Presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of one of the world's greatest cities caught between the lunacy and cruelty of its leaders and the brutal determination of encircling Soviet armies.
Reviews:
"Read and Fisher ( Kristallnacht ) present a vivid verbal panorama of conditions in the German capital from the staging of the 1936 Olympics early in the Hitler era to the Nazi surrender in 1945. Significant events such as the Reichstag fire and the Kristallnacht pogrom are examined in detail, but the focus remains largely on the resourceful, resilient Berliners themselves as they deal with increasing hardship and danger. In the background of the narrative, one can virtually hear the almost incessant--and alarmingly effective--propaganda broadcasts by the Nazi minister of information, Joseph Goebbels. The authors relate the unfolding events in Hitler's underground headquarters, where his lieutenants continued to jockey for position even as old men and boys were rounded up in the streets above for a last-ditch stand against the approaching Soviet army. Finally, Read and Fisher describe the orgy of rape that began when the Red Army breached the city's defenses, the scope of which is conveyed by the statistics: more than 90,000 women and girls sought medical treatment for rape in Berlin in 1945." - Publishers Weekly
"The British team of Read and Fisher ( Kristallnacht , LJ 10/15/88, and The Deadly Embrace , LJ 11/15/89) turn their attention to the bombing of Berlin by the British and Americans and how the Russian Army fought its way toward and through Berlin in 1945. The authors intend no startling new interpretations or profound analysis. Instead, they offer vignettes, often based on diaries, to describe life in Berlin late in the war. They also retell the story of fanatical Nazi leaders and of the Wehrmacht's desperate efforts to defend the city. The result is a highly readable and, at the same time, sophisticated and reliable narrative history. One objection: no good reason exists to call the Oder-Neisse "the ancient frontier of the German empire." - Library Journal

William S. Konecky Associates, Incorporated

United States, United States of America

Old Saybrook, Conn, 1992

May 15, 2001

PS, 1992

IT WAS an extraordinary sight-General Hermann Goring, prime minister of Prussia, president of the German Reichstag, minister for air, commander-in -chief of the Luftwaffe, creature of the Gestapo and second only to Hitler himself in the Nazi hierarchy, sitting 'wreatched in smiles and orders and decorations' astride a carousel horse in a Tyrolean-style carnival.

Chronicles the history of Berlin from 1936 to its fall in 1945 at the end of World War II

2024-07-01