What do you think?
Rate this book
Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power
Hitler’s rise to power, Germany’s march to the abyss, as seen through the eyes of Americans—diplomats, military, expats, visiting authors, Olympic athletes—who watched horrified and up close. By tapping a rich vein of personal testimonies, Hitlerland offers a gripping narrative full of surprising twists—and a startlingly fresh perspective on this heavily dissected era.
Some of the Americans in Weimar and then Hitler’s Germany were merely casual observers, others deliberately blind; a few were Nazi apologists. But most slowly began to understand the horror of what was unfolding, even when they found it difficult to grasp the breadth of the catastrophe. Among the journalists, William Shirer, Edgar Mowrer, and Dorothy Thompson were increasingly alarmed. Consul General George Messersmith stood out among the American diplomats because of his passion and courage. Truman Smith, the first American official to meet Hitler, was an astute political observer and a remarkably resourceful military attaché. Historian William Dodd, whom FDR tapped as ambassador in Hitler’s Berlin, left disillusioned; his daughter Martha scandalized the embassy with her procession of lovers from her initial infatuation with Nazis she took up with. She ended as a Soviet spy.
On the scene were George Kennan, who would become famous as the architect of containment; Richard Helms, who rose to the top of the CIA; Howard K. Smith, who would one day coanchor the ABC Evening News. The list of prominent visitors included writers Sinclair Lewis and Thomas Wolfe, famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, the great athlete Jesse Owens, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, and black sociologist and historian W.E.B. Dubois. Observing Hitler and his movement up close, the most perceptive of these Americans helped their reluctant countrymen begin to understand the nature of Nazi Germany as it ruthlessly eliminated political opponents, instilled hatred of Jews and anyone deemed a member of an inferior race, and readied its military and its people for a war for global domination. They helped prepare Americans for the years of struggle ahead.
Some of the Americans in Weimar and then Hitler’s Germany were merely casual observers, others deliberately blind; a few were Nazi apologists. But most slowly began to understand the horror of what was unfolding, even when they found it difficult to grasp the breadth of the catastrophe. Among the journalists, William Shirer, Edgar Mowrer, and Dorothy Thompson were increasingly alarmed. Consul General George Messersmith stood out among the American diplomats because of his passion and courage. Truman Smith, the first American official to meet Hitler, was an astute political observer and a remarkably resourceful military attaché. Historian William Dodd, whom FDR tapped as ambassador in Hitler’s Berlin, left disillusioned; his daughter Martha scandalized the embassy with her procession of lovers from her initial infatuation with Nazis she took up with. She ended as a Soviet spy.
On the scene were George Kennan, who would become famous as the architect of containment; Richard Helms, who rose to the top of the CIA; Howard K. Smith, who would one day coanchor the ABC Evening News. The list of prominent visitors included writers Sinclair Lewis and Thomas Wolfe, famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, the great athlete Jesse Owens, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, and black sociologist and historian W.E.B. Dubois. Observing Hitler and his movement up close, the most perceptive of these Americans helped their reluctant countrymen begin to understand the nature of Nazi Germany as it ruthlessly eliminated political opponents, instilled hatred of Jews and anyone deemed a member of an inferior race, and readied its military and its people for a war for global domination. They helped prepare Americans for the years of struggle ahead.
385 pages, Hardcover
First published March 13, 2012
168 people are currently reading
3479 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Nagorski
22 books69 followersFrom back cover:
Andrew Nagorski, award-winning journalist, is vice president and director of public policy at the EastWest Institute, a New York-based international affairs think tank. During a long career at Newsweek, he served as the magazine's bureau chief in Hong Kong, Moscow, Rome, Bonn, Warsaw, and Berlin. He lives in Pelham Manor, New York.
Andrew Nagorski, award-winning journalist, is vice president and director of public policy at the EastWest Institute, a New York-based international affairs think tank. During a long career at Newsweek, he served as the magazine's bureau chief in Hong Kong, Moscow, Rome, Bonn, Warsaw, and Berlin. He lives in Pelham Manor, New York.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
November 14, 2018
Excellent book and a necessary read for anyone interested in this time period.
A series of opinion pieces, anecdotes and historical accounts from the 1920's up to the start of WWII as seen through the eyes of American journalists, reporters, correspondents and diplomats who were living, working and writing in Germany. Fascinating insights, some new thoughts and opinions I'd not yet heard of, as well as heart-wrenching accounts of what these people saw, witnessed and wrote about. To home on a postcard, in a personal diary, or on the front pages of the biggest papers in the US, this is all about what THEY saw, first-hand, primary source, etc., etc.
There were those immediately enamored of Hitler, his rise to power, the society he changed, scripted and made into his own - and those who were not. There's also a little bit of analysis on why people view events the way they do - how we can change over time, going from adulation - 'what a great man!' - to the realization of what Hitler was all about - 'hell, how could we have been so wrong?' (And of course, there are always the few who know the devil the minute they see him.) I found the entire premise of this book absolutely fascinating and worthwhile.
So much so I'm searching out other writings - memoirs, novels, etc. - that many of those mentioned in the book went on to write later.
Five stars.
A series of opinion pieces, anecdotes and historical accounts from the 1920's up to the start of WWII as seen through the eyes of American journalists, reporters, correspondents and diplomats who were living, working and writing in Germany. Fascinating insights, some new thoughts and opinions I'd not yet heard of, as well as heart-wrenching accounts of what these people saw, witnessed and wrote about. To home on a postcard, in a personal diary, or on the front pages of the biggest papers in the US, this is all about what THEY saw, first-hand, primary source, etc., etc.
There were those immediately enamored of Hitler, his rise to power, the society he changed, scripted and made into his own - and those who were not. There's also a little bit of analysis on why people view events the way they do - how we can change over time, going from adulation - 'what a great man!' - to the realization of what Hitler was all about - 'hell, how could we have been so wrong?' (And of course, there are always the few who know the devil the minute they see him.) I found the entire premise of this book absolutely fascinating and worthwhile.
So much so I'm searching out other writings - memoirs, novels, etc. - that many of those mentioned in the book went on to write later.
Five stars.
May 14, 2012
When I was taken into Phi Alpha Theta in the late 1980's, the speaker for the event was a German lady who experienced the Third Reich and the war as a young girl. Two things I remember to this day about her talk...
1. She had the opportunity to meet Hitler and shake his hand. She said that he had the most clear, deep blue and sincere-looking eyes that she had ever seen. They were such that one wanted to believe in and trust in any thing that he would offer.
2. Hitler's regime took her away from her family to work in slave-like conditions in a factory for the war effort.
She certainly didn't have an experience as bad as millions of Jewish people, but even the typical German citizen was enslaved to Hitler very quickly. I have thought about that lady often as I have been reading this book. A very interesting read.
