  
04 Jan 2026 386–410 Ch.12 — Road to Munich (part II) [ ]  
05 Jan 2026 411–427 Ch.12 — Road to Munich (part III) [ ]  
06 Jan 2026 428–454 Ch.13 — Czechoslovakia Ceases to Exist [ ]  
07 Jan 2026 455–485 Ch.14 — The Turn of Poland (part I) [ ]  

Week 4 (08–14 Jan 2026)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
08 Jan 2026 486–512 Ch.14 — The Turn of Poland (part II) [ ]  
09 Jan 2026 513–544 Ch.15 — Nazi–Soviet Pact [ ]  
10 Jan 2026 545–571 Ch.16 — Last Days of Peace (part I) [ ]  
11 Jan 2026 572–596 Ch.16 — Last Days of Peace (part II) [ ]  
12 Jan 2026 597–624 Ch.17 — Launching of World War II [ ]  
13 Jan 2026 625–652 Ch.18 — Fall of Poland + Ch.19 (start) [ ]  
14 Jan 2026 653–672 Ch.19 — Sitzkrieg in the West (finish) [ ]  

Week 5 (15–21 Jan 2026)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
15 Jan 2026 673–712 Ch.20 — Denmark and Norway [ ]  
16 Jan 2026 713–742 Ch.21 — Victory in the West (part I) [ ]  
17 Jan 2026 743–757 Ch.21 — Victory in the West (part II) [ ]  
18 Jan 2026 758–792 Ch.22 — Operation Sea Lion [ ]  
19 Jan 2026 793–822 Ch.23 — Barbarossa (part I) [ ]  
20 Jan 2026 823–852 Ch.23 — Barbarossa (part II) [ ]  
21 Jan 2026 853–870 Ch.24 — A Turn of the Tide [ ]  

Week 6 (22–28 Jan 2026)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
22 Jan 2026 871–902 Ch.25 — The Turn of the United States [ ]  
23 Jan 2026 903–936 Ch.26 — Great Turning Point: 1942 [ ]  
24 Jan 2026 937–964 Ch.27 — The New Order (part I) [ ]  
25 Jan 2026 965–994 Ch.27 — The New Order (part II) [ ]  
26 Jan 2026 995–1013 Ch.28 — Fall of Mussolini [ ]  
27 Jan 2026 1014–1048 Ch.29 — Allied Invasion (part I) [ ]  
28 Jan 2026 1049–1084 Ch.29 — Allied Invasion (part II) [ ]  

Week 7 (29–31 Jan 2026)

Planned Date Pages Task Done Actual Completion Date
29 Jan 2026 1085–1106 Ch.30 — The Conquest of Germany [ ]  
30 Jan 2026 1107–1144 Ch.31 — Götterdämmerung [ ]  
31 Jan 2026 1145–1199 Afterword + skim Notes / Index [ ]  

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