Germany Books

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?(Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), Roman orator, philosopher, statesman. Orator, 120.)

As humans we not only should look into the future, but into the past. Without considering our past history-how can make appropriate observations, conclusions and judgments? And this is why I find this book of value.

About the Book:
Crow, a student of spiritual healing, left his acupuncture practice in San Francisco to travel to Kathmandu to pursue the path of the healers in Buddhist and Hindu culture. He discusses his experiences with Nepalese traditional doctors and Tibetan healing practices. Crow believes Ayurveda is the medicine of the future and the antidote to disease caused by our increasingly toxic world.

David Crows book is a must read for anyone interested in herbal medicine, Eastern philosophy, and their relevance in todays hectic world--especially for those interested in the ancient yet highly topical teachings of Ayurveda.

This book is urging us to create a new renaissance in healing, but it is not another superficial New Age book. This book is written with care and depth of heart by someone who is not interested in simple answers to complicated questions. I was struck by the authors integrity and ability to make sense out of such diverse yet interrelated topics as herbs, healing, culture, sustainable economics, and ecology. The authors central theme is that we need to both revive and advance herbal medicine and our own sense of sacred environmentalism in order to live in harmony on this troubled earth.

In Search of the Medicine Buddha is not only a book about herbal medicine but also about the need to renew our ageold spiritual connection to plants. Moreover, the book is refreshingly honest, rich, and poetic in its descriptions of Nepali and Indian culture. Highly recommended for anyone interested in creating a richer, more fulfilling and balanced life for themselves and all other living beings!

David delves into the subject of miraculous medicinal plants around the world and explains why botanical medicine is so crucial for the long term health and care of our planet, our healthcare system and our economy. David writes about how you can get involved in creating a grassroots healthcare system in your community by growing your own living pharmacy among many other natural wonders.

The perspective and insight that this books contains is overwhelming. The content was great, but what struck me most was the nature of the author. He has such an incredible respect and love for the Earth, other cultures, and human beings. If the world was full of David Crows, we'd be in good shape. I recommend this book for the fascinating look at Tibetan medicine, but even more for the spiritual development that Mr. Crow inspires.

The text itself is medicinal. The story speaks often of the ancient and rare, but is something everyone struck by the unrelenting madness of the modern world should read. The author's sincerity comes through clearly, and I would be pleased to see more from him. It is difficult to do justice to this book in a short time; it is very rich, even poetic. Do yourself a favor: just trust me on this one.

If you have read more than a few books about the history of our world from 1930 to 1945 you may begin to have questions about the National Socialist Movement and the course and effects of its government of Germany. These are questions like:
- Was the National Socialist movement in Germany a unique event or was it a part of a larger historical process in the terrible 20th century?
- What was the relationship between the Nazi led government and the governance of the German economy?
- Was Hitler the author of all that happened in the Third Riech or was he an enabler of many things that were potentially present in Germany?
- What, exactly, was Hitler's role in the destruction of the European Jews?
- Was German(read Nazi?) foreign policy driven by a master plan for world conquest (or domination?) or improvised and opportunistic?
- Was the Third Reich a socially liberating event to the lower middle class or was it a reaffirmation of traditional hierarchy and power structure in another guise?
- What did German resistance to the National Socialist movement and government actually amount to?
- How is it possible to consider National Socialist genocide as part of a normal historical account?
- How is is possible to do objective and empathetic history in the face of the moral values of the Nazi movement and government?

If you find these questions significant and interesting, there is no better single book to read. Each of these questions is covered by Mr Kershaw more or less in two phases. First there is review of the schools of interpretation promulgated by various historians, most of them professional, and then the author makes his own judgement and evaluation of the contentions at hand. Of particular interest to me is the very thorough coverage of the views and controversies among German historians of the last sixty years as these are rarely reported in the US media. Mr Kershaw does not completely ignore the work of popular historians but it is clear that all the points of view they may have are in fact covered by the range of views among the academic community. The author's personal insights and judgements seem well considered and generally appropriate to me.

I think the only area these professional historians have trouble with is the area of the emotional and psychological appeal of the National Socialist movement to so many Germans. I think to really confront that confronts all of us to acknowledge that there may be a darker side within us that could be touched by the myth structure of racial homogeneity and purfication. Consideration of that question of good and evil is just
beyond the job description of a professional historian and belongs to the philosopher or theologian.

Of particular value, and only to be expected, is the extensive bibliography and the sometimes illuminating foot notes. The concerns of some reviewers about the dense terminology should be noted. Part of that seems to be the result of translating terms from German that come out as rather involved hyphenated words in English. On the other hand the issue is that some of the problems studied here are complex and the answers are not simple and ways of talking about them strech our vocabulary. Ultimately my view is that real knowledge and understanding sometimes involves hard work and digging through this text is work. So be ready to do that or don't bother.

If you have read a number of popular histories of the Nazi period, I recommend this book and The Art of the Third Reich (seperately reviewed) to grasp the tangible and intangible aspects of the terrible and instructive time.

This book does an excellent job of outlining the current historiography of the Nazi regime. It is really only meant for scholars and it is fairly dense even for them. Kershaw does a masterful job of capturing each of the debates and this is really a great book if you want to write about Nazi Germany but don't know what to focus on. It is still relevant even today and does a great job of outlining the current debates that need to be addressed by historians.

Kershaw is God. This book is the bible for any scholar of the Third Reich.

I first read Kershaw's Adolf Hitler: Hubris and Nemesis. I couldn't put it down. I then picked up Kershaw's The Hitler Myth. Also an excellent read. I then moved on to The Nazi Dictatorship and within the first 5 minutes I realized I was in over my head. I am a 38 year old lifelong student of WWII. I have been reading about WWII since I was a kid. And I have a Masters degree. Yet this book was way over my head. This book is a HEAVY read and in my opinion is probably meant for history scholars, not amateurs like me. I'm giving it 5 stars based on the aforementioned works by Kershaw and the assumption that this book is of the same quality. But I didn't read it.

