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caitcoy's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating look at the rise of the Nazis and particularly Hitler from the viewpoint of the American journalists and diplomats stationed there from 1922 to their expulsion in 1941. The title doesn't come directly from Hitler (who has more of an off-and-on appearance in the narrative) but from a term the journalists used to refer to Germany and German politics in general during the rise of Nazism. The focus on the journalists is fairly intense and I think that for the average person it might be a bit of a slow read. I was already familiar with several of the journalists that Nagorski talks about, particularly William Shirer, so it was very interesting to see which ones saw Hitler as a threat from the beginning (Shirer, Mowrer) and which ones didn't see the danger he represented until it was virtually upon them (Dorothy Thompson). Nagorski also follows the Dodd family (William Dodd was the American ambassador to Berlin from 1933-37) a bit so this would be a good companion to [b:In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin|9938498|In the Garden of Beasts Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin|Erik Larson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327864303s/9938498.jpg|14831761]. It's well worth a read if you're interested in American journalism in the early years of the Third Reich and I found it absolutely fascinating.
mcsangel2's review against another edition
3.0
"Hitlerland" is comprised of recollections of American's experiences between the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII, showing the range of impressions of the rise of Naziism. I felt it was mildly interesting; the most noteworthy anecdote was the American Helen Hanfstaengel's preventing Hitler's suicide immediately after the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Had she not intervened, history would be vastly different, and this and countless other books would never have been written.
cgreenstein's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
I couldn't help but see the parallels between Hitler and his supporters, Trump and his supporters, and Putin and his supporters. Informative and cautionary.
megansoetaert's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.75
I think this is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read. Nagorski accomplished what he set out to do—tell the stories of the myriad of Americans who lived in Berlin during the 1920s-early 1940s. I’ve never read accounts of Hitler’s rise to power, nor what the Americans living in Berlin saw and felt during that time. For nonfiction, I felt that this was very accessible. It’s hard to keep all the names straight, though! I’d definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a different perspective on WWII.
lubostar's review against another edition
5.0
Povodne som mal rozpisanu celu esej zalozenu na novych pocitoch a zisteniach ziskanych precitanim tejto knihy. Potom som si ale uvedomil, ze by to vlastne nebola recenzia knihy, ale naozaj skor nejaky historicky resers. Tak skusim teraz na druhy pokus hodnotit skor knihu :) Kazdopadne, o samotnej knihe to vypoveda, ze bola velmi podnetna a pre mna ako laika v niektorych momentoch az sokujuca a provokativna (v dobrom slova zmysle).
Kniha je spojenim roznych zdrojov (osobne denniky, osobna a pracovna korespondencia, rozhovory s potomkami) do viac ci menej ucelenych pribehov jednotlivych postav. Vacsinou ide o americkych korespondentov, velvyslancov a diplomatov s posobiskom v Nemecku a ich rodinnych prislusnikov, ale zahrnute su aj denniky a autobiografie prislusnikov nacistickej strany. Zaujimave je sledovat rozne postoje a pohlady americanov v medzivojnovom Nemecku, co sa da dobre vysvetlit teoriou Howarda K. Smitha o takzvanych stryroch fazach postoja cudzincov k nacistickemu Nemecku: "V prvej faze dokazalo Nemecko odzbrojit svojou krasou, cistotou a dojmom blahobytu nejedneho tvrdeho antinacistu. V druhej faze vsadepritomni pochodujuci uniformovani pekni mladi muzi s puskami vyvolavali prijemne pocity, az mali srdcia nejedneho pozorovatela chut prebrat ich vojensky rytmus. V tretej faze zacal clovek pomaly chapat, ze to co sa v Nemecku deje, je pripravovanie milionov mladych ludi na cisto reflexivne konanie. Pre stvrtu fazu je typicka cudna absolutna hroza, ze vonkajsi svet nema tusenie co sa na nich pripravuje a nebude pripraveny celit takej sile." Vela ludi zostalo zaseknutych v prvej alebo druhej faze.
Tiez sa mi pacil citat vtedajsieho politologa F. Schumana: "Ako kazda forma vysoko emocionalizovaneho a subjektivizovaneho masoveho mysticizmu, aj narodny socializmus mozno iba akceptovat, alebo odmietnut. Objektivnost sa rovna odmietnutiu." Schuman tymto vyrokom narazal na to, ze kedykolvek sa niekto s nacistami pustil do odbornej argumentacie, tak ho nacisti oznacili za zradcu nemeckeho naroda a tym diskusia skoncila. Nacizmus sa tak rovnal istej forme vierovyznania. Kazdy spravny nacista veril fuhrerovi, ze vytrhne krajinu z biedy, ale nikto presne nevedel, ako by to mal dokazat.
Ale naspet ku knihe. Kniha sa snazi drzat istu chronologicku postupnost, co je ale nie vzdy mozne dodrzat. Obcas pri zakonceni pribehu niektorej z postav kniha nakratko skace do buducnosti, co by bolo fajn, keby sa dana postava uz dalej v pribehu nevyskytovala. Autor casto skace medzi postavami, takze je pre citatela narocne udrzat si v hlave uceleny pribeh pre kazdu z postav, ale chapem, ze inak sa to napisat asi nedalo. Napriek vsetkym drobnym vyhradam sa mne ako fanusikovi historickych pribehov z obdobia druhej svetovej vojny tato kniha nemohla nepacit.
Kniha je spojenim roznych zdrojov (osobne denniky, osobna a pracovna korespondencia, rozhovory s potomkami) do viac ci menej ucelenych pribehov jednotlivych postav. Vacsinou ide o americkych korespondentov, velvyslancov a diplomatov s posobiskom v Nemecku a ich rodinnych prislusnikov, ale zahrnute su aj denniky a autobiografie prislusnikov nacistickej strany. Zaujimave je sledovat rozne postoje a pohlady americanov v medzivojnovom Nemecku, co sa da dobre vysvetlit teoriou Howarda K. Smitha o takzvanych stryroch fazach postoja cudzincov k nacistickemu Nemecku: "V prvej faze dokazalo Nemecko odzbrojit svojou krasou, cistotou a dojmom blahobytu nejedneho tvrdeho antinacistu. V druhej faze vsadepritomni pochodujuci uniformovani pekni mladi muzi s puskami vyvolavali prijemne pocity, az mali srdcia nejedneho pozorovatela chut prebrat ich vojensky rytmus. V tretej faze zacal clovek pomaly chapat, ze to co sa v Nemecku deje, je pripravovanie milionov mladych ludi na cisto reflexivne konanie. Pre stvrtu fazu je typicka cudna absolutna hroza, ze vonkajsi svet nema tusenie co sa na nich pripravuje a nebude pripraveny celit takej sile." Vela ludi zostalo zaseknutych v prvej alebo druhej faze.
Tiez sa mi pacil citat vtedajsieho politologa F. Schumana: "Ako kazda forma vysoko emocionalizovaneho a subjektivizovaneho masoveho mysticizmu, aj narodny socializmus mozno iba akceptovat, alebo odmietnut. Objektivnost sa rovna odmietnutiu." Schuman tymto vyrokom narazal na to, ze kedykolvek sa niekto s nacistami pustil do odbornej argumentacie, tak ho nacisti oznacili za zradcu nemeckeho naroda a tym diskusia skoncila. Nacizmus sa tak rovnal istej forme vierovyznania. Kazdy spravny nacista veril fuhrerovi, ze vytrhne krajinu z biedy, ale nikto presne nevedel, ako by to mal dokazat.
Ale naspet ku knihe. Kniha sa snazi drzat istu chronologicku postupnost, co je ale nie vzdy mozne dodrzat. Obcas pri zakonceni pribehu niektorej z postav kniha nakratko skace do buducnosti, co by bolo fajn, keby sa dana postava uz dalej v pribehu nevyskytovala. Autor casto skace medzi postavami, takze je pre citatela narocne udrzat si v hlave uceleny pribeh pre kazdu z postav, ale chapem, ze inak sa to napisat asi nedalo. Napriek vsetkym drobnym vyhradam sa mne ako fanusikovi historickych pribehov z obdobia druhej svetovej vojny tato kniha nemohla nepacit.
komet2020's review against another edition
5.0
While many books abound about the experiences of Americans in Paris and London during the 1920s and 1930s, there are correspondingly few books available about the experiences of those Americans who spent time in Germany from the 1920s to the early 1940s. This particular book stimulated my curiosity about some of these Americans --- journalists, military officers, writers, scholars, and diplomats --- one of whom first became aware as early as 1922 of a then insignificant nationalist, right wing political party and its leader Adolf Hitler, and observed the subsequent growth of the Nazi Party and Hitler's ascension to power in Germany in 1933.
One of the most interesting tidbits I was surprised to learn from reading this book was that the Nazis allowed Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, the foremost African American intellectual and historian of his generation, to spend time in Germany on a fellowship from 1935 to 1936. His observations about the Berlin Olympics were fascinating. Indeed, "Hitlerland" is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants an insight into the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of Americans who served in Germany as witnesses to the growth and consolidation of Nazism and the Third Reich.
One of the most interesting tidbits I was surprised to learn from reading this book was that the Nazis allowed Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, the foremost African American intellectual and historian of his generation, to spend time in Germany on a fellowship from 1935 to 1936. His observations about the Berlin Olympics were fascinating. Indeed, "Hitlerland" is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants an insight into the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of Americans who served in Germany as witnesses to the growth and consolidation of Nazism and the Third Reich.
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