1. She had the opportunity to meet Hitler and shake his hand. She said that he had the most clear, deep blue and sincere-looking eyes that she had ever seen. They were such that one wanted to believe in and trust in any thing that he would offer.
2. Hitler's regime took her away from her family to work in slave-like conditions in a factory for the war effort.
She certainly didn't have an experience as bad as millions of Jewish people, but even the typical German citizen was enslaved to Hitler very quickly. I have thought about that lady often as I have been reading this book. A very interesting read.
April 18, 2014
Most people who are readers of German history immediately prior to WWII have read or should have read William Shirer's classic Berlin Diary which was written from his observations of the rise of the Nazi party. I would suggest that this book also be added to that list of "must-reads".
The author uses sources from telegrams, letters, diaries, interviews, radio broadcasts, official diplomatic reports, etc. to expand on Shirer's idea of eye-witness accounts of journalists and diplomats stationed in Berlin from the late 1920s through 1940..........Ambassador William Dodd, journalists Howard K. Smith and Dorothy Thompson, radio commentator H.V. Kaltenborn, and many others whose names are not as well known. And of course, Shirer.
These individuals were prone to all the normal human failings during a time of epic tragedy......many were superficial in their observations, some were deliberately blind, and a few became Nazi apologists. But all had to agree that Adolph Hitler had a combination of peculiar personal qualities and oratorical skills that fueled the rise of the Nazi party and the loyalty of the German people.
This is a skillfully written book that contains some very revealing information about the perception of the Americans in Berlin of the evil that was growing around them. Very highly recommended.
The author uses sources from telegrams, letters, diaries, interviews, radio broadcasts, official diplomatic reports, etc. to expand on Shirer's idea of eye-witness accounts of journalists and diplomats stationed in Berlin from the late 1920s through 1940..........Ambassador William Dodd, journalists Howard K. Smith and Dorothy Thompson, radio commentator H.V. Kaltenborn, and many others whose names are not as well known. And of course, Shirer.
These individuals were prone to all the normal human failings during a time of epic tragedy......many were superficial in their observations, some were deliberately blind, and a few became Nazi apologists. But all had to agree that Adolph Hitler had a combination of peculiar personal qualities and oratorical skills that fueled the rise of the Nazi party and the loyalty of the German people.
This is a skillfully written book that contains some very revealing information about the perception of the Americans in Berlin of the evil that was growing around them. Very highly recommended.
October 19, 2014
While many books abound about the experiences of Americans in Paris and London during the 1920s and 1930s, there are correspondingly few books available about the experiences of those Americans who spent time in Germany from the 1920s to the early 1940s. This particular book stimulated my curiosity about some of these Americans --- journalists, military officers, writers, scholars, and diplomats --- one of whom first became aware as early as 1922 of a then insignificant nationalist, right wing political party and its leader Adolf Hitler, and observed the subsequent growth of the Nazi Party and Hitler's ascension to power in Germany in 1933.
One of the most interesting tidbits I was surprised to learn from reading this book was that the Nazis allowed Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, the foremost African American intellectual and historian of his generation, to spend time in Germany on a fellowship from 1935 to 1936. His observations about the Berlin Olympics were fascinating. Indeed, "Hitlerland" is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants an insight into the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of Americans who served in Germany as witnesses to the growth and consolidation of Nazism and the Third Reich.
One of the most interesting tidbits I was surprised to learn from reading this book was that the Nazis allowed Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, the foremost African American intellectual and historian of his generation, to spend time in Germany on a fellowship from 1935 to 1936. His observations about the Berlin Olympics were fascinating. Indeed, "Hitlerland" is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants an insight into the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of Americans who served in Germany as witnesses to the growth and consolidation of Nazism and the Third Reich.
June 19, 2021
The audio version narrated by Robert Fass was excellent.
I’ve only recently started watching documentaries about Hitler which have been fascinating and chilling in equal measure but I found Hitlerland to be unique and a little different to what I’ve watched, read and listened to so far. Andrew Nagorski provides the reader with viewpoints from the US citizens living in Berlin - journalists, diplomats, military, visiting authors and Olympic athletes - on the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler. The author presents a unique and creative perspective on the subject matter.
The Nazis wanted Germans to support the Nazi dictatorship and believe in Nazi ideas. To accomplish this goal, they tried to control forms of communication through censorship and propaganda. This included control of newspapers, magazines, books, art, theater, music, movies, and radio.
Hmm, sounds familiar. Seems like we have another Hitler living amongst us. I’m looking at you R.M.
I’ve only recently started watching documentaries about Hitler which have been fascinating and chilling in equal measure but I found Hitlerland to be unique and a little different to what I’ve watched, read and listened to so far. Andrew Nagorski provides the reader with viewpoints from the US citizens living in Berlin - journalists, diplomats, military, visiting authors and Olympic athletes - on the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler. The author presents a unique and creative perspective on the subject matter.
The Nazis wanted Germans to support the Nazi dictatorship and believe in Nazi ideas. To accomplish this goal, they tried to control forms of communication through censorship and propaganda. This included control of newspapers, magazines, books, art, theater, music, movies, and radio.
Hmm, sounds familiar. Seems like we have another Hitler living amongst us. I’m looking at you R.M.
March 13, 2017
This is the first "research for my writing" book I am reading on Kindle. I have figured our how to highlight and record notes from a Kindle book. It actually works very well.
MORE TO COME ...
MORE TO COME ...
February 10, 2018
I had been curious about Andrew Nagorski's Hitlerland since it came out, but until now had always held back because of its off-putting title. For some reason I found the term "Hitlerland" a bit too hip, and bit too sardonic (given the subject), with perhaps a whiff of lightweight revisionism. Wrong. Oh, I may have been right about the sardonic nature of the word, but as it turns out, "Hitlerland" (and "Naziland") were products of their time, and were definitely earned. The terms were coined, probably in the late 1930s, by a journalist named Pierre Huss, who worked for the International News Service. He would use them in his own account of the Hitler years, The Foe We Face (which is now available again via Kindle). Essentially the terms are meant to show the growing sense among the Americans in Germany of a disturbing alternative reality taking hold in Hitler's Germany.
Nagorski's book gathers together, in something of a small miracle of synthesis, numerous accounts of Americans who happened to be in Germany at the time of Hitler's beginnings in the wild and decadent Weimer days of the early 1920s, up through the U.S. entry into the World War 2. Nagorski draws on letters, unpublished and published manuscripts, journals, etc., from a wide range of Americans ( journalists (primarily), government officials, missionaries, writers, tourists, etc.), to follow the ascending and darkening Nazi arc. Highly recommended.
