Second World War Books

Book SynopsisNow available in paperback, this book tells the detailed and engrossing account of the fighting in Ukraine in 1944, making use of the extensive memoirs of German and Russian soldiers involved in the fighting, as well as partisans behind the German lines, to bring the story to life.''The Reckoning is vivid history, the tragic Eastern Front brought to life through the widest range of Russian and German sources I''ve ever read. Bravo.'' Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcasterBy the end of 1944 the Red Army was poised on the very frontiers of the Third Reich. How had the once unstoppable, mighty Wehrmacht faltered so disastrously? Certainly it had suffered defeats before, in particular the vast catastrophe of Stalingrad, but it was in 1944 that the war was ultimately lost. It was no longer a case of if but rather when the Red Army would be at the gates of Berlin.Prit Buttar retraces the ebb and flow of the various battles aTrade ReviewThe Reckoning reinforces Prit Buttar's standing as a leading authority on modern warfare in Eastern Europe. If you find the scale and complexity of the Eastern Front battles daunting, pick up a copy, relax and let Prit Buttar lead the way... totally absorbing narrative. * Mike Peters, Chairman, International Guild of Battlefield Guides *The panorama of the WWII Eastern Front is so huge, it's often difficult to comprehend. Dr Prit Buttar has nailed it through his judicious blend of the strategic and tactical – commanders’ debates and soldiers’ experiences. At times this is Sven Hassell brought vividly to life. The Reckoning is well-balanced throughout, fair to both sides, employing the widest range of Russian and German sources I've ever seen. Long overdue, I am sure it will replace all previous accounts of Army Group South. * Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcaster *A masterful account of the war in the East. * The Armourer *Table of ContentsList of Maps Dramatis Personae Preface Introduction 1: The Protagonists 2: The Kirovograd Encirclement 3: Watutin and the Cherkassy-Korsun Encirclement 4: Another Stalingrad 5: Mud, Snow and Hill 239 6: Kamanets-Podolski: The Encirclement of First Panzer Army 7: Malinovsky’s Offensive 8: The Wandering Pocket 9: The Crimean Peninsula 10: The End of the Leash 11: Preparing for Summer 12: The Lviv-Sandomierz Operation 13: The Disintegrating Axis 14: The Approaching Endgame Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAdolf Hitler - a ranting, evil demagogue whose insane ambitions and beliefs took the world to the brink of extinction and caused the deaths of millions. And yet there was another side to the Fuhrer, one that was rarely seen and even now remains unknown by most people. It was a softer side, a gentler side that, in the main, came out only in his dealings with the women in his life. With his secretaries and other female staff he was caring and considerate - almost without exception they have recorded that he was an employer of compassion and understanding, someone who was really interested in their lives. Eva Braun is a well-known figure but she was not alone in her role as the Fuhrer's lover. Dozens of women preceded her, people like Mitzi Reiter, Henny Hoffmann and his own niece Geli Raubal. To them and the many more who spent time alone with him, Hitler was the ultimate romantic, someone to love and in return be loved back. Hitler was adored by the women of Germany. They flocked in their thousands to see him, to hear him speak. In their eyes he could do no wrong. They might never meet him but they could look, they could listen - and they could fantasise about a future that would never happen. Without the support of women, their help and guidance, Hitler might never have risen to power. In the wild post-war days the Society women of Munich gave him shelter and encouragement. They gave him space and time to climb the slippery political ladder to the top. At the pinnacle of the German state, he used and abused their adulation and support to maintain his position. Women had taught him how to behave, how to be accepted by polite society. Women had funded his Nazi Party and helped give him an ideology to underpin his movement. He accepted that as his right but ultimately he repaid them by leading the country to the edge of destruction. This book, _Hitler and His Women_, looks at all of the women in Hitler's life, his lovers and his passing flings. From his mother and sisters to a teenage infatuation with a girl he never actually met, from actresses like Zara Leander to English aristocrat Unity Mitford, it examines the relationships and how they affected the course of history. The findings may well astound you.

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Book SynopsisAllied victory in the Second World War owed much to air power. The success of military and naval operations invariably hinged on control of the skies, and the rise to dominance of the Allied air forces meant that the Nazi war machine was effectively doomed. Following the success of The Second World War in Colour, this book presents a further selection of original colour photographs from the IWM collection, focusing on Allied aircraft and airmen. Alongside these striking images, War in the Air examines how crucial aviation was to winning the war, from the defence of Britain’s skies and maritime trade, to battlefield support in North Africa and Europe and the strategic bombing offensive over Germany. Shot from the ground and from the air, these powerful images bring a vital aspect of the Second World War to life.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen 1941 - 1945 is the 7th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series written by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story of the 7th SS Mountain Division was formed in 1941 from the Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) volunteers and conscripts from the Banat, Independent State of Croatia, Hungary and Romania. It fought a brutal counter insurgency campaign against communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in the occupied Serbia and Montenegro. It was given the title Prinz Eugen after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an outstanding military leader of the Habsburg Empire who liberated the Banat and Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in the Austro Turkish War. It was initially named the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen (SS-Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen).

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Book SynopsisThroughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier's position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with strafe B-25s. Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March,Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Strategic Situation The Combatants Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisOne of The New Yorker''s Best Books of the Year * A Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize FinalistAuthoritative. . . . [Reynolds''s] contribution to our understanding of the rise of American intelligence is unparalleled. —Journal of Intelligence History“The most thorough and detailed history available on the origins of U.S. intelligence.” —Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and Acting Director, CIAHistorian and former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, the New York Times bestselling author of Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy, uncovers the definitive history of American intelligence during World War II, illuminating its key role in securing victory and its astonishing growth from practically nothing at the start of the war. The entire vast, modern American intelligence system—the amalgaTrade Review"Authoritative. ... Reynolds's contribution to our understanding of the rise of American intelligence is unparalleled." — Journal of Intelligence History “Need to Know is the most thorough and detailed history available on the origins of U.S. intelligence. I expect it to become part of the required reading for university classes on intelligence for some time to come. Kudos to Nick Reynolds for giving us Need to Know.” — Michael Morell, Former Deputy Director and Acting Director, CIA “An excellent, wide-ranging introduction to the creation of American Intelligence in World War II.” — The Journal of Military History "Need to Know is a detailed history of the origins of American intelligence capability....Reynolds traces how the intelligence establishment we know today was built from scratch starting during the run-up to the Second World War. The storyline is supported by extensive research." — Foreign Service Journal "Reynolds examines the genesis of the Central Intelligence Agency in the inter war years and particularly in the Second World War. He has used his academic research and practical expertise in the intelligence services to examine the complex set of personalities, rivalries and political manoeuvring which led to the development of the CIA and its global reach and influence." — British Modern Military History Society “Of several recent books that coincide with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the [CIA’s] founding. … Reynolds’s book is the best of the recent batch, and the most readable.” — The New Yorker, Best Books of 2022 “A readable, thoughtful book on an important subject….This is an exceptionally well cited book….Need to Know belongs in the required or at least highly recommended readings portions of syllabi in intelligence studies programs.” — William Nolte, The Cipher Brief (rated 4 out of 4 “trench coats”) “[A] vast, complex, character-rich history. … A comprehensive, authoritative examination of the genesis of America’s national security apparatus.” — Kirkus Reviews "An exhaustively researched critical history of American military intelligence from 1940 to the beginning of the Cold War. ... Reynolds’s scrupulous and well-rounded approach reveals the good, the bad, and the reckless in the early days of U.S. intelligence. Espionage buffs will be fascinated." — Publishers Weekly "Reynolds masterfully synthesizes the contributions of a number of consequential figures to the burgeoning intelligence industry that WWII bequeathed to modern America." — Booklist "Based on extensive primary research, this striking and compelling account should be read by anybody interested in the development of U.S. intelligence agencies and special operations during World War II." — Library Journal “Need to Know is imaginative, bold in framework, and extremely well-executed.” — Richard B. Frank, author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, July 1937- May 1942 "A revelatory account of the covert efforts of the Allied forces to turn the tide of World War II. ... A thrilling account." — Seattle Book Review "Nicholas Reynolds does a great service to the field of intelligence history by producing a narrative on this essential topic that is as accessible to general readers as it is insightful for scholars. The book offers the rare combination of illuminating scholarship and great readability. ... Reynolds’s novel big-picture approach offers a subtle, fresh perspective. ... A notable strength of Need to Know is the book’s ability to capture the humanity and complexity behind the wartime evolution of what the world now knows as the US national security regime." — Sara B. Castro, US Air Force Academy "Reynolds intended to write an overview for specialists and generalists, and he succeeds. In my own library, I have placed it next to Christopher Andrew’s For the President’s Eyes Only and the books and published primary sources I gather on the emergence of the intelligence community. ... Certainly, the reading public would enjoy and benefit from reading it, too, as it is well informed, perceptive, and a pleasure to read." — James Lockhart, Rabdan Academy/Zayed Military University, Abu Dhabi

