The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945 - Kershaw, IanSummary: Examines why the Third Reich was able to resist surrender for months after they had clearly lost World War II, drawing on testimony from civilians and former military insiders to discuss the Nazis' psychological power over German citizens.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* By September 1918, Germany's military position on the Western Front had severely deteriorated, and political turmoil, military demoralization, and the abdication of the kaiser soon followed. Kershaw, an acclaimed expert on Hitler and the Third Reich, asks why this collapse did not happen to Hitler's Germany during 1944–45, when the military situation clearly was hopeless? Instead, German soldiers and civilians struggled and endured to the bitter end. That question lies at the center of this superb examination of the final defeat of Hitler's tyranny. Military affairs play a part, but Kershaw's narrative concentrates on the mechanics of Nazi administration, civil and military, and efforts to keep the state functioning. The chief functionaries in this task, referred to by Kershaw as the "quadrumvirate," were Himmler, Goebbels, Bormann, and Speer. Kershaw describes in fascinating detail their maneuvers as they jockeyed for power and influence with Hitler. Some of Kershaw's conclusions will be hotly debated. Nevertheless, this is an excellent portrait of the regime's death throes.
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