Paulclem
03-10-2011, 09:15 PM
Anthony Beevor's Berlin was the logical book for him to write after his Stalingrad best seller. The book begins with the reversals of the Wehrmacht, following the loss of the 6th Army in Stalingrad, and gradual wearing down of the German forces and resources. It culminates in the desperate struggle for, and defeat in, Berlin.
Beevor's style is to draw the specific situations in broad strokes and then follow up with interesting human details about the resourcefulness and suffering of the soldiers and civilians involved. It is a fascinating account which balances the informed overview with the human tragedy.
It is a grim take from both sides of the the Eastern Front, and includes accounts of the Dictators Hitler and Stalin. Stalin is paranoid and tricky, managing his generals by instilling and capitalising upon the ruthlessness and ambitions of his subordinates. Hitler is irrational insisting upon directing the battles from hundreds of miles away and insisting on issuing increasingly unrealistic orders to his general staff and troops. What is clear is that despite their opposing ideologies, both were cruelly ruthless in the pursuit of the Nation's goals. The results were catastrophic with millions of soldiers and civilians killed.
Due to the crumbling chains of comand, the delays in relating actual circumstances meant that Hitler was often planning his strategy with ghost forces that had ceased to be effective. His monstrous megalomania would not allow for ceasefires or the contemplation of any overtures for peace. Many soldiers and civilians, young and old, died as a result.
Stalin, on the other hand, is an untrustworthy leader avoiding any blame for himself, and building a Dictator Myth of the Father of the Country. His treachery and bad treatment of his General Zhukov in particular typified a regime that persecuted and imprisoned hundreds of thousands for merely being taken prisoner by German forces.
It is a harrowing book. The suffering is unbelievable and appalling at times. The atrocities of the various liberated concentration camps, and the death marches prisoners were forced to endure, were just some of the instances of suffering in a tapestry of inhumanity and neglect. The waste that resulted from the descent into chaos, and the vengence of the Red Army is graphically illustrated.
Beevor attempts to analyse such actions as the widespread rape of German women by the Red Army soldiers, and the attitudes that pervaded the officers of the German Staff and SS Units. In this he is largely convincing and the grim story is only lightened occaisionally by the references to the acts of humanity, luck and the efforts of some Officers to subvert Hitler's suicidal proclaimations.
The detailed narrative, the strataegic overview and the sense of the disintegration of the German front is very well presented. It is a gripping account of the last days of WW2 in Europe.
Beevor's style is to draw the specific situations in broad strokes and then follow up with interesting human details about the resourcefulness and suffering of the soldiers and civilians involved. It is a fascinating account which balances the informed overview with the human tragedy.
It is a grim take from both sides of the the Eastern Front, and includes accounts of the Dictators Hitler and Stalin. Stalin is paranoid and tricky, managing his generals by instilling and capitalising upon the ruthlessness and ambitions of his subordinates. Hitler is irrational insisting upon directing the battles from hundreds of miles away and insisting on issuing increasingly unrealistic orders to his general staff and troops. What is clear is that despite their opposing ideologies, both were cruelly ruthless in the pursuit of the Nation's goals. The results were catastrophic with millions of soldiers and civilians killed.
Due to the crumbling chains of comand, the delays in relating actual circumstances meant that Hitler was often planning his strategy with ghost forces that had ceased to be effective. His monstrous megalomania would not allow for ceasefires or the contemplation of any overtures for peace. Many soldiers and civilians, young and old, died as a result.
Stalin, on the other hand, is an untrustworthy leader avoiding any blame for himself, and building a Dictator Myth of the Father of the Country. His treachery and bad treatment of his General Zhukov in particular typified a regime that persecuted and imprisoned hundreds of thousands for merely being taken prisoner by German forces.
It is a harrowing book. The suffering is unbelievable and appalling at times. The atrocities of the various liberated concentration camps, and the death marches prisoners were forced to endure, were just some of the instances of suffering in a tapestry of inhumanity and neglect. The waste that resulted from the descent into chaos, and the vengence of the Red Army is graphically illustrated.
Beevor attempts to analyse such actions as the widespread rape of German women by the Red Army soldiers, and the attitudes that pervaded the officers of the German Staff and SS Units. In this he is largely convincing and the grim story is only lightened occaisionally by the references to the acts of humanity, luck and the efforts of some Officers to subvert Hitler's suicidal proclaimations.
The detailed narrative, the strataegic overview and the sense of the disintegration of the German front is very well presented. It is a gripping account of the last days of WW2 in Europe.