Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich

still a must read

I'm surmising that many people would take one glance and consider this book of 1180 pages a monumental study in boredom. How wrong they would be! With the retrieval of thousands of documents after the war, Shirer has managed to incorporate samples of these in such a clever way, that these notes, letters and instructions gives the reader the feeling of actually being there, like a fly on the wall. Of course it's still an uncanny phenomenon that one man could so hypnotise an entire nation, and in so doing, encouraging a minority of them into committing the most horrendous atrocities against humanity. I must confess that reading about those atrocities in these pages, the callous attitude towards the lives of millions of people across Europe, at times beggared belief. As a fly on the wall I felt that I was actually there as the drama across a beleaguered Europe unfolded. As the countries fell endlessly under the jackboot, the impending storm must have brought great trepidation to the British people. But they didn't recognise defeat when it was staring them in the face, and virtually unarmed, they were about to confront the greatest military machine in the World's history. What did Hitler and his Generals think of the British and Churchill, of the hapless Chamberlain? It's all in this book. The messages between Hitler and his Generals, the letters between Hitler and Mussolini, the thoughts of the German conspirators on Hitler's life, it's all in this book. Those last incredible days in Berlin, with the Russians and the Allied forces thundering in, as Hitler (losing the plot by the minute) makes preparations for his suicide pact; his thoughts and final instructions, it's all in this book. It's simply compelling reading. I know I'm going over old ground when I say that this book serves as a gigantic warning; that one man, who at first was a complete non-entity, could rise to such a beacon of hope to a despondent nation, and in following that man condemned themselves to a brutal and harsh retribution. With that warning one must never disregard the possibilities when so called smaller tyrants appear on the horizon. In that regard were the actions taken against Sadam Hussein so very wrong? This book should be compulsory reading. Having read this incredible book I feel like I've almost lived through it all, as ridiculous as that sounds. I still shudder when I consider the plight of those millions that perished in the death camps, and the sheer terror of those final moments once they became aware of their fate. Never forget.

A monumental historical work that offers a detailed, journalistic account of Nazi Germany from its origins to its collapse in 1945. Drawing on firsthand experience as a journalist in Berlin during Hitler’s rise, along with Nazi documents and post-war trials, Shirer delivers a gripping, deeply researched narrative. The book excels in its storytelling and accessible prose, making complex political and military developments understandable for general readers. While some scholars criticize it for a somewhat dated perspective and occasional bias, it remains a classic and influential chronicle of one of history’s darkest regimes.

Attention !!!! Vous ne sortirez pas intact de cet imposant ouvrage. L'oeuvre d'une vie, et un vrai ouvrage historique. Ecrit comme un roman, mais avec la précision chirurgicale d'un travail scientifique.Plusieurs constats à la lecture de cet ouvrage majeur. On y prend des leçons de vie fondamentales, notamment que le nazisme n'a pas été stricto senso "inventé" par Hitler: il a tiré profit d'un terreau historique vieux de plus de 70 ans. Un tel mouvement ne sait pas naître de rien.C'est une société dans son ensemble qui à permis cela, pas un seul homme. Dès lors, nous qui nous vivons si justes,de quels malheurs futurs sommes-nous aujourd'hui les géniteurs ????? Autre constat, et terrifiant, c'est la variabilité de la notion de droitesse. Cette histoire met en avant en effet ce terrible - et très bref - vers de Racine, "tout était juste alors". Etre antisémite à l'époque, "c'était juste". Envahir la Pologne, "c'était juste", massacrer les handicapés mentaux, "c'était juste".....Et puis 12 ans après, voila que ca ne l'est plus. Comment une population peut-elle aussi aisément se laisser entraîner ? Comment des êtres normaux peuvent-ils si aisément devenir des monstres, et puis redevenir "normaux"? Qui sommes-nous ????? Il serait salutaire de faire lire ce livre en humanité. Les jeunes doivent le lire. Aujourd'hui, analogiquement, beaucoup de facteurs sociologiques ayant permis ce désastre sont bien présents dans nos sociétés. la bête immonde n'est qu'assoupie, elle guête et attend son heure, celle que d'ignorants humains, oublieux de l'hsitoire, ne verront pas surgir. Christ vivant, pourquoi l'humanité t'as t'elle oublié ?

One of my favorite reads, the book sails once you start reading it. The detail and the research are definitive. The account of everything that happened in Germany from 1925-1945 is clearly detailed and provides ample information of almost everything regarding the world war II. From Hitler's Youth to the creation of the Nationalist Socialist ( Hitler's political party) this book provides how the war started, how Hitler controlled the masses, what went inside the head of this mad man leading to such destruction. It details everything so that one can understand the reasoning and the foolishness behind the decisions made by Hitler and his clique. How Germany started becoming a massive power and many many intriguing how's to the situation during world war II. I have been hooked because of this book about what happened during the world war II and have been picking up everything I can on this subject, including watching movies pertaining to that period. The learning for anyone is enormous and if you sit and read for hours this book will change how one thinks and help you empathize more with so many people during that period