politalX Politics Store - Interrogations: Inside the Minds of the Nazi Elite
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Manufacturer: Penguin
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9780140284546
ISBN: 0140284540
Label: Penguin
Manufacturer: Penguin
Number Of Pages: 672
Publication Date: 2002-10-31
Publisher: Penguin
Studio: Penguin
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Editorial Reviews:
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Interrogations: The Nazi Elite in Allied Hands, 1945 is the latest book from Richard Overy, the acclaimed author of The Battle. Interrogations is a massive account of those senior Nazis who were captured and interrogated by the Allies through the grim days of the European war's aftermath. Overy first considers the general issues, such as "Strategies of Denial" and "Final Retribution" before going on to produce what are essentially transcripts of some of the most memorable and chilling of the interrogations. Not all Allied leaders wanted to go through with the due process of interrogation, trial and punishment. Churchill, above all, pressed strongly for the prompt shooting of any senior Nazis within six hours of positive identification. "Shot to death" was his precise phase, just in case his meaning was still unclear. The Americans agreed, the Attorney General calling for "what we in Texas call 'law west of the Pecos'--fast justice". By one of those fine ironies, it was the Soviet Union that insisted on proper trial over such lynch law. The resulting interrogations provide such things as weird close-ups of the Fuhrer's personal life from his doctor, Karl Brandt. Hitler chose to remain a bachelor, we are told, so that "there was always the chance that any out of the millions of German women might possibly attain the high distinction of being at Hitler's side". They provide plenty of instances of doublethink and denial, as with Robert Ley, one minute babbling self-justifyingly that "Christ himself was anti-Semitic" and the next, "I never persecuted, tortured or imprisoned a single Jew." Finally, inevitably, one gets the Final Solution. Two old comrades chuckle over the "incredible things at Auschwitz" that they witnessed. At last one of them concludes, "The only really good thing about the whole affair is that a few million Jews no longer exist." The interrogations are fascinating, horrifying, sometimes depressing. But what they never suggest is any sense of regret or remorse on the part of the detainees. Not once in 500 pages. Instead, it confirms what we had already learned from the writings of Albert Speer and Hannah Arendt: in the latter's own phrase, from Eichmann in Jerusalem, we are faced again with "the banality of evil".--Christopher Hart
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Understanding the psyche of nazi criminals
Comment: This book is truely great.Beginning with lengthy comments to the lead-in to the Nürnburg trial, the author presents (virtually) unedited documentation related to the trial. The combination of analysis and raw documentation provides an outstanding opportunity for the reader to him-/herself evaluate the event. The documentation, in essence transcripts from the trial, gives shattering accounts of the numbed minds of Hitler's henchmen as well as important insights into the period following the war. Regardless of the reader's level of understanding/knowledge of WWII, this book gives a fascinating account of some of the darkest hours in human history.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of the Nuremberg Trial preparations
Comment: As the war in Europe approached its conclusion the Allied leaders were faced with the dilemmas of who should be held responsible for the atrocities of Hitler's Nazi State and what punishment should be applied to the perpetrators. Despite calls for summary executions the Allies chose to embark on a legal process which culminated in the Nuremberg Trials. In this book the author gives a detailed but readable account of the preparations for the trial. The first part of the book includes chapters concerning the judicial background to the trial, the selection of defendants, the charges they faced and denial strategies used by the defendants. The second part of the book contains extracts from the actual interrogation transcripts of some of the most pre-eminent defendants. These transcripts provide an unique insight to the workings of the Third Reich and the attitudes of its rulers following defeat. The book is well written and provides an interesting insight into the problems facing the Allies as they strove to convict their enemies of charges which seemed undeniable. The interrogation transcripts also provide a fascinating view of the Nazi regime from its leaders. They address all areas of the Third Reich including Hitler's pre-war plans, his attitude to his allies and enemies, the economic and industrial effort to supply the war effort and the origins and prosecution of anti-Semitic policies. An excellent book that will appeal to all those with an interest in World War Two.
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