This book is a collection of short and dense summaries of other prominent works written on Nazism. Thoroughly researched and contanining a wealth of information, Kershaw's work is a valuable introduction for any researcher or college student. However, I think the esoteric rhetoric and scholarly details makes it kind of hard to digest for the casual reader not familiar with German history.

"The Nuremberg Raid" is another of Martin Middlebrook's excellent, objective, and dispassionate documentaries on the airwar over Europe. Again, Middlebrook has spared no effort in identifying places, dates, and times, linking documents and personal accounts together in his mastery way. No glorification, no condemnation, just pure facts, given a personal face by eyewitness accounts. This, as well as great writing, are the key to Middlebrook's success.

Together with "The Battle of Hamburg," "The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission," "The Berlin Raids," and "The Peenemuende Mission" (some of which are out-of-print but worth every penny if you can get them), this book becomes another must in any serious library on the aerial bombing campaigns of World War II.

The Nuremberg Raid by Martin Middlebrook is an outstanding description of a British bombing raid against the city of Nuremberg. In telling this story, there are two major sections, the lead-up to the raid and the raid itself.

The section leading up to the raid tells the general history of British bombing in WWII, what drove the British to bombing at night, their track record bombing at night, and there recent targets. In addition, Mr. Middlebrook gives us a description of Bomber Command, it's men and their aircraft along with a similar description of the German forces.

The heart of the book deals with the actual raid itself. In these chapters, Mr. Middlebrook goes thru painstaking details about the bomber-stream and the events that occur to the bomber-streamer. In here, we learn about how this is the deepest penetration by the British, how the German night fighters responded to the raid, and how the raid was not compromised before hand. Mr. Middlebrook gives excellent details on the shoot down of most of the 96 bombers lost. Of particular interest was how British bomber pilots thought that the German had a gun that fired scarecrow shells (they exploded so as to look like a bomber being hit, in actuality, it was British bombers being hit by Schrage Musik). Also of interest was the British use of Serrate Mosquitoes to intercept the Germans.

This is an outstanding book. Once more, Mr. Middlebrook has hit a homerun. I'll give this one 5 out of 5!

On the night of March 30/31, 1944, Bomber Command sent every available bomber to Nuremberg in an effort to destroy it once and for all. So determined was Arthur "Butch" Harris to have one less target to worry about, that he sent his bombers out in less than ideal conditions. The night sky was largely devoid of clouds--that is, until the target was reached--and the moon was bright. The conditions were therefore very much to the German's advantage, and the defending night fighters took a grievous toll on the bomber force. In the end, the raid was a complete failure: Nuremberg was hardly touched and Bomber Command ended up losing over one hundred bombers. As Middlebrook points out, the choice of Nuremberg has been somewhat controversial, so much so, that some have contended that the raid was conducted with the Germans having known full well what the night's target was. I have little hesitation in saying that the Nuremberg Raid is a superb book. Meticulously researched and loaded with detail, it draws upon numerous sources, including many personal narratives, to construct aa complete an account of one of Bomber Command's raids as one can expect.

Mr Middlebrook has done more with this book than chronicle what was arguably the costliest raid the RAF staged during WW2. More importantly, it's a look at the daily operations of RAF and German aircrews late in the war. The RAF had standardized their tactics, and the Luftwaffe switched from a rigid to a fluid system of control for its nightfighters. Excellent first-person accounts illustrate the points the author makes throughout the work.

The original edition was published in the early '80s with a short update concerning rumors that Ultra revealed the raid was compromised; to protect this intelligence source the raid was allowed to proceed. This "conspiracy theory" is as untrue as the persistent myth that Coventry was destroyed for the same reason. In actuality there are a myriad of reasons why a mission might be cancelled; it's extremely unlikely that the Germans would have connected a cancellation of the Nuremberg Raid with intelligence concerning their defenses.

The only area where the book is wanting is the chapter(s) concerning "Butcher" Harris. Research since the book was written has shown that he was obsessively committed to bombing cities-to the point of insubordination on several occasions. Anyone else would have, and should have, been fired. The book doesn't address any of these issues. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, the Bombing Offensive was not "propaganda driven". Bomber advocates such as Harris, as an extreme example, felt that the sacrifice their crews were making would definitely shorten the war-maybe even end it without the need of invasion. Sadly, they held to these views even when events were showing that the offensive was not causing the damage expected, and a re-think of the entire bombing strategy was in order. Highly Recommended.

This is probably Martin Middlebrook's best-written account of an RAF Bomber Command Operation in the Second World War. Middlebrook wants the reader to believe that Air Marshal Harris, the commander of Bomber Command, was correcting in pursuing his night-time area bombing philosophy instead of trying to hit military or industrial targets with precision daylight strikes. Throughout, Middlebrook's sympathies and admiration for the brave RAF bomber crewmen that he knew from his youth are clear. Yet this book pushes a point of view that borders on religious or zealous faith, rather than a level-headed assessment of the facts. What pushes Middlebrook over the edge of reason here is the nature of his subject. While Middlebrook's other bomber books on Hamburg, Berlin and Peenemunde covered costly but successful operations (more or less), the raid on Nuremberg in March 1944 was an unmitigated disaster. RAF bomber command suffered its heaviest losses in one night of the war and inflicted negligible damage on the enemy.