Nagorski's book gathers together, in something of a small miracle of synthesis, numerous accounts of Americans who happened to be in Germany at the time of Hitler's beginnings in the wild and decadent Weimer days of the early 1920s, up through the U.S. entry into the World War 2. Nagorski draws on letters, unpublished and published manuscripts, journals, etc., from a wide range of Americans ( journalists (primarily), government officials, missionaries, writers, tourists, etc.), to follow the ascending and darkening Nazi arc. Highly recommended.
October 26, 2013
Large chunks of this were so boring I had to stop and unglaze my eyes - reading about Josephine Baker will do that to me. But Nagorski, a former Newsweek journalist, does a decent job of synthesizing a large number of both published but long out of print memoirs, and unpublished contemporaneous manuscripts, of Americans living in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. These Americans were journalists, diplomats, embassy workers. Some of them, like William L. Shirer and a few others, saw Hitler for the true menace he was. Others, who had plenty of company among German observers and German intelligentsia, thought Hitler a low-class buffoon incapable of rising very far.
Nagorski tells the anecdotes of Helen Hanfstaengl, the American wife of German-American, Harvard-educated Putzi Hanfstaengl - a close advisor and friend to Hitler. After the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, a frightened and demoralized Hitler fled to the Hanfstaengl home. Helen came upon him holding a pistol, ready to commit suicide, and persuaded him to turn over the gun to her. (Years later, Helen would remain more fascinated than horrified by her association with Hitler, explaining what an extraordinary man he was. Hitler had apparently had a crush on Helen.) There's also the sad story of a young Howard K. Smith, who would eventually anchor the nightly news for ABC, turning away a desperate, visa-seeking Jew from his door at 2 a.m. in 1941.
June 17, 2012
An interesting approach to a much studied subject: the rise of the Nazis as seen by Americans living in Germany. It's interesting to see people both catching and missing the essence of what was actually afoot. It leads you to wonder: in your own life, would you recognize this kind of evil if it slowly unfolded around you?
October 15, 2013
The rise of Nazi Germany is probably one of the most documented and researched periods of human history, but Andrew Nagorski's Hitlerland examines an overlooked chapter: the presence and perspectives of Americans living in Germany - journalists, diplomats, students and socialites who had privileged front row seats to the turmoil and instability of the Weimar Republic, who watched the Nazi party charm and muscle their way to power, who felt the earth shake as Adolf Hitler launched the world into war, and who were forced out of Germany when their own country entered the conflict.
Hitlerland draws from a vast scope of journal entries, memoirs, autobiographies and manuscripts that intricately - and sometimes overwhelmingly - detail the moods and seismic shifts in Germany following its capitulation and humiliation in the aftermath of World War I. It makes the reading a little dense sometimes, but Nagorski's extensive presentation of long-forgotten historical anecdotes offers a uniquely American view of early 20th century Germany, one that is not usually taken into consideration when examining the hows and whys of the Nazi rise to power.
It's been 90 years since the Beer Hall Putsch first put Adolf Hitler on the map, but perhaps we will never run out of stories to tell and books to write about the darkest chapter in human history. With Hitlerland, Andrew Nagorski introduces a new paradigm into a vast and fascinating spectrum, of how Germany was seduced and manipulated into war, and the Americans who were there as it happened.
Hitlerland draws from a vast scope of journal entries, memoirs, autobiographies and manuscripts that intricately - and sometimes overwhelmingly - detail the moods and seismic shifts in Germany following its capitulation and humiliation in the aftermath of World War I. It makes the reading a little dense sometimes, but Nagorski's extensive presentation of long-forgotten historical anecdotes offers a uniquely American view of early 20th century Germany, one that is not usually taken into consideration when examining the hows and whys of the Nazi rise to power.
It's been 90 years since the Beer Hall Putsch first put Adolf Hitler on the map, but perhaps we will never run out of stories to tell and books to write about the darkest chapter in human history. With Hitlerland, Andrew Nagorski introduces a new paradigm into a vast and fascinating spectrum, of how Germany was seduced and manipulated into war, and the Americans who were there as it happened.
April 2, 2012
Could the U.S. have known what was coming, or is hindsight 20/20? That is a central theme--along with some mind-boggling photographs obtained by former "Newsweek" corro Nagorski--that makes this terrific book in the spirit of William Shirer's "Berlin Diary," stand out in a crowded field. I found "Hitlerland," to be superior to Erik Larson's "In the Garden of the Beasts," a recent bestseller about pre-WW II Berlin. While "Garden" focuses on Nazi-era U.S. ambassador William Dodd and his family -- especially daughther Martha's numerous sexual liasons--"Hitlerland," includes the Dodd's, but in context. Thus, the Martha portrayed as sexually emancipated and freethinking in "Garden"--for her affairs with the head of the Gestapo, Tom Wolfe, and a Soviet spy (and switching political positions accordingly)--comes off as somewhat whorish and pathetic in "Hitlerland." A reasonable view: sexual emancipation is great. But trying to sleep with Adolf Hitler is as good a place to draw the line as any ...
March 8, 2014
This is a well-researched book about Americans in Germany before and during World War II. It won't answer the big question, though. Why did the Germans support Hitler? Why did they vote him into power? What did he promise them, and how did he so improve conditions once in power, that they were willing to put up with his obviously being nuts? Yeah, I know he blamed all the problems in Germany on the wealthy bankers (ie, Jews) and foreigners, and certainly things were economically awful after WWI. But I still haven't heard a good explanation that starts from the premise that the Germans were just people, like us, not monsters. Because I'm pretty sure what he was saying was not that different from what we are hearing from our politicians. Even though comparing Occupy Wall Street breaking bank windows to Germans breaking bank windows on Kristallnacht can get you fired. Yeah, yeah, nobody today is advocating a holocaust. I don't think Hitler did, either, back when as chancellor he decided to dispense with the legislature. The atrocities followed the amassing of power. Lesson: don't let politicians amass power; then they can't commit atrocities.
May 30, 2019
Povodne som mal rozpisanu celu esej zalozenu na novych pocitoch a zisteniach ziskanych precitanim tejto knihy. Potom som si ale uvedomil, ze by to vlastne nebola recenzia knihy, ale naozaj skor nejaky historicky resers. Tak skusim teraz na druhy pokus hodnotit skor knihu :) Kazdopadne, o samotnej knihe to vypoveda, ze bola velmi podnetna a pre mna ako laika v niektorych momentoch az sokujuca a provokativna (v dobrom slova zmysle).
