This chapter identifies certain causal factors behind the vulnerability of German academics, particularly scholars of the humanities, to the temptations of nationalism and dictatorship. Rabinbach and Bialas emphasize that the role of the humanities in the Third Reich received little scholarly attention until the 1980s, with the exception of Max Weinrich’s 1946 book and Hannah Arendt’s review of his monograph. Rabinbach and Bialas expose that many scholars endorsed national, völkisch, or racial doctrines much before the Nazis’ ascent to power, and that during the Third Reich, scholars were able to maintain an illusion of academic normality while aligning their research with the Nazis’ aims and ideology. The chapter draws attention to the porousness of the Nazi worldview, as diverse modes of accommodation and participation in the Nazi project amongst the academic community demonstrated that there was not one hegemonic Nazi ideology.