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Book SynopsisOf all the accounts written about the Second World War, none are more compelling than the personal diaries of those who lived through it. We Are At War is the story of five everyday folk, who, living on the brink of chaos, recorded privately on paper their most intimate hopes and fears.Pam Ashford, a woman who keeps her head when all around are losing theirs, writes with comic genius about life in her Glasgow shipping office. Christopher Tomlin, a writing-paper salesman for whom business is booming, longs to be called up like his brother. Eileen Potter organises evacuations for flea-ridden children, while mother-of-three Tilly Rice is frustrated to be sent to Cornwall. And Maggie Joy Blunt tries day-by-day to keep a semblance of her ordinary life.Entering their world as they lived it, each diary entry is poignantly engrossing. Amid the tumultuous start to the war, these ordinary British people are by turns apprehensive and despairing, spirited and cheerful - aTrade ReviewWonderful stuff * Sunday Times *Fascinating, delightful, illuminating. The diarists soon become like old friends ... and make our wartime past seem no more distant than yesterday * Mail on Sunday *It's always easy to imagine people in this period becalmed in a sepia-toned limbo. This book tells the messy, but far more interesting, truth * Time Out *Few books have so successfully stepped inside the minds of the British people during wartime * Metro *A fascinating account of everyday life in Britain * Good Housekeeping *

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Book SynopsisDavid Cesarani is Research Professor in History at Royal Holloway, University of London. His publications include Justice Delayed: How Britain Became a Refuge for Nazi War Criminals, Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind and, most recently, Eichmann: His Life and Crimes, which won the 2006 US National Jewish Book Award for History. He has written and edited several books exploring the relationship between Britain, British Jews, and Zionism including The 'Jewish Chronicle' and Anglo-Jewry and The Making of Modern Anglo-Jewry.Trade ReviewA powerful and revelatory book * Independent *A penetrating and compelling study * Sunday Telegraph *Excellent and thorough * Guardian *A perceptive and intelligent new account - David Cesarani comes closer than anyone to solving the puzzle of what made Eichmann do what he did * Literary Review *Meticulous and admirably balanced * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThe terrifying first use of nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 was the most controversial act of warfare in history, dramatically ending the Second World War but ushering in the age of mass destruction. Yet it was also the climax of a story that extends beyond Japan and Washington: the culmination of decades of scientific achievement and centuries of colonial exploitation. Snake Dance is the account of a journey that turned into a quest to discover how humanity reaches this point. Patrick Marnham travels from the opulent nineteenth-century palaces of King Leopold II of Belgium, built with riches plundered from the Congo, to the lethally derelict nuclear reactor of modern-day Kinshasa. He follows the shipment of Congolese uranium to the deserts of New Mexico for the Manhattan Project's secret test detonation. Here he uncovers the legacies of Robert Oppenheimer and Aby Warburg, two mad geniuses' who confronted the devastating power of twentieth-Trade ReviewA beautifully written book – informative and entertaining -- Piers Paul Read * Spectator *Fascinating… Snake Dance is nothing less than the biography of nuclear power, the most awesome force humanity has yet unleashed upon the planet -- Peter Whittakar * New Internationalist *[Patrick Marnham’s] mastery of a vast trove of material makes him an erudite travel companion…perennially eager to poke about in radiation zones armed only with a wonky Geiger counter and a paper mask -- Matthew Green * Literary Review *The travel writing is first class… [A] thrillingly ominous account * Spectator *A superb book on the genesis and use of the atomic bomb * Scotsman *This is a humane and intelligent book, and one in which Marnham has clearly been deeply engaged -- Melanie McGrath * Sunday Telegraph *The great strength of Snake Dance is to create an atmosphere in which the advent of atomic energy is not just outrageous but tragic * Observer *Snake Dance is a hybrid of a film tie-in, travelogue, biography and history. It’s a blend that gels through Marnham’s unwavering verve as he follows the trail of a lethal cargo -- Christian House * Independent *Impeccably researched and written -- Giles Milton * Mail on Sunday *From colonial slavery to the blind potential of scientific exploration to enslave us in turn, he makes a circular journey: the nuclear snake eats its own tail * The Times *A twisting global journey in his devastating critique of nuclear policy…an honourable refusal to rationalise what boils down to an act of repeated mass murder * Metro *A penetrating historical x-ray of the first generation of people to live under the nuclear shadow * Prospect *A fascinating travelogue taking the reader from Joseph Conrad’s Congo to the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster of 2011, via New Mexico… a learned and compelling history of man trying to control the elements. It’s also a clarion call to arms to save ourselves and the planet * Bookseller *

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Book SynopsisRoger Moorhouse is an historian and author specialising in modern German history. He is the co-author, with Norman Davies, of Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City, and the author of Killing Hitler and Berlin at War.Trade ReviewThe Devils' Alliance is a marvellous achievement. No event was more crucial to the outbreak of the Second World War than the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939, and no one is better qualified to explore its grim implications than Roger Moorhouse -- Norman DaviesSuperbly researched and academically impeccable, yet written with all the pace of a thriller, The Devils' Alliance shines a powerful beam into one of the undeservedly least known aspects of the Second World War -- Andrew RobertsMeticulous and vividly readable… Moorhouse’s grim and compelling book could not be more topical * Sunday Telegraph *A highly enjoyable history written with verve and attention to detail * Financial Times *Superb -- Brendan Simms * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisRichard Vinen is Reader in History at King's College, University of London. His last book was the highly acclaimed A History in Fragments: Europe in the Twentieth Century.

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Book SynopsisThe French Writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), was born in Lyon. His first two books, SOUTHERN MAIL and NIGHT FLIGHT, are distinguished by a poetic evocation of the romance and discipline of flying. Later works, including WIND, SAND AND STARS and FLIGHT TO ARRAS, stress his humanistic philosophy. Saint-Exupéry's popular children's book THE LITTLE PRINCE is also read by adults for its allegorical meaning. Saint-Exupéry's plane disappeared during a mission in World War II.