Kniha je spojenim roznych zdrojov (osobne denniky, osobna a pracovna korespondencia, rozhovory s potomkami) do viac ci menej ucelenych pribehov jednotlivych postav. Vacsinou ide o americkych korespondentov, velvyslancov a diplomatov s posobiskom v Nemecku a ich rodinnych prislusnikov, ale zahrnute su aj denniky a autobiografie prislusnikov nacistickej strany. Zaujimave je sledovat rozne postoje a pohlady americanov v medzivojnovom Nemecku, co sa da dobre vysvetlit teoriou Howarda K. Smitha o takzvanych stryroch fazach postoja cudzincov k nacistickemu Nemecku: "V prvej faze dokazalo Nemecko odzbrojit svojou krasou, cistotou a dojmom blahobytu nejedneho tvrdeho antinacistu. V druhej faze vsadepritomni pochodujuci uniformovani pekni mladi muzi s puskami vyvolavali prijemne pocity, az mali srdcia nejedneho pozorovatela chut prebrat ich vojensky rytmus. V tretej faze zacal clovek pomaly chapat, ze to co sa v Nemecku deje, je pripravovanie milionov mladych ludi na cisto reflexivne konanie. Pre stvrtu fazu je typicka cudna absolutna hroza, ze vonkajsi svet nema tusenie co sa na nich pripravuje a nebude pripraveny celit takej sile." Vela ludi zostalo zaseknutych v prvej alebo druhej faze.
Tiez sa mi pacil citat vtedajsieho politologa F. Schumana: "Ako kazda forma vysoko emocionalizovaneho a subjektivizovaneho masoveho mysticizmu, aj narodny socializmus mozno iba akceptovat, alebo odmietnut. Objektivnost sa rovna odmietnutiu." Schuman tymto vyrokom narazal na to, ze kedykolvek sa niekto s nacistami pustil do odbornej argumentacie, tak ho nacisti oznacili za zradcu nemeckeho naroda a tym diskusia skoncila. Nacizmus sa tak rovnal istej forme vierovyznania. Kazdy spravny nacista veril fuhrerovi, ze vytrhne krajinu z biedy, ale nikto presne nevedel, ako by to mal dokazat.
Ale naspet ku knihe. Kniha sa snazi drzat istu chronologicku postupnost, co je ale nie vzdy mozne dodrzat. Obcas pri zakonceni pribehu niektorej z postav kniha nakratko skace do buducnosti, co by bolo fajn, keby sa dana postava uz dalej v pribehu nevyskytovala. Autor casto skace medzi postavami, takze je pre citatela narocne udrzat si v hlave uceleny pribeh pre kazdu z postav, ale chapem, ze inak sa to napisat asi nedalo. Napriek vsetkym drobnym vyhradam sa mne ako fanusikovi historickych pribehov z obdobia druhej svetovej vojny tato kniha nemohla nepacit.
Kniha je spojenim roznych zdrojov (osobne denniky, osobna a pracovna korespondencia, rozhovory s potomkami) do viac ci menej ucelenych pribehov jednotlivych postav. Vacsinou ide o americkych korespondentov, velvyslancov a diplomatov s posobiskom v Nemecku a ich rodinnych prislusnikov, ale zahrnute su aj denniky a autobiografie prislusnikov nacistickej strany. Zaujimave je sledovat rozne postoje a pohlady americanov v medzivojnovom Nemecku, co sa da dobre vysvetlit teoriou Howarda K. Smitha o takzvanych stryroch fazach postoja cudzincov k nacistickemu Nemecku: "V prvej faze dokazalo Nemecko odzbrojit svojou krasou, cistotou a dojmom blahobytu nejedneho tvrdeho antinacistu. V druhej faze vsadepritomni pochodujuci uniformovani pekni mladi muzi s puskami vyvolavali prijemne pocity, az mali srdcia nejedneho pozorovatela chut prebrat ich vojensky rytmus. V tretej faze zacal clovek pomaly chapat, ze to co sa v Nemecku deje, je pripravovanie milionov mladych ludi na cisto reflexivne konanie. Pre stvrtu fazu je typicka cudna absolutna hroza, ze vonkajsi svet nema tusenie co sa na nich pripravuje a nebude pripraveny celit takej sile." Vela ludi zostalo zaseknutych v prvej alebo druhej faze.
Tiez sa mi pacil citat vtedajsieho politologa F. Schumana: "Ako kazda forma vysoko emocionalizovaneho a subjektivizovaneho masoveho mysticizmu, aj narodny socializmus mozno iba akceptovat, alebo odmietnut. Objektivnost sa rovna odmietnutiu." Schuman tymto vyrokom narazal na to, ze kedykolvek sa niekto s nacistami pustil do odbornej argumentacie, tak ho nacisti oznacili za zradcu nemeckeho naroda a tym diskusia skoncila. Nacizmus sa tak rovnal istej forme vierovyznania. Kazdy spravny nacista veril fuhrerovi, ze vytrhne krajinu z biedy, ale nikto presne nevedel, ako by to mal dokazat.
Ale naspet ku knihe. Kniha sa snazi drzat istu chronologicku postupnost, co je ale nie vzdy mozne dodrzat. Obcas pri zakonceni pribehu niektorej z postav kniha nakratko skace do buducnosti, co by bolo fajn, keby sa dana postava uz dalej v pribehu nevyskytovala. Autor casto skace medzi postavami, takze je pre citatela narocne udrzat si v hlave uceleny pribeh pre kazdu z postav, ale chapem, ze inak sa to napisat asi nedalo. Napriek vsetkym drobnym vyhradam sa mne ako fanusikovi historickych pribehov z obdobia druhej svetovej vojny tato kniha nemohla nepacit.
December 27, 2023
“I was stunned. I shouldn’t have been-after so many years in Hitlerland-but I was” William Shirer
This is an excellent text that gives you the perspective of American journalists and diplomats that were in Nazi Germany all the way up to Germany’s declaration of war on the United States at the end of 1941. Unless of course you were George Kennan and you were being held by Nazi authorities teaching classes in Russian History and being the catcher in the baseball league the captured journalists/diplomats made up to pass the time.
The aspects that I really enjoyed in this text were the encounters people from the United States had with Adolf Hitler. Needless to say many in the text underestimated Hitler. It really dispels the Hitler myth, stories such as Hitler feeding a squirrel or Hitler shooting a snowball that someone through (Hitler’s love of westerns??). On a serious note and more importantly the always sure Hitler (it didn’t exist.) For example Hitler being scared when listing grievances against the other European countries.
Hitler was though a politician who possessed “an uncanny ability to tap into the emotions and anger of the German people and those who dismissed him as a clownish figure who would vanish from the political scene.” It makes me wonder how much of todays politics both in the United States and Europe harness anger and what qualities these politicians possess?
This text should make one want to stay vigilant against any fascist creep. Hitler admired things about the United States such as the treatment of the Native Americans and The KKK. Sinclair Lewis wrote, It Can’t Happen Here as a warning not as a joke because it can in fact happen here. Look at how tolerant Berlin was during the Weimar Era and look at what it became once Adolf Hitler came to power.
