Best of
Germany

1978

Holocaust


Gerald Green - 1978
    The Dorfs are "good" Germans, loyal to the new Nazi regime, and their son Erik, a promising lawyer, finds his ambitions realized in the SS at the side of the ruthless Reynard Heydrich. The Weiss family is Jewish, also seemingly "good" Germans, but doomed under the new regime and its determination to exterminate the Jewish population.

The Meaning of Hitler


Sebastian Haffner - 1978
    In examining the inhumanity of a man for whom politics became a substitute for life, he discusses Hitler's bizarre relationships with women, his arrested psychological development, his ideological misconceptions, his growing obsession with racial extermination, and the murderous rages of his distorted mind. Finally, Haffner confronts the most disturbing question of all: Could another Hitler rise to power in modern Germany?

The Bunker


James P. O'Donnell - 1978
    From James P. O'Donnell's interviews with fifty eyewitnesses to the madness and carnage--everyone from Albert Speer to generals, staff officers, doctors, Hitler's personal pilot, telephone operators, and secretaries -- emerges an account that historian Theodore H. White has hailed as "superb . . . quite simply the most accurate and terrifying account of the nightmare and its end I have ever read.""A riveting, damned near incredible (but true) story."--Gerald Green, author of Holocaust

Encyclopedia Of German Tanks Of World War Two: The Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks,Armoured Cars, Self-Propelled Guns and Semi-Track


Peter Chamberlain - 1978
    Only recently have the records of the manufacturers been made public, so never before could you know just how many of each model were available, along with accurate dates of their production and mobilization. Historic photos identify features of each vehicle type, including uncommon variants. Captions are packed with accurate details on designations given by the German Army General Staff: alternative designations, manufacturing and development history, chassis numbers, engine capacity, fuel, coolants, gearbox performance, speed and range, armament, armor material and thickness, and service record. 272 pages, 1,000 b/w illus., 8 3/4 x 11.

The War Path: Hitler's Germany, 1933-1939


David Irving - 1978
    The author explores Hitler's achievements in rebuilding the economy and the armed forces, with the concurrent growth of racism and nationalism. This is the first of a 3-volume work on the subject. The companion volumes are "Hitler's War 1939-1942" and "Hitler's War 1942-1945"

The Kaiser's Battle


Martin Middlebrook - 1978
    Planned to break the deadlock, the series of battles were known as Kaiserschlacht.

Germany 1866-1945


Gordon A. Craig - 1978
    Craig, author of several distinguished books including The Politics of the Prussian Army 1640-1945 ('55), has written a magisterial history of Germany from Prussia's 1866 triumph over Austria at Koeniggroetz to the destruction of the 3rd Reich in 1945. His story focuses upon the two dominating personalities of the period: Bismarck, the "great star" whose genius & penetration are undeniable, but whose achievement "had its 'night side' as well as its 'day side,'" & Hitler, who, unlike the Iron Chancellor, was "sui generis a force without a real historical past." Craig agrees with Dahrendorf (Society & Democracy in Germany) that, paradoxically, it was precisely because he lacked roots in tradition that Hitler could destroy the major obstacle to its progress towards a liberal modernity--"the conservative-militaristic concern that had dominated politics in the Wilhelmine period, done everything possible to shorten the life of the Weimar Republic & elevated him to power in 1933." The concentration on these two figures in no way represents a failure to appreciate institutional, economic & social factors of development. A major part of the story--the place & treatment of women under the Empire, Weimar & Hitler--receives an overdue coherent treatment as do religion & education. Craig (J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Stanford) displays an equally keen appreciation of the role of culture. In particular, he forcefully portrays the flight from political responsibility which was characteristic of most artists & intellectuals under the Empire & which marred the splendid cultural achievements of Weimar as well. The combination of his learning with his gracefully lucid style has yielded a work of historical synthesis more readable & better organized than any book of comparable scope.--Kirkus (edited)

Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power, 1919-1933


James Pool - 1978
    Called "one of the most useful and illuminating studies of Nazism" by The New Yorker, this highly acclaimed work of history unravels the secret financial web which Hitler spun across Europe and around the globe to bankroll his dream of world domination

The Brothers Mann: The Lives of Heinrich & Thomas Mann 1871 - 1950 and 1875 - 1955


Nigel Hamilton - 1978
    Studies the political and artistic rivalry and emotional closeness of Thomas and Heinrich Mann, analyzing the cultural, social, and familial milieu in which the brothers developed and worked.

Arms and Uniforms: Lace Wars


Liliane Funcken - 1978
    

Designs for the Dream King: The Castles and Palaces of Ludwig II of Bavaria


Simon Jervis - 1978
    

German Women Writers of the Twentieth Century


Elizabeth R. Herrmann - 1978
    These short stories provide an insight into their creators' literary achievement and give some impression of the great variety and scope of their work.Comprised of 16 chapters, this volume begins with a short story by Ricarda Huch (1864-1947) entitled "Love," followed by another story entitled "The Wife of Pilate," by Gertrud von Le Fort (1876-1971). The remaining chapters present short stories by Elisabeth Langgässer (1899-1950), Anna Seghers (1900- ), Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1901-1974), Luise Rinser (1911- ), Ilse Aichinger (1921- ), Barbara König (1925- ), Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-1973), Christa Reinig (1926- ), Christa Wolf (1929- ), Gabriele Wohmann (1932- ), Helga Novak (1935- ), Gisela Elsner (1937- ), Elisabeth Meylan (1937- ), and Angelika Mechtel (1943- ).