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The Berlin Mission: The American Who Resisted Nazi Germany from Within
An unknown story of an unlikely hero--the US consul who best analyzed the threat posed by Nazi Germany and predicted the horrors to come
In 1929, Raymond Geist went to Berlin as a consul and handled visas for emigrants to the US. Just before Hitler came to power, Geist expedited the exit of Albert Einstein. Once the Nazis began to oppress Jews and others, Geist's role became vitally important. It was Geist who extricated Sigmund Freud from Vienna and Geist who understood the scale and urgency of the humanitarian crisis.
Even while hiding his own homosexual relationship with a German, Geist fearlessly challenged the Nazi police state whenever it abused Americans in Germany or threatened US interests. He made greater use of a restrictive US immigration quota and secured exit visas for hundreds of unaccompanied children. All the while, he maintained a working relationship with high Nazi officials such as Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Hermann Göring.
While US ambassadors and consuls general cycled in and out, the indispensable Geist remained in Berlin for a decade. An invaluable analyst and problem solver, he was the first American official to warn explicitly that what lay ahead for Germany's Jews was what would become known as the Holocaust.
In 1929, Raymond Geist went to Berlin as a consul and handled visas for emigrants to the US. Just before Hitler came to power, Geist expedited the exit of Albert Einstein. Once the Nazis began to oppress Jews and others, Geist's role became vitally important. It was Geist who extricated Sigmund Freud from Vienna and Geist who understood the scale and urgency of the humanitarian crisis.
Even while hiding his own homosexual relationship with a German, Geist fearlessly challenged the Nazi police state whenever it abused Americans in Germany or threatened US interests. He made greater use of a restrictive US immigration quota and secured exit visas for hundreds of unaccompanied children. All the while, he maintained a working relationship with high Nazi officials such as Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Hermann Göring.
While US ambassadors and consuls general cycled in and out, the indispensable Geist remained in Berlin for a decade. An invaluable analyst and problem solver, he was the first American official to warn explicitly that what lay ahead for Germany's Jews was what would become known as the Holocaust.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published October 29, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 16, 2019
I received a free publisher's advance review copy.
Geist, the son of German immigrants to the US, worked as an American consular employee in Germany from 1929 until shortly after WW2 broke out. As ambassadors and higher-ups in the consular and diplomatic corps came and went in Berlin, Geist was in the thick of things from the earliest days of Nazi power until the war.
This well-researched and written book focuses on two elements of Geist’s career. First is the strength of his insight into the Nazi leadership’s thinking and planning. This allowed Geist to predict, as early as 1934, that if the Nazis weren’t stopped, they would wage war in Europe that could go so far as to jeopardize civilization.
The book’s second emphasis is Geist’s years-long efforts to help German Jews leave the country. To do this, he worked within US immigration limits on the one hand, and maneuvered the complexities and contradictions of Nazi officialdom. It’s impressive how well he managed to work with Nazis of all ranks to achieve his goals, hiding his disgust with the regime for the greater good.
This is an interesting treatment of an under-examined aspect of WW2 history. What’s particularly impressive is how the author manages, in quite a short book, to blend the details of the historical background with Geist’s story.
Geist, the son of German immigrants to the US, worked as an American consular employee in Germany from 1929 until shortly after WW2 broke out. As ambassadors and higher-ups in the consular and diplomatic corps came and went in Berlin, Geist was in the thick of things from the earliest days of Nazi power until the war.
This well-researched and written book focuses on two elements of Geist’s career. First is the strength of his insight into the Nazi leadership’s thinking and planning. This allowed Geist to predict, as early as 1934, that if the Nazis weren’t stopped, they would wage war in Europe that could go so far as to jeopardize civilization.
The book’s second emphasis is Geist’s years-long efforts to help German Jews leave the country. To do this, he worked within US immigration limits on the one hand, and maneuvered the complexities and contradictions of Nazi officialdom. It’s impressive how well he managed to work with Nazis of all ranks to achieve his goals, hiding his disgust with the regime for the greater good.
This is an interesting treatment of an under-examined aspect of WW2 history. What’s particularly impressive is how the author manages, in quite a short book, to blend the details of the historical background with Geist’s story.
