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The Resource The end : the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945, Ian Kershaw

The end : the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945, Ian Kershaw

Creator
Summary
"From the preeminent Hitler biographer, a fascinating and original exploration of how the Third Reich was willing and able to fight to the bitter end of World War II. Countless books have been written about why Nazi Germany lost World War II, yet remarkably little attention has been paid to the equally vital question of how and why it was able to hold out as long as it did. The Third Reich did not surrender until Germany had been left in ruins and almost completely occupied. Even in the near-apocalyptic final months, when the war was plainly lost, the Nazis refused to sue for peace. Historically, this is extremely rare. Drawing on original testimony from ordinary Germans and arch-Nazis alike, award-winning historian Ian Kershaw explores this fascinating question in a gripping and focused narrative that begins with the failed bomb plot in July 1944 and ends with the German capitulation in May 1945. Hitler, desperate to avoid a repeat of the "disgraceful" German surrender in 1918, was of course critical to the Third Reich's fanatical determination, but his power was sustained only because those below him were unable, or unwilling, to challenge it. Even as the military situation grew increasingly hopeless, Wehrmacht generals fought on, their orders largely obeyed, and the regime continued its ruthless persecution of Jews, prisoners, and foreign workers. Beneath the hail of allied bombing, German society maintained some semblance of normalcy in the very last months of the war. The Berlin Philharmonic even performed on April 12, 1945, less than three weeks before Hitler's suicide. As Kershaw shows, the structure of Hitler's "charismatic rule" created a powerful negative bond between him and the Nazi leadership- they had no future without him, and so their fates were inextricably tied. Terror also helped the Third Reich maintain its grip on power as the regime began to wage war not only on its ideologically defined enemies but also on the German people themselves. Yet even as each month brought fresh horrors for civilians, popular support for the regime remained linked to a patriotic support of Germany and a terrible fear of the enemy closing in. Based on prodigious new research, Kershaw's The End is a harrowing yet enthralling portrait of the Third Reich in its last desperate gasps."--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxvi, 564 pages, [16] pages of plates
Contents
  • Introduction : Going down in flames
  • Shock to the system
  • Collapse in the West
  • Foretaste of horror
  • Hopes raised--and dashed
  • Calamity in the East
  • Terror comes home
  • Crumbling foundations
  • Implosion
  • Liquidation
  • Conclusion : Anatomy of self-destruction
Isbn
9781594203145
Link
ftp://ppftpuser:welcome@ftp01.penguingroup.com/BooksellersandMedia/Covers/2008_2009_New_Covers/9781594203145.jpg
Instance
Label
The end : the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945
Title
The end
Title remainder
the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945
Statement of responsibility
Ian Kershaw
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"From the preeminent Hitler biographer, a fascinating and original exploration of how the Third Reich was willing and able to fight to the bitter end of World War II. Countless books have been written about why Nazi Germany lost World War II, yet remarkably little attention has been paid to the equally vital question of how and why it was able to hold out as long as it did. The Third Reich did not surrender until Germany had been left in ruins and almost completely occupied. Even in the near-apocalyptic final months, when the war was plainly lost, the Nazis refused to sue for peace. Historically, this is extremely rare. Drawing on original testimony from ordinary Germans and arch-Nazis alike, award-winning historian Ian Kershaw explores this fascinating question in a gripping and focused narrative that begins with the failed bomb plot in July 1944 and ends with the German capitulation in May 1945. Hitler, desperate to avoid a repeat of the "disgraceful" German surrender in 1918, was of course critical to the Third Reich's fanatical determination, but his power was sustained only because those below him were unable, or unwilling, to challenge it. Even as the military situation grew increasingly hopeless, Wehrmacht generals fought on, their orders largely obeyed, and the regime continued its ruthless persecution of Jews, prisoners, and foreign workers. Beneath the hail of allied bombing, German society maintained some semblance of normalcy in the very last months of the war. The Berlin Philharmonic even performed on April 12, 1945, less than three weeks before Hitler's suicide. As Kershaw shows, the structure of Hitler's "charismatic rule" created a powerful negative bond between him and the Nazi leadership- they had no future without him, and so their fates were inextricably tied. Terror also helped the Third Reich maintain its grip on power as the regime began to wage war not only on its ideologically defined enemies but also on the German people themselves. Yet even as each month brought fresh horrors for civilians, popular support for the regime remained linked to a patriotic support of Germany and a terrible fear of the enemy closing in. Based on prodigious new research, Kershaw's The End is a harrowing yet enthralling portrait of the Third Reich in its last desperate gasps."--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Kershaw, Ian
Dewey number
940.53/43
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
D757
LC item number
.K38 2011
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • World War (1939-1945)
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • Hitler, Adolf
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Sociology, Military
  • HISTORY
  • Military leadership
  • Public opinion
  • Sociology, Military
  • Germany
  • Nationalsozialismus
  • Herrschaft
  • Öffentliche Meinung
  • Kriegsende
  • Weltkrieg
  • Deutschland
  • Weltkrieg (1939-1945)
  • Deutschland
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Andra världskriget 1939-1945
  • Militärsociologi
  • Militärt ledarskap
  • Tyskland
Label
The end : the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945, Ian Kershaw
Link
ftp://ppftpuser:welcome@ftp01.penguingroup.com/BooksellersandMedia/Covers/2008_2009_New_Covers/9781594203145.jpg
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : Going down in flames -- Shock to the system -- Collapse in the West -- Foretaste of horror -- Hopes raised--and dashed -- Calamity in the East -- Terror comes home -- Crumbling foundations -- Implosion -- Liquidation -- Conclusion : Anatomy of self-destruction
Control code
ocn707969104
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxvi, 564 pages, [16] pages of plates
Isbn
9781594203145
Lccn
2011020135
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781594203145
  • (OCoLC)707969104
Label
The end : the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945, Ian Kershaw
Link
ftp://ppftpuser:welcome@ftp01.penguingroup.com/BooksellersandMedia/Covers/2008_2009_New_Covers/9781594203145.jpg
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : Going down in flames -- Shock to the system -- Collapse in the West -- Foretaste of horror -- Hopes raised--and dashed -- Calamity in the East -- Terror comes home -- Crumbling foundations -- Implosion -- Liquidation -- Conclusion : Anatomy of self-destruction
Control code
ocn707969104
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxvi, 564 pages, [16] pages of plates
Isbn
9781594203145
Lccn
2011020135
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781594203145
  • (OCoLC)707969104

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

    • Waubonsee: Sugar Grove Campus - Todd LibraryBorrow it
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      41.7974000 -88.45785

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