This is an excellent text that gives you the perspective of American journalists and diplomats that were in Nazi Germany all the way up to Germany’s declaration of war on the United States at the end of 1941. Unless of course you were George Kennan and you were being held by Nazi authorities teaching classes in Russian History and being the catcher in the baseball league the captured journalists/diplomats made up to pass the time.
The aspects that I really enjoyed in this text were the encounters people from the United States had with Adolf Hitler. Needless to say many in the text underestimated Hitler. It really dispels the Hitler myth, stories such as Hitler feeding a squirrel or Hitler shooting a snowball that someone through (Hitler’s love of westerns??). On a serious note and more importantly the always sure Hitler (it didn’t exist.) For example Hitler being scared when listing grievances against the other European countries.
Hitler was though a politician who possessed “an uncanny ability to tap into the emotions and anger of the German people and those who dismissed him as a clownish figure who would vanish from the political scene.” It makes me wonder how much of todays politics both in the United States and Europe harness anger and what qualities these politicians possess?
This text should make one want to stay vigilant against any fascist creep. Hitler admired things about the United States such as the treatment of the Native Americans and The KKK. Sinclair Lewis wrote, It Can’t Happen Here as a warning not as a joke because it can in fact happen here. Look at how tolerant Berlin was during the Weimar Era and look at what it became once Adolf Hitler came to power.
April 30, 2021
Well-written, fast-reading account of what various Americans saw (and thought about what they saw) in Germany and Austria in the 1920s and 1930s (into 1942) with the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Though the reader definitely gets some history from this time period, with accounts of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, the Nuremberg rallies, the Reichstag fire in 1933, the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, the 1936 Olympics, the tumultuous year of 1938 with the Anschluss, the Munich Agreement, and Kristallnacht, the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, as well as what life was like in Germany from the days of the Weimer Republic to after the invasion of the Soviet Union, this book isn’t really a history of those events. Rather, the book is what Americans witnessed and what they thought about these events, and why they wrote or spoke about what they saw the way the did. It’s essentially a presentation of “the first draft of history,” of what American diplomats and their families, American journalists, business people, and tourists saw and experienced from the earliest days of Hitler as a public figure to the expulsion and homecoming of the last Americans after Germany and the United States declared war on one another.
It was an interesting read, with Americans again and again the “truly privileged eyewitnesses to history,” that they were people who could witness the rise of fascism, anti-Semitism, and the march towards war from “a protected vantage point.” Whether protected legally by not being German citizens, or diplomatically by being diplomats, or with the freedom to leave Germany whenever they wanted, or insulated by the privilege of wealth, or by not being Jewish, or just being blissfully ignorant of the danger they were in, they could be in the midst of some rather ugly events and associate with some dangerous people and be more or less safe (though they weren’t always safe, as some of the accounts in the book showed).
You don’t get a lot of in-depth history of the events the Americans witnessed. Some events are covered in as little as a paragraph, others in just a few pages. What the reader does get is how Americans were involved (if they were at all, and sometimes they were), what they actually saw, what they thought about what they saw (be prepared to read quite a few first impressions of Hitler, a man who apparently did not leave a great first, initial impression), and what they decided to tell others about what they saw (and also what years later they wished to be thought of with regards to what they wrote and said, with the author noting when people later equivocated on or spun what they said or wrote). Did people downplay the Nazi threat? If an American observer did, this is discussed and reasons why are explored, whether it was confirmation bias, effective Nazi propaganda, or some reason for the Nazis not to be seen as a danger. Did they shout from the rooftops about a threat? Why they did this is explored by the author, such as what made them worried about the Nazis. In both cases the effects are sometimes also explored, both at home (what did the State Department or FDR think for instance, or their newspaper editor) and abroad (were they frozen out of contact with Nazi officials, expelled from the country, or drawn in closer to the Nazi orbit?).
Sometimes the focus could be if not odd, then not what I expected. For the most part there is no strong narrative drive to focus on particular Americans. An event comes up, such as say the German invasion of Poland, and the author discusses what this diplomat or that foreign correspondent said and wrote about it. If the person being discussed was mentioned before, they are maybe briefly reintroduced. If this is that person’s first appearance, then they might get a biography, perhaps even several pages. Many figures, such as say a particular tourist, might only ever appear once in the narrative, their contribution over in a few paragraphs.
Some figures do come up again and again or otherwise made a huge impression, such as Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl (German-American businessmen who lived in Germany, for a time a very close personal friend of Hitler’s but later fell out of favor and had to escape Germany, a very colorful man), Helen Niemeyer (for a time married to Putzi, possibly Hitler had romantic interest in her, and possibly at one point she saved Hitler from committing suicide), George Kennan (most famous for his Cold War containment policy against the Soviet Union, but for a time served in Berlin at the U.S. Embassy), Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker (famed American reporter, “a red-haired, hard-charging Texan” who worked in Germany for ten years and in addition to writing for American newspapers wrote books and articles in German for Germans too), Dorothy Thompson (American journalist who wrote very critically of Hitler and was the first American journalist expelled from Germany, the Nazis deporting her in 1934), Martha Dodd (daughter of William E. Dodd, FDR’s first ambassador to Germany, a woman who later became a Soviet spy, who lived in Berlin from 1933-1937), George Messersmith (U.S. Consul General in Berlin from 1930 to 1934, a fierce Nazi opponent), Truman Smith (first American diplomat to meet Hitler, served twice as a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin), and Thomas Wolfe (American novelist, first well loved in Germany, later his novella _I Have a Thing to Tell You_ about his time in Germany got his formerly loved books banned by the Nazis and him banned from returning, though he passed away in 1938).
Speaking for myself, as far as the events in Nazi Germany (and later Austria) I didn’t learn a lot new about those events, though I did find useful the feeling of what life was actually like there, for Americans, Germans, Jews, comparing and contrasting daily life in Weimar Germany with how life changed under the Nazis during the various stages of the Nazification of the country. It was interesting to learn how few people read Hitler’s book, whether opponents or supporters of Hitler. People seemed again and again to bring up Nazi anti-Semitism to Hitler or other Nazis and then often quickly find a reason to not worry about it (perhaps comparing it to anti-Semitism in the United States, not understanding the vast degrees of difference between a club in the U.S. excluding Jewish people and say semi-open talks in Germany about genocide), as if they were searching for a reason to not worry about it, though to their credit many American diplomats and journalists sounded the alarm again and again. I hadn’t known about Geli Raubal, Hitler’s half-niece, daughter of his half-sister, who appeared to have an inappropriate relationship with Hitler and who Hitler possibly murdered in 1931 at the age of twenty-three (officially labeled a suicide, one Putzi worked with others to cover up). It was also interesting to read how many people thought that somewhere there were “moderate Nazis” that would appear at some point to rein in Hitler, or that Hitler was just some sort of figurehead or public face and someone had to be behind him.
