The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945

by Catrine Clay

After 1933, as the brutal terror regime took hold, most of the two-thirds of Germans who had never voted for the Nazis - some 20 million people - tried to keep their heads down and protect their families. They moved to the country, or pretended to support the regime to avoid being denounced by neighbours, and tried to work out what was really happening in the Reich, surrounded as they were by Nazi propaganda and fake news. They lived in fear. Might they lose their jobs? Their homes? Their freedom? What would we have done in their place?

Many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist, in the full knowledge that they could be sentenced to indefinite incarceration, torture or outright execution. Catrine Clay argues that it was a much greater number than was ever formally recorded: teachers, lawyers, factory and dock workers, housewives, shopkeepers, church members, trade unionists, army officers, aristocrats, Social Democrats, Socialists and Communists.

Catrine Clay's ground-breaking book focuses on six very different characters: Irma, the young daughter of Ernst Thalmann, leader of the German Communists; Fritzi von der Schulenburg, a Prussian aristocrat; Rudolf Ditzen, the already famous author Hans Fallada, best known for his novel Alone in Berlin; Bernt Engelmann, a schoolboy living in the suburbs of Dusseldorf; Julius Leber, a charismatic leader of the Social Democrats in the Reichstag; and Fabian von Schlabrendorff, a law student in Berlin. The six are not seen in isolation but as part of their families: a brother and sister; a wife; a father with three children; an only son; the parents of a Communist pioneer daughter. Each experiences the momentous events of Nazi history as they unfold in their own small lives - Good Germans all.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Germany, Biography, Holocaust

416 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2021

About the author

Catrine Clay has worked for the BBC for over twenty years, directing and producing award-winning television documentaries. She won the International Documentary Award and the Golden Spire for Best History Documentary, and was nominated for a BAFTA. She is the author of King, Kaiser, Tsar and Trautmann’s Journey, which won a British Sports Book Award for Biography of the Year and was runner-up for the William Hill Sports Book Award. She is married with three children and lives in London.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes, the premise of Catrine Clay’s 2021 The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945 is both promising and has of course also been personally and emotionally appealing for and to me.

However, it (the premise) at the same time feels more than a trifle uncomfortable, as I also and equally just cannot and will not in any manner ever fully accept author Catrine Clay’s claim in The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945 that the majority of the German population (from 1933 to 1945) should somehow be approached and considered for the most part as being against and resisting National Socialism. Because even though it is indeed true that in the 1933 German election, only one third of the population in fact specifically voted for the NSDAP, it is not as though the remaining two thirds actively and collectively were resisting as Catrine Clay does to and for me constantly seem to insinuate in The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945 (since they were generally woefully scattered and often at seemingly insurmountable odds regarding politics and economics). And honestly, if the individuals, if the two thirds of the German population who had not voted for the Nazis, who had not cast their ballots for Adolf Hitler and company had ALL been both actively and silently against and not accepting either the election results or the NSDAP, it would have been in my opinion considerably more difficult if not perhaps even impossible for the National Socialists to so easily consolidate their power and take over the German, the Weimar government in such a rapid and dictatorial manner. And thus, while I do and happily so agree with Catrine Clay that there most definitely seems to have been considerably more resistance in Germany and by Germans of National Socialism than has generally been believed, I also do NOT think hat this resistance was in any way as widespread as Clay tries to point out and make claims for in The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945.

Therefore, my level of reading discomfort with regard to what I can only consider to be Catrine Clay’s rather majorly wishful thinking is most definitely more than enough to right from the introduction to The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945 only consider a three star rating maximum, but yes indeed, lowered to two stars as the constantly shifting and switching points of view and perspectives and that I never am allowed by the author to actually get to sufficiently know her six presented resistors on a deep and personal level, yes, this has majorly frustrated and annoyed me, and also severely lessened both my reading pleasure and the amount of education and enlightenment I have been able to glean and obtain from The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945 (and not to mention that I do find it rather strange and off-putting that Catrine Clay basically ignores not only resistance groups like the White Rose but also the many unsuccessful assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler).