Middlebrook begins with several very informative chapters that detail the bombing campaigns in Germany during 1939-1943, the composition of the bomber units that would take part in the raid and the German defenses. As usual, Middlebrook is very thorough and the order of battle is very detailed. However, shows a very profound bias toward area bombing throughout and it starts in assessing the three major raids just prior to the Nuremberg raid. Middlebrook makes a very important point when he states that, "even in non-cloud conditions the bombing results on Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Berlin had been poor ...bombing photographs indicated that not one aircraft released its load within the city's limits!" The point is that RAF Bomber Command did not have the capability to destroy cities because they couldn't hit them and that Air Marshal Harris knew this but continued on with an area bombing campaign that had degenerated into random killing. Wars are won by killing the right people at the right moment, not by killing randomly.

The pre-mission briefs to are covered in great detail and it appears that the intent was to deceive the crews about the nature of the mission, the strength of the enemy defenses and even the weather. The night chosen for the attack was poorly suited for infiltrating a 700+ stream of bombers across Germany due to the illumination from the moon and lack of cloud cover, but Harris ignored these facts and the crews were filled with overly-optimistic estimates. It is also significant that Harris chose an aim point in Nuremberg well away from the MAN tank plant (Middlebrook fails to mention that it was producing 100 Panther tanks per month at that time) and the SS barracks in the city and instead placed it in a residential area that he expected would burn well. The crews were told that the target was the tank plant and SS barracks.

Middlebrook follows the take-off of the massive bomber stream, all the supporting operations designed to help the raid and the massive German interception in great detail. Although the front of the stream made it past the German defenses, the Germans had perfected the "Tame Boar" method of intercepting streams before they reached their target and ripped apart the center of the stream. Visibility was excellent and the bombers were leaving contrails due to unusual conditions. About eighty British bombers were lost in a ninety minute period. The Germans had a very good night; Middlebrook notes that over thirty bombers were shot down by just eight night fighter crews. Two German lieutenants shot down seven and six bombers in one sortie! The flak gunners also had a good night - one battery shot down three bombers in five minutes with only twenty shells. All the while, the British crews watched in horror in the moonlight as bomber after bomber went down in flames. Nor were the British aware of the German "schrage musik" attacks from underneath with specially-modified cannon that fired into the bellies of the British bombers. It was one of the great aerial slaughters of all time. Nevertheless, the bravery of the British crews to press on to target in the mistaken belief that their actions would contribute to victory is sobering.

Compounding the heavy losses, the raid itself was a total failure. Nuremberg was heavily cloud-covered and most of the bombs fell well outside the city; only 60 German civilians were killed in the city, including 24 women and 8 children. Even worse however, was that 107 bombers missed the target by 55 miles and bombed Schweinfurt by mistake (and only succeeded in killing one woman and one child). A total of 110 German civilians and 19 Luftwaffe personnel were killed in the raid and about ten fighters were lost. Contrast this with British losses of 108 aircraft (96 bombers were shot down, the rest were crashed or damaged beyond repair) and of the aircrew, 545 of these brave men were killed and 152 captured. Middlebrook notes these cold-blooded facts but then concludes that the raid succeeded because it carried the war to the German people and "it was the German civilians who cowered for their lives in cellars and shelters while the English slept safely in their beds". Aside from this being an asinine "aim for the RAF", it ignores the German V-weapons campaign that was pounding England in 1944 without risking aircrews.

Finally, after all the excellent post-mortem analysis Middlebrook brings the reader to an emotionally biased watershed. Instead of realizing that the Nuremberg Raid clearly demonstrated that night area-bombing was not a cost-effective way to win a war, he launches into an impassioned defense of Harris' beloved area bombing. Middlebrook writes, "The morale of the German people never broke...but this does not mean that the theory was wrong: only that it had not been proved. What might have happened if Harris had been given the 4,000 heavy bombers [that he wanted]?" This completely ignores the fact that RAF Bomber Command could barely find major cities in the dark, except for the few targets in the Ruhr within range of OBOE. How would more bombers have changed this fact? More bombers missing the target still does not add up to victory. Even when RAF bombs hit cities, they tended to kill women, children and the elderly, not people likely to contribute much to Hitler's war effort. Middlebrook's assertion that the bomber raids caused the Germans to allocate thousands of anti-aircraft guns, searchlights and flak crews to home defense is also specious. First, anti-aircraft guns and searchlight cost a lot less to manufacture than four-engine bombers, and few of them were destroyed in battle unlike the 8,325 bombers the RAF lost. Second, the flak crews were often teenagers, women and Russian volunteers, all of whom required far less training than RAF bomber crews. Thirdly, Middlebrook ignores the huge investment that Britain had made into air defense of the UK and the fact that Britain did not have a free ride in this area even in 1944. Actually, it is apparent that RAF Bomber Command diverted far more resources from Britain's war effort than it did from Germany's.

This is a well-written and detailed account of one of the fiercer air battles of the Second World War. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in the air war in 1939-1945. However, the emotional bias of the author colors his assessment of the raid and serves to offer up a false conclusion. It is no disservice to the brave RAF crewmen who died on the raid, they did their best and they were heroes, but the raid was idiotic in intent and execution. Commanders like Air Marshall Harris would send brave men to their deaths for no reasonable purpose should not be excused for "having a bad day" or making a mistake. Unfortunately, the author cannot bring himself to this condemnation and it is up to the reader to make a less biased conclusion.

Good reference book! Lots of detail about locations, conflicts and generals on either side.

Brings back lots of memories, Reminded me of our crossings, and a few days later coming back across on the pontoon bridge in an Ambulance for Air Evacuation to England. A must for all that was there or is interested in accurate history.

I bought this book for my father, who was at Remagen. He was one of the last to cross this bridge. He has really enjoyed reading it and has learned some new things about it as a result. He recently went back to Europe to retrace his footsteps from when he fought there and visited the Remagen sight. The book has given him some new insights, confirmed things that he knew and has been good reading for him.

