Resisting Hitler: Mildred Harnack and the Red Orchestra

by Shareen Blair Brysac

This tells of an American woman who gave her life in the struggle against the Nazi regime. As members of a resistance group, Mildred & her husband, Arvid Harnack, assisted in the escape of Jews & political dissidents, providing economic & military intelligence to both Washington & Moscow. But in 1942, following a Soviet blunder, the Gestapo arrested, tortured & tried 80 members of the group, which the Nazis dubbed the Red Orchestra. Mildred Fish-Harnack was guillotined in Berlin on 2/16/43, on the personal instruction of Adolf Hitler--the only American woman executed as an underground conspirator. Yet as WWII ended & the Cold War began, her courage, idealism & self-sacrifice went largely unacknowledged in America.
Preface
Plötzensee
Transfiguration
Chum
Nonconformist
A radical marriage
Scholar
Comrade
Pilgrim
Hostess
Literary figure
Stranger
Resister
Spy?
Prey
The woman in cell 25
Stalingrad's scapegoat
Epilogue
Postscript
Glossary & Abbreviations
Notes
Authors Consulted
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, World War II, War, American History

514 pages, Hardcover

Published October 12, 2000

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a biography of Mildred Fish, the only female citizen of the USA executed by the Nazi government. Given her marriage with Arvid Harnack, however, her story comes to include other members of that prominent family, their relatives and friends--and, through some of them, the resistance circle Der Roten Kapelle.

While I found the story of MFH often moving, the exposition was spotty. This may simply be because so many of the records of her life have been either lost or suppressed. Despite the many gaps, however, author Brysac is to be credited with what appears to be her sedulous effort to ferret out everything and everybody relevant to the story and, by so doing, to set the record straight about the heroic Ms. Fish-Harnack.

[Resalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. A meticuosly researched book about the only American woman to have been executed in WWII on direct orders from Hitler himself. Having married a German man that she met at U Wisconsin Mildred Fish Harnack moves to Berlin in the years before Hitler and the Nazis seize power. An academic like her husband she moves in intellectual circles but is soon drawn into the resistance movement. Although she and her husband Arvid show tremendous courage in trying to alert the world of Hitler's true intentions thru dissemination of information to both the USSR and the US,it would take years before their heroic deeds were honored. In fact their role within the 'red orchestra' as their group is named is maligned. This is in part because they leaned towards communism, when in fact their true goals were to bring down Hitler;s regime.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really well-written and the timeline and bio is very kind of catchy and readable. I had never even heard of Mildred Harnack but I saw this book on the bookshelf of one of my colleagues and asked to borrow it.

My colleague is a transplant from University of Wisconsin (where Mildred Harnack studied) and he convinced them to honor her with a lecture series.

I'm about halfway through but I already know that she was assassinated by Hitler's army as a traitor and the only American woman who suffered that fate. I can't believe that we don't honor her for the work she did in the resistance.

[Elizabeth R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly thorough and comprehensive look into the life of Mildred Fish-Harnack (and just about everyone else of import she ever met), who also just happens to be a Wisconsin native. This is the third (I think?) book I’ve read with her in it and I would say the best. I was fascinated by the chapters about Wisconsin, its immigration history, its trade unionist history, and the deep dive into UW Madison circa 1920. I was interested that this book places Mildred in much more of a support role to her husband Arvid and his activities, despite describing in detail what an accomplished, vivacious, and engaged person she was. We’ll never really know because so many of the witnesses died during the war, but I wonder what really went on. This book was published in 2000 and I would love for her to provide details of anything she’s learned since.
As previously noted, I attended Wisconsin public schools and universities from 1985-2004 and never hard of Mildred Fish-Harnack or a day celebrating her. I wish I had.

[Jdblair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Mildred Fish-Harnack or the Red Orchestra until I was given this book at Christmas. The author, Shareen Blair Brysac, had been mentioned in the Blair Society for Genealogical Research's newsletter so my family bought the book for me.

I found it particularly interesting since I had just finished reading Eric Metaxas' book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazi Gestapo near the end of WWII. The Harnacks, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and other members of the German resistance were also executed.

A lot of the information in this book was not available until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. The author interviewed survivors of the Third Reich who knew all of these people.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the tale of the only American woman executed by Hitler and the Nazis. It was a good story but sometimes, it felt bogged down with all the names and situations that were intertwined in her her life. A name would be mentioned and then nothing for a while and then that name showed up again with little help to remember who they were. I also felt that the author tended to get off track from Mildred's story and would talk in depth about other people who were involved in resisting Hitler and the Nazis. It was sad how most Americans know little to nothing about this woman who was part of a resistance movement. It is truly a tale about an ordinary woman who could not stand by and do nothing while her world was burning down around her.

[stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

excellently researched. easy to read for a more academic text. love the notes and footnotes and how every corner is explored.

mildred is a fascinating person, as is her husband, and if you want to know why she wasn't honored as a hero in america, let's be honest - it's because she was working with the soviets. don't forget how long the cold war lasted.

i would love to spend time in the KGB/KKVD archives. if only i read russian . . . but if books like this are the result of opening files and archives, i eagerly await the next big reveal . . .

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book after reading "In the Garden of the Beasts" by Erik Larson. Found the Mildred Harnack character quite interesting and wanted to find out more. This book was more "academically" written than the Larson book and required a little more discipline to read but it was worth it. It was good to find out that not all Germans collaborated or went along. Mrs. Harnack should be much more acknowledged and honored by America.

[Fred Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must reading for any American who wants to find out about some of the repressed history of WWII. I think because she was female and a Communist, her memory and activities have been buried by the same people who created the blacklists in the 50's. Her story should be as well known as any other WWII story of resistance to the Nazi's.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Crap . . . women kick ass!!! American woman from the Midwest moves to Europe and becomes involved in the only resistance group never to be completely broken up by the Nazis. Mildred is my new hero!!!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an amazing and courageous woman (people)! I just had difficulty following all the names and facts.

[Laurie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever I hear stories of people who are part of an underground network, doing what’s right in a time of dictatorship, I always think to myself “would I have done that?” There have been wonderful stories out there in the form in non-fiction (e.g., “The Zookeeper’s Wife”) and historical fiction (e.g., “The Nightingale”), highlighting heroic acts of resistance during WWII. “Resisting Hitler” is non-fiction, and the author has done an admirable job of piecing together the story of Mildred Fish-Harnack based on painstaking research, and supplementing gaps in information with personal interviews of individuals who were part of Mildred’s circle. She brings the reader in to her process of sorting through the renderings of personal accounts that might be distorted due to age of the source (some of the interviewees were in their 90s) and the amount of time that’s passed since the events took place. She also applies a healthy dose of skepticism to the motivations of others who wrote about Mildred and her group’s activities.

With age and experience I’ve come to appreciate the importance of context, and Shareen fulfilled my quest to understand what likely contributed to the motives of Mildred Fish-Harnack. Coming-of-age in the early 1900s in Milwaukee, WI was akin to growing up in Germany due to the influx of German immigrants, and the works of Goethe were very influential for Mildred. While attending the University of Wisconsin, she came under the wing of Professor John R. Commons, who rallied his students to debate the merits of liberal programs such as state unemployment insurance, workmen’s compensation and a minimum wage.

This is just one of many instances of context-setting that gave me pause while reading this book, and reinforced for me how our own personal motivations are likely driven by the time and place in which we live.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to "Resistance Women" by Jennifer Chiaverini & reading "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson, I acquired this book to learn more about Mildred. She is an interesting character & this book gives as much detail as is known about her, much of it gleaned from records made available after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The author asserts herself by showing her process, including interviews with survivors & her evaluation of the material. I didn't mind this & thought it flowed fine. But it's an academic book so the reader has to be prepared: it's not popular non-fiction. It's solid academia & because the cast of characters is large, it's easy to get confused by the players. I'm a meticulous reader of chapter notes after each chapter & this helped with continuity, but the book could be daunting for some readers. Also, in a petty note, I was disappointed in the editing of a book published by Oxford University Press. So many typos & missing words in sentences.

[Eva Thieme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn by this book. On the one hand it was fascinating to hear more about this lesser-covered part of the Third Reich, and especially about an American woman who became entangled in the resistance activities of the Red Orchestra - if mostly not of her own doing. On the other hand, I felt it tedious to read. The research is detailed, but that is actually the problem. I agree with some of the other reviewers about all the names. There are way too many different characters that there is any possibility of remembering them all, and worse than that, they are not introduced in a way that makes them memorable. You really don't get any good idea of who is who, except for Mildred and Arvid. Less detail and more purpose, plus a more fluid plot line, would have greatly helped this story to be fascinating rather than a bit boring.

[John Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted more after reading "All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler" by Rebecca Donner. This book focuses on the entire operation and history of the Red Orchestra, with much about Mildred Harnack-Fish and many others. It includes fascinating pictures of key players at the beginning of each chapter. Another interesting and colorful player is the American ambassador's daughter, Martha Dodd. The author does a decent job of recreating an accurate, concise history when the subject covers a group that, by definition, must be covert.

[Sally]

After listening to "Resistance Women" by Jennifer Chiaverini, I found this title on my to-read list.
Chiaverini's book is historical fiction, but I know her works involve a lot of research.

This interview by Shareen Blair Brysac is interesting:
https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/pbs-wi...

[Robert Drumheller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story of a woman who gave her life in the struggle against the Nazi regime.

[Cowden · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be interesting because of the subject. Unfortunately this is a real mismatch between a prodigious amount of research, and banal writing and incoherent structure. An object lesson in how years spent in obscure archives has little to do with producing a readable book.

[Novall]

Translation from English by Klaus Kochmann
https://www.worldcat.org/title/mildre...