Category: World War II

Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII-Chester Nez with Judith Schiess Avila

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Alan Turing is famously remembered for developing the machine used to crack the encrypted messages of the German military during World War II.  However, in the Pacific, where fighting against the Japanese army and navy was just as brutal, coded messages sometimes meant the difference between life and death.  U.S. military officials, looking to gain the advantage  in the battles against Japan, decided to use a language unknown to the Japanese that could be used to transmit highly important messages between soldiers and commanders.  Officials decided to try a new approach and selected members of the Navajo tribes. Chester Nez (1921-2014), one of the original Navajo code talkers, presents his autobiography with the help of Judith Schiess Avila.

A native of New Mexico, Nez begins his odyssey when he and fellow Navajo tribe members enlist into the United States Marine Corps. They are told they will have to develop a secret code based of their native tongue.  But just how do you develop a code from a language which isn’t written in any shape or form? Navajo is a rare language in that it is taught by word of mouth and not through books.  The young code talkers start working and as we see in Chester’s memories, they develop a code that proved to be unbreakable throughout the entire war.  The code was so secret, that it wasn’t declassified until 1968.  And even today, their story is still largely unknown and many of them remain unsung heroes in the story of World War II.

In 2001, Nez received the Congressional Medal of Honor from then president, George W. Bush.  As he explains in the book, it was one of his proudest moments and he proudly served the nation he’s always called home.  His courage and patriotism are remarkable considering that in grade school at Fort Defiance, the students were prohibited from using their native Navajo language and were subjected to physical punishment as a result. But when the Marines came calling, Chester and his friends answered the call and in the process would change the course of World War II.  His story is an invaluable part of American history as today, Native Americans still struggled with the dark history of the United States which includes acts of extreme violence and prejudice to those of Native American heritage.  This book should be required reading by all students and for those who find English to be a second language, his courage and acts of heroism can serve as positive reinforcement for anyone concerned about the acceptance of their heritage among their peers.

In 2002,  John Woo directed Nicholas Cage in ‘Windtalkers’, the story of a Marine designated to protect a Navajo code talker.  As expected from Hollywood, the effects and actions sequences are visually stunning. But the focus of the film lies in the wrong place and doesn’t come close to telling the whole story of the code talkers.  To date, this is the only biography of a code talker and many of them are now deceased. In fact, Chester was the last living code talker until he died on January 4, 2014.  He life is an example of those who proudly serve their country even when their country doesn’t serve them.  The courage and never-ending efforts to protect the lives of American soldiers shown by the code talkers while risking theirs on the battlefield, make them true American heroes.

ISBN-10: 0425247856
ISBN-13: 978-0425247853

The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution-Richard Breitman

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41yjtx-tdml-_sx331_bo1204203200_In modern history, the Holocaust ranks among the worst atrocities committed against a group of people by another.  The systematic segregation and later extermination of over 6 million Jews throughout Europe brought shame, anger and retribution upon Germany.  Today the Holocaust is a distant memory and survivors of the crime are now in their advance years with the number of living survivors declining each year. Recently, Elie Wiesel, the best-selling author of the classic ‘Night’ died  at the age of 87. His story, and that of Kitty Hart-Moxon, the star of the 2015 documentary ‘A Day in Auschwitz‘ are just two of the many stories written and told by survivors of the many concentrations camps erected by the Third Reich.

One of the burning questions has always been, how did the decision to murder the Jews come about?  To this day, debate continues about how much Adolf Hitler either knew about the camps or how much influence he had in their construction and operation.   While no notes have survived to shed light on Hitler’s thoughts or decisions, the notes of some of his underlings did survived shedding light on how the Final Solution became a reality.  At the helm of the plan to eradicate Europe of its Jewish citizenry was a former chicken farmer from Munich, Heinrich Himmler.  The feared former chief of the notorious SS,  is considered by many to be the mastermind behind Hitler’s plan to rid Germany and the conquered territories in Europe of all Jewish people or in Hitler’s words, judenfrei.