Many WW2 history buffs are familiar with how the US 9th Armored Division found an undestroyed bridge over the Rhine River, staged a daring attack and how the last physical barrier into the heart of Hitler's Germany was crossed. Mr. Zaloga looks not only at the actions around the small town of Remagen itself, but how this event changed Allied strategy in the final weeks of the war. For the history trivia fan there is good information presented about the terrain around Remagen, about the various units from both sides that were involved in the fighting and about the efforts to protect the bridgehead. By grabbing a foothold on the far side and steadily building up and widening it, the Americans were able to coordinate with the large British crossing operation later and create a huge encirclement of the major German forces protecting their industrial heart. To quote a tag line from a 1969 movie "the Germans lost a bridge, thirty days later they lost a war". Very readable and organized text with good illustrations. An excellent addition to your collection.

Remagen was always of interest to me, even as a child, as my father had crossed near there. Many years later I the opportunity to correspond with fellow Tennessean Hugh Mott, a hero of Remagen, who disarmed the German charges and earned a place into the U.S. Army Engineer Hall of Fame. Despite reading a number of other books on Remagen, this one remains my favorite. Super informative, accurate, easy reading and well illustrated. Like the other reviewers, I give this one the top rating. Lots of information in a small book!

It is quite impossible to do an adequate job of reviewing this book.
Knowing that these young German students really lived, daring to risk their young lives and, indeed, losing them, for their distribution of their printed words challenging German people to act against Hitler, is unbelievably humbling and cause for great hope for mankind. Passive resistence worked. Life triumphed over death. Good was stronger than evil.
The authors, Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn, became accomplished talents with the publication of this book alone.
Their ability to combine the biographies of Sophie, her brother and their compatriots in the making and distrubtion of the White Rose and the requisite history and analysis of the political climate in Germany during The Holcaust is masterful.
The book reads like a suspense thriller one could read in a few hours. However, their thoughtful, detailed insights into the minds and hearts of the protagonists, compel the reader to read and then reread many passages before being emotionally able to read on. This is a must read for young and old students of the human condition, a truly unforgettable book.

SOPHIE SCHOLL & THE WHITE ROSE is, essentially, about the finest aspects of human nature. The White Rose members' integrity and their compassion for their fellow Germans and, more surprisingly, for the Jewish population who had endured years of prejudice and oppression followed by vicious persecution is very impressive.

To mount a secret campaign against the Third Reich, a totalitarian regime of insidious oppression and unbelievable brutality against both the German people and its conquered populations, takes amazing courage.

But to face up to that regime on an intensely personal level, without hesitation or - apparently - regret, fully aware of the consequences, is simply awesome. And it awes me that most of the White Rose members were students like myself! This is a very memorable book with a powerful message.

I bought this for research and it is terrific. It really gets into the mindset and political background of the story of the White Rose and helps the reader to understand the 'why' of the story. Not as personal as other accounts, it nevertheless is a wonderful background that will help you see Nazi Germany in a whole new light while telling the moving and touching story of Sophie Scholl.

This book was definitely a must-read, not only for those that are interested in this time period of study, but for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of world history. It's amazing, simply put. It reads so quickly. You are definitely drawn in from the very first page to the last.

If you have a restless conscience then you will better understand the members of the White Rose. Like most kids in Germany in the 30's Hans and Sophie Scholl joined the Nazi youth movement and bought into National Socialism. However through their father who opposed National Socialism and a God instilled restless conscience they soon saw National Socialism for the evil it was and is. The author does a good job of making you feel the tension and stress as the story unfolds. Their dileama was how do you mount a meaningful opposition to a totalitarian state from within. Who can you trust? Gestapo everywhere and all opposition to the State outlawed.By 1940 most of the 500 or so pastors who would not bow down to Hitler were in jail or executed. By the time the White Rose decided to take action in 1942 most Germans were scarred to death of the police state they had allowed to enslave them. But there was sporadic uprising against Hitler. One interesting story in the book was when the gov't banned all the crucifixes from the public schools in Bavaria in 1941. The parents signed protest letters and petitions and even threw the mandatory picture of Hitler out of classroom windows. The protest was so strong that Hitler backed down. Its scary to think that our gov't has taken Christianity out of the classroom but Hitler couldn't. As you read the book you feel that they felt they were going to get caught but their restless conscience would not let them turn from the course of action that would lead to their deaths. As we see our own freedoms of privacy (Patriot Act), speech (Hate Crime Bills) and other constitutional rights being taken from us by an ever growing central gov't we can learn a lot from this book. At her trial Sophie Scholl said "Somebody had to make a start". They certainly did and their pamphlets and death had a lasting effect on the German people. Hans Scholl's last words were "Long live Freedom". The essence of freedom is the limitation of gov't and requires eternal vigilance. The German people allowed Hitler to much power and he enslaved them. We still have the time and ability to limit the power of our gov't but it will take a lot of work and most importantly a restless conscience. 5 stars for this book.

There have been thousands of latter day martyrs, but we have few chances to read their actual writings. This book would be a prize just on that merit, but he was also a preeminent scholar.

A TESTAMENT TO FREEDOM is quite the volume. It is an invaluable resource to people wanting to get a lifelong perspective on Bonhoeffer without purchasing the entire Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke. There are sections of biography, on his early writings, on his work as a pastor, some sermons, some major sections of Ethics and Discipleship, his best-known works, poetry and some of his letters and papers from prison. I use this resource often, most frequently when looking for quotes or quick reference. I'd highly recommend it to those who wish to know more about this 20th century theologian, pastor and martyr.

Of all the theology books I have read, A Testament to Freedom is the most powerful, most compelling book I have ever read. It is a wonderful collection of sermons and writings throughout his life. Each chapter is brief, but powerful. His sermon titled "On Forgiveness" is especially well-written. If you want a collection of well-written, powerful prose that speaks to spirituality at its best, get this book. Highly recommended.

The great gift of this reader is not just that it provides a diverse sampling of Bonhoeffer's works and sermons, but that the editor's provide an historical context in which to read and therefore, understand the progression of his thoughts.