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September 29, 2019This is basically a biography of Raymond Geist, who served at the American consul in Berlin while Nazis rose to power. Geist was incredibly insightful, even in the 1930’s, and the intelligence he provided the State Department and the president back home was invaluable. “Geist was likely the only US official who, in June 1934, regarded Nazi Germany as a threat to the entirety of Western civilization.” He was in the position to cultivate relationships with Nazi officials to better assist refugees, and his careful diplomatic finesse helped a great deal of people (including Einstein and Freud) escape persecution.
“Geist was firm, resourceful, tactful, effective in protecting American interests, and supportive of senior officers. He thoroughly grasped German domestic politics and foreign policy. He was a man of superior culture…” He was quite an admirable figure, and had to work with a frustrating bureaucracy, immigration quota limits, and isolationist sentiment. Overall, this wasn’t the most engaging WWII book I’ve read, though Geist’s legacy certainly deserves recognition.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
“Geist was firm, resourceful, tactful, effective in protecting American interests, and supportive of senior officers. He thoroughly grasped German domestic politics and foreign policy. He was a man of superior culture…” He was quite an admirable figure, and had to work with a frustrating bureaucracy, immigration quota limits, and isolationist sentiment. Overall, this wasn’t the most engaging WWII book I’ve read, though Geist’s legacy certainly deserves recognition.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
June 21, 2021
Raymond Geist was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Berlin from December 1929 to October 1939. Prior to that, he was a naval translator and was sent after World War 1 to Vienna as part of American Relief since hunger was so widespread but was forced to leave for work in other countries. Eventually he was placed in Berlin after receiving praise and criticism in pretty equal measure from his higher ups. The American colony in Berlin was a large network and his sister Anna joined him there and they began to meet people. His ancestors had come from Germany and he was Lutheran. His family did not have much money like most ambassadors did who had to entertain with their own funds. He seems to have worked best with George S. Messersmith and learned from him how to report to Washington. Geist watched the Weimar Republic fall apart and the Nazi party growing and sent information back to American Business organizations as well as his superiors in Washington. He met Himmler, Best, Heydrich and other German and Nazi officials and used those contacts to protect American citizens attacked by the SA and later to get visas for German Jews and political victims/enemies of the Nazis like professors and scientists. He also became the secret lover of Erich Meinz. Geist must have grown extremely frustrated in trying to work with and around the government quotas and the hostile climate in depression era America with the public and the politicians, but he did not give up until ill health brought him back to America. At his debriefing he predicted much that came true, some listened, some didn't. He retired in 1948 at age 63. In December 1954, he received the West German Decoration, The Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit, for his work to extract victims of Nazism from Germany. He died in February, 1955. There is so much information in the book that is too much for a book review, but it is well worth a read.
February 5, 2020
Berlin Mission is the story of a little remembered career Foreign Service Officer named Raymond H. Geist who served an unusually long tour in the American Embassy in Berlin from 1929 to 1939, and was instrumental in protecting U. S. Citizens from Nazi mistreatment and depredations, while also facilitating the management of emigration of Jews to the U. S. notwithstanding inflexible constraints in law and practice on U. S. Immigration during the interwar period. An extraordinarily interesting read on events during the run up to World War II in Berlin as the U. S. emerged from depression and FDR began slowly to assert a more active role in international affairs. Highly recommended!
February 1, 2020
Another history book of what was happening in Germany as Hitler rose to power. A man in the consular general's office, it was his job to approve visas for those wanting out of Germany. He could see the bleak future of the Jews and attempted to get as many out of Germany as he could. Doing this he fought the restrictions of the Nazis and also those in the US who felt more immigrants would make more unemployed. There were thousands of Jewish children and also "important" Jewish intellects who escaped the killing of Jews in Germany, thanks to this consular.
September 7, 2019
Richard Breitman's account of U.S. Foreign Service Senior Consul Raymond Geist's heroic efforts at warning FDR and other high U.S. officials of the evil of Hitler's grandiose plans to conquer and dominate the world and Geist's efforts from the mid to late 1930's through the end of WWII to save as many as possible European Jews from Hitler and his sustained barbaric efforts to rid the world of Jews through economic, social and emotional, and physical isolation and ultimately extermination through implementation of the final solution is readable as it is dense (i.e., packed) with little known details, entities and figures.
