Germany Books

I would highly recommend this book to serious historians as well as amateurs alike. As far as I know it is the only book that covers American post war policy toward Germany in such detail. Also, it brings us informations that are surprising and shocking as far as communist influence of the highest political spheares in the U.S. is concerned. I am of the eastern european heritage, and I thought myself to be well learned in the subject of history, especially european history, yet "the morgenthau plan" unveiled events completly new to me and I belive to many readers concerned with the subject. In short the book seems to be bottomless well of information on the subject previously avoided by other authors which fact makes it that much more valuable. Lets hope more books will follow.

What makes Dietrich's book of special interest is its emphasis on the development of the Morgenthau Plan(1945-48) -- the precursor to the Marshall Plan (1949-53). Although drafted largely by a relatively unknown economic policy wonk named Harry Dexter White,in fact it is Roosevelt's Treasury Secretary, the venerable Henry Morgenthau,Jr. who is credited with orchestrating the implementation of his eponymous plan.
Unlike the subsequent Marshall Plan which historians credit with Postwar European recovery, the Morgenthau Plan was in fact a punitive measure designed to extract a goodly portion of "vegeance" from the German people by literally ensuring that the wrecked German economy would remain so.
Dietrich, drawing on contemporary historical sources, makes a convincing argument that initial US Postwar policy towards Europe -- particularly economic policy -- was largely crafted by Stalin and his fellow comrades in the Kremlin via Harry White (most probably a communist/marxist sympathizer). Dietrich also highlights the fact, again using sources from extant literature, that implementation of the sinister Morgenthau plan resulted in mass starvation, rampant disease, and death in Germany and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe during the period from 1945-48.
In short, Dietrich's work paints a picture of postwar Europe that is considerably drearier than most accounts of the period. It also affixes blame for much of the suffering in Europe during this time squarely on the shoulders of US policy-makers. From my own personal viewpoint, Dietrich's book revealed that some of the historical figures who are generally regarded as men who
respected human dignity --- were not so kindly after all. Readers will find FDR and Truman, among others, were enthusiastic supporters of the Morgentahu plan and harbored a deep animosity towards the German people. In short, especially for younger generations of Americans who weren't yet born during the last great war of the 20th century, this book is a real eye-opener.

The best portrait of Liszt I have ever read, as described by a young woman who studied with him in his later years. Though Liszt dominates this book, other characters from that era -- such as Tausig, one of the most talented pianists who ever lived, and whose life was tragically cut short at 30 -- also come alive. Amy Fay, a candid observor with a lucid prose style, brings to life a bygone era, when the old 19th-century ideals of European culture were in full flower, and music was perhaps the most beloved art form of all. All music-lovers should read this book.

Amy Fay was a young and determined American piano student whose quest for a concert career impelled her to travel to Germany, the center of European musical culture, in the 1870s. Miss Fay's delightful memoir of her years in Berlin and hamburg is illuminated by her charming and ingenuous personality and her passion for good music. Her tantalizingly brief period of study in the conservatory of Carl Tausig ended by the master's untimely death, she sought other teachers, and succeeded in obtaining an introduction to Franz Liszt. Her first-hand descriptions of the playing of Liszt, Clara Schumann, Joseph Joachim, Anton Rubinstein, the aging and eccentric Herr Wieck, and other figures of nineteenth-century music are a delight to read, as are also her sharp observations of German manners and Americans abroad.

Great book - well written, accessable. Divided into two sections - the first is an introuctiuon to the broader concerns of approach german baroque music - lutheran-musical ideologies, ideas of rhetoric in msuic etc. the second is both a compendium of musical-rhetorical terminology, and a selection of shorter extracts concerning individual baroque theorists and their ideas of rhetoric in music. superb book: essential for reference and for and introduiction to the msuic of the period's extrinsic concerns.

i read this book while studying in the authers music history class in university.its informative and fascinating for the mind to analyze the inticate theory of music during the baroque period. truly a wonderful piece of literature

The story is well written and easy to read aloud. The illustrations and story are for the older toddler who will appreciate the band of friends and understand the ageist theme. Beautiful illustrations.