It is an accesable grouping of his writings. I bought a lot of books to prepare to a conference and found this to be the most helpful review of his work.

It contains, sermons, poetry and correpondence along with all his major and quite a few important minor works with introductions that fit it into the context of history and his personal and theological development.

Mr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes my list of most interesting people of the 20th century and he is certainly one of the most influencial of Christian writers. His faith, dedication to freedom, and vision for humanity is as profound as it is earnest. Raised as a Lutheran, I had always heard of Bonhoeffer, but never explored his literature.
I have a German background, my mum was a German teacher, and when someone sent me Bonhoeffer's poem "Wer bin Ich?" (in english "Who Am I?") I was overcome with emotion and conviction.
This poem is only one powerful part of Bonhoeffer's extensive writings. This poem, reaffirming Bohoeffer's faith and trust in God, was written by Bonhoeffer when he was prisoner in a Nazi camp for conspiring against Hitler.
Bonhoeffer knew that the Nazi control of Germany and the holocaust of the Jews/Minorities was wrong. While many stood aside and did nothing, Bonhoeffer was hung by the Nazis for his dedication to freedom and righteousness. He once wrote:
"We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds. We have been drenched by many storms. Experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open. Are we still of any use?"
The threat of death did not phase Bonhoeffer, he saw his actions as a responsibility: "Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility."
He also wrote, sounding very much like the Apostle Paul: "To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ."
This is a wonderful collection of Bonhoeffer's writings in an easy to read translation.

This extraordinary mother,so disfunctional and disturbed, makes the Nazis seem almost benign. Makes one wonder how she was raised, to cause such tragedy.

You won't be sorry if you buy this book. Kurt Meyer delivers an emotional and psychological gem. Meyer's expertise in psychology, classical music and Nazi Germany are beautifully intertwined within the story. Jewgirl is chalked full of such artful description and detail that you will feel like you are right beside the main character, Kitty, sharing in her thoughts, tragedies, and triumphs. I was on the edge of my seat wondering if the next page would bring Kitty the happiness that so long eluded her or if she would be done in by her tormentors. "They Called Her Jewgirl" is the best book I have read in years.

This story will make any reader reflect upon what it means to have a "Good Life" and that sometime, a person's destiny has very little to with their actions. I could not put this book down because I wanted kitty to survive and heal. Her journey wasn't over until I completed the last page.

At first, I found the title and subject matter off-putting, then I couldn't PUT this book down! Don't let the title fool you. More than just a story of a Jewish girl's plight, this story tugs at your heartstrings while creating a voyeuristic atmosphere compelling you to read on and find out what becomes of the title character. It's a riveting story about one woman who's real life was stranger than fiction. I was amazed at how fast I finished this book simply because I could not wait to find out what this "Jewgirl's" fate was to be.

Couldn't put the book down. It's a spellbinder. You'll want to finish it in one night. The life of tragedy one woman endured will leave you with an unforgettable image. An image that will stay with you long after you finish the book. A tragic story written with grace. Very powerful.

It is wonderful to see so many thoughtful and incisive reviews of my father's book. A few details that might interest you: 1) None of the "unimportant Nazis" he interviewed knew he was a Jew, which he was. 2) The book wasn't published in German for years after its original publication (we spent 1951 in the small town which Milton Mayer calls "Kronenberg," where he wrote the book, which was published shortly afterwards). 3) His German was awful! And, he said, this was a great aid in the interviews he conducted: having to repeat, in simpler words, or more slowly, what they had to say, made the Germans he was interviewing feel relaxed, equal to, superior to the interviewer, and this made them speak more freely. "Sehen Sie, Herr Professor Mayer, SO war die Sache," very patiently. ("You see, THIS is how it was...").

He made one small, but dreadful mistake: There is a very common name in German, to which Milton Mayer added a suffix--because, with the suffix, it was the name of a great family friend (in fact, my boyfriend four years later) and used it fictitiously for one of the interviewees.. However: with the suffix, it's a very RARE German name, and, having given the general location and size of the town together with the rare German name, he really identified the interviewee as-our family friend-- who was quite upset. (He never told my father this, though.)

My father was always a superlative interviewer; he said as little as possible, aside from encouraging the interviewee to go on talking. If someone seemed to be avoiding a subject he was really interested in, he would repeat the name of the subject the interviewee had abandoned, and look terribly keen and respectful.

When my father was about 14, a wind blew in one of his ears while he was camping out, paralyzing one nerve in his face. For the rest of his life, he could only open, while speaking, one side of his mouth (and he had a very diabolical grin), and could never raise both eyebrows--always, he was raising one eyebrow! This gave him a very wise look, somewhat ironic at the same time, and made him appear even smarter than he was.

My sister and I occasionally exchange "Misms." Things he used to say from time to time, some inherited from his father, and others from God knows where. Here are a couple (try them; they are very effective in many convrersations):

"I left it in my other suit."
"Been to the city and seen the gaslights."

I don't think I have anything to add substantively to what has already been said in the excellent reviews, aside from these few personal details. Milton Mayer died in 1986, and is survived by several real and step children, real and step grandchildren, and two great grandchildren (at least), all of whom, like him, are pacifists.

This book will open your eyes and broaden your mind about history. Be ready to see Nazi Germany in an entire new light, and also see YOURSELF in a new, and disturbing way. You are NOT immune to their fate. Remember...."THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE FREE" and SO DO YOU!

Mayer, a Jew on Sabbatical in post-WW-II Kronenberg, sets his goal as that of better understanding the life-story of the ordinary German under National Socialism.