[gemsbooknook Geramie Kate Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘After 1933, as the brutal terror regime took hold, most of the two-thirds of Germans who had never voted for the Nazis – some 20 million people – tried to keep their heads down and protect their families. They moved to the country, or pretended to support the regime to avoid being denounced by neighbours, and tried to work out what was really happening in the Reich, surrounded as they were by Nazi propaganda and fake news. Many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist, in the full knowledge that they could be sentenced to indefinite incarceration, torture or outright execution. They lived in fear. Might they lose their jobs? Their homes? Their freedom? What would we have done in their place?’
This book was interesting.
As someone who has read a lot of books about World War 2 I was surprised by how little I had read about ordinary Germans who witnessed the rise of Nazism in Germany from within and then risked everything to resist it.
This book follows the lives of six very different characters and their individual journeys and lives with their friends and families all the while experiencing Nazi Germany and how it affected their lives and beliefs.
While I love the premise of this book, I found myself a little bit disappointed by it. As the story followed six different characters at the same time it was slightly jarring when the point of view jumped from one character to the next. This constant moving from character to character also affected the flow of the book as each character was dealing with things at different speeds and this made the pacing of this book hard to deal with.
It may have been easier to follow each character separately instead of following all six at the same time as the years progressed. I also feel that these characters were incredibly interesting that anyone of them could have carried this book on their own.
In saying that I did find the subject matter toughly interesting and I definitely learnt a lot from reading this book; it was just a difficult and long read for me.
The Good Germans by Catrine Clay is an interesting and informative read.

Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com

[Ingrid Self · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a most extraordinary book - full of detail, several really strong characters as main players and the whole background of Nazi Germany and Hitler. I kept reading, expecting to lose track as I do, (I'm very good a turning the page, and going "who the hell are you?") but not once. The author writes in a clear, almost chatty style and sweeps one along through the dreaded years of the 30s and 40s. I loved it, and feel almost bereft now that it's finished. Of course it's not a happy ending, we all knew that from history but my word, what a chronicle. Well done - highly recommended to anyone with a yen for history

[Patrick Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read, follows six people and their families through the rise of the Nazis. It shows how ruthless the state became in crushing any and all opposition, so resistance was a very risky undertaking and many lost their lives. It’s easy to lump a whole country into one stereotype and this goes some way to balance that assumption.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catrine Clay manages to flesh out the key players in the von Stauffenberg plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944, replete with it's inevitably heartbreaking and tragic denouément. As well as the story itself, Clay's work strikes a cautionary note, warning readers of the value of democracy and free speech and what can happen when these values are overthrown.

[Michael Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight in the lives of those from various backgrounds living under the fascist Nazi regime.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel interessant boek, weer een nieuw stukje van de geschiedenis rond het 'Derde Rijk', wat een goed inkijkje geeft in hoe het voor veel Duitsers die de nazi's niet steunden moet zijn geweest om onder hun terreur te leven. Het boek is primair gericht op 6 mensen/families die op de een of andere manier 'verzet' hebben gepleegd. Het fijne van het boek is dat het verschillende vormen van verzet zijn, van mensen van hele diverse achtergronden (bekend/onbekend, elitair/communistisch/'bekeerde' nazi's, mensen die wel/niet dapper waren). Zeker niet alleen helden- of grote verzetsverhalen. Jammer dat er desondanks iets minder aandacht was voor alledaags verzet van gewone mensen, maar dat zal misschien minder goed gedocumenteerd zijn. Knap hoe de schrijfster deze 6 verhalen weet in te passen in een algemenere geschiedschrijving die nergens te vluchtig of onduidelijk aanvoelt. Het boek heeft toch m'n blik op deze periode weer wat veranderd. Mooi einde.

[Danielle Laman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a really good concept and really talks about the stories of the average German citizens all trying to resist the rule of Nazism. While interesting, I feel the writing is a bit of it's downfall. Jumping from one figure to another without much to grip onto at times or going on tangents that while might be important, just feel out of place. I still recommend this book to others who may have more mileage out of it than I, it is still a really solid. Just not my cup of tea sadly

[Fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - marked down for mainly some confusion with narration from multiple POV. It was a slow burner (quite slow at times), but picked up the pace towards the end, party as the evil committed by the Nazi party and its leader increased and people became more desperate to rid the world of them. Then of course, came the inevitable deaths of many of the protagonists. We all know the outcome, but it was interesting to read about it from an alternate POV and worth the read.