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Book SynopsisWith many colourful anecdotes and vivid descriptions, this is the first authentic account of daily life at Government Communications Headquarters, Bletchley Park, the most successful intelligence agency in history. Described by Churchill as the ''secret weapon'' that ''won the war'', the men and women of Bletchley Park here combine to write their story in full.This book gives fascinating insights into recruitment and training, together with a full and accurate account of codes and ciphers and how they are broken.Trade Reviewit is an exciting story they have to tell. * Tom Greenwell, Yorkshire Post *... because of its intense secrecy, the work of the men and women at Bletchley received no public recognition for many years after the war, and many of those who made important contributions are no longer alive.This volume of personal recollections by some 30 of the survivors is ... especially welcome. Conditions of life and work at Bletchley, and its principal achievements, are faithfully sampled in Codebreakers, which is worth reading both for its historical interest and for the sidelights it throws on the problems encountered in the rapid assembly and organization of one of the greatest collections of talent that has ever occurred in Western civilization. * Nature *This unique volume will be of great interest to cryptologists in particular, and intelligence buffs in general. * Surveillant *While some of the chapters are so technical that Stella Rimmington would struggle to unscramble them, one still gets a strong sense of the excitement and frustrations of a war fought on the airwaves. * Daily Telegraph *the anecdotal material is fascinating in the insight it gives into everyday life at the institution. * Sunday Times *Hinsley and Stripp have assembled 30 reminiscers - most geniuses, a few slaves, all highly informative. * Robin Blake, Independent on Sunday *it is a remarkable tribute to the men and women who worked to crack the Germans' Enigma code. * David Hall,Oxford Times *The most interesting thing about this collection of essays is the light it throws on the personalities concerned. * Times Higher Education Supplement *These essays on the diverse activities at Bletchley Park (which remained secret until the 1970s) are enthralling. * The Observer *What makes Codebreakers so absorbing is that it has been written by the men and women who worked at Bletchley Park, all of whom were forbidden to talk about their work at the time. Codebreakers gives a fascinating insight into their daily lives. * Madeleine Burton, Hitchin Gazette *... one gets a strong sense of the excitement and frustrations of a war fought on the airwaves. * Daily Telegraph *Interesting stuff. * The Marine Society *This book has been put together from the personal memories of people none of whom would now be under 65. That they are so readable attests to the skill of the editors, who were themselves part of the Bletchley operation. Above all, it highlights the painstaking effort that intelligence work demands; but, as this volume shows, intelligence is useless there is force and a willingness to take advantage of it. * John Farquharson, Canberra Times *This new book is the first full account of Bletchley written by those who worked there. The book is superbly edited by F.H. Hinsley and Alan Stripp, Expositions are lucid and understandable to the layman - a considerable achievement. There are good photographs including those of Enigma cipher machines. Altogether, this is a splendid book for military historians, operational planners and especially intelligence officers. * Howard, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Air Power History *This is a fascinating saga. * M. G. Bond, Army Quarterly and Defence Journal *editors and contributors have made Codebreakers an essential work ... It must be read by anyone and everyone concerned with intelligence during the Second World war .... It will be fundamental to anyone concerned with the techniques used during the Second World War to attack ciphers, super-enciphered codebooks or machine ciphers. * John Ferris, University of Calgary, Intelligence and National Secuirty *... a very intimate, anecdotal history. Despite the grim and far-reaching nature of their work, the reader goets a sense of a world bounded by four walls and shared with a few close associates whose common work made for very close relationships. The work of the codebreakers ... is fascinating, if sometimes barely comprehensible. ... a dramatic insight into just how remarkable the codebreakers' accomplishments were. * British Heritage *It comes with impeccable references in the shape of its editors' background and reputation, and does not disappoint. * The British Army Review *fascinating insiders' account of wartime code-cracking... and absorbing read. * Niall Fergusson *a highly revealing, even exciting book... that lays fascinating former secrets bare... It is a delight to have so crucial a subject so clearly and entertainingly described, by some thirty people who really understand what they are discussing and can set the record quite straight. * M. R. D. Foot, The Times *Anyone interested in the Second World War will sit up all night, and chess players and puzzle-solvers will be captivated by the later chapters. * Noel Annan, Independent on Sunday *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION. THE INFLUENCE OF ULTRA IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR; PART ONE. THE PRODUCTION OF ULTRA INTELLIGENCE; PART TWO. ENIGMA; PART THREE. FISH; PART FOUR. FIELD CIPHERS AND TACTICAL CODES; PART FIVE. JAPANESE CODES; APPENDIX. HOW THE BLETCHLY PARK BUILDINGS TOOK SHAPE

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Book SynopsisAs the Nazis staged their takeover in 1933, instances of antisemitic violence began to soar.While previous historical research assumed that this violence happened much later, Hermann Beck counteracts this, drawing on sources from twenty German archives, and focussing on this early violence, and on the reaction of German institutions and the elites who led them.Before the Holocaust examines the antisemitic violence experienced in this period - from boycotts, violent attacks, robbery, extortion, abductions, and humiliating ''pillory marches'', to grievous bodily harm and murder - which has hitherto not been adequately recognized. Beck then analyses the reactions of those institutions that still had the capacity to protest against Nazi attacks and legislative measures - the Protestant Church, the Catholic Church, the bureaucracies, and Hitler''s conservative coalition partner, the DNVP - and the mindset of the elites who led them, to determine their various responses to flagrant antisemitTrade Review5* review: "...It is a book all students of the Nazi regime should read..." * Paul Donnelley, Daily Express *Relentlessly concise and nigh monumental within its outstanding sphere of research...nothing less than an astonishing achievement. * David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews *an important book... a major contribution to readers' understanding of the beginnings of the Third Reich. * R. Spickermann, Choice Reviews *The initiation of Hitler's violence against the Jews has long been neglected in the massive literature on the Holocaust. Hermann Beck's Before the Holocaust fills this lacuna with a monumental study of its very first months. The book fully contextualizes and also describes in thorough detail the initial phase of what became a policy of "cumulative radicalization," as well as the very muted reaction to it. An indispensable preliminary to Holocaust studies. * Stanley G. Payne, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of A History of Fascism 1914-1945 *Based on extensive archival research, Beck's outstanding book accomplishes something that surprisingly has never been done before: a great piece of erudite and original research, Before the Holocaust charts out anti-Semitic violence and other acts of Jew-hatred in the months following Hitler's takeover of power in 1933. In doing so, the book investigates the transition of pre-Nazi German anti-Semitism to National Socialist persecution of the Jews in Germany. Beck accomplishes something extraordinary, namely, to say something genuinely new about the origins and the emergence of the Shoah. * Thomas Weber, Chair in History and International Affairs & Director, Centre for Global Security and Governance, University of Aberdeen *Hermann Beck's Before the Holocaust is a powerful book. Using extensive new research, the study throws a glaring light on the extent and murderous brutality of antisemitic persecution from the very outset of Hitler's accession to power. Moreover, it demonstrates how the Protestant and Catholic churches, as well as the conservative elites, united in their enthusiastic support for the "national revolution", abstained from immediate protest, whatever initial or later misgivings there may have been. For any student of Nazi Germany, Beck's study is a must. * Saul Friedländer, Emeritus Professor of History, UCLA; author of Nazi Germany and the Jews: vol I: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939 *Hermann Beck has painstakingly uncovered a whole range of antisemitic violence that began during the first weeks of Hitler's dictatorship. He discovered these events by working through over a dozen national and regional archives in Germany, as well as numerous collections of published documentary material and newspapers. The appalling terror he reveals often occurred in full public view in cities and towns across the country - horrendous attacks that have been overlooked, ignored, or neglected by generations of historians. In what is sure to become the standard work on the topic, Beck shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Nazi-led violence rained down on the Jews during the Nazi takeover. Without question, this early and vicious brutality signaled the beginning of the inhumane process that would culminate in the Holocaust. * Robert Gellately, Earl Ray Beck Professor of History, Florida State University; author of Hitler's True Believers: How Ordinary People Became Nazis *This is an important book...This book is a major contribution to readers' understanding of the beginnings of the Third Reich. * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Search for Archival Evidence Part I: Violence against Foreign Jews 1: Violence against 'Ostjuden' in the Winter and Spring of 1933 2: 'Ostjuden' as Predetermined Targets - a History of Marginalization 3: Attacks against American and West European Jews, among Others Part II: Violence against German Jews 4: Violent Attacks 5: Pillory Marches and the Perfidy Decree 6: Murder 7: Boycott 8: Legal and Economic Discrimination Part III: Reactions to Anti-Semitic Violence 9: The Protestant Church and the 'Jewish Question' 10: Protestant Church Leaders and the 'Jewish Question' 11: The Protestant Church between Action and Silence 12: The Reaction of the Catholic Church 13: Reactions of the German Bureaucracy 14: The Reaction of Hitler's Conservative Coalition Partner Epilogue: How could it happen?