As he tells the story, Nazism was not just a political system or just an ideology it was a worldview peculiarly suited for and congruent with the German Post WW-I temperament and mentality. In the aftermath of the much-hated Versailles Treaty, Nazism arrived on the scene just in time to not just conquer the minds of both little and big Germans but to overwhelm them. Mayer's phrase has described it nicely: German enthusiasm for Nazism was clearly a case of "little men-gone wild."

The true value of this book and hence Mayer's most valuable contribution has been to draw a graphic conceptual picture of how the system of Nazism worked as seen at ground level by ten ordinary Germans and from the interior of German society: To a man, they all agreed that it brought them untold economic success, bound them patriotically and politically into a coherent cultural unit, restored the nation's pride and gave all Germans renewed reasons for hope in the future.

Given this rosy and very much interior and insulated backdrop, it is no wonder there was no basis for ordinary Germans to see (or even to be able to perceive) Nazi excesses, or to see Nazism itself, as an inherently evil system until it was too late.

This was true in part because all Germans already had community permission to hate Jews. The excesses, reserved mostly for Jews, thus seemed normal and in any case were always introduced in carefully orchestrated, slowly escalating, but easily digestible bites. This was done specifically to stay below the radar of the everyday German conscience -- so as to never assault German sensibilities too abruptly. Even the most alert of Germans and the least anti-Semitic Germans were lulled to sleep by this strategy.

But more importantly, because all Germans were wedded to the Nazi worldview thorough its benefits, both tangible and intangible, there were few incentives for them to "rock the boat" by pointing to its excesses. Dissension was left for victims and outsiders to engage in. However, being identified as an outsider or as a dissenter, at a minimum, could ensure social exclusion and a slow social death; and if one were very unlucky, it could mean disappearance into a concentration camp, or even a swift bullet to the temple.

Ordinary Germans thus were willing contributors to their own self-imposed trap: They needed the community's approval on its own terms. Sometimes this meant turning a blind eye to community sanctioned criminal activity, such as was the case in the event that set off a cascading sequence of pogroms against Jews, Crystal-nacht. Ordinary Germans did not want to approve of the criminal behavior involved, but was it not the community to which they were bound that decided what was criminal and who should be rewarded and punished for community-defined criminal behavior? It is easy enough for outsiders to exaggerate the actual relationship between man and state under tyranny, but from the inside, it is always made to seem normal and seamless.

Like a thief in the night, tyranny always descends upon sleeping societies in a cloak of patriotic conformity. It attacks when one is unguarded psychologically and least wary of an assault. By the time the citizen is prepared to raise a dissenting voice, in the name of state security, his throat (and presumably his vocal cords) have already been cut and he has been rendered mute. Once the national conscience has been drugged, sedated, or put to sleep, it is difficult to reawaken it.

Since there are no political systems that are entirely insulated against criminal activity, corruption or evil, only healthy, timely, vigorous and authentic dissent can act as an antidote to the evil inherent in tyrannical political systems like Fascism and Nazism.

Without drawing too fine a distinction, it is difficult to miss the many parallels between contemporary American society and 1933-1939 German society.

Ann Coulter and her ilk should read this book: the Hard Right is among us and have taken power just as they did in Germany in the 1930's.

I'm moving to Mongolia.

Among the impossibly vast literature about how the Nazis took and held power, this book is one of a kind. It is an honest look into the minds of "typical" Germans, not as we see them, but as they saw themselves. The author admits his biases and overcomes them to let his subjects speak for themselves. We hear them, in their own words, make their excuses and justifications and evasions, but the same question will not stop coming up in our minds: "What would I have done?" This book is a journey of questions without final answers, and it deserves to be ranked as one of the essential books of our time. The fact that it is so little known, and particularly that it is not required reading in college courses, is a disgrace.

THE ARK is one of the best books ever written. It has a gentle power to it that makes me glow when I read it and re-read it. It is a story of rebuilding, of finding a new home and a new place to belong. Hope is what this book is. Hope for the future. The Lechows make the best of less than desirable circumstances, finding goodness everywhere they can. The characters are well-developed and real. They take you with them on their emotional journeys and they stay with you after you read the final page. This is a book that deeply touched me. Simply put, it is just Beautiful.

This gently-paced novel is a bit of a sleeper, but charming in its homespun simplicity. The first portion of the book describes the difficult and painful existence of displaced German families--unwelcome refugees in their own country. THE ARK was written to enlighten American youth about the horrors of homelessness, separated families and unreasonable prejudice. This book contains no battle memories or war atrocities, but proves that German burocracy is second to none.

Since Mrs. Lechow, a small seamstress, has four children to house and feed, we are not sure for the first 100 pages which of them is the protagonist, as in modern YA novels. Gradually the activities focus on the older teens, Matthias and Margret, as they are weaned from their two upper rooms in Parsley Street to a farm with real animals and crops. The book particularly chronicles Margret's transformation from gawky teenager (privately mourning the death of her twin brother) into a capable farm woman like her mentor.

Before the War the German Railroad had offered old passengers cars for sale, which Mrs. Almut had purchased but not really used. Now it becomes the perfect place for the Lechow teens and is promptly christened, THE ARK. But how can it become a real home--which Margret is sure she will never have again--with half the family elsewhere--including their father, a POW in Russia? Will Margret learn to live with her personal loss, yet not be scarred for future happiness? This is an introspective gem for those who appreciate the importance of holding on to Family and learning how to release past Tragedy. So relax and savor the slower pace, the quiet humor, the cycles of the seasons for two years, and the ultimate time of harvest for the soul.