In this close look at the development of the Final Solution, Richard Breitman has carefully reconstructed the plans of Hitler and his administration, revealing how and why the Final Solution came to be a reality.  Drawing upon diaries and other correspondence that survived the war, Breitman does a masterful job of exposing Himmler for the psychotic murderer that he truly was.  Blinded by his belief in Aryan supremacy and his devotion to the Führer, the fanatical Himmler takes on the role of a menace in his own right and the ease at which he and other members of the Third Reich causally planned their actions are sure to leave the reader in shock and asking even more questions that can be answered.  In spite of the overwhelming evidence against Himmler, there just isn’t enough credible evidence to prove that Hitler gave the final order for murder as Breitman points out. But the reality is, he didn’t have to.  The evil genius Himmler and his henchmen, most notably Reinhard Heydrich, carried out the wishes of their leader with unquestionable loyalty displaying a devotion that bordered on the insane. 

A chilling aspect of the Holocaust is that while Himmler and the many perpetrators of the crime planned these heinous acts, they were also husbands and fathers.  And this is one of the most disturbing parts of the book.  Murders against men, women and even children occurred with not only the knowledge, but with also the blessing of the supreme architect of murder himself.  And while Himmler himself was far from the image of aryan supremacy he like to project, his devious and cunning ways,  struck fear in his enemies and his closeness to Hitler earned him the protection, encouragement and loyalty of the Führer. And with this trust, he carried out the extermination of millions of innocent men, women and children.  His murderous rampage is unparalleled in modern history and his name continues to live in infamy.  He is without a doubt, the architect of genocide.

ISBN-10: 0874515963
ISBN-13: 978-0874515961

Survival In The Shadows: Seven Jews Hidden in Hitler’s Berlin-Barbara Lovenheim

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ShadowsThe Holocaust remains one of the most regretful moments in the history of mankind.  The Final Solution, engineered by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi government, resulted in the deaths of over six millions Jewish men, women and children.  The many concentration camps became factories of genocide and symbols of the Third Reich’s relentless efforts to remove all Jewish citizens from Germany and the occupied territories of the Reich.  As Hitler made his rise to power, many Jews fled Germany fearing the worst under the rule of the tyrannical dictator from neighboring Austria.  Others were forced to seek refuge in Germany and survive in any way possible.  But still there were other Jews who found help among non-Jewish Germans and were able to hide themselves right in Berlin, under the eyes and ears of the N.S.D.A.P.

This is the story of seven men and women who found refuge and protection in Berlin during the war and how they lived to tell their tales.  They’re now deceased, but before their deaths, Barbara Lovenheim conducted interviews with them, allowing them to recount their incredible stories of fear, survival and eventual happiness  after moving on with life and building lives outside of Germany.   Their stories truly exemplify what it means to hide in plain sight. Through each of them, we are able to see the resiliency of the human spirit and are reminded that even in the worst of times, there will always be those of us who refuse to give in to evil and truly understand what humanism really means.

As we are introduced to the characters, the Nazis begin to step up the effort to remove all Jews from the Fatherland.  Reaching out to friends and acquaintances, the men and women in this book, Erich Arndt, Ruth Arndt, Charlotte Lewinsky, Ellen Lewinsky and Bruno Gumpel, manage to survive the Final Solution through determination, luck and in some cases, superb methods of deception. Faced with starvation, sickness and in most cases, desperation, their will to survive is inspiring and heartbreaking.  But as we make our way through the book, we see trust is also a large factor and underscores every move that each of them make to stay alive.  Enemies appear with smiles and looks are sometimes very deceiving.  And what we learn painfully in the book is that in some cases, not even fellow Jews could be completely trusted making each word spoken and each offer accepted, a matter of life and death.

