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Hashtag Histories
#Berlin45: The Final Days of Hitler's Third Reich
What if.......there had been Social Media during World War II?
The compelling story of the final 20 days of Hitler's Third Reich told in the form of Twitter feeds with daily tweets and actual statements by Hitler, Churchill, Truman, Zhukov, Eisenhower, Goebbels, Bormann, Weidling, Krebs, Keitel, Jodl, Patton, Bradley, Heinrici, Konev, Chuikov, Eva Braun and many others.
The story begins with the announcement of, and reactions to, the death of President Franklin D. Rooselvelt and follows the thoughts and actions of the main participants through the capture of Vienna, the Battle of Seelow Heights, the liberation of the concentration camps, the Battle of Berlin, the death of Hitler and the eventual surrender of Reich forces.
The compelling story of the final 20 days of Hitler's Third Reich told in the form of Twitter feeds with daily tweets and actual statements by Hitler, Churchill, Truman, Zhukov, Eisenhower, Goebbels, Bormann, Weidling, Krebs, Keitel, Jodl, Patton, Bradley, Heinrici, Konev, Chuikov, Eva Braun and many others.
The story begins with the announcement of, and reactions to, the death of President Franklin D. Rooselvelt and follows the thoughts and actions of the main participants through the capture of Vienna, the Battle of Seelow Heights, the liberation of the concentration camps, the Battle of Berlin, the death of Hitler and the eventual surrender of Reich forces.
97 pages, ebook
First published August 28, 2013
55 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Philip Gibson
66 books7 followersI am a retired teacher of English, having taught and lived in (in order): England, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Laos.
I came to Laos 22 years ago, married a Lao lady and now live with my wife and two teenage boys on our small farm on the forested banks of the Nam Ngum River (tributary of the Mekong) about 25 miles from the capital city of Vientiane.
I came to Laos 22 years ago, married a Lao lady and now live with my wife and two teenage boys on our small farm on the forested banks of the Nam Ngum River (tributary of the Mekong) about 25 miles from the capital city of Vientiane.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 26, 2015
I really wanted to like #Berlin45 but I thought it was a #fail. I love the premise of seeing the last days of Berlin during WWII play out as if social media was available so many years ago. This is really a hard idea to pull off. Since this is a serious subject, you don't want to make a joke of it by using too much hashtag/twitter speak of today. Yet, to a point, that is what I expected.
The book actually wasn't written in hashtags, but short comments, as if the person speaking was posting on Twitter. A lot of what was said, though, likely would never be posted to Twitter because it was information about the war that military/political personnel would never have posted publicly. An example is Harry Truman posting that he was about go into a meeting about the Manhattan Project. He would not have publicly mentioned the Manhattan Project until after the bomb was dropped, and certainly not on Twitter. There were moments that I could see some hope. I liked that author Philip Gibson used NY Times and Reuters postings as "characters". Those were plausible posts to me. John Q. Public would follow the news outlets and expect to read what was going on in the war through the big new streams. I don't think that Eisenhower, Patton, Stalin, Hitler, etc. would be posting information about active maneuvers and war plans, though.
There were no hashtags used, no idea that this book was anything other than short quotes that you might read in someone's diary. The only modern technique employed was the use of email addresses for each character.
The historical information was well and good. It did show how crazy life was for the characters involved in those days. I just thought that the idea of putting the events of those last few days into the context of social media did not come through. I think I would have enjoyed it more, if it was written in documentary/biographical form. If you're going to try to use a modern technique, you have to go all in. #onlyworth2stars
The book actually wasn't written in hashtags, but short comments, as if the person speaking was posting on Twitter. A lot of what was said, though, likely would never be posted to Twitter because it was information about the war that military/political personnel would never have posted publicly. An example is Harry Truman posting that he was about go into a meeting about the Manhattan Project. He would not have publicly mentioned the Manhattan Project until after the bomb was dropped, and certainly not on Twitter. There were moments that I could see some hope. I liked that author Philip Gibson used NY Times and Reuters postings as "characters". Those were plausible posts to me. John Q. Public would follow the news outlets and expect to read what was going on in the war through the big new streams. I don't think that Eisenhower, Patton, Stalin, Hitler, etc. would be posting information about active maneuvers and war plans, though.
