Operational thinking from moltke the elder to heusinger is indispensable reading for any student of the topic. Mar 10, 2017 the gestapo the myth and reality of hitlers secret police by frank mcdonough 309 pp. The most barbaric and brutal struggle in history was about to be played out to the death. Gross, a colonel in the bundeswehr, offers his book, the myth and reality of german warfare, as a corrective. Without this book to refer to, you wont be able you cant call yourself a reenactor. As the war progressed and hitlers commands became more erratic and less humanitarian, his better generals were left to a moral predicamentlive up to their oath and follow the questionable commands of the fuhrer or violate their oath and, consequently, one of. The army university press is the armys entry point for cutting edge thought and discussion on topics important to the army and national defense. The myth and reality of german warfare by gerhard p. Wettes work detailed the wehrmacht offensives on the eastern front, which he characterized as nothing less than a campaign of extermination against bolsheviks, jews, and slavs. International perspectives on the german strategy for world war i. Sniper variations of the german k98k rifle by by richard d law and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. History is always written by the victors, but this is the other side of the coin.
The wehrmacht the german army in world war ii, 19391945 ebook by. Hence they set out to conceal the hideous reality of mass death in stalingrad from the german people and transform it into a heroic myth. The making and breaking of the nazi economy clean wehrmacht. Infanteriedivision reichsgrenadier hochund deutschmeister in german. Nov 02, 2007 the wehrmacht history, myth, reality is a must for each and every serious ww2 reenactor. Fuhrer of the coming germany the hitler image in the weimar era symbol of the nation the propaganda profile of hitler, 19331936 fuhrer without sin hitler and the little hitlers the fuhrer versus the radicals hitlers image and the church. History, myth, reality is a 2002 book by german historian wolfram wette which discusses the myth of the clean wehrmacht. Les ebooks kindle peuvent etre lus sur nimporte quel appareil avec lappli. Oct 22, 2012 debunking the notion that the wehrmact was separate from nazi ideology and was not part of the war crimes that were committed in the soviet union. Full text of the wehrmacht history myth reality wolfram wette. In late 1940, it was reorganized as a motorized infantry division and took part in operation barbarossa, the invasion of the soviet union, in june 1941. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
In this major contribution to the study of the third reich times literary supplement, ian kershaw. It tells what the german soldier got up to during the war. The wehrmacht and the myth of clean hands harvard university. Blitzkrieg myth, reality, and hitlers lightning war. The wehrmacht ebook by tim ripley 978159704 rakuten. History, myth, reality, argues against the clean war theorem and disregards it as propaganda created by officers trying to save face after the war. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc.
This book is a profound reexamination of the role of the german army. Few twentiethcentury political leaders enjoyed greated popularity among their own people than hitler in the 1930s and 1940s. Wolfram wette, a preeminent german military historian, explodes the myth of a. Bibliography includes bibliographical references p. Gross, bundeswehr, head of the department of german military history before 1945 at the bundeswehr center of military history and social sciences in potsdam, germany, is the author of numerous books and coeditor of the schlieffe. Debunking the notion that the wehrmact was separate from nazi ideology and was not part of the war crimes that were committed in the soviet union. Finding antisemites in 1930s40s wasnt exactly difficult, so either way its certainly an interesting question if the army was a nazi force or not. As nemesis opens, adolf hitler has achieved absolute power within germany and triumphed in his first challenge to. Even where the perpetration of war crimes and the waging of a war of extermination, particularly in. The development of the german armys strategy of a war of movement based on mission tactics which provided the basis of the wehrmachts successes but ultimate failure in its campaigns in ww2 is the theme of the book and is brilliantly analysed. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone.
Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Jun 30, 2009 this book is a profound reexamination of the role of the german army, the wehrmacht, in world war ii. The 44th infantry division was formed on 1 april 1938 in vienna, about two weeks after the anschluss of austria. Should we call the german soldiers that fought in wwii nazi. It first saw combat at the start of the war in the invasion of poland, and also may and june 1940 in the battle of france after a 9month period of coastal defence the division was transferred east, and on 22 june 1941 the division invaded the soviet union as part of army group south. The gestapo the myth and reality of hitlers secret police by frank mcdonough 309 pp. On fighting, killing, and dying by sonke neitzel, war of exterm. Parameters grosss command of the literature, both in english and german, shines through his analysis. After the nazis demanded and won the allegiance of the junkers and the military, the conversion of the armed forces by the nsdap.
The myth and reality of hitlers secret police are great because they are so attention holding, i mean you know how people describe the gestapo. The wehrmacht history, myth, reality is a must for each and every serious ww2 reenactor. The origins of the schmeisser myth can be traced back to the summer of 1940, when an official british military intelligence report described the first captured m. Reality 9781931464635 by peter schiffers and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. After reading the authors excellent twovolume biography on hitler hubris. He takes on a study by dupuy were dupuy found that germans had a great superiority in fighting power. History, myth, reality kindle edition by wette, wolfram, schneider, deborah lucas.