Their stories are the main objective of the book, but a sub-story also exist in the form of the many non-Jewish Germans who risked their lives and well-being to save their Jewish friends and others threatened with death at a concentration camp.   Oskar Schindler’s story is well-known and he was immortalized by Liam Neeson in the classic ‘Schindler’s List’.  But throughout the war and even in Berlin as we see here, many ordinary German citizens took great strides to protect Jews from extermination at the hands of the Gestapo.  And following the war, the formerly persecuted Jews made it clear to Allied forces that their saviors were to be protected and left alone.  Others we know turned a blind eye to the crimes of the Third Reich and some even turned in Jews to the authorities.  But the efforts of the upstanding citizens serves as an example of the good that humans can do even in the face of overwhelming death, destruction and despair.

There are many stories about the Holocaust from writers such as the late Anne Frank, Elie Wiesel and Rena Kornreich Gelissen.  The stories of these seven survivors stands among the greats as a historical record of a horrific time in world history.  And although more than 70 years have passed since the Allied victory over the Axis powers, the horror and pain of the survivors of the Final Solution stay fresh in our minds as a reminder of why it’s important to never forget our history.

ISBN-13: 9781504039987

My Battle Against Hitler: Faith, Truth, and Defiance In The Shadow of the Third Reich

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51ilnnwz87l-_sx331_bo1204203200_The tyrannical reign of Adolf Hitler stands as one of the worst the world has ever seen and has been the subject of countless documentaries, films, specials and books.  The Third Reich and it’s final solution, produced upon Europe, a dark cloud that it had never seen before.   Hitler’s rise to power and rule over Germany is a well-documented story that has been told over and over again. But what isn’t often told are the stories of those who opposed Hitler.  Tom Cruise starred in the sensational film ‘Valkyrie” which depicts the failed assassination attempt on Hitler by Claus Von Stauffenberg on July 20, 1944.  The attacked injured Hitler but he escaped death and continued to rule until the Allied forces closed in on Berlin on April 30, 1945.

Among the many voices in opposition to Hitler was Dietrich Von Hilderbrand, editor of the journal Der Christliche Ständestaat which became a voice for anti-Nazi beliefs.  His outspokenness earned him the wrath of Hitler and his associates forcing Dietrich to flee Germany and Austria.  Though pursued by the Nazis, he never abandoned his stance in opposition to the racial ideology of the Third Reich and the antisemitism that was widespread at the time.  His voice and beliefs were so well-respected that he was once considered the biggest threat to the survival of National Socialism. In this look into his life, writings and beliefs, we come to know Von Hilderbrand and understand why he was so important to the large number of critics of the Third Reich and its infamous practices.

Catholicism and philosophy are central themes in the book and shed light on the many contradictions and faults that lie in nationalistic ideology.   His words resonate with those of us who find ourselves opponents of racial discrimination and the destruction of the moral compass of society.   Von Hilderbrand reminds us of the importance of humanity and our individual duty to reconcile our beliefs and actions in accordance to what is not only divine but morally correct.  And although his words are more than 70 years old, they are still relevant today.   Throughout history there have been many versions of Adolf Hitler surrounded by regimes determined to enforce totalitarian rule through violence and intimidation.  In contrast there have always been voices in opposition, some stronger than others.  For Nazi Germany, Dietrich Von Hilderbrand serves as one of history’s most important voices against a brutal dictator that disrupted world peace and nearly destroyed the Fatherland.

ISBN-10: 0385347510
ISBN-13: 978-0385347518

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past-Jennifer Teege

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16923849739_a73717f925_bOn September 13, 1946, Amon Goeth, the former commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, is executed for his actions during World War II  after a trial and conviction by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland.  Goeth was brought to life on the silver screen in Steven Spielberg’s classic film ‘Schindler’s List’ in which he is played by actor Ralph Fiennes.  The film is moving and one of the most haunting to have even been produced about the Holocaust.  Survivors of the Holocaust vividly recalled memories of the remorseless killing committed by Goeth and those under his command. Several decades later, his life is revisited, not by a random author, but by his granddaughter Jennifer Teege, a child of a German mother and Nigerian father who discovers her family’s past and struggles with her own identity in this biography that is bound to leave the reader speechless.