Of course, besides Hitler, there is the SA, SS, Göring, Himmler, Goebbels, and to a lesser extent, Heydrich and others who are well-familiar to those who are fairly well-read in this area. More importantly, Breitman's account reveals the actions of far more lesser officials that Geist dealt with. Many histories of Nazi Germany only mention in passing and sometimes not at all.
As always with books of these kind, it is an eye opener and a learning experience. It is a daunting prospect to get a sense of Geist's unflagging efforts during the period of time before Germany declared war on the U.S. His knowledge of Nazi Germany, its policies and leaders and its efforts to become a world power was immense and unparalleled at the time. Still further was Geist's ability to get in good with leaders and officials of all stripes in the Nazi government without raising alarm bells from within. His experiences are the building blocks of "neutral" diplomacy that that extracts from one's enemies results in areas they never intended to give ground on. Geist exemplified Sun Tzu's maxim, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Breitman's book goes into the labyrinth of immigration policies that changed by the minute and often were contradictory and made little or no sense and which Geist had to negotiate to accomplish what he did. Geist's world was one of hostile disbelieving keep-away tactics of Congress, administration officials, and other influential policy, religious, and business leaders in their efforts to stem the tide of Jewish immigration prior to and during WWII for reasons that included rampant and unapologetic -Antisemitism and appeasement of Hitler.
The Berlin Mission: The American Who Resisted Nazi Germany is a good companion to Robert Murphy's Diplomat Among Warriors and the encyclopedic account, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer.
Copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Of course, besides Hitler, there is the SA, SS, Göring, Himmler, Goebbels, and to a lesser extent, Heydrich and others who are well-familiar to those who are fairly well-read in this area. More importantly, Breitman's account reveals the actions of far more lesser officials that Geist dealt with. Many histories of Nazi Germany only mention in passing and sometimes not at all.
As always with books of these kind, it is an eye opener and a learning experience. It is a daunting prospect to get a sense of Geist's unflagging efforts during the period of time before Germany declared war on the U.S. His knowledge of Nazi Germany, its policies and leaders and its efforts to become a world power was immense and unparalleled at the time. Still further was Geist's ability to get in good with leaders and officials of all stripes in the Nazi government without raising alarm bells from within. His experiences are the building blocks of "neutral" diplomacy that that extracts from one's enemies results in areas they never intended to give ground on. Geist exemplified Sun Tzu's maxim, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Breitman's book goes into the labyrinth of immigration policies that changed by the minute and often were contradictory and made little or no sense and which Geist had to negotiate to accomplish what he did. Geist's world was one of hostile disbelieving keep-away tactics of Congress, administration officials, and other influential policy, religious, and business leaders in their efforts to stem the tide of Jewish immigration prior to and during WWII for reasons that included rampant and unapologetic -Antisemitism and appeasement of Hitler.
The Berlin Mission: The American Who Resisted Nazi Germany is a good companion to Robert Murphy's Diplomat Among Warriors and the encyclopedic account, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer.
Copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
September 15, 2019
4.5 Stars.
I wonder how many unknown people risked their lives and/or careers helping the Jews and others escape Nazi Germany? After reading this book, I think it must be in the hundreds, if not thousands, with all of them impacting countless lives by their brave acts.
This book tells the story of one such person. Raymond Geist was the consul assigned to Berlin from 1929 to 1939. His unique background and personality enabled him to interact with high-level Nazis and to circumvent Nazi laws/practices or to take advantage of lapses in those laws and practices to arrange for the emigration of hundreds of people, mostly Jewish children, to the U.S. He was also important in getting Einstein and Freud out of Nazi Germany before the war.
The emotional and health costs to Geist were enormous, but he soldiered on because he knew that he was the only recourse for so many. His extensive knowledge of Germany and the personalities and goals of Nazism were invaluable to the U.S. government, all the way up to Roosevelt.
Not only does Breitman reveal Geist's story, he also unravels the very complicated events that led to the Nazis and Hitler taking over the German government and turning it into a totalitarian state run by psychopaths, sadists, and murderers.