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Book SynopsisTerezín, as it was known in Czech, or Theresienstadt as it was known in German, was operated by the Nazis between November 1941 and May 1945 as a transit ghetto for Central and Western European Jews before their deportation for murder in the East. Terezín was the last ghetto to be liberated, one day after the end of World War II.The Last Ghetto is the first in-depth analytical history of a prison society during the Holocaust. Rather than depict the prison society which existed within the ghetto as an exceptional one, unique in kind and not understandable by normal analytical methods, Anna Hájková argues that such prison societies that developed during the Holocaust are best understood as simply other instances of the societies human beings create under normal circumstances. Challenging conventional claims of Holocaust exceptionalism, Hájková insists instead that we ought to view the Holocaust with the same analytical tools as other historical events. The prison society of Terezín produced its own social hierarchies under which seemingly small differences among prisoners (of age, ethnicity, or previous occupation) could determine whether one ultimately lived or died. During the three and a half years of the camp''s existence, prisoners created their own culture and habits, bonded, fell in love, and forged new families. Based on extensive archival research in nine languages and on empathetic reading of victim testimonies, The Last Ghetto is a transnational, cultural, social, gender, and organizational history of Terezín, revealing how human society works in extremis and highlighting the key issues of responsibility, agency and its boundaries, and belonging.Trade ReviewIn this overwhelming book, Anna Hájková has assembled - in extraordinary gutwrenching detail - these stories of Terez ... It is the loss of life in all its mucky beauty, and the loss of living-breathing-evolving community on such a mass scale, after all, that contributes to the breathtaking horror of genocide. * JORDANA SILVERSTEIN, University of Melbourne, Gender & History *This is a powerful contribution to our understanding of the ghetto and of how societies are constructed in general, revealing in complex detail the lived experiences of those who inhabited Theresienstadt. * Barnabas Balint, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Journal of the Social History Society *Hájková has not simply written a book depicting the "transnational, cultural, social, gender, and organizational history" of the "well known, poorly understood ghetto", but she shows with great sensitivity, concisely and immense knowledge the everyday history of this limbo, the "last ghetto. * Thomas Krzenck , Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft *Anna Hájková's The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt is an essential addition to the literature about the camp, rivaled in scholarly insight only by H.G Adler... And since it is unlikely that many American readers will have the stamina to persevere through the more than 800 pages that examine the features of Adler's "coerced community," readers should feel no hesitation in turning to Hájková's thoughtful and thorough analysis. * Lawrence Langer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, George L. Mosse Program in History *Hájková's book The Last Ghetto is a well-researched, captivatingly written, and engaging scholarly work about the life of prisoners in Theresienstadt. Hájková's book is crucial reading and paradigm-shifting work for anyone who wants to understand a prisoners' society in extremis * Denisa Nešťáková, Herder Institute in Marburg, Marburg, GermanyComenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia, East Central Europe *This excellent study provides a critical investigation of the social, political, and even sexual relationships in the ghetto, their complex nature in a coerced setting and the developing power structures dominated by the young Czech elite. * Wolf Gruner, University of Southern California, AJS Review *Hájková brings solid research and a much-appreciated enrichment to readers' understanding of the Theresienstadt ghetto. The author worked for a decade with public and private archives in nine languages and offers readers a deeper understanding of what she calls "a forced community. * J. Kleiman, CHOICE *Hajkova's history of Terezin is a tour de force. Thanks to Hajkova's astonishing research and courageous reappraisal of victim society, aspects of this history that have been overlooked or marginalized are now before our eyes. A major contribution to the history of the Holocaust, The Last Ghetto also opens up new perspectives on class, nationalism, ethnicity, gender and sexuality in twentieth-century Europe. A deeply, wrenchingly human story that everyone ought to read. * Alexandra Garbarini, author of Numbered Days: Diaries and the Holocaust *This splendid and devastating, gorgeously written, paradigm-shifting book offers one transformative revelation after another. Exemplifying radical empathy without sentimentality, it represents the very best the new Holocaust history has to offer. * Dagmar Herzog, Graduate Center, City University of New York, author of Unlearning Eugenics: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Disability in Post-Nazi Europe *Theresienstadt has been shrouded in myths since Nazis first presented it as a 'model ghetto' to trick the world that Jewish prisoners were being treated humanely. Hájková's The Last Ghetto reveals the interior life of the ghetto and persuasively demonstrates that like the society that produced it, this society in extremis was riven by ethnic, gender, political, linguistic, and economic divisions that prevented a common sense of Jewishness from forming among the prisoners. * Barry Trachtenberg, Michael H. and Deborah K. Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History,Wake Forest University *The Last Ghetto is the most important book on Theresienstadt to appear in many years. With unparalleled knowledge of the sources and deep sensitivity, Anna Hájková has made a major contribution to the history of the Holocaust. With her focus on the everyday life of the ghetto's inhabitants, she also provides us with a model of social, cultural, and gender history. * Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History, Royal Holloway, University of London *[I]n my opinion, Hájková is the most revolutionary and groundbreaking of all—she asks the fundamental questions that historians usually ask about human societies and which tend to be avoided in writing on the Jews in the Holocaust. * Amos Goldberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, American Historical Review *An excellently written book that will help shape future historiography on the ghettos under Nazi rule for years to come. * Marc Buggeln, University of Flensburg, Modern European History *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Well-Known, Poorly Understood Ghetto 1. "The Overorganized Ghetto" Administering Terezín 2. A Society Based on Inequality 3. The Age of Pearl Barley: Food and Hunger 4. Medicine and Illness 5. Cultural Life: Leisure Time Activities 6. Transports to the East Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe war between Nazi Germany and Stalin''s Soviet Union that raged between 1941 and 1945 was the ultimate confrontation between the two great totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century. Unprecedented in the scale of the destruction that it wrought and the deep historical scars that it left behind, it was a gargantuan conflict in every sense of the term: in the vast territories over which it ranged, its intensity and duration, the huge numbers of people involved -- and last but by no means least, the millions of victims that it claimed. The invasion of the Soviet Union was the conflict that Hitler had always ultimately planned for: a pitiless war of conquest and destruction in which the Fuehrer dreamed of creating his ''Thousand Year Reich'', destroying his ideological opponents, and enslaving or ''eliminating'' whole peoples in the process. It was right from the start a struggle for survival, conducted with great bitterness and savagery by opponents who knew that defeat meant the destruction of everything they stood for. The outcome of this bitter struggle was quite as momentous as the struggle which had preceded it. By 1945 a huge swathe of Europe between Berlin and Moscow had been reduced to a devastated wasteland in which whole societies had been erased from the face of the earth. Over 26 million Soviets and between four and five million Germans lay dead. The victory of the Red Army transformed the Soviet Union into one of the world''s two superpowers. It also saw the complete destruction of Hitler''s megalomaniac vision for the East, the division of the German Reich, and the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe for a generation. In Operation Barbarossa, German military historian Christian Hartmann draws upon the latest research, enriched by a wealth of eye-witness testimony from both the Soviet and the German sides, to paint a masterly overview of these momentous four years and their human consequences - one that is both gripping, and at times deeply moving.Trade Review"There are a lot of little gems...If you want a swift overview of the war in this theatre and its wider impacts this book is definitely worth a look." * James Hunwicke, Battlefield *a superbly written survey of a seminal conflict * Booklist *A masterly feat of compression * Richard J. Evans, author of the Third Reich trilogy *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Politics 1940-1941 3: The Eve of War 4: War 1941-1942 5: The German Occupation 6: German War Crimes and Atrocities 7: Politics 1941-1945 8: War 1943-1945 9: Aftermath Chronology of Events Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing on material from eighty archives in six different countries worldwide, as well as eyewitness testimonies from over 100 former pupils, Helen Roche presents the first comprehensive history of the Third Reich''s most prominent elite schools, the National Political Education Institutes (Napolas / NPEA). The Napolas provided an all-encompassing National Socialist ''total education'', featuring ideological indoctrination, premilitary training, and a packed programme of extracurricular activities, including school trips and exchanges throughout Europe and beyond.Combining all the most seductive elements of reform-pedagogy, youth-movement traditions, and the militaristic ethos of the Prussian cadet schools, the schools took pupils from the age of ten, aiming to train them for leadership roles in all walks of life. Those who successfully passed the gruelling entrance examination, which tested applicants'' physical prowess, courage, and alleged ''racial purity'' along with their academicTrade ReviewThe Third Reich's Elite Schools can lay claim to the status of a standard work [...] The book's great merit lies in its abundance of meticulously researched case studies [...] At no point in her account does Roche indulge in moralisation or judgment, and that makes her investigation all the more nightmarish and impressive. * Rüdiger Gröner, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *Roche has managed what very few historians of institutional or organizational studies are able to do: she has successfully embedded the historical trajectory of an understudied system of Nazi elite schools in the wider currents of German and European history, employing a balanced and empathetic analytic approach, crystal-clear prose, and easy-to-follow expositional structure. Her work is therefore guaranteed to appeal to a wide and varied readership and hopefully attract other historians to this vital scholarly arena [...] [and is] written with a keen eye for the modern reader. * Tim Mueller, H-German *[E]xtensive, detailed and thorough... an essential reference point for future investigations into this field. This applies not only to historians of education but more broadly to people interested in the Nazi period and Nazi rule in particular... [Roche's] critical handling and deconstruction of autobiographical narratives [...] is exemplary [...] Overall, in combining a detail-oriented narration with anecdotal evidence, the book [...] explains the multifaceted functioning of the Napolas and of Nazi rule in an informative and captivating manner. * Lisbeth Matzer, History of Education *The first comprehensive study of these National Socialist educational institutions [...], founded on an impressive source base [...] Roche very effectively carves out the schools' ambivalent relationship between tradition and innovation [...] Overall, with her source-rich and interestingly-written total history of the NPEA, which includes countless individual case studies, Roche has not only achieved a weighty contribution to the history of education, but also offers beyond that vital insights into countless subjects of contemporary historical research * Jana Wolf, Sehepunkte *...an incredibly detailed, richly described, and meticulously researched book contribution to the education history of Nazi Germany... A word like "comprehensive" does not...capture just how detailed and expansive this study is. The source material Roche drew upon is mind-bogglingly varied and extensive. ...the conclusions to each chapter fulfill Roche's intention of embedding this educational history within the wider contexts of Third Reich history. The Napolas do indeed reveal the basic mechanics of the Hitler dictatorship writ small. The Third Reich's Elite Schools thus reminds us how enlightening and important the history of education can be. * Kristin Semmens, Historical Studies in Education/Revue d'histoire de l'éducation *...a comprehensive, timely account... Helen Roche's synthesis of long years' research on the "avant-garde of the Volksgemeinschaft" offers a highly welcome contribution to the history of the perversion of educational practice under National Socialism. * Klaus-Peter Friedrich, Neue Politische Literatur *This is a monograph that will be of interest to scholars and students of education and of the Third Reich alike. Roche has written a comprehensive and meticulous survey of a very specific area of German history, using an extensive source base... Throughout[,] Roche balances the detailed and divergent experiences of individual schools and students whilst highlighting the wider connections to the history of the Third Reich these experiences demonstrate. Her introduction argues for treating educational history not as a subgenre but as a valuable prism for exploring wider historical trends and how the ideals of a regime are inculcated in the next generation. This well-researched and scrupulously referenced monograph ably demonstrates how this can be achieved. * Robin Smith, German History *...a new foundational work on the topic... Roche's analysis is thorough and sound [with] a writing style that is both informative and easy to follow... Overall, Roche's book is a fine work of scholarship that deals with a subject that needs serious revision. She successfully distills her vast amounts of research into an easily consumable volume that is an asset to any historian studying the Third Reich. * James Lautens, H-War *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Napolas in Historical Context PART I: GENESIS 1: Foundation and Administration: The Napolas' Position within the Polycratic Nazi State 2: 'Selection', Teaching, and Everyday Life 3: 'Missions' and Extracurricular Activities PART II: VARIETY WITHIN UNITY 4: The Prussian Paradigm? Resurrecting Cadet-School Traditions at the Former Staatliche Bildungsanstalten 5: Centralism versus Particularism: Harnessing Regional Ambitions and Negotiating Federal Tensions at the NPEA in Saxony, Anhalt, and Württemberg 6: The Annihilation of Tradition? The 'Napolisation' of Humanistic and Religious Foundations 7: Ostmark: The Annexation of the Viennese Bundeserziehungsanstalten and Heißmeyer's 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' 8: The Reichsschulen and the Napolas' Germanizing Mission in Eastern and Western Europe 9: For Girls Only: The NPEA für Mädchen PART III: NEMESIS 10: The Demands of Total War 11: The Endkrieg and the Last of the Napolas 12: Epilogue: Post-war Conclusion