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously a very interesting read!
But too detailed at times and way too much repetition. I know these kind if stories can get complicated with so many names, but this kind of repetition got me annoyed at times even.
Also Think I wanted more facts, more small victories, small Success stories, more relatable.
These became more family memoires at times.

[Margarett McPherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

As interesting as this book is I found it dense and confusing with too many characters and the back and forth writing. I have to admit I gave up half way through. I kept having to check the names [in the forward] as I got lost in all the characters. It's a shame as those who resisted [at terrible cost] should be lauded, instead I simply gave up.

[Rachel Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this hard to follow even though I wanted to love it! Some parts describing Germany were excellent though.

[Michelle Birkby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting - the Germans who refused to follow Hitler and did they live a quiet life, complying and keeping their heads down or openly defy or even attack Hitler?

[Barbara Leimsner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Clay has deftly woven together the highly relevant story of six people who chose to resist the Nazi terror regime after the party came to power in 1933 with far less than a majority of the popular vote. Through their eyes, she deepens our understanding of the massive scale of repression, imprisonments and fear that set in once a brutal fascist power bent on crushing all their "enemies"--Social Democrats, Communists, all Jews, independent-thinking authors, critical students, some members of the old aristocracy--gained power and subverted all institutions of democratic society. She does not claim that the massive propaganda machine of the Nazis didn't sway millions to support Hitler; rather, she shows how acts of resistance large and small did take place despite the real difficulties in organizing as the totalitarian regime solidified its power and repressive apparatus. The stories she brings to life are important today when the far-right is again resurgent. I read this in conjunction with the two volumes of diaries by German Jewish professor Viktor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness, in which he richly describes his loss of all civil rights and the response of ordinary Jewish and German friends and acquaintances, including acts of resistance.

[Stacey Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a slow start, I really got into this book. I thought it might be confusing, especially with the six main characters and other characters but Clay did a great job of making the stories easy to follow.

Previous to this book I had no idea that hundreds of thousands of Germans were against the Nazi's and the small and big lengths they went to too refute the brutal Nazi regime. Some of the stories mentioned in this book are incredible and sadly many people lost their lives because of their actions.

I really respected some of the main characters of this book and how they stood up for what they believe in, knowing that they put themselves and their loved ones at risks. Not all of them had happy endings but it was inevitable in the face of Nazi brutality.

This book also offered a fascinating insight into how the Nazi's came into power and the methods and inhumane tactics they employed to bring control over the German population. Overall I really enjoyed this book and Clay does a great job of weaving the stories of six characters and their families together.

[Gin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Il libro rispetta l'intento dell'autrice di narrare un periodo storico già eviscerato fin nei minimi (e più macabri) dettagli, quello del dominio nazista dai primi anni Trenta al primo dopoguerra, dal punto di vista della gente comune e non dalla consueta prospettiva che presenta i dati e i numeri nudi e crudi. In questo è riuscita a dare un volto ad alcune delle figure chiave ed alcuni dei personaggi di contorno delle vicende narrate. Purtroppo però il suo stile ripetitivo fino allo sfinimento e il salto repentino da un personaggio a un altro non hanno facilitato la lettura e l'immedesimazione. Ne risulta un prodotto alquanto tiepido e mediocre, che non rende completamente giustizia ai protagonisti delle vicende raccontate.

[Nicola C · Rating 4 out of 5]

So often in history when it comes to the rise of Nazism that often overlooked are so many people who in their own way quietly silently resisted the Nazi party this book gives light to the many people who resisted but takes in a group of individuals and tells their stories and like a spiders web these stories intermingle with the more well known of resistance against the Nazis.
A fascinating and well written documentation of the rise of the Nazi Germany and the resistance of it from within Germany.
I can't recommend this book enough.
There are only 404 pages of which 357 are actual reading pages.

[Luke Pedley · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I was surprised at some of the more negative reviews. The Good Germans is a really digestible history book and presented interesting stories which were otherwise untold.

What it lacked in maybe a little character depth and development, it made up for in highlighting acts of resistance of German people. And that all acts of resistance in the face of Nazi Germany - whether it be big or small - required a lot of bravery from those involved. Even from those not naturally disposed to resist.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a very good book.

It focuses in 6 people who are perhaps lesser known.

Another review is critical for not covering The White Rose group. However this in incorrect and I am happy to have read of lesser known resistance.

