1933

by Philip Metcalfe

Using letters, diaries and memoirs, Metcalfe distills the personalities, viewpoints and day-to-day reactions of five alert and often directly involved witnesses to Hitler's consolidation of power. They are: U.S. ambassador to Germany, William Dodd and his high-spirited daughter Martha; Bella Fromm, a glamorous German society columnist who was Jewish and made no secret ot it; Ernst Hanfstaengl, Hitler's somewhat buffoonish foreign-press chief; and Rudolf Diels, the first head of the Gestapo. Events and trends related here include the Reichstag fire, the turning-loose of the Storm Troops, book-burnings and the outbreak of violent, organized anti-Semitism. The bloody Roehm purge of June 30, 1934, when Hitler liquidated the homosexual leadership of the SA, had a shock effect on each of the five witnesses on whom Metcalfe focuses. Their varied reactions form the climax to this exciting, historically important book by a first-time author. Particularly intriguing is the account of the Gestapo chief's "courting" of the American diplomatic circle (Martha Dodd found his "sinister beauty" fascinating), largely in hopes of protecting himself from his enemies. Photos

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Roman, Holocaust, Historical

316 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read, based on diaries of five very different people who lived in Berlin in 1933 as the Hitler regime gained in power. Bella Fromm, a Jewish society reporter who knew everybody and anybody during this turbulent time. Putzi Hanfstanengl, a man who acten like Hitler's personal jester, running back and forth between Berlin and new York City where he had attended college, William Dodd who became the American ambassador to Germany in 1933 and his daughter, Martha, a communist sympathizer who at first was enthralled by the Naxi men and scandalized the state department by her actions and finally, the most interesting of all, Rudolf Diels, a young German lawyer who was extraordinarily bright and came to the notice of Hermann Goering who took him under his wing. He worked first for the Prussian police and then became Inspector general of the new GESTAPO, started by Goering, and many people mistakenly write that he was the first chief, but actually Goering kept that title for himself. At first, Diels was very engaged by the Nazi machine, even though he was no a member when he was made titular head of the Gestapo. What is fascinating is to watch his gradual awakening as to just what type of people he was serving and his efforts to get away from the Nazi's without losing his head in the process. As Dodd himself said of Diels, he was surprisingly honourable, and was dismissed in June of 1934 from the Gestapo by Goering because he was not ruthless. Goering then appointed the real monsters of the Gestapo, Himmler and Heydrich who turned the agency from an anti-communist unit into the vicious, terrifying, and murderoug group that came to the fore in Nazi Germany.

One of the most telling parts IMHO.
"I have decided to let you go and entrust Himmler with the Prussian Police." Goering informed Diels. "I will remain in command. The press has been informed. "Then Heydrich has triumphed" Diels observed.
"Just what is that supposed to mean?
"You will see in due time. Poor Germany."
With that Goering lost his temper. "You don't have to be sorry for Germany. Leave Germany to me. You have disappointed, compromised and abandoned me. Look to your own future."
"I always knew it would end this way."
"Just what do you mean by that?"
"Only that you would be advised to surround yourself with a most trusted bodyguard." Diels said leaving the room.

[Annette Koster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadat ik het boek van Eric Larson Garden of the beasts gelezen had, ontdekte ik dat Philip Metcalfe voor zijn boek 1933 dezelfde bronnen, vooral brieven en dagboeken, gebruikt had. Ik had dat boek jaren geleden gelezen, maar het enige dat ik me nog herinnerde was, dat ik het boeiend, maar ook nogal warrig vond en dat ik het met moeite uit gelezen had.
Het boek van Larson leest daarentegen als een trein en geeft een veel duidelijker beeld van de heftige wereld van diplomaten, journalisten en hoge SS,SA zen Gestapo lieden in het Berlijn van de jaren 1933-1937. De ervaringen van de Amerikaanse ambassadeur Dodd en zijn dochter Martha vormen de rode draad in het boek. Anderen zijn, soms belangrijke, bijfiguren.
Metcalfe heeft vijf hoofdpersonen; de hoofdstukken zijn vaak nogal fragmentarisch en er is geen duidelijke lijn in het boek. De matige Nederlandse vertaling draagt niet bij aan het leesgenot.
Beide boeken schetsen wel goed de chaos, wreedheid en willekeur van deze periode. Ook verbaas je je, maar dat is ook omdat je weet waartoe het geleid heeft, over hoe naïef en tolerant sommigen zich opstelden t.o. de nationaal-socialisten die toch al duidelijk hun ware gezicht lieten zien.

[Emiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

1933 leest als fictie, maar het is allemaal waargebeurd.

In het boek worden vijf vooraanstaande leden van de Berlijnse elite gevolgd, die in het jaar 1933 getuige zijn van de opkomst en uiteindelijke machtsgreep van Hitler en de nazi's in Duitsland. De Amerikaanse ambassadeur en zijn dochter, een Joodse journaliste, de perschef van Hitler en het hoofd van de Gestapo.

De Rijksdagbrand, de toenemende uitsluiting van joden, de Nacht van de Lange Messen - alle gebeurtenissen worden zo gedetailleerd beschreven, als lezer wordt je meegenomen naar dé diners en gala's in het Berlijn van 1933 en daar zie je hoe nazi-Duitsland langzaam afglijdt naar de totalitaire staat van de Tweede Wereldoorlog.

Over de oorlog, de concentratiekampen en de Holocaust wordt echter met geen woord gesproken in het boek (verschenen in 1989). Dat is misschien wel het indrukwekkendste van dit boek: de dramatische ironie (ook weer eens een term onthouden van literatuur op de middelbare school!). De hoofdpersonen in het boek hebben nog geen idee wat de wereld te wachten staat in de komende jaren en waar de nazi's toe in staat zijn - de lezer weet beter.

''In de kalme jaren 1935 en 1936 werd de revolutie de gewoonste zaak van de wereld en keerde het optimisme weer terug. Nog maar zelden bereikten afwijkende meningen uit Duitsland het buitenland, overstemd als ze werden door de jubelende menigten en het gestamp waarmee de Duitse leiders voortmarcheerden op hun weg de geschiedenis in.'''

Het boek eindigt in augustus 1934. De toekomst ligt nog open.

[Edmond Dantes · Rating 4 out of 5]

La "rivoluzione" Nazista vista dall'interno, il tracollo della Repubblica di Weimar , le violenze sanguinarie naziste, gli omicidi, i primi passi della politica razzista tedesca, la trasformazione dello stato nazista in uno stato di polizia, gli eeccessi delle SA e l'ascesa delle ben peggiori ma più sistemiche SS/Gestapo; Un racconto formidabikle e interessantissimo di 18 mesi dal Gennaio 1933 all'agosto 1934
Molti Pensavano di usare Hitler per i loro interessi.... ma lui aveva alla fine giocò tutti...
PS - Come sempre gli americani non capivano nulla di ciò che stava accadendo....

[Michel Verdonck · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10
Misschien een ietwat droog verslag van wat zich in Duitsland in 1933-1934 afspeelde toen Hitler aan de macht kwam. Je moet wel al het een en ander gelezen hebben over deze periode om de situatie te begrijpen, maar voor diegenen die hierin geïnteresseerd zijn, geeft het een originele kijk op de zaak.

[Mirella Ducasteele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het leest niet als een trein. Maar de inhoud is des te boeiender. Relaas aan de hand van bronnen van ooggetuigen in het Duitsland van 1933. Och arme de Duitse bevolking en wij maar denken, na de oorlog, dat bijna alle Duitsers Nazi's waren. Dat had je gedacht. Heel veel bijgeleerd.

[jedidja · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best history book I've read in a long time - it has a LOT of information but is so masterfully written that it almost feels like a novel. I can only imagine how much work must have gone into writing this book, especially considering the giant bibliography at the end.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad, horrific, and informative. Similar ground to Larson’s In the Garden of the Beasts, but includes perspectives from multiple individuals.

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't plan to finish this one. It has the same cast of characters as the more recent "In the Garden of the Beasts", however 1933 is VERY dry. I found a few interesting bits of color that were not in the "Garden", but not worth plodding through. However now also reading "Through Embassy Eyes" by Dodd's daughter, written in 1939 and am loving her female, first person narrative to complement "Garden".

[Jan Vranken · Rating 5 out of 5]

De dagelijkse realiteit van het opkomende nazisme en het gebrek aan realiteitszin van wie beter moest beter.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome and fascinating.

[Gianni BM Duvillier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alleen al om Fromm en Diels te leren kennen, de moeite. Maar er is nog zoveel meer.