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Book SynopsisWhen the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933 they promised to create a new, harmonious society under the leadership of the F^uuml^hrer, Adolf Hitler. The concept of Volksgemeinschaft - ''the people''s community'' - enshrined the Nazis'' vision of society''; a society based on racist, social-Darwinist, anti-democratic, and nationalist thought. The regime used Volksgemeinschaft to define who belonged to the National Socialist ''community'' and who did not. Being accorded the status of belonging granted citizenship rights, access to the benefits of the welfare state, and opportunities for advancement, while these who were denied the privilege of belonging lost their right to live. They were shamed, excluded, imprisoned, murdered. Volksgemeinschaft was the Nazis'' project of social engineering, realized by state action, by administrative procedure, by party practice, by propaganda, and by individual initiative. Everyone deemed worthy of belonging was called to participate in its realization. Indeed, this collective notion was directed at the individual, and unleashed an enormous dynamism, which gave social change a particular direction. The Volksgemeinschaft concept was not strictly defined, which meant that it was rather marked by a plurality of meaning and emphasis which resulted in a range of readings in the Third Reich, drawing in people from many social and political backgrounds. Visions of Community in Nazi Germany scrutinizes Volksgemeinschaft as the Nazis'' central vision of community. The contributors engage with individual appropriations, examine projects of social engineering, analyze the social dynamism unleashed, and show how deeply private lives were affected by this murderous vision of society.Trade ReviewThe volume impresses with its high degree of coherence and shows the productivity of a many-faceted analysis of 'Volksgemeinschaft', inspired by cultural history approaches, for the social history of the Nazi regime. Above all, this is due to the introduction which stresses the 'making' of the 'Volksgemeinschaft'. By doing this it brings together hitherto opposed interpretations and opens the perspective for social practices in a fluid "new frame of reference" in which ideas about individuality and normality were fundamentally connected with exclusion and violence. * Lu Seegers, Sepunkte *The volume's strength certainly lies in the felicitous connection of a theoretical conceptualization and historiographical integration of the "Volksgemeinschaft" approach with source-based case studies. * Nils Löffelbein, Neue Politische Literatur *The "new frame of reference" gives this volume remarkable coherence, wherefore it can claim its rightful place in the currently controversial debates about the Nazi 'Volksgemeinschaft.' * Adelheid von Saldern, Historische Zeitschrift *Steber and Gotto have brought together a team of esteemed scholars, and most contributions are of high quality. What these make clear above all, it that historians and other researchers should take the concept of Volksgemeinschaft seriously when studying Nazi Germany and the policy of the National Socialists. The vision of 'the people's community' was not just propaganda: it steered policy. * Martijn Lak, European History Quarterly *The most innovative contributions show that the community-building potential of the 'Volksgemeinschaft' discourse was founded on its pertinence for action: It offered an action-oriented worldview which provided even those, that remained in ideological distance to the Nazi regime, with a number of options, and thus functionally stabilized the system by practical action. * Wolfram Pyta, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *This is a highly impressive volume that makes a powerful case for taking the Volksgemeinschaft paradigm seriously ... as a document of a debate that has been highly productive in many ways, this volume is clearly destined to become a canonical text in the historiography of the Third Reich. * Neil Gregor, Central European History *Table of ContentsPreface Glossary 1: Martina Steber and Bernhard Gotto: Volksgemeinschaft: Writing the Social History of the Nazi Regime Part I: Volksgemeinschaft: Controversies 2: Ian Kershaw: Volksgemeinschaft: Potential and Limitations of the Concept 3: Michael Wildt: Volksgemeinschaft: A Modern Perspective on National Socialist Society 4: Ulrich Herbert: Echoes of the Volksgemeinschaft Part II: A New Frame of Reference: Ideology, Administrative Practices, and Social Control 5: Lutz Raphael: Pluralities of National Socialist Ideology: New Perspectives on the Production and Diffusion of National Socialist Weltanschauung 6: Armin Nolzen: The NSDAP's Operational Codes after 1933 7: Thomas Schaarschmidt: Mobilizing German Society for War: The National Socialist Gaue 8: Jane Caplan: Registering the Volksgemeinschaft: Civil Status in Nazi Germany 1933-9 9: Gerhard Wolf: Exporting Volksgemeinschaft: The Deutsche Volksliste in Annexed Upper Silesia Part III: The Individual and the Regime: The Promises of Volksgemeinschaft 10: Andreas Wirsching: Volksgemeinschaft and the Illusion of 'Normality' from the 1920s to the 1940s 11: Birthe Kundrus: Greasing the Palm of the Volksgemeinschaft? Consumption under National Socialism 12: Nicole Kramer: Volksgenossinnen on the German Home Front: An Insight into Nazi Wartime Society 13: Frank Bajohr: 'Community of Action' and Diversity of Attitudes: Reflections on Mechanisms of Social Integration in National Socialist Germany, 1933-45 14: Rüdiger Hachtmann: Social Spaces of the Nazi Volksgemeinschaft in the Making: Functional Elites and Club Networking Part IV: Volksgemeinschaft: A Rationale for Violence 15: Christopher R. Browning: The Holocaust: Basis and Objective of the Volksgemeinschaft? 16: Sven Keller: Volksgemeinschaft and Violence: Some Reflections on Interdependencies 17: Detlef Schmiechen-Ackermann: Social Control and the Making of the Volksgemeinschaft Part V: The Limits of Volksgemeinschaft Policies 18: Johannes Hürter: The Military Elite and Volksgemeinschaft 19: Willi Oberkrome: National Socialist Blueprints for Rural Communities and their Resonance in Agrarian Society 20: Richard Bessel: The End of the Volksgemeinschaft Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn the mountain of books that have been written about the Third Reich, surprisingly little has been said about the role played by the German nobility in the Nazis'' rise to power. While often confidently referred to, the ''fateful'' role played by the German nobility is rarely, if ever, investigated in any real detail. Nazis and Nobles now fills this gap, providing the first systematic investigation of the role played by the nobility in German political life between Germany''s defeat in the First World War in 1918 and the consolidation of Nazi power in the 1930s. As Stephan Malinowski shows, the German nobility was too weak to prevent the German Revolution of 1918 but strong enough to take an active part in the struggle against the Weimar Republic. In a real twist of historical irony, members of the nobility were as prominent in the destruction of Weimar democracy as they were to be years later in Graf Stauffenberg''s July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler. In this skilful portrait of an aTrade ReviewA compelling and sobering dissection of the misalliance between the German nobility and the Nazis. * Paul Lay, The Times *Nazis and Nobles tells one of the under-documented stories of Hitler's war, how the royal and aristocratic families of Germany from the Hohenzollerns downwards offered support to this thuggish and brutal regime. * Simon Heffer, Best Books of 2021, The Telegraph *[A] weightily fascinating book * Julian Evans, The Telegraph *Stephan Malinowski's cultural-political study of nobles and Nazis, revised and stylishly translated from the German original (2003), invites us to reach our own judgement. Malinowski not only adds indispensable complexity to the bifurcated model of attraction and repulsion, but also offers a riveting and subtle portrait of an elite in decline and in denial after 1918. * Jane Caplan, Times Literary Supplement *[Nazis and Nobles] historiographical importance can hardly be exaggerated. * Mark Falcoff, New Criterion *Nazis and Nobles is not merely a translation