Life After the Third Reich: The Struggle to Rise from the Nazi Ruins

by Paul Roland

In 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker as the Third Reich collapsed and the Red Army swamped Berlin. But what was it like to live in Germany after World War II?

This is the story of Germany after the Nazis, a time when two separate states rose from the ashes to face each other across the Iron Curtain. Meanwhile, the people struggled to come to terms with both the physical and psychological impact of defeat, as well as guilt for the monstrous acts that had been committed under Hitler's regime.

When Allied forces took over Germany, they were shocked at the scale of destruction. But how did they ensure that those guilty of crimes against humanity were punished, and where exactly did all the Nazis go after the war?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War II

196 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2018

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Ilana]

The book offers a succinct overview about the aftermath of the end of WWII in Germany. As someone living in Berlin, Germany, and being surrounded by historical remnants and memories, I always find interesting to explore bits of information about this part of the past that for various reasons it remains present, especially for reasons of previous approach of the same past.
In this book, there are a couple of details about the different policies each of the Allies powers on one side, and the Soviets, on the other side, implemented towards the local German population. Of interest is the so-called ´de-nazification´ in a country where one in ten active adult citizens were members of the Nazi Party, but the information is rather sparse and easy to be find in other sources. The same treatment of information is available for other situations, which makes the book a good general introduction into the topic but not a time-wise gain when it has to do with complex topics.
In terms of style and sources, the author is very cautious and is using as many quotes and local references, without pushing forward with personal considerations.
Therefore, it is recommended for the beginner and curious in things related to post-war Germany, otherwise keep in mind the inherent limitations of generalist historical works.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Eve]

I picked this book up a head of my trip to Berlin so that I could learn some basic understanding of life post war. I found it an extremely interesting read and enjoyed the layout of the book as the headings made it easy to follow and enabled me to go to and fro certain sections.

[Miltiadis Michalopoulos]

A brief outline of the events from the Spring of 1945 to 1950, engagingly written. There was an emphasis on the de-Nazification, and a very detailed list of all the trials (besides that of Nurnberg). I would expect a few more information on the way the German economy managed to stand on its feet again, but I guess this was out of the scope of this book.

[Sarah]

Usually books about WW2, both fiction and non-fiction, are about the years before and during the war, so I was really interested to read about the direct aftermath. Overall, this book was really interesting and discussed some of the atrocities that occurred directly after the end of the war, which are rarely mentioned in history class or general discussions of the war.

I didn't like how "Life After the Third Reich" tended to jump from subject to subject at times, even if those topics weren't directly related. Also, this novel only gives a short overview, so it isn't really meant for anyone who wants a more in depth discussion of the after war years.

Still, this was a really interesting non-fiction book and I was interested to read about the aftermath of the war, especially since some of the information gave a new perspective of what is generally taught in history class, e.g. Trümmerfrauen and the first elections in the Soviet zone.

[Lysergius]

A very concise, yet detailed treatment of the post war situation in Germany. Roland gets to the core of the matter without unnecessary verbiage. Excellent.

[Louis]

Spoiler… The Nazis lost.

Actually finished a book for once wow. Super interesting, inflated my ww2 fact ego while reading as well as finding out some quite horrific soviet stories. 4/5

[Peter]

A very easy to read book. Quite a bit of information but not very deep. Dwells too much early on about the mistreatment of women during the German retreat. After that it covers the retreat of Germans who'd lived east Europe, exposure of the camps, the occupation by the allies, division of the country, the trials, regeneration. Germany was devastated with millions of people moving and needing housing. Leaving a national memory that lasts sub-consciously passed through generations to this day, it tells us. An interesting taster into the subject.

[Mario]

I was disappointed by this book. I bought it because I was curious about what life was like immediately after Nazi Germany fell in WWII. It had a decent amount of interesting information, but didn't go nearly in-depth as I hoped it would, and seemed more like a piecemeal collection of factoids rather than an interconnected storyline.

[Santos Campos]

Germany after the War

It was good information but a superficial account of the German people complicity in life he Nazi regime, the concentration camps, the trials and even delving into the Cold War. A short book that tried to deal
Germany with numerous events of a complicated subject.

[Sally]

I found this really interesting. The writing was engaging and not at all dry, and it covered from the end of WWII up until the fall of the Berlin wall without feeling overlong. In fact, there could have been a touch more detail, but all in all it was pretty awesome :)

[Geicodave]

Good General Overview Of Post-War Germany

The book is not terribly well written and is somewhat disorganized, but it does provide a satisfactory picture of Post-War Germany, especially for a reader unfamiliar with the period.

[Christine Helsdon]

I really learned a lot. This version of events is really scary but fills the gaps in other versions. Well researched and referenced

[Abby]

I had difficulty reading this book ..in fact, I put it down to read something else, only to come back and finish it! There is little known about the life of the German people after the war ended, so reading this book really opened my eyes to the continued atrocities these people felt. But ...I felt that it was the woman and children who paid the ultimate price of war ...and of peace!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of this novel

[Felix Sun]

First book that I read from Paul Roland, very pleased. The book is well structured (not repetitive), feels objective, and surprisingly very compact given its coverage.

Learned a lot. Lots of interesting details of this part of history. Would recommend to others who are interested on the topic.

[William Reynolds]

Third Reich

Very good review of post WWII Germany. A good report of Germany and the people. A country changed from Nazi control to Russian repression. What did the war change? It appears nothing!

[Kellyn Roth]

This was great, and super helpful for my research, but I haven't quite finished it yet. Setting aside until I actually need to dive into my research again!

[Seb]

While informative if you have never read anything about the postwar era, the book suffer from a lack of coherent narrative, reading instead like a collection of summaries of wikipedia article.

[Lucas van der Kolk]

Prima boekie. Soms een beetje rare opbouw.

[Ames]

A simple read about life in post-war Germany with lots of interesting facts and stories.

[cynthia jones]

Compelling reading.

Read this in one session. The devastation of defeated Germany is difficult to equate with the country we know today

[Phillip Kerrigan]

And we think things are tough in the Western World nowadays? Tell 'em they're dreamin'.
Millions of Europeans somehow managed to claw their way back to a civil way of life from a zero point start in 1945. It wasn't easy obviously and it was brutal and cruel but somehow civilisation survived. Just!

[Dennis Rutzou]

Like many I have been intrigued about the German economic recovery after World War 2 in contrast to other countries like Britain which seemed to struggle, but if you are expecting this book to tell you you'll be disappointed. However don't let that deter you as it is a very interesting book that outlines the recovery process, as the allies start to help in the reconstruction process. Not surprisingly they started out with no plans on how to tackle the task, not that it would have been easy to get agreement with the Americans, French and British as the Soviets did their own thing from day one and their approach was the conquest of Germany and Eastern Europe and turn them into satellite states. It is a very interesting book and one that I would out down as one to read.