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad we got the bad guy

[Peter Thurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read 1933, partly because it was such heavy subject material, and partly because I was trying too hard to connect 1933 and the rise of Hitler with 2017 and the rise of Trump. Indeed, I came away realizing just how different the two situations were, and somewhat surprisingly, just how much more we have to lose.

The book is written as a narrative piece of non-fiction, the material drawn from the journals of five people, two Americans and three Germans. Among the Americans, we hear from the Ambassador to Germany at the time, William Dodd and his daughter Martha, who ran with the diplomatic class of Berlin and as such, amassed a number of admirers, including Putzi Hanfstaengl, Hiter’s Chief of the Foreign press. His travels, and he took many, were just as interesting as his dilettante approach to Hitler’s early moves. I was taken by his daredevilish ways, escaping a party, held at his house and his honor for the purposes of convincing the German press that he was staying in Berlin, in order to go to North America to attend his Harvard reunion, something both America and Germany wanted to avoid.

Also, making an appearance is the first head of the Gestapo, Rudolph Diels. Painted with sympathetic brush, Diels time at the Gestapo was noted for his attempt to stop and/or mitigate the violence being perpetrated first by the Brown Shirts and then by their successors, the Black Shirts, who we know today as the Nazi political police force, the SS. Diels was close with another German, a journalist named Bella Fromm, who enjoyed much success as a member of Ullstein Press, one of Germany’s largest (and Jewish) newspaper chains. Travelling in the same diplomatic circles as Martha Dodd and Putzi Hanfstaengl, Diels was faced with several remarkable opportunities to mitigate and alleviate the suffering of many relatives and friends of those he knew, even convincing Goering and Hitler to move against members of the SS guilty of abuse of power and other atrocities at early concentration camps. It was ultimately Diels conscience that forced him out, and the author notes that he played a role in the prosecution’s case at the famous Nuremberg Trials.

The world being what it is today, I went into the book looking for similarities between Hitler and Trump. It’s kind of cliché among progressives these days to try and compare the two, and I thought I’d try to play the game as well. While it worked for a while, it broke down for me in a pretty freaky way when I realized two things:

1. Hitler was a true believer. Trump isn’t.
2. In 1933, war in Europe was the only way forward for Hitler. In the 21st century, conventional wars are passé and obsolete in part due to technology; Trump can destabilize global order significantly faster than Hitler could.

Quickly, so as not to give away the book – it is clear to most of us that have a working knowledge of Nazisim that Adolf Hitler was a true believer. He really did want the Jews destroyed, and he stopped at nothing to fulfill his aims. The book is filled with stories of double and triple crossing, as players move to consolidate their power around Hitler. I’m not so convinced that Donald Trump is a true believer in anything except himself. If there is anything this means, it is that political unpredictability will be just as challenging as it is for the true believer – in one case, appealing to power means proving your loyalty by purity, while in the other case it means proving your purity by loyalty. Should there be a “Reichstag Fire” incident in America, likely to be found in the first big tragedy on American soil, the consolidation of power by proof of loyalty may offer up a political powerhouse as dangerous as that of Hitlers.

The book’s secondary focus was to trace the history of journalism in Germany in 1933. The German press was consolidated under Hitler’s power pretty quickly, though the Jewish Ullstein Press hung on longer than I expected. Foreign media were subject to the “censors” in that the text of an article had to be approved by the German Foreign Press office before they were wired to their respective papers. Thus there was a very interesting picture told in the manner in which the press could and couldn’t be manipulated. The technology of 1933, telegraphs and telephone calls, are a far cry from the digital technology of 2017, including the President’s Twitter account. Imagine if Hitler and his government had used Twitter as a mouthpiece, instead of being forced to play a game of cat-and-mouse with American journalists? It quickly struck me that the technology that we have is infinitely more dangerous than the technology in place in Germany in 1933. While some things, like staging the fire at the Reichstag, may have been easier, there is no doubt that other things, like the ability to avoid the press altogether and go straight to your base, create challenges for ensuring a check on power. And I haven’t even touched on the challenges of cyber security and the loss of digital privacy to the point where our governments know more about or lives than we do! In the right hands, technology can be a blessing. I worry, however, that a Reichstag moment in 2017/2018 may derail the already ugly trainwreck that is President Trump.