This book contains transcripts of secretly taped conversations of mostly German generals who were prisoners of war in British captivity dating from late 1942 to after the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. A whole section of the book is dedicated to reactions to the July 20, 1944 attempt to kill Hitler. Almost all of the generals served under the Kaiser in World War I. They were mostly conservative and autocratic and some favored restoration of the monarchy. A few, but the decided minority, were active supporters or members of the Nazi party. There had been no purge of the military leadership after Hitler took power that was remotely comparable to the purge of military commanders that took place under Stalin that began before the war and continued into the early phase of Soviet involvement in the war. Some of the generals spoke freely and advocated the killing or removal of Hitler from power. Many others thought Hitler was mad but still felt honor bound to continue to support the existing regime feeling it was inappropriate to betray the regime in time of war. Very few of the combat commander generals came from the nobility. By way of contrast, a large number of the military and civilian leaders who planned the coup to remove Hitler were members of the nobility. This is because the nobility felt that Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews first and the nobility second. This is in stark contrast to the Soviet Union where the nobles and World War I Czarist military officers had almost all been killed or driven into exile. Indeed, almost all of the early Bolshevik leaders except Stalin had been purged before World War II. What I found astounding is the number of leaders within Germany who either actively supported the coup or knew about it and did nothing to stop it like Rommel and other Field Marshals and Army commanders. Hitler and Stalin were equally ruthless but Stalin's authority was nearly absolute whereas Hitler internally dealt with a large officer and political leadership that was neither under his spell nor under his thumb. Hitler's reign of terror was not even absolute in the conquered territories. The most famous proof of this is the refusal of General Choltitz to obey the order to burn Paris and blow up its principal monuments. General Choltitz figures prominently in this book as a POW who carried out orders to commit atrocities in the east but who thought Hitler was mad. This book is not just of interest to scholars as some reviews claim--it can be understood and appreciated by the general reading public who are interested in the tumultuous years of the 20th Century. The attitude of the more conservative Generals was of cold comfort to the Jews. As a class, the generals were deeply antisemitic. While many of them thought the treatment of the Jews was dishonorable, they carried out their orders. Many favored a German nation where the Jews had been removed either by extermination or exile to a Jewish homeland.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2015
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Top reviews from other countries
- Gianluca C.Reviewed in Italy on July 24, 2023
Interesting topic but could be more comprehensive
- Graeme TReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2018
A valuable insight into WWII psychology