It was an interesting read, with Americans again and again the “truly privileged eyewitnesses to history,” that they were people who could witness the rise of fascism, anti-Semitism, and the march towards war from “a protected vantage point.” Whether protected legally by not being German citizens, or diplomatically by being diplomats, or with the freedom to leave Germany whenever they wanted, or insulated by the privilege of wealth, or by not being Jewish, or just being blissfully ignorant of the danger they were in, they could be in the midst of some rather ugly events and associate with some dangerous people and be more or less safe (though they weren’t always safe, as some of the accounts in the book showed).
You don’t get a lot of in-depth history of the events the Americans witnessed. Some events are covered in as little as a paragraph, others in just a few pages. What the reader does get is how Americans were involved (if they were at all, and sometimes they were), what they actually saw, what they thought about what they saw (be prepared to read quite a few first impressions of Hitler, a man who apparently did not leave a great first, initial impression), and what they decided to tell others about what they saw (and also what years later they wished to be thought of with regards to what they wrote and said, with the author noting when people later equivocated on or spun what they said or wrote). Did people downplay the Nazi threat? If an American observer did, this is discussed and reasons why are explored, whether it was confirmation bias, effective Nazi propaganda, or some reason for the Nazis not to be seen as a danger. Did they shout from the rooftops about a threat? Why they did this is explored by the author, such as what made them worried about the Nazis. In both cases the effects are sometimes also explored, both at home (what did the State Department or FDR think for instance, or their newspaper editor) and abroad (were they frozen out of contact with Nazi officials, expelled from the country, or drawn in closer to the Nazi orbit?).
Sometimes the focus could be if not odd, then not what I expected. For the most part there is no strong narrative drive to focus on particular Americans. An event comes up, such as say the German invasion of Poland, and the author discusses what this diplomat or that foreign correspondent said and wrote about it. If the person being discussed was mentioned before, they are maybe briefly reintroduced. If this is that person’s first appearance, then they might get a biography, perhaps even several pages. Many figures, such as say a particular tourist, might only ever appear once in the narrative, their contribution over in a few paragraphs.
Some figures do come up again and again or otherwise made a huge impression, such as Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl (German-American businessmen who lived in Germany, for a time a very close personal friend of Hitler’s but later fell out of favor and had to escape Germany, a very colorful man), Helen Niemeyer (for a time married to Putzi, possibly Hitler had romantic interest in her, and possibly at one point she saved Hitler from committing suicide), George Kennan (most famous for his Cold War containment policy against the Soviet Union, but for a time served in Berlin at the U.S. Embassy), Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker (famed American reporter, “a red-haired, hard-charging Texan” who worked in Germany for ten years and in addition to writing for American newspapers wrote books and articles in German for Germans too), Dorothy Thompson (American journalist who wrote very critically of Hitler and was the first American journalist expelled from Germany, the Nazis deporting her in 1934), Martha Dodd (daughter of William E. Dodd, FDR’s first ambassador to Germany, a woman who later became a Soviet spy, who lived in Berlin from 1933-1937), George Messersmith (U.S. Consul General in Berlin from 1930 to 1934, a fierce Nazi opponent), Truman Smith (first American diplomat to meet Hitler, served twice as a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin), and Thomas Wolfe (American novelist, first well loved in Germany, later his novella _I Have a Thing to Tell You_ about his time in Germany got his formerly loved books banned by the Nazis and him banned from returning, though he passed away in 1938).
Speaking for myself, as far as the events in Nazi Germany (and later Austria) I didn’t learn a lot new about those events, though I did find useful the feeling of what life was actually like there, for Americans, Germans, Jews, comparing and contrasting daily life in Weimar Germany with how life changed under the Nazis during the various stages of the Nazification of the country. It was interesting to learn how few people read Hitler’s book, whether opponents or supporters of Hitler. People seemed again and again to bring up Nazi anti-Semitism to Hitler or other Nazis and then often quickly find a reason to not worry about it (perhaps comparing it to anti-Semitism in the United States, not understanding the vast degrees of difference between a club in the U.S. excluding Jewish people and say semi-open talks in Germany about genocide), as if they were searching for a reason to not worry about it, though to their credit many American diplomats and journalists sounded the alarm again and again. I hadn’t known about Geli Raubal, Hitler’s half-niece, daughter of his half-sister, who appeared to have an inappropriate relationship with Hitler and who Hitler possibly murdered in 1931 at the age of twenty-three (officially labeled a suicide, one Putzi worked with others to cover up). It was also interesting to read how many people thought that somewhere there were “moderate Nazis” that would appear at some point to rein in Hitler, or that Hitler was just some sort of figurehead or public face and someone had to be behind him.
November 11, 2015
This is a brilliant book sharing the point of view of diplomats and Western journalists in Germany from the 1930'3 to 1942. Many quotes and diary accounts are included and I can say it is unlike anything I've read. Underneath each account is our realization of what was coming or the real danger in which these people found themselves. It's like a horror movie when we cry, "Don't open the door, don't go down the basement stairs". Hitler's hypnotic charisma was reported over and over again to exist only in his public speeches. It didn't extend to his personality or any social graces or friendships or women.
From the observations of Hitler's early beer hall speeches to the parties, food and liquor given freely to the the diplomats and press we see Germany's special treatment of Americans. This was a purposeful action to keep the Americans out of any war. Their is a story, 1922, of Hitler fleeing the police and putting a gun to his head, only to be talked out of it by a diplomat's wife, with whom he had a close relationship, Helen Putzi.
This book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in WW2.
December 6, 2013
This well-written book proves that Andrew Nagorski thoroughly researched the Nazi Rise to Power in the 1930s. Essentially, this story covers the account of American correspondents prior to when Hitler launched his attack on Poland. Hitler wiped Poland out in four short weeks. The account covers how Nazi officials dealt with the embassy staff for the United States Consulate, and Nagorski shows readers 1930s Germany from the perspective of the embassy staff. I found the interviews with Hilter to be enlightening, because there were somewhat shocking things I had never before read. Example: There was a General Motors plant in Germany and an American was an overseer of the operation during this time! I enjoyed this book, yet I was disturbed by eerie parallel with our present day. For example, the media then was designed to deceive the masses, and I perceive that our media today is likewise biased and distorted. After reading this book, I am more convinced than ever that history does indeed repeat itself -- and that can be a fearful thing.
March 16, 2013
Hitlerland is a useful survey of the attitudes expressed by Americans who witnessed the rise of the Nazis to power from the 1920s onward and their reactions to Nazi policies in the 1930s. The author integrates a number of important Americans, ie; US Ambassador Wiiliam Dodd, the journalist William L. Shirer, George kennan, Dorothy Thompson etc in ascertaining what Americans thought concerning the events that they witnessed. If you want to get a flavor of what it was like for Americans in Germany as World War II approached and reactions to the rising anti-semitism under the Nazi regime this book should be of interest.