of the prize-winning German original. It also includes incorporates many new sources. Malinowski looks at his subjects through an anthropological eye, showing them as great masters at self-portrayal. He provides fascinating biographical sketches of renegades too. * Karina Urbach, Literary Review *Stephan Malinowski shows in his award-winning German-language title (now translated into English), the success of Hitler's power grab was also highly reliant on the actions (and often inaction) of influential members of Germany's aristocracy. * BBC History Magazine *The complex question of the German aristocracy's relationship with the Nazis is at the heart of Stephan Malinowski's brilliant book, Nazis and Nobles [... ] Malinowski has provided the best available analysis of the political radicalisation of Germany's nobility in the 1920s and their widespread support for the Nazis in the early 1930s. * Robert Gerwarth, The Irish Times *Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance, is at last available in English translation. This important book focuses not on the narrow issue of the complicity of one dynastic family but on the broad social and political history of a diverse class and its relationship to the Nazis during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. * Christopher R. Browning, New York Review of Books *A timely book. * Air Mail *[Nazis and Nobles] is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Malinowski has succeeded in writing an outstanding political and cultural history of Prussia in particular, a portrait of the aristocratic elite in decline. * Ulrich Wangemann, Märkische Allgemeine *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Defining 'Nobility' 2. The Apocalypse and Beyond 3. The Nobility Reloaded 4. Nazis and Nobles: Conflicts 5. Nazis and Nobles: Affinities Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOn 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, fifty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler''s island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: ''If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one''. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Rüger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain''s smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany had acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to wear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Far more than just the history of a small island in the North Sea, this is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe.Trade ReviewJan Rüger [...] has achieved the notable feat of telling a story almost none of us knows. His account of Heligoland's Napoleonic-era experience is a high spot, but the whole work is studded with unexpected gems about extraordinary people. * Max Hastings, The Sunday Times, Paperback of the week (26th May, 2019) *Fascinating. * Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books *Pacey and erudite... succeeds admirably. * European History Quarterly *A Rüger's work on this small island is historiography at its best. * Dieter Langewiesche, German Historical Institute London Bulletin *Rüger's book moves seamlessly between the views and demands of the inhabitants of Heligoland... and the considerations and policies impacting the island in the halls of government in Great Britain and Germany. Well-researched from multiple archives... the book also provides a useful and important reminder to historians of the need to consider a "long view". * Alan M. Anderson, Naval Historical Foundation *Masterful... fascinating... this is microhistory at its best. * W. Mark Hamilton, Mariner's Mirror *A thought-provoking treatise of how nations coexist -- or dont. * Joseph Callo, H Net *This brilliant, quirky book tells the almost unknown story of the tiny North Sea German island that became an unlikely corner of the British Empire. * Sunday Times, Best Books for the Summer 2017 *The reader of Rüger's volume will be fascinated, surprised, horrified and moved. * John R. Davis, Reviews in History *A fascinating book which uses a scrap of land in the North Sea to illustrate the tumultuous relationship between Britain and Germany. * History Hit Podcast with Dan Snow *Rüger's book brilliantly spins a far bigger history out of one small, half-forgotten place. For so long the fault line between two powers, Heligoland deserves to be rescued from oblivion; it has found an admirable historian. * Ben Wilson, The Sunday Telegraph *The whole book is studded with unexpected gems about extraordinary people ... a fine tale. * Max Hastings, The Sunday Times *Resonant... a prism through which to view the entire span of Anglo-German rivalry, conflict and, eventually, reconciliation. * Martin Kettle, Guardian *Utterly fascinating ... impeccable, original, scholarly and superbly written * Simon Heffer, Literary Review *Mr Ruger makes his case that Heligoland's fortunes are a useful bellwether of wider relations and he relates his story in an engaging style ... More people should know Heligoland's story for the echoes it has today. * The Economist *Fascinating * Ian Brunskill, Wall Street Journal Europe *A gem of a study ... concise, scholarly, and readable. On one level it is simply an authoritative narrative history of an island and ist people, but on another it represents so much more: a case study of the twists and turns of Britain's relationship with Germany, Europe, and the wider world over two tumultuous centuries. * Nick Hewitt, Military History Monthly *Visitors today may be quite unaware of Heligoland's curious history or of the weight of symbolism it once bore. Day trippers come now to enjoy the bird watching, the 1950s architecture, the duty-free cigarettes. Before setting out, they should read Mr. Ruger's fascinating book. * The Wall Street Journal *For those devourers of "forgotten" history, this book is a must ... riveting * Ian Hernon, Tribune *distinguished German historian Jan Rüger ... has written a micro-history that captures the complexity of Anglo-German relations * Nigel Winser, Geographical *A brilliant and subtle history of Anglo-German relations, told through the evocative study of a contested island. This fascinating book is a triumphant demonstration of the power of microhistory. * Christopher Clark, author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 *This is a brilliant demonstration of how the very small can have a significance over time on the very large. Drawing on literature, cartography, art, music and film, as well as a wide spread of archives, Jan Rüger shows how and why Heligoland became caught up in a succession of epic and destructive wars, conflicting but also overlapping national identities, the rise and fall of Anglo-German antagonism, and the competition for empire. * Linda Colley, Princeton University *Jan Rüger's new book takes the North Sea island of Heligoland as a lens through which to examine Anglo-German relations over the past two centuries. The result is an entertaining and illuminating study full of colourful detail, that traces the phases of co-operation and hostility between the two powers over the decades from the Kaiser to Hitler and beyond. * Richard J. Evans, author of The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 *Ruger's Heligoland: Britain, Germany, and the Struggle for the North Sea succeeds brilliantly in exposing how Britons and Germans moved from admiration to antagonism, from cooperation to conflict, intermingling elements of both during the long nineteenth century, between the world wars, and after the Second World War. Focusing on the specific, it illustrates the shifting dynamics of the general relationship. The micro-study references higher level diplomacy and the military dimensions of the Anglo-German relationship but focuses on how art, poetry, music, and the everyday interactions of islanders, visitors, and representatives of the state made Heligoland into something more than two small islands buffeted by the waves of the North Sea. * Douglas Peifer, H-War *Table of ContentsPrologue: Between Worlds 1: Edge of Europe 2: Nation and Empire 3: A Matter of Sentiment 4: Making Germans 5: Island Fortress 6: To Heligoland and Back 7: Disarming Germany 8: Hitler's Island 9: Out of Ruins Epilogue: No More Heligolands List of Abbreviations Notes Sources Acknowledgements Picture Credits Index