This book is essential for anyone interested in WWII history, German history, the Holocaust, and totalitarianism. It is also a cautionary tale about how insidious totalitarianism is.
I wonder how many unknown people risked their lives and/or careers helping the Jews and others escape Nazi Germany? After reading this book, I think it must be in the hundreds, if not thousands, with all of them impacting countless lives by their brave acts.
This book tells the story of one such person. Raymond Geist was the consul assigned to Berlin from 1929 to 1939. His unique background and personality enabled him to interact with high-level Nazis and to circumvent Nazi laws/practices or to take advantage of lapses in those laws and practices to arrange for the emigration of hundreds of people, mostly Jewish children, to the U.S. He was also important in getting Einstein and Freud out of Nazi Germany before the war.
The emotional and health costs to Geist were enormous, but he soldiered on because he knew that he was the only recourse for so many. His extensive knowledge of Germany and the personalities and goals of Nazism were invaluable to the U.S. government, all the way up to Roosevelt.
Not only does Breitman reveal Geist's story, he also unravels the very complicated events that led to the Nazis and Hitler taking over the German government and turning it into a totalitarian state run by psychopaths, sadists, and murderers.
This book is essential for anyone interested in WWII history, German history, the Holocaust, and totalitarianism. It is also a cautionary tale about how insidious totalitarianism is.
October 4, 2019
I've always enjoyed books that deal with the lesser-known parts of infamous historical events, and this book fits that bill perfectly. I learned a lot about the inner workings of this period of history from reading this and was surprised by some of the stereotypes this book broke through.
This is written in a way that makes it approachable and easy to understand for the average person, but without dumbing down the facts. I was impressed by the scope of the author's research and organisation, as it made for an entertaining and informative book. I had never read a book that explained so well the struggle to try and save Europe's Jewish community from the clutches of Nazi power. It was a fascinating account.
I liked that this book featured an American and the unusual sort of situation he found himself in and truly explained the dangers of his position. Overall, I really thought this was a fantastic book, worth the time to read carefully, both for the intriguing nature of the subject matter, and the lessons we can still learn from this history today. Recommended to others who are interested in WWII and the related history.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
This is written in a way that makes it approachable and easy to understand for the average person, but without dumbing down the facts. I was impressed by the scope of the author's research and organisation, as it made for an entertaining and informative book. I had never read a book that explained so well the struggle to try and save Europe's Jewish community from the clutches of Nazi power. It was a fascinating account.
I liked that this book featured an American and the unusual sort of situation he found himself in and truly explained the dangers of his position. Overall, I really thought this was a fantastic book, worth the time to read carefully, both for the intriguing nature of the subject matter, and the lessons we can still learn from this history today. Recommended to others who are interested in WWII and the related history.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
August 18, 2019
I read this as an ARC from NetGalley and was glad I had the opportunity.
This book is a well written examination of the life and career of Richard Geist, a career civil servant who did what he thought best to stand up for the rights of German Jews prior to the start of WWII.
When studying WWII Germany, most are acquainted with the key players and politicians but rarely does a book focus on those tireless civil servants who work to make everything flow together.
I was fascinated by the look into how visas were issued, immigration battles, and the parallels to modern US politics.
If you are a student of 20th century politics or WWII, I would add this book to my reading list.
This book is a well written examination of the life and career of Richard Geist, a career civil servant who did what he thought best to stand up for the rights of German Jews prior to the start of WWII.
When studying WWII Germany, most are acquainted with the key players and politicians but rarely does a book focus on those tireless civil servants who work to make everything flow together.
I was fascinated by the look into how visas were issued, immigration battles, and the parallels to modern US politics.
If you are a student of 20th century politics or WWII, I would add this book to my reading list.
