With monumental fairness and balance, The Conquerors shows how Roosevelt privately refused desperate pleas to speak out directly against the Holocaust, to save Jewish refugees and to explore the possible bombing of Auschwitz to stop the killing. The book also shows FDR's fierce will to ensure that Germany would never threaten the world again. Near the end of World War II, he abruptly endorsed the secret plan of his friend, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, to reduce the Germans to a primitive existence -- despite Churchill's fear that crushing postwar Germany would let the Soviets conquer the continent. The book finally shows how, after FDR's death, President Truman rebelled against Roosevelt's tough approach and adopted the Marshall Plan and other more conciliatory policies that culminated in today's democratic, united Europe.
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Book Description
A New York Times bestseller, The Conquerors reveals how Franklin Roosevelt's and Harry Truman's private struggles with their aides and Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin affected the unfolding of the Holocaust and the fate of vanquished Nazi Germany.
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Long before an Allied victory was assured during World War II, the Big Three--Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin--began discussing how to prevent Germany from ever again threatening the world. The fact that Germany today is a peaceful, democratic ally of the U.S. is "one of America's great twentieth-century international achievements," writes esteemed historian Michael Beschloss. How such a transformation was accomplished is the subject of The Conquerors.
Drawing on thousands of previously unreleased documents, secret audio recordings, private diaries, and other information recently made available, Beschloss details the complex diplomacy between the Allied leaders, including their differences over whether to demand Germany's unconditional surrender; how, if at all, to divide Germany after the war; and how to effectively punish Germany without creating the kind of resentment that led to the rise of Hitler. The relationship between the three leaders, and later, Truman, is fascinating, as Beschloss reveals private conversations, ulterior motives, and numerous back-channel deals that took place. Of particular interest is the maneuvering of Roosevelt and Churchill, who were both concerned that the Soviets would attempt a postwar power grab in Western Europe if given the chance. The book also deals with Roosevelt's reluctance to deal with Germany's systematic extermination of the Jews, and the role that his old friend and Treasury Secretary, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., played in pushing the President into action. After learning of the Holocaust, Morgenthau became obsessed with punishing Germany severely, drafting a plan that called for the complete destruction of their mines and factories as a way of forcing Germany into subsistence farming--ideas that put him at odds with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and many others in the administration.
The Conquerors is a superbly written, if brief, treatment of the political events leading up to the defeat of Germany, with the main players brought vividly to life by Beschloss's keen eye for detail and his ability to expose the human strengths and weaknesses of the participants. --Shawn Carkonen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Beschloss provides an engaging, if not revelatory, narrative of key events leading up to the conferences at Yalta (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) and Potsdam (Truman, Churchill, Stalin) and the Allies' decisions about how to prevent future aggression by post-WWII Germany. In his preface, Beschloss makes much of the fact that this study draws on newly released documents from the former Soviet Union, the FBI and private archives. But Beschloss has unearthed nothing to change accepted views of how FDR developed and then began to implement his vision for postwar Germany. The tales Beschloss gathers here are no different from those already told in such books as Eric Larrabee's Commander-in-Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants and Their War (1987) and Henry Morgenthau III's Mostly Morgenthaus: A Family History (1991). With reference to the latter volume, one of Beschloss's major subplots traces Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr.'s efforts to interest FDR in a draconian, retributive plan (the "Morgenthau Plan") to destroy what little might remain of Germany's infrastructure after the war. Wisely, FDR demurred. Although breaking no new ground, this book by noted presidential historian Beschloss (who has published a trilogy on Lyndon Johnson's White House tapes) will fill the bill for those who need a readable account of how American officials and their Allied counterparts came to draw the map of postwar Europe. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
HAD THE PLOTTERS BEEN MORE DEFT, Thursday, July 20, 1944, would have been Adolf Hitler's last day on earth. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
HAD THE PLOTTERS BEEN MORE DEFT, Thursday, July 20, 1944, would have been Adolf Hitler's last day on earth. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
I was disappointed with this book which I thought had much more promise than I think was delivered. The writing was tedious from my perspective. Also, Truman, and his relationship with FDR and other world leaders in the first few months of his presidency is almost non existent as is, for the most part, Churchill's personal relationship with FDR, about which other books have been written but it seems to me is impossible to not include if the subject is the allied approach to the war. This is essentially a book about Morganthau and his relationship with FDR and FDR's approach to power. It shows how FDR had everyone in his administration wrapped around his little finger, which each subordinate thinking they alone had FDR's private ear, when in reality no one did. FDR kept his own counsel. The relationship between FDR and Morganthau comes off as a little pathetic with Morganthau desparate to get FDR's approval like an apprentice to a mentor. Roosevelt is supportive when it suits his fancy and non supportive when it does not suit his fancy. In that regard and among all participants "loyalty" is a relative concept in the FDR administration. Reminds me a little of the description of David McCullough about the Adams/Jefferson correspondence at the end of their lives--one in which Adams letters to Jefferson were like 4:1 compared to Jefferson's to Adams. I had the feeling that Adams needed this relationship much more than did Jefferson who had many other interests at the end of his life and appeared to answer Adams when he found the time. Adams, on the other hand, struck me as a fellow for whom a letter from TJ was the highpoint of his day.