I couldn't agree more that this book should be reprinted. I resurrected my childhood copy for my middle-schooler in need of historical fiction for a book report. She says that if you like animals, this is the book for you. The reviews which pre-date mine are all very accurate (although I think the story begins in Oct. 1945, not '46 and the doctor was conscripted in '43 not '44 -- it does take some careful re-reading to pin the details down). The best endorsement of this book is that I have transported it through my various moves in the past 40 years, just recalling that I had made up my mind a long time ago to never part with it, one of a handful of books that attained such status (Mary Poppins another). I read The Ark many times as a youth, and enjoyed it immensely again with my daughter after having set it aside all those years. It is a wonderful teaching tool for Post-WWII Germany because you are forced to open an atlas, and to examine the shifting boundaries of Germany over the period pre-WWI through modern times. Hesse was in the American zone, but some of Mattias' friends originated in the Russian zone. The treatment of the bombing of cities is not too gorey to frighten sensitive young ones, but gets the point across. The Product Description currently indicates a Kindegarten reading level -- this is incorrect. This is 6th - 8th grade material, and enjoyable for adults, too.

"The Ark" has to be one of the three best YA novels ever written about the aftermath of World War II (and Benary-Isbert wrote the other two as well). The Lechow family were never Nazis, but they got they swept up in events beyond their control. The father, a doctor, was apparently drafted in 1943 and sent to the Russian Front, where he was captured and sent to Siberia. The rest of the family has been forced to flee their home in Pomerania--not because the region has been returned to the Poles (Dr. Lechow often treated the poorer citizens of that ethnicity free of charge), but because it has fallen under Russian control and they're of no mind to exchange one totalitarian government for another. So, after nine months of wandering, they have come, in October of 1946, to the province of Hesse, where the Housing Office sends them to live in the attic of Mrs. Verduz's home at No. 13 Parsley Street. Oldest son Matthias, 15 1/2, who yearns to be an astronomer, finds himself working construction--though the job does lead to a firm friendship with musician Dieter and his band, the Cellar Rats. Little Joey, going on seven, has his doubts about the prospect of school, but it brings him a very special friend, the orphan refugee Hans Ulrich, and their "treasure" hunting in the old ruin leads to surprising rewards. Andrea, not yet ten, is the most resilient of the band (except perhaps for their hard-working mother): when she gets a scholarship to the lycee, she's happy. Margret, who will be fourteen in December, is the most deeply affected by all the changes they've endured: she mourns the death of her twin brother Christian and the family Great Dane, Cosi, who were killed by what we assume were plundering Russian soldiers, and the loss of all opportunity to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Yet it's her love for animals that not only opens a crack in Mrs. Verduz's defenses but also brings the family to a new life at Mrs. Almut's farm outside the neighboring village of Hellborn. The author sketches each family member and her other major characters--Dieter, Hans Ulrich, Mrs. Verduz, Mrs. Almut, Marri the old "bee-witch"--lightly yet with consummate skill, making each a distinct individual, and portrays vividly and affectingly the hardships, and the underlying revival of hope, in post-War West Germany. It's a crime that this excellent book has been allowed to fall out of print--and that so many libraries are weeding their copies out. Get one for yourself while you can. Like all the finest juveniles, it's equally as enjoyable by adults as by kids.

This classic children's book uses The Odyssey and post-World War II Germany as its basis. The Lechow family (Mother and four kids) have been forced from their family farm with the return of German land to Poland after World War II. With their father still lost in camps in Russia and the death of a fifth child still fresh in their minds, the Lechows have finally found a place to call a temporary home. They are sent to an elderly woman's home to take two rooms and at first fear that the older woman will not accept four children in their house. Luckily she grudgingly lets them stay the first night and never quite makes it to the housing office to force them out, eventually coming to love them. The family needs to find work or schooling for all, Margaret needs to find a place for herself alone now that her twin is dead, and Matthias aches to become an astronomer one day. The children's love for their parents and each other comes through clearly but without a lot of sentimentality.

In the thousands of books devoted to the German National Socialist movenment and rule, this one holds some very important clues to two questions that have gnawed at us like relentless dogs since the close of this tragic story. The first question is how did the Nazi movement gain such an allegiance among the German people who seemed as civilized and educated and cultured as any in Europe and the second question is what was really the goal of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Why can we even think a book on art can answer these questions ? If this were some text rich academic dissertation then that would be a hard sell. But the author, Peter Adam, has used the visual media extremely well, working off the blackground of a BBC documentary. The hundreds of black and white and color illustrations tell us a great deal especially when combined with extensive contemporaneous quotations, primarily from the Germans who promoted and controlled art in the Third Reich.

This book helps us address the question of how mentioned above in a number of ways. By covering painting, sculpture and architecture in one text we begin to see the outlines of the alternate reality the National Socialist movement tried to construct on top of the German nation and state. Other aspects of this alternate reality such as the imagery of Zepplins, Mercedes and Auto-Union race cars, swift new ocean liners, and proud new battleships are not covered in this book but fit together in a way that was uniquely intentional. Every proud imperialist nation state of the 19th and 20th centuries had some sort of imperial style seen in display in the capitals and colonial outposts of its empire. Normally these characteristics developed over a considerable period of time. But Art in the Third Reich makes it very clear that in a few short years, from 1933 to 1940, there was an intensive and directed effort to completely control the visual content of life on a scale and with a commitment that was more totalitarian than even the efforts to do the same in the early years of the Soviet Union. This was absolutely part and parcel of the entire approach to social control in the new state that the Nazi movement was constructing.

The key to the new visual art of the National Socialist movement is made clear in this book. It was not the creation of a new and unique style of art. It was rather the selection of certain tendencies and sytles as mandatory and all others as forbidden. Naturalistic and representational painting that illustrated a certain ideal view of life was all that was allowed. Some of this work was "good" work from an artistic point of view, and some of it was not. But all of it served a purpose and that is why it was allowed. The quotations from the leaders of this effort make that entirely clear. The sculpture chosen was initially no more than conventionally monumental but crossed over into the collosal and the un-natural depiction of force and proud brutality combined with duty driven nudity. The architecture started off in conventional enough neo-Classical style and then became incredibly grandiose and even grotesque. There is good coverage of the pioneering multimedia efforts of Speer and Reifenstahl. The good news here is that you can look at this work in this book and draw these conclusions for yourself.