"The Musicians of Bremen" as illustrated in watercolor and ink by Niroot Puttapipat is a treasure, a work of art. Most are well familiar with the story of the four aging animals who band together to go to Bremen and become musicians. In this artist's hands the animals look as if they have led long lives, yet they're endearing, each invested with a distinct personality that mirrors the animal's past.

First, we see donkey who is going to be discarded by her owner because she can no longer carry heavy sacks of flour. There she is - silhouetted against a sparse landscape, her tail drooping but proud, her thin legs weary from work.

Dog has fled in fear from a master who knows the dog can no longer hunt - he is still panting from the exertion of running away, and poor cat lies by the side of the road, discarded by a mistress because his teeth and claws are no longer able to capture mice.

Finally, an "utterly furious rooster crowing for all he was worth" because he knows he's on the menu for Sunday dinner. What a quartet they make.

The robbers are the sneakiest, slyest looking bunch you've ever seen, avarice and greed personified.

This is Niroot Puttapipat's first picture book. It's a winner!

- Gail Cooke

I signed this book out of my university library on a whim but feel obligated to buy it.. it is seriously one of the best books I have ever read. The humanity that Bachner brings to his story of survival is astounding. I strongly recommend this book.

Don't miss this book. Like all stories of Holocaust survivors, My Darkest Years is an amazing story of survival against all odds.

I should say that the invaluable worth of this book lies in its accurate history of the German Navy after WWI since Raeder became its head starting in 1928. It is not only a personal history of the famous Grand Admiral, but also the history of the German Navy. Raeder gives us a full picture of the history of the German Navy since the late 19th- Century when he joined the Navy. He especially depicts the rebirth of the German Navy after WWI, which embraces the accounts of how the German Navy suffered after WWI because of the Versailles Treaty, of how after 1933, the German Navy finally got rid of the shackle of the Treaty which led the way of rearming and rebuilding. He details the grand "Z" Plan which was designed to make German the greatest sea-power in the world at the turn of late 40's. He reveals that even before the war, in the study of he possiblilty of war with Britain in the near-future, the Navy had already stipulated its main task was to attack British sea borne commerce not to confront the powerful British fleet in the light of analyzing the outnumbered situation of Navy strength between Britain and Germany which was ten to one. He reviews the background of all the international treaties and events before WWII. He especiallly gives credit to Germany on the Anglo-German Agreement which was concluded on 18th June 1935 both for the rebirth of German Navy and the interational naval disarmament. He recalls how the Navy fought for its own air force which had brought some conflicts between him and German sir force Commander-in Chief Goering who though everything flying belonged to German air force, and who was reluctant to let Navy to have its own air force which could render powerful air cover for the Navy as Royal Navy and American Navy did. He also discloses how the navy tried hard to possess fuel form abroad for reserve before the War. In his book, Raeder describes his happy association with the Imperial Navy Admiralty, such as Tirpitz and Hipper, also the complicated relationship with Hitler: Their common grounds on the affairs of the Navy before and during the war, and their conflicting opinions on the Navy which leading to their finally breaking off during the war. Unlike other auobiography, Raeder tellls us less about his personal life, you even will not read his love story or his wedding. He concentrates only on his Naval life, from Naval school to the Grand Admiral and to the final breaking off with Hitler in 1943, to the vigorously defending German Navy to which he divoted with his whole life and his whole heart for decades and himself who was proved only as a loyal and patriotic soldier in his final battle in the Nuremberg Trial, as well as to the Spandau, the prison where he spent a decade as a so-called "criminal of war" which conviction has been debated in histroical and law academy for decades after the war, and which verdict has been criticized as unjust even among the Allied Navy high level personnel righ after the Trail. This book is full of information which is unknown to readers: It is surprising to know that in 1940 it was Allied who not only planed to violate the Neutrality of Norway, but also actually set the invasion in motion: Only four days head of German if not delayed later for some reason; It is equally surprising to know that for long time after Hitler came to the power, German foreign policy was pro-Britain rather than anti-Britain, even after the War breaking out, Hitler did not want to hurt the pride of British sea-power by restricting German Navy to inflict loss on Roal Navy in order to have the door of negotiating with Britain still opened; It is also not without surprising to know that even during the Nazi Regime both Catholic and Lutheran service still continued unrestricted as before in German Navy; that many Navy personnel still could freely criticize Nazi Regime but be immune from any persecution; it is all the more stunningly surprising to know that during the WWII there were even some Jewish blood Naval officers fighting on German side! Overall, I highly recommend this book because it is a very valuable historical book that any professional historians and history-lovers should not miss.

