A review by reginacattus
The S.S. Officer's Armchair: Uncovering the Hidden Life of a Nazi by Daniel Lee

4.0

A fascinating and haunting insight into the life of a "ordinary Nazi". Here, Lee skillfully weaves the tale, from the lead-up to his birth, right up to the repercussions to date following his death, of a decidedly average and unremarkable man, who nonetheless was very much a part of the Nazi machine. The story is weaved together with added context of the other lives that touched Griesinger's, and the wider social & political landscape (even drawing in influences of enslavement and racism in America). There is also some air of detective novel as Lee describes hunting through archives and conducting interviews to uncover and connect each detail. It all makes for a rather chilling examination of how the more average citizen would also be drawn into the regime, making it hit much closer to home than a standard textbook or trivia line about Europe during the world wars. Frequent reminders of the horrors experienced and perpetrated both by and upon German soldiers and civilians keep at each point keep the story very firmly placed in its context.