30 years ago I read The Past Is Myself and watched the tv adaptation. Christabel makes a brief appearance. Adam von Trott a friend is also featured.

[Mick M · Rating 2 out of 5]

was more like a historical fiction. was a little too soap opera than historical. very little references so I question where half the info and claims made came from, particularly given I've read a lot of books on the subject and haven't heard of a lot of the stuff said.

[Mairead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting & confusing

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and informative about those Germans who attempted to resist the Nazis and Hitler

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Good Germans covers a topic which certainly is worthy of a fair bit of ink - the manner of resistance to the Nazis for those who fell under their control both before and after the outbreak of the Second World War. Alas, for all the subjects of Catrine Clay's book are worthy of study and indeed analysis, it's hard not to feel they are slightly let down by the telling.

The Good Germans fails on three major counts.

The first is how it presents its cast of characters. While well researched and interesting, the decision to pick six individuals is challenging enough for a single work - to combine them into a narrative which jumps between them with barely a paragraph change, and expect the reader to follow without frustration is hubris. The fact that the author previously worked in television is no surprise, but what she seems to forget is that when the scene changes on screen, the audience has a number of cues to adjust, from music to visual to sound to the image of the actor.

In text, the jumps take several lines to vaguely pin down who we're talking about, where they were up to in the past, and then several paragraphs to remember which of the myriad names were their spouses, brothers and exactly what they did, thought and felt. As such, what we are left with is a long, unclear narrative which soon becomes hopelessly muddled and more than likely leaves the reader disencharted and skimming than taking the effort to read deep into the figures. Approaching each of the characters on their own in order might have been less stylish, but certainly more digestible, especially given how quickly Clay decides to drown us in a thousand names which become impenetrable to keep track of by the midway point.

The second issue is linked to the incoherence shown in the first, which is that Clay's very narrative approach becomes hugely confused by her own editorial touch and writing style. There's no doubt she has stories and themes she wants to tell - the intellectual battles of a writer staying true to his politics, the experiences of the daughter of one of Weimar's prominent leftists, the high philosophy and tradition causing Prussian loyalists to consider a future beyond Hitler - but the mixing of them as a timeline also boggles the reader with a thicket of mixed up threads.

Even, however, if they were separate, Clay's writing style doesn't help - even within a single lens, the style which jumps from conversational German/English sentences at the kitchen table to a sudden burst of narrative to announce a key event such as the outbreak of war, to a burst of dates and people who are abandoned as soon as they are fired. As such, the very act of reading it becomes hard work and frustrating, the need to remember each thread and the significance of each word as the lens widens and focuses makes it an unpleasant and challenging reading experience.

Lastly, however, the work lacks a sense of an argument throughout, which in turn makes the slightly patronising and primary school title of the 'Good Germans' particularly jarring. Reading the piece, there's no sensation that these individuals are representative of the wider German experience, as opposed to individual stories cherrypicked because they looked intriguing at the research stage. This, I should emphasise, is not a good representation of the experience of anti-Nazi resistance - rather, it's 'six stories the author found worth telling'.

What is missing as the book ends with a sudden whimper, is any real discussion of what life under the Nazis was like for most Germans. By focusing on the few, on their extraordinary stories and their consistent acts of non-co-operation and defiance across the 12 years of the Third Reich, it mentions but fails to address the roles and experiences of the vast majority of non-German Nazis whose role is less clear cut and less cinematic, who struggled between their personal objections to the Nazi state and their role within it as workers, citizens and soldiers, and the uncomfortable decisions they made when to comply, and when not to.

While the mention of these individuals is present in this book, it's hard not to come away feeling that (with what little analysis is present) resistance was binary, that there was a heroic cadre of individuals who consistently had problems with the Nazi state, remained steadfast in their beliefs throughout the 12 years of the Third Reich and took action accordingly.

However valuable it is to remember these individuals, the work fails to really engage with the wider question as to why some people could resist, why some couldn't or wouldn't, and the questions that each of them faced on a daily basis about compliance and resistance. The concept of 'Good Germans' may imply the presence of 'Bad Germans', but it doesn't ask about the people who were in between, and whose experiences are so core to explaining why the Nazi state maintained such a hold on its people despite never winning a majority of their votes.

[Peggy Metcalf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a slow and slightly confusing, but interesting read.

