This is an inspiring work by an author who is telling of her own life story. This woman not only survived the horrors of the Holocaust but she also survived illness and went on to acheive much greater things.

Heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality - after you have worked your way through this book you will have gained a better understanding of our sexualities, no matter which! - Personally I found the contributions of the editors, R. Gindorf and E. J. Haeberle, particularly inspiring.

Griech-Polelle rises above the common finger-pointing brand of scholarship (i.e. Goldhagen et al) that one frequently encounters in the admittedly controversial area of religion in Nazi Germany. With this nuanced and informative study one can see & understand the many forces pulling on von Galen without completely excusing his inaction in the face of the Holocaust. This book will sit comfortably next to the best literature on German life in the Third Reich (for example, Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men).

George O. Kent's book Bismarck And His Times details the path taken by Prussia that gradually led that nation to unification with other German states under Prime Minister and later Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. That path, however, did not lead the unified Germany towards political maturity, and led to its defeat in two world wars, notoriety for perpetuating the most shocking atrocities publicized in the world, and its division into two countries until eventual reunification in 1990. As a result, Bismarck's achievements were reanalyzed, with post-World War II assessments revealing considerable rust on the "Iron Chancellor"'s facade. Kent is one of those historians, arguing that Bismarck and his foreign and domestic policies were to blame for this tragedy, and the German nation, as well as the North German Confederation that preceded it, "was conceived too narrowly and maintained too rigidly for too long".

Consider the constitution of the North German Confederation created by Bismarck in 1866, a lopsided hybrid of an absolute monarchy and a constitutional state, with the executive and upper house holding most of the power. There was the Prussian king--later the Kaiser of Germany--and the members of the Upper House composed of representatives from the North German states. On the other side was the Reichstag, whose members were elected by male property owners, whose powers were limited to pass or defeat bills introduced by the king or Bismarck; the Reichstag could not introduce bills. In addition, the chancellor could not be brought down by a vote of no-confidence from the lower house, resulting in the dissolution of the government. Bismarck created this constitution mainly to benefit himself and to ensure the power of the king and God.

His defensive foreign policy, such as the three wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870), consolidated his power and that of Prussia at the expense of antagonizing and alienating certain countries. His alliance with countries was tied less to the Second Reich's interests than to his political survival. Bismarck's intrigues with Austria-Hungary and Russia led a train of in what was described as "the finest example of diplomatic deception".

Bismarck may have been a master tactician and strategist in his foreign agenda before 1871, but the opposite holds true in his domestic policies. He "was unable to tolerate opposing points of view, however sincere, and always considered opposition to his policies as personal attacks, motivated by selfish or group interests". To him, the word "loyal opposition" was a contradiction in terms.

Therein lies the problem. Bismarck was energized by having foes to fight and vanquish, as he did with the Danes, Austrians, and French. In his struggles against the Catholics and the Social Democratic Party, he appeared not to shift gears--he just kept on fighting when he should have switched gears into peace mode, or better still, rest on his laurels and retire.

What brought his downfall was his lust for power that went to such an extreme, that in the face of being dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, he was prepared to set events that would bring victory to the SDP, Catholic Center, and hardline Conservatives, whose policies were counter to the Kaiser's, in the 1890 elections. He would then convince the princes of the Reich's constituent states that the empire had undergone political paralysis. A military coup, on the pretext of a Social Democrat uprising, would follow. SDP leaders would be arrested, martial law would be declared, and the Reichstag dissolved. Germany would then become a military dictatorship.

Kent's book has successfully depicted the flaws of Bismarck's mindset, in which he placed his personal political survival before the interests of the political entities he governed, and that is the rust that tarnished the image of the "Iron Chancellor."

This detailed and concise book by Medlicott summarizes Bismarck's foreign and domestic policies. Medlicott shows how Bismarck originally had goals but no basic plan to achieve them. By showing not just Bismarck's strategies but his tactics, and his various options we see how Bismarck was able to gain whatever advantage there was in any situation to gain his ends.

At first Bismarck used foreign policy to gain his domestic ends, Prussian dominance over Germany and pushing Austria out of Germany. Later Bismarck used foreign policy only to consolidate Prussian or German strength.

Medlicott shows Bismarcks good and bad qualities. Medlicott points out that Bismarck had "Much good sense and very little good will, tremendous determination allied to a wonderful grasp of political possibilities, the sensitiveness but also the objectivity of an artist, a lust for success, the driving force of a nervous system infuriated by personal rebuffs, and the precious gift of a really good brain...but he was incapable of magnanimity" This quote not only describes Bismarck's good and bad qualities but illustrates Medlicott's shrewd grasp of Bismarck. Medlicott also points out the problems in some of the faulty arguments Bismarck's supporters have used. We also see that while Bismarck often changed directions to achieve his ends, he often left bad feelings and eventually distrust, which eventually hampered him.

Unfortunately this book lacks maps, charts or a good bibliography. The great amount of detail makes this book not very readable, but very informative.

I have just finished reading this book and the preceding two volumes. This is very solid work, and if you appreciate, as I do, feeling that an author has done good and careful research you will like these volumes. I have concluded that to really understand the Hitler period one must learn more about the 19th century in Germany. It seems to me that Bismarck, by his brilliant defense of autocratic rule in Germany, helped make Hitler possible. The footnotes in these volumes are where they are supposed to be--at the foot of each page--but it is regrettable that there is no bibliography as such.

When I first saw this book at the AHA conference I was immediately taken by the cartoon of Russell on the cover. The book itself turned out to be as much fun to read as the cover was to look at. This is high politics told in an entertaining way. We need more stuff like this.

This book is a great portrail of the hierarchy of the Nazi's dreaded SS. The author goes far beyond the concentration camp guards and explains the feeble begining as a SA battalion into one of the greatest fighting and guard units inside of Hitler's Geermany. This book shows how Himmler came into the the lime life of Germany and how his forces were what helped keep Hitler in power. The author does not portray the SS as a evil force but, instead he shows that these men were men and not monsters that were only doing what they were told to do by both Hitler and Himmler. As the SS grew out of the SA, and later totally replaced the SA, it came to control the police and a large piece of the German Wehrmacht. Thus giving Himmler unbelievable powers to do what he felt was for the good of Nazi controlled Germany. If you are looking for a book filled with pictures you will not enjoy this book because it is mostly a fact filled book that explains everything about the extremely complicated Nazi SS.

I saw this book featured in the AIGA annual for 1999. It is VERY nicely designed. Also, it was refreshing to read about cultural aspects of typography, instead of the same ol' stuff about leading, tracking, etc.

In this unique book, Bower takes up one of the most overlooked, yet important questions in history - what happened to the Nazis and their collaborators after the war? And he comes to a disturbing conclusion - nothing much, (in the West anyway.) This book meticulously analyzes the incompetence and outright dereliction of duty which enabled so many Nazis not only to remain free and unconvicted after the war, but also permitted them to rise to the top of West Germany's post war elite. More importantly, it shows how the commercial and class interests of the Anglo-American ruling classes overrode their nationalism, and caused them to spare elements of the German ruling class from de-Nazification. A book that is well worth reading to anyone who wants to know the truth about what happened after World War Two.