UNTIL I READ GRAND ADMIRAL RAEDER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, "MY LIFE", I TRULY BELIEVED THAT HE AND GRAND ADMIRAL DOENITZ DESERVED THEIR RESPECTIVE LIFE AND 10 YEARS PRISON SENTENCES RECEIVED AT NUREMBURG IN 1946. NOW, I'M NOT SO SURE. I THINK THAT RAEDER WAS A SCAPEGOAT FOR THE RUSSIANS; THEY HAD CAPTURED HIM (ONE OF THE FEW TOP NAZIS THEY DID CAPTURE) AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE HE PAID FOR THE GERMAN NAVY. HOWEVER, I HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING IN RAEDER'S STORY TO CONVINCE ME THAT HE WAS ANYTHING BUT WHAT HE CLAIMED TO BE: A LOYAL, PATRIOTIC SAILOR, WHO PERFORMED THE SAME DUTIES AS FLEET ADMIRAL KING, ADMIRALS OF THE FLEET SIR DUDLEY POUND AND SIR ANDREW CUNNINGHAM, AND ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO. THOSE DUTIES WERE TO MAKE CONTINGENCY PLANS IN CASE OF POSSIBLE HOSTILITIES WITH VARIOUS OTHER SEA POWERS, AND CARRY OUT THE ORDERS OF THE GOVERNMENT IN POWER. HOWEVER, THE RUSSIANS WANTED HIS SCALP; ORIGINALLY WANTING HIM SENTENCED TO DEATH, THEY RELUCTANTLY ACCEPTED THE LIFE SENTENCE. PURE AND SIMPLY, RAEDER WAS A GOOD SAILOR, WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACQUITTED.

This series of books is worth the money. They provide a gripping narrative of the history of the fighting units.

As well as this there are extensive pictures and excellent colour line drawings of some of the aircraft used.

This is one book to get!!!

David Williams, who wrote the HUNTERS OF THE REICH books, examines the development and early combat history of the Luftwaffe's nightfighter arm in this nicely-done volume, the first of two.

Despite Hermann Goering's idiotic boast that no enemy bomb would fall on Germany, Luftwaffe commanders began forming small nightfighter units begining in late 1939. Due to an insightful report filed by a Bf 110 pilot, Htm. Wolfgang Falck, in April 1940, the Luftwaffe began serious efforts to create and organize a Night Fighter Force, Falck being appointed to command the first Nachtjagdgeschwader. The task was enormous but Falck's efforts were bolstered by the appointment of Oberst Josef Kammhuber to command a newly created Night Fighter Division. By the end of 1940 radar technology, both ground-based and mounted in Bf 110s, Ju 88s and other aircraft, had been incorporated, resulting in a force that began taking an increasing toll of their RAF opponents.

Williams covers the first, faltering steps of German's nightfighters, chronicling their successes, failures and technical developments such as 'Schrage musik' along with giving proper credit - in the form of lengthy sidebars - to Falck, Kammhuber and top-scoring ace Helmut Lent. Several combat reports by aircrew and CGI controllers are included as well.