Unfortunately, I would say it did not live up to my initial hopes. Based on the title I was expecting a more personal and small scale story of resistance. Average people in their everyday lives and how they resisted. It turned out to be the retelling of the experiences of 6 fairly well-known, well-connected, or politically active Germans.

The author was not well-served by her editors. While the book is organized chronologically, there are sections which are not in keeping and jump around in time. I understand that might have been necessary to telling the story, but it did not add to my understanding or enjoyment. The chapters would have benefited GREATLY by adding section subheadings. There seemed to be some effort to relate the story of each of the personages for the time period covered by each chapter. That was great, but the stories just ran right into one another and sometimes a few paragraphs went by before I realized I was reading about a different character.

There are a lot of names in the book and unfortunately, even among the main characters, the author sometimes uses nicknames, sometimes first names, and sometimes full names and titles. The usual convention would be to introduce the character with the full name and then refer to them pretty consistently in the same way throughout the rest of the book. Sometimes it felt like the author forgot that she had already introduced that character when she used their full name and title in the second half of the book. I had to look twice to make sure I was reading about the same person and not their brother or someone els. A lot of the German names are very long with a lot of “von” this and “von” that. This happened with some of the details in the book as well. It felt like some sections had been written to be presented separately almost like a serialization or as stand alone articles and when they put them back together they forgot to edit them and left the repetitive bits. All of this should have been cleaned up in editing. I was ready to forgive it all because I thought maybe I was reading the book in translation, originally written in German. But no.

Why these six? I don’t see a compelling reason for what ties these six together. Several were involved with the July 20, 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler; a couple were political leaders (Communist and Social Democrat); one a well-known author; and one young German man. It’s obvious that an author must write about what she has sources for, but I just don’t see the connection here. Maybe it would have been better to write a vignette on each and not try to weave them together in an overarching chronological story.

Finally, in the last few pages of the book Clay mentions the unearthing of a Gestapo file on the Hampel family who, after the death of a close family member on the front, make it a personal mission to distribute small, self-produced tracts and postcards denouncing the Nazi regime in their Berlin neighborhood. That is the type of small scale resistance I had assumed the book was about. It is not.

Overall an interesting read, but I feel fairly confident there are probably better books on German resistance to the Nazis out there and I will be on the lookout for them. Fortunately Ms. Clay provides a nice little bibliography!

[Philip Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The assassination attempt must take place at whatever cost. Even if it does not succeed, we must still act. For it is no longer a question of whether it has a practical purpose; what counts is the fact in the eyes of the world and of History, the German Resistance dared to act. Compared with that nothing else is important." - Henning Von Tresckow


Catrine Clay basically follows the story arcs of 6 people who opposed the Nazi regime. Fascinating history in there. Hans Fallada/Rudolf Ditzen probably stuck out to me the most. I also enjoyed rereading about the Valkyrie plot — a historical epic.

[Chris DiPasqua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is misleading, suggesting that in light of Nazi oppression, it would detail tales of rescuing and shielding persecuted groups of the Holocaust. While it does describe the stories of six individuals who opposed the regime, a great deal of emphasis was placed on the German Communist leader Ernst Thalmann. One may argue that Thalmann’s proselytizing for the virtues of the Soviet Union does not necessarily make one a “Good German.” Conversely, less attention was paid to the 20 July conspiracists of Claus von Stauffenberg which was actually the most interesting element of the book.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read for understanding the motives and methods opposition took in Nazi Germany. This book shouldn't be taken as the whole story of resistance as Clay has only chosen six lives to focus on. She does however touch on more well known events such as the fate of the White Rose Group and the July Bomb Plot in a very personal manner. The interwoven story like nature of the writing made it difficult to follow in places but this is clearly very well researched.

[Lizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Clay’s book about Emma Jung (Labyrinths), and this is a subject I am hugely interested, so I just had to read The Good Germans. It is excellent, with a huge amount of detail and several threads, all held together excellently. It only falls down with some rambling sentences and roundabout narrative/timeline. Otherwise this is a wonderful book full of truly remarkable and world-changing stories. Highly recommended!

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to follow the different persona involved

I found it very difficult to keep the thread of the various people involved. It was quite confusing. Additionally much of this book dealt with the 20thJuly plot which has had extensive coverage in other books.When all is said and done there was not an extensive resistance network against the Nazis.