Jennifer’s story and those of other descendants of Third Reich leaders, most notably Gudrun Himmler and Niklas Frank, shed light on an often overlooked part of the second World War.  Following the Allied victory and occupation of Germany, the families of Nazi officials were often in turmoil.  Hunted by the Allies, many Nazis fled to other countries, some committed suicide, others were executed and under the CIA’s Operation Paperclip program, some were even relocated to the United States.  Their descendants were left to confront the individual’s past actions and the policies of the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler.  And it is this past which haunts not only Jennifer, but her mother Monika, Goeth’s daughter who was only 10 months old when he was executed.

The book begins in Hamburg, and we are with Jennifer in the library as she discovers a book about Amon Goeth. Recognizing the last name, she begins to ask herself questions and puts together the puzzle that is her past.  And as she learns about her grandfather, the man who struck terror in the hearts of thousands of Jews, she is faced with the grim reality that yes, her grandfather would have shot her during his reign of terror.  In her youth, the remaining link to her grandfather was her grandmother Irene, who until her own death from suicide in 1983, remained loyal to Goeth.  Having lived with Goeth at the camp, she conceived Monika while Goeth was still legally married to another German woman.  The inner battle she fights regarding her feelings toward her late grandmother whom she loved dearly, is heartbreaking and reminiscent of the struggle of many others whose parents and grandparents committed horrific crimes under the banner of the Third Reich.

Teege’s story is an amazing one,  filled with many trials and tribulations.  We follow her as she struggles with depression, how to tell her Israeli friends about her past, establish relationships with both of her biological parents, love, a family of her own and ultimately, her acceptance of her family name.  To the generation of today, World War II is something that’s mentioned in textbooks. But a large number of people around the world who are still alive,  memories remain fresh from a time in history when the security of the world as we know it, was in danger of being completely destroyed.  For people such as Monika Goeth and Jennifer Teege, the war always remains in the present in the form of Amon Goeth, whose deeds and name will continue to live in infamy.  And as we learn Jennifer’s story, we are forced to ask ourselves what would we do if we were in her place? It’s an answer I’m sure many of us would struggle to find.

ASIN: B00XGLGEMS

 

What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany – Eric A. Johnson and Karl Heinz Reuband

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what-we-knewIn April, 1945, allied troops moved through Germany as the walls surrounding Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) began to collapse. His suicide on April 30, allowed him to escape justice but helped to cement his place in history as one of mankind’s most tyrannical leaders.  Concentration camps across Germany and Poland were liberated, releasing thousands of Jews who had been imprisoned as the Third Reich began its Final Solution, the plan produced by the minds of homicidal maniacs such as Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) and Reinhard Heydrich (1904-1942).  The emaciated figures that were once lively young men and women provided allied troops with a shocking sight that no one could ever forget. Even today, images and videos of bodies stacked upon bodies produces a feelings of disgust and anger toward those responsible for the crimes and others who feigned ignorance.

I have visited Germany twice and enjoyed my experiences there. Today it is hard to imagine that less than eighty years ago, one man plunged the world into war and oversaw the deaths of millions of Jews.  When Adolf Hitler seized control of Germany giving the N.S.D.A.P. the majority presence,  German society was transformed and turned upside down.   Many Jews fled Germany before the Third Reich began its campaign of genocide and some of them never returned. The actions of an unhinged Hitler, nearly brought Germany to the brink of collapse.  Widespread famine and lack of basic necessities made life in post-war Germany close to unbearable.  Some undoubtedly believed that Germans only had their selves to blame for the war and should suffer for what they did to other nations. The United States and Soviet Union stepped in to divide Berlin and the wall constructed remained in placed until 1989.  It was the end of two different German nations contained within one mass of land. The division is similar to the subject of this book entitled ‘What We Knew”.