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Book SynopsisOffers readers a portrait of the American people - industrialists, labor leaders, federal officials, municipal leaders, social reformers, and industrial workers and their families - that lays bare the foundations of community, the high costs of racism, and the tangled process of negotiation between New Deal visionaries and wartime planners.

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Book SynopsisDuring WWII, four hundred thousand cats and dogs were euthanized in Britain. In The Great Cat and Dog Massacre, Hilda Kean unearths the history, piecing together the compelling story of the lifeand deathof Britain's wartime animal companions.

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Book SynopsisThe son of a Holocaust survivor, Jason Sommer writes of troubles which unfold in history and in the making of personality; of self and other; and of wakefulness and sleep. The poetic voice is of one who emerges from the Holocaust, telling the stories of those who suffered.

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Book SynopsisThis book demonstrates that there is much about the New Deal that can be characterized as environmental, once one substitutes the word 'environmental' for 'conservation'.Trade Review'For those of us who lived through the era of the New Deal, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the hero of the conservation movement...Never before [this book] has the performance of an administration with respect to the environment been appraised so diligently. This book not only gives us a fresh view of one of the most significant features of the age of Roosevelt, but also informs our understanding of the directions we should pursue in the twenty-first century.' - William Leuchtenberg, from the Foreword 'Do you think that the environmental movement started in the 1960s? Think again. This book demonstrates that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a true environmentalist - and that his deep interest in conservation, and in environmental protection, continues to mark America's identity today. Woolner and Henderson have assembled a wonderful collection of essays that should produce a rethinking of the nation's environmental legacy.' - Cass R. Sunstein, University of Chicago Law School, USA and author of The Second Bill of Rights: FDR's Constitutional Vision and Why We Need It More Than Ever 'This enlightening book recovers an important but generally forgotten era in environmental history, the New Deal. There is much of historical interest in the book - beginning with FDR's personal involvement in forestry issues, which will be news to many readers. More significantly, FDR and the Environment has important lessons for today's environmentalists. Rather than considering environmental problems in isolation as we often do today, the New Dealers thought in terms of relationships between humans and the land. Restoring our memory of the New Deal may be a key step toward a more integrated view of environmental and social problems.' - Dan Farber, Director of the Environmental Law Program, University of California at Berkeley, USA and author of EcoPragmatism: Making Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain WorldTable of ContentsForeword; W.Leuchtenburg Introduction; D.B.Woolner & H.L.Henderson FDR as Environmentalist Grassroots Democracy: FDR and the Land; J.F.Sears The Complex Environmentalist; B.Black The Progressive Era Origins of the Civilian Conservation Corps; N.Maher Agriculture and the Human Community - Conservation: Wilderness New Deal Conservation: A View From the Wilderness; P.Sutter FDR, Hoover and the New Rural Conservation, 1920-1932; S.T.Phillips Law, Policy and Planning The New Deal Roots of Modern Environmentalism; A.D.Tarlock FDR's Use of the Antiquities Act; J.Leshy Referendum on Planning: Imagining River Conservation in the 1938 TVA Hearings; B.Black FDR and Environmental Leadership; J.R.Lyons A Usable Past Recovering FDR's Environmental Legacy; R.N.L.Andrews Toward a New Deal for Nature - And Nature's People; R.G.Kennedy

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Book SynopsisFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat comes the gripping untold story of one of the most heroic units that fought in World War IIOn December 7th 1941, the Japanese Navy bombed Pearl Harbor. For many Americans, the surprise attack was a call to arms - but for the soldier sons of Japanese-American immigrant parents, it brought prejudice and scrutiny over where their loyalties lay. In Facing the Mountain, Daniel James Brown tells the unforgettable story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Japanese-American heroes who displayed incredible courage on the brutal battlefields of Europe. Achieving the impossible in often near-suicidal missions, including rescuing a 'lost battalion' surrounded by Nazis in the French mountains, the 442nd went on to become one of the most decorated units in history. Yet at the same time, their parents were put in camps and stripped of their livelihoods, and an equally brave battle was being fought in the courtroom back home.Trade Review'My favourite kind of history book: grippingly written, full of incredible drama, and focussing on individuals rather than numbers and statistics. The 442nd Nisei Regiment who fought so brilliantly up through Italy really were forgotten heroes of a forgotten campaign, but through painstaking research and brilliant story-telling, Daniel James Brown has put the flesh back onto these men. Facing the Mountain is a terrific book' -- James HollandMasterful and beautifully written. Facing the Mountain is truly revelatory - secret history at its very best. Daniel James Brown's book tells of untold courage and sacrifice that should celebrated and never forgotten -- Damien Lewis'Extraordinary ... the author is to be congratulated for bringing to life the story of these "forgotten heroes" of the Second World War. I can see the movie already' -- Saul David * The Times *'This is the campaign diary of the one of the most forgotten, and important, minorities in the Allied Forces in the Second World War. Japanese-American soldiers and units fought across the Mediterranean, Western Europe and South East Asia, though more than 120,000 of their kin were detained as enemy aliens back home in the States. The book evokes the setting for desperate fighting with a terrific sense of location, and there are stories of heroism, danger, desperation and little deeds of common humanity - extraordinary actions by ordinary people, in the web of extraordinary times. The book is a wonderful testament to them all' -- Robert Fox, author of We Were There'A masterwork of American history that will change the way we look at World War II. You don't just read a Daniel James Brown story - you go there. Facing the Mountain is lump-in-the-throat territory, page after page' -- Adam Makos, author of A Higher Call'Daniel James Brown has done it again. A must-read contribution to the history of the 20th century. I'll never look at the World War II story in the same light' -- Timothy Egan'Facing the Mountain arrives at the perfect time, to remind us of the true meaning of patriotism. In Daniel James Brown's gifted hands, these overlooked American heroes are getting the glory they deserve. Read this book and know their stories' -- Mitchell Zukoff, author of Lost in Shangri-La'Riveting. Facing the Mountain is book that is as much about the present as it is about the past. In it are vital lessons about courage, truth, justice, and an abiding love of country. Drawing on impeccable historic research, the narrative movingly shines the light of history on prejudice and discrimination and the unfinished struggle for a more just future' -- Ann Burroughs, President & CEO, Japanese American National Museum'This virtuoso history weaves together the experiences of Japanese-American soldiers fighting in Europe and their interned families back in the U.S. to create an illuminating and spirited portrait of courage under fire' (Starred Review) * Publishers Weekly *'A must-read. You will not be able to put it down' -- Scott Oki'A deft and ambitious storyteller' * New York Times Book Review *'Daniel James Brown tackles this important story with the same impressive narrative talent and research that made The Boys in the Boat, an enduring bestseller ... The centerpieces of Facing the Mountain are the wrenching, on-the-ground descriptions of battles fought by the 442nd in Europe... every reader will admire the resilience that allowed these soldiers to create communities within the internment camps and to play such a pivotal role in the defeat of the Nazis' * BookPage *'Facing the Mountain is more than just the story of a group of young men whose valor helped save a country that spurned them, it's a fascinating, expertly written look at selfless heroes who emerged from one of the darkest periods of American history - soldiers the likes of which this country may never see again' * NPR *'Brown combines history with humanity in a tense, tender and well-researched study of the lives disrupted and disregarded by misperceptions and misinformation. Ain't no mountain high enough to keep young men such as Rudy Tokiwa of Salinas; 'Kats" Miho of Kahului, Hawaii; Fred Shiosaki of Spokane, Wash.; and Gordon Hirabayashi of Seattle from doing what is morally right' * San Francisco Chronicle *'Rich storytelling and deep historical research about the Japanese American experience are the essence of Facing the Mountain. Although the book graphically describes the horrors of battle, it spotlights stories of heroism and endurance' * Christian Science Monitor *