April 18, 2018
This does a great job of giving a perspective of what it was like to see it all unfold. It was a little dry and not much of an overall story or plot, but some great episodes and worth the time and perspective.
June 8, 2019
A well-written book that takes a different aspect on the lead up to WWII.
July 25, 2022
A fascinating study of Germany between the two wars, and how Hitler was viewed by journalists, visitors, politicians, and other state officials during that time. Of course there ‘seems’ to be parallels to current events here, and most would not be surprised at the ease of finding such parallels. But current politics aside, it is a remarkable book by Nagorski.
Not withstanding the somewhat ‘lightweight’ title (which was actually used during this time, and is explained later in the book), it’s also an excellent look at how a large segment of a nation can be hoodwinked into following a somewhat comical figure towards a repressive and authoritarian society. And how many people did not take it seriously enough at first. Especially in the United States during that time.
Of course, a person running for office here would never be able to gain the top office in the land by knowing how ‘to tap into his countrymen’s worst instincts by playing on their fears, resentments, and prejudices…’, so no need to worry.
Not withstanding the somewhat ‘lightweight’ title (which was actually used during this time, and is explained later in the book), it’s also an excellent look at how a large segment of a nation can be hoodwinked into following a somewhat comical figure towards a repressive and authoritarian society. And how many people did not take it seriously enough at first. Especially in the United States during that time.
Of course, a person running for office here would never be able to gain the top office in the land by knowing how ‘to tap into his countrymen’s worst instincts by playing on their fears, resentments, and prejudices…’, so no need to worry.
April 2, 2013
In this superb history based on copious research, the author documents the large number of Americans who visited or lived in Germany during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the 1920s and '30s. They included the famous such as former President Herbert Hoover, aviator Charles Lindbergh, and author Sinclair Lewis, well-known journalists of the time, most notably William Shirer, author of THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, many state department officials, including three ambassadors, and many others from all walks of life. Beginning in 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, the nightmare began unfolding that culminated in the German invasion of Poland launching World War II on September 1, 1939. Americans stayed on in Germany until war was declared following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, at which time all remaining Americans, mostly journalists, were interned under crude conditions in an isolated, mothballed hotel. Amazingly, while many American observers were well aware of (and condemned) the vicious Nazi persecution of Jews and other minorities, some were Nazi apologists right up to wartime. Partly this is explained by the fact that many were German-Americans and partly by the fact that racism and anti-Semitism were rampant everywhere in the 1930s. Also, outside the political realm, Germans and Americans generally were prone to hold each other in high esteem despite the tension created by the rise of Nazism. Still, it is mind-boggling to find that some Americans could be so blind to the gross human rights violations perpetrated by Hitler's regime.
Among the colorful figures profiled in depth is the half-American Harvard College graduate, Ernest "Putzi" Hanfstaengl, who married another German-American from Hoboken, New Jersey. Husband and wife moved to Germany and became close friends and confidantes of Adolf Hitler when he was still struggling politically, and, in fact, Frau Hanfstaengl likely talked a despairing Hitler out of blowing his brains out with his pistol, much to humanity's misfortune. Putzi became a fervent Nazi, albeit somewhat of a jester and buffoon with his outsized physique and a personality to match who would jovially befriend American visitors and introduce them to the top Nazi leadership. Later he fell from grace and had to flee Germany for his life. Despite this, he never got over his awe for Hitler to his dying day. Another is Martha Dodd, the daughter of Ambassador William E. Dodd, who is profiled here in depth as she was in Erik Larson's IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN. Martha's is an intriguing case, because she was initially attracted to the Nazis and was somewhat of an apologist (and a lover of the first Gestapo chief, Rudolf Diels). However, when she discovered the ugly face of Nazi persecution and fell in love with a Russian envoy, she turned the tables and began spying for the Soviets. Martha and the wealthy American she eventually married, both longstanding Soviet spies, eventually fled to Prague, where she died in exile just before the fall of Communism. Still, her fate was not as grim as that of her good American friend during Berlin days, Mildred Harnack, one of the Red Orchestra Soviet spies, who was beheaded by the Gestapo along with her German husband, the only American woman to be executed by direct order of Adolf Hitler. Her last words were, "I loved Germany so much." Very highly recommended, particularly for twentieth century history buffs.
Among the colorful figures profiled in depth is the half-American Harvard College graduate, Ernest "Putzi" Hanfstaengl, who married another German-American from Hoboken, New Jersey. Husband and wife moved to Germany and became close friends and confidantes of Adolf Hitler when he was still struggling politically, and, in fact, Frau Hanfstaengl likely talked a despairing Hitler out of blowing his brains out with his pistol, much to humanity's misfortune. Putzi became a fervent Nazi, albeit somewhat of a jester and buffoon with his outsized physique and a personality to match who would jovially befriend American visitors and introduce them to the top Nazi leadership. Later he fell from grace and had to flee Germany for his life. Despite this, he never got over his awe for Hitler to his dying day. Another is Martha Dodd, the daughter of Ambassador William E. Dodd, who is profiled here in depth as she was in Erik Larson's IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN. Martha's is an intriguing case, because she was initially attracted to the Nazis and was somewhat of an apologist (and a lover of the first Gestapo chief, Rudolf Diels). However, when she discovered the ugly face of Nazi persecution and fell in love with a Russian envoy, she turned the tables and began spying for the Soviets. Martha and the wealthy American she eventually married, both longstanding Soviet spies, eventually fled to Prague, where she died in exile just before the fall of Communism. Still, her fate was not as grim as that of her good American friend during Berlin days, Mildred Harnack, one of the Red Orchestra Soviet spies, who was beheaded by the Gestapo along with her German husband, the only American woman to be executed by direct order of Adolf Hitler. Her last words were, "I loved Germany so much." Very highly recommended, particularly for twentieth century history buffs.
May 1, 2012
As a history major, I feel compelled to read some good old non-fiction history books occasionally. Hitlerland is just that, a good peek at Germany during the period following WWI and the beginning of WWII. In contrast to Eric Larson's "In The Garden of Beasts" last year, which focused more on the US Ambassador Dodd's time there, this book pulls on the reporters who covered the events in Germany during this time period. Using reports, memoirs (published & unpublished)& interviews, Nagorski walks you through a roller-coaster time and does his best to convey the era. He does a good job and I found it compelling and interesting reading, similar to Larson but different just enough. Eerily, the use of smearing someone by just calling them a Jew in Germany at that time made me think of the evil people today who use the same tactics in politics. (ex. those saying the President wasn't born in the US...will that fallacy ever stop, but it's been said by respected people in that party so it lives on and on with no truth attached)..we must never forget the lessons of the past and be aware when evil lifts it's head, which it always does. Not for the casual reader but history buffs will enjoy this book. I'd give it 3.5 if I could do half stars.