In typical "Classic Colours" style the text is complimented by over 200 black & white and color photos and 14 Tim Brown/Tom Tullis color profiles of Bf 109, 110, Ju 88, Do 215/217 and even Arado 68 nightfighters. This is one VERY well-illustrated book!

The exploits of experten like Streib, Gildner, Lent and Geiger live again in Williams' splendid book. Luftwaffe fans will enjoy this book; it's a winner!

David Williams wraps up his two-volume history of Luftwaffe nightfighters with this well-done summary of the last two years of the war.

Paradoxically the July 1943 Hamburg firestorm mission wherein the RAF used chaff to blind German radars so traumatized Germany's military leadership that it served as an impetus for the development of new nightfighter tactics and weapons to replace the discredited Himmelbett system. Zahme Sau and Wilde Sau tactics coupled with new radars checkmated the advantage temporarily bestowed on RAF bombers by 'Window.' The battles that followed became a see-saw race as RAF and Luftwaffe engineers and aircrews developed new radars, counter tactics, different weaponry (Schrage Musik) and so on. Though German nightfighters inflicted punishing losses on RAF raiders on many occasions following the Hamburg raid, a number of factors including superior Allied technology and fuel shortages ground down the Nachtjagers.

Williams quite correctly points out that the turning point in this deadly see-saw campaign occurred not over Germany but rather at an English airfield! In July 1944 a disoriented Luftwaffe crew landed at an RAF base, thus presenting the British with a fully operational Ju88G equipped with the three radar systems that had made the nightfighters so deadly.

Given such a wide canvas, Williams does a good job of summarizing those momentous years as well as highlighting well-known nightfighter aces such as Werner Streib, Heinz Schnaufer and Wilhelm Johnen. The comprehensive text includes ten first-person accounts of night kills by German pilots and their RAF victims.

As with Volume One, this book is brimming with photos and artwork - over 190 black & white shots, 11 color pix including one showing a Schrage Musik-equipped Fw 189(!) and 16 color profiles of Me 110, He 219, Ju 88, FW 190, Do 217 and Me 262 night fighters.

All in all, this two-volume set is an well-written, visually appealing introduction to the subject. Luftwaffe fans will definitely want to pick up the set!

The Royal Air Force quickly learned in World War II that their planes were not suitable for daylight operation, so turned to night bombing. The Luftwaffe then had no choice but to begin to develop a night fighter system that would offer at least some defenst against the bombers.

By 1943 the war of the technical wizzards was well underway. For the Germans this meant radar systems, including both ground based to get the fighter close to the bomber, and airborne equipmen, usually mounted on twin engine planes such as the Me-110, the Ju-88, the Fw-189, He 219. To these were added a smaller number of single engine fighters, the Me-109, Me262 and Fw-190, some with and wome without radar.

This book has some text to explain the pictures, but it features a spectacular set of photographs of the night fighting planes of the Luftwaffe in the later years of the war. It also has several pictures taken of planes after the war as found in abandoned airfields or as they were removed to allied bases. Finally there is a set of detailed drawings of the planes to show details often missed in the photographs.

Professor Greenfeld has compiled an exhaustively researched series of "case studies" of the genesis of nationalist sentiment (England, France, Russia, Germany, and the United States). She puts forth very convincing arguments that (1) nationalism began in England, and spread to the European continent, (2) the self-loathing of segments of certain societies led to a transformation of their values, resulting in nationalism, and (3) that nationalism lay the basis for modernity. My only complaint, if it can be called that, is that she does not more extensively examine American nationalism. I highly, highly recommend this book for any student of nationalism.

Perhaps one of the most accessible and complete book relating to European nationalism I have had the pleasure to read. Greenfeld examines nationalism as it moves from nation to nation changing as it moves along. As a point of methodology, she asks three questions: [1] Why and how nationalism emerged? [2] Why and how it was transformed in the process from one society to another? [3] Why and how these different forms of national identity and consciousness translated into institutional practices and patterns of culture, molding the social and political structures of societies which defined themselves as nations? How she deals with it is the really fascinating part of this book. Greenfeld explores nationalism along 2 broad categorical dimensions: popular sovereignty and criteria of membership. For the most part, and educated middle class (as in England and Germany) or the nobility (as in France and Russia) tried to solve a crisis of identity as well as acute feelings of "status inconsistency" in times of drastic changes in the social structure and status hierarchy. This identity crisis of the upwardly mobile social groups gave birth to a conception of England as a community of "free" and "equal" individuals having recourse to political participation. From England the notion of the "nation" changed in form as it moved from country to country coming full circle in the United States where it took its original form.

The core of Greenfeld's narration of the metamorphosis of the ideologies -- actually its development is the idea that, German intellectuals lacked the support and recognition of the nobility. The extreme financial and social insecurity German intellectuals felt led them to lose faith in the Aufklarung (Enlightenment) and to embrace a Pietist ontology (coupled with, lest we forget, a secularized Romanticism) which within its precepts held the seeds of racism and authoritarianism. Moreover, the concept of "ressentiment" as Nietzsche used it "On the Genealogy of Morality" (also available on Amazon.com) What is this "ressentiment"? Essentially, it is a notion of existential envy. Envy towards those economically or militarily more powerful countries that resulted (again in the Nietzschean sense) a "transvaluation of values" attached to the borrowed concept of national identity or an outright rejection of these values and the glorification of what one sees as his/her "indigenous" culture. Greenfeld really effects a wonderful analysis of the internal dynamics and the quid-pro-quo connection between the structures, the culture and the individual's psychology. More on this issue, she shows how elites in particular countries -- England, France and Russia evolved national identities the in turn shaped their own "place" or social status as well as aims, goals and hopes. From Greenfeld's perspective the elites formed their idea of society and later transferred it down, in its original form, to the rest of society. As far as this reader is concerned, it is not clear why national identity has such an intense role when it came to the rise of Nazism and the Russian revolution but not the particular form of American racism?

Returning to the issue of ressentiment, Greenfeld argues that the specific groups invented nationalism in the fight for recognition (as I mentioned above) and used it as an umbrella concept for national identity, consciousness and recognition. The French and Russian cases are unique in that nationalism gave each case a unique basis for status and self esteem. The American case is different from the process it took in Europe but comes close to the English experience. In the case of America, Americans fought for liberal democracy or for what Greenfeld articulates as "Civic Nationalism." However, in all cases, the creation of national identity really involved redefining what was meant by "the people." Breaking it down further, she breaks down the evolution of nationalism to categories: there is the individualistic-libertarian (UK and US) and the collectivist-authoritarian (France, Germany and Russia). German nationalism, according to Greenfeld, is the epitome of ethnic authoritarian collectivism. Greenfeld is great because she discusses the role language and literature play in the creation of national identity. Moreover, she examines how religion and secularism; war and revolution; intellectuals and education factor in the process of national identity. Her interdisciplinary approach is really admirable considering the size of the project. Her use of Max Weber -- as in how particular groups or strata which are facing a threat to their status or status identity makes Weber accessible and understandable. The details relating to each and every example are too much for this review, and I strongly suggest a careful read. I give her a resounding 5 stars.

Miguel Llora

This Book is probaly the best book I have ever read on the cultural history of post WWII Germany. It also raises the question of where was the dissent against Hitler? Amazing in it's scope.

This book is very interesting in it's content. The details in it are a amazing. At first it seems as if you are being besieged by details but then a clearer picture emerges of a group of men who are trying to live out their lives as their culture has laid out for them. The tribulations that they go thorugh as far as personal honor are throughly examined. They are born and bred leaders the best of the best of the german navy but yet they hold back against speaking against Hitler. Rust examines their motives in not speaking up. It was also very interesting to find so much on the German Navy after WWII this is a subject which is hardly ever touched upoun. The question of what happened after is evrpresent on many history readers minds. He examines the lives of the men in their new surroundings and what has happened to them over the years.