The Third Reich at War [Hardcover]

 

 

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This is the third and final volume of Richard Evans history of the Third Reich. The Third Reich at war is about the darkest time in world's history, when the war allowed the Nazis to pursue their policy of force and violence to its disastrous end. This tragedy still haunts us because it is difficult to comprehend how most Germans, many of them good people, were complicit with the crimes committed in their name by the Nazis. The book is not about the military history of the war, which is only sketched, but it focuses on how the German people reacted to the brutality of the policies implemented by the Nazis in Eastern Europe, and how they reacted to the disasters that finally engulfed Germany. The book makes perfectly clear that for the Nazis, the war that they had wanted, offered the opportunity to implement their brutal racial policy, at home as well as in the occupied territories. As soon as Poland was occupied, they started mass murdering, eliminating the mentally deficient firstly in occupied Poland, then in Germany. We know of course too well how the Nazis treated the Poles, the Russian POW's, and the Jews; but we fail to understand the apathy and silence of the German people. This book uses the personal diaries of some ordinary Germans, as well as reports from the Gestapo, to document the reaction of German people to Nazi policies, and how these reactions evolved with the changing fortunes of war. The author has managed to access personal documents from Nazi supporters as well as opponents and provides as true an image of the German opinion as possible. Many Germans adults were proud of the military successes of the Wehrmacht, and although not very comfortable with the policies of deportation and extermination, they either accepted the lies of Nazi propaganda or preferred to keep silent. Wim Hosenfeld, a German commandant who inspired the character of the German officer in Polanski's movie "the pianist", is not heroic but at least shows his moral fiber by expressing his outrage at the crimes committed by the Nazis since the beginning of German occupation in Poland, and trying to help the victims when possible. He was the exception. Public opinion started changing with the defeats of the Wehrmacht in Russia, and the bombing of the German cities. Surprisingly, many Germans started blaming the Nazis for the war and were angrier at them than at the allies who were bombing them. Some even saw the bombing as the just retribution of the crimes committed in the East. It was fear as much as the lack of alternatives that kept them fighting to the bitter end.

This book does document well the reaction of the German people to the actions and crimes of the Nazis. Still, it does not provide a satisfactory explanation for their behavior. I always feel extremely disturbed when seeing photographs of German officers hanging or shooting civilian hostages or partisans during the war, not only because they did it, but because they were not ashamed of it, and they sent these pictures back to Germany. I think we shall never understand how Richard Strauss, whose daughter in law was Jewish, how Wilhelm Furtwangler, who sincerely despised the Nazis, shook hand with Goebbels and Hitler and, in their ways helped the regime. This is indeed why this period will always haunt us.

Reviewer JC Mareschal wrote: "As soon as Poland was occupied, they started mass murdering, eliminating the mentally deficient firstly in occupied Poland, then in Germany."

Those interested in Why/How the Nazis and German people could behave as they did should begin looking well before the war, and not necessarily just in Germany. It is well to remember that the Nazi T4 Aktion policy was first implemented in Germany immediately upon accession of the Nazis to power. So-called 'mental defectives' were first isolated, then systematically sterilized and/or murdered, as 'life unworthy of life' and a drain on the resources of the State. The sterilization laws were taken directly from US statutes of the 20s and 30s, which were sanctioned by SCOTUS in 'Buck v Bell' with the phrase 'three generations of imbeciles is enough.'

On the strength of the review, I look forward to reading Evans' third volume.

As others have pointed out, this book spends a lot of time detailing the brutality of the 3rd Reich. It is very grim, too much so in fact. But nonetheless, it is a very good addition to a WWII library. I don't think it is as good as Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, but it is still a very worthwhile book. It is particularly strong on the economic aspects of the war.

Despite the excessive descriptions of brutality, I recommend this book to people interested in the 3rd Reich and WWII.

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