There were no hashtags used, no idea that this book was anything other than short quotes that you might read in someone's diary. The only modern technique employed was the use of email addresses for each character.
The historical information was well and good. It did show how crazy life was for the characters involved in those days. I just thought that the idea of putting the events of those last few days into the context of social media did not come through. I think I would have enjoyed it more, if it was written in documentary/biographical form. If you're going to try to use a modern technique, you have to go all in. #onlyworth2stars
March 20, 2014
A very interesting and innovative way of looking at the death throes of the Third Reich. It reminded me a lot of the movie "Der Untergang" (aka "Downfall" or "that one film with that one scene where Hitler throws a tantrum that became an internet meme"). I think the book must have taken a long time to research. So many different people's POVs were presented.
I do kind of wish the tweets had been written in a more, well, Twitter-y way, with hashtags and whatnot. That's what kept it from being a five-star book for me.
I do kind of wish the tweets had been written in a more, well, Twitter-y way, with hashtags and whatnot. That's what kept it from being a five-star book for me.
January 9, 2014
Enjoyable read
you really get the a sense of the craziness during this time period.. would have given five stars had there been a little humor but given the topic understand the difficulty in doing that.... just would have made it more Twitter like...love the idea
you really get the a sense of the craziness during this time period.. would have given five stars had there been a little humor but given the topic understand the difficulty in doing that.... just would have made it more Twitter like...love the idea
December 25, 2013
Innovative...
January 14, 2014
Unique and very interesting.
September 26, 2020
I began reading this book, at first, out of curiosity for the imagination of its author. Now, who wouldn’t be intrigued enough to read these messages--social, political, and personal--put together as tweets, in the same style as today’s social media such as Twitter about the events of the last months of World War II?
The idea of tweets offers an inimitable outlook to history. I thought I knew all about the subject when I began reading the book, but then, I saw that this style brought out into light the human element more deeply than any dry historical account, together with more valuable context such as political stupidity, refusal of reality, and the horrors of war.
In the book, some of the statements are written from the viewpoints of the characters, and others are entered as tweets from their actual statements at the time. Some of the characters tweeting in the book are: Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Truman, Eisenhower, Zhukov, Borman, Goebbels, Himmler, Patton, Bradley, Wilhelm Bittrich, Eva Braun, Magda Goebbels, German Generals, Russian Generals, NY Times, Pravda, Reuters, and Richard Dimbleby.
As an example, here is a tweet by Trudl Junge, a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary.
“Trudl Junge@TJunge-- Fraulein Braun has today joined us in the Fuhrerbunker. I do so hope this will lighten the fuhrer's mood which has become so dark of late.”
The tweets, by the Axis and the Allies, run from some time in 1945 during the ending of the war with the battles raging day and night until Berlin fell. The ending wasn’t pretty with Magda Goebbels poisoning her six children and Hitler and Eva’s suicides and the aides burning their bodies before they could be mishandled in the Allies hands.
This type of historical account doesn’t mean that we should skip over our history books. I think we should value them both. History books give us the dry facts; this book gave me a unique perspective into the events and mostly into the characters.
I think the idea behind the style of this book is innovative and astute, and it can only help increase any reader’s interest and enjoyment in the subject.
The idea of tweets offers an inimitable outlook to history. I thought I knew all about the subject when I began reading the book, but then, I saw that this style brought out into light the human element more deeply than any dry historical account, together with more valuable context such as political stupidity, refusal of reality, and the horrors of war.