April 14, 2022
Were it not for Breitman's deep and meticulous research in national archives, this hero who worked within the legal framework to save as many Jews from Germany as possible would have remained mostly forgotten. Raymond Geist hadn't had an illustrious career with the U.S. State Department be the time we was posted to Berlin in 1929. He was from a less privileged background, and although brilliant, had not attended an ivy league university. But he had worked on Warren Harding's presidential campaign, and had worked with with Herbert Hoover's private relief organization to help prevent starvation in Austria and other countries right after World War I. He knew several languages, and had great administrative skills. As the Nazis rose to power in the early 1930s, he seemed to be one of the few who understood what they were all about. The U.S. had ever-shifting but mostly negative immigration policies. Mostly no immigrants were welcome, and especially not Jews in a time of accepted anti-Semitism in most countries around the world. Geist met with high Nazi leaders to work out releases of prominent Jews from prison, to save as many children as possible, and generally just get as many Jews out of Nazi control as possible. He was one of the few Americans respected by Nazi officials, and developed contacts who gave him some advance warning of impending actions that would doom Jews even more. He used every loophole in American law and every carrot and stick possible with the Germans. Though he gained some honors within the State Department, he was also viewed sometimes as a threat and someone who rigged the bureaucracy. He never rose to the highest levels that he deserved. Finally his health from all the stress of the last couple years trying to circumvent Nazi persecution proved too much, and he got out of the country for good in late 1939. He lived a very discrete, private life with his younger gay partner Erich Mainz and his spinster sister Anna, who kept the home fires in their homes in Berlin and America. One of his very insightful letters is included, but one can only speculate on the conversations he had with the likes of Goering or Himmler. From 80+ years' perspective, I can weep at how many people died because of prejudices in the U.S., but Geist was a shining star of the time--effective, brilliant, committed, discrete and entirely within the law.
December 22, 2019
I received an ARC of this from Netgalley. Thank you to the publishers and the author.
“The Berlin Mission” is the lesser known story of Raymond Geist, who was the senior consul at the American embassy in Germany in the years leading up to WWII. Geist was an unlikely hero, a clerk in an embassy that at times had no leadership except him. He was a man with morales who found himself in a tenuous situation and was able to use his position to gain information and ultimately save lives.
While Geist may not be as famous as Schindler or vice counsel Sugihara in Lithuania, Geist was able to work for years within the constraints of his consular duties and saved thousands of German Jews. It is important to remember that at that time, the world was recovering from a depression, and most countries, especially the U.S. had strict limits and restrictions on immigration-you must have funds, you must have someone to sponsor you, you can’t be a burden to society, etc. On the other side, In the 1930’s Germany was willing to allow its Jewish citizens to emigrate as long as they could pay the fees, and they would not be allowed to take any of their assets with them. The catch-22. Go, but leave everything. Many families sent their children abroad, and this was also how people like Einstein and Freud were able to emigrate. That and a lot of publicity. Geist was also able to remain friendly with leadership in a German, some believe as high as Himmler-not friends, but enough to be invited to official functions where Geist would learn of policies and plans. Many Germans did not believe in Hitler’s final solution and worked with Geist to help where they could.
This is a very interesting book, full of details that I’m sure only the most scholarly have heard about before now. Raymond Geist was a hero. A normal American boy from Ohio who served his country in the State Department and when he saw the horror of what was happening in Germany and did what he could, thousands of miles away from his country, and without any additional support.
“The Berlin Mission” is the lesser known story of Raymond Geist, who was the senior consul at the American embassy in Germany in the years leading up to WWII. Geist was an unlikely hero, a clerk in an embassy that at times had no leadership except him. He was a man with morales who found himself in a tenuous situation and was able to use his position to gain information and ultimately save lives.
While Geist may not be as famous as Schindler or vice counsel Sugihara in Lithuania, Geist was able to work for years within the constraints of his consular duties and saved thousands of German Jews. It is important to remember that at that time, the world was recovering from a depression, and most countries, especially the U.S. had strict limits and restrictions on immigration-you must have funds, you must have someone to sponsor you, you can’t be a burden to society, etc. On the other side, In the 1930’s Germany was willing to allow its Jewish citizens to emigrate as long as they could pay the fees, and they would not be allowed to take any of their assets with them. The catch-22. Go, but leave everything. Many families sent their children abroad, and this was also how people like Einstein and Freud were able to emigrate. That and a lot of publicity. Geist was also able to remain friendly with leadership in a German, some believe as high as Himmler-not friends, but enough to be invited to official functions where Geist would learn of policies and plans. Many Germans did not believe in Hitler’s final solution and worked with Geist to help where they could.