Gross, bundeswehr, head of the department of german military history before 1945 at the bundeswehr center of military history and social sciences in potsdam, germany, is the author of numerous books and coeditor of the schlieffen plan. Image and reality in the third reich piqued my interest. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Adolf hitlers wehrmacht, and finally, the bundeswehr of the cold war. The 25th started as an infantry division formed from swabians and bavarians. Jun 19, 2006 the wehrmacht, the name for all of germanys armed forces, not only became a highly effective instrument of hitlers desire for world domination but also an embodiment of his racist ideology. The majority of wehrmacht officers didnt accept any militarical structures also sabeside the official wehrmacht and view them as paramilitairs. Gross provides a comprehensive examination of the development and failure of german operational thinking over a period of more than a century. Gerhard gross believes this idea is built on a deeply flawed analysis of history, and he thinks the worst offenders are americans. The army university press the us armys premier multimedia organization focuses on advancing the ideas and insights military professionals need to lead and succeed.
This is a powerful book, provocative, enlightening, disturbing. However, its effective and useful role in time of war notwithstanding, it does distort a populations perception of reality and therefore often results in defeat. Some people interested in military history have perhaps kept in mind a picture of the german army during world war ii the wehrmacht as having been an army not essentially different from other belligerent armies, although, admittedly, it acted brutally and, sometimes, at the limit of what would have been deemed acceptable in times of war. The myth and reality of hitlers secret police by frank mcdonough good books by saying they cant stop reading them, well, i really could not stop reading. A short history of world war ii the greatest conflict in human history ebook by. Although the myth and reality of german warfare will appeal mostly to specialists in its subject, it should be required reading for anyone who wishes to better understand the german way of war in the twentieth century. Through its suite of publication platforms and educational services, the. On august 2, 1934, hitler required all members of germanys reemerging military to take an oath of allegiance to his regime. The new yorker declared the first volume of ian kershaws twovolume masterpiece as close to definitive as anything we are likely to see, and that promise is fulfilled in this stunning second volume. The myth and reality of german warfare casemate publishers. It participated in the polish campaign and the battle of france.
Should we call the german soldiers that fought in wwii. Established in 1935 from the professional core of the interwar reichswehr, the wehrmacht developed rapidly, massively expanding its numbers while developing a revolutionary set of strategic and tactical ideas, known to us as blitzkrieg. This is a fine book which confirms citinos thorough knowledge of german military history. Until very recently, the standard story avowed that the ordinary german soldier in world war ii was a good soldier, distinct from hitlers rapacious ss troops, and not an accomplice to the massacres of civilians. Aug 04, 2017 the german genius for war idea has rattled around military historiography for some time. The climax and conclusion of one of the bestselling biographies of our time. Sep 01, 2001 few twentiethcentury political leaders enjoyed greated popularity among their own people than hitler in the 1930s and 1940s. History, myth, reality and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
The wehrmacht, the name for all of germanys armed forces, not only became a highly effective instrument of hitlers desire for world domination but also an. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Historian concludes racism in germany had deep roots sfgate. To accept death be it at the hand of the enemy, from hunger or cold, or through suicide was a generals and enlisted men 189 fate that the nazi leaders regarded as heroic. This book is a profound reexamination of the role of the german army, the wehrmacht, in world war ii. The wehrmacht of nazi germany was one of the most remarkable and effective armies in the history of warfare. Full text of the wehrmacht history myth reality wolfram. So if youre looking for a history of for example the campaigns of the wehrmacht, this book will disappoint you. The myth and reality of hitlers secret police free ebook download. The myth denies the culpability of the german military command in the planning and preparation of war crimes. The german title is accurate but it was poorly translated. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the wehrmacht.
History, myth, reality, wolfram wette, h i s t o r y, g u n t e r g r a s s has written, the history we germans have repeatedly mucked up over the course of the twentieth cen tury, is a clogged toilet. This remarkable study of the myth that sustained one of the most notorious dictators, and delves into hitlers extraordinarily powerful hold over the german people. Based on three decades of solid research, wette debunks the myth, created by former wehrmacht officers and continued by their allied counterparts, that the german military fought a clean war in the east 194145. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. The wehrmacht in russia isbn 9781906783396 pdf epub bob. A new history of the second world war and napoleon. The wehrmacht history, myth, reality wette, wolfram. The wehrmacht wolfram wette harvard university press. It was attached to army group center and fought in the soviet union for two years before being. Tim ripley introduces the reader to the world of the german army, covering in. The myth and reality of german warfare the university press of. Operational thinking in the reichswehr and the wehrmacht between reality and utopia pp. History, myth, reality explodes the clean hands myth by documenting both the long history of antisemitism in the german.
1127 1227 1314 326 1499 671 506 682 84 747 189 1217 93 136 1393 351 1111 1462 131 574 237 1009 435 196 75 663 637 1176 1307 342 1016 1118 386 1340 428 408 410 1379 844 1383 419 658 10 993 284 850