Historians have always debated what ordinary Germans knew and did not know.  Surely, there were many Germans who sought to save their own lives and desperately avoided being linked in any way to Hitler’s failed regime.  Many claimed that they had no idea Jews were being systematically murdered in concentration camps.  For the Jews, it was hard to believe they could proclaim such ignorance when Antisemitism was a pillar of the Nazi ideology.  Americans and other foreign nations always pondered the same question. This book by Eric A. Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband has attempted to take on those questions in the search for the truth about how much the German people knew about the fate that awaited millions of Jews across Europe. Divided into two parts, the first half of the book contains interviews of German Jews who either fled Germany or survived concentration camps.   The second half contains interviews of non-Jewish Germans who witnesses the events that transpired.  What’s revealed in these pages is both eye-opening and enlightening.

As to be expected each side has their own convictions about what each side knew.  Whether they were telling the complete truth is something we will never be able to answer.  But what is clear from the book is that the place in Germany in which one lived, played a role in what they knew or did not know.  The authors do not attempt to make any decisions about who is to be believed or not believed.  They simply present the statements for the reader to decide.  From a personal standpoint, I did find that denial is apparent in many of the interviews of non-Jewish Germans while the Jewish Germans unanimously agree that their neighbors definitely knew of the systematic extermination of the Jews and used it as an excuse to plunder and seize what was left over in houses and apartments.  Several of the Jewish survivors vowed never to return to Germany and believe that they never did.  But they were among the fortunate who were able to survive the Third Reich and tell their stories here.

The debate about the knowledge of the Reich’s atrocities by German citizens will continue for an eternity.  But what is clear is that there was much many had knowledge of but preferred not to know.  The stories of what really happened cannot be lost to history and to prevent another Holocaust requires that demons from the past are confronted.  These are the stories of Germany’s survivors who are here to tell you what they knew.

“To sin in silence while others doth protest makes cowards out of men.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

ISBN-13: 978-0465085712
ISBN-10: 0465085717

Superfortress- General Curtis Lemay and Bill Yenne

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superfortressThe second world war marked a turning point in world conflict with the introduction of the B-29 bomber.  No longer solely relying on ground infantry divisions, the rules of engagement had been changed forever. General Curtis Lemay, the legendary Air Force General and leader of the Strategic Air Command presents this excellent writing of the story behind he development of the B-29 bomber, appropriately named the Superfortress.

Lemay provides a detailed history of air warfare in the United States armed forces paying homage to Billy Mitchell (1879-1956), considered by many to the be the father of the United States Air Force.  Dismissed for insubordination, Mitchell would be blackballed for several years until 1941 when the B-25 was named in his honor.  Sensing that a major offensive change was needed in the war, development began on new aircraft to turn the tide of the war against the axis powers.  Boeing’s production of the B-29 signaled the dawn of a new era and completely changed the face of the allied effort in World War II. This is the great story behind the masterpiece machine and one of the greatest times in aviation history.

 

ISBN-10: 1594160392
ISBN-13: 978-1594160394

Nanking-K.A. Kent

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NankingWorld War II is the worst conflict the earth has ever seen. It is estimated that well over 50 million people died during the war.  This number will vary from source to source and the total number of casualties may never be known.   The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, triggered a world conflagration unlike anything mankind had ever seen. The Japanese army in seeking to establish and empire of its own, invaded mainland China, waging a path of destruction and terror with the intention on obliterating several Chinese cities from existence.  Shanghai was reduced to rubble and Nanking nearly completely destroyed.   In total, nearly 20 million Chinese perished during the war and the actions of the Japanese government became the source of tension between the two nations which continues to this day.  The intervention by the United States in the conflict and defeat of Japan allowed the people of China to breathe a sigh of relief.  The actions of the Japanese Army were horrific and unspeakable but characteristic of the known and unknown number of atrocities committed during the second World War.