This is a very interesting book, full of details that I’m sure only the most scholarly have heard about before now. Raymond Geist was a hero. A normal American boy from Ohio who served his country in the State Department and when he saw the horror of what was happening in Germany and did what he could, thousands of miles away from his country, and without any additional support.
February 14, 2020
At its heart, this is the story of one Consular official in Berlin attempting to battle widespread indifference in Washington in order to bring German Jews to the U S, as Hitler was ramping up his anti-Jewish rhetoric in the lead up to WW11. This quotation from the book illustrates why this was almost impossible: "Roosevelt had tried to master and manage the multiple crises of the Great Depression and securing his control on government. He heard repeatedly about Nazi persecution of Jews, but the level of antisemitism in the United States made him hesitate to take public steps to criticize Germany or to increase immigration substantially." Additionally, several of his Cabinet members were anti-Semites, including in the State and Immigration departments. Putting political expediency ahead of humanitarian concerns was not new then, but rarely has it had such dangerous consequences. Thus it was hardly a surprise to read of this country's refusal to allow the vessel "Saint Louis" to dock and allow 700+ Jews to land and seek asylum as war refugees. Only 200+ of the "Saint Louis's" passengers survived the war. Its doomed voyage was and is a metaphor for the world's apathy about the plight of Europe's Jews. Raymond Geist was a phenomenally well-connected and -informed official. His superiors, or at least those with decision power regarding promotions, failed to reward him with an Ambassadorial appointment to be the crowning glory of his long, stellar career, perhaps due to his championing of Germany's Jews. A riveting if depressing book which resonates in today's virulent racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism and xenophobia. A must-read for those desiring to know and understand the long history of bigotry in America,
August 18, 2024
Not sure why this book was written. A couple of sentences from the epilogue sums up this idea: "Geist was not a hero of the Holocaust in the mold of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swede who risked (and ultimately lost) his life in an effort to save tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary. Nor was he like Japanese vice consul China Sugihara, who defied his government to give out thousands of visas to Jews in Lithuania before the Holocaust." The main character, Raymond Geist, was a very conscientious official of the U.S. State Department and other U.S. agencies and never missed an opportunity to find creative ways to get Jews, especially Jewish children, out of Nazi Germany.
But, beyond that, what else is there? His personal life was not newsworthy and the only hint that there might be something noteworthy about that is that he was gay. Otherwise, he was a very observant officer who easily got along with Nazi officials and collected very valuable information for the U.S. He also was very gung-ho about saving as many Jews as he could within the legal parameters that existed at the time.
After he left Germany and worked in the U.S. and a couple of other countries, the story seems to run out of steam. So, OK book, but not a great read.
But, beyond that, what else is there? His personal life was not newsworthy and the only hint that there might be something noteworthy about that is that he was gay. Otherwise, he was a very observant officer who easily got along with Nazi officials and collected very valuable information for the U.S. He also was very gung-ho about saving as many Jews as he could within the legal parameters that existed at the time.
After he left Germany and worked in the U.S. and a couple of other countries, the story seems to run out of steam. So, OK book, but not a great read.
November 25, 2019
Raymond Geist worked as a consul in Berlin during the 1930s. He had worked with Herbert Hoover’s organization to feed Europe after World War I, feeding children, and the Austrians asked for his continued presence. He gained confidence in making connections and faced pressure without flinching, important aspects for his job in Berlin.
His experience as an actor and lecturer enabled him to assume different roles at different times. He had good communication skills with Germans of all classes. As an avid reader of the German press and his many contacts, he had a good grasp of Germany’s political situation.
At a time when anti-Semitism was rife throughout the world, he worked hard to help Jews flee Germany. He didn’t hesitate to meet with Himmler, Heydrich, Göring, and others to benefit Jewish emigration.
His experience in Germany is fascinating. His unsurpassed expertise on Nazi Germany made him a fortuitous representative of the U.S. And all the time he was at risk to be blackmailed because he engaged in a homosexual relationship in a country that sent gays to concentration camps.
