The rise and fall of the Third Reich : A history of Nazi Germany

Author: William L. Shirer
Publisher: London : Arrow, 1991 © 1960

Notes: Originally published: London: Secker and Warburg, 1960

Annotation: Book by Historian/Journalist William L. Shirer, this book received the National Book Award for nonfiction and a worldwide best seller. The book is a classic masterpiece which contains records of testimony by Nazi leaders, diaries of officials, transcripts of secret conferences, army orders, private letters which lead the Hitler's drive to conquer the world. Hitler thought that the Third Reich would last for thousand years but only lasted for twelve. This book explores from the birth of Adolf Hitler in 1889 to the end of World War II in 1945. It is written in simple narrative and clear prose. This book has received wide community reviews and ratings of above 4 in Goodreads.

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Dymocks

The Book Thief

Personal Author:
Rush, Geoffrey, 1951-
Watson, Emily, 1967-
Zusak, Markus
Percival, Brian, 1962-

Publisher: London : Moore Park, New South Wales : Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, [2014]

Annotation: This is the historical war drama film by Brian Pervical based on the novel of the same name, set in Germany during Nazi era. It is a story about a girl who was adopted by German family during WWII who is illiterate and is encouraged by her foster father to learn to read. Germany has been taken by Adolf Hitler and his soldiers marching in the streets of Berlin. A Jewish family has been seeking refuge in this German family's house to protect their lives.  The girl starts to borrow books and shares them with the Jewish family, the movie shows how it helps them to escape the reality around them in this times of tyranny.

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March Violets

Author: Philip Kerr

Publisher: London : Penguin Books, 2015 ©1989

Annotation: This is the first book in Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr. This Berlin Noir takes us into the winter of 1936 Berlin, Germany where a man and his wife is killed in their bed and their priceless diamond disappeared. A wealthy industrialist hires a private detective to solve the mystery where Bernhard Gunther, a hard-boiled detective is put to the job who specialises in tracking down missing persons. What started as a good opportunity for Gunther takes him to the places he could only imagine in dreams, it's the time of the rise of Hitler, hatred towards Jews and Aryan racial superiority, fights with Gestapo agents all revealed in this fast paced crime thriller fiction.

For other books in Bernie Gunther series click here

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Darkest Hour

Personal Author:

Wright, Joe, 1972-, film director
Bevan, Tim, film producer
Fellner, Eric, film producer
Bruce, Lisa, film producer
McCarten, Anthony, 1961-, film producer, screen writer
Urbanski, Douglas, film producer
Oldman, Gary, actor
Scott-Thomas, Kristin, 1960-, actor
James, Lily, 1989-, actor
Dillane, Stephen, 1956-, actor
Pickup, Ronald, actor
West, Samuel, 1966-, actor
Mendelsohn, Ben, actor

Imprint: London : Australia : Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd, 2018

Annotation: This multi Academy Awards winning motion pictures displays one of the darkest time in the early days of the World War II. Adolf Hitler has risen to fame taking Austria and marching Nazi soldiers to occupy other European nations. The fall of France is an unbearable pain to British Empire, now a nation hailed as a winner in WWI is faced with fate whether to negotiate with Hitler and save British people or convince it's people to fight against Nazi Germany. All this is put to a table of newly appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The movie has a high rating in both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes with many saying it a must see movie.

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The death of democracy: Hitler's rise to power

Author: Benjamin Carter Hett

Publisher: London : William Heinemann, 2018

Annotation: This award winning book of the year nonfiction is a tell-tell story to history's past what happened in Germany during Weimar Republic, a period in Germany between the end of World War I and the Nazi Party and Hitler's seizure of power in 1933. The book is based on award winning research and recently discovered archival materials. It tried to shed a light on issues like How a democratic government allow Adolf Hitler to seize power ?. The narrative provides a good example of what happens to a nation when a liberal democracy fails and capitalism rises, what are the aspiration of middle class people, did they really choice Adolf Hitler or they simply choose an economic self-sufficient nation which gave power to their voice through Nazi propaganda and their leader whose took the path of authoritarian dictatorship.  

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Not me: Memoirs of a German Childhood

Author: Joachim C. Fest

Publisher: London: Atlantic Books, 2012

Annotation: By German Historian born in 1926, Joachim Fest  writes his own autobiography of his childhood growing up in Berlin during the early yearly of Nazi Germany.  His parents were devout Catholics and they associated themselves with intellectual catholic clergy and had many close Jewish friends but had absolutely no interest in both Communist and Nazi philosophy.

The book shows how stimulating it can be for a young and developing mind to see current events of young German soldiers marching passed through his household. How his parochial thoughts collided with other young generation. It accounts of how his father's unwillingness to join the Nazi party led to him being banned from employment. The book tries to give a striking notion of no matter how the world has viewed of the Third Reich but his father and himself believed that Hitler's supporters came from dirt and that's where they belonged. It's the people like him who has given them identity just because of the historical significance of that time otherwise they don't deserve to be recognised.

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The Order of the Day

Author: Eric Vuillard
Translator: Mark Polizzotti
Publisher: London : Picador, 2019

Annotation: Originally written in French this historical fiction won the Prix Goncourt (the most prestigious French Literary prize) in 2017. Unlike other books written about Germany in 1930's where Nazism is seen as an inevitable part of the Germany's political and social culture which no way would have been protected. This book counter argues the theory and tries to explain what happened on 20th February 1933 in harsh Berlin winter a secret meeting led by 24 German captains of Industry and senior Nazi dignitaries in Reichstag seems more than a fiction to the story. It also explores the annexation of Austria in 1938 and advancement towards Vienna demonstrated by German military strengths is accidents of fate.

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Pan Macmillan