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In the middle years of World War II, between the fall of France and the battle of Stalingrad, Axis victory seemed probable and planning for a European "New Order" was undertaken in earnest. This account is concerned with that relatively brief period in Europe's history and with the wider context in which it was set. Disillusion with the liberal democracies was widespread in Europe after World War I, providing fertile ground for the development of authoritarian ideas and the establishment of fascist or neo-fascist regimes. Nazi Germany increasingly established its hegemony over "authoritarian Europe" and its military victories after 1940 allowed it to pursue its racist politics and economic autarky across the continent. The book finishes not with Axis defeat but with an examination of the importance of the "New Order" in provoking amongst the victorious Allies fresh thought about the relationship between state, society and economy.