By B. Viberg
Format:Hardcover
Creating government policy is not easy. Decisions result from consideration of many shifting factors and many different perspectives. Beschloss has written a superb account of the creation of one of the decisive US government policies of the 20th century--what to do with Hitler's Germany after WW II. The author traces the evolution of Roosevelt's thought, the intricate trail of policy input resulting from Roosevelt's chaotic management of his staff, the massive effort made by Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau to impose a harsh peace, the president's interplay with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, and the effects of FDR's flagging mental and physical abilities on eventual decisions. Beschloss also recounts Harry Truman's efforts to master large amounts of information about formal and informal agreements among the Big Three allies when he suddenly became president upon Roosevelt's death. The final chapter assesses the result of Roosevelt's and Truman's policies, concluding that their decisions to rebuild Germany as a strong pro-democracy bulwark in the heart of Europe affected the history of the Cold War, and indeed the contemporary world.
Format:Hardcover
This is a book about Henry Morgenthau and his plan to make Germany an agricultural country after the war, and to take away all German industry.
It is also about Morgenthau and his conversion from an accounting type to one that wanted to help his fellow Jews after he found out about the German death camps.
It is also about Morgenthau and his conversion from an accounting type to one that wanted to help his fellow Jews after he found out about the German death camps.
Roosevelt and Truman are included as supporting actors in this book about Morgenthau.
The book probably took 11 years to write because the author must have been as bored writing it as I was reading it.
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3.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bait and Switch
Despite the title, this isn't a story about the destruction of Hitler's Germany. It's not about FDR. It's not about President Truman. Read more
Published on Nov 15 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
From a GI Who Was There
I found this to be just one more book written about the events of this era. It is well written and very readable but I have my doubts about some of the contents. Read more
Published on Oct 27 2003 by Gilbert Ec ht
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disjointed, but informative
"The Conquerors", author Michael Beschloss' account of how the Roosevelt and Truman administrations handled the execution of World War II and the decisions over how to handle... Read more
Published on Sep 26 2003 by Patrick L. Randall
4.0 out of 5 stars
What is going to happen after the Allies conquer Germany?
I believe this to be a unique book about what is going to happen after Germany is conquered and Hitler gone. Read more
Published on Sep 11 2003 by Kevin M Quigg
4.0 out of 5 stars
The older I get, the more iconoclastic I become�
While reading "The Conquerors: ..." protagonist and antagonist, alike, seem to float off the page and become as real as any first-rate movie. Read more
Published on Aug 8 2003 by R. R. Studley
3.0 out of 5 stars
choppy narrative
In light of the magnitude of our success in re-making Germany after World War II, this topic is an interesting and important one. Read more
Published on July 26 2003 by Yalensian
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasing writing style, informative
Beschloss writes extremely well, in a breezy, chatty, informal way that makes it seem as if he's sitting in your living room, narrating the story. Read more
Published on July 24 2003 by Candace Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasing writing style, informative
Beschloss writes extremely well, in a breezy, chatty, informal way that makes it seem as if he's sitting in your living room, narrating the story. Read more
Published on July 24 2003 by Candace Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars
Roosevelt and Truman
The Conquerors provides an insight to the Roosevelt and Truman Administration, and some information on the meetings, such as Yalta with the Big Three. Read more
Published on July 11 2003 by "ron_f"
4.0 out of 5 stars
where's the rest?
I am a fan of Beschloss and liked this work, but I felt it was incomplete. There was much intense focus on Henry Morgenthau and his plan for Germany - which indeed was a story... Read more
Published on Jun 2 2003 by Shannon Gaw
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