This 1500 page monumental narrative of one of the darkest periods in the history of world events reads like a Thriller. From the rise of Adolph Hitler through World War II and the Holocaust, Mr. Shirer thoroughly tells us about a twisted conqueror who persuaded his nation to follow him blindly promising a grand Reich that would last a thousand years. I am only going to touch on some themes that struct me worth pointing out, because I recommend this book as essential reading for anyone interested in understanding World War I and World War II.
It is a narrative about the humiliation of a nation and its one leader with a savior mentality who develops a successful political campaign to eventually take over Germany without a majority but because of his emerging political skill is able to successfully take full control of the country legally and democratically. He swiftly crushes, however, any vestige of democracy so that one understands that this proud nation would become a personality cult, a personality that suffers from such a violent temper that he is called the 'carpet eater' behind his back as a result of the fury of his tantrums. He falls violently to the floor and ferociously bites down on the corner of the carpet to gain the physical control that he lost during his tantrum!
Hitler calculated successfully that the Allies lost their desire to go to war. World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars, however for Hitler, the war was a complete humiliation that had to be extirpated. In his wilderness years in Vienna he discovered Jew Hatred and became an rabid Anti Semite and successfully developed a theme of scapegoating the Jews and blaming them for every economic ill that plagued Germany as a result of losing first World War. He developed a following initially of misfits and discovered a talent for community organizing and political management. He practiced his oratory and became a charismatic speaker and was able to spellbind audiences, with women even swooning during his speeches.
Hitler equated his Jewish boogey man with the Soviet Union - he believed the Soviets were part of an international Jewish conspiracy that needed to be destroyed and ironically he made a pact, a peace treaty with such an arch enemy, the Soviets so that he could maintain a one front war. His plan was brilliant: offer the Soviets half of Poland so he could unify German speakers in Austria and parts of Poland and the Balkans and then crush the Western Allies of France and England (his nemeses from the first WW) and then turn on the Soviets...
His beginning of the WWII was riddled with success on the battlefield. His treaty with the Soviets held as he destroyed Poland and maintained a successful irredentism "Living Space" swallowing up Austria and the Sudetenland. He then turned on France which capitulated surprisingly quickly. The only one who understood early on what Hitler was doing was Winston Churchill. (Ironically Churchill early in his career equated the Bolsheviks with the Jews like Hitler, however, Churchill learned and was educated being able to differentiate Jews from the Bolsheviks. He had a healthy distain for Communism but became a Zionist sympathizer and good friend to the Jews.)
Hitler, blundered badly, however and did not accept his Generals' advice. He turned on the Soviet Union, underestimating its strength and was ultimately pushed back and had a two front war which even he knew could not be won when the USA joined the Allies (as Churchill maintained a close relationship with Franklin Roosevelt.)
Shirer touches on the brutal abuses of the Nazi Concentration and Death camps and highlights some very horrible "medical" experiments. The sadism of the Nazi medical personnel at these torture chambers defy human behavior. One experiment records how long one freezes to death and to see if one could be revived. The so called "Freeze dried' experiment means that a person is splashed with very cold water and the timer records how long it takes for a person to lose consciousness and expire. Ironically, the doctors also become surprised when they attempt at reviving a victim through the warmth of the embrace of the opposite sex. Occasionally an unusually strong man would warm and be revived.
This long narrative reads quickly. It is well structured and keeps the reader's attention. Mr. Shirer even admits in his afterword his surprise at the success of the of such a long book. And although professional historians don't appreciate a journalist taking on the role of an Historian, the book is not journalism but rather based on original research based on captured documents. The author appreciates the warm reception all over the world to his narrative. He notes that Germany did not appreciate the book.
This book is highly recommended.
