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ihorbook's review against another edition
5.0
Велика книжка про Європу у 1938-1945 роках поза суто військовими діями - про окупацію, колаборацію, дипломатію, геноцид, партизанську боротьбу і так далі. І хоч тут покрито тем на десять книжок, мені сподобалось, що автор додатково фокусується ще й на "історії ідей": як нацисти та їхні противники бачили майбутнє національних меншин, маленьких країн, міжнародної співпраці тощо. Зрозуміло, що в одному томі не розповіси про все це достатньо детально, але цікавого і нового матеріалу я тут знайшов багато.
missmelancholia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
nathanschumer's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
This book is a survey of the governance of non-German territories by the Germans (and then the Nazis) from 1870 through 1945. It is mostly about the Nazis. The book is extremely well researched, provides really good and dense detail on Nazi administration, with a kind of subtheme of the Holocaust, resistance, divisions in experience between Western and Eastern Europe. What comes through is that the reich had no plan for administration, and competing power centers in the Reich were constantly battling to implement their vision. Hitler's governors (gauleiters) were appointed somewhat at random, without much bureaucratic backing, and implemented competing visions of the reich. Himmler is one of the major characters in the book, and it follows the increasing power of the SS, and it's radical racial vision and Himmler's attempts to place this at the core of German imperial politics. Massive racial and population dislocation is implemented, then abandoned; Hitler was constantly standing up new bureaucracies and dismantling them, and the racism of the Nazis makes it impossible for them to play politics in even the most rudimentary ways. Like in Barbarbossa, Hitler makes it impossible for the construction of a Ukranian state, and cannot bring himself to do the bare minimum to bring Ukranians over, instead opting for mass starvation. The reich's labor problems are exacerbated by the failure to feed Soviet pows, and the German economy continues to spin out of control. It's a thoughtful and deliberative book that looks at the interactions of facts on the ground and Nazi ideology, and how the Nazis sought to weave together a new empire. One of the more provocative bits (somewhat similar to Dark Continent) is to root some of the European Union vision in the Nazi era; the businesses of Western Europe were in the process of forming something similar to the coal and steel union that led to the EU during World War II. It is both accessible and scholarly, which is something on an achievement .
wynwicket's review against another edition
5.0
Easily the most compelling book I've read this year, Hitler's Empire detailed Germany's domination of Europe from the 1930s to 1950--and the aftermath. From Germany's initial goal of uniting all the "Germanic peoples" in Europe under a single flag, to forced migration, attempted genocide, forced labor, political back-stabbing, and mass murder, this is a sad, scary story.
But it's a fascinating one. Rather than focusing strictly on the political power of a few men (Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Stalin, etc), as many history books do, the book focuses on the everyday administration of the Third Reich--how it was expanded and run by ordinary people, some with evil motives, others just doing what they were told. Hitler's regime is presented as a splintered one, with various parties with widely differently philosophies fighting amongst themselves--in particular, the Nazi Party proper and the SS. The Holocaust is covered from a political, as well as an administrative point of view: logistically speaking, *how* was all that horror accomplished? Who collaborated with the Nazis and why? How did comparatively powerless countries fight back, even before the Americans joined the war? And what happened after Hitler's death?
An emotional roller-coaster for me, this book took a long time to get through, but I'm now much more aware of the staggering effects of Nazism on other countries in Europe, especially Italy, Poland, and Greece, and my heart goes out to those in affected countries who struggled to put the pieces back together after so many nations were torn apart.
I'm left with additional questions, and I suspect this book is just the beginning of my forays into World War Two history.
But it's a fascinating one. Rather than focusing strictly on the political power of a few men (Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Stalin, etc), as many history books do, the book focuses on the everyday administration of the Third Reich--how it was expanded and run by ordinary people, some with evil motives, others just doing what they were told. Hitler's regime is presented as a splintered one, with various parties with widely differently philosophies fighting amongst themselves--in particular, the Nazi Party proper and the SS. The Holocaust is covered from a political, as well as an administrative point of view: logistically speaking, *how* was all that horror accomplished? Who collaborated with the Nazis and why? How did comparatively powerless countries fight back, even before the Americans joined the war? And what happened after Hitler's death?
An emotional roller-coaster for me, this book took a long time to get through, but I'm now much more aware of the staggering effects of Nazism on other countries in Europe, especially Italy, Poland, and Greece, and my heart goes out to those in affected countries who struggled to put the pieces back together after so many nations were torn apart.
I'm left with additional questions, and I suspect this book is just the beginning of my forays into World War Two history.
cronicadelibros's review against another edition
3.0
Nota real: 7/10
Ensayo denso, largo (1000 páginas), crítico y profundo sobre el Tercer Reich pero en su estricta vertiente política y los actos que ésta produjo.
Análisis exhaustivo no solo de la guerra y los inexistentes planes para administrar los territorios conquistados que fueron una de las causas del genocidio al pueblo judío, como también lo fue el intento de genocidio a otros pueblos básicamente eslavos y las consecuencias económicas que trajo esta política de arianización del este de Europa.
Igualmente el libro no rehuye el análisis crítico de las barbaries de los estados satélites, ni el colaboracionismo que la historiografía ha intentado minimizar durante 80 años.
La última parte dedicada analizar los hechos posteriores al finalizar la guerra demuestra como algunas de las ideas en el campo de la economía, de la creación de estructuras supraestatales, organización urbanística que se intentaron emplear de forma agresiva en ese período se acabaron aprovechando para la reconstrucción no sólo de Europa, si no en todo el mundo.
El pero del libro, y que hace que baje mi valoración, es la estructura del libro hace que fragmentos de diferentes capítulos se repitan, y la escritura no ayuda a hacer una lectura amena, como pasa con autores como Kershaw o Beevor por ejemplo, en libros de esta densidad. Igualmente no lo recomendaría a personas poco habituadas con esta temática, al utilizar muchas palabras en aleman, francés e italiano que se dan por conocidas y pueden descontextualizar la lectura o hacerla mucho más lenta si no se conoce su significado.
Ensayo denso, largo (1000 páginas), crítico y profundo sobre el Tercer Reich pero en su estricta vertiente política y los actos que ésta produjo.
Análisis exhaustivo no solo de la guerra y los inexistentes planes para administrar los territorios conquistados que fueron una de las causas del genocidio al pueblo judío, como también lo fue el intento de genocidio a otros pueblos básicamente eslavos y las consecuencias económicas que trajo esta política de arianización del este de Europa.
Igualmente el libro no rehuye el análisis crítico de las barbaries de los estados satélites, ni el colaboracionismo que la historiografía ha intentado minimizar durante 80 años.
La última parte dedicada analizar los hechos posteriores al finalizar la guerra demuestra como algunas de las ideas en el campo de la economía, de la creación de estructuras supraestatales, organización urbanística que se intentaron emplear de forma agresiva en ese período se acabaron aprovechando para la reconstrucción no sólo de Europa, si no en todo el mundo.
El pero del libro, y que hace que baje mi valoración, es la estructura del libro hace que fragmentos de diferentes capítulos se repitan, y la escritura no ayuda a hacer una lectura amena, como pasa con autores como Kershaw o Beevor por ejemplo, en libros de esta densidad. Igualmente no lo recomendaría a personas poco habituadas con esta temática, al utilizar muchas palabras en aleman, francés e italiano que se dan por conocidas y pueden descontextualizar la lectura o hacerla mucho más lenta si no se conoce su significado.
resolutereader's review
4.0
This is an exceptionally detailed and informative study, well written and compelling. Despite its scope, Mark Mazower manages to make sure the human context is not forgotten in analyzing the death and destruction caused by war, occupation and genocidal policies.
Full review on the 'blog as ever: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/mark-mazower-hitlers-empire-nazi-rule.html
Full review on the 'blog as ever: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/mark-mazower-hitlers-empire-nazi-rule.html
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