September 7, 2014
A well-written and interesting book on the Americans that witnessed Hitler’s rise to power and their differing perspectives on it. The book is a fairly easy read. Some of the stories have been well-documented elsewhere, while others are new, at least to me.
Nagorski brings together the recollections and experiences of all the Americans involved, although the context he provides is sometimes limited. It usually isn’t in-depth enough, but, then again, I assume the reader has at least a basic knowledge of the Nazis’ rise to power, so this isn’t a huge issue. Another problem, however, is that Nagorski often quotes the various eyewitnesses without providing a critique or analysis of what they said.
Nagorski does give us a good portrait of Berlin between the world wars, which in that time was a bit of a party town, even as the Nazis came to power. He also gives us good portraits of the various eyewitnesses, some of whom figured out who Hitler really was--a dangerous fanatic--even before he was well-known, and some who were fooled by his charisma and even actively assisted him. In any case, all of these witnesses were also busy living the high life in Berlin, and some of them were actually depressed by the new Nazi order Hitler ushered in.
In all, quite an interesting read.
Nagorski brings together the recollections and experiences of all the Americans involved, although the context he provides is sometimes limited. It usually isn’t in-depth enough, but, then again, I assume the reader has at least a basic knowledge of the Nazis’ rise to power, so this isn’t a huge issue. Another problem, however, is that Nagorski often quotes the various eyewitnesses without providing a critique or analysis of what they said.
Nagorski does give us a good portrait of Berlin between the world wars, which in that time was a bit of a party town, even as the Nazis came to power. He also gives us good portraits of the various eyewitnesses, some of whom figured out who Hitler really was--a dangerous fanatic--even before he was well-known, and some who were fooled by his charisma and even actively assisted him. In any case, all of these witnesses were also busy living the high life in Berlin, and some of them were actually depressed by the new Nazi order Hitler ushered in.
In all, quite an interesting read.
July 28, 2020
Hitlerland is a report about the time of hitler
It takes u to a place where he was real
Hitler was a live person
From poor farmers who left to the city's
Working at radio or news to report hitler
Travelers who went to nazi germany
Who then returned home to usa
The hitler Olympics
As epic as they where
Jessi Owen's smoked um.
The hindenburg blimp explodes.
Like titanic lost. Oh the humanity.
The threat of being
sent to concentration camp very real
A totalitarian regime
President herbert Hoover went to germany
He met with hitler
Many woman slept with hitler or his troops
Hitlerland was comprehensive report
From people or records of people
Who saw him.
Like a book by an average joe
Who met or saw news about jesus
Jesus land he turned water in to wine
I saw him do it.
In the end Soviets took over
Hitler was anti Soviet china
With out hitler
Europe may be more asian or african
He put up a fight about it
He was a nationalist in europe.
We couldn't have hitler books in prison
Any thing hitler was banned.
It takes u to a place where he was real
Hitler was a live person
From poor farmers who left to the city's
Working at radio or news to report hitler
Travelers who went to nazi germany
Who then returned home to usa
The hitler Olympics
As epic as they where
Jessi Owen's smoked um.
The hindenburg blimp explodes.
Like titanic lost. Oh the humanity.
The threat of being
sent to concentration camp very real
A totalitarian regime
President herbert Hoover went to germany
He met with hitler
Many woman slept with hitler or his troops
Hitlerland was comprehensive report
From people or records of people
Who saw him.
Like a book by an average joe
Who met or saw news about jesus
Jesus land he turned water in to wine
I saw him do it.
In the end Soviets took over
Hitler was anti Soviet china
With out hitler
Europe may be more asian or african
He put up a fight about it
He was a nationalist in europe.
We couldn't have hitler books in prison
Any thing hitler was banned.
November 14, 2016
I'm not sure where it started, but I seem to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about WWII and the unique series of events that led to it. This book was a perfect addition to my reading inventory because it gave me a new perspective about events that I have read about previously from authors in myriad positions and perspectives. I found it valuable to read about Europe's "march to the abyss" from the American angle and it helped me to learn about why isolationist America avoided that conflict for as long as it did despite the reports. This novel is not for the novice WWII enthusiast (though I am no expert either) because it relies on the reader's prerequisite knowledge of the major events in Nazi Germany, WWI, and WWII. However, this was an enlightening read that only dredges up more horrors from this Era, but a valuable one for our current times.
March 13, 2017
This was a very timely read in light of nations all over the world shifting to the right. Timely and eerie. Much here to consider - taking an objective step back - especially in America. It's almost laying out the playbook that the current American president is using. Now, I'm not saying he's Hitler, but much of the rhetoric, deflections, banning the press from the White House and using only those who are friendly, etc., look too similar to what happened in Germany from 1923-41 to not take notice. Those similarities aside, this was a fascinating book. There's a good mix of personal accounts, so you read those from people who had eyes open, and those who were under the Hitler spell. Very interesting, and at times frightening. Every American should be required to read this one, especially in 2017...
March 2, 2025
Absolutely fascinating! An eyewitness account of the rise of Hitler and Nazism from American journalists, diplomats, writers etc. stationed or visiting Germany at the time. We all know the conclusion of the Nazi regime but I was interested in how, how did so many underestimate, allow, excuse, follow until it became to big and powerful to stop. This book gives you a look at how it happened. How a seemingly simple man, a politician, thought of as everything from a clown to charismatic, to Godlike, to fanatic with an innate ability to tap into the anger and emotion of a people better than most, rise so far and do so much damage with so many eyewitnesses. Sound familiar? Highly recommend. A good time to read.
January 6, 2016
The focus is the American press correspondents and to a lesser extent the diplomatic corps posted in Berlin throughout the '20s and '30s and the time frame referenced by the title. This makes for good reading if for nothing other than the anecdotal accounts of those who, for example, had the opportunity to personally interview Hitler, attend parties and other functions with top Nazi brass such as Goering and Goebbels, and who had regular contact and interaction with the everyday German citizen. I'm not an authority on the topic but I believe it is probably as credible and objective account of what was really taking place during that time in Germany as can be found.
January 8, 2013
This book's appearance is especially timely for those who just read the new book about US Ambassador Dodd and his first year in Berlin - 1933-1934. Readers of that book may have been curious to know more about the reporters whose names were mentioned. This volume satisfies such curiousity in a comprehensive and vivid manner -- covering almost the entire Weimar Republic era as well as the NSDAP years 1933-1941 (until just after the US and Germany were at war).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews