Synopses & Reviews
As early as 1941, Allied victory in World War II seemed all but assured. How and why, then, did the Germans prolong the barbaric conflict for three and a half more years?
In The German War, acclaimed historian Nicholas Stargardt draws on an extraordinary range of primary source materialsand#151;personal diaries, court records, and military correspondenceand#151;to answer this question. He offers an unprecedented portrait of wartime Germany, bringing the hopes and expectations of the German peopleand#151;from infantrymen and tank commanders on the Eastern front to civilians on the home frontand#151;to vivid life. While most historians identify the German defeat at Stalingrad as the moment when the average German citizen turned against the war effort, Stargardt demonstrates that the Wehrmacht in fact retained the staunch support of the patriotic German populace until the bitter end.
Astonishing in its breadth and humanity, The German War is a groundbreaking new interpretation of what drove the Germans to fightand#151;and keep fightingand#151;for a lost cause.
Review
Kirkus Reviewsand#147;[A] massive but thorough meditationand#133;A well-researched, unsettling social history of war that will prove deeply thought-provokingand#151;even worryingand#151;for readers who wonder what they might have done under the same circumstances.and#8221;
Jane Caplan, Emeritus Fellow, St Antonyand#8217;s College, Oxford
and#147;Forcing reflection on many different levels, Nicholas Stargardtand#8217;s book pierces through the tangles of both propaganda and moralism to offer a searching and compulsively readable account of a conflict that was understood from within as a German, not just a Nazi, war. Stargardt negotiates the considerable risks of writing from inside German experiences of this brutally destructive war with subtlety, humanity, and wisdom. This is a rich and deeply impressive lesson in ethical understanding without sacrifice of historical distance or critical judgment.and#8221;
Jan T. Gross, author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
and#147;The German War is an outstanding book by a master historian. Weaving together personal letters, secret police reports, Goebbelsand#8217; propaganda ministry assessments, and other sources, Nicholas Stargardt shows what and when the German people knew about the conduct of the war, what they thought about it, and how the regime, always attuned to peopleand#8217;s moods, tailored its message and policies accordingly. The German War is a masterpiece of historical writing, blending seamlessly a and#145;birdand#8217;s eyeand#8217; view with intimate micro-history of this calamitous period in twentieth century Europe.and#8221;
Saul Friedlander, author of Nazi Germany and the Jews
and#147;Using letters, diaries and other published and unpublished testimonies, Nicholas Stargardt shows that notwithstanding the spreading knowledge of the regimeand#8217;s crimesand#151;particularly against the Jewsand#151;and the growing impact of major defeats, Wehrmacht and population were determined to go on fighting, possibly out of fear of retribution, to the very end. Beautifully written and convincingly argued, this book is a must.and#8221;
Ian Kershaw, author of The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitlerand#8217;s Germany, 1944-1945
and#147;A terrific book. Nicholas Stargardt brilliantly explores diaries, letters, and other previously untapped sources to provide more vivid and nuanced insight than ever before achieved into the motivation of ordinary Germans fighting the most horrific war of all time.and#8221;
Mark Roseman, Professor of History, Indiana University
and#147;Little by little, with a raft of new insights, and a clear and empathetic eye, Nicholas Stargardtand#8217;s remarkable new book transforms our view of something we thought we already understood: the German populationand#8217;s evolving attitudes during the war. For the first time, the wartime chronology of German sentiment, of popular hopes and fears, realism and fantasy, becomes truly visible. A powerful and compelling account.and#8221;
Robert Moeller, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine
and#147;Why did most Germans, reluctant to enter a second World War in 1939, ultimately unify behind an effort that by 1943 seemed doomed to failure? Weaving together first person testimonies drawn from diaries, memoirs, and letters, Nicholas Stargardt provides insightful, illuminating, complex, and convincing answers in this big book. Seven decades and a mountain of monographs later, I wouldnand#8217;t have thought thereand#8217;d be much more to say about WWII. Stargardt has proven me wrong.and#8221;
Geoff Eley, Professor of History and German Studies, University of Michigan
and#147;The German War is a tour de force of historical learning, breadth of vision, and narrative skill. In depicting the intricate back-and-forth between the big violence of the conduct of the war and the impossible complexities inside individual storiesand#151;between the challenges facing ordinary lives and the relentlessness of a wartime beyond their controland#151;Nicholas Stargardt brings an acuteness of insight and sureness of touch to an extraordinary wealth of material. A truly epic account.and#8221;
Sheldon Garon, author of Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life
and#147;Nicholas Stargardt spotlights the surprising twists and turns in the popular embrace of both the war and Nazi racial extremism. He explainsand#151;as few haveand#151;why the German people fought to the finish, whereas even the supposedly fanatical Japanese surrendered before an invasion of the homeland.and#8221;
Synopsis
A major new history of the Third Reich that explores the German psyche
About the Author
Nicholas Stargardt is a professor of modern European history at Magdalen College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. The author of the award-winning
Witnesses of War, Stargardt lives in Oxford, England.
Table of Contents
PART ONEDefending the Attack
1. Unwelcome War
2. Closing Ranks
3. Extreme Measures
PART TWO
Masters of Europe
4. Breaking Out
5. Winners and Losers
PART THREE
The Shadow of 1812
6. German Crusade
7. The First Defeat
PART FOUR
Stalemate
8. The Shared Secret
9. Scouring Europe
10. Writing to the Dead
PART FIVE
The War Comes Home
11. Bombing and Retaliation
12. Holding Out
13. Borrowed Time
PART SIX
Total Defeat
14. Digging In
15. Collapse
16. Finale
Epilogue: Beyond the Abyss