The Nightmare

by C.S. Forester

During the dozen years of the Nazi regime in Germany, crimes were committed, usually quite legally and according to the letter of the law, that could hardly find a parallel in the most debased days of the Roman Empire. This is the story of the blood-drenched Third Reich, written by one of the most gifted writers of our time.Evidence; The Bower of Roses; Miriam's Miracle; The Physiology of Fear; Indecision; The Head and the Feet; The Unbelievable; The Hostage; To Be Given to God; The Wandering Gentile.

Genres: Short Stories, Historical Fiction, World War II, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure and military crusades. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, about naval warfare during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen (1935; filmed in 1951 by John Huston). His novels A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours were jointly awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful collection of excellent short stories about Nazi Germany. One theme seems to be critical moments that could have changed the course of history: "Evidence" about the fabricated pretext for the invasion of Poland and "Indecision" about an officer's dithering over whether to join the attempted coup against Hitler. Shows Forrester's "serious" side i.e his ability to tackle grim, contemporary (relatively speaking) topics. If you like this I'd recommend his collection of WW II stories about the U.S. navy in the Pacific, The Man in the Yellow Raft.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of stories on WWII. Though fiction, they are based upon real reports from the war which gives them extreme realism. And every story is in fact a nightmare. All focus is on the horror of the war and how it affected both the victims and the Nazis inflicting the horrors upon them. Really great work examining the psychology of the Nazi regime, first rate stories all the way through.

Maybe the final story is not based on true facts. Or maybe it is.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written almost a decade after the defeat of the Nazi regime, Forester has composed a number of gripping short stories, each of which reveals and condemns a particular aspect of the twisted psychology of the Nazis and the unspeakable horrors they brought upon their victims and--ultimately--upon themselves. A timely reminder of a nation gone mad.

[Joe Mellanby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting stories about WW2. A unique take from an English side.

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories with twists in their tales. The last story is the weakest of them all.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically well written, as expected from a well-respected author. However, from the cover and introduction by the author I expected a much more critical perspective on the Nazi atrocities, and felt by the end of the book I had almost read an apologia!

The books seems to suggest, by making the majority of the character's suffering from the 'nightmare' regime of this period in German history, that the true victims were ordinary Germans rather than the minorities whose persecution they enabled. I found the story of the trial from the delusional camp commandant's persetive very effective for not taking this apologetic tone. But the final story, a 'what if Hitler survived...' story, just seems utterly disrespectful to the true victims of these atrocities.

Overall, disappointed in tone of this work. It's mostly exploitation fiction.

[Glyn Pope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just completed this book of short stories. My edition is from 1959, though the book was first published in 1954. The cover shows the horror of Nazism. It tells the tale but the art of the cover does not match the quality of C.S. Forester's writing. In my mind's eye I can see my Father reading this book when I was about ten. My Father lived through the horrors C.S. Forester describes, particularly in the story To Be Given To God. My Father was one of the first soldiers to liberate Belsen.
Historically the stories are very good. C.S. Forester's wrath is against the SS, and even then one story shows some sympathy for a member of the SS.
Well worth reading.
Four stars? Because the last story was silly. Don't bother with The Wandering Gentile.

[J Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Third Reich was a bad scene. Seriously, it's good to be reminded of that upon occasion. This is essentially a book of horror stories... but not of supernatural horror. Only the last tale, "The Wandering Gentile", gets into Twilight Zone territory. All the others, while not specifically based on true events, could have happened. And much worse probably did. It's a grim read, but gripping. Most of the stories have as their protagonists members of the German army or Nazi SS...some are even portrayed sympathetically, as human beings (Forester is great at providing small details that really bring characters to life).... making what they do, what they've become, all the more horrible.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Evidence
The bower of roses (aka The key to power)--3
Miriam's miracle
The physiology of fear--2
*Indecision
The head and the feet--2
*The unbelievable
The hostage--4
To be given to God
The wandering Gentile

[Ct · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written ten years after WWII is unique because it is told from the point of view of the German military. It was chilling.

[Marshall Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clearest insight into the Nazi terror I've found.