The Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Battle #6

by Earl F. Ziemke

"A sensible German government would have taken the break late summer of 1944 to seek an armistice and to escape the final wave of destruction. They hoped the Allies, even a government like Hitler. Were wrong."

This resulted in Battle of Berlin ... one of the most important operations, hardest and most consequential of the entire war

Genres: History, World War II, Germany, Military Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Earl Frederick Ziemke was an American military historian who specialized in German operations on the Eastern Front in World War II. After service in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during the war, Ziemke earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Wisconsin. From 1951 until 1955, he worked at the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University, after which he spent twelve years as an historian for the United States Army’s Office of the Chief of Military History in Washington, D.C. In 1967, he moved to the University of Georgia, where he was a full professor form 1967 until 1977, and research professor from 1977 until his retirement in 1993.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earl Ziemke’s chronicle of the end of the Third Reich is among the best volumes in Ballantine’s series of illustrated histories of World War II. As a historian with the U.S. Army’s Center for Military History, he was well versed with the subject, having written several works pertaining to German military operations during the war. Using this expertise, he provides a short overview of the war against Germany from the autumn of 1944 – when Ziemke contends Germany should have sued for peace – to the establishment of the occupation government in Berlin in the summer of 1945. Much of the text is devoted to a dry recounting of unit deployments, yet this matter-of-fact recitation of events only enhances the surreality of the events Ziemke describes, with Adolf Hitler increasingly waging a war in his bunker that had little to do with the fighting taking place around him. Combined with maps and a plentiful selection of photographs, it’s a book that remains an excellent resource for readers seeking a concise yet detailed overview of its subject.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another little gem in the "Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II series. Earl F Ziemke gives us the story of the end of the War in Europe, the conquest of Berlin in 1945 by the Soviet Russian Red Army. The grand tactical aspect is covered about as well as could be done in 1968, Cold War England. The Germans, with Hitler's garbled addled "leadership" sending units all over the place, fairly well documented, and the Russians with only the "Soviet Official Story"as begrudged guidance, cited often in the text, with the knowledge that it hides all the myriad of real anecdotes that would make this more engaging.

At this point, I want to say that this book serves perhaps as a better example of a Cold War document, than it does as a history of the war itself. The tone of the book is filled with the sort of "We Should Have Taken Berlin Ourselves" wishful thinking that permeated NATO military thinking almost until the fall of Communism. That and the obvious sullen resignation to the fact that the "Soviet Official History" was as much a propaganda exercise as it was a record of events, make this a very interesting read. Post 1990 revelations have made Soviet military history back into Russian history- with personal anecdotes, and memoirs flooding back to fill in the gaps Ziemke bemoans. And now we tend to think that Ike was right in letting the Red Army bleed itself a bit more to capture a wasteland "military White Elephant", with the Cold War now a distant memory. In this book's passages it's still an open wound, still half of Europe held in Authoritarian sway not that far removed from Nazism. Good to remind people how starkly the world was divided after WWII.

With its Myriad of black and white pictures , maps, and even line drawings of weaponry, this series is a boon to any Junior Reader -or the Military Enthusiast/Gamer/Modeller. A short and directly simple prose style, and the easy support of pics n maps will make this ideal for introducing this mature story to the junior reader. The Modeller/Gamer/Enthusiast will find a pic or two , or a map or diagram that will improve a diorama/scenario, but also essential background information on this campaign.

[Heep · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a highly revealing summary of the final conquest of Nazi Germany. It is astonishing that human societies can organize to allow a single person or small group of people such power. By the end, Hitler and his cohort seem so trivial and pathetic. And yet, they exerted control for so long and in the end caused so much additional death, destruction and suffering. It mystifies me that his most ardent supporters accepted his suicide and didn't interpret it as an act of abject cowardice.

One other thing became more clear to me as I made it through the book. Stalingrad played a monumental psychological role in the final period of the war. It is somewhat easier to understand the Nazi's desparate hope for a miracle when one considers how miraculous what happened in Stalingrad (and Moscow and Leningrad) must have seemed to them. Sheer willpower appears to play as much a part in the Soviet defence as military might and strategy. That must have been Hittler's interpretation in any event.

This book is written in a very objective style - just the facts. It is balanced in its approach to the Soviets to a fault. Their atrocities are referred to in passing and with a general caveat that most were acts of vengeance. Nevertheless, this approach helps one to appreciate the mood and political realities that prevailed through that period. It is a very informative record of events and the photographs also help to tell the story.

[carl theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ballantine books was the main source for WW2 books in the 60 & 70s and
this was part of an innovative illustrated series, a godsend to history
fans.

My edition is 1968. 160pgs w/b&w photos
and ample text telling the story.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maily speaks about the large tactical scale (divisions to armygroups) surrounding the days before and after the capture of Berlin. The book does this well, yet it does not really speak of the battles inside the city in detail, kind of what I was looking for really.

[Rat Boy Hedonist · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read about Hitler having to use "bicycle soldiers" and shit and how he said "well it'll help with traffic!!" I cracked up. What a big fucking baby!!