Synopses & Reviews
The largest enterprise in the capitalist world between 1920 and 1945, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German National Railway) was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in Germany. In this, the second volume of his comprehensive history of the Reichsbahn, Alfred Mierzejewski offers the first complete account of the national railway under Hitler's regime.
Mierzejewski uses sources that include Nazi Party membership records and Reichsbahn internal memoranda to explore the railway's operations, finances, and political and social roles from 1933 to 1945. He examines the Reichsbahn's role in German rearmament, its own lack of preparations for war, and its participation in Germany's military operations. He shows that despite successfully resisting Nazi efforts to politicize its internal functions, the Reichsbahn cooperated with the government's anti-Semitic policies. Indeed, the railway played a crucial role in the Holocaust by supporting the construction and operation of the Nazi death camps and by transporting Jews and other victims to them.
Review
An original and compelling account of the railroad system in the Nazi dictatorship and a sober assessment of its role in the Holocaust and the war. (Harold James, Princeton University)
Review
Mierzejewski's book will be the standard work on the German National Railway for years to come.
Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Review
In the confines of this review it is not possible to discuss critically every new argument raised in Mierzejewski's essential work. Researchers cannot ignore the arguments of either volume. For the public the hope for a carefully edited German edition is as important as it is urgent. (Historische Zeitschrift)
Review
Essential reading for all scholars of modern Germany.
Central European History
Review
Mierzejewski has done a wonderful job.
Business History
Review
An account that is elaborate, circumspect, and thoroughly convincing.
Central European History
Review
Essential.
Historische Zeitschrift
Synopsis
The first comprehensive account of Germany's national railroad under Hitler, this book explores the railway's operations, finances, and political and social roles from 1933 to 1945, including the pivotal role it played in the Holocaust by supporting the construction and operation of the Nazi death camps and by transporting victims to them.
Synopsis
Mierzejewski's book will be the standard work on the German National Railway for years to come.
Holocaust and Genocide Studies Essential reading for all scholars of modern Germany.
Central European History Mierzejewski has done a wonderful job.
Business History An account that is elaborate, circumspect, and thoroughly convincing.
Central European History Essential.
Historische Zeitschrift
About the Author
Alfred C. Mierzejewski is professor of history at the University of North Texas. His books include The Collapse of the German War Economy, 1944-1945: Allied Air Power and the German National Railway.