In the book, some of the statements are written from the viewpoints of the characters, and others are entered as tweets from their actual statements at the time. Some of the characters tweeting in the book are: Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Truman, Eisenhower, Zhukov, Borman, Goebbels, Himmler, Patton, Bradley, Wilhelm Bittrich, Eva Braun, Magda Goebbels, German Generals, Russian Generals, NY Times, Pravda, Reuters, and Richard Dimbleby.
As an example, here is a tweet by Trudl Junge, a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary.
“Trudl Junge@TJunge-- Fraulein Braun has today joined us in the Fuhrerbunker. I do so hope this will lighten the fuhrer's mood which has become so dark of late.”
The tweets, by the Axis and the Allies, run from some time in 1945 during the ending of the war with the battles raging day and night until Berlin fell. The ending wasn’t pretty with Magda Goebbels poisoning her six children and Hitler and Eva’s suicides and the aides burning their bodies before they could be mishandled in the Allies hands.
This type of historical account doesn’t mean that we should skip over our history books. I think we should value them both. History books give us the dry facts; this book gave me a unique perspective into the events and mostly into the characters.
I think the idea behind the style of this book is innovative and astute, and it can only help increase any reader’s interest and enjoyment in the subject.
August 25, 2024
It just doesn’t keep you hooked.
May 30, 2016
It is a sweet premise: if Twitter had existed during WWII, what might the feed look like as Berlin fell? If you expect hashtags and LOLs, you will be disappointed; these "tweets" sent by the movers and shakers (and their "social-media associates") in the Allied and Axis Powers are formal and complete with proper punctuation and spelling. If you hoped for a succinct presentation of attitudes and events, you will find a goldmine here.
As example, I'll share a juxtaposed pair of tweets that epitomizes revelations from the Twitter-stream that one might not acquire from reading a formal history.
This pair lie adjacent in the feed from Friday, April 27, 1945, as the Goebbels family, Hitler, and Eva Braun share the safety of the Führerbunker:
There are many of these "accidental" insights buried in the flow of comments. I also found it helpful to search Wikipedia (easy to do from my Kindle) for each of the named persons, reminding myself with the online descriptions of details that were not apparent from the Twitter feed. I could see this being one more useful tool for teaching history, fresh and easily understood.
The story encompasses 20 days of the Fall of Berlin, beginning with the death of FDR, with quotes and paraphrases of quotes from historical figures (Eleanor Roosevelt, Truman, Stalin, and Churchill; Patton and Zhukov, Jodl, and Heinrici; Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels; Pravda, Reuters and the BBC).
These are real quotes, the actual words of people who mostly died long before social media became a common communication mode. For his sources, Gibson appends an impressive list of references that begins with Shirer's massive The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. That is a tome I have begun to read at least 8 times in my life, with little success in finishing it.
I guarantee, the Twitter version is more accessible.
As example, I'll share a juxtaposed pair of tweets that epitomizes revelations from the Twitter-stream that one might not acquire from reading a formal history.
This pair lie adjacent in the feed from Friday, April 27, 1945, as the Goebbels family, Hitler, and Eva Braun share the safety of the Führerbunker:
Magda Goebbels @MGoebbels
The only bathtub in the bunker is in the Führer’s quarters, and he has so kindly offered it for the use of all our 6 children
Adolf Hitler @AHitler
Early this morning, I ordered the flooding of the Berlin underground to slow the advancing Soviets
There are many of these "accidental" insights buried in the flow of comments. I also found it helpful to search Wikipedia (easy to do from my Kindle) for each of the named persons, reminding myself with the online descriptions of details that were not apparent from the Twitter feed. I could see this being one more useful tool for teaching history, fresh and easily understood.
The story encompasses 20 days of the Fall of Berlin, beginning with the death of FDR, with quotes and paraphrases of quotes from historical figures (Eleanor Roosevelt, Truman, Stalin, and Churchill; Patton and Zhukov, Jodl, and Heinrici; Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels; Pravda, Reuters and the BBC).
