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baw posted:Well poo poo I'm into the Third Reich as a political and economic phenomenon, along with the Nuremberg trials (probably because they expose a lot of the underlying psychological and political motivations of the participants.) Even though it's impossible to talk about the Third Reich in any capacity without talking about the military, I'm far more interested in how the whole movement was possible, rather than specific military actions. I've read Manzowar's Hitler's Empire and Evans' trilogy and Tooze's economic history. For the Nuremberg trials I've read Persico's account, Goldensohn's and Gilbert's interviews, and Interrogations by Overy (which kinda went over a lot of the things from Goldensohn's and Gilbert's accounts.) I've also read a few military accounts (Keegan, Gilbert, Hastings and Hart) but for me the most interesting thing is how the Nazis came to power and were able to brainwash so many people in a modern and industrial country. Much belatedly, but the book that I'm reading at the moment is very apropos to this: Gitta Sereny's Albert Speer: His battle with the truth. Sereny uses her exhaustive study of Speer's life to veer off on all sorts of tangents as to the general circumstances, questioning peoples motivations and explanations. A few odd samples (quotes heavily paraphrased from memory): - Speer's mother joins the Nazi party early in its history, solely because she saw a group of brownshirts marching in the street and "they were so energetic and the only ones who were proud to be German" - Some other supporters say that they were unaware of Nazi's anti-semitism, apparently genuinely. Speer reports that the first time he saw Hitler talk, he found him quiet and bookish, quite intellectual & eager to listen to people. - However, note that there's a revealing passage where Speer is asked if he is anti-semitic. He strenuously denies it, before stumbling "No, of course not. Well, no more than anyone else. I mean, you can't help but feel nervous around those people ..." - Others report that they saw the party as the only way out of Germany's economic & political woes, and thought that the rough edges would be worn off the party by the time it came to power. And as someone quips, if Hitler had died in 1937, he would be remembered as one of the great German statesmen. He did fix the economy, he did rebuild the country. - Finally, Sereny is perplexed by how many Germans profess to not have understood what was going on, or have been ignorant or out of the loop, sometimes in implausible circumstances. She interviews a few unrepentant veterans who sneer at this selective memory: "They all voted for Hitler, they all supported him and knew exactly what was going on." So, no single simple answer, but a whole host of them.
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Apr 22, 2012 16:27
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I've just finished the Sereny book. For those unaware of it: Speer was Hitler's architect and later the minister for armaments. He was the only one charged at Nuremberg to admit guilt and arguably the most senior figure to escape execution. During his imprisonment, he kept copious notes and afterwards wrote widely about his experiences. Sereny interviewed and his circle for more than a decade, producing this wide-ranging examination of Speer and the world he lived in. Of course it's not a fun read: it's a serious matter and grim in parts. It's long (700+ pages of close type) and dense (lots of dates / times / places and examining the same events from multiple sources). I found I had to be reasonably alert to read it and not just let the details wash over me. But it is fascinating with Speer witness to the rise of Nazism, the progress of the war and machinations within the government. Sereny has a few noticeable authorial tics (e.g. frequently commenting on the beauty of the female interviewees she likes) and avoids easy answers, but the book deserves its reputation.
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May 14, 2012 20:15
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It's an interesting point. Sereny's statement that Speer was not gay is probably correct - if he was gay, he never seemed to act upon it and there's some events in the last 10 pages of the book (seriously) that draw a picture of him as almost asexual through most of his life. (A trait you might also ascribe to Hitler.) And I'm not sure that a lack of evidence for Speer not being gay, means evidence that he was gay. Which leaves us with the idea that his relationship with Hitler was "erotic not sexual". And I'm not really sure what that means. I'm adverse to the "magical" explanations of Nazism and Hitler's rise to power (e.g. Hitler had a hypnotic presence, was incredibly charismatic, fooled a nation, etc.) because they seem to be at best descriptions and at worst hand-waving. It seems as if there was some intense relationship between Hitler and Speer, created by shared interests and shared history. Hitler admired Speer for his architecture and - later - his phenomenal organizational skills. Speer was desperate for success and attention. The two fit perfectly together and needed each other. We don't really have words for those intense friendships, yet perhaps that is what we have here.
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May 15, 2012 12:52
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Nemesis Of Moles posted:I got a friend into Lies my Teacher Told me, and while he is enjoying it, he asked me to see if I could find any books that are basically what Lies is advertised as, a bunch of snippets of history that we all 'Have wrong', traditionally speaking, like the Columbus myth Lies goes over for example. Any ideas? I have on my shelves a very unenjoyable one called "I love Paul Revere whether he rode or not".
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May 15, 2012 15:14
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Maksamakkara posted:Anyway, here is the miniseries that made me purchase the book in the first place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g34KPWFhfXo I had no idea such a thing existed. Thanks - I'm going to watch this.
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May 15, 2012 15:16
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I'm pursuing an interest in the Russian Revolution(s) (full disclosure: there's a family connection and I'm thinking of designing a boardgame on the topic). Thus far I've read the Russian Revolution in an Hour. Not a bad place to start but obviously brief and it showed me how complex the subject was. Pointers for further reading? From point of view of the game, I'm particularly interested in the wider context, what-ifs and social forces.
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Sep 10, 2013 13:27
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Stravinsky posted:The Russian Civil War by Evan Mawdsley might be right up your alley then. It covers the very start with men being shipped off to sway votes for the socialists and how boshlikvism took charge and goes over every white force that took action and foreign intervention. Food, production, trains and politics are present in full force so get ready. Cheers - going to order it now.
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Sep 12, 2013 10:31
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Silver2195 posted:[And the Band Played on] I've read that some important parts of its interpretation, including its grasp on epidemiology from a scientific point of view, have been questioned by many academics. Still probably worth reading. Belatedly, the main point of contention is the focus on Patient Zero and the implication that "it was this guy that bought AIDS to America". Which probably isn't true, but Patient Zero is an important case that lead to many becoming infected.
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Mar 30, 2015 21:07
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