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 Rise and Fall of the Third Reich November 18, 2008
There are few threads of thought to consider in this book. First there is a prevailing theme throughout the book represented by the German word lebensraum, meaning "more land." For the people of neighboring lands an onslaught of terror was felt. Hitler's original goal was always to conquer Russia and the Slavs as he despised Communism and the Jews that were driving the Russian state of mind as he believed it to be. This belief took root in him as a vagabond in Austria where he felt oppressed by Jewish merchants and businessmen. Secondly and ironically he always looked to the East and waged war with the West, presumably out of some poorly thought out strategy. While he held a vengeance towards France, he was willing to leave England and the West alone. Albeit his actions of bombing London for months on end contradicted even that of his many shallow convictions. Third was a theme that became a consistent irony was one where on the eve of every onslaught upon a neighboring country, leaders held out hope that "it would not happen". One could make an argument in defense of Poland and perhaps even France individually, but collectively the world leaders could not gain consensus on eminent threats or preventive action. They had to wait until the fox was in the hen house. Fourth, I am left aghast at Neville Chamberlain as he sold out the Austrians and the Czechs, but more so, the world leaders who through silence allowed this to happen. After closing the last page in this book I stand even more firmly in my view that this world of `East' or `West' ideologies owes a world of tribute and gratitude to Sir Winston Churchill. Finally, though the book incriminates Hitler, it is also about German people with Hitler as their representative and scapegoat of the servant German mind. They had eleven hundred years of practice through the first and second Reich's, and shallow convictions seemed to loom just below the surface of the German people of this time as well.
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excellent October 10, 2008
read this book when it was first published. After all these years it is even more meaningful and incisive.
Sometimes preventive war is a good idea October 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For those who think preventive war is always bad, you should read this book. If there was any argument for preventive war against Hitler, especially before Munich, this is it. Appeasement was useless with Hitler. It only made him stronger and bolder.
One of the most readable histories I've read August 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
At well over a thousand pages, one might wonder how "readable" such a history could be, but Shirer's work is excellent. I won't repeat much of the acclaim already found here.
One stumbling block is that in a very few places the terminology is outdated, and most certainly not politically correct. For example, the homosexual leadership of the SA are described as "perverted" and "deviant", and its hard to say from the book whether they truly were or if this is just a 1950s label for gay. Similarly, the Japanese turned down negotiations with "Ah, so sorry, please". I doubt that's a direct quote.
Those two snags aside, the rest of the book holds up exceedingly well, and there are actually very few references that are lost on the modern reader, especially compared to the writings of, for example, Churchill, which are full of references to then-current names and events that have lost their relevance over time.
The thesis that the readiness to accept National Socialism was built into German culture and mythology of the day may not be a popular one, nor commonly accepted today, but Shirer provides enough supporting material that one can at least see his point.
Be prepared for a lot of detail: D-Day doesn't occur until well past page 1000, for example. One thing I loved however was that the book was not full of throwaway names that appear only once. That's usually an issue for me (names and dates that will be forgotten soon after reading) and this book is largely absent of them.
It's also relatively even, in that there are very few places where it drags. With few exceptions, the narrative progresses smoothly and its as much of a "page turner" as non-fiction can be.
On the Ground in Germany during the Birth of the Third Reich August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When you come to think of it, William L. Shirer was a CBS correspondent who was at the right place at the right time. He kept a diary of the happenings in Germany during the time of the formation of the Nazi government. He saw the political maneuvers of the Nazi Party in gaining power in German Politics. The audacity of the Party gaining control of a Democratic Government without a majority. The effect of a weak centralized government under President von Hindenburg leads to Nazism.
Shirer witnessed the formation of a totalitarian government. He saw the tightening of all cultural activities and the progressive pogroms against the Jews.
Shirer details all the scheming of the taking over of the Rhineland, Sudetenland and Austria. His plan to enter into war with Poland under false pretenses finally has England and France entering into the great conflict. Shirer was there recording all that had happened.
This book was first published 14 years after the end of the Second World War. This exhaustive study was based on Shirer's observations, which in itself are classic. He was there. He saw it first hand!! Richard Evans study seems to be a definitive study in the English language of this German time period. But remember, Evans has over 50 years of added data to analyze and report on.
This is a long read, but read it if you want to know about the great tragedy of the 20th Century.
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