Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Geschichte eines Deutschen. Die Erinnerungen 1914-1933. (original 2000; edition 2002)by Sebastian Haffner
Work InformationDefying Hitler: A Memoir by Sebastian Haffner (Author) (2000)
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. In this book, actually a diary, the author presents the idea that history is driven by ordinary people, and that analyses of the particular time period in question are best understood by the lives of common individuals rather than leading political figures. Here is an attempt to explain the political/historical developments in Germany from the beginning of the first World War to the beginning of the Second through the eyes of one person. Although Haffner makes some effort in restraining his subjectivity, this is an impossible thing to do. A key revelation for me was that despite his feelings of repugnance for the growing Nationalist Socialist movement, he eventually capitulated by entering the newly formed training camps in order to qualify for his law degree - a scary scenario that hits close to home. We can all identify with rationalizing our decisions to avert personal ruin. From this account, and from other books I've read as well, one can surmise that the shame and psychological trauma of defeat in WWI played a major role in weakening the German collective psyche and leaving them vulnerable to the temptation of reclaiming glory and self-worth. The book is a sterling example of harnessing the power of the masses only to turn that power back to control them, a very frightening irony. National pride, fear of the supposed enemy (terrorists?), and submission to authority are some of the tools used to drive the populace to carry out the wishes of the state. We all should take heed. Very interesting account from the perspective of a young lawyer in the early years of Nazi Germany. It provides insight into what life was like inside the Third Reich, especially for Jews and the intelligentsia. Although the book does start out a bit slow, it's final chapters are a brilliant description about the power of social psychology to warp and pervert the minds of otherwise intelligent and decent human beings.
Da den tyske journalisten Sebastian Haffner døde i 1999, fant man blant hans etterlatte papirer manuskriptet til hans ungdomserindringer En tyskers historie. Erindringene ble skrevet i 1939, mens den 32-årige Sebastian Haffner var i frivillig eksil i England. I En tyskers historie ser han tilbake på tiden før nasjonalsosialismen kom til makten. I et vekselspill mellom personlig beretning og analytisk-essayistiske deler belyser han det politiske og spesielt det psykologiske klimaet i Tyskland i årene 1914–33. Boka er et forsøk på å forstå hvordan det kunne skje: Hvordan kunne tyskerne underkaste seg Hitler og gi avkall på personlig integritet og verdighet? Haffner hat seine Erinnerungen, die deutlich für England geschrieben worden sind, dort nicht veröffentlicht, vielleicht weil sie ihm nicht objektiv genug erschienen. Tatsächlich sind sie mehr als nur eine brillante historische Analyse; sie entfalten erzählerisch das Tableau der Bürgerkriegsepoche, so dass das Debüt des großen Journalisten zugleich sein literarisches Meisterwerk ist. Zugleich greift er essayistisch in die Auseinandersetzung der Brüder Mann um die Unterschiede zwischen Zivilisation und Kultur ein. Er erkennt, dass den Deutschen die Fähigkeit zur bürgerlichen Privatsphäre fehlt, zum stabilen Selbstbewusstsein, in dem er das entscheidende Merkmal einer demokratischen Zivilisation sieht. Diese Pointe macht Haffners Buch nicht nur zur Darstellung einer längst vergangenen Zeit, sondern zugleich zum Bedenkbuch und zur Warnung für die Gegenwart. AwardsNotable Lists
Sebastian Haffner was a non-Jewish German who emigrated to England in 1938. This memoir (written in 1939) begins in 1914 when the family summer holiday is cut short by the outbreak of war, and ends with Hitler's assumption of power in 1933. It is a portrait of himself and his own generation in Germany, those born between 1900 and 1910, and brilliantly explains through his own experiences and those of his friends how that generation came to be seduced by Hitler and Nazism. The Germans lacked an outlet for self-expression: where the French had amour, food and wine, and the British their gardens and their pets, the Germans had nothing, leading to a tendency towards mass psychosis. The upheaval of post-WWI revolution, factionalism and inflation left the Germans addicted to excitement and action: Hitler provided this, and more. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)920History and Geography Biography, genealogy, insignia BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
Haffner stresses the fact that he is just an ordinary German citizen, making no attempt to suggest that his opinions and insights are any more important or influential than anyone else's. This, however, goes some way to explaining why the book is not just like any other of the raft of books about the rise of Nazi Germany. The beauty of having an ordinary perspective on events such as this is combined with Haffner's genuinely astute observations on developments in the world around him. It also goes a long way in helping to answer the two key questions which Haffner proposes: how the NSDAP could gain power in Germany, and why there was no reaction against it.
Defying Hitler then is an excellent source, not only for those studying the later Weimar years or the rise of Nazi Germany, but indeed for anyone with an interest in the real, day-to-day history of this period. The book is eminently readable, and flows almost like a novel in its simple descriptions, pauses for elucidation and fascinating narrative. ( )