The Dual State

The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship (German : Der Doppelstaat ^[1] ) is a German-language and English-language non-fiction book by Ernst Fraenkel.

E. A. Shils was the translator of the English version, which was published by Oxford University Press in 1941. Shils worked with Edith Loewenstein and Klaus Knorr.

According to reviewer Lawrence Preuss, the translation was the first English language that analyzes the Nazi legal system's operations and legal theories. ^[2]

The book describes how, in the courts of Nazi Germany, people opposed to the government faced a lack of legal protection, while other groups were given legal protections. ^[3] Fraenkel called the first the "Prerogative State" and the second the "Normative State". ^[4] He described the entire system as the "Dual State".

Background

Fraenkel took a document, written in German and titled Urdoppelstadt, ^[1] in which he wrote which outlined how the Nazi legal system works, and left Germany with it in 1938. ^[3] Fraenkel had violated the laws of the Nazi state by writing the work. He finished the work on June 15, 1940. Fraenkel did not keep the final revision but only the first draft, because he believed that the work would never be able to be given a German language publication. Fraenkel stated that he felt affektionswert towards the initial draft. When it became time that a German version would be viable, Fraenkel had the English language work retranslated into German. The work was published in German in 1974. ^[1]

Reception

Reviewer Taylor Cole wrote that the book is "a real contribution to the literature on the Third Reich." ^[5]

Pema Levy of Mother Jones stated that in 2025 "Fraenkel’s work has seen a resurgence of interest in the United States in recent months". ^[3]

References

• Cole, Taylor (April 1941). "An Interpretation of the Nazi Regime - Ernest Fraenkel: The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship. New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. Pp. xvi, 248. $3.00". The Review of politics . 3 (2): 254–256.
• Preuss, Lawrence (1941). "The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". The American journal of international law . 35 (3): 584–585.

Notes

1. Fraenkel, Ernst (April 2017). "Preface to the 1974 German Edition". In Ernst Fraenkel (ed.). The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship. Oxford University Press. pp. xiii–xxii. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198716204.002.0006.
2. Preuss, p. 584.
3. Levy, Pema (2025-10-06). "The "Dual State" Theory Was Invented to Describe Nazis. The Supreme Court Could Take Us There". Mother Jones . Retrieved 2025-10-15.
4. Cole, p. 255.
5. Cole, p. 254.

Further reading

• Hula, Erich (1942). "FRAENKEL, ERNST, "The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship" (Book Review)". Social Research . 9 (2): 271–273.
• Kempner, R.M.W. "The Dual State. Pp. xvi, 248. New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. $3.00". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . 216 (1). doi:10.1177/000271624121600132.
• Kirchheimer, Otto (1941). "The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". Political science quarterly . 56 (3): 434–436.
• Kolb, William L (1941). "Fraenkel, Ernst. The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship (Book Review)". American sociological review . 6 (6): 587.
• Marx, Fritz Morstein (1941). "The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". Harvard law review . 54 (7): 1264–1267.
• Negley, Glenn (1942). "The Dual State; A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". American Bar Association journal . 28 (1): 74–75.
• Pinney, Harvey (1942). "The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". Social forces . 20 (3): 409–410.
• Sabine, George H. (1941). "The Dual State; A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". The American political science review . 35 (3): 547–548.
• Voegelin, Eric (May 1942). "The Structure of the Nazi Economy. Maxine Y. Sweezy The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship. Ernst Fraenkel , E. A. Shils , Edith Lowenstein , Klaus Knorr". The Journal of politics . 4 (2): 269–272.
• Willner, Yael (2018). "The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship". New York University journal of international law & politics . 50 (2): 681.