August 9, 2023
I enjoyed learning of a courageous and unsung, uncelebrated, and mostly unknown American who worked hard against political and bureaucratic opposition to try to accomplish what he thought was needed and morally right under the circumstances. His should be a name everyone knows.
Subtracting from the experience of reading this book (in audiobook form) was the consistently mangled pronunciation of German words and names by the narrator. I don't know whether the audiobook producer or the narrator is responsible, but when foreign words are found in any book, someone needs to make even a small effort to try to find their way to reasonable pronunciations to be used by the narrator. It's not hard in the US of A to find people with capability in any particular language. Language teachers and professors would relish such an assignment.
Göring does not rhyme with boring
Reichstag does not sound like Rike schtag. It's as if rike's tag.
Too many other examples to cite.
Overall, I found it interesting and okay. Not more or less.
Subtracting from the experience of reading this book (in audiobook form) was the consistently mangled pronunciation of German words and names by the narrator. I don't know whether the audiobook producer or the narrator is responsible, but when foreign words are found in any book, someone needs to make even a small effort to try to find their way to reasonable pronunciations to be used by the narrator. It's not hard in the US of A to find people with capability in any particular language. Language teachers and professors would relish such an assignment.
Göring does not rhyme with boring
Reichstag does not sound like Rike schtag. It's as if rike's tag.
Too many other examples to cite.
Overall, I found it interesting and okay. Not more or less.
April 4, 2020
I thought this book was a dreadful bore. My sense of this is that somewhere along the way author became enamored of Raymond Geist and somehow convinced a publisher it was worth pursuing. A better publisher would have nixed it or otherwise assigned it to an author who could tell a good story. Breitman basically recites a series of dates, events, meetings and memorandums with odd segues into broader events. One moment you're being drubbed with a series of memos and the next a discussion of how Hitler's occupation of the Rhineland paved the way for future aggression......and in between there is the mention that Geist was likely gay......he may also have been a world class ventriloquist but it wouldn't have helped the narrative. Boring and shedding little new light on the events surrounding WW II covered by innumerable other authors.
November 21, 2021
Raymond Geist — Diplomat Extraordinaire In Hitler’s Berlin
Richard Breitman’s detailed biography of American Raymond Geist in Berlin during Hitler’s rise to power brings a new understanding of why the Jewish people had such a difficult time emigrating. The book also explores how one determined, capable man of integrity can make an enormous difference in people’s lives during extreme times. Raymond Geist was that man in the American Embassy during one of the most, if not the most, horrific times in world history. I recommend this book to anyone desiring detailed insider knowledge of the American handling of Jewish emigration during the early days of the Holocaust.
Richard Breitman’s detailed biography of American Raymond Geist in Berlin during Hitler’s rise to power brings a new understanding of why the Jewish people had such a difficult time emigrating. The book also explores how one determined, capable man of integrity can make an enormous difference in people’s lives during extreme times. Raymond Geist was that man in the American Embassy during one of the most, if not the most, horrific times in world history. I recommend this book to anyone desiring detailed insider knowledge of the American handling of Jewish emigration during the early days of the Holocaust.
Read
July 5, 2023Wow, great book on a sad episode in history
It was extraordinary to read the difficulties that persecuted people had in getting out of Germany. And the whole affair was mismanaged by the US administration due to political considerations and the racism of many people who should have been bending over backwards to help!
It was extraordinary to read the difficulties that persecuted people had in getting out of Germany. And the whole affair was mismanaged by the US administration due to political considerations and the racism of many people who should have been bending over backwards to help!
November 10, 2019
Book received for free through Netgalley
I loved this book. It told about Raymond Geist who worked as an American consul in Germany doing the rise of Hitler. It offers insight into that time by allowing a glimpse through his eyes during that time. A must read that flows well and keeps you reading.
I loved this book. It told about Raymond Geist who worked as an American consul in Germany doing the rise of Hitler. It offers insight into that time by allowing a glimpse through his eyes during that time. A must read that flows well and keeps you reading.
January 24, 2021
A very interesting Biography of Raymond Geist. A diplomat from the US who worked as hard as possible to get Jews especially children out of Germany before WWII considering the obstacles placed in his way by the US government.
March 10, 2020
Interesting - had no idea this man had even existed, let alone what he had accomplished!
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