What we knew : terror, mass murder and everyday life in Nazi Germany : an oral history Cover Image

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What we knew : terror, mass murder and everyday life in Nazi Germany : an oral history / Eric A. Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband.

Johnson, Eric A. (Eric Arthur), 1948- (Author). Reuband, Karl-Heinz, 1946- (Added Author).

Summary:

What We Knew offers the most startling oral history ever done of life in the Third Reich. Combining the expertise of a German sociologist and an American historian, it draws on both gripping oral histories and a unique survey of 4,000 people-both German Jews and non-Jewish Germans, who lived under the Third Reich. It directly addresses some of the most fundamental questions we have about the Nazi regime, particularly regarding anti-Semitism, issues of guilt and ignorance, popular support for the government, and the nature of the dictatorship itself. Johnson and Reuband's original research confirms that both Germans and Jews were aware of the mass murder of European Jews as it was occurring. From the responses of Jewish survivors, German anti-Semitism wasn't universal among their neighbors and colleagues, even as they experienced official mistreatment. Additionally, the authors' research suggests that Hitler and National Socialism were genuinely popular among ordinary Germans and that intimidation and terror played no great part in enforcing loyalty. Refuting long-held assumptions, the discoveries revealed in What We Knew are key to our understanding of life in the Third Reich, and make this book a central work for scholars of the Holocaust, World War II, and totalitarianism. Drawing on interviews with four thousand German Jews and non-Jewish Germans who experienced the Third Reich firsthand, an intriguing oral history describes everyday life in Nazi Germany, addressing such issues as guilt and ignorance concerning the mass murder of European Jews, anti-Semitism, and the popular appeal of Hitler and National Socialism.

Record details

ISBN: 0465085717 :
ISBN: 9780465085712
Physical Description: xxiii, 434 p. ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : Basic Books, c2005.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 399-417) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Pt. 1. Jewish survivors' testimonies. 1. Jews who left Germany before Kristallnacht: William Benson, Leipzig ; Margarete Leib, Karlsruhe ; Henry Singer, Berlin ; Karl Meyer, Cologne -- 2. Jews who left Germany after Kristallnacht: Armin Hertz, Berlin ; Josef Stone, Frankfurt ; Elise and Hermann Gottfried, Berlin ; Rebecca Weisner, Berlin ; Joseph Weinberg, Stuttgart -- 3. Jews who were deported from Germany during the war: Max Liffmann, Mannheim, 1940 to Gurs ; Herta Rosenthal, Leipzig, 1942 to Riga ; Ernst Levin, Breslau, 1943 to Auschwitz ; Ruth Mendel, Frankfurt, 1943 to Auschwitz ; Helmut Grunewald, Cologne, 1943 to Auschwitz ; Herbert Klein, Nuremberg, 1943 to Theresienstadt ; Werner Holz, Krefeld, 1943 to Theresienstadt ; Hannelore Mahler, Krefeld, 1944 to Theresienstadt -- Jews who went into hiding: Ilse Landau, Berlin ; Lore Schwartz, Berlin ; Rosa Hirsch, Magdeburg -- Pt. 2. "Ordinary Germans" testimonies. 5. Everyday life and knowing little about mass murder: Hubert Lutz, Cologne ; Marta Hessler, Stettin ; Rolf Heberer, Freithal ; Gertrud Sombart, Dresden ; Erwin Hammel, Cologne ; Anna Rudolf, Berlin ; Peter Reinke, Cologne ; Helga Schmidt, Dresden ; Werner Hassel, LeobschuÌtz -- Everyday life and hearing about mass murder: Hiltrud KuÌhnel, Frankfurt ; Ruth Hildebrand, Berlin ; Ekkehard Falter, Dresden ; Stefan Reuter, Berlin ; Ernst Walters, Schwalbach ; Effie Engle, Dresden ; Winfried Schiller, Beuten -- Witnessing and participating in mass murder: Adam Grolsch, Krefeld ; Hans Ruprecht, Cologne ; Albert Emmerich, Eberswalde ; Walter Sanders, Krefeld -- Pt. 3. Jewish survivors' survey evidence: Everyday life and anti-semitism ; Terror ; Mass murder -- Pt. 4. "Ordinary Germans" survey evidence: Everyday life and support for National Socialism ; Terror ; Mass murder -- Conclusion: What did they know?