Minnie Vautrin (1886-1941) was a missionary who worked in Nanking and is best remembered for her efforts to save the young women under her care at the Gingling College as the Japanese military launched its invasion of Nanking.  K.A. Kent presents Minnie’s story in this engaging yet tragic tale.  Her tireless efforts to save the lives of as many girls and women as she could would make her one of the greatest unsung heroines of the 20th century.  After serving 28 years as a missionary, she made her return home to the United States in 1940.  Sadly she would take her own life in 1941. Thousands of young women were assaulted physically and sexually, tortured and murdered in what became known as the Nanking massacre.  The story has been told in books and even films and in each case, the chilling reality of what transpired hits strikes the reader and viewer to the core. The barbarity exhibited by the Japanese military helped condemn Japan in the eyes of the world.  Today, Japan has acknowledged the actions of its army during the war but has stopped short of offering a detailed and full apology.  Only time will tell if Japan and China will fully heal from a dark time in world history.

I forewarn the reader that this book is a tough read at times and I found myself stepping back from the book.  Kent has told the story in a semi-fictional matter. Vautrin is in the book but the names of others have been changed and composite characters instituted in their place. Nonetheless, the story is accurate as regards to what did happen and how it happened.  For those who are unable to read stories of sexual assault or have been victims of sexual assault, this book may not be for you.  For war enthusiast that seek to learn as much about World War II as possible, this book is a good addition to the library.  But it is ugly at times and the truth does hurt but it is also necessary to understand the savagery that composed the world’s deadliest war.

ISBN-10: 1419616021
ISBN-13: 978-1419616020

My Father’s Keeper: Children of Nazi Leaders-An Intimate History of Damage and Denial-Stephen & Norbert Lebert

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20180602_234500May 1, 1945- The Allied forces are nearly at the entrance of Hitler’s underground bunker in Berlin.  Hitler and Eva Braun have been dead since the day before.  Others have fled Berlin in fear of their lives. The remaining members are forced with choosing between capture by the Allies or death.  Third Reich propaganda minster Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda both commit suicide after having their six children poisoned.  Their children escape the fate of falling into Allied hands and do not witness the final collapse of the Third Reich and the division of post-war Berlin.  The fear of retribution by the Red Army and the revelations of the atrocities committed against Europe’s Jewish population have caused many Germans to prefer death rather than face justice at the hands of an Allied soldiers.  Goebbels’ children although deprived of their lives, escaped a fate that would effect the children of other Nazi party officials.  They would be faced to confront the truth of their parents’ actions during the rise of the N.S.D.A.P. and Hitler’s assumption of power in Germany.  This book contains the stories of some of those children.

Hitler never had any children of his own stating clearly that he had too much responsibility towards the people of Germany to think about his own family line.  Perhaps it is one of the saving graces of the war for I shudder to think about the amount of cruelty a child of Hitler would have faced had they survived the war.  The belief of the “master race” resulted in German men and women being encouraged to have as many children as possible. And in fact, many of the top members of Hitler’s cabinet were fathers.  Their children did survive the war and are still alive today . Stephen Lebert resumed the work of his father Norman in exploring the effects of the revelations upon the lives of the Nazi descendants.  And what father and son have found is remarkable and also tragic. They conducted interviews with the children of Martin Bormann, Hans Frank, Rudolf Hess, Herman Goering and Heinrich Himmler.  The interviews are revealing and the damage inflicted upon them is evident in many way.  Denial is a common theme in the interviews  and some of them refuse to believe what has been proven to be correct. The others have accepted it and have lived shattered lives unable to come to terms with what their father had done.   And incredibly, one in particular remains committed to her father’s standing as a Nazi and truly believes him to be innocent.

The most interesting part of the book is that there is no way to know beforehand which way the subject will go.  Their responses, thoughts and feelings vary highlighting the haphazard effect the war had upon them.  I had often wondered what happened to the children of the Reich. This book answers that question and more.  A truly tragic reality is that they were not allowed to have a normal childhood by any means.  The tyrannical rule of Adolf Hitler and the Reich’s illogical policies plunged Germany into a war and allowed its members to live out their own sadistic ideals as they pillaged, raped and murdered innocent people.  And the true irony is that these very same people who sent the children of Jews to their deaths, had families of their own. But I do not believe they ever thought of their children for if they did, they would have never placed them in such a position.