This brings us to the second question I mentioned above. What was the purpose of all this? The words of Mein Kampf have been buried beneath the natural redaction that occours because of our knowledge of the historical outcome of the National Socialist process. In these works of art the truth of the purpose can perhaps strike us more directly. I think a great virtue of this book is that it does so strike us or at least it struck me. From looking at the images it seems that the purpose of the National Socialist movement was in essence to create a society of clones. I say, in essence, since the scientific process was unknown at the time. But the uniformity of image, the positive rejection of diversity and individuality, the endless repitition of themes, lead to the conclusion that the Nazi leaders actually wanted a population of folk who looked and thought alike. The theme of Ein Folk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer was not an idle throw away line as the idea of Oneness was truly the soul of National Socialism. This was the purpose, this was the goal. The New Order was only for some. The art was to show us who those some were.

In the end the National Socialist movement cannot be finally judged by its actions, awful as they were. The 20th century was a time of willfull death and destruction without precedent in history and the Nazis and the German people were not the only perpetrators or victims. An overall judgement has to take in account the goal of the movement. If you read this book and study it carefully, I think you will see what the goal was and your own sense of moral purpose in the universe will have to guide you to your conclusion about it.

Both in responce to popular revulsion against modern 'art' and following in the footsteps of the Soviet Union to manipulate the arts to a political purpose nazi Germany launched its massive arts program covered in this unique and most insightful book.

For those interested in this subject this unique book is a must read. Especially since no other books on the subject are on the market and a number of websites have been forced to shut down.

For thos interested this book covers the nazi arts program. Some of the art created by artists Adolf Zeigler and Ernst Liebermann and various others is actually quite good but these people would have succeeded without this program. Much however is quite bad like politically correct art today, often the work of mediocre artists.

If anything, this book proves that Government and Politics should not be supporting the arts as they do not inspire beutiful things but rubbish.

The reviewer immediately below has raised a very troubling but quite accurate issue in relation to National Socialist art: much of it - particularly the sculpture - is quite beautiful by the standards of classical/Renaissance aesthetics. Can we separate the appeal of some of this material from the political regime which operated the factories of death? I think that we can and we must. Adam's book opens the door onto a forbidden chapter of art history, but one with startling implications for modernism. This book is the only basic, english-language survey of its subject. Sadly, much of the art Adam discusses was destroyed or remains inaccessible. I have had the great priviledge to have seen some of the works reproduced in this book on travels to Germany, and it possesses an undeniable power. My only criticism of this book is Adam's decision to treat the art of 1930's Germany as an anomaly in the history of 20th century art - ignoring the fact that these artists were enormously popular in their day, and neglecting to offer a comparison with the distorted visions of Weimar art. No historical phenomenon is without context. Perhaps the rejection of modernism characteristic of this period is not solely the result of a society descending into barbarism, but is indicative of some flaw in modernist culture. If you buy this book, you will be able to judge for yourself.

This is a remarkable book; 300+ pages of wonderful art - much of it censored today (hidden away in DOD archives in Washington DC).

Some of the art is clearly the propaganda of a powerful government. And some (the chapter of "Degenrate Art") is the propaganda of modern American elites. But most of this artwork is truely fine - and of a type no longer allowed to be seen anywhere.

In our modern age - where art is subsidized by the government and reflects the taste of elites - this kind of art is priceless for this is the art of the people. I was touched to tears by the loving caress of working folk and farmers in the painting of Adolph Wissel, Leopold Schmutzler, and Fritz Mackensen.

Also remarkable is the celebration of the human body as nature in ways that are simply not seen in Judeo-Christian societies like modern America - particularly in the sculpture of Arno Breker and Fritz Klimsch. So also the nod to non-Judeo-Christian spirituality that simply could not exist in a modern European society.

The author - Peter Adams - makes the required politically correct, anti-German statements - without which this book could not have been published and would never be sold. Ignore the text - look at the art.

Unlike the propagandistic "Degenerate Art" exhibit of a decade ago, this art will not be traveling to a museum near you. For that reason you MUST get this book. It is pricey - but it is priceless.

ART OF THE THIRD REICH is a fascinating book for several reasons:

1. First, it addresses a subject (painting, sculpture, and architecture of Nazi Germany) that has yet to be objectively explored by scholars (just try finding anything else about it, much less a volume of this quality). The Nazi era still provokes such an emotional response that it has yet to be seen in any kind of historical perspective. However, as time marches on, studies such as this one will become more common, as students of history attempt to understand the perplexing Nazi phenomenon.

2. Art was arguably more important in Nazi Germany than in any other regime in history. In fact, some scholars have argued that the entire social structure was based on the pursuit of an aesthetic ideal (see the film "The Architecture of Doom" for a presentation of this thesis). In other words, rather than Nazi-approved art being a reflection of the culture, the culture sprang from the artistic ideals of its founders. Much of the events of 1933-45 can be seen to fit this paradigm, and this book provides valuable insight into how those events were orchestrated.

3. No regime in history has used propaganda as extensively as Nazi Germany. All aspects of media, art, cinema, and popular culture were channeled toward advancement of the government's objectives, to a degree never seen before. Hence, this book provides a window into the period that will be useful for anyone wishing to understand how images can be manipulated...something that occurs all around us every day.

4. Finally, there is a great deal of magnificent art in this book, which can be appreciated as a distinct phenomenon from the regime that created or condoned it...just as works such as "Alexander Nevsky" are hailed despite their obvious origin as Soviet propaganda. While it is true that totalitarian government-sanctioned art often dips into mediocrity, that is certainly not always the case here. The art of this era deserves to be viewed in the context of the larger evolution of art in the twentieth century, regardless of the political/social "baggage" associated with it.