Giles MacDonogh

After the Reich, The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation was written by Giles MacDonogh and published in 2007. The version I reviewed was published by Basic Books of New York in 2007 and is 618 pages. The ISBN of this particular book is 978-0-465-00337-2.

This book covers the activities by the Western Allies and Soviet Union within the occupied areas of Germany and Austria, from the final days of the war until Mid-1949 when the Cold War was getting underway. The description of the author in the preface states the following:

“...I have divided the book into four parts: the first looks at the chaos that followed the end of the war within the lands that were then Germany, and the punitive stance of the Allies; the second looks at the day-to-day existence of the Germans and Austrians; the third examines crime and punishment; and the fourth introduces the chronology and records the major political developments from Potsdam to the foundation of the two German republics.”

In his description of the layout of the book, MacDonogh has succeeded in giving the reader details of the events in the final days of World War II through to the Cold War. The book is filled with personal accounts from those who experienced the events in the time and place of late and post-war Germany. Some of these descriptions are personal and of a graphic nature. This is especially true in the beginning parts of the book, as the fall of Germany was close at hand, or after capitulation. His work brings to light events that have been either forgotten by western history, or simply glossed over.

I finished the book realizing there were aspects of World War II I was not aware of. I think that MacDonogh did a service to the history community by writing this book and telling the story of those vanquished by the war. He presents to us stories of Germans, who were not Nazis, but by being in the wrong time and place, suffered the retribution brought on to that regime by the Allies at the end of a costly war.

In the post-war “day-to-day existence” part of the book, there was a lot of focus on the theater and arts of the German people, as in bringing their lives back to some sense of post-war normalcy. I was somewhat skeptical of this emphasis, and wrote it off to being where the major body of sources for information where. In my opinion, it seems fresh water, food, warmth and safety were the top priorities of your average German citizen at this time. It just did not seem to fit as a high priority, and received too much emphasis. I would have liked to have seen some maps to accompany some parts of the book. One such example would be the relocation of Germany’s eastern borders. Having to stop where you are reading to get a ‘lay of the land’ by consulting a map from an atlas, the internet or another book can be cumbersome.

The book contains twenty-seven photographs of the period at the center of the book and no maps, as previously mentioned. The book does contain many notes and sources listed from page 547 to 584, and an index.

My final verdict is that the book is a recommended read for those seeking the story of the ‘last days of the Reich’ and the chaotic aftermath thereafter from the perspective of the German citizen. The reader will also become acquainted with the history of this period and some of the major individuals who participated in the rebuilding of Germany and Austria.… (mere)

Grazie alle severe virtù dei suoi cittadini e a una dinastia ambiziosa e capace, la Prussia, da modesto Stato ai confini orientali del Reich, divenne nel corso di un secolo -da Federico il Grande a Bismarck -la massima potenza dell'Europa continentale. Alla fine della Seconda guerra mondiale, mentre Berlino sua capitale, e capitale anche del Terzo Reich, giaceva inrovine, gli Alleati la cancellarono dalla carta del mondo, giudicandola «uno Stato fomentatore, sindai suoi primordi, del militarismo e della reazione in Germania». Quanta verità vi è in questo giudizio storico? Il nazismo fu davvero la più naturale evoluzione dello spirito bismarckiano o ne rappresentò, al contrario, una perversione? Insomma, la Prussia fu colpevole o capro espiatorio? Nel tentativo di rispondere a tali interrogativi e di scandagliare il carattere di un popolo che ha fatto la storia d'Europa, Giles MacDonogh ricostruisce la folgorante parabola di questo Stato dai primi del Settecento fino alla creazione dell'Impero nel 1871, per concentrarsi poi sul periodo «guglielmino» nel quale le qualità morali e civili vennero sempre più travolte dalla mania di grandezza e dalla corruzione dei costumi di una classe dirigente che ruotava intorno alla corte. Al tempo stesso l'autore introduce le figure dei maggiori protagonisti, da Federico II che estese i confini del paese e lo fece assurgere a potenza europea, a Guglielmo I che con rimpianto dovette accettare l'idea di un grande Reich che rischiava di disperdere i caratteri originari della sua patria, ai generali che, congiurando contro Hitler, sacrificarono la vita per cercare di salvare la Prussia. Da questo quadro appare chiaro come le tipiche virtù pre-imperiali (senso del dovere, disciplina, autocontrollo, rispetto della legge, onestà...) siano state in seguito snaturate,trasformate in obbedienza cieca e stolida, militarismo ottuso e feroce, intolleranza, deificazione dello Stato...Con Prussia, dunque, MacDonogh non solo offre un importante contributo sulla storia europea, ma soprattutto libera l'immagine di un popolo da un radicato pregiudizio - quello di essere stato all'origine del nazismo-, tracciandone finalmente un profilo completo e affascinante.… (mere)