Today they continue to live their lives but the memories of the war and their parents are still fresh in their minds.  To their very last day, they will scary the mental and emotional scars inflicted upon them by the fallout from the second world war.  And as they think back on the family life they lost, they will have to ask the question if they are truly their fathers’ keepers.

ISBN-10: 0316089753
ISBN-13: 978-0316089753

The Rise and Fall Of The Third Reich:A History of Nazi Germany-30th Anniversary Edition-William L. Shirer

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20180602_225945History always has many witnesses.   Audio, video, word of mouth and the written word serve as the recorders for the events that are occurring.  When Adolf Hitler began his rise to power, all of Europe and the rest of the world took notice.  Many of those nations never imagined that the menace from Austria would become Chancellor of Germany and unleash a wave of terror never before seen across the continent.  His climactic rise to power and fall is a case study that has been the subject of debates and discussions since the end of the Second World War in 1945.  Even today we continue to learn new facts about Hitler and secrets of the Third Reich.  William L. Shirer (1904-1993) lived in Germany as correspondent for CBS news and served as a first-hand witnesses of the rise of national socialism carried under the banner of Hitler’s N.S.D.A.P.    As the war in Europe unfolded, he returned to the United States and his memories of his time in Germany served as the basis for the Berlin Diary. During his residence in Germany, he had been censured by Nazi regime from speaking on air. Shirer took advantage of the time to start a book on the Reich, a book that became a masterpiece and the definitive account of the rise and fall of the Third Reich.

Hitler’s seizure of power by means of annexation of the smaller countries surrounding Germany showed to the world the true nature of his regime and the pending doom that awaited Europe.  By the time the war was over, nearly fifty million people had died.   Germany was split in half and became the center of aggression between the United States and Soviet Union.  The story of the Nazi empire has caused many to ask how did Hitler assume power and why did the German people give it to him?  And if the German military was as supreme as their leaders thought, why did Germany suffer defeat in a second world conflict?  The answers to these questions are contained within the pages of this book and Shirer provides a staggering amount of information about what really transpired behind the scenes hidden from the German public.  The book is divided into several smaller parts, each focusing on a different period in the war.   But the author covers the Reich from start to finish giving the reader a complete account of one of history’s darkest moments.

While the book is not a “official” textbook to be used by educators, I do think it should supplement any course material on the holocaust and the war. Shirer’s work is of critical importance and will remain with us for generations.  It is the go to source for the story of the Nazi reign.  All of the characters make an appearance in the story and some parts of the narrative are a bit comical as the Nazis simply make up the rules as they go along. But what is even more intriguing is the often opposing views taken by Hitler and his Generals. Many knew that a madman had seized power and was leading Germany down a path of destruction yet no one seemed to be able to stop the Austrian menace. Shirer once said that “the cardinal error of the Germans who opposed Nazism was their failure to unite against it”.  The Führer, seemingly one step ahead of those under him, often played subordinates against each other creating a climate of suspicion that undermined any efforts to remove him from power. And at his call, were a number of loyal Nazi party members all too happy to do the regime’s dirty work.

I cannot overstate the importance of this book.  To understand the machinations at play that pushed the German war machine forward, Shirer’s words are an invaluable source.  The book is by no means short, running well over one thousands pages.  But contained within those pages is the story that can never be erased.   The world has changed drastically since 1945.  Hitler’s ghost is still among as those loyal to the Nazi party, pledge their undying allegiance to an ideology that went down at the hands of Allie forces more than seventy years ago. His supporting cast of characters retain their places in infamy as part of a failed regime that based its foundation upon the idea of “Aryan supremacy”.   But unbeknownst to the Germany people, there was much that was hidden from them by Hitler, the man some came to love but many began to fear.  Had they known the truth about the Nazis, perhaps he would have been removed from power before the war reached its deadly heights.  We can only ask what if at this point about how things might have been.  But as we look back and study the war, Shirer is there with us reminding us along the way of everything that happened during the rise and fall of the Third SS Reich.

ISBN-10: 1451651686
ISBN-13: 978-1451651683