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative account of Stalin as a wartime leader—showing how his paradoxical policies of mass mobilization and repression affected all aspects of Soviet societyTrade Review“A superb new history. . . . Rieber analyses with clarity the impact of the war. . . . When a historical work of Alfred J. Rieber’s calibre emerges perhaps it, too, will chart Putin as warlord.”—Wendy Slater, Times Literary Supplement“How Stalin, for all his strategic misjudgements, succeeded in preparing for war, mobilizing his people and fighting to victory in Berlin remains an intriguing historical question. Stalin as Warlord is a thought-provoking and informed account set squarely in the many debates that surround Stalin’s role, but at the same time refreshingly perceptive, intelligently critical and lucidly written.”—Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931–1945“A remarkably penetrating picture of Stalin’s wartime rule. Rieber brings out the contradictions between destructive and creative impulses that shaped the Kremlin’s exercise of power in those critical years. Timely reading for anyone seeking to understand the fundamentals driving Russia.”—Alex Pravda, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford“A sweeping and magisterial overview of Stalin’s qualities and defects as the leader of a great power during a huge war which involved coordinating numerous different areas of national life.”—Geoffrey Hosking, author of Russia and the Russians“Alfred Rieber’s account of Stalin at war cover important military themes and situations that have been overlooked. His book is a great piece of sleuthing and vividly written.”—Robert Service, author of Stalin: A Biography

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe U.S. Army supply organization for the Normandy Invasion, although very impressive, should have done a better job in the summer of 1944. The purpose of this work is to examine an aspect of military history which, as many military historians have pointed out, has received little attention.Table of ContentsIllustrations Introduction The "Complicated Set-Up": Establishing the Supply System Landing Craft and Wool Drawers: The Logistical Plans Over the Beach: Distribution Difficulties, June-July 1944 BARs and Mortar Shells: Supply Shortages in the Hedgerows Confusion Continues: The Communications Zone on the Continent Across France: Distribution Difficulties, August-September 1944 Gasoline and More: Supply Shortages During the Pursuit Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis The pivotal true story of the first fifty-three days of the standoff between Imperial Japanese and a handful of Marine aviators defending the Americans dug in at Guadalcanal, from the New York Times bestselling author of Indestructible and Race of Aces. On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to 'Starvation Island,' as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia. The night after the Marines landed and captured the partially completed airfield, the Imperial Navy launched a surprise night attack on the Allied fleet offshore, resulting in the worst defeat the U.S. Navy suffered in the 20th century, which prom

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1969, this book discusses the many factors which atomised German society from 1870 onwards and thus assisted Nazi evil, and it shows that Hitler and Nazism were mere phenomena of a mass age. The author wrote with the twin qualifications as historian and survivor of the camps. To have lived through it and then dissect it as a scholar is an astonishing achievement and it is this achievement that this book records. Table of Contents1. Are the Germans Human? 2. Power 3. Absolute Power 4. Absolute Corruption 5. There But For the Grace of God…

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Book SynopsisBased on never previously explored personal accounts and archival documentation, this book examines life and death in the Theresienstadt ghetto, seen through the eyes of the Jewish victims from Denmark.How was it in Theresienstadt? Thus asked Johan Grün rhetorically when he, in July 1945, published a short text about his experiences. The successful flight of the majority of Danish Jewry in October 1943 is a well-known episode of the Holocaust, but the experience of the 470 men, women, and children that were deported to the ghetto has seldom been the object of scholarly interest. Providing an overview of the Judenaktion in Denmark and the subsequent deportations, the book sheds light on the fate of those who were arrested. Through a micro-historical analysis of everyday life, it describes various aspects of social and daily life in proximity to death. In doing so, the volume illuminates the diversity of individual situations and conveys the deportees' perceptions and stTable of Contents1. The Jews in Denmark on the Eve of the ‘Judenaktion’ 2. The ‘Judenaktion’ 3. Ghetto Theresienstadt and the Arrival of the Danish Transports 4. Housing and Work for Adults and Children 5. Relationships Inside and Outside the National Group 6. Everyday Life 7. Despair, Disease and Death 8. Shipments of Parcels 9. Danish Parcels Seen from the Ghetto 10. The Visit of the International Delegation, June 23, 1944 11. After the Visit 12. Witnessing the Transports 13. The Last Months in Theresienstadt 14. Life After the Ghetto

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Book SynopsisThe definitive history of one of the most brutal campaigns of the war in the Pacific.

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Book SynopsisThis volume collects original essays on Hungarian-German playwright and screenwriter George Tabori (1914-2007) and his remarkable contributions to the stage. Although his illustrious career spanned a century, two continents, several languages, and a variety of literary genres, Tabori’s work has received scant attention in American letters.

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Book SynopsisAs Hitler’s bombs threatened London during World War Two, eight-year-old David Merron was removed from his family and close-knit Jewish community in the East End and evacuated to the safety of the English countryside.Placed into the car of strangers, life was sometimes unpredictable and lonely. But, with time, the rural world became an exciting adventure playground in which he flourished.Set against a dramatic wartime backdrop, Goodbye East End is about the conflict between a London boy’s unexpected love of the countryside and his guilt about not missing home as much as he might. It’s the moving story of a childhood experience that changed a young boy’s life forever.

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Book SynopsisProfessor Iriye analyses the origins of the 1941 conflict against the background of international relations in the preceding decade in order to answer the key question: Why did Japan decide to go to war against so formidable a combination of powers?Trade Review 'xxx; a very nice, concise, balanced account of the events leading up to the Pacific War.' Academic Library Book ReviewTable of ContentsList of mapsEditor's ForewordPreface1. Introduction2. Japan isolated3. The forging of an anti-democratic coalition 4. The failure of an alliance5. The road to war6. Conclusion Bibliographical essay Maps Index

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Book SynopsisAmong the most moving documents I have read in years You will not forget it' Elie WieselFrom her small, sunny hometown between the beautiful Carpathian Mountains and the blue Danube River, Elli Friedmann was taken at a time when most girls are growing up, having boyfriends and embarking upon the adventure of life and thrown into the murderous hell of Hitler''s Final Solution.When Elli emerged from Auschwitz and Dachau just over a year later, she was fourteen. She looked like a sixty year old.This account of horrifyingly brutal inhumanity and dogged survival is Elli''s true story.Trade Review'Breathtaking lucidity … ELLI is destined to join the classics of Holocaust literature' – CHICAGO TRIBUNE

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Book SynopsisThe Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which served throughout the South Pacific. Volume Nine covers the P-38 and variants including the photo-reconnaissance F-4 and F-5, along with field-modified P-38G night-fighters.Trade ReviewValuable as the erudite text is, this book would be worth shelf space just for the gallery of photographs and illustrations. Modelers should be inspired to build a Lightning with uncommon and unique camouflage and markings, and plenty of photos to inspire detailing and dioramas. * Aeroscale *

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Book SynopsisThis Volume Four of Pacific Adversaries conveys detailed stories of aerial warfare in the Solomons theatre, chosen because both Japanese and Allied records can be matched for an accurate accounting.Trade Review...very well researched volume presenting the aerial actions of both sides giving us a balanced perspective of the events in the Solomon Islands. […] This book is a welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in the Pacific War. * Scale Military Modelling 19/07/2021 *

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