These are real quotes, the actual words of people who mostly died long before social media became a common communication mode. For his sources, Gibson appends an impressive list of references that begins with Shirer's massive The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. That is a tome I have begun to read at least 8 times in my life, with little success in finishing it.
I guarantee, the Twitter version is more accessible.
December 26, 2014
Berlin fell to advancing Soviet forces in May 1945. In the final 20 days of Hitler’s Third Reich, key figures involved in the global struggle called World War II, were on edge, waiting for the final fall.
Philip Gibson’s #Berlin 45 is another in the Hashtag History series that gives the reader an inside view of momentous events in history through the medium of social media postings. In this volume, Gibson covers the final days of Hitler through Twitter postings that take the actual words of those immersed in the events of the day. What comes through clearly here is how Hitler, in the final days, was completely disconnected from reality, and how those around him coped with the fates that awaited them. Tweets from the Allied side, including the aftermath of FDR’s death and Harry Truman’s ascent to the presidency, are brought to life in a way that readers of the current generation can relate to.
In #Berlin 45, the reader can see how the more practical Germans tried desperately to make peace with the western Allies (American and British) to avoid falling under the Soviet sway, and the competition among the Soviet generals for pride of being the ‘first’ in Berlin.
In a short book, readers can see the horror of war and political foolishness in a way that is impossible in wordier historical accounts. Gibson brings the war to life and helps young people in the 21st century better understand a time in history that, though, many decades in our past, still impacts our lives today. I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Philip Gibson’s #Berlin 45 is another in the Hashtag History series that gives the reader an inside view of momentous events in history through the medium of social media postings. In this volume, Gibson covers the final days of Hitler through Twitter postings that take the actual words of those immersed in the events of the day. What comes through clearly here is how Hitler, in the final days, was completely disconnected from reality, and how those around him coped with the fates that awaited them. Tweets from the Allied side, including the aftermath of FDR’s death and Harry Truman’s ascent to the presidency, are brought to life in a way that readers of the current generation can relate to.
In #Berlin 45, the reader can see how the more practical Germans tried desperately to make peace with the western Allies (American and British) to avoid falling under the Soviet sway, and the competition among the Soviet generals for pride of being the ‘first’ in Berlin.
In a short book, readers can see the horror of war and political foolishness in a way that is impossible in wordier historical accounts. Gibson brings the war to life and helps young people in the 21st century better understand a time in history that, though, many decades in our past, still impacts our lives today. I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for this review.
January 4, 2015
The idea of Hashtag history is to put history in the context of today’s social media, by telling the story of important historical events through short 140 character tweets. While it is an interesting idea, I did not enjoy this book. There were too many characters and it became difficult to keep up with the various generals and commanders. The author made a good attempt at choosing the most salient comments and showing a variety of perspectives, but somehow reducing such a significant event to brief snippets felt stilted and the reader can quickly lose interest. It was an interesting notion, but without any illustrations it simply fell flat.
December 25, 2014
Gibson has given us a compelling and enjoyable way to witness history. Fans of alternate history, social media, and history itself will find a treasure trove in this face-paced, eminently readable and well researched volume written in hypothetical tweets.
March 7, 2014
Very interesting perspective. The final days of the Third Reich done on Twitter. And idea of what it might have been with social media back then.
April 15, 2014
Too short for my taste, not enough detail.
August 7, 2014
Interesting way to write.
August 16, 2014
what a way to read about WWII.. amusing & interesting. Perfect way for today's generation to know about those last days of the war.
August 17, 2015
A different take
This is certainly a new way to present history. My first of the hashtag series was enjoyable. I look forward to the next installments.
This is certainly a new way to present history. My first of the hashtag series was enjoyable. I look forward to the next installments.
February 12, 2016
Pretty Exciting
The quotes of High Ranking Men and Women . Quotes from newspapers and A day to day account of what happened during the battle of Berlin
The quotes of High Ranking Men and Women . Quotes from newspapers and A day to day account of what happened during the battle of Berlin
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews