The Nightmare Years 1930-1940 (20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times)
by William L. Shirer
20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times (2)
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The famous journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich documents his front row seat at the pivotal events leading up to World War II. In the second of a three-volume series, William Shirer tells the story of his own eventful life, detailing the most notable moments of his career as a journalist stationed in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. Shirer was there while Hitler celebrated his new domination of Germany, unleashed the Blitzkrieg on Poland, and began the show more conflict that would come to be known as World War II. This remarkable account tells the story of an American reporter caught in a maelstrom of war and politics, desperately trying to warn Europe and the United States about the dangers to come. This memoir gives readers a chance to relive one of the most turbulent periods in twentieth century history-painting a stunningly intimate portrait of a dangerous decade. show lessTags
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This was absolutely worth rereading for me, with a decade's more experience and understanding and on the cusp of the United States LARPing this book in its entirety.
Some of the early portions of this, on the "primitives" and "savages" of British India, Afghanistan, and Arabia, haven't aged especially well, but even those are enlightening as examples of period travel writing, a la Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches. Shirer's own history as a reporter, first for newspapers and wire services, followed by his role as a CBS correspondent, is fascinating. Working closely with Edward R. Murrow, Shirer played a not-insignificant role in defining the modern format of a broadcast news roundup, and the two of them brought the early days of the show more war home to American audiences in real-time.
Of course, the meat of this book - and the source of its unique perspective - comes from Shirer's assignment to Berlin in the early 1930s, in time to cover the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Shirer's insights into the Nazi leadership and their foibles are critical to read right now, on the cusp of a US presidential transition. How does a liberal democracy - the Weimar Republic - cease to exist? How does it willingly transform itself into a reactionary, murderous, authoritarian regime? Here, for instance, is Shirer on the Nazis's chief propagandist:
Goebbels, of course, is hardly the only Nazi leader deserving of condemnation. "In a normal, civilized society they surely would have stood out as a grotesque assortment of misfits. But that, as I had to keep reminding myself, was not how most Germans regarded them. The vast majority, so far as I could tell, gave these murderous louts not only the respect a German invariably accorded to high government officials, but held them in high esteem."
This, indeed, is a theme throughout the book: Shirer's awakening to the idiocy and brutality of his fellow man; of the collapse of French resistance, the German acquiescence to everyday atrocities, of a European-wide dimming of the human spirit. Vigilance is required of a citizenry, and instead, they hung onto every word of Hitler's.
History doesn't repeat. It sure does rhyme, though. Shirer's account is essential reading. show less
Some of the early portions of this, on the "primitives" and "savages" of British India, Afghanistan, and Arabia, haven't aged especially well, but even those are enlightening as examples of period travel writing, a la Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches. Shirer's own history as a reporter, first for newspapers and wire services, followed by his role as a CBS correspondent, is fascinating. Working closely with Edward R. Murrow, Shirer played a not-insignificant role in defining the modern format of a broadcast news roundup, and the two of them brought the early days of the show more war home to American audiences in real-time.
Of course, the meat of this book - and the source of its unique perspective - comes from Shirer's assignment to Berlin in the early 1930s, in time to cover the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Shirer's insights into the Nazi leadership and their foibles are critical to read right now, on the cusp of a US presidential transition. How does a liberal democracy - the Weimar Republic - cease to exist? How does it willingly transform itself into a reactionary, murderous, authoritarian regime? Here, for instance, is Shirer on the Nazis's chief propagandist:
Goebbels was unbelievably ignorant of the world outside Germany. He appeared to know absolutely nothing of the history, the literature and the people of any foreign land. He understood no modern foreign language. His ideas of America, for instance, were childish. This was a weakness shared by all the Nazi bigwigs, beginning with Hitler, and it began to occur to me that it might have ominous consequences for the Third Reich, and unfortunately, for much of the rest of the world. There is nothing more dangerous in the shaping of foreign policy than ignorance - of foreign lands and people.
Goebbels, of course, is hardly the only Nazi leader deserving of condemnation. "In a normal, civilized society they surely would have stood out as a grotesque assortment of misfits. But that, as I had to keep reminding myself, was not how most Germans regarded them. The vast majority, so far as I could tell, gave these murderous louts not only the respect a German invariably accorded to high government officials, but held them in high esteem."
This, indeed, is a theme throughout the book: Shirer's awakening to the idiocy and brutality of his fellow man; of the collapse of French resistance, the German acquiescence to everyday atrocities, of a European-wide dimming of the human spirit. Vigilance is required of a citizenry, and instead, they hung onto every word of Hitler's.
All of us in the West, our political leaders and our newspapers above all, had underestimated Adolf Hitler and his domination of this land and its people. His ideas might seem half-baked and often evil - to me they did. But the unpleasant fact was not only that he believed in them, fanatically, but that he was persuading the German people to believe in them. He might seem like a demagogue... but his oratory, his drive, his zeal, his iron will and the power of his personality were having an immense impact on the citizens of this country. He was convincing them that the new Germany...under his leadership, was great, was strong, and had a manifest destiny ... I heard no mention...of the loss of personal freedom and of other democratic rights. Apparently this was not much of a sacrifice. They couldn't have cared less. They had committed themselves to Adolf Hitler and his barbarian dictatorship.
History doesn't repeat. It sure does rhyme, though. Shirer's account is essential reading. show less
This is a remarkable book that bears rereading, especially in these times of newspaper and television station cutbacks. Shirer was present at so many important Nazi events during the crucial 1930s. He gives first hand accounts. However there is another theme to this book. His job with various journalism employers, print and media, was so often uncertain. He was determined to stay, but even had to take a year without pay to stay in Europe. (Vacationing in Spain).
Currently his description of attending the installation of the new king of Afghanistan in 1931 and his host the next king who would remain on the throne for 40 years is especially interesting. There are a number of excellent photographs from this visit and the photographs look show more much the same as those seen now on reporting of the current Afgnan war.
One reads over and over accounts of things that seem not to have happened had the other countries stepped up to the plate. The Munich syndrome is with us today as a result of this.
Am expected and timely aside, his coverage of the coranation of the last Afghan king, with some original photographs, early in the book before he took over the German beat. show less
Currently his description of attending the installation of the new king of Afghanistan in 1931 and his host the next king who would remain on the throne for 40 years is especially interesting. There are a number of excellent photographs from this visit and the photographs look show more much the same as those seen now on reporting of the current Afgnan war.
One reads over and over accounts of things that seem not to have happened had the other countries stepped up to the plate. The Munich syndrome is with us today as a result of this.
Am expected and timely aside, his coverage of the coranation of the last Afghan king, with some original photographs, early in the book before he took over the German beat. show less
An American view of World War II, from a journalists inside perspective. Well written and observed by a man who had the acquaintance of many of the despicable characters in Hitler's Germany.
Actually, this is the second volume of his two-volume 20th Century Journey series. I have not read the first volume, as I was more interested in his experiences in Germany during the 1930s. I was not disappointed. This is a good follow-up to his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Présentation de l'éditeur « Ceux qui n'ont pas voulu comprendre cette histoire sont condamnés à la revivre. » Ce verdict d'un des plus grands journalistes américains exprime l'hallucinant périple de William Shirer, témoin de l'apocalypse de l'Occident. Résidant à Berlin à partir de 1934, fasciné et horrifié par Hitler, spectateur d'une dictature entraînant une nation vers une guerre de conquêtes et de ravages, il couvre le déclenchement de la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour la radio américaine CBS. N'hésitant pas à dénoncer la censure dont il était victime et refusant de se plier aux exigences propagandistes du régime nazi, il quitte l'Allemagne en décembre 1940. De retour à Berlin à l'automne 1945, il découvre show more le nouveau visage, vaincu et dévasté, du pays. Ces mémoires nous livrent ses réflexions d'alors sur les terribles événements qui se déroulèrent inexorablement sous ses yeux. Biographie de l'auteur Après la guerre, William Shirer (1904-1993) a couvert le procès de Nuremberg. Il a reçu en 1946 le Peabody Award pour sa couverture et son « interprétation remarquable de l'actualité ». show less
Personal experiences and on-the-spot journalism.
Autobiography, William L Shirer, Nazii Germany, third reich
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William Lawrence Shirer (February 23, 1904 - December 28, 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years. Shirer was born in Chicago and graduated from Coe. Originally a show more foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the International News Service, Shirer was the first reporter hired by Edward R. Murrow for what would become a CBS radio team of journalists, and he became known for his broadcasts from Berlin, from the rise of the Nazi dictatorship through the first year of World War II (1940). With Murrow, he organized the first broadcast world news roundup, a format still followed by news broadcasts. Shirer wrote more than a dozen books including Berlin Diary (published in 1941); The Collapse of the Third Republic (1969) and a three-volume autobiography, Twentieth Century Journey (1976 to 1990). Shirer received a 1946 Peabody Award for Outstanding Reporting and Interpretation of News for his work at CBS. His book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, won the 1961 National Book Award for Nonfiction and Carey-Thomas Award for non-fiction. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Nightmare Years 1930-1940 (20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times) (20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times)
- Original title
- The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940 (Vol 2/3) (Vol 2/3)
- Original publication date
- 1984-05
- People/Characters
- Adolf Hitler; William Shirer
- Important places*
- Allemagne
- Important events
- Seconda Guerra Mondiale (1939 | 1945); Holocaust; Rise of the Third Reich
- Related movies
- The Nightmare Years (1989 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- The end and the beginning of beings are unknown. We see only the intervening formations. Then what cause is there for grief?
-- BHAGAVADGITA
We know little of the past and nothing of the future, and the present is so immense that it exceeds our range of experience.
-- RADHAKRISHNA PARAPHRASING SANKARA - Dedication
- A Deirdre, Caitlin, Christina et Alexander.
Puisse le monde de ces petits-enfants connaître la paix
To
Deirdre, Caitlin,
Christina, and Alexander--
May the world of these grandchildren have peace. - First words
- [Introduction] For me, as for millions of others on this small globe, the decade 1930-1940, with which these memoirs deal, was a time of growing upheaval.
One stifling October day in 1930, at a party in Bombay, I ran into the crown prince of Afghanistan.
[Epilogue] Five years later, at the war's end in 1945, I went back to Germany. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[Introduction] They enlivened my journey through the twentieth century.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I joined them.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[Epilogue] This time, at forty-one, after twenty years abroad, it was for good. - Blurbers
- Manchester, William; Tuchman, Barbara; Boyle, Kay
- Original language
- Anglais (Etats-Unis) (Etats-Unis); English US
- Disambiguation notice*
- 1e parution originale américaine en 3 volumes pour la période 1904-1988 sous le titre d'ensemble :
20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1976-1990)
Décomposée com... (show all)me suit :
1/3 : The Start, 1904-1930 (1976)
2/3 : The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940 (1984)
3/3 : A Native’s Return, 1945-1988 (1990)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 070.924 — Computer science, information & general works News media, journalism & publishing Documentary media, educational media, news media; journalism; publishing Biography And History Biographies
- LCC
- PS3537 .H913 .Z4617 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1900-1960
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