72 replies to this topic

[Maithanet]

I've read a decent amount of WWII history books, but for the most part these all had either American or British authors.  One obvious limitation is that I only read books written in English, but I was nonetheless wondering if anyone had any recommendations of history from the perspective of either Germany or Russia, becuase I imagine they would be pretty different.  Many American history books are happy to minimize the contribution of the Soviets in particular (often devoting entire chapters to relatively unimportant battles like the Bulge and Arnhem, while combining the Stalingrad and Kursk campaigns into a catch-all "The Soviets turn the tide" chapter).

Does anyone have any recommendations that fit the bill?  I'm more looking for books that are pretty large in scope, rather than focusing on one particular battle, since I think that the national perspective is less important when you focus more closely.

[Järv]

Probably not what you are looking for, but fascinating:

Eugen Kogon: The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them.

It was written shortly after the war by a man who was himself an inmate in Buchenwald.



Edit:
Also very interesting (and unsettling):
Commandant at Auschwitz: The Autobiographys of Rudolf Hoess

Edited by Järv, 19 March 2012 - 02:57 PM.

[sologdin]

medvedev's let history judge is the definitive & conclusive internal critique of stalinism, and includes much material regarding the conduct of the war.

Edited by sologdin, 19 March 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[Datepalm]

Doesn't it just come down to everyone thinking they won the war?

Except the Germans, presumably. That would be weird.

[Roose Bolton's Pet Leech]

Datepalm, on 20 March 2012 - 03:09 AM, said:

Except the Germans, presumably. That would be weird.

I gather that the Japanese have a rather "interesting" interpretation of the period in their school textbooks (which drives China and the Koreas nuts).

[Bastard of Godsgrace]

Datepalm, on 20 March 2012 - 03:09 AM, said:

Doesn't it just come down to everyone thinking they won the war?

Not really. Here in Poland we certainly think we lost the war.

[TrueMetis]

Datepalm, on 20 March 2012 - 03:09 AM, said:

Doesn't it just come down to everyone thinking they won the war?

Except the Germans, presumably. That would be weird.

I would love to here a Canadian claim we won the war, that would be hilarious.

[Lummel]

How about Wartime by Milovan Djilas?

[Antonius Pius]

You could try Guido Knopp (don't know fos sure if his work is translated to English, but I think so). He focuses mostly on the Germans and the criminal regime of the Nazi's. One of his books focuses on Hitler's Generals, another on his executioners etc.

[Järv]

Datepalm, on 20 March 2012 - 03:09 AM, said:

Doesn't it just come down to everyone thinking they won the war?

Except the Germans, presumably. That would be weird.

From a German perspective, having lost the war is not the problem. Having built Birkenau is.

On topic:

There is a series of books edited by Muller, Umbreit and others that is regarded as authoritative among German historians afaik. I have never read it, simply too much stuff (the German original has 10 volumes, HUGE volumes), but if you are a hard-core-WWII-fanboy you might be interested. There seems to exist an English translation now. See Amazon for Rolf-Dieter Muller, Hans Umbreit: "Germany and the second world war".

[Maithanet]

Roose Bolton, on 20 March 2012 - 04:35 AM, said:

I gather that the Japanese have a rather "interesting" interpretation of the period in their school textbooks (which drives China and the Koreas nuts).

This is actually what spurred this thread for me; I am right now reading Japan at War - An Oral History, which is a collection of interviews of Japanese people that really conveys a lot of interesting information about their perspective and range of experiences.  Great read, by the way.  I was thinking that something similar (or perhaps with a more strategic focus) for the other major players in the war would be enlightening.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

[Angalin]

Not sure if you're prepared to go the fiction route, but Vassily Grossman's Life and Fate is tremendous.  A journalist, one of his pieces was used in evidence at Nuremberg.

[Shryke]

TrueMetis, on 20 March 2012 - 04:57 AM, said:

I would love to here a Canadian claim we won the war, that would be hilarious.

Why would it be hilarious?

[TrueMetis]

Shryke, on 21 March 2012 - 02:04 AM, said:

Why would it be hilarious?

Because absurdity is funny.

[Yoadm]

TrueMetis, on 21 March 2012 - 02:17 AM, said:

Because absurdity is funny.

By the end of the war, Canada had the third largest Navy in the world, and contributed greatly to the war effort. So, why is that funny that they take credit for the allied victory?

[TrueMetis]

Yoadm, on 21 March 2012 - 02:24 AM, said:

By the end of the war, Canada had the third largest Navy in the world, and contributed greatly to the war effort. So, why is that funny that they take credit for the allied victory?

Because any one country claiming victory is stupid? Because Russia took the brunt of the German offensive? Because there were dozens of countries on the Allied side?

[Shryke]

TrueMetis, on 21 March 2012 - 02:30 AM, said:

Because any one country claiming victory is stupid? Because Russia took the brunt of the German offensive? Because there were dozens of countries on the Allied side?

Right, but you singled out Canada. With the implication that it was absurd.

[TrueMetis]

Because I'm Canadian, not because any other country saying it would make it less absurd.

[Yoadm]

TrueMetis, on 21 March 2012 - 02:30 AM, said:

Because any one country claiming victory is stupid? Because Russia took the brunt of the German offensive? Because there were dozens of countries on the Allied side?

And they all won. Or can only the main contributors take part in the victory claim?

[TrueMetis]

Yoadm, on 21 March 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

And they all won. Or can only the main contributors take part in the victory claim?

Well going on the emphasis on they in datepalm's post I was assuming that was meant as that country specifically won the war. You know in an X won the war and all the rest just helped kind of way.