Scan barcode
A review by zena_ryder
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
5.0
I’m especially interested in the period between WWI and WWII, understanding Hitler’s rise to power and what could have been done to stop him — before the second war started.
This book is well-written and easy to read, almost like a novel (which is the way I like my history). Larson tells the story of US Ambassador William Dodd’s time in Berlin, mostly during 1933 and 1934. Although Larson isn’t explicitly addressing the question of how Hitler got away with so much for so long, these are some factors that I infer played a role:
Anti-semitism. Many among the general population of Germany, and those in power elsewhere (this book deals mostly with the US but I expect it’s true of the UK and France too), were anti-semitic. Although they didn’t approve of the violence against Jews (and other groups), their more-or-less passive anti-semitism meant that they weren’t highly motivated to take action against it.
Disbelief. It was hard for people outside Germany (or even within Germany, but outside the major cities) to believe that things were really as awful as they were. It was hard to believe the stories that people told of violence in the street of a modern ‘civilized’ nation.
Wishful thinking. People repeatedly thought, “These are isolated incidents. Overall, things are getting better.” or “It’s just a phase that the Hitler government in going through. They’ll settle down and become more rational and less violent.”
Diplomacy as usual. There’s a tradition of not wanting to rock the boat between nations, to not ‘interfere in the internal affairs’ of other countries. This is all very well when it comes to subtle political differences, but when it comes to the government killing people in the street without trials, for example, this tradition should obviously be overridden.
The Depression. Other countries were suffering economically, just as Germany was. They were preoccupied with their own problems and didn’t have the capacity to deal with Germany’s too.
Economics. I didn’t learn much about this from this particular book and I’m going to look more into it. I suspect that too many countries wanted to continue to trade with Nazi Germany and so didn’t want to ‘make a fuss’ about Nazi violence. (E.g. The American oil company, Standard Oil, sold oil to Nazi Germany.) This book does mention the debt that Germany owed the US, and that does seem to have played a role in the continuation of diplomacy as usual. But I want to know more about the other economic factors at play. I’m now reading “The Third Reich” by Richard Overy, so I’ll learn more.
This book is well-written and easy to read, almost like a novel (which is the way I like my history). Larson tells the story of US Ambassador William Dodd’s time in Berlin, mostly during 1933 and 1934. Although Larson isn’t explicitly addressing the question of how Hitler got away with so much for so long, these are some factors that I infer played a role:
Anti-semitism. Many among the general population of Germany, and those in power elsewhere (this book deals mostly with the US but I expect it’s true of the UK and France too), were anti-semitic. Although they didn’t approve of the violence against Jews (and other groups), their more-or-less passive anti-semitism meant that they weren’t highly motivated to take action against it.
Disbelief. It was hard for people outside Germany (or even within Germany, but outside the major cities) to believe that things were really as awful as they were. It was hard to believe the stories that people told of violence in the street of a modern ‘civilized’ nation.
Wishful thinking. People repeatedly thought, “These are isolated incidents. Overall, things are getting better.” or “It’s just a phase that the Hitler government in going through. They’ll settle down and become more rational and less violent.”
Diplomacy as usual. There’s a tradition of not wanting to rock the boat between nations, to not ‘interfere in the internal affairs’ of other countries. This is all very well when it comes to subtle political differences, but when it comes to the government killing people in the street without trials, for example, this tradition should obviously be overridden.
The Depression. Other countries were suffering economically, just as Germany was. They were preoccupied with their own problems and didn’t have the capacity to deal with Germany’s too.
Economics. I didn’t learn much about this from this particular book and I’m going to look more into it. I suspect that too many countries wanted to continue to trade with Nazi Germany and so didn’t want to ‘make a fuss’ about Nazi violence. (E.g. The American oil company, Standard Oil, sold oil to Nazi Germany.) This book does mention the debt that Germany owed the US, and that does seem to have played a role in the continuation of diplomacy as usual. But I want to know more about the other economic factors at play. I’m now reading “The Third Reich